Latest / The Imperfect Impulse w/Bree O'Connor / S 2 Ep 19: The Squelched Impulse

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S 2 Ep 19: The Squelched Impulse · The Imperfect Impulse w/Bree O'Connor

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SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Imperfect Impulse with Brie O'Connor.
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SPEAKER_00: This is your host, Brie O'Connor.
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I am hoping that the fifth time is a charm because I have been
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interrupted four
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SPEAKER_00: times previous to this recording and I've had to start all over again.
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SPEAKER_00: Welcome to life in Brooklyn.
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It is a kind of a gloomy,
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rainy day after two gorgeous 60 plus degree days after a long
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winter.
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SPEAKER_00: So I'm feeling a little bit of a whiplash from the weather.
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That in mind,
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I've decided that today I want to talk about one of my favorite
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things.
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SPEAKER_00: The squelched impulse.
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SPEAKER_00: I've called it other things.
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SPEAKER_00: I've called it the negated or the censored impulse.
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SPEAKER_00: Although I feel as gross of a word as squelch is,
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I think it really encapsulates the experience of an impulse
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that hasn't had its
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SPEAKER_00: full growth or full expression.
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SPEAKER_00: Now let me tell you how I
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came by my ideas on this concept I'm sure we on its face a
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squelched impulse seems
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pretty obvious right how I've come to think about this this
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issue is through two
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years of sitting in a chair okay not two years straight
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actually it was for a few
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SPEAKER_00: hours a week in Jacqueline Brooks's acting technique class at
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SPEAKER_00: Circle in the Square Theater School.
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SPEAKER_00: This exercise involves two people,
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SPEAKER_00: person A and person B.
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SPEAKER_00: Person A is,
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SPEAKER_00: and I use this in quotes,
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SPEAKER_00: the actor,
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SPEAKER_00: because the person B is not,
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SPEAKER_00: not an actor.
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SPEAKER_00: It's just their, their job is different in this context.
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SPEAKER_00: So person A, their job is to
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SPEAKER_00: Sit in a chair and during the first part of the exercise,
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SPEAKER_00: they're supposed to come to as close of a relaxed,
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SPEAKER_00: neutral state as possible.
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SPEAKER_00: They put their feet flat on the floor,
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SPEAKER_00: rest their hands on their thighs,
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sit upright in the chair in a fully supported position using
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their skeleton to
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SPEAKER_00: support them.
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SPEAKER_00: Most people choose to close their eyes because it's difficult to maintain
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consistent neutrality and relaxation when you're bombarded with
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visual stimulus.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's a whole other practice.
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SPEAKER_00: But in this particular exercise, most people close their eyes.
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SPEAKER_00: But I guess technically you don't have to.
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SPEAKER_00: Person A.
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SPEAKER_00: Does a self-body scan,
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goes through their entire body to think about where there might
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be holding tension,
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SPEAKER_00: where they have extra energy,
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SPEAKER_00: do they feel like fidgeting?
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SPEAKER_00: And they breathe and try to release that energy, okay?
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So that they can come to a place of neutrality and acceptance
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of whatever is going
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SPEAKER_00: to come to them in the moment.
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SPEAKER_00: Now while this is happening person B's job is to be attentive.
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Their job is to look for where their partner is holding and
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draw attention to that fact.
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SPEAKER_00: Usually there's a negotiation that happens between the two partners.
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Sometimes all partner B needs to do is say your forehead and
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then person A knows oh I am
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SPEAKER_00: I'm habitually holding some tension in my forehead.
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SPEAKER_00: Or sometimes touch is more effective.
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SPEAKER_00: That depends upon the partnership.
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SPEAKER_00: You know,
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SPEAKER_00: if your forehead is holding tension,
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SPEAKER_00: to just run a little finger or tap the forehead so the actor knows,
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SPEAKER_00: oh,
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SPEAKER_00: that's a place I need to relax.
