Action Theater It’s an improvisational physical theater training and performance method created by Ruth Zaporah The practice of Action Theater incorporates the disciplined exploration of embodied exercises that lead to increased skills of strong, clear, spontaneous, and artful communication. Action Theater addresses and expands the vocabularies of expression includingmovement, vocali!ation, and speech. Action Theater is a tool to examine one"s perceptive and responsive process, bringing a#areness to and thereby disempo#ering distrac ting thou ghts of self obsessions, fears, $udgments and analysis. The exercises of Action Theater isolate the components of action % time, space, shape and energy %% so they can be examined, experienced, and altered in order to expand the expressive palette. &tudents increase their ability to hold and express emotion, dance #ith their o#n poetry and recover lost personal material. 'omposition, listening and relationship are deconstructed to be reassembled #ith greater a#areness. Acting from a sense of play, students are encouraged to venture into transpersonal real ms, accessing intel li gence more encompassi ng and boundless than their personal experience. A#areness and play are fundamental to the practice, as both are portals to spontaneous ima ginati on. (it hin this orientation, the student is no longer bound by the conventional interpr etations of reality. They are free to roam throughout the grand spectr um of possi bili ties, discovering #ho they are in the moment. )very exercise acts as a mirror, reflecting back to the student their patterns and flights of freedom. Actio n Theater is also a performance method, although many of the practiti oners come from other performance forms or #alks of life. *undamental to the practice of Action Theater is an embodied presence in performance, #here the experiencing of the body informs the content of the moment, moment by moment. *or exampleho# the hand, experiencing the hand, reaching for the glass is as important as reaching for the glass in order to drink from it. Intention is created simultaneously #ith action in the moment of performance. This a#areness in action inv ites the possib ili ties of fres hnes s int rin sic to imp rovisa tional per formance. The Act ion Theater method offers a map, a #ay to proceed. The trainings are appropriate for the novice, the explorer and the professional.
It’s an improvisational physical theater training and performance method created by RuthZaporah
The practice of Action Theater incorporates the disciplined exploration of embodied exercisesthat lead to increased skills of strong, clear, spontaneous, and artful communication.
Action Theater addresses and expands the vocabularies of expression including movement,vocali!ation, and speech. Action Theater is a tool to examine one"s perceptive and responsiveprocess, bringing a#areness to and thereby disempo#ering distracting thoughts of selfobsessions, fears, $udgments and analysis.
The exercises of Action Theater isolate the components of action % time, space, shape andenergy %% so they can be examined, experienced, and altered in order to expand the expressivepalette. &tudents increase their ability to hold and express emotion, dance #ith their o#n poetryand recover lost personal material. 'omposition, listening and relationship are deconstructed tobe reassembled #ith greater a#areness. Acting from a sense of play, students are encouraged
to venture into transpersonal realms, accessing intelligence more encompassing andboundless than their personal experience.A#areness and play are fundamental to the practice, as both are portals to spontaneousimagination. (ithin this orientation, the student is no longer bound by the conventionalinterpretations of reality. They are free to roam throughout the grand spectrum of possibilities,discovering #ho they are in the moment. )very exercise acts as a mirror, reflecting back to thestudent their patterns and flights of freedom.
Action Theater is also a performance method, although many of the practitioners come fromother performance forms or #alks of life. *undamental to the practice of Action Theater is anembodied presence in performance, #here the experiencing of the body informs the content ofthe moment, moment by moment. *or example ho# the hand, experiencing the hand, reachingfor the glass is as important as reaching for the glass in order to drink from it. Intention iscreated simultaneously #ith action in the moment of performance. This a#areness in actioninvites the possibilities of freshness intrinsic to improvisational performance. The ActionTheater method offers a map, a #ay to proceed. The trainings are appropriate for the novice,the explorer and the professional.
Action Theater is an improvisational training process that brings participants into the
present. Skills of movement, sound and language are honed and then integrated into acomplete expression of one's current experience. Over the years, my own performance intention has evolved. oncurrently, so has myteaching. !n the beginning, my professional work was separate from my daily life. ! wouldshift into roles that were seemingly unrelated. "owever, now ! experience them as being oneand the same process, One of #ction $heater's intentions is to detail perception by expanding awareness%to beaware of the energy and tension in the body, to let feelings and imagination connect with theconditions of the body and to become who we are at that moment, to meet ourselves fromthe inside out. Several times each year ! teach a three% or four%week training. !'m currently working on abook that describes one such training, each chapter representing one day. Simultaneously,and interactively, the book explores the nature of mind and behavior. $his article follows oneday of the training. A Night Drive: +right, glaring lights. Red. o red. Red. o red. (hite, al#ays #hite.&-uint. *ace crumbles. ry skin. Relax shoulder. /ift spine. (ipers 0tack%shooshoo%tack%tacktack%shooshoo%tack%tack1. Rain. (et air. Thought maybe small audience, too #et cold.+oyd, collapse, blood coursing, breath fast. 'hest tight. Turn key. 2uiet. 3ull hard handle.T#ist, turn. 3ull coat up. &nap door. &tep step step. 'oncrete over earth over rock over fire.'old metal. 3ull door. Ahh4 Theater. 'omfort. 2uiet. *amiliar protection. &oft muscles.+reathe even. +reathe. Audience chatter, muffled #ords, laughter. /arge living body. A pulse. 5ine.*ast. 6ery fast. +ody, small, hungry, contained fire energy. +lack curtain bet#een the stage
and me. 3ace, to the #indo#, to the curtain, to the #indo#, to the curtain. Tongue on lips.Already dry. *ear. Tight chest. 7and pulls at curtain. &tep, step, step to#ard small spot onstage. 7eart fast. +reathe. +reathe. 7ot body bursting open. &till. 7old still. &tay still.Thought o# is the time to die. ie4 To (ater. *all back back back. o#n into body. Intoflesh and evolution. 5outh, lips dra# back. 8pens. /aughter. 8ur mind has the capacity to, and, if allo#ed, does shift the ob$ect of its attention inirreverent #ays. (e can move from thought to feeling to sensation to imagining toremembering to sound to thought to taste to vision to thought and on and on. The less #econtrol, thereby inhibit, and the more #e #atch and listen, the freer our mind is to play #ithits vast assortment of stuff. 8n the other hand, #hen #e"re thinking about #hat to do next, #e"re missing out on thepresent moment. (e aren"t in our bodies, i.e., #e"re no longer a#are of the information
coming in through our senses. (e lose the present moment because our attention isfocused on the future one. (hen #e reach the future, our actions, thought up in the past, areno longer relevant. (hile #e #ere thinking, our environment changed. (e can only think up #hat is already familiar to us. If it is already familiar, then ouractions #ill lack freshness. (hat is freshness9 *resh material is material that comes as asurprise. It results from an exchange bet#een body, imagination and memory. There"s adirect link bet#een the three. If our attention is one the sensations of the body, thata#areness may elicit memory, feeling and imagination. It all happens at once, no particularstarting point. The practices of Action Theater offer a #ay to proceed that lead to this experience ofspontaneous expression. )xperience evolves. In the physical #orld, there"s continuous change. 'hange occurs at
speeds varying from lightning fast to leaves%turning%bro#n slo#. 8ften change strikes #ithout #arning. &ometimes it happens incrementally, step by step. And sometimes change
transpires so slo#ly that it looks like there"s been no change at all. &ince #e"re part of the physical #orld, #e"re continuously changing, too. (e change ourminds, #hat #e"re doing and ho# #e"re feeling. (e might change in an instant, shift fromone state or condition to another. It"s not al#ays apparent #hy. +ut there"s al#ays an innermotivation, a bridge that ties one experience to another. (hen #e change gradually, step by step, or evolve, #e transform. It"s apparent ho#one state or condition moves into another. It might appear that #e aren"t changing at all. In such cases, change proceeds subtly,under the surface. uring this type of change, by engaging #ith the action #e are already in, #e develop it. 5odes of change are :. Shift%stop the action and do something else 0either logically or illogically1. ;. Transform%change the action incrementally until it becomes something else. <. Develop%continue the action.(ithin this particular paradigm of change, there are no other choices. All events, actions,and situations either shift, transform or develop.
Imagine a situation #here all three modes of change occur at the same time. *orinstance, I am talking on the telephone #hile cooking oatmeal on the stove. uring thecourse of the conversation, my feelings gradually change. I move from contentment, step bystep 0transform1. The oatmeal gets too hot and threatens to burn. I stir more rapidly and, ina panic, I yank the pot from the stove 0shift1. All this #hile, I remain on the phone 0develop1.
Shift, transform and develop offer #ays to proceed that respond to a#areness ratherthan thought. All offer #ays to perceive and respond to change. 8n the particular day of thetraining described in this article, #e are focusing on the process of shifting.
*A//I= /)A6)&>R8'?
With Movement
Stand somewhere in the room. lose your eyes. &atch your breath. lace your attentionsomewhere in your body that specifically senses breath( the base of your nose, diaphragmor abdomen. Observe the experience of the breath as it comes in and goes out. &atch the pause between each breath.
!'m going to call our words to you that describe natural phenomena. )ou'll haveapproximately * to + minutes to explore each one. $hese phenomena -move- in a particular way. $hey timing, how they travel through space, their weight, shape and dynamicare peculiar to them. #s you imagine each phenomenon, explore movement within itsinherent ualities. /on't pantomime, or act out, or its inherent ualities. /on't pantomime, or
act out, or pretend that you are the phenomenon itself. 0reely explore motion within themovement uality the image evokes.
#s you are moving, allow whatever feelings, thoughts, attitudes or states of mind that comeinto your awareness to affect what you are doing%the tension of your body, expression on your face, ga5e of your eyes. /on't hold onto naything or make a story. 2et experiences
come and go as a constant flux. )our imagination responds freely to your body's actions. 6ow, !'ll be calling out the changes in erratic time increments. Rock. 0alling 2eaves. &hirlpool. 2ightning. $hunder. $ornado. 1lectricity. Rock. 1lectricity. Rock. 0alling leaves. Rock. 1lectricity. 3ud.
!n the next few moments, associate with one or two people in the room and continue toexplore these ualities but in relation to one another. )ou may both be moving with thesame uality, or different. 6ow your choices are responses not only to your inner impulsesbut your partner's behavior as well.
With Sound
#gain, ! will call out these nouns. 6ow, explore vocal sound and movement actions thathave the ualities you associate with the words you hear. 1xperience sound and movementas a single action. $hey start at the same time and stop at the same time. $hey carry thesame feeling and energy.
With Dialogue
Stand facing a partner and begin a conversation. #gain, ! will call out these nouns. &hen you hear them, assume the uality of energy in your body that these words suggest. /on'tadd any extra movement. Stand fairly still. $hese energies will affect your voice, feelings,attitudes and even the content of your language. #s you hear me say each new noun, shiftto the appropriate energy while maintaining the content of the conversation.
Falling Leaves/Roc is shift exercise. &tudents change abruptly from one psycho%physicalstate to another. This is not pantomime. To pantomime a rock, one might curl up in an oddlyshaped ball, lay on the floor and not move, thereby pretending to be something other thanoneself. In Falling Leaves/Roc, rather than going outside themselves to imitate a
phenomenon, students go inside themselves to find the various states of body%mindresonant #ith the -ualities of that phenomenon. *or instance, an inner -uality of @rockness@can manifest in a variety of #ays one can #alk #ith rock%like demeanor discuss friendship #ith an impersonal, analytical, steely, rock%like containment #ipe his>her bro# #ith a hard,cold, impenetrable rock%like demeanor discuss friendship #ith an impersonal, analytical,steely rock%like persona. 8ne might che# in time to leaves falling, talk about sleep in thundervoice or spin in circles #ith electric energy. These manifestations may range from theordinary and identifiable to un%nameable yet coherent mind%body states. At first, as students embody these energies, predictable feelings or states of mind arise.Thunder energy elicits rage electricity, madness leaves falling, peacefulness mud,sensuality lightning, aggression, etc. As students repeatedly play in these energies, themind states that are released from each energy form become less predictable and moresurprising, less nameable and more kno#able. /ater in this training, more practiced students are prepared to approach the ordinary #ith
extra%ordinary a#areness. Rather than hearing @rock@ as a limitation, they explore rock #ith amind open to sensation, feelings and imagination. @Rockness@ opens an avenue into hiddenpersonal realms, into the @rockness@ living inside. *rom this perspective, they explore theiro#n particular universe.
(e don"t use the #ord @character@ in Action Theater. &ometimes #e say @entity@ or@physical presence.@ 8r #e say @being.@ @'haracter@ is a confining concept. It asks us to besomeone other than #ho #e are. A someone that can be describes, @a cranky $udge,@ @abored #ife,@ a @hard%talking #aitress.@ Instead, #e manifest a vast array of entities, parts ofourselves that may be, up until then, hidden in our psyches. (e build upon the uncoveredcomponents to create @beings@ that are #hole and complete. In order to express ourselves in detail, #e must kno# and control our body and mind #emust become still and empty, a blank screen on #hich #e pro$ect the nature our psyches.The detailed perception that #e ac-uire through a#areness is reflected by detailedexpression. The follo#ing exercises lead students to#ard physical a#areness, a first stepto#ard controlling the body.
Shape
7o# do #e kno# our bodies9 As an instrument to perform daily tasks, such as picking upthings, moving from place to place, thro#ing, kicking and s-uee!ing. As a tender or tough #rapper to be protected and nourished, fed, covered up, rested, exercised and, on occasion,medicated or repaired. As a source of information, full of stories, mysteries and ancienttruths. And do #e kno# our bodies as an instrument of communication9 7o# a#are are #eof #hat it is saying9 o #e recogni!e its capability for infinite design and meaning9
S!A"# AL"!A$#T
I"m going to call out the letters of the alphabet, A through Z very -uickly. As you hear each
letter, form its shape #ith your body.
