July 14 下北沢 Workshop - People/Objects

We actually had more new challengers than returning champions today. A great group and everyone very friendly and ready to lend an assist.

We started with the idea of a chair as a thing. Then the chair as a loved thing - basically a person. We moved on to people as people and, of course, people as things. What really matters is the change - a clear change - when you suddenly give value to a person or thing - or take it away.

We moved on to an old blank scene where one character fires the other. So many ways this can be performed. The character can be devastated about losing their job or thrilled to be free from it. The person firing can be excited to do the firing or all torn up because they don't want to fire anybody. There are a million ways to move and reasons for the firing. Physical changes. Mental games. Any genre works. Timing can be slow or fast or accelerating or decelerating or anything at all. And we explored as much as we could.

After a very short break we all worked together on three versions of a single scene: Hotel Splendido. This is a bit of silliness, but each group found a way to make it work despite the challenges with length and vocabulary. Each was funny and made sense in the world of the play. The key was to take an idea and go all the way with it.

We ended up having a nice conversation over drinks and snacks in two languages. All over the map and looking forward to the possibility of all getting together again next month.

Heads up! Next month will not be the second Sunday, but the third. Sorry for the confusion.