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SPEAKER_00: Even while we're focusing on that relaxation as person A, sometimes we're
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We so habitually carry tension in one part of the body or the
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other that we don't
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SPEAKER_00: notice when we're holding because we're always holding there.
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SPEAKER_00: If you have nothing to compare it to,
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SPEAKER_00: you may not recognize that that's where you're hiding tension.
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SPEAKER_00: So that's person B's job.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's person B's job throughout the entire exercise.
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SPEAKER_00: Person A has a bit more heavy lifting to do.
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After the relaxation,
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the person A is brought into an exploration of some kind.
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SPEAKER_00: That could be of an all-over body sensation, like hot, cold, cold.
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SPEAKER_00: floating,
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SPEAKER_00: heavy,
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SPEAKER_00: or they are prompted to discover a room inside their minds,
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SPEAKER_00: a room that they know,
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SPEAKER_00: explore the room and find an object that calls to them.
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SPEAKER_00: And then they spend some time with that object.
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Oftentimes the actor is compelled to pick up or hold or explore
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that item in their
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SPEAKER_00: mind using their hands to
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SPEAKER_00: Now this is not for any performative sense.
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This is not so that they can convey the object to anyone else
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in the room.
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This is for their sensorial benefit so they can get a sense of
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the temperature,
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SPEAKER_00: the weight,
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SPEAKER_00: all of the sensory input from that item that will help them process
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SPEAKER_00: physical memory about that item.
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Most people are surprised about the room that comes to mind and
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are surprised by
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SPEAKER_00: the object they find.
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One time I did the exercise and I found myself in my childhood
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bedroom exploring a
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SPEAKER_00: pink rug that I forgot I had.
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SPEAKER_00: I hadn't thought about that rug in over 20 years.
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SPEAKER_00: I had no reason to think about that rug but
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SPEAKER_00: It brought up so many memories and it was such a fascinating experience.
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SPEAKER_00: Now,
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SPEAKER_00: as you're being filled with this sensory input,
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SPEAKER_00: then your next job is to apply where you are in that moment,
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SPEAKER_00: whatever that experience brings up for you,
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SPEAKER_00: you apply that to a memorized text.
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SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that emotional state
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SPEAKER_00: does not support the circumstances of the text that you're working on.
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SPEAKER_00: But that's not the point.
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The point is to explore what different notes that that
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experience might bring to your text.
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And there's a load of lessons involved in that that I could
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probably get into on another date.
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SPEAKER_00: But just to mention it quickly, that
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SPEAKER_00: Number one,
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SPEAKER_00: the takeaway is,
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is that you can start somewhere emotionally that you did not
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intend to be and find
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yourself grounded in the text with a brand new flavor that you
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had not had before.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's
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that's instructive because we come to text all the time with
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baggage from our day
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SPEAKER_00: that does not fit the circumstances of the play.
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And it's so interesting to see how you can bring all of
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yourself to the text in a
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relaxed state and find new colors and also find the
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circumstances of the text.
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SPEAKER_00: It can be really informative.
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SPEAKER_00: Also really kind of comforting to
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SPEAKER_00: To know that you can have the worst day ever and be in the midst of,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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deep sadness or deep grief and still find joy or laughter or
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absolute silliness if
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you approach your work from a relaxed place and a relaxed and
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accepting place.
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SPEAKER_00: That's a lovely little message about person A's experience.
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SPEAKER_00: Now what I really want to get into is person B's experience.
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SPEAKER_00: This has been the best director training I have ever received.
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SPEAKER_00: I don't know if it was necessarily intended this way,
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but I use this knowledge of having closely observed energy and
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tension in actors
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SPEAKER_00: for two years.
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SPEAKER_00: It has served me well as a director,
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and I think ultimately actors feel comfortable with me because
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I approach my
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SPEAKER_00: directing from an actor's perspective,
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SPEAKER_00: but also because actors
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I'm able to recognize those kinds of tension and where the
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energy is in the body.