@A + ' ) * = 7 I B ? /CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC.Z@
o#, take a partner. Again, I"m going to call out the letter of the alphabet, and #ith your
partner, #ithout talking, and especially #ithout laughing, form the letters together. +oth of
your bodies forming one letter. 'oncentrate4
@A + ' ) * = 7 I B ? /CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC..Z@
Shape Alpha%et encourages students to see themselves from the outside. It helps themdetermine if their body shape reflects their intention 0in this case, making the letter A1. Also,
if it relates to their environment%their partner"s shape. (atching others and themselves, in
trial and error, trained the performer"s outside eye. They learn to make images that precisely
fit their experience. The small turn of a finger, tilt of the head, inversion of the foot, or the
glance of the eyes can completely alter the meaning of a shape. This kind of visual acuity,
creating images, is a basic performance skill.
Shape/Shape/Reshape
4et a new partner. A makes a shape, any shape. B makes a different shape and places it inrelation to A's shape. $hen A steps out of his7her shape and reshapes in relation to B's
&hen you have completed this exercise, have a chat with each other. /irector, tell the
actor how you experienced their range of feeling as well as action. &as there contrast< &as
the actor -connecting- to what they were doing<
Repeat this exercise, changing roles.
With Sound ) Movement
hange partners and repeat this seuence, but now, shift with sound and movement.
#gain, have a discussion and reverse roles.
With Language
hange partners again and repeat the seuence with verbal monologues, shifting both the
form =how the language articulates%timing, volume, sound uality, pitch, etc.> and the content=choice of words, sub;ect matter>. 0or now, don't concern yourself with movement. &hen
you hear -shift,- react to whatever comes into your awareness. Stay in your body, your
source of energy and information. Remember, you're out of your mind.
The director in this exercise is not a care%taker. Their $ob is not to pull the actor out of
tough situations. Their $ob is to facilitate the @stretching@ of the actor, even if that means the
actor s-uirms uncomfortable. &-uirming is a good thing. As good as anything else.
Dnfortunately, a person can get lost in s-uirming. They lose their a#areness, their
outside eye, and don"t even kno# they"re s-uirming. They $udge s-uirming as @bad.@ Then
they experience pain, any kind of pain that goes along #ith @doing bad.@ 'onverting s-uirming from a bad, uncomfortable thing into simply another thing takes
practice. A#areness has to be tuned. &ensations in all part of the mind and body need to be
noted #hat does s-uirming feel like9 7o# does it move9 +reathe9 (hat"s its timing,
tension9 (ith this a#areness, there"s no more s-uirming, $ut a particular condition that can"t
even be called anything. Dn%nameable yet kno#able.
Listening
&ay, @7o# are you9@ o# say, @7o# are you9 And listen to yourself. 'an you create a score
of the #ords #ith a line dra#ing9 If a line represents each #ord, #ould the melody and the
timing look like this, E ! E , or this, E E E E , or this ! E E 9 &ay, @7o# are you9@ #ith a
different meaning. (hat does the line look like no#9
The next time you talk on the telephone, have a pencil and paper ready to score the
sound of the language you hear. istance yourself from the content so that you can listen to
the sound #ithout interpretation. The content of #ords often clouds a#areness, leaving the
listener some#hat deaf, dumb and blind. &core the language as you hear it. )ach #ord may
give a rise or a drop or a stutter.
*rom a -uiet mind and body comes control, comes a#areness. A -uiet mind is a good
listener. It"s free from impediments such as personal agendas, preferences, criticisms, ideas,
opinions and thinking ahead. Bust as a -uiet mind listens, listening -uiets the mind.
!'ve set two chairs out. $wo people sit in the chairs, and two other people stand up behind
them. $he rest of us will be audience. $he two people sitting on the chairs will initiate
material. $he two people standing up will echo =repeat>. /uring the course of the exercise,
the initiators can each offer up to three lines, a line being a sentence or a phrase. 1ach oneof these lines must be radically different from one another%the voice uality, volume, pitch,
speed, content. Once initiated, the line can be repeated by the initiator as many times as
they want. !n addition, the initiators can choose to echo each other's lines. $he people
standing can only echo the lines that they've heard. $hey must echo them exactly. #ll of you
collaborate on the sound composition. 2isten to each other. lay off each other. )ou are a
chorus.
Reverse roles. $he two sitting, stand. $he two standing sit.
7ere students focus on the sound patterns of their language. o fancy techni-ues is
needed. o perfected voice. o years of training. They have all the e-uipment they needears and #illingness. They interact like $a!! musicians composing a score from the sounds
of everyday language.
(hen #e #ere children, #e changed our minds on a dime. (e #ere experts on change
and great shifters. (e"d cry one minute and laugh the next. (e"d take seriously #hat #as or
#asn"t serious, and #e @listened@ #ithout distraction to anything that called our attention. (e
believed in #hat #e #ere doing. That"s #hat shift is all about.
Zaporah, Ruth, @A (ay To 3roceed,@ 'ontact +uarterl, , *all :FF:, pp. :G%:H. This article
follo#s one day in a typical Action Theater training.
IMPROVISATION IN PERFORMANCE:a discussion with Barbara Dill!" Nanc! Star# S$ith and Ruth %a&orah
&n -ul,. 001. the Movement Studies "rogram of The Naropa &nstitute in $oulder. 'olorado. hosted aseries of seminars 2ith their summer facult,3 What follo2s is an e4cerpt from the panel discussion 2ith $ar%ara Dille, 5moderating6. and guest facult, Nanc, Star Smith and Ruth 7aporah3
$AR$ARA D&LL#8: I"d like to #elcome both these ladies, #ho have taught here at aropa before ancyfor many years and Ruth for the third time. I #ould like to ask them about the relationship bet#eenimprovisation and performance.
NAN'8 STAR9 SM&T!: Ruth and I had a really interesting discussion after our performance last year. (ereali!ed #e didn"t have the same assumptions about #hat it meant to improvise in performance. I think ithad something to do #ith autonomy, #ith the choices that you make as an improvisor in performance, and it
had to do #ith physical contact. &imone *orti #as also in the performance and she"s familiar #ith contactimprovisation, but also #ith physical contact in general in performance. (e had talked about a fe# rules #e #eren"t going to talk in the performance, and #e #eren"t going to get into physical contact, or #as itcontact improvisation9 (e immediately got into both. I don"t kno# it I can sum this up, but it had somethingto do #ith the ability to continue to make your o#n choices #hen you improvise #ith others, and #hen youmake physical contact #ith someone, in #hat #ay are you directing them or making them have to play yourgame. 7o# do you #ork #ith each other"s material9 (hen are going to far9 (hen are you makingdecisions for your partner9 (hen are you boxing them in9 And #hen are you too distant9 (hen are you $ust sort of not relating to each other9
$ar%ara: In the #ork I"ve been doing this summer I"ve thought a lot about this because I see it happening inany kind of improvisational situation. (hat is the commitment that people believe they have to make as
soon as they establish a relationship #ith someone in an improvisational environment9 (hat do #e bring tothat commitment that is extraneous, conventional, social and personal history... all those things come up forme. I think it really has to ve addressed because improvisational forms need to have a broader vocabulary.*or instance, #hen there is a strong contact improvisation vocabulary among a group of students, thattends to be #hat open improvisation becomes, because that is the most familiar vocabulary. I think thereare a lot of improvisational vocabularies and that there could be some goal of expanding the vocabularies.
Nanc,: Is an improvisational form a language9 7o# doe #e cross languages9 7o# do #e communicate #ith each other #hen>if #e"re #orking in a different language9 Ruth9
R*T! 7A"(RA!: I think that if you"re improvising #ith another person you"re in a relationship. (hatapplies to improvisational relationship is the same as applies to any relationship, no matter #hat the form of
exchange is. I see that there is a common language that #e all struggle #ith. Any of us #ho have been inrelationship kno# the struggles and the challenges that relationship presents to us. And those samechallenges present themselves to me if I am improvising a performance #ith another person. There"s a kindof relationship, that some of you might be familiar #ith, #here all the time that you"re together you"re talkingabout your relationship. 8r there"s another kind of relationship that is like carpenters building a house. 7erethey"re not arguing about #hat kind of nails to buy. Their focus is on building this house. It"s not about theirrelationship. They"re past that place already. The kind of improvisation that I like, that I have preference todo #ith other people, is #here it"s about building the house. It"s not about are #e gonna build it may #ay orare #e gonna build it your #ay.
$ar%ara: +ut #ouldn"t you had to have sat do#n and talked about #hat kind of house you #anted to buildbefore you started to build it9 If you are taking about protocol of relationship and improvisation, there has to
be some kind of social form. ou have to introduce one another and find out #hat you"re interested in andtry to articulate the kind of house you #ould like to build together.
Ruth: That can be. And sometimes you $ust #ing it and dive in. &ometimes I have dived in #ith people andit"s like a castle gets built. It"s about our mind energies kind of cooking. And at other times it"s about usnever getting a house built because #e"re al#ays blocking each other, countering each other, pulling stuffa#ay from each other, manipulating each other.
oice: If you"re both hired on to make a house and Ruth is an experienced #ood carpenter and everyhouse ancy has ever made she built out of stone, then there is a language problem. Then you need tomove back out of boards and move back out of stones and $ust move into putting things together letting goof the language of boards and letting go of the language of stones and finding a more primitive level.
Ruth: 'ould you not build a house of stone and board9 There"s something under the stone and the board #hich has to do #ith intention. If my intention is to be in control then I"m going to get stuck in the stone andboard routine. If my intention is to take #hatever resources are available in a positive and accepting #ay #ithout resistance, control, or manipulation, then #hatever resources are available end up building thiscra!y kind of house.
$ar%ara: I think that you have to have some conversationJset up some rehearsal environment. (hat is thecommon modality9 (hether it"s sitting%around%the%table%having%coffee rehearsal or #hether it"s actuallyspending months mushing around in the space and getting to the most difficult places of your self%consciousness or of your boredom or of your irritations, or #hatever, #ith the process, then moving beyondthat and having that as a basis for improvisational material.
Nanc,: the =rand Dnion dance>performance collective #as a great example of very different materialscoming to bear in a dance>theatre improvisational situation, #hich I en$oyed tremendously. In their #ork Isa# a lot of @blocking@ and @countering@ going on. I think #hen you have those difficulties it does drive youdo#n into #hat is more fundamentalJK(hat is performance9 (hat are you doing9", rather than KIs thisimprovised or isn"t this improvised".
oice: o you have a specific definition of improvisation9
Nanc,: There is a full spectrum. It isn"t one thing. )ven #hen you say Ktotally open improvisation", that"srelative. I mean, you"ve got your tools, you"ve got your assumptions, and you"ve got your setup. There aresome people #ho might make an improvised piece that has some very specific guidelines they"re going to #ork #ith this image for five minutes, then they"re going to shift to this, and then this person is going tocome in. They set up a structure of some kind, #hether it"s an idea, or a personnel structure of #ho"s goingto do #hat #ith #hom or #ho"s going to be #here and is there going to be music9 +esides that, they don"tkno# ho# they are going to #ork, #hat"s going to happen. )verything bet#een really set movement toutterly no plan. +ut you have all your history of your #ay of #orking. That"s a lot. I used to think that #hen I #ent out to do contact improvision that I didn"t kno# #hat #as going to happen. (ell, I didn"t kno# #hatdynamic #ould happen I didn"t kno# #hat kind of relationship #ould happen. +ut there #as a lot I did kno#
that I didn"t even reali!e I kne#, that I #as assuming.
Zaporah, Ruth, @Improvisation in 3erformance,@ 'ontact +uarterl, , &ummer>*all :FF;, pp. L<% LH, adiscussion bet#een Ruth Zaporah, ancy &tark &mith and +arbara illey. All masters in their o#n forms ofphysical performance, these three share some ideas.
So$ Nots on ContntFro$ an Action Theater trainin' in Roccatdri'hi" Ital!
$, Ruth 7aporah
I have taught close to fifty month%long trainings. 5aybe more. (ith each training I hope for insight, ne#ideas, but more important, excitement. I"m not yet prepared to hang up my hat, but I #ill #hen I begin toonly repeat myself. I"m intent on uncovering the keys to the machinery of improvisation. 7o# exactly does it #ork9 (hatdoes it run on, #hat fuels it9 o the concepts of efficiency, reality, authenticity apply9 In this #riting, I use the #ord @improvisation@ to refer to the form Action Theater. There are many formsof improvisation. )ach is compromised of different re-uests and intentions, rules and re-uirement. et eachalso is built upon the relationship bet#een a#areness, imagination and action. This past Bune, I taught a month training in Roccatederighi, Italy. I #ill share #ith you some insights thatI had #hile #orking there. They"re not ne# idea. +ut the #ay I hold them no# takes me even more directlyinto the intrigues of improvisation.
