Beyond the Dot Book
This workshop is for Pageantry/Marching Arts performers and instructors. The sessions are a reminder in our activity, Designers, Caption Heads, Techs and Performers are all storytellers! Telling stories in the phrases we write… the measures we teach and in the dots we clean, and as performers, we tell stories through expressive qualities in our movement, staging, and playing. If we are doing it right, whether it’s a literal story of Boy-Meets-Girl, Boy-Loses Girl, Boy -Get-Girl Back, or it’s an abstract representation of sun flares… it’s storytelling.
“Beyond the Dot Book”
Not just the “What and the How”…but also the “Why?”
How do we get beyond the “dot book”, the notes on the page…the places in space. We are all familiar with what happens through repetition…”Muscle Memory”
“ When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems.”
Now that process has and still does serve us well in an environment where precision and accuracy are paramount, but how do we create an emotional, expressive quality to that purely physical act of developing muscle memory?
Over the past few years, I have been exploring ways to provide pageantry students the tools to bring spontaneity to their performance by exploring theater improvisation, character development, and creation of a narrative/subtext to enhance their performance.
The workshop is divided into 3 areas;
Performance & Improvisation Workshop
Improv games and exercises are designed to have the students experience risk-taking, team building, and “freeing up” performance.
Character Development through creation of history, environment, and character motivation….character traits.
Creating a Narrative where students will explore subtext for both literal and abstract storytelling. Students learn how to apply a narrative to their particular program.