Spotlight! E-news from Theatrefolk