8n the t#elfth day of the training, I began to think about relationship. It seemed that the material of ourimprovisations is nothing more than our relationship to the material of our minds, #hether that besensations, thoughts, fantasies or feelings. The task of the Action Theater performer is to express not $ustactions alone but his or her relationship to the actions at the moment of discovery. This is true for allactions%physical, speech or vocali!ation. 7o# is the performer experiencing the action at the time they aredoing it9 They communicate this information through the expression of their face, the tension in their body,and the focus and energy emanating through their eyes. 7ere"s #hat I mean Assign yourself a simple gesture. 5aybe #ave your hand. 3ay attention to exactlyho# you do this, because you #ill be repeating it over and over again in $ust that same #ay. o# each timeyou repeat the gesture, shift the focus of your eyes, from do#n, to up, to side#ays, to diagonal. o#,change the expression of your face, or the tension of your body each time. &ee ho# the meaning of theaction changes. It feels different, doesn"t it9 Ask a friend to do the same thing so that you can observe or
read the changes of content. (e talk about actions as being @abstract@ or @concrete.@ Actions are a manifestation of the relationshipbet#een time, shape, space, dynamics and, or course, the body. An abstract actions illustrates only theseformal elements. A concrete action not only contains these elements, but also carries information about theperformer. Through the expression of feeling, emotion, image, or story #e are invited into their imagination. The action itself does not define its abstractness or concreteness. This is determined by the auxiliaryinformation provided by the performer. Take, for example, the #ord @house.@ It can be abstract orambiguous if the performer does not bring meaning if the performer does not fill the entire actions #ithcontent specific to the moment by, again, ho# they do it. Is the actor happy to be clapping9 &orry to beclapping9 *eeling obliged to clap9 &ome performance modes rely primarily on form to state their case. 7ere, action%#hether it is dance orthe spoken #ord%is abstracted from sotry, dislodged from any identifiable context. (e can"t assign meaning
other than in formal terms time, space, shape, dynamics, composition, relationship. Rituals are also an example. 7ere, the performer becomes subordinate to the act. It is the act itself thatcarries meaning, either as symbol or metaphor. (hen I #ork #ith ne# students, their improvisations areoften ritualistic. Their faces are non%expressive and their actions lack detail and specificity. They appear tobe entranced by #hatever it is that they"re doing but I, the audience, am left out of their experience or innerstory. I noticed #hen I invited students to play #ith their relationship to action, they #ere more likely toimprovise #ith increased liveliness, focus and commitment. Their attention #as diverted from ho# they #ere filling moments to ho# they #ere experiencing them. The #ord @play@ is so overused that I hesitate to contribute to its thinning. et I can"t think of a better #ord to describe my experience of improvising. *rivolity if often associated #ith play. As is childishness,
silliness, and inconse-uentiality. 7o#ever, I think play is the most apt description of #hat it feels like to beimprovising. (ith practice and insight, the improviser experiences the manifestations of their body and mind, i.e.,
sensation, thought , imaginings, feeling, memory and intuition, as separate from themselves. They"vegained the capability to distinguish the perceiver from themselves. They"ve gained the capacity todistinguish the perceiver from #hat is being perceived. This releases them from all identifications. o# theimproviser has choice. They can either merge into the material or not. (hat a relief44 o longer is theimproviser held hostage by their story that habitual material that continues to surface year after year. Theyare no# free to respond to all stimuli as they see fit. (ith this insight, one becomes both forgiving andamused #ith the complexities on oneself%a self seen as a conglomeration of inherited and enculturatedpatterns of perception and behavior. A complex system that $ust happened to come together as it did. 7o#could one take hits so seriously9 7ence the #ord @play.@ The body and mind offer a treasure chest ofenticements that ask to be illuminated, danced #ith, sung, spoken and shared. A responsibility comes #ith this advantage. &elf%a#areness leads to a collective orientation. (hat bindsus all together is the understanding that #e are all reeling from the identifications that #e constantly make@This is #ho I am. That is #ho you are.@ As soon as I reali!e that the imaginings of my mind and myobserving self are not one and the same, then neither are yours. 7o# can #e do not feel comraderie forone another #hen #e"re all #restling #ith illusion9 As improvisers, this understanding frees us up tremendously. (e can experience our bodies and mindsas musical instruments like pianos, or pu!!les, like intricately fitted aspects of the #hole of life. All to be
explored, toyed #ith, decorated, exposed, and #ith curiosity and practice, mastered. An Action Theater improvisation has content. The improvisers unveil a story. o#, this story may beodd, a nonlinear event, similar to a dream, that erupts from the imagination of the improvisers. 5astery occurs #hen the improviser, #ell%oriented in their body, also follo#s the content of theimprovisation, #hether that content is expressing itself through movement, speech or vocali!ation. In the third #eek of the training, I began revie#ing content. In Action Theater, content plays a big partthere is story to every moment of action. +ut #here does the story come from9 It seemed that there are four tracks of attention going on. 8ne track is sensory information entering by #ay of sight, hearing, touch, kinesthesia, tasting. Another track is the improvisor's inner dialogue #hatthey"re thinking, feeling, imagining, saying to themselves. The third track is the collective narrative of theimprovisation the story that"s building, characters and events%the out#ard content. And the fourth is the parameters of the container itself , in this case, the Action Theater form.
In Action Theater, the improviser must be a#are of and respond to all four tracks simultaneously. If anyone of these tracks becomes lost, the improvisation falls short and loses its liveliness. The improviser maychoose to emphasi!e one track, placing it in the foreground of experience, yet they must hold the othertracks in their a#areness. This is no easy task. 8f course, in the doing, experience doesn"tcompartmentali!e like this. )verything happens simultaneously and affects everything else. 7o#ever, intraining, it is useful to separate these tracks for illumination. I"ve al#ays emphasi!ed the need for clear form and the tactics of embodied action. +ut in Rocca, Ifound myself not only introducing but reiterating content as a vital element of each moment of theimprovisation. In the past, I"ve not d#elled on content for fear of putting students in their heads, resulting incerebral and deadly creations. 'ontent is like the #eather. It al#ays is. It may be the fantasy story of the improvisation or the anxietystory of the improviser. In any case, there is al#ays content and that content is evident to anybody
#atching. I convinced the students that their process 0thought and feelings about #hat they should or shouldn"t bedoing1 #hich, until then, they had mis$udged as privy to only them, #as visible, tangible, and, in fact, affectsthe content of the composition. I noticed a stunning change. &tudents got that they #eren"t invisible. They #ere in their bodies #hether they kne# it or not and no# they kne# it. They experienced themselves aspart of the content, part of the story, an integral part of the fantasy itself. The content of their personalprocess must be ackno#ledged in the improvisation because it"s there any#ay. The danger of course is that all improvisations #ill be about the improvisers themselves and ho# theyfeel about improvising. othing is more uninteresting. &o #hat do #e do9 The content of thoughts, $udgments, and feelings can be vie#ed as fertili!er, material that nourishes theimages, characters and events of the improvisation. *or example, suppose during an improvisation I notice
that I am feeling anxious. I don"t feel a part of #hat"s going on. 5y partner"s actions seem unclear. I canplay #ith the feeling of anxiety and, for example, through language, build a narrative of, say, a #omanconfronted by many doors. &he kno#s one of them #ill lead her to a much a#aited engagement and the
others #ill only lead her to more doors, etc. 8r, through movement, anxiety can translate into energy andfuel #ell%formed movement. The same is true #ith song or vocali!ation. This may shift the content of theimprovisation into a ne# direction, but improvisations can layer many different stories. The task is topromote the improvisation rather than retard it. &urely that stuff of our minds is often all #e need for fertileimagery. &o, I say to students, @*ollo# the content4@
Zaporah, Ruth, @otes on'ontent,@ 'ontact +uarterl, , &ummer>*all. :FFM, pp. NG%N;. An examination onthe nature of content. @'ontent is like #eather. It al#ays is.@
(hat)s On M! Mind Now: Fra$s" *istnin'" and E+&rssion
Ruth %a&orah
I have been teaching Action Theater for t#enty%five years. I should say Action Theater has been teachingme. A form of physical theater improvisation, Action Theater combines movement, vocali!ation, and speechinto integrated expression of the current moment. I began examining this approach in the early :FOGs #hen, as an improvising dancer, I #anted to speak. I tried some acting classes, but at least the ones I shoedidn"t address the body. I felt like a fish out of #ater #ith no sign of #ater any#here. I suspected there #as a #ay to follo# speech similar to the #ay I #as follo#ing movement. 3roceedingon this hunch, and #ith interested students and #eekly solo performances in my studio in +erkeley, I doveinto the murky and sometimes extraordinarily ha!ardous #aters of physical theater improvisation. @5urky@in that every trial, every @/et"s try this,@ #as intuitive, a shot in the dark. @7a!ardous@ because humiliation,embarrassment, shame, and terror became un#anted but ever%present partners in this dance. I live #ithin a restless nature. Improvisation supports that nature in that it offers endless pu!!les to besolved. As soon as I feel I @get@ something 0for example, speech is movement1, I have much more to figureout 0ho# to move speech and then ho# to teach moving speech, and on and on1. &ince I earn my living by
teaching and have for thirty years, it"s fortunate that improvisation remains mysterious, elusive, challenging,and occasionally terrifying. These terrifying moments lead me to even deeper -uestions, metaphysical innature. (ho am I9 (ho is improvising9 Is it my personality9 (hat is personality9 (hat"s not personality9(hat is perception9 (ho is living9 I #as a philosophy student in college, and in :FHM I began an ongoing exploration and practice of+uddhist mediation%at that time Zen, more recently !ogchen. +oth practices%meditation and improvisation% #ork on the mind, the former #ithout physical action, the latter #ith. +oth are about being open to thepresent moment and #hat offers. +oth cultivate a -uiet, non%chattering mind, a mind of acceptance ratherthan doubt and resistance. +oth cultivate a#areness as a #ay to step back from concept, leaving an openperceptual field undiminished by immediate naming. (hat did I mean9 our hand is outstretched and thepalm is up. Instead of immediately applying a concept such as begging or imploring, the action isexperienced as sensory, nameless. In this sense, every moment is its first impression, before making
reduced it to a thing. In my mind, meditation and improvisation are al#ays talking to each other, informingand affecting the #ay I go about both. (hen I"m improvising, I kno# #hat"s going on but I"m not thinking about it. There doesn"t seem to beroom for thought. +y thought I mean the activity of self%conscious @I.@ there is a#areness, and it seemsthat"s all there is. 5y mind>body merges #ith action, and action merges #ith mind>body. The self%conscious@I@ that analy!es, categori!es, distrusts, doubts, fears, envies, etc., and thus feels separate fromexperience, disappears. Action is experienced #ithin as a felt%sense, a kno#ing that is not conceptual butexists #ithout thought. The improvisation unfolds through my mind>body, using it and all that it kno#s, itsskills and limitation. It doesn"t feel as if ! am creating anything. Instead there is a#areness that is open and #illing to be led by the event itself. This skill takes practice. )very fe# years I submit an article to ontact ?uarterly . I notice that #hat prompts this sometimesdifficult task is that I"m in to something. An aspect of improvisation has captured my imagination and I feel
the need to #rite about it, to see it clearly #ithin the light of #ords and ideas. 0rames, listening, andexpression are #hat"s on my mind no#.
FRAM#S
An improviser follo#s action as it unfolds, each moment leading to the next #ithin the intent of theimprovisation. If I intend a movement improvisation confined to a chair, for example, I follo# moments ofaction #hile adhering to that intention. The intention acts on the material that surfaces, and vice versa. Theintention sets limits on the improvisation. It closes doors, insisting that the improviser search out others thatare possibly less obvious, less predictable. (hat constitutes a moment9 (hat is the form of structure9 (hat is the content, story, or meaning9This, of course, is determined by the improvisor"s perceptions. Action Theater improvisers, contactimprovisor"s perceptions. Action Theater improvisors, contact improvisers, $a!! vocalists, painters, andpoets all vie# moments differently because they have different priorities. +ut, there is an essential condition
hat is common to all moments%one unfolds into the next there is no stopping. Actions take place #ithin aflo#, a continuum%a stream of movement and stillness, sound and silence%each moment a response to themoment before. The perceiver, the improviser, is integral to these responses. 3roclivities, perceptions, andinterpretations are not separate from actions. The perceiver and #hat is perceived are the same. 'onse-uently, ho# an action is perceived has as many variables as there are improvisers. Theimprovisors" hori!ons of a#areness combined #ith their areas of focus%#hether dance, music, or poetry%determine #hich variables are dominant and #hich are ignored. It is these dominant variables that @frame@or define the action moment to moment. If a dancer sees a horse galloping through a field, she seesmovement a painter may see color and shape a poet, metaphor and symbol. *or example, in movement improvisation, every moment of action is composed of certain elements%structure or shape, timing, relationship to space, dynamics, and the state of mind that fuels the action. Thecomposite of these elements is the frame. Bust as a frame surrounds a picture on a #all, distinguishing itfrom anything else in the room, so an improvisational frame contains and describes the various elements ofthe moment. The relationship bet#een these elements creates the content. 7ere are a couple of examples of frames :. +ody stand still, fingers -uivering. )yes dart, #ith lips tight, speech high and clipped #ith longpauses. arrative describes a baby"s birth.
;. /anguid, circular, and full%bodied movement around the space, #ith occasional pauses as eyes peerintensely from side to side. +reath audible in a different rhythm than the steps. uring pause in movement,the breath becomes slightly louder, fingers tighten together rendering the hands as paddles. &o #hy frames9 *rames drive a#areness into more specificity. (hat could have been overlooked asmundane becomes profound, gorgeous, or uni-ue. Action Theater training relentlessly asks improvisers tonotice #hat"s going on, to identify the frame or components of action. )very moment. ot through #ords,not by talking about it or describing it, but $ust as a function of a#areness. 5any exercises re-uireimprovisers to commit themselves to a particular frame, to play #ithin its boundaries%to accept its limits, torelax any resistance that might be expressed as restlessness or the need to understand or to move on, torepeat, stop, or think. )ventually, perceiving experience as felt%sense becomes second nature, andexercises are no longer necessary to channel attention. *rames come and go, beads on a chain ofcontinuous experience. The frames change spontaneously as the ob$ects of a#areness%#hat the improviser
hears, sees, thinks, feels, or imagines%change, their specificity noted and embraced by the improviser asthey happen. The body>mind then becomes a vehicle for nonconceptual experiencing and the manifestationof an improvisational universe.
