Lesson

For this lesson, we used the exercises of a theatre practitioner, Michael Alfreds. Here are some of the exercises we did:

Impro Tag
We got into partners for this and this was an improvisation exercise. The rules were that each time Caroline (our teacher) clapped, we had to change the circumstance, characters and relationship. I was working with Sophie and the clapping was very frequent so once we got into a scene, we immediately had to change it. This wasn't very helpful because we didn't get to build anything and play around with what we had because at times we had something very interesting to work with. This exercise is good if you want to think on the spot and see how well you can come up with new situations and keep the energy up.

Given Circumstances
We got into new pairs and labelled ourselves A and B. A stayed in the room and B went outside. A had to think of a scenario and when B walked in, the improvisation started and A would immediately begin and B had to pick up on it and cooperate until the exercise was over. I was working with Cassie and I was a police officer questioning her about a murder that took place in her office building whilst there was nobody else in the building but her. I think the exercise was beneficial and slightly enjoyable because we got to play along with that and with improvisations you can't say "no" to what people are offering you, you have to go along with it and you can end up anywhere.

These two exercises would be useful in helping me find my character because if we did these improvisations but as our characters in situations that had nothing to do with Our Country's Good, we would find out more about our characters and how they react in different situations.