Want to play more than one character in a single scene? You can!
It’s a powerful move. But – as goes the cliche – with great power comes great responsibility.
Let’s explore how and when to use the move and when and why to not.
Tag Archives: move
Body Snatcher & Double Body Snatcher tertiary moves
Ask your troupe what they want to work on. A comment by Alan Volmer during a Johnsons rehearsal led to this move being added to the group’s bag of tricks.
THE BODY SNATCHER: A third player takes over either Player One’s or Player Two’s character. If Player Three chooses to take on Player Two’s character, for example, Player Two then exits.
Who To Heighten? organic game mini lesson
Player One stands rigidly on stage, stroking an imagined object on his right wrist and says, “I love my shield.”
Player Two enters stage, stares agog at the imagined shield and says, “Wow-wie! That is one awesome shield.”
The question for you is: If you were told to enter the scene as the third player to establish a group game, what would you do?
1.3 – Game Mechanics
OFFER, SET, CEMENT: THAT’S GAME!
Some definitions:
Pattern – a sequence that can be repeated / a structure that can be reused
Game – a sequence of actions, related by rules of cause-and-effect, that heightens with repetition
A rocketship, A thumb and An aardvark. That’s a fine pattern. A rocketship, A thumb and An aardvark. A rocketship, A thumb and An aardvark. A rocketship, A thumb and An aardvark. A rocketship, A thumb and An aardvark. Repetition makes the sequence purposeful. And repetition alone is heightening – imagine a room filled with “A rocketship, A thumb and An aardvark” wallpaper.
But in aspiring to elevate pattern work into game play, we focus on two aspects. One, we want a relationship between the nodes of the sequence. And, two, we want a progression of subsequent relationships that heightens the sequence in a concentrated direction.