How Berkoff inspired our Greek Theatre piece

Nearly all aspects of our Greek Theatre piece were Berkoff orientated- with the majority of our movements being very grotesque and Berkovian as a result.

The Oresteia- Greek Theatre Chorus work

As a group, we were given a choice to what extract of the Oresteia script we wanted to do and as a result we were divided into 3 groups- with mine focusing on the chorus persuading Orestes to kill his mother in revenge.

For this, we decided it appropriate to base the piece in a modern day school, therefore fit for contemporary use. This theme, we thought, had lots of potential as we could make it dark and sinister or jolly and fluid (despite it's intentions, they could be perceived as fake or 'plastic happy'; a forced happy with a hidden agenda). The target audience therefore would be young teens (13-15) as it would have to be clear what we are doing as then the audience would have a vivid vision surrounding the themes of the piece. It is also a very mature performance so we were reluctant to speculate going anywhere north of 13.

The text began with 'Let all who have prayed for Justice'- with our focus on 'justice' as we collectively thought this was the main pointer of the text. We discussed about basing the text around the deluded idea of justice and how it is misconceived, where in this case us being the chorus would act as Orestes' conscience and the battle between what is 'right' and what is honourable. Of course, with the chorus being such a major influence there would only be one outcome in the end, for Orestes to murder Aegisthus and Clytemnestra as 'justice' for his father Agamemnon.

Later in our rehearsal period, we thought it appropriate to incorporate some Berkoff-esque clockwork movement going into the scene, humming “ring a ring a roses” in a very sinister tone. Of course, this would be after we came into the setting in role as school kids, putting on a sort of Cockney accent to add to the grotesqueness of the piece, linking even heavier with Berkoff.

'See the throne of Argos today'

I wanted to adopt the idea that the throne should perhaps be the main focus point in this piece of the extract as it shows all the characters involved are almost all in for themselves, besides Orestes, and that is why the chorus play such a major part in this scene- they persuade Orestes to become as dishonourable as everyone else as he rises to his Mother's taunt. How we would present this in a physicalistic manner was easy as throne was seen as the word with the most physical potential. We went straight into position for this line as we wasted no time to really get into the scene.

'Return to the rule of justice.'

As I was seen kneeling in the first two lines, I thought it was time for my role in the chorus and with a powerful line there was no better time to do this I thought. As we planned for me to 'rise up' and everyone else fell below me, addressing the audience would be a key factor at this point as it would further engage them into the piece during a dramatic opening. At first, I was not physical enough in my movement to really add any effect, so Karen suggested to perform the line in a Berkovian manner, therefore I added a more grotesque tone to my voice and swayed side to side (whilst keeping my focus on the audience).

'Be strong, Orestes'

For this we introduced a strong, prominent stance as the rest of the chorus circled around me, with I centre stage.

'When you drive your sword into your mother'

This line my group discussed in depth as we had many ideas surrounding it. Firstly, we had to get me from the centre stage to joining the rest of the chorus, therefore the idea was that I am dragged towards the back on 'When you drive' and would then use Becca as a protagonist and would use the rest of us as 'swords' as we threw our arms forward in rapid motion in the underarms, shoulders and legs. And, as soon as I had the longest arm length and it was easiest for me as I stood at the back, I threw both arms on top of Becca's shoulders. Later, to ensure there was soundscape in the piece, we made the 'sharp sound' as we threw our arms forward and grunted when we took them back.

'With the death-cry of Agamemnon'

We saw it as essential to make the girls lower than the guys as we transition into this line; with every time they repeated 'With the death-cry' (x3) they would hold their stomachs (supposedly in pain/ acting as Clytemnestra) and drop to the floor, with us guys towering over them saying 'of Agamemnon' in canon to perhaps indicate our togetherness- or lack of it. Then, we thought a scream towards the audience would suffice thereafter.

'When she wails 'Orestes my child''

James firstly improvised this line with a dramatic swoon; however most of us thought this too good not to incorporate into the piece as it shows an understanding of melodrama and therefore can be connected with the likes of Jacques Lecoq and Steven Berkoff. After this, James would drag Becky after he is caught with his long swoon and cast her aside.

'Deafen yourself to her voice'

James again acted as the commanding voice on this line as it was almost as he was telling Becky that she should 'deafen herself', with the rest of us acting as the commanded, covering our ears in despair. Then, we would go on to introduce slow-motion into the scene as Becky makes her way into the centre, gradually being surrounded by everyone. Next, we decided to add more sound scape as James starts to pound on his chest with his fist and then I would join in on time, then Pau. This would provide a different tone to the scene as slow-motion can bring quality to a scene if it is done with accuracy and timing- therefore it was essential for us to be moving at the same pace.

'And shout: I belong to my murdered father'

Keeping Becky central, everyone looked down upon her as she rises up and we fall- her acting as Orestes rising up against his Mother.

'Kill her and be done with it'

Becky kneels back down as we whisper, coming to a standing position.

'Your sword is the tool of fate'

Us five swing our fists just before Becky's head...

'You cannot be blamed'

...and we fall around her, caressing her hair saying the line gently...

'Harden yourself, Orestes'

...then Pau, James and I come to standing quickly, dragging each girl with us as we go.

'Like the polished shield'

The girls stand in front, striking a strong pose with their arms

'That reflected the face of the Gorgon’

…then Pau, James and I come up behind them using our fingers as snakes- then all lean into Becca as she says…

'Do it for those who depend on you'

…

'For justice’

We all prop ourselves up at this moment, standing proud and bold as the word ‘justice’ would suggest.