L&ST#N&N;
I #as #orking #ith advanced Action Theater students in Zurich. They kne# the Action Theater languageand tactics, creating neat, #ell%formed, and often interesting improvisations. The improvisations #eren"tmaking them, taking them out on a limb, shaking them up, smoothing them out, leading them into surprisingspecificity. I thought about my o#n $ourney #hen I"m improvising. (hat do I experience9 ot only the content ofthe actions%the message of the movements or the meaning of the #ords%bu the underneath. (hat is that9
(hat is the source9 (hat is it that erupts into action and #hat do I do that allo#s me to be available tothat9 It is difficult to talk about these things%the underneath, the source, the positioning of the mind>body thatcauses availability%for the #ords on chooses are never -uite right, because the #ords areconceptuali!ations of a nonconceptual experience. (ithin this nonconceptual experience, the improviser isnot separate or outside of the experience itself. In the most glorious of these moments, I"m not talking tomyself about frames or listening or time or shape or space of the audience. There is consciousness ofkno#ing, and that kno#ing improvises a sho#. 7aving said that, here is an attempt at putting this nonconceptual experience into #ords 2isten8 2isten without listening to anything. 2isten to the sound of space. 2istening listens. &ithin thesound of space, other sounds occur, gestures appear, images illuminate, and thoughts travel.
$he bird calls at the window. #t first there is no idea of -bird.- $hen in an instant the idea of bird comesinto mind. 0irst, it was ;ust a sound. $hen the name bird. # gesture occurs in space. $he hand turns over or the eyes shift or a word is spoken. @ust that. $hen in
a flash ! assign meaning. $he foot steps. @ust that. $o describe it to you, ! say the foot stepped. 9ut as the foot stepped, when itwas sleeping there was no thought( foot stepping. Only listening and not ;ust with the ears. After some time of practice, a kind of spacious identifying occurs, #here the attention of the improviseris not narro#ed by #hat happened, instead, happenings occur #ithin the a#areness of silence and space.The improviser merges #ithin each happening and simultaneously rest #ithin the space that holds eachhappening. This is not experienced as a split of attention. There is al#ays a sense of completely unifiedmoment%moment to moment. There is a magic to this. (hat is magic9 (hen #e resist immediately naming experience, moments of action open, pointingto#ard unkno#n terrains%terrains that cannot be planned, predicted, or thought up. I have experiencedvoices, languages, and states of mind that feel like ancient or preverbal conditions of nature. I haveexperienced endless $ourneys #ithin vibrational fields, moving me on and on into some kind of animalmemory or maybe even plant or rock. (orking #ithin frames doesn"t inhibit this. A frame is like a boat%#esit in it to paddle but our attention is on the scenery. (hile improvising, #e cannot help but be moved by the comings and goings of things. 8ur $ob is tohitch a ride on the passing events by accepting and playing #ithin each moment as it becomes another. +ut #ith time #e cannot help but also be moved by #hat doesn"t come and go the silent space #ithin #hich all
is held. That is the space of listening.
#<"R#SS&(N
8ne thing that Action Theater students do is practice changing the expressions on their faces in front of amirror, or in front of each other. They mirror each other"s changing faces. &ometimes they change theirexpressions slo#ly, sometimes -uickly. o thought. o story. o emotions like sad, happy, angry, orseductive are guiding them. Their instruction is to follo# the flesh of the face%to let sensations of the fleshlead them through changes%to notice #hat is happening on a sensation level 0the chin is pulling do#n or thelips are tight or the bro# is creasing1 and then go further in that direction until some other sensationbecomes noticeable and then follo# that. The trick is to allo# inner feelings to change along #ith the flesh,to stay connected%to feel the congruence of the inner experience #ith the outer manifestation. 8ne is not
leading the other. +oth the face and feeling simultaneously ride #aves of evolving mind>body states. (hy do #e practice facial flexibility9 The $ob of Action Theater improvisers is to manifest their moment%to%moment experience%not $ust what they"re doing but how they are experiencing #hat they"re doing eitherits meaning or ho# it feels or both. 5eaning and feeling may be t#o different things. *or example, I can liftmy shoulders in disgust%@disgust@ being the meaning. 8r the lift of the shoulders connect #ith a mind statethat has no name, that can"t be called anything, but has an energetic -uality to it 0light, dense, constricted,open, aske#, dull, etc.1, and that -uality extends through my face and eyes. Try this Raise your right hand and look directly ahead. Raise it again and shift your eyes 0not yourhead1 to the right, no# do#n, no# up. o# directly ahead and raise one eyebro#. These little ad$ustmentsmay add or change the meaning of #hat might have been simply a physical action. The facial changes are experienced as movement, as are those of the eyes, the arm, the foot. *acialmovement is an e-ual player in every perceived frame of action, all the components of each frame, share,
respond, and loop back into the same source the continuum of consciousness. In Action Theater it"s feeling states rather than emotions that play out. )motions are #hat #e callpsycho%physical experiences that are the result of conceptual interpretations of past, current, future, orimaginal events. *or example, something%an image, memory, current event%comes into our a#areness. (emake a $udgment about it, consciously or unconsciously. It"s good. It"s bad. It"s mean, ugly, sublime, sexy.Then our bodies react to the story #e"ve created, and as long as #e continue to fuel the story, our bodiescontinue to fuel the story, our bodies continue to react. 8ur attention is on the story. It could go like this ! hear a piece of music. !t reminds me of my father who passed away last year. $hat was one of hisfavorites. ! begin to long for my father, feel deserted, unprotected. $hat's where ! dwell%under the weightedthoughts of being unprotected. ! think of all the ways !'m unprotected, vulnerable, etc. ! feel lonely, angry athaving to always fend for myself. 6ow !'m caught in a downward spiral of a pathetic story. 3y mood
changes, my body feels heavy, my perceptions are contracted. ! lie in bed in a state of gloomy inertia. *eeling states may look like emotions but the improvisor"s relationship to the experience is -uitedifferent. There is no $udgment or evaluation, no thing is good or bad. *eeling states arise spontaneously
and linger until replaced by another. The shift from one feeling of state to another is determined by thecontent and musicality of each moment of the improvisation, as sensed by the improviser. Dnlike emotions,feelings states are unnameable. They can"t be called happy, sad, or lonely. The state of the mind and bodyare congruent, intentional, and happen simultaneously, #hereas #ith an emotion, the condition of the bodyis a response to the thoughts of the mind. In a sense, feelings ar passing fancies, #hether dark or light,tense or relaxed, pretty or ugly. They appear only to be replaced by others. The improviser is free to play #ithin a vast array of mind states. In Action Theater, #e practice performing from a non%conceptual base. Dsing movement and sound, #eimprovise through feeling states and actions that are preverbal, that have no language or story supportingthem. et they are true, recogni!able, and content%ful. /ater, #hen #e introduce language into our practice, #e remain rooted in the nonconceptual experienceof the moment. (e hear the sound and feel the passage of the #ord as it moves through our mouths.
Zaporah, Ruth, @(hat"s on my 5ind o#,@ 'ontact +uarterl, , (inter>&pring, ;GG;, pp. N:%NH. )ssays onframes, listening and expression, three basic components of Action Theater improvisation.
This article establishes #ction $heater pedagogy as a vital and uni-ue contribution to the field ofimprovisational training. eveloped by performer%pedagogue Ruth Zaporah during the :FOG’s boom inexperimental performance in the &an *rancisco +ay area, and in continual refinement over the past LGyears, this interdisciplinary model bridges enables performers to become creators. *undamental to #ction$heater pedagogy is embodied presence, a state of a#areness in #hich performers maintain consciouscontact #ith their somatic experience as they improvise. An examination of Zaporah’s performance style,renders an account of the aesthetic of #ction $heater , #hich favors the integration of movement, speechand sound, abrupt changes in character and formal style, and dream%like enactments of multiple aspects of
human experience. *acets from the historical context in #hich Zaporah developed are briefly identified. ?eyfeatures of #ction $heater pedagogy J the interdependent relationship bet#een form and content and thepractice of framing and shifting J are treated in depth to portray the originality and efficacy of this training.Informed by intervie#s #ith Zaporah and her long%term students, as #ell as my practice of and researchinto #ction $heater , this article concludes by positioning #ction $heater #ithin related performancepractices.
In ;GGO, I attended an hour%long solo performance in &anta *e, e# 5exico by the then seventy yearold Ruth Zaporah and #itnessed immediate poeisis in action #here her #ild imagination and precise
techni-ue rendered a cohesive, inventive and clear performance at speed % #ithout rehearsal. As shetraveled through a changing landscape #ithin herself J peopled by various characters, some pedestrianand some primal her sense of humor, use of space, timing, and composition surprised and delighted me.Zaporah #as in the moment of creation, on the precipice of the unkno#n and fully committed to the presentmoment. Zaporah’s techni-ue, #hich she has codified into the practice of PAction Theater,Q allo#s her to enter anempty performance space, often alone, and improvise a performance that demands a deep connection toher imagination and an immediate, lucid enactment of its stirrings that coheres as a composition. This skillhas evolved over her forty%year career as an improvisational performer and teacher, a $ourney that hastaken her to engagements throughout the Dnited &tates, )urope 0especially =ermany, )stonia, and Italy1,Israel, 'hina and +osnia. &he also #rites about improvisation from a sub$ective perspective as aperformer>pedagogue. *rom the early :FMG’s, ontact ?uarterly has featured her articles and intervie#sher performance reflection, Pance a +ody (ith a 5ind of It’s 8#n,Q has been anthologi!ed in $aken bySurprise( # /ance !mprovisation Reader and 9eing. In :FFN she published #ction $heater( $he!mprovisation of resence, a book of over :GG exercises and short essays that gives a sample outline of amonth%long intensive. In ;GGH she self%published #ction $heater( $he 3anual , a companion volume to herbook outlining advanced exercises and innovations in her theory and terminology. &he has been acompelling force in the development of postmodern dance>theater improvisation especially on the (est'oast of the Dnited &tates and has also given language to the connection bet#een body%basedimprovisation and +uddhist meditation practice. The principal venue for her evolution as a practitioner%pedagogue #as the &an *rancisco +ay Areaduring the explosion of interdisciplinary performance in the :FOG’s like other members of that communitysuch as Anna 7alprin, 5angrove 0'ontact Improvisation1 and the =roto#ski%inspired +lake &treet
7a#keyes, Ruth Zaporah strove to erase the boundaries bet#een dance and theater and the hierarchy ofscripted or set #ork over improvisation. Through regular teaching and performing in solo and #ith other
collaborators from theater and dance, she learned to synergi!e movement, sound and speech into acontinuous creative flo#. )mbodied presence is the cornerstone of Action Theater attention rooted to the present momentthrough the tracking of sensory experience as it develops and changes. In her earliest experiments #ithpure improvisation 0improvisation #ith no predetermined limits or prepared material10i1Zaporah had abreakthrough #hen she reali!ed that staying a#are of physical sensations as they evolved in her moment%to%moment experience freed her mind from the pressure of creating. Rather than Ptrying to come up #ithsomething,Q con$oining her body and mind in present a#areness opened her to inspiration and allo#edcontent to form itself through the medium of her actions. (hen describing a solo performance she remarks,Pthe dance had danced itselfQ 0:FFO, p. :<;1. *or Zaporah, automatic creativity is not a disembodied trancestate, but, instead, demands a heightened level of listening combined #ith the formal dexterity to renderimpulse into action. If embodied presence is the cornerstone of Action Theater, formal dexterity and the ability to PlistenQ tooneself and one’s acting partners form its structure. As opposed to training models that teach a vocabularyof movements, Action Theater practice hones performance skills through exploration. As #ith 6ie#pointstraining, Zaporah’s exercises deconstruct various elements of performance 0e.g., space, movement, facialexpression, voice, emotion, speech and relationships1 isolating them from one another, and thereby,
challenging practitioners to increase a#areness of themselves in performance and expand their expressivepalettes. &tudents first learn principles of form through movement by exploring a #ide variety of self%generated PframesQ J a limited repertoire of formal choices fueled by a specific internal feeling state0content1. As students PshiftQ from one frame to another, #ith the aim of finding contrasts in both form andcontent, they become more limber physically, emotionally, and imaginatively. After exploring movementframes principally in duets and small groups, students incorporate vocal sound #ith their movement, andfinally progress to #hat Zaporah terms Pphysical narrativeQ human speech grounded in the sensoryexperience of the body. Action Theater gives practitioners a grammar of performance to allo# the emotions,stories or sensations they are experiencing to be clearly communicated to audiences and ensemblesthrough relevant formal choices. Bust as grammar assists #riters in making their meanings clear, choices intiming, spatial orientation, speed, and other matters make performers’ internal experience intelligible. espite Zaporah’s innovations as a physical theater improviser and her highly effective training model,
her #ork has been under%researched, eluding capture on the page by scholar%practitioners. This articleoffers a preliminary glimpse into the #orld of Action Theater through my body>mind as academic researcherand student of Action Theater over the past seven years. Informed by personal experiences in the training,intervie#s #ith Zaporah and her long time students, as #ell as historical research into the development ofAction Theater, this essay seeks to identify key features of Ruth Zaporah’s performance and pedagogy andevaluate ho# these features enrich the field of dance>theater improvisation. The first section characteri!esthe aesthetics of Action Theater and the aims of training in this form. The historical context in #hichZaporah developed is then briefly considered. &alient features of the practice of Action Theater follo# #ithtangible exercises and my sub$ective experience as a student. *inally, the essay concludes by positioningAction Theater #ithin the context of contemporary performer training.
