Laban Movement by Jillian Campana

TaPS MASTER CLASS RESOURCE PACK: Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor by Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

Master Class: Laban Movement Analysis: A tool for any actor by Jillian Campana “Man moves in order to satisfy a need.” Rudolph Laban Introduction What is Laban Movement Analysis? Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) is a study of the basic principles of movement structure and purpose. Created by Rudolph Laban (1879-1958), LMA is both a clear and concise language for describing human movement and an analysis of movement. Laban, who was born in Bratislava, Hungary, (this area is now Slovakia) is recognized as the father of European modern dance, though he applied his theories to many areas including visual art and efficiency studies of factory workers. Theatre practitioners use LMA to 1) create and describe character movements, 2) explore how objectives can be physicalized in action, and 3) to experiment with disparate movements in an effort to pair movement with character personality. Laban exercises are based on the belief that by observing and analyzing movements, both conscious and unconscious, it is possible to recognize the objectives of the mover and to become aware of an inner attitude that precedes an action. Laban helps actors create momentary moods and long-standing personality characteristic through movement. We know that actors need to be able to move well because our bodies are a principal tool in the storytelling process. In addition to being able to use our bodies to communicate on the stage we invariably need to overcome our own physical idiosyncrasies, habits and movements so that our characters can be created from a blank physical slate rather than bringing our own personal bodies to the character. Laban helps actors understand their own movement patterns and abilities and then offers a way to explore completely different ways of moving. LMA also helps actors work with Objectives and Actions. At times actors can become disengaged from their bodies and instead of using the body in the service of their actions they intellectualize and become awkward and heady. LMA helps actors join Objective and Action to rhythm and movement so that the way they move through space directly links to what the character wants. Actors also use LMA to explore ways in which to create a character. By using Labanʼs exercises actors can experiment with movement in the character creation process rather than creating the character and then adding movement as an afterthought. There are many types of physical exercises that actors use from dance to Tai Chi to yoga. These are wonderful but are not directly connected to acting. Laban helps actors find the right movement to express the characterʼs behavior in a given situation. Labanʼs exercises are a perfect pairing of relating personality to movement. Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

LMA classes, often called Art of Movement Classes, introduce students to the basic principles of movement. Actors learn to study where their character is going in space, how their character is getting there, what kind of movement energy or effort their character is using to carry out their actions. Laban Movement Analysis breaks down movement to the tiniest detail using Labanotation, a system of recording human movement that Laban developed in the 1920ʼs. This method allows us to record all movement from the simplest of moves to the most complex. Labanotation gives us a record of movement for future use, a terminology for describing movement and an analysis of that movement. In the forward of Ann Hutchinsonʼs book Labanotation Laban himself describes the notation as a, “literature of movement and dance.” With a vertical staff representing the body and elongated symbols to denote exact duration of action can be applied to all forms of movement from everyday motion to dance to theatre. But it is precisely because of his interest in movement in everyday life that his system is not based on any personal style or form but on universal laws of kinetics. LMA work investigates the Flow, Space, Time and Weight of all movement and helps actors think specifically about why their character may move in a jerky, fast, light and direct manner verses a heavy, slow, indirect and uninterrupted manner: • • • •

Flow: Bound or Free Space: Direct or Indirect Time: Sudden or Sustained Weight: Strong or Light

Laban called Flow, Space, Time and Weight the Four Movement Factors. He believed that all movement made use of these factors and his exercises in the factors can help actors understand their own movement and provide a great way to explore how characters they portray might move differently than themselves. Space: asks actors, “What direction do you move?” Is it a direct movement or are you getting to your destination in an indirect way? Spatial exercises isolate direction from time and weight thereby offering more clarity and specificity to the movement and ultimately the character. Time: asks actors, “What speed do you move? Is it fast or slow and a combination of the two?” Explorations into time also help actors understand internal rhythm and to pair that with objectives. Rather than thinking about time in terms of fast or slow, Laban asks us to consider a continuum that focuses on

Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

suddenness and sustainment. Within each movement there will be moments of acceleration and deceleration which will change depending on the circumstance. Weight: asks us to think, “What weight do you give your actions? Do you do things with a heavy force or a light force? How does this change depending on the action you are carrying out? Flow: asks us, “Are your movements free or bound?” Flow has an uninterrupted quality whereas movements that stop and start have a jerky quality. Of course when paired together a movement could be direct (Space), Sustained (Time), Heavy (Weight) and Jerky (Flow). Eight basic effort actions Labanʼs theories of Flow, Space, Time and Weight are incredibly useful and come with a plethora of exercises actors can take part in. The Four Movement Factors are further broken down into the Eight Basic Effort Actions: • • • • • • • •

Pressing movements Wringing movements Gliding movements Floating movements Thrusting movements Slashing movements Dabbing movements and Flicking movements