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And I'm able to use that information that they're giving me to
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help them explore the moment.
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SPEAKER_00: Now, let me go a little bit deeper into this.
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SPEAKER_00: This is where it gets complicated.
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SPEAKER_00: When you train yourself to notice impulse,
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SPEAKER_00: to notice where energy is kept in the body,
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SPEAKER_00: where there's extraneous energy,
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SPEAKER_00: where there is tension in the body,
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SPEAKER_00: then you can tell when an actor stops themselves.
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SPEAKER_00: Ah, why does an actor stop themselves?
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SPEAKER_00: Oh, there's loads of reasons.
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So let's try and go through a few of them and how this
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knowledge can inform your
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SPEAKER_00: choices as a director.
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SPEAKER_00: So for example, let's say
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You are on your feet for the first time with the text and
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you're figuring out blocking.
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You're figuring out where things are in this space that is
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supposed to be familiar
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SPEAKER_00: to the characters,
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SPEAKER_00: but it's brand new to the actors.
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SPEAKER_00: And the stage directions,
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we can get into whether or not you need to use stage directions
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as the word of God
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SPEAKER_00: or not another day.
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But let's say that the stage directions are explicit that actor
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A moves closer to
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SPEAKER_00: actor B,
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SPEAKER_00: perhaps in an intimate gesture.
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SPEAKER_00: They approach them for an embrace or something to that effect.
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SPEAKER_00: But actor A has the opposite impulse.
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actor A wants to walk away and they can't quite reconcile why
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they want to walk
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SPEAKER_00: away,
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but they have an overwhelming impulse and you see that energy
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in the body.
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SPEAKER_00: So when there's that energy in the body and they want to walk away,
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SPEAKER_00: but the text says they need to go in for an embrace,
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SPEAKER_00: that is something that you need to sit down and work out together.
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SPEAKER_00: Now,
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I'm going to caution you here because the the correct and I
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used that word with
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some hesitation the correct thing is to say that the text needs
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you to go in for an
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embrace so suck it up go in for an embrace and I don't care how
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you get there just
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get there meanwhile I find myself curious about that squelched
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impulse what is it
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SPEAKER_00: that made you want to walk away
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Is it because the other actor is doing something that is
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signaling danger to your
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SPEAKER_00: body and you don't feel like you can tolerate that kind of closeness?
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SPEAKER_00: Okay.
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SPEAKER_00: In which case,
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the other actors should really also be in tune with how their
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behavior is not
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SPEAKER_00: working.
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SPEAKER_00: It's not having the desired effect on the other character.
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SPEAKER_00: And when you can get them to work together,
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to find a different tactic from that character so that either
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the other actor feels
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SPEAKER_00: compelled to approach that person and fulfill the needs of the text.
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SPEAKER_00: Or maybe there's another interesting option here.
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SPEAKER_00: What if the impulse isn't revulsion?
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SPEAKER_00: What if it's I'm teasing you and I want you to follow me?
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SPEAKER_00: What does that do to the scene?
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SPEAKER_00: What if there's another energy?
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SPEAKER_00: What if it's like, I want to take you to the bedroom.
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SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
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SPEAKER_00: Okay,
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SPEAKER_00: so if you follow through with that impulse,
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SPEAKER_00: you end the scene if you end up taking them off.
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SPEAKER_00: But the impulse is not necessarily wrong.
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SPEAKER_00: There may be...
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SPEAKER_00: there may be the right emotional framework,
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but making it work so that it works for these specific actors
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in this specific
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SPEAKER_00: scene is where the magic happens.
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SPEAKER_00: It's where the choices happen that are a little bit idiosyncratic.
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SPEAKER_00: It's where
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SPEAKER_00: layered choices happen.
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SPEAKER_00: I can give you another example.
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If you have a scene where you anticipate the character is going
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to cry and it even
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SPEAKER_00: says,
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SPEAKER_00: this character cries.
