The Qualities of an Excellent One Person Show:
What you have to offer in a one-person show is yourself.
Therefore, I strongly support using this year to develop your best self. In
performance, there are several things that are especially important in presenting
your story effectively.
There are a number of exercises that we will focus on this
year to bring forth these qualities:
1) The
development of breath/ To speak on stage for an hour to an hour and a half is a
monumental task. To do this with possible costume changes, movement,
and/or in and out of different
characters takes an enormous amount of breath. This year, outside of the class,
I suggest long walks/hikes, meditation and working out as part of your year
long training.
2) Focus/
Focus brings clarity to your work, both in the writing and delivery. Focus is
developed through discipline. Remember that the word discipline comes from the
same root as disciple. You are devoting yourself to a creative and
transformational process that is sustained through joyful effort and
practice. Again, long walks and
meditation develop this quality. So does a writing practice that is regular and
sustained.
3) Authenticity/
This is the quality that will bring meaning to your show and fascination to
your audience. Authenticity has many different faces. It can be humorous, it
can be sad, it can be angry or loving. It can be anything. It can be felt by
others and it cannot be faked. The way authenticity has the invitation to
emerge in your work is through your willingness to take emotional risks,
willingness to be vulnerable, drop your ego, be willing to look foolish or
fail. Authenticity does not have all the answers. It is not preachy or
dogmatic. As a matter of fact, those are masks to keep authenticity at bay.
Authenticity is our humanness expressed. Authenticity is the heart of this
process. It is what I will be supporting in your writing, your performance,
your movement, your characters, your voice. Authenticity is powerful. It’s
scary. It makes us cry and gives us goose bumps. We will recognize it in one
another. It will take each of you in fresh directions that only you could go.
It is at once, unique and individual-no one else can express your authenticity,
yet it will bind you to other people through their heart/soul recognition. It
is my definition of intimacy.
4)Presence/ Presence is the
energy you bring to this process. The stronger the individual’s presence, the more connected they are with
their Inner Self. This can mean their creativity/Divinity and confidence.
Presence is something that can also be developed through breath, walks, writing
and the daily practice of authenticity. Are you authentic in your life? Do you
risk saying what you mean, even at the risk of “hurting” someone’s feelings? Do
you believe that you have the right to take up space? That your voice deserves
to be heard?
I have a friend and I’ve picked up on the fact that she lied
to me twice about a few really silly things. One time, she made up an elaborate
excuse about why she had been twenty minutes late for an appointment with me. I
could feel her lie in my body and I watched her presence noticeably drain from
her. I mention this because an audience will pick up on anything in you that
does not have your full presence in it. In your daily life, do you drain your
presence through any of the following things: lying because you are embarrassed
of making a mistake, getting edgy over minor things in your life, not drinking
enough water, not exercising, stuffing your feelings through overeating,
drinking or smoking. Do you drain your energy/presence by not saying “no” to
toxic people, toxic environments, or over committing? If so, I would like for
you to write on any of the topics that pertain to you. Examine why you do this
and please check in with us as a group as you work away from negative/draining
choices and move into a deeper sense and fuller commitment to your unique and
beautiful presence. The more you allow presence into your life, the more it
will spill over into your writing and your creativity. You will have higher
levels of inspiration come to your work and it will come with more ease.
5)Stamina/ Strength/ Again, this is about sustaining energy
onstage. Energy is communicated in subtle and overt ways. It is carried through
the voice, eyes, body, in movement and in stillness.
6) Commitment/
Commitment is the performer’s great asset. Commitment covey’s and manifests all
the previous intentions. Commitment means you’re “going for it.” Commitment in
your performance means that no obstacle or perceived weakness will stop you. You
put your all into each moment onstage. You give yourself over to your story,
and to your character’s. Your commitment is what brings structure so the magic
can emerge. Think about all the great actors you have seen in your life. For
me, it was Richard Burton in “Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf”, Dustin Hoffman in
“Midnight Cowboy” and “Kramer vs.Kramer”,
Meryl Streep in “Sophies Choice”, John Leguizamo in “Freak” and thousands
of other great performances. Martin Luther King and JFK were great speakers
because they had commitment to their ideas and communicated them passionately.
Richard Pryor and John Lennon had commitment, not only genius. Great actors
have total commitment to their characters. They are committed to their voice,
their walk , their CHOICES. Whether you are doing a show where the only
“character” is you or you are incorporating other “characters” from your life
or imagination/inspiration, commitment is crucial to the realization of your
intent.
Technically a great show will have the writer/performer in a
state of high, yet focused energy, there will be a lot of eye contact with the
audience, the performer will be easily heard (volume and breath), relaxed,
surrendered and having a great time being on stage. There will be a joy in the
expression/communication/laughter/emotion/soul that is being given and received
by performer and audience member. The script will be engaging, coherent and
easy to understand. It will be dynamic and have a beginning ,middle and end. It
will have a central theme even if it goes off on secondary themes or character
tangents. There is safety in structure, as well as great freedom.
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