Showing posts with label rehearsal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rehearsal. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Ludus Ludius' perform 20 minute improvised musical (the rehearsal songs)
In our rehearsal for the Newport Comedy Festival where we performed our 20 minute improv comedy musical, Ludus Ludius Improv do songs based on a couple of suggestions.
In this song we had just stolen a melody and reeling off that we go into this tune, "Two Pints o Guiness"
In this song we started again as we lost inspiration, but we got a song out after. Not the best song, but certainly catchy.
In this song we found and lost our feet, but I blame... "Radiation Sickness"
A big thank you goes to the improvisers that gave so much effort into this show, Charlie Hammond, Osian Llew and Nathan Keates. Each improviser showed a tremendous amount of energy in the festival too for Tin Shed Production's Launch Pad 2011, as apart of the Newport Comedy Festival. Our "Racoon's Fishy G**ch" blew them away that night and we can be glad to gain such comments as "...you've been the best in this half..." We were in the first half, just in case you were wondering.
Check out www.ludusludius.co.uk for more details of workshops and performances.
Monday, 30 May 2011
11th Week of Rehearsals
This week it was back to Nathan, the person now typing, to be the director. With the knowledge that we are rapidly running out of foreseen time together before other projects and journeys have to happen, I had to make the exploration concise and productive.
Focusing on complicité and also concluding any issues and format queries that we were encountering. The first rehearsal of the week was okay and we had troubles with losing interest making the run all on one player to keep the whole piece together. Clearly not fair on that person nor productive on trying to ‘follow the follower’ instead of have one player leading.
Using the games we had been using with Ana, we added in some complicité games too. We couldn’t rehearse as much this week, but with one player’s confusion of times and venues we stumbled upon some wonderful energy and playfulness: Which has always been the key to Ludus Ludius. Using this, seemingly, we couldn’t play the usual rules to a warm-up game... ‘Crack’. It ended up being about delivering spontaneous objects to one player who either took it or gave it to another. We discovered 80s rap in the style of Beastie Boys and how sticking to the rules of that are difficult but crucial. We also had fun with ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘Questions Only’. Initiating with some nostalgic memories of what we have liked from the past. There was so much.
From the weariness of the first rehearsal of the week we needed to remember all the great moments we have had even in times where we were nowhere near the format itself. Now we were doing half runs, exploring the opening of the show and how that runs into the rest. We used TV Channel to get us in the mindset of exploring ‘perception’. We tried a ‘Rupert’ opening stolen from MissImp in Nottingham. We also used improvising art game that I thought I had invented, but I’ve played it from someone else’s facilitation too now. Thus it’s a common game that been around for ages.
All in all we ended on a good run. Now to slot it all together and name it cooked, ready to serve and be eaten.
Focusing on complicité and also concluding any issues and format queries that we were encountering. The first rehearsal of the week was okay and we had troubles with losing interest making the run all on one player to keep the whole piece together. Clearly not fair on that person nor productive on trying to ‘follow the follower’ instead of have one player leading.
Using the games we had been using with Ana, we added in some complicité games too. We couldn’t rehearse as much this week, but with one player’s confusion of times and venues we stumbled upon some wonderful energy and playfulness: Which has always been the key to Ludus Ludius. Using this, seemingly, we couldn’t play the usual rules to a warm-up game... ‘Crack’. It ended up being about delivering spontaneous objects to one player who either took it or gave it to another. We discovered 80s rap in the style of Beastie Boys and how sticking to the rules of that are difficult but crucial. We also had fun with ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘Questions Only’. Initiating with some nostalgic memories of what we have liked from the past. There was so much.
From the weariness of the first rehearsal of the week we needed to remember all the great moments we have had even in times where we were nowhere near the format itself. Now we were doing half runs, exploring the opening of the show and how that runs into the rest. We used TV Channel to get us in the mindset of exploring ‘perception’. We tried a ‘Rupert’ opening stolen from MissImp in Nottingham. We also used improvising art game that I thought I had invented, but I’ve played it from someone else’s facilitation too now. Thus it’s a common game that been around for ages.
All in all we ended on a good run. Now to slot it all together and name it cooked, ready to serve and be eaten.
Monday, 23 May 2011
10th Week of Rehearsals
Still with the lovely Ana Diaz directing and as with last week the focus has been ironing out (and sometimes bashing out until we get the idea) the small problems. One of the games which we all seem to have gone the hang of is to die in 30 seconds. Exactly. This has given us all a sense of time, for some being too quick but mainly a certain tendency to drag things out has been noted. Unfortunately this came into this weeks game of 5,4,3,2,1 where we used half of our time limit in the first round, but we certainly picked up the pace after that.
Some further exploration of the perception idea and the start of the show has led to the possibility of opening with a combined drawing from all of us of an ideal object (probably one suggested from the audience) such as ideal women, car, home, and then a discussion around this. Then we hope to incorporate some of our perception based questions to the audience as well to allow us plenty of material and spontaneous ideas to work with.
