Session 2: Workshop:
Healing Pieces: Creating Performance through Physical Awareness

Robin Gordon
Assistant Professor of Performance, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida

This experiential workshop explores the power of creative expression by guiding individuals to create performance through body awareness. We explore the possibility that movement and text can come from a place other than the intellect; we search for the creative impulses within our physical sensations.

The process combines meditation, guided imagery, stream of consciousness writing and organic movement in order to form a palate of gestures, sounds and words from which to paint our theatrical "pieces". These moments are then shaped and explored as expressions to be shared with an audience. In workshops, these "pieces" have become everything from movement poems to monologues to songs to games - the range is always inspiring. In this way we discover not only how powerful our stories are, but also how diverse the telling is. There is healing possible in the telling and in the sharing of our body stories.

When I am working with actors, we start by lying down on the floor, aligning the body, and taking a few relaxing deep breaths. We then do a centering breath exercise, followed by a guided meditation during which we identify and "visit" an area of the body that is speaking to us for whatever reason. During our "visit" to that part of the body, we move organically and discover a repeatable gesture that addresses the movement needs of that part of the body. We also, through guided visualization, discover a line or phrase of poetry or dialogue. This combination of moving and "hearing" or "seeing" text in a deep meditative state continues through a series of body sections, after which we go back to an aligned relaxed position, stretch ourselves and return to full consciousness. Then we immediately start stream-of-consciousness writing, guided by suggestions of initial lines or questions. If time permits, we might also do some drawings with pencil or crayons.

After a short break, we revisit what we have written and try to recreate the gestures that were revealed during the meditation. Each participant chooses three gestures and three lines of text from all that she has created. These physical and verbal lines of dialogue then become the "script" for a piece. The actor might experiment with arranging them, she might be guided by a "director" (another workshop participant), or a group of actors might bring all their "lines" to the table and play around with combining them all to form a larger piece. In the abstraction of the lines and movement, surprising and unexpected stories are told. This is the power of "discovering" rather than "writing' a performance.

Although I have created theatre using these techniques for many years, I am especially interested in the depth of expression and the healing possibilities in that expression since I was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2000. The journey through eight months of cancer treatment introduced me to a whole new world of sensation, reaction, physical knowledge and body stories. I am still learning how to explore, document and perform those new stories.

The workshop provides methods of creation for artists and performers, healing tools for people who are struggling with "dis-ease", and insights for health care professionals. This journey of discovery can be freeing, therapeutic, and even humorous.

Because of the limited amount of space and time for our experience here, I will introduce participants to the methods I'm exploring, and then guide them through a meditative journey with the purpose of discovering text and imagery. We won't be doing much moving, but please do wear something comfortable in which you can relax.