These Eight Basic Actions are the most helpful to me as an actor, teacher and director. SPACIAL DIRECTION direct direct direct direct indirect indirect indirect indirect

TIME

WEIGHT

EFFORT ACTION

sudden sustained sudden sustained sudden sustained sudden sustained

strong strong light light strong strong light light

punch press dab glide slash wring flick float

Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

The Eight Basic Effort Actions can be looked at as external movements but they can also be thought about as internal attitudes or tendencies, which can be very helpful for actors. They can be combined or separated and they can be indulged in or fought against. The Efforts help actors understand not just how a character might move but why they might move in that way. Laban was interested, as he himself wrote in, ʻMastery of Movement on the Stageʼ, in “That part of the inner life of man where movement and action originate.” Laban exercises in the Efforts help actors think specifically about why their character may move in a jerky, fast, light and direct manner verses a heavy, slow, indirect and uninterrupted manner. Master Class overview: exercises and questions Introduction of the Four Movement Factors: Flow, Space, Time and Weight. Ask students to move around the room at their own pace and in their own way. As they do this ask them to think about their own movement and to try to identify if their movements tend to be Bound or Free? Direct or indirect? Sudden or sustained? Strong or light? Space Investigation: (direct or indirect) What direction do you move? Where do your limbs move in space? Your head? Your torso? Where do your feet take you? • • • • • •

Shake hands with a partner Repeat exactly the same movement Repeat Close eyes Repeat Notice movements. Watch other. Which is direct and which is indirect?

• •

In circle. Shake hands Up, down, behind you. Close, far, flexible, donʼt turn the body. Just move the arm. Are your handshakes direct or indirect?

Time Investigation: (sudden or sustained) At what speed do you move? Does your speed change depending on where you are going? Why you are going there? Does your speed ever change mid-route? • •

Ask half of the class to line up/ moves from one side to other as slowly/ consistently as possible. Switch. Partners: 1 closes eyes other watches watch for 30 seconds. Closed partner stays still and tries to understand time. Do again and this time the partner with

Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

• • •

eyes closed makes a movement and ends with stillness when they think their time is up. Make a fast movement of short duration. Try with a sound. Make a movement which accelerates. Add sound. Make a slow movement with long duration. Add sound.

Weight Investigation: (strong or light) What level of strength do you use to carry out a task? • • •

•

Take Stance: lighten force, heels barely on floor. (Weight evenly matched) Exaggerate this. Try to overcome the sense of gravity. Imagine you are decorating a Christmas tree. On ladder, trying to be as light as possible. Some objects are heavy and some are light. Reach, turn and twist to put it all on the tree. Imagine you are riding a bus with no seat or bar to hold onto. Sense the direction and adjust your balance. Feel a bump. Another bump. A jolt. A stop.

Flow Investigation: (bound or free) Do you find your movements to be bound or free? • • • •

Move in a tranquil manner, avoid pausing Move in an interrupted and jerky manner Try rolling down free Crouch down like a stone, quickly and pause when down, jump up

Introduce the Eight Basic Effort Actions: pressing, wringing, gliding, floating, thrusting (or pushing), slashing, dabbing and flicking. Pressing: direct, sustained, strong: 1. Feel it in your palms, press down. Press forward. Diagonally. All spatial directions. Low, high, medium. 2. Back presses. Knees press. Feet press, elbows, head. 3. 2 parts press in different directions. Wringing: flexible, sustained, strong: 1. Imagine you are wringing out a wet towel. Twist one arm right and the other left. Go further. Wring as strong as you can; get all the water out! 2. Try wringing your arm as if IT were the towel. Try wringing your leg. 3. Place your feet firm on the ground. Move your right foot so that your right leg wraps around your left leg. Continue this upward so that you are wringing your full body as if it were a wet towel. Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

Gliding: direct, sustained, light 1. Imagine your hand is an airplane. Allow it to glide through the air, tranquilly. Add your arm to the action. Add your feet so that your hand is carrying your body around the room. 2. Lie down on the floor with knees bent and soles of your feet firmly on the floor. Let your feet glide on the ground. Keep them in contact with the floor. 3. Try gliding to a standing position. How might a glider get off the floor? What is your pace? Keep it direct, sustained and light. Thrusting: (Punching): direct, sudden, strong 1. Imagine you are facing an enemy. Punch them in their face with your fist. Try it again. Be specific with where your target is. Try it again reinforcing the direct, sudden and strong movement. 2. Punch with your elbows. Your knees. Your head, your hips and your chest. 3. Lie down on the floor and raise your feet. Punch the air with your feet, your legs. Come to a standing position in a punch like move. Floating: flexible, sustained, light 1. Try leaping in the air. What would happen if you could slow down that leap and elongate the moment after the take off and before the descent. This is the float. 2. Try floating downward to a sitting position. 3. Keep your energy high, forward and outward, try floating around the room. Slashing: flexible, sudden, strong 1. Try imagining you have a sword in your right hand. Slash down from your upper right side to your lower left side. Let your arm lead the effort. Switch sides. 2. Slash both your arms in different directions. 3. Try slashing with your legs. Your torso. Your head. Dabbing: direct, sudden, light 1. Imagine you have a computer in front of you. Dab at the keys to type something out. 2. Imagine you are a painter and you have made a mistake on your canvas. Use the dabbing movement to clean the canvas with a cloth and water. 3. Try walking. How would a “Dabber” move around a space? Keep it direct, sudden and light. Flicking: flexible, sudden, light: Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