She &s What She Teaches: Aesthetics of Action Theater
(atching Ruth Zaporah in one of her performance pieces is like anexercise in surreal meditation ...S The changes #ere mercurial, charactersflo#ing into one another imperceptibly ...S The language of the body andthat of the voice merge identities. The body movement has a literal,narrative -uality #hereas the voice is an extension of the body"s movingarts.@ 0Tucker, :FMO1
In an intervie# Benny &chaffer, long time student of Action Theater, remarked that Zaporah Pis the #orkshe teaches,Q characteri!ing the strong link bet#een her performances and her pedagogy 0;GGL, pers.comm., M Buly1. As such, Tucker’s revie# above reveals distinguishing traits of Zaporah as a performer andhence Action Theater as a practice. Tucker attests to Zaporah’s mastery of form J her ability to synergi!ethe actions of moving and speaking, bridging the disciplinary divide bet#een theater and dance. Zaporah’s
proclivity for Pmercurial changesQ forms an integral part of Action Theater pedagogy as #ell. Zaporah’sability to change herself J appearing as a ne# character, in a ne# environment, or simply playing #ithin a
ne# physical vocabulary J keeps her improvisations multi%layered and unexpected. As she shifts, the storyfor the audience also changes, leaping abruptly into ne# imaginative terrain in the style of postmodernmontage. *or example, in the ;GGO performance I #itnessed, she embodied a teenager on the internet, a #oman trying to choose bet#een living in a house or the $ungle, and a mysterious ghost%like PbeingQ mostlyexpressed through sound, and numerous other identities. &ome of these characters, or in her terminologyPframes,Q resurfaced at intervals in the performance, lending cohesion to the event ho#ever, herperformances never follo# a single narrative thread, and often her characters are some#hat alienated fromreality through eccentricities in their movement or speech. Tucker describes this performance as Panexercise in surreal meditationQ partially due to the dream%like shifting terrain of content, but perhaps alsobecause she recogni!ed the #ild shifts and turns of her o#n body>mind in Zaporah’s !any performance.There is a meditative aspect to Zaporah’s performances as #ell as the training she created. In her vie#,improvisation training is a form of active meditation, calling performance skills a Pvehicle through #hich #einvestigate ho# the mind #orksQ 0'ushman, :FF:1. *irst and foremost, Action Theater is a performance practice ho#ever its evolution has been informedby Zaporah’s exploration and in-uiry into the nature of being through the study of )astern spiritualpractices, particularly +uddhism. Zaporah approaches improvisation as a laboratory for discoveringpractical, embodied #ays of removing obstacles J primarily mental constructs J that veil the ability to
perceive reality directly and participate in creative flo#. It is this dialogue among performance, teaching anda#areness practice that makes her contribution to theater remarkable. Action Theater is a set of tools andalso a method of in-uiry. As such, Action Theater not only attracts performers #ho #ish to gainimprovisation skills, it also appeals to practitioners interested in gaining spiritual insight and enhancing theirsense of possibility and play in everyday life. Reflecting on the connection bet#een improvisation andspirituality, performance scholar avid =ere remarks
Indeed, the rhetoric of magic runs throughout the discussion ofimprovisation to theori!e about improvisation is to theori!e aboutconsciousness, and to theori!e about consciousness is to push theboundaries of physical discourse to#ard consideration of the spirit, thedivine, the unfathomable, and the unimaginable 0=ere, ;GG< xiv1.
A 'limate for Free Spirits: 7aporah=s !istorical 'onte4t +eginning as early at :FLN #ith the arrival of dancer>choreographer Anna 7alprin, the &an *rancisco +ayArea became host to a distinct culture of performance that held values in conscious opposition to theaesthetic tastes in e# ork 'ity 0Ross, ;GGO p. HF1. *or many of the artists #ho relocated to the +ay Areabet#een :FLN%:FOG, this area of America represented the freedom to create an arts scene Pfrom scratch%Qone that represented the cultural ideals that #ould come to full flo#er in the :FHG’s. +y the end of the :FHG’s a P(est 'oastQ style of performance had emerged. There #ere severaloutstanding features of this style :1 an emphasis on life%reflecting rather than virtuosic performances thatrevealed the individual human more than exhibiting technical mastery ;1 interdisciplinary collaboration Jespecially dancers using language and actors using sound and movement <1 interaction #ith political life0including rituals and happenings1 and L1 a sense of humor and playfulness as opposed to the morestudied and serious reputation of e# ork 'ity artists 0 #rtists in 1xile, ;GGG1. +erkeley had become #hatdance historian Banice Ross calls Pa climate for free spiritsQ 0:FMG1, or #hat Robert 7ur#itt characteri!es asa seething and lively Photbed of experimental theaterQ 0:FFO1. Artists #ere not expected to cohere to asingle aesthetic and audiences #ere #illing to support artists even #hen they gave PbadQ performances,generally appreciating risk%taking more than mastery. (hen she moved from +altimore, 5aryland to +erkeley, 'alifornia in :FHF, Zaporah #alked into acommunity ripe for experimentation not only in improvisational performance, but in performance training.Dnlike traditional acting #hich emphasi!es the use of an external script and the donning of roles created byan author, or traditional dance #hich teaches movement vocabulary, many community members #anted toactuali!e themselves through creativity. Improvisation particularly appealed to these students because itallo#ed them an avenue for spontaneous self expression. &oon after her arrival, Zaporah #as introduced to
dance improvisation by Al (under, a former instructor for Al#in ikolais in e# ork 'ity. Though hertechni-ue bears little resemblance to (under’s #ork, Zaporah credits him as her Pone and only
improvisation mentorQ 0:FFN, dedication1 because he recogni!ed her natural talent for improvisation,encouraging her to develop her gifts. In :FO:, (under and Zaporah, along #ith aerial dance pioneer Terry &endgraff, opened the +erkeleyance Theater =ymnasium, hosting classes, #orkshops and ongoing studio performances. Zaporah beganto teach and regularly perform improvisations, preferring to learn on her feet, developing according to hero#n tastes rather than studying a specific techni-ue. &he asserts PI #as so dedicated to the discoveryprocess that I isolated myself from my dance and theater colleagues, not peeking outside of my laboratory,not #anting to see #hat others #ere doingQ0:FFN p. xx1. Zaporah’s desire to speak, an urge to break freeof the soundless gestures of dance, led her to theater. +y :FON, Zaporah considered herself a theater artistrather than a dancer, coining the term PAction TheaterQ to describe her original pedagogy. In Zaporah’svie#, theater, as opposed to dance, #as the medium for narrative, emotional expression, and character.Though she collaborated #ith other dancers, the development of the aesthetic of Action Theater, #ith itsemphasis on rapid s#itching of characters, a combination of sound, movement and language, and pureimprovisation evolved through Zaporah’s solo exploration and collaboration #ith theater artists. 7er most influential collaborator, #ith #hom she still performs today, #as +ob )rnst, member of theBer!ey =roto#ski influenced +lake &treet 7a#keyes.0ii1'ollaborating #ith )rnst, a musician as #ell as an actor, compelled Zaporah to use her voice expressively.
At times in the studio, they #ould improvise only #ith sound, allo#ing a series of vocal sounds to developover long intervals of time or playing drums #ith one another to underscore a narrative. Returning to theprimordial -uality of sound elevated the composition of their improvisations making them structurally similarto music and aesthetically layered. Zaporah and )rnst #ere able to bridge the divide bet#een their differingbackgrounds in theater and dance, creating as t#o artists rather than as an actor and a dancer. Thisinterdisciplinary #ay of performing became one of the aims of Action Theater training. The overall vision behind the exercises that Zaporah teaches in Action Theater enables students tolearn #hat she herself has learned in LG years of performing. As Zaporah explains, PI self%examine #hat Ido #hen I perform... and I break it all up into exercises and scoresQ 0:FOH1. As opposed to directors #ho areseparated from the process of performing, Zaporah teaches from inside performance. &he leads herstudents through doors she has opened in herself. +ecause her performances #ere improvised, there areno scripts or scores that remain ho#ever Action Theater endures as a vital relic of her participation in the
(est%'oast D.&. experimental arts movement.
"racticing Action Theater I began my study of Action Theater in ;GG< as a 3h student in Theater #ith a focus on pedagogy anddevising. I #as attracted to Zaporah’s #ork because it purportedly bridged the art>life divide. 7aving earnedan 5*A in Acting and #orked professionally as both an actress and a dancer, I #as at a point in my career #here performance skills, in and of themselves, #ere not my main impetus for training. Action Theaterexcited me because it #ould force me to break a#ay from traditional scripted performance, and push me tocreate #ork of my o#n #ith movement, sound and speech. The multiple trainings I have attended #ith Zaporah since ;GG< have follo#ed roughly the same format,though her teaching constantly evolves as she re%articulates principles and develops ne# exercises. A day
of training consists of ; sessions, a <%hour morning session follo#ed by a ;%hour afternoon session.5orning sessions begin #ith a variety of exercises centered on honing a specific skill such as theexpressive use of the eyes or the integration of movement and text. &tudents #ork alone and in ensemble,using their bodies, voices or #ords according to the exercise’s demands. Afternoon sessions are devoted toperformance in #hich all students execute an improvisatory score in solo or small groups #ith their otherclassmates serving as the audience 0a score in this context is a formal limitation of some sort, e.g. sitting inchairs and only using voices1. The skills developed in the exercises are al#ays immediately applied toperformance because, in Zaporah’s vie#, the pressures of performance provide the impetus for learning toexteriori!e the fruits of inner exploration. Although one focus of Action Theater is to sensiti!e the student toinner sensations and imagery as a resource for creativity, the end goal of performance demands thatexpression be precise and compelling to the audience. In one training I attended Zaporah -uipped, P$ust
because you’re feeling something is not enough of a reason for me to be looking at itQ 0;GGN1. 8ne aspect of the theory underlying Action Theater pedagogy is the relationship bet#een form andcontent. In Zaporah’s vie#, all actions, including movement, sound, and speech, are comprised of form and
content, such that their interplay determines the meaning of an action to an audience and>or actingpartners. 0orm encompasses details of an action’s executionho# it is done#hereas content describesthe intention of an action#hy it is done both in terms of instrumental use and sub%textual motivation.'ontent in Action Theater is a complex concept, but a provisional definition includes 0a1 a type ofexperience, such as confusion, fear, or rage b1 an action, such as dancing for an audience, putting onclothes, or scrubbing a floor or c1 a character, such as a #orn%out father, a neurotic hostess, or an excitedchild. All actions should be motivated by a specific goal and enlivened by a human presence.0iii1 In several of her exercises for beginners, students play #ith the form of a familiar action, such as puttingon a sock, speeding it up, slo#ing it do#n, and changing its se-uence and timing, in order to Plook at acommon action in an uncommon #ayQ 0:FFN, p.;1. Zaporah’s emphasis on form is rare for a theater artistactors trained in psychological realism tend to d#ell on motivations for actions rather than on the details ofan action itself. 7o#ever, because she came to theater through dance, Zaporah’s formal mastery led herinvestigation of form’s relationship to content. &he developed a training that engenders a dialogue bet#eenthese essentially inseparable aspects of action. *ormal dexterity must become second nature to an improviser, a fluent skill, because in performancethere is no time to analy!e content or to experiment #ith form. Action Theater envisions the actor as creatorrather than as an interpreter. (hen #orking #ith set content, such as a scripted play, an actor’s #ork is to
bring the #ords, situations, and character to life. In Action Theater, the actor fleshes out the #orlds that arebeing created in his or her psyche in the moment. 5any improvisational techni-ues use predeterminedcharacters, scenarios, themes or locales to serve as the starting point and container for the development ofcontent. +y contrast, Action Theater students Pstart fresh,Q perhaps contained by formal parameters such asonly using sound or movement, ho#ever the content remains completely open. &cenarios and charactersare not forbidden in Action Theater rather, they are one possibility among many. In describing ho# herapproach is different than scenario%based improvisation, Zaporah #rites, P/ifelike and non%lifelike situationsarise through physical explorations #ithin forms and frame#orksQ 0;GGH1.Frames and Shifts The Pforms and frame#orksQ of Action Theater function at the interstice bet#een formal structure andenlivened content. The practice of Pframing and shiftingQ engenders a dynamic relationship bet#een formand content, and thus constitutes the core of Action Theater pedagogy. In her manual, Zaporah defines her
use of the term PframeQ by explaining thatevery moment of action is comprised of certain elementsthe structure orshape, timing, relationship to space, dynamic, and the state of mindcontentS that fuels the action. The composite of these elements in anyinstant #ould be the frame. Bust as a frame surrounds a picture on a #all,distinguishing it from anything else in the room, so an action frame containsand describes the content of the current improvisational moment. 0p. :O%:M1
+y practicing framing, students identify particular elements of the action in #hich they are immersedand then play #ithin those limitations, exhausting the compositional possibilities.0iv1 In her exercises, Zaporah distinguishes three types of frames 0a1 movement, 0b1 sound and movement,and 0c1 physical narrative. A physical narrative is a frame that contains #ords Zaporah -ualifies the
narrative as PphysicalQ to remind students to pay attention to the form of the #ords 0e.g., the movement ofthe mouth, cadence, and so on1 rather than only the story described by the #ords. &tudents play #ithin theboundaries of a self%generated frame rather than immediately moving onto another action. They go in depth #ith their experience, discovering the intricacies of #hat might have initially appeared to be a movement onthe #ay to something else for example, if a student #alks across the room to get a chair, the #alking is anaction, in and of itself, and not merely a scene shift. (hen a seemingly trivial action becomes a frame, thestudent notices and plays #ith the formal components of her actionin this case, #alking as she crossesthe room to get the chair, she might #alk in an irregular rhythm, take several steps for#ard and severalback#ard, or play #ith the force of her steps. In framing this action, the student also attends to the contentof the actionho# the action makes her feel. The content may be only the somatic experience of #alking,or it may arouse a feeling of excitement or trepidation that feeling, in turn, may generate a story of somekind, such as the chair becoming a sleeping parent she attempts to sneak past. Thus, framing a simple
