Use of bodies, objects
This section is about using bodies and objects in space to create meaning.
Space can be used to communicate ideas in a variety of ways. Consider:
- the overall size of the performance space
- whether that space is differentiated in any way, including through use of levels
- what parts of the overall space the actors do, or do not, go into
- what kind of distance or closeness the actors maintain with each other
- the relationship between people and objects in the performance space.
The actors use techniques such as facial expression, gesture, stance, and movement in the performance space to explore and suggest ideas about the drama’s events (the action), the people (roles), and their relationships. The purpose of a particular technique may be to draw attention to an aspect of character or to underscore an important idea or moment in a relationship.
The images on poster 4 illustrate some ways in which bodies and objects can be used to create meaning in the dramatic space.
Image 1
In image 1, a large group of characters stand or sit at the upper perimeter of a circular stage, all focusing on the character lying in the middle of the circular area. The lighting also directs the audience’s focus onto this character. The audience is clustered around the circular performance space, which invites a sense of involvement.
Images 2 and 3
In images 2 and 3, the stylised cabbage tree and hill slope are placed in opposition to a domestic interior structure (a colonial cottage of the 1870s). These two areas can be used variably to represent the very different worlds of Māori and Pākehā investigated in Stephen Sinclair’s play The Bellbird.
Image 4
Image 4 (Niu Sila by Oscar Kightley and Dave Armstrong) shows the actors using two chairs to establish particular spaces and settings. For example, together, the two chairs can represent a car; apart, they might stand for two houses, and so on. The actors move to the foreground and background, stand and sit, keep their arms folded or open, and focus their eyes away from or towards each other to suggest different viewpoints or moments of intensity in the drama.
Image 5
Image 5, poster 4
Image 5 transposes Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew into a twentieth century setting. The kneeling and standing watchers with tennis rackets to the back of the stage (use of space and levels) and the positioning of the actors to the front (particularly their body stance and the way they place their arms) suggest a dapper upper-class setting in the 1930s as well as underlining the idea of the game being played out between Petruchio and Kate.
Image 6
Image 6, poster 4
In image 6, the students use landscape objects to create the ship where their pirate drama takes place. The big tree and the steps to the back both frame and elevate the captain to show her importance. The captain indicates the large size of this ship’s wheel by her arm span. The railings are used to define the limits of the boat and where the sea begins. They also to give meaning to the role of the lookouts by elevating them as they gaze through imaginary telescopes or stare out to sea. In contrast, the ship’s boy looks downwards as he holds the imaginary mop he will use to swab the decks.
Image 10
Image 10, poster 4
In image 10, the students and teacher have used paint (the visual arts) to transform a simple cardboard box into a house. Given limited classroom space, the focus here is on representation and symbol rather than true functionality. The painted house, together with the animal masks and simple positioning (front/back, levels), help to establish place and roles.
Image 11
The actor in image 11 is very close to the watching students and low to the ground, inviting his young audience to join in with the action. He uses his body to suggest his character.
Image 8
In image 8, the children have used a table and blanket to make a hut, which could be whatever they imagine: a tent, a cave, or a hideout of some kind.
Using bodies in horizontal and vertical space in a process drama to create meaning is discussed in the level 3 exemplar Gargoyles.