Context and Process
You may be reading our brief on the Work on the Self programme, possibly wondering about the process and research behind our work. What differentiates this work from other self-development or actor training programmes? What “methods” do we employ in the training space, so that each participant learns something new about themselves each time, and consequently grows as a human being?
I am Darryl, the principal trainer for this programme and my MA research is on Jerzy Grotowski’s work and how the actor, with the guide of the director-facilitator, can grow towards a fuller and more wholesome self. The work on the self in Split Theatre is hence inspired by the principles of the work on oneself in Konstantin Stanislavsky and Grotowski’s theatre, where the work is not merely about training actors for the stage, but also about developing participants as human beings. It is simply about self-development. How can we work towards uncovering aspects of ourselves that we do not know or would rather not face? How can we then learn to resign and to accept our fallibility as human beings, so that we can relate wholeheartedly to another?
Participants will begin the programme by responding to a given text via improvisation. Each participant will physicalise and/or vocalise a personal story, such that a score is formed. The definition of a score is a series of actions/words/sounds, where each action/utterance is mapped unto an association of a memory. Here is an example of a score:
1 - Action: Walk five steps forward - Association: A memory of myself approaching a person’s door. It was a time when I was trying to reconcile with a particular person but I had failed to reach the reconciliation I had wanted.
2 - Action: Reaching outwards with my elbows, alternating from left to right - repeat - Association: The feeling of camaraderie that I used to have with the specific person.
3 - Action: Right hand begins to stretch towards my left, to the extent that I feel a strain in my body because of the twist - Association: A sensation of passing a rugby ball to that specific person. That person was my team mate.
4 - Action: I continue the stretch until I have no choice but to fall flat onto the ground - Association: A missed catch of the ball - I remember the times when I was held responsible for the losses of the team.
And so on…
After fixing a score, each participant will then be guided towards new realisations of their own about their personal stories, and in this respect, they grow in their understanding of their memories and of themselves. Realisations happen when the initial association transforms. At times, new details may surface, or the participant may begin to see the same details differently. For instance, during step 1 of the sample score above, the participant may pause at their third step because of a new association that suddenly comes to mind: “Someone had warned me not to proceed to the door. When the door remained closed, I felt alone, but the new person who came in was a reminder that I was not alone at that point in time.” Such is an example of a possible realisation that may take place during the programme, resulting in a change of outlook, emotion, demeanour, or frame of mind.
Note that all parts of the programme will be facilitated, so no prior performing experience is necessary.
There are two main objectives that our programme aims to achieve:
Participants will grow to have a stronger mind-body connection. If one remains too “in their head", the thinking will not be integrated with the doing/moving/uttering, and one’s personal score will not be successful formed. In real life, the mind-body divide can cause one to feel conflicted and not at-one with one’s self. Through exercises and activities, this programme will help participants integrate their minds and bodies, so that they can not only create a personal score for revelation and growth during the programme, but when they leave the training space, they will also learn how to commit to and to do things wholeheartedly.
Participants will learn to “open themselves up” and to relate wholeheartedly to another, such that they can grow as a result of that strong relation with others. Through exercises and activities, participants learn to act/move/speak in relation to others, instead of constantly looking inward or at the self. As a result, participants open themselves up to allow other participants’ actions/utterances affect their own doing/moving/uttering, possibly causing a change or development in one’s own association/s. This happens often in real life: a runner during the final stretch of a marathon can open the self up to the cheers of spectators and allow the self to consequently run faster with the consequently increased adrenaline level, though the same runner can choose to close up and to ignore the cheers, and consequently disallow the cheers to affect one’s self. This programme aims to help participants open up in this manner, so that we can grow as a result of our relation to others in society. What will you choose today?
Here are some questions that we will be exploring:
How can we uncover and discover our unique place in society?
What does it mean to give entirely and not hold back, to open up and not close in on oneself?
What are the possibilities of the gifting of one’s self without anticipating an exchange?
How can we resign to not rejecting parts of ourselves, even those seemingly ‘ugly’ parts, so that we can feel more integrated and whole as a person?
How can we then give wholeheartedly to another, so that in relating, we ourselves grow as well?
If you are interested to find out more about the specifics of the process and the programme, continue reading about the experiences of the director-facilitator (myself) and of the participants from the first batch of our WOTS programme. And once you’re ready, join us for the next run and get ready to learn, to grow, and to become a more wholesome actor and/or human being. We hold trial sessions occasionally, so do look out for them!
This work is about growth, and it is about crafting and uncovering our own personal truth. The participants from the first batch have described it as a form of salvation, as insightful, eye-opening, revealing, and that it provides companionship and is fun. How would you describe it?