action enriches the improvisation, because ne# material is generated through the exploration of form. To create a variety of frames, students practice Pshifting,Q a fairly straightfor#ard practice in #hich they
move from one frame into a ne# frame 0contrasting in form and content1, not gradually but immediately.Although the concept is easy to understand, it is very difficult to practice. &hifting feels a#k#ard andunnatural to many students, because either they become so immersed in a frame that they cannot shift outof it -uickly or they do not allo# themselves to be saturated by their current frame because they kno# it isonly temporary. Zaporah, ho#ever, believes that shifting is as natural as child’s play, stating that P#hen #e #ere children, #e changed our minds on a dime. (e #ere experts on change and great shifters. (e’d cryone minute and laugh the next. CS (e believed in #hat #e #ere doing, and #e dropped it #ithout athought if something else took our attention. That’s #hat shift is all aboutQ0:FFN, p. <O1. In thematuration>sociali!ation process, most adults iron out their mood s#ings and develop the ability to block outinner and outer stimuli to retain a single%pointed focus. Action Theater training #orks at undoing #hatZaporah vie#s as habits of repression, loosening and relaxing habitual behaviors and mental constructs toreplace the deadness of habit #ith conscious, embodied experience. &tudents learn to commit to an actioncompletely, and, simultaneously, be a#are of its context 0e.g., its shaping and the environment.1. They alsolearn to maintain a focus that is flexible and responsive, regaining a sense of child%like play #hile engagingtheir adult capacity for a#areness of self, others, and the environment. 3racticing frames and shifts strengthens performers’ agility in giving form to a #ide variety of contents.*or example, in the exercise, Ptrading frames,Q students #ork in pairs, interrupting one another #ith
contrasting frames parameters may dictate that partners only use one type of frame 0movement, soundand movement, physical narrative1 or that they explore all three types. 5y partner and I stand in neutral 0astate of alertness #ith the eyes moving1 my partner begins a movement frame I notice, experience, andthen respond to his or her movement frame #ith a contrasting movement frame. Zaporah’s most recentteaching refrain, Pnotice, experience, respondQ 0intermediate ;GGM1 coaches actors to notice #hat theirpartner is doing, and #hen the partner shifts frames, to experience these ne# actions inter%sub$ectively 0asif the partner’s actions #ere the one’s o#n1 and then respond from this absorbed state. The opposite of Pnotice, experience, respondQ is to see something, ob$ectify it by attaching a name to it,such as Pa temper tantrum,Q and respond based on previous experience. The value of embodied listening isthat improvisations move beyond banal cause%and%effect logic and into a terrain of the imagination that isconnected but not mundane. *or example, if I label my partner’s action as a Ptemper tantrum,Q my response #ill be limited to Pcompleting the sceneQ by becoming his teacher or parent ho#ever, if I experience my
partner’s action from an embodied orientation, I #ill energetically absorb the force of his fists against theground, and the tension in his head and torso. As I connect to my partner’s actions as if they #ere mine, mybody leads me into the next frame. Rather than Pcompleting the scene,Q my response #ill add a ne#dimension to the improvisation. The frame I create contrasts my partner’s frame in terms of form andcontent. 3erhaps I stroke my hair, subtly shifting from side to side #hile singing a lullaby. To continue theexercise, #hen I begin my frame, my partner pauses #ithin his frame, experiences this ne# frame, andthen interrupts my frame #ith a ne# contrasting frame. 8ver the course of the exercise, students endeavornot to repeat movements, emotions, tones of voice, or characters. As students search their body>minds forne# #ays of being, they become more integrated mentally, emotionally and physically, feeling minutemovements and sensing subtle shifts in mental and emotional states as clues for ne# frames0v1 The Ptrading framesQ exercise is often follo#ed by Psolo shifts,Q #here students respond to their o#nframes #ith contrasting frames. As students determine the limits of their frames, they interrupt themselves,
immediately shifting into a ne# frame #ithout pausing. The speed at #hich students must shift demandsthat they move beyond conceptual thinking about contrast and #ork in an instinctual #ay. In my privateinstruction #ith Zaporah 0;GGN1, I had an experience in Psolo shiftsQ that taught me ho# much possibilityand complexity exists #ithin a seemingly limited range. At one point in my improvisation, I shifted into aframe defined by the follo#ing formal components. 5y body #as in a kneeling position, facing profile to theaudience, and my actions #ere comprised of slapping the floor #ith my hands, clapping, standing on myknees, and t#isting my torso. Although I could shift in and out of frames at #ill, I played #ithin this frame foralmost :G minutes, and as I accepted the formal boundaries of the frame, I became a#are of a compellingfeeling state. It #as as if the action had its o#n development, a vitality produced by the interplay of formand content. oticing and accepting the limits of this frame enabled me to find a ne# place in myself #hereI #as fully absorbed in my action, and completely committed, but #ithout any PideaQ about #hat I #as doing.
I #as not conceptually separate from my action, thinking about form, content, or contrast, as often happens #hen learning a ne# skill set instead, I #as in a moment of grace, #here these elements integratedthemselves, and I had a glimpse of the play and mystery that underlies Action Theater improvisation.
The experience in movement described above #as one of embodied presence, in #hich I #ent beyondtracking the form of my action to #hat Zaporah calls Psaturation.Q A performer is saturated #hen she is notonly a#are of herself in action, but also gives herself over to the experience of its execution so that theembodied experience propels the improvisation into fresh territory. Zaporah proclaims the benefits ofembodied presence, distinguishing it from our habitual tendency to use an action as a means to an endrather than as an end in itself PIt’s not an easy thing, to become fully embodied, to allo# the body to informthe content of every action. (e tend to narro# our focus onto the story and function of our actions, #hethermovement or speech. +y opening to the body’s experience, each moment becomes particular, unpredicted,inspired and freshQ 0;GGH, p. <1. 8pening to the body’s experience informs every moment of Action Theater including speech. In3hysical arratives, the language imagination collaborates #ith the muscles of articulation, resonators, andbreath. If the mind is no longer the sole creator of language, the improvisation remains open%ended andsurprising, as friction is created bet#een the semantic and somatic. As Zaporah explains,
&o even in speech there is an unpredictability as the sensory experience of
speech rubs against the execution of the #ords and vice versa, creating anunforeseen $ourney. +y allo#ing the physical experience of speech tointeract #ith the vocabulary itself, speech becomes a present experienceQ0;GGH, p. ::%:;1.
&ome Action Theater exercises, although based in the body, restrict movement to allo# students toexclusively focus on sound and speech. The performer discovers that sounding and speaking are forms ofmovement and can, therefore, relate lessons learned in gross actions to the more subtle movements thatproduce sound. (hen improvising narratives it is especially tempting for the mind to $ump ahead of thebody’s expression, mapping out a train of thought that the body then lumbers behind as if taking dictationas the performer moves out of relationship to the unkno#n, the audience #ill also become distanced fromthe performance. In embodied presence, the performer’s imagination is engaged in the inchoate story andat the same time, he allo#s the somatic experience of speaking to affect the content.
In ;GGN, I #orked #ith Zaporah privately. &he gave me an exercise #ith narratives in #hich sheprovided a kind of gibberisha string of sounds that resembled speech I then began a narrative mimickingthe -ualities of her gibberish. In other #ords, the sound of the voice determined and preceded #hich #ordsI chose. I discovered that, at a certain point in constructing a narrative, the story took precedence over mysomatic and emotional experience. At that point, Zaporah stopped me and redirected me to sensoryexperience. (hen I #as able to stay embodied, my #ord choice #as much richer because I #as feeling the #ords in my mouth and savoring the sensual experience of speech.
"ositioning Action Theater: 3ositioning Action Theater #ithin the broader improvisational movement brings Zaporah’s model into
sharper focus and reveals the key elements that make her training uni-ue. Action Theater incorporateselements of dance and theater and #as developed #ithin the post%modern dance movement in the Dnited&tates. These artists came of age in the :FOG’s primarily through their connection to the Budson anceTheater and shared a fascination #ith improvisation, chance procedures and montage. Improvisationalperformance decentrali!ed the director>choreographer as the primary source of artistic vision, insteadallo#ing for ensemble creation that highlighted the individuality of each performer. As the barrier bet#eenperformers and creators dissolved, disciplinary divides blurred as dancers began to speak and actorsengaged in physical theater. The shift a#ay from the hierarchy of director>choreographer over performers necessitated a differenttype of training emphasi!ing compositional a#areness and the ability to instinctually respond to impulsesfrom internal directives or ensemble members rather than promoting particular techni-ues and facility inlearning choreography. Reflecting upon peak performance experiences, such as effortlessly connecting to
creative flo# or responding spontaneously to a group impulse, allo#ed performers to identify constituentcomponents. These components then became the building blocks of improvisational training.
In esche#ing predetermined se-uences and imposed movement vocabularies, many post%moderninnovators including Ruth Zaporah instead concentrated on formal constraints that allo#ed for individualresponses even #hile encouraging compositional a#areness. Through explorative play #ithin frame#orks,practitioners developed abilities to inhabit their senses, enlarge their perceptual fields, attune to ensemblemembers and connect to inspiration. The focus needed to perform set material differed from that ofimprovisational performance to such an extent that the creative state of mind became an ob$ective oftraining. Accessing this state of mind involved tuning into bodily sensation and energetic impulse andmoving beyond a limited sense of self these PskillsQ allo#ed performers to inhabit aspects of the humanexperience that #ere suppressed in day to day life. The post%modern aesthetic movement in the Dnited&tates seeded various trainings that have been in continual development from the :FOG’s to the present. Inparticular, 6ie#points training pioneered by 5ary 8verlie and &imone *orti’s /ogomotion most closelyresemble Action Theater, and can therefore serve to position Zaporah’s training #ithin a #ider context ofcontemporary performance practices. 6ie#points training as adapted for theater by Anne +ogart and Tina /andau, shares pedagogical aims #ith Action Theater. In both types of training, students gain compositional skills and expand theirexpressive palette through exercises that limit their range of choices to one or more components of action.'oncerned #ith visual and physical clarity, as #ell as spontaneity, Action Theater and 6ie#points trainings
espouse a reciprocal relationship bet#een external formal precision and inner imaginative freedom. +othZaporah and +ogart push actors to move beyond psychological realism, giving up $udgments about #hatdoes and does not constitute Pnormal behavior.Q Through improvisation, practitioners seek to rediscoverelements of the human experience marginali!ed in daily life this excavation yields more than improvedperformance skills. /essons learned in the training open doors #ithin the mind>body of the practitioner0+ogart U /andau ;GGN, p. :F1. These t#o methods share common aims #ithin the process of training % creating ensemble, expandingthe expressive palette, and so on J but the end products in public performance differ. 6ie#points traininguses improvisation as a means to create scripted performances. As theater artists, +ogart and /andauhave found #ays to bridge the divide bet#een improvisation and composition, culling group explorations,and shaping the material to then be presented as a consistent product. +y contrast, Action Theater trainingis steadfastly improvisational. Though Action Theater exercises can be used to generate material, the
ability to repeat performances is never addressed. In a personal intervie#, +arbara illey, former memberof Budson 'hurch identified Zaporah as one of the fe# improvisers of her generation #ho remained faithfulto a purely spontaneous performance form throughout her career. As such, Action Theater trainingconsistently challenges students to face the fear of having nothing to do or say. Rather than cultivating thea#areness needed to repeat material, Action Theater practice encourages a creative state of presence on #hich performers can rely. In encouraging creativity, Action Theater practice invites students to access content in their explorationof forms in contrast, 6ie#points exercises focus primarily on forms, adding content later in the process ofcomposition. Zaporah consistently challenges students to access a living presence #ithin improvisationalexercises though formal parameters may dictate the range of choices #ithin a given score, students movethrough and beyond these practical constraints to detect and embody the human>being alive #ithin theirmovements. In performance, Zaporah is often compared to a mime or post%modern vaudevillian because of
her facial expressions and stylistic use of rhythm and timing. In the practice of Action Theater, studentsdevelop a plasticity in facial gestures, particularly eye movements so that the face becomes filled #ith thesame energy as the body and vice versa. In Zaporah’s vie#, the eyes convey living presence. As in someforms of traditional Asian theater, eye movements suggest characters and>or situations in Action Theater,eyes function similarly and also inform the improviser about the character they are inhabiting in any givenmoment. Action Theater and 6ie#points training also differ in their approaches to language and sound.'onsonant #ith Action Theater training, exercises in 6ocal 6ie#points have t#o principle aims, to :1 instillan Pa#areness of pure sound separate from psychological or linguistic meaningQ and ;1 Phighlight thelimitations of one’s vocal range and subse-uently encourage more radical and dynamic vocal choicesQ0+ogart U /andau ;GGN, p. :GN1. 7o#ever, 6ie#points training begins #ith scripted text, #hereas students
in Action Theater never engage #ith the #ritten #ord. (hile both trainings apply lessons learned inmovement to the physical act of speaking, students of Action Theater explore sound and movement in theinitial phases of training, #hile +ogart and /andau suggest addressing vocal #ork later in the process. *or
example, on the first day of Action Theater training, the morning session is often limited to movement onlyin the afternoon, Zaporah introduces scores focusing exclusively vocal sound and>or language. Thus hermethod supports the integration of movement, sound and language by incorporating these skills on eachday of training. An advanced practitioner in both Action Theater and 6ie#points, ?rista enio remarked inan intervie# that the vocal pedagogy of Action Theater is more elaborate and effective than that of 6ocal6ie#points 0;GGN1.