1. Imagine a fly on your shirt, flick it away by twisting your wrist and fingers. 2. Flick every part of your kinesphere. High, low, medium. Behind, forward, sideways. 3. Try the flicking movements with a voice or sound. _______________________________________________ Bibliography Books Hutchinson, A. (1977) Labanotation: the system of analyzing and recording movement. Theatre Arts Books, Third Edition. Kail, A. (2007) Laban Movement Analysis. In Dance Teacher. March. Laban, R. (1950) Mastery of Movement on the Stage. McCaw, D. (2011) (ed). The Laban Sourcebook. Routledge. Newlove, J. (1993) Laban for Actors and Dancers. Nick Hern Books. Panet, B and McHardy, F. (2009) Essential Acting: a practical handbook for actors, teachers and directors. Routledge. DVD Taylor, B. (1989) The Eight Effort Actions. University of Winnepeg, Theatre Department. Insight Media. Online http://www.limsonline.org/ Laban Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies _______________________________________________ Practitionerʼs pathway I was first introduced to Laban Movement Analysis as an undergraduate BFA actor at California Institute of the Arts. I had trouble with focus and concentration and though Tai Chi Chuan helped a lot in that area, Laban Movement Analysis gave me Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

focus and concentration when it came to putting actions to my characterʼs objectives. I forgot about Laban for a while and did not use it with my students when I began teaching High School Theatre a few years later at Cairo American College in Egypt and later at Associacao Escola Graduada (Graded School in Sao Paulo, Basil). I was re-introduced to Laban years later when I was doing graduate work at New York Universityʼs Tisch School of the Arts. I was astounded at the ease with which I picked the work back up and began using it in my own rehearsals. I wasnʼt teaching at the time so I was able to really focus on how I used Laban Movement Analysis as an actor. I loved the Eight Effort Actions and began to devise characters using the Effort as my stimuli. Fortunately I was offered a university position right out of NYU at the University of Montana and in my Acting classes I introduced Laban to my young students as a way to help physicalize objectives. I spent a lot of time during the next several years directing a variety of plays from contemporary plays such as The Tectonic Theatre Projectʼs Laramie Project and Proof to Lorca and Classical pieces. As a director I used Laban to help guide the actors toward character and also as a tool in the rehearsal process to explore movement alongside character. I eventually took time off from teaching in the US and returned abroad, this time to India where I taught at the American School of Bombay, Mumbai University and a new conservatory established for actors hoping to crack the Bollywood code. Here I used Laban with all three groups to provide specificity to movement on the stage. A discussion and exploration of Direct versus Indirect movement for example can help focus an actor and offer a stage presence to their work. A study of Strong versus Light can bring an awareness to the performer with regard to how much weight they spend on various activities. I have found it invaluable to spend an entire unit of a Theatre course exploring Laban with students. Not only does it offer a vocabulary for moving but it helps actors experiment with characters in a specific way. Middle and High School actors often are uncomfortable in their own bodies and find it difficult to incorporate their bodies into their roles, often using only voice to interpret character. LMA can bolster their physical confidence, offer ideas about individual characters movements and as mentioned earlier help them understand how objectives lead to physicalized movement actions. In my high school classes I have taught three-four week Laban units that culminated in a devised performance before an audience. On the university level in both undergraduate and graduate classes I have covered Labanʼs work in tandem with theatre productions to assist actors as they interpret and build a role in plays. In a middle school workshop on Commedia I used the Eight Basic Effort to help students physicalize specific characters (Il Capitano for example is a “Slasher.”) This summer I will be offering a workshop on how LMA can be used with Kabuki and Kathakali, two codified Asian Theatre practices. In other words LMA can be studied on its own as a discrete unit or lesson, or it can be used to bolster Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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TaPS Master Class Resource Pack

an actorʼs process in productions. The permutations are endless and the work fun, interesting and incredibly useful. I have resumed my career at the University of Montana as the Professor of Physical Theatre. I consider Laban Movement Analysis invaluable to any actor and continue to use them in my classes, acting and directing work. _______________________________________________

Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor © Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong

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