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Usually it's like,
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well,
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we got to think of our dead dog or whatever to make us sad.
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SPEAKER_00: I find that substitutions can be useful in this moment is like that.
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SPEAKER_00: And it helps me intellectually wrap my mind around this situation.
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But it removes me from the moment if I have to pile
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substitution upon substitution
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SPEAKER_00: upon substitution as an actor.
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I think it's helpful in the early stages when I'm just crafting
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or trying to figure
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SPEAKER_00: out what the emotional life of the character is.
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SPEAKER_00: But in practice,
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I'd rather be there with my acting partner in the space that
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that character lives
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SPEAKER_00: in.
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I want to be in that moment,
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not constantly setting trigger points for emotional moments.
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SPEAKER_00: emotionally crafted moments in my brain.
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SPEAKER_00: I'd much rather live truthfully in the circumstances.
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SPEAKER_00: So it's better to say,
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SPEAKER_00: okay,
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SPEAKER_00: in this moment that the text is implying that there's a sadness here,
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SPEAKER_00: that there is some grief,
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SPEAKER_00: something acting on my body that makes me cry.
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SPEAKER_00: But my impulse as an individual human being
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SPEAKER_00: is I want to stomp.
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SPEAKER_00: I want to bang on the table.
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SPEAKER_00: I want to scream.
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While that impulse may be right for me as a person,
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it may not be right for the character.
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So how do I bring that impulse into the circumstances so that
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the character and I
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SPEAKER_00: are in alignment with one another?
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SPEAKER_00: So let's go back to the source, right?
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SPEAKER_00: Let's go back to the source and say like, okay, so this makes me breathe.
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SPEAKER_00: you know, rageful.
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SPEAKER_00: But if I'm this character,
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maybe this character has circumstances in life where they can't
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express rage the
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SPEAKER_00: way that I can,
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SPEAKER_00: where they are unable to feel the full extent of their feelings.
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SPEAKER_00: So that rage comes out as grief and sadness to
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SPEAKER_00: hopelessness,
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SPEAKER_00: tears,
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a frustration at not being able to say what you need to say or
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do what you need to
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do because you're hemmed in by convention or obligation to one
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circumstance or
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SPEAKER_00: another.
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So knowing that that rage impulse exists puts a different color
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on those tears when
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SPEAKER_00: you reach them.
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SPEAKER_00: It puts a little extra fight in that character's backbone.
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SPEAKER_00: And that makes for a very dynamic character.
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SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't mean that you have to indulge the screaming,
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SPEAKER_00: but you have to bring the scream into your body.
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SPEAKER_00: If you ignore it,
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SPEAKER_00: and don't find a way to integrate it into that experience,
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you're going to find that your choices are often one note and
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they're feeling a
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SPEAKER_00: little bit lazy.
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SPEAKER_00: And that is useful information for you as an actor,
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SPEAKER_00: but as a director to be able to see,
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SPEAKER_00: oh,
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SPEAKER_00: wow,
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SPEAKER_00: that actor is carrying a lot of tension.
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SPEAKER_00: in their shoulders whenever they are in the room with that character.
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Okay,
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how does that impact how I navigate those physical choices in
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this space?
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How can I better help the actors integrate that information
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into their motivation
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and into their character so that it's usable moment to moment
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in the space?
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SPEAKER_00: It keeps them connected to themselves and to their characters.
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And that is ultimately where we always want to go as as theater
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artists is to find
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SPEAKER_00: ourselves right in that moment together.
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SPEAKER_00: So there, that's my favorite thing for the day.
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SPEAKER_00: I hope you found this helpful.
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Those of you who are interested in our memoir workshops,
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those are coming up rather quickly.
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SPEAKER_00: So
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Check our artist services page at playfulsubstance.com and find
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out about our
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SPEAKER_00: upcoming workshops and events.
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SPEAKER_00: And we'll talk to you next week on the Imperfect Impulse.