Along #ith 6ie#points, &imone *orti’s P/ogomotionQ shares similarities #ith Action Theater. *orti’straining appeals mainly to dancers #ho #ish to incorporate speech into their improvisations. /ike Zaporah,*orti #as trained in dance and made certain discoveries about improvising speech as she related herfluency #ith movement to her language imagination. As in Action Theater, students of /ogomotion learn toconnect to inner imagery through sensual grounding in the body, and intuitively flo# bet#een speaking andmoving as they improvise 0*orti ;GG<, p. H;1. As in Action Theater, exercises in /ogomotion apply both toensemble and solo performance. *urthermore, like Zaporah, *orti regularly performs improvisation in soloand in small groups. The philosophies of Action Theater and /ogomotion differ from one another on several key points,primarily in relation to characters and personal material. (hile both trainings address the creation ofnarratives, Action Theater emphasi!es much more the #ay #ords are spoken than /ogomotion students
are challenged to enhance their vocal imagination by exploring diverse registers as #ell as rhythms ofspeaking. In exploring voice, students discover distinct characters, #hereas in *orti’s #ork, the languageseems to come from the individual performers themselves. *or example, /ogomotion narratives oftenincorporate memories from the performer’s life made vivid through sensory details. In contrast, Zaporahdiscourages the use of personal material partly because, in her vie#, if material belongs to a performer,then it limits the extent to #hich the material can be put into play. To illustrate, in Action Theater, ensemble members often collectively develop narratives, so that contentbelongs to no one performer. If personal material arises in an improvisation, Zaporah recommends that itbe depersonali!ed. In a training intensive, she gave the example of a former student #ho found herself #eeping during an improvisation. Rather than dissolving into this cathartic moment, she coached thestudent to tune into the sound of #eeping and treat the component sounds as elements of a frame 0;GG<1.7oning the ability to be fully invested in the moment of #eeping #hile at the same time a#are of its shaping
grounds performers in the present moment so that they do not regress into their past. Though both Zaporah and *orti both perform improvisations, their method of preparation differs. In herperformances, &imone *orti establishes a Ppoint of departureQ as a predetermined inspiration for theimprovisation 07ermann ;GG<1. The various processes she uses to foment content J selecting random #ords from the dictionary, ;G%minute timed #ritings, visits to natural environments, and so on J connectimprovisers to an inner #ell of sensations, memories and associations before they step onto the stage. Incontrast, Zaporah demands that students enter the performance space PemptyQ and give shape to impulsesthat arise in the present moment, unconditioned by past experience. &peaking of her preparatory process,Zaporah alludes to the difficulty of approaching each performance as if it is an empty canvas PI haveplanned nothing and that has kept me very busyQ 0;GGN1.
'onclusion:
P'all it magic or spirit or skill, as you #ish, but the spark that sets improvisation in motion comes on top of
committed labor. (ithout the fuel of training, the spark #ould have nothing to burn 0=ere ;GG<, xv1.Q The practice of Action Theater provides a place to labor to hone a#areness, performance skills, andresponsiveness in the context of imaginative play. The most basic exercises in Action Theater challengestudents to expand their range of responses to change, thus loosening the scar tissue of their egos andbroadening the basis for creativity. 'ultivating a total response change is an aesthetically uni-ue feature ofAction Theater training, and it is not arbitrary, utili!ed only for its efficacy in performer training. +eingcongruent #ith change is to be fully human and vibrantly alive. (hat might seem inhuman J a performerrapidly shifting in and out of personae and universes % is actually -ualitatively and -uantitatively morehuman. Zaporah asserts that Action Theater exercises Pdisturb the status -uoQ 0;GGH, p. L1 % by breaking
do#n patterns and forcing ne# types of coordinations. &tudents avail themselves not only to ne# #ays ofexpressing, but also to undiscovered aspects of themselves and the human experience. The studiobecomes a liminal space that sparks transformations.
0i1The definition of Ppure improvisationQ is borro#ed from Improvisation scholars, 7a!el &mith and Rogerean.0ii1*ounding members of the +lake &treet 7a#keyes #ere originally part of the Io#a Theater /ab, #ere thefirst Americans to adopt =roto#ski’s model proposed in To#ards a 3oor Theater, subscribing to extensive
and grueling performer training, a minimalist aesthetic #here the performer is fore grounded,experimentation #ith simple musical instruments, and theater as a Pspiritual actQ 0(olford1.0iii1P7umanQ is broadly construed in Zaporah’s usage including primal and uncanny expressions.0iv1Zaporah’s most recent definition of frames is simpler and suggests that action has agency in formingitself PA frame isS a constellation of elements that are continually reorgani!ing themselvesQ 0intermediatetraining ;GGM1.0v1Though in this exercise, all frames must be ne# material, in performance scores, returning to previousmaterial 0from the improvisation1 is encouraged because it creates pattern and structure, making theimprovisation more coherent.
&usanna 5orro# 5*A, 3h, "s,che meets Soma. accessing creativit, through Ruth 7aporah>sAction Theater.Theater. Dance and "erformance Training, vol ;, ;G::. An in depth #ell researched
article placing Action Theater in historical perspective along #ith a vie# into Zaporah"s process.
Ruth Zaporah is part of a rapidly gro#ing number of &an *rancisco +ay Area dancers #ho arepresenting improvisation as a performance mode. In the +erkeley community of #hich Zaporah is amember, ideas #hose sources can be traced to )astern philosophies, physical disciplines, or thehumanistic psychology movement, are a part of the prevailing value system. Among those ideas #hichhave become shibboleths are proscriptions to @live in the moment@, or in the @here and no#@, @focus uponprocess, not product@ and @become self%actuali!ed@. Zaporah"s Action Theater is one of the currentlyflouring forms of improvisation that can be seen as an extension of these values into dance and theaterperformance.
I.
Action Theatre, according to its creator Ruth Zaporah, is a kind of @living publicly@. +efore a performance, Zaporah provides herself #ith a fe# props, perhaps some alternate clothing,
maybe a radio or phonograph. &he #ill probably decide to decide the time into three or more segments, butshe #ill never employ script or director. At an Action Theatre performance, audience members sit on the floor on t#o sides of Zaporah"s studio.There is no stage, no curtain and only a very basic lighting system. (hen the audience enters Zaporah is,typically, #alking around in the performance space, doing stretching exercises, arranging props, perhapschatting #ith someone. The demarcation bet#een her pre%performance activity and the beginning of theperformance itself is never distinct. &imilarly, the ending is undefined. After a number of se-uencesZaporah suddenly bo#s, $oins the clapping, seats herself outside the studio and chats #ith the audience.There is no backstage and no backstage mysti-ue. Zaporah"s performances are intensifications and abstractions of her life experience. 7er intent is totransform the memories and emotions that she experiences during a performance into material that is bothmetaphoric and archetypal.
After attending a performance of Action Theatre, I asked Zaporah to retrace the association #hich led tothe contents of the evening. (hen she sat on a park bench and alluded to @little ones@ and @big ones@, Igradually reali!ed she #as referring to little and big passers%by. Zaporah explained that #hen she #as achild, she and her father #ould go to places such as the airport or a train station or a park bench and #ouldsit and @people #atch@. &he recalls these trips as adventures that #ere an important part of her theatricaltraining. Zaporah also recalls dancing for her family every &unday night. In #hat she no# remembers as aritual, she al#ays appealed tor her father to @start her@ and he al#ays told her to begin by pushing her hairaside #ith one hand and then the other. In the performance, #hen Zaporah found herself s#eeping her hairto the sides #ith alternate hands, her response #as to intensify this gesture, transforming it into a dramaticarm motion #hich gradually involved her #hole body. The sight of a friend in the audience #ho #as giving Zaporah piano lessons, led her to the highlycharged command, @blacks and #hites, play them4@ and a recent compliment from another friend #ho toldZaporah she had @class@ became transformed into an extended monologue on the class system. In thisse-uence, she portrayed the lo#er class as a midget, the upper class as a big fat lady and the middle classas a middle%si!ed person. Zaporah amplified this humorous and graphic presentation of an abstractconcept by crouching, standing and getting up on the park bench. At one point, #hile standing on thebench, she authoritatively ordered the middle class to @march in unison back#ards4@ Zaporah explained that a recent visit to a studio #ith #hite #alls, floor and ceiling, led her to play therole of a helpless #aif, abandoned in a similar setting. After reali!ing that there #ere doors in thisunresponsive environment, 0they didn"t tell me there #ere doors@1, she stared blankly at the audience andenlisted their corroboration of her bi!arre imagined memories @3eople came in and I #as covered #ithmoney, remember that9 Then men came in and I #as covered #ith men, remember that9@ (hen I asked Zaporah ho# she evaluates #hat comes out in a performance she explained, @I attempt
to hit a transcendent space #here I can pull out all the stops and I"m not holding back. Also, I like to feelthat #hat I"ve done has been entertaining. If the performance #as successful, the audience #alks out and
feels high. In one #ay or another they #ere touched.@II.
Ruth Zaporah"s background is primarily in modern dance. &he traces the origins of her interest inimprovisation to :FHO #hen she #as hired by To#son &tate 'ollege in 5aryland to teach dance to dramastudents. &he soon reali!ed that her students #ere interested in movement only as it related to theatricalroles, so she developed improvisational exercises to help them. /ater she used improvisation as atechni-ue for teaching dance students. At first her improvisation exercises focused upon the traditionalelements of dance time, space, shape and energy. 7o#ever, Zaporah valued those times #hen students"responses #ould reveal something going on inside themselves she gradually developed exercises thatencouraged them to develop personal motivation for their movement and that allo#ed them to @sho# #hothey #ere at that moment@. Today Zaporah sees her teaching and her performances as a form of @physicaltheater@.
III.
Action Theatre is dependent upon the scope of Zaporah"s skills and personality. This fact is at the coreof both its limitations and strengths as a theatrical form. After having seen t#o or more performances of
Action Theatre, the personnae Zaporah is likely to reveal become predictable she #ill probably emerge, inturn, as vacuous, seductive, timid and as @tough broad@. The success of Zaporah"s improvisations restsupon the fact that she has a !any sense of humor, is a skilled dancer, and an actress #ith a protean faceand a very po#erful voice. (ithin moments she can appear beautiful or plain, blank or animated, veryyoung or very old, out of control or excessively controlled, authoritarian or meek. Although Zaporah"s usualconversational tone is subdued, the sounds she makes in a performance are often astonishinglyexpressive. &he manages to integrate disparate se-uences in a #ay that gives each performance a senseof unity.
+ecker, ancy, @Action Theatre,@ Ne2 "erformance , 6olume :, o.;, :FMN. A description of Zaporah andher #ork.
From the ver, %eginning, the beginning being fifteen to eighteen years ago, I reali!ed improvisation is a
hunt to find ease, comfort, and play. (e all kno# the misery of feeling lost, confused, or panicked, and Isa# that improvisation #as fertile territory for exploring those feelings. That"s precisely #hat still bestexcites ad fascinates me about the process. Improvisation is life in microcosm moment%to%momentchallenge of maintaining a mind of lively flo# and avoiding a mind of dullness and discomfort. Improvisationpresents the same intrigues, pitfalls, and re#ards. 8perating in the mind of lively flo# re-uire a shift of consciousness, an ob$ectivity of self and other.Imagine looking in a mirror #ithout $udgment and #ithout #anting anything. /ook #ith curiosity at your face./ook at it not as it should be, but as it is. The #onder of it. If #e perceive our present experience clearly, #ithout reference to past or future, likes or labels, each moment in our experience #ill resolve in the nextmoment. That resolution is also a ne# moment, a beginning. This is Improvisation the lively flo#. &ara and Ingeborg are collaborating to construct a narrative. They are improvising #ith a structure thatre-uires them to take turns adding a verbal segment to the narrative the other has $ust delivered. A #ays
into the exercise, I notice &ara is restless and having difficulty. I interrupt to ask her #hat is going on. &arasays that she can"t relate to the @monster #ith red eyes and green feet@ that Ingeborg has $ust introduced. Itisn"t real for her. &ara is stuck in the past, in an old conception of a isneyland monster. I suggest that sheaccept Ingeborg"s monster 0material offered is al#ays a gift1 and give it a personal of her choice. &he cancreate her o#n experience of monster 0or green feet1, personali!e it or develop it as metaphor. /ook in themirror #ithout $udgment. /ast year a student, after being in #orkshop for three or four months, asked, @(hat is improvisation9 Abag of tricks9@ &he #as referring to the skills and techni-ues she had been accumulating over the past #eeks. Techni-ues of this nature !mprovise action using movements, sounds, and language, randomly alternating these forms and yetnever doing more than one at a time.8r
$ell a story and through the expression of the story, display an emotional subtext that is different thanthe content of the language. These could be vie#ed as tricks. 8r they could be vie#ed as exercises to a#aken the endlesspossibilities of spontaneous expression%free, idiosyncratic unpredictable, and authentic to the spirit of theperformer. A spontaneous mind #orks from an unencumbered perspective. To find this, in #orkshop, #elook at experience. (e take it apart. (e look at experience. (e take it apart. (e look at our behavior, ourhabits. (e take them apart. Then #e experiment #ith putting the parts back together in unfamiliar #ays, #hich often feel a#k#ard. (e learn that #e can do this. (e are free to reconstruct our expression to revealour spontaneous inner selves. In the studio, #e practice consciously creating experience. Through thispractice 0not $ust by thinking or reading about it1, #e come to reali!e that #e are continually creating ourexperience%in the studio and in the outside #orld. A student in the middle of the room is surrounded by the other students, #ho are standing near the
#alls in a large circle. &lo#ly they approach the student in the center. As they move in, they speak in loudvoices, in #ords and tones that are angry, seductive, threatening, insulting. The student in the center isinstructed to only stand in the center, to #atch, to listen, and to breathe. The students approach closer andcloser, until they are right on top of the student in the center. Their voices are loud, their tones are cruel,frightening, demonic. The student in the center practices &#$"!64. &omething ne#, some ne# information comes into our consciousness. (e respond #ith thought,feeling or action, or, most often #ith a combination of these. There can be a s#eet space bet#een theinformation coming in and the response going out. In that space, #e can observe the moment. (e can seeit clearly even before #e feel the impulse to act. *or most of us, the impulse to act and even the nature ofthe act are reflexive. 7abits. Touch a hot stove, pull our hand a#ay. =et a smile, feel liked. (e respond toinformation in #ays that are familially or culturally prescribed, or in #ays #e created at one time in our lives
because that response #as useful for a particular situation. +ut no# is no#. And no#, in that s#eetmoment, #e can perceive #ith clarity and create our experience. (e can rest and #atch and choose ourresponse. (e can design our action. (e can make art.