However, at this stage there seems to be a drop in energy levels, we seem to go from highs to lows, and there is a need to revitalise our improvisation skills by pushing into new boundaries, new situations and new risks. The known and comfortable are dull; the risky and spontaneous is compelling.
- Charlie Hammond
Some further exploration of the perception idea and the start of the show has led to the possibility of opening with a combined drawing from all of us of an ideal object (probably one suggested from the audience) such as ideal women, car, home, and then a discussion around this. Then we hope to incorporate some of our perception based questions to the audience as well to allow us plenty of material and spontaneous ideas to work with.
However, at this stage there seems to be a drop in energy levels, we seem to go from highs to lows, and there is a need to revitalise our improvisation skills by pushing into new boundaries, new situations and new risks. The known and comfortable are dull; the risky and spontaneous is compelling.
- Charlie Hammond
Monday, 11 April 2011
Rehearsal 5: Emblem - EdFringe
5th Week of Rehearsals
With Anna flying back to Mexico, we were left locked out of Atrium for the time being and returned to Keith's house, which was very much appreciated. For this rehearsal we began by exploring some short form Improv, moving onto structured long form and ending the session with focus on exploring and defining our environments. Memborable moments arose from: Ian, as the Taxi driver who adopts and collates characteristics from each of his passengers; Amy beating us at our own wish to make her frustrated during the Conference game; a fiendishly long game of 'biberty bibert BOP', with underhanded tactics by all and an effective use of stomach rumblings by introducings characters who were, like us at 2 o'clock waiting for our lunch break, quite hungry.
Two instances stood out from the session as a whole: a wonderfully awkward moment between a father (Nathan) and son (Ian) when the father reveals that the reason his family has always referred to him as 'Uncle Bill' was because he was infact, Ian's uncle and not his father, resulting in Nathan fufilling the role of the dirty uncle with a disturbing attraction to his nepthew, and also the small details that engage an audience when establishing an environment. It was agreed that we would like to explore both of these areas in more detail as the more awkward and sinister situations hold more realism underneath; we were laughing because the only other alternative way to react is to accept the gruesome possibilities, as well as the awareness that the two actors may have to actually play the parts out which, in retrospect, we felt had been cut short to avoid this. The establishment and use of an environment was engaging as it allowed the audience to engage with our activities, the rinsing of a sponge as someone cleaned a window and the shuffling of a pack of cards were notably effective, as well as changing our previous pace and style. We felt this allowed more time for each character to form and for the story itself to progress from the group collective, instead of the inter-mingling of our individual ideas which seemed somewhat strained at times.
All in all a productive rehearsal with a realisation for the importance of discussing the events of the day at the end of the session in order to allow us to grow as a group. And, perhaps, the importance of being quiet and stealthy Ninjas instead of Karate Kids whilst in someone's house, due to shouts for us to 'shut up' from across the street.
With Anna flying back to Mexico, we were left locked out of Atrium for the time being and returned to Keith's house, which was very much appreciated. For this rehearsal we began by exploring some short form Improv, moving onto structured long form and ending the session with focus on exploring and defining our environments. Memborable moments arose from: Ian, as the Taxi driver who adopts and collates characteristics from each of his passengers; Amy beating us at our own wish to make her frustrated during the Conference game; a fiendishly long game of 'biberty bibert BOP', with underhanded tactics by all and an effective use of stomach rumblings by introducings characters who were, like us at 2 o'clock waiting for our lunch break, quite hungry.
Two instances stood out from the session as a whole: a wonderfully awkward moment between a father (Nathan) and son (Ian) when the father reveals that the reason his family has always referred to him as 'Uncle Bill' was because he was infact, Ian's uncle and not his father, resulting in Nathan fufilling the role of the dirty uncle with a disturbing attraction to his nepthew, and also the small details that engage an audience when establishing an environment. It was agreed that we would like to explore both of these areas in more detail as the more awkward and sinister situations hold more realism underneath; we were laughing because the only other alternative way to react is to accept the gruesome possibilities, as well as the awareness that the two actors may have to actually play the parts out which, in retrospect, we felt had been cut short to avoid this. The establishment and use of an environment was engaging as it allowed the audience to engage with our activities, the rinsing of a sponge as someone cleaned a window and the shuffling of a pack of cards were notably effective, as well as changing our previous pace and style. We felt this allowed more time for each character to form and for the story itself to progress from the group collective, instead of the inter-mingling of our individual ideas which seemed somewhat strained at times.
All in all a productive rehearsal with a realisation for the importance of discussing the events of the day at the end of the session in order to allow us to grow as a group. And, perhaps, the importance of being quiet and stealthy Ninjas instead of Karate Kids whilst in someone's house, due to shouts for us to 'shut up' from across the street.
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