'For the living and the dead'

For this, we presented the living as rising (Katrina, Becky and Becca) and through the gaps between them, the rest of us would fall through representing the dead.

'Do it for the house of Atreus'

James leads again as we all say our line in canon…

'With one twist of your blade'

…and the girls turn us round so they are facing the audience once again

'Dig out the root of the curse'

And then we stretch over the girls until our hands meet…

'Cut through the taproot of the vendetta'

…and James and Pau swing their arms down to mime an axe cutting down on them

'That opens deadly flowers at our doors and windows'

I say this, in the most grotesque manner as we all sway up and down to form a flower- until everybody creates an archway for me to go through and speak up to the audience.

'Split the source of the seed' 

With all of us lined up, we say this in canon…

'With your blade’

…and together we fade back into clockwork and then act as schoolkids enjoying a break until we line up to pull up a chair- then form a row of chairs in front of the audience as if we were in lesson (almost like Forced Entertainment in ‘Bloody Mess’). We would then return to humming “ring a ring a roses” one-by-one to get a very sinister feel at the end as then we would look up to the audience and drop at our final chant.

PERFORMANCE NOTES

- Our first performance was made immensely difficult by the absence of Pau at such short notice that we almost panicked, however recovered  very well as lines such as ‘Cut through the taproot of the vendetta’, I had to quickly join James into whatever the action was he would usually do with Pau.

-Our last performance was again difficult as Becca was made absent, however we had more time to incorporate ourselves into some scenes such as ‘drive your sword’- where Katrina had to step in for her.

Jacques Lecoq and his works

Jacques Lecoq is regarded as one of the twentieth century's most influential teachers of the physical art of acting. He was born in Paris on December 15, 1921, and participated and trained in various sports in his youth.

During World War II he began exploring gymnastics, mime, movement and dance with a group who used performance to express their opposition to the German occupation of France.

After the war, Lecoq then studied mime with Jean Daste, (a former pupil of the acclaimed teacher of mime, Jacques Copeau- perhaps his most treasured influence) who introduced him to masked performance and Japanese Noh theatre.

He left Grenoble and spent six months teaching mask work in Germany, before accepting another teaching position at the University of Padua in Italy. He spent eight years in Italy teaching and working as a creative practitioner and discovered the traditional and popular Italian theatre style of Commedia dell'Arte as well as the tradition of masked chorus work developed in Ancient Greek tragedy.

He opened his own school, the Ecole Internationale de Mime et de Theatre when he returned to Paris in 1956, which has had many homes in Paris over the years and has continued to attract large numbers of students from all over the world.

Lecoq also toured with demonstrations of his physical art of the actor and periodically conducted classes in Britain that had an enormous impact on the development of British theatre as well as influencing comedic acts such as Lee Evans and Michael McIntyre- with both have very similar physical approaches when it comes to their work

Lecoq's work and research has mainly been disseminated through the training he has conducted with the many students who have attended his classes and demonstrations overseas or his classes at his school in Paris. This may be why a myth is often circulated that suggests his methods were somehow secretive or reserved only for his students.

However, he has published numerous articles and interviews, edited a text in French entitled Le Theatre du Geste and his book, The Moving Body outlines a number of his philosophies and approaches. The texts he has produced also indicate why it is so difficult for students to pass on his teachings.

They explain that the training is very practical and very specific for each student because every actor's body and mind has accumulated different tensions and conditioned responses.

Lecoq's training methods therefore focus on releasing preconditioned views of acting and bringing an actor's attention back to ‘playing.'

In his last publication he explained that: “There is a huge difference between actors who express their own lives, and those who can truly be described as players…They have learned not to play themselves but to play using themselves. In this lies all the ambiguity of the actor's work.” The strong emphasis on improvisational activity at the school reinforces the central significance of play and students are introduced to physical exercises, masks and popular theatre that reinforce the distinction between playing and being.

Lecoq and those who now direct training at the school work on the premise that: “A true understanding and knowledge of theatre inevitably requires a profound experience of play”.

Like Konstantin Stanislavski, Lecoq created a place to teach what he believed were important principles of acting. Lecoq described his research into the human body and its movement as his ‘passion' and he pursued this work throughout his life. 

He saw his teaching as ‘a path to his own greater knowledge and understanding of movement' and said that his work with students helped him to discover that ‘the body knows things about which the mind is ignorant'. 

Masked work had a powerful influence on Lecoq's approach to performing (perhaps inspired by his time in Italy from when he discovered and studied Commedia dell'Arte) and he was intrigued with the simple and direct way masks could amplify the physical aspects of a performer and be used to communicate with all kinds of audiences. 

His research and analysis of masks, movement, body language and gesture has had a huge impact on the development of contemporary theatre and his work has popularised genres such as the clown, Commedia dell'Arte, tragedy, and melodrama.

How it relates to our work

Jacques Lecoq was very 'Over the top' physical when it came to portray an emotion- links to our work as, for example, in our piece, there was a section where you could clearly see Katrina, Becky and Becca were distraught as they lowered themselves into an almost foetal position to present their grief. Another example would be when James says 'When she wails 'Orestes my child'' as he over exaggerates portraying the same emotion, however at a more drastic scale.

Lastly, I think our experimentation into placing tights over our heads for effect was done very much in the style of Lecoq as he too loved to play with how he would present a mask. Despite this experiment being unsuccessful in our quest for effect, we are glad we tried this out.