3racticing improvisation reminds me of the potential in a simple act, and of the bravery I need to fullyexecute it. In the process, a simple act becomes a #ork of #onder.
Zaporah, Ruth, @0ot1 a +ag of Tricks,@ 'ontact +uarterl, , &pring>&ummer :FMO, pp. <H,<O. A look at ho#a focus on can a#aken spontaneity.
In the (arehouse &tudio in +erkeley, 'alifornia, performance artist Ruth Zaporah is teaching a group if
improvisational acting students to @create a catastrophe.@ (e"ve been #orking in small groups, lettingsurreal, nonlinear scenes spontaneously unfold through movement, sound, and free%form language 0nodialogue allo#ed1. Zaporah is gently poking fun at our efforts. @ou think #hat you"re doing is really special, someho#,@ she says. @Important. &acred even. ou"reafraid to dive off and shake the #hole thing up, especially #hen you don"t really kno# #hat you"re going todo.@ To practice shaking things up, Zaporah instructs us to take turns creating catastrophesJradicallychanging an unfolding scene by introducing material that bears absolutely no relationship to #hat has comebefore. (hen someone in the group derails a scene in this #ay, the rest of the group must instantly
respond, letting go of #hat #e #ere doing, flo#ing seamlessly into the ne# reality that has been created,and continuing to explore it until someone else crashes in. This exercise is part if the repertoire of Action Theatre, Zaporah"s innovative approach to teachingimprovisational actingJand much more. @If I had to say I teach on thing, it #ould be a#areness,@ saysZaporah. @I used to think I #as teaching performance skills. +ut in the last fe# years I"ve reali!ed that theperformance skills are really a vehicle through #hich #e investigate ho# the mind #orks. (e #ork on beingspontaneous, on breaking through and cracking up the #ay #e perceive our #orld.@ Zaporah turned to improvisation from a background in traditional dance because she #as interested ininvestigating @ho# to bring the #hole person into performance. +ecause dance certainly didn"t do it. Icouldn"t even #atch dance performances, I thought they #ere so boring, I #asn"t seeing people, I #asseeing highly skilled, highly trained physical machines.@ /ess than half of Zaporah"s students are interested in performing formally. The skills she teaches, she
claims, are e-ually applicable offstage and on stage. (hether #e"re in front of an audience, sitting at thedinner table #ith our family, or lying alone in our bed, the basic components of our experience are thesame. @3erformance skills are a very valuable #ay of teaching a#areness, because you look at formalelements like time, shape, and space, #hich are al#ays #ith you,@ she explains. @(hen people start lookingat their timing, for instanceJho# they respond in a moment%to%moment #ayJthey reali!e that life is $ustchange. othing ever stops, nothing ever ends, nothing eve starts, everything is $ust changing. &o the moreI"m #illing to go #ith the constant changing, the better I feel.@ The process is both terrifying and exhilarating, I discover as my group launches into the catastropheexercise. 5ore that anything I"ve ever done, it catapults me into the present moment there"s no time tothink about #hat"s $ust happened or to plan for #hat"s about to happen, to criti-ue my performance or doubtmy ability. 8ur story line dissolves and reforms. 'onsensus reality shifts moment by moment as the
imaginary #orld #e"re collectively creating coalesces and breaks apart again and again. 8ne moment #e"rerebelliously tearing off our clothes and tossing them into the corner a second later #e"re fashion models,preening and prancing as #e put on each other"s discarded finery abruptly #e"re guilty children, scurryingto pick up the mess before 5om #alks in the door. 8ne #oman begins dreamily reciting the names of colors @+lue, red, yello#, orange, banana,stra#berry, apple. . .@ @*ruit salad9@ asks another member of the ensemble. A third $umps up eagerly @I"llhave some4@ As the group clusters around to sample from her invisible bo#l, a man kneels at our feet totake measurements, fro#ning thoughtfully. @6ery good,@ he says. @(ith a little more #ork, you"ll be $ust #here you ought to be for your age group.@ /et go, Zaporah keeps reminding us. /et go. @(e take ourselves so seriously, then #e get attached tobeing serious. The catastrophe exercise saysJyes, this is very serious, and then bang, it"s gone,@ she says.@It"s not serious at all. othing is. And everything is.@
Danc: A Bod! with a Mind o. Its Own b! Ruth %a&orah
I am a physical performer of improvisation theater. As both actor and dancer I #eave images through
movement, language and vocali!ation. I enter the performing arena #ith no pre%arranged concepts. I begin #ith a spontaneous action and then, step by step, build a scenario until the content is reali!ed and thepiece feels complete. (ithin it, I introduce characters, events, and situations that reflect the mingling ofimagination, memories and sensory input. The pieces are often dream%like landscapes, grounded in humorand pathos. I am endlessly surprised by #hat happens. The year #as :FOH. I #as performing in Ann Arbor. I had asked the presenters to create a set #ithin #hich I #ould improvise. That evening, the set included a Raggedy Ann%like doll #hich #as lying on thefloor do#nstage center. )arly on the doll dre# my attention. I named her Alice. (ithin the first fifteenminutes of the improvisation, Alice died. The remainder of the sho# focused on ho# others in her liferesponded to her death. As I #as bo#ing at the end of the sho# I noticed three #omen sitting on the floor near #here Alice hadbeen lying. (hile everyone else clapped, they #ere completely still. /ater, they came to see me backstage.
Through their crying, they told me that a year ago, that very night, their mutual and dear friend, Alice, haddied. +efore my performance, they had gone out to dinner together to honor her passing. A shock #entthrough my body and left me trembling. The territory of embodied improvisation that I had $ust visited hadimplications beyond my comprehension. If I ere to continue, for my o#n safety, I must observe very closely. (hen I refer to the body, I also refer to the mind, for the t#o are kno#n through one another, and areinseparable. The body kno#s itself through the mind as the mind kno#s itself through the body. &ometimesit is convenient to talk about the body and the mind as separate entities. (e can talk about taming ordisciplining the body, -uieting the mind, relaxing the body, focusing attention. +ut can you imagine doingany of these things #ithout both body and mind9 I have been practicing physical improvisation for thirty years. 5y mind and body, their oneness, is theinstrument of my art. &ometimes my body seems to have a mind of its o#n. It fidgets, slumps and $erks #hile my mental attention is else#here. And conversely, my mind, 0as #e all experience in meditationpractice1, fidgets, slumps and $erks #hile my body appears to be calm and still. (e talk about the mind andbody as if they #ere separate but, in fact, it"s our attention that"s split. Through improvisational practice,a#areness expands to hold our entire self. @Ruthy, dance for us.@ I"m L years old. At every family event, this invitation is spoken by some one. Inever decline. I am shy, buy #hen I dance I have a voice, I am seen. In the family, I am a ancer. &imultaneously, another and -uite different reali!ation #as bre#ing. At H, in :FL;, I began formalance studies. Three afternoons and most of &aturday mornings of each and every #eek. I attended +alletclass. This regimen continued through 7igh &chool. +allet classes in those days #ere exceedinglyimpersonal. The student #as seen only as a body. A student arrived, silently changed clothes in a grey andmetal locker room, careful not to let her ga!e turn to#ard another naked body, entered the glistening #hiteand mirrored ballet room, and #ithin the vacuum of her isolation, inched along to#ard mastery. At the end
of the session, students clapped their hands, left the room as silently as they had entered, and stuffed theirstimulated young bodies into plaid skirts and penny loafers. As I #rite this, it"s clear that those hours in ballet class #ere often a place of pure bodily experience.es, there #ere times charged #ith $udgement, moments filled #ith confusion, self hatred, or pride. +utthere #ere also stretches of non%restful, calm. I relaxed into the action itself, losing all sense of self, of Ruth,of me. ance is silent. The lips are shut tight. The motion can be serene or violent. )ither #ay, there"s noguarantee that because the body is filling every moment #ith action, the mind can"t also be filling everye-uivalent moment #ith disembodied thought. *or me the thoughts #ere often about the action $udging,evaluating or directing. 'an #e stop thoughts so that our body and mind are aligned into a singular happening9 I"m not sure #ehave to stop anything. (hat I remember is that I came upon a secret place of silence and I #as repeatedly
dra#n to it. either my family, friends or teachers guided or prepared me. At the time, I couldn"t have talkedabout it either. It $ust seemed right. I #as continually dra#n to this place, more like space, and that space
became home. ance itself is thoughtless. It is its o#n event. It doesn"t follo# anything and it doesn"t lead any#here. Itis not about gain or absolution. ance dances itself and is not at all tied to the conceptual #orld or even theconcept of dance. Dntil my <Gs, I danced, danced and danced, took classes, created dances and taught both techni-ueand improvisation. 8nly #hen dancing did I feel truly peaceful. I kne# my body and its capabilities anddanced #ithin my limitations. I remained focused on the actions themselves, and they al#ays offered cuesfor further explorations. I remained relaxed and imagination thrived. I kne# that if I #as fascinated, so too #ould be the audience. All of this kno#ledge integrated into my a#areness. A#areness danced. Then, in the early KOGs, I became restless #ithin the confinement of silence. I felt handicapped. I #antedto talk, to be heard, to explore @real@ life, grapple #ith its issues. I began to experiment #ith speech,character, and vocali!ation of feeling. (restling #ith these forms for a very long time, I tripped over myselfcontinually, forcing analy!ing, and constructing. I #as determined to create meaningful content. All this ledto more separation, myself from myself. )ventually, ho#ever, I got a clue I felt my mouth moving. 5y mindhad relaxed its hold on content. I had experienced speech and feeling as their o#n danceJmovementsarising and falling a#ay, mouth moving, mind moving, thoughts, feelings, all moving. I sense the body as no different than the space it is moving in and the sound it is moving to. If I"m
improvising #ith a partner, each of our bodies becomes an extension of the other. I perceive her body as noother than my o#n her voice, my voice her story, mine. If I"m dancing in a public dance hall or a privateparty, I merge into the larger body of sounds, colors, heat, s#eat, motion. I"m not alone in this. ance hasserved through time and cultures as a collecting force, a softening of the hard edges that separate onperson from another, an activity of communication. +ob and I are improvising together on stage. The performance begins #ith both of us standing, playingconga drums. (e chant. 5y voice is inside of his and his is inside of mine. (e #ail. I begin a narrative ontop of the clamorous beat. 5y voice and the sound of the drums rise, s#ell and recede together. I tell of a #oman, sitting before the fire in her living room. &he feels the familiar cold #ind slipping in from under herfront door. &he"s tried to seal the space under the door many times, to no avail. The #ind continues totorment her as it slams against her fragile body. As these #ords escapes from my lips, I sense that I"m follo#ing a script that is #riting itself. )ach #ord
comes on its o#n, I discover it as i hear and feel it forming itself. The beats of +ob"s drum and the timing ofmy #ords are riding on the same energy. )ven though #e"re not doing the same thing, our bodies havemerged. Abruptly, as if #e #ere being directed, #e stop. +ob crosses the floor. 7e sees a river bet#een us andis intent on crossing its ha!ardous #aters. I too see the river and share his distress. I reach out to him andthro# him a line of a song #hich he repeats. I sing, he sings, again and again, until #e are both on thesame side of the river. In the altered state and extraordinary space of performance, +ob is me and I am him. o boundariesexist bet#een us. 7is river is T7) river, real and tangible his distress, mine his safety, also mine. *or many years, I struggled #ith the a#k#ard moments that follo# a performance. Audience members #ould come backstage to offer their appreciation, to tell me ho# much they loved the piece of me. If theperformance had been a struggle for me, if I had been plagued by $udgements, I felt ashamed, as if I"d
pulled one over on them. 8r I felt overly exposed, the soft belly of my psyche hung out on the line ofspectacle. If I had sailed through the sho# #ithout a disembodied thought, I #as still unable to receive their praise.7ere they #ere talking to Ruth and yet, ever so vaguely, I suspected that it #asn"t Ruth they had #itnessed.Ruth #asn"t there. Instead the dance had danced itself. After years of practice in performance, I have learned to no longer identify #ith content as it arises. Idon"t kno# #here it comes from, certainly not al#ays from my personal experience. The episode of theRaggedy Ann doll, Alice, begins to make sense. If the performer is truly riding the energy of the moment, #ithout any ego interference, the audience recogni!es this dynamic and relaxes into it. The performancebecomes a collective experience, the audience and the performer meeting in a clear space. I am leading a training in *reiburg, =ermany, Buly :FFN. It is the fourth of #hat is to be :G days of #ork.
The students are grappling #ith an improvisation score that focuses on relationship. (hether their partneris pro$ecting an image through movement, vocali!ation or speech, they are to respond #ith a contrastingform. *or example, if one speaks, the other must move or make sounds. After several rounds of sluggish
practice, I suggest that the students shift their perception and accept their partner"s action as their o#nJtovie# their partner"s body and all its actions as extensions of their o#n body #ith no sense of separation.They are to consider that one body, not t#o, is expressing itself. They are to experience the improvisationas an ongoing stream of action. I feel the room lighten and the energy become fluid. &tudents relax. They are -uicker to respond.
After#ard, they say this idea of no o#nership has helped them to vie# all action as having e-ual value. @Ruthy, dance for us.@ The dancing that began #ith a child"s need to be seen became, over the years, arelease from the separate self. 5ovement, speech, action. It"s all dance emanating from the inside out, one movement nourishing thenext, uncoiling itself. ou reach your hand out. 7and reaches, o hand.
'ushman, Anne, @The &pirit of 'reativity,@ 8oga -ournal , &eptember>8ctober :FF:, pp. NG% NM,:G;%
:G<. A description of Zaporah and her #ork as an expression of spirit.
