Physical theatre and mime remain relatively niche brands of performance in the UK. Aside from the giants Complicité and Frantic Assembly, the theatrical landscape is largely dominated by text-heavy work. And yet I'd fight tooth and nail to argue that it's one of the most exciting styles of theatre we have. Sure, Shakespeare was a wordsmith and as a nation we produce some of the most exciting theatrical texts in the world, but can any of them take you from outer space to a Wild West shootout all in the blink of an eye?
Well, physical theatre can. With physical theatre, you can transcend time, space, country and characters. You can transition from a blade of grass to a motorcycle chase scene. Physical theatre isn't limited by the set, props or costumes you have in your school's cupboard. Its possibilities are limitless.
The highlights
In my training at L'École Internationale Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, mime and physical theatre took centre stage. In our first year we tackled the principles of mime and other modules such as learning to embody the elements, materials and animals. In our second year, we built on our foundation by focusing our new knowledge into the creation of ‘skits’ in various styles of theatre (Object theatre, Gestural theatre and Commedia Dell'arte to name a few), which we'd perform at the end of each week to the teachers for feedback.
There were three main takeaways from this training that I have embodied going forward in my professional career as a theatre-maker. The first is to take risks. The second, is to accept that failure isn't terrifying, but is a necessary part of the creation and learning process. And finally, I've learnt that the principles of both mime and physical theatre are the most important tools in my toolkit for devising. So, from an educational standpoint, why do I believe that these are both necessary elements for any classroom?
Bringing students together
Well, firstly, in physical theatre it's all about ensemble work. Unlike in traditional plays where there are bigger parts and smaller parts, here every role is as integral as the next, and egos must be left at the door. The showstopping element of any physical theatre is how the ensemble seamlessly creates the world for an audience, and anyone who tries to take the limelight at the expense of their peers risks toppling that illusion.
That's not to say that there is no room for individualism, but rather that with no sets and a focus on just bodies in a space, the style opens itself up for multi-role play, and therefore performers will have to jump between characters and create the landscape of the scene at any given moment. Teamwork is crucial, and a great skill to have in life as well as theatre.
Building a foundation
When it comes to students who are approaching their devising and scripted assessments, having a strong foundation in physical theatre can help. Dramaturgically, learning about creating worlds out of nothing helps to clarify what is and isn't essential for an audience to be brought along on a journey with you. In physical theatre, you're asking an audience to fill in the gaps and complete the image of the world you're creating with their imagination.
The limitations of the body encourage us to focus on what is necessary to show in order to give the audience enough to fill out the rest of the picture. For example, we could create the windows of an aeroplane using our arms, and combined with a character looking through a window and the sound and shaking of the plane taking off, we allow the audience to use their imaginations to see the plane in full. The same can be applied to subtext and scripting devised work; asking ourselves what we can communicate with a gesture – as opposed to a line of text.
Cinematic devising
My company works specifically in a style that we call ‘cinematic devising’. We've created a physical language that transposes cinematic tropes onto the stage. For example, we'll look at a wide-angle shot or zoom in a film, and then figure out how we can make the same effect onstage using just our bodies. We've found that the world of film is universally accessible in a way that theatre is not. Most children have access to films, whereas they might not have access to a theatre. By creating a cinematic world onstage and limiting text to what is necessary to aid the plot, we're creating work that has a universal language, transcending borders and barriers and hopefully making theatre more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
We run cinematic devising workshops in schools, where we'll cover all of what I've talked about above and more, to provide students with the same toolkit that we use when making our own work. If you're interested in finding out more, visit our website, https://volozcollective.com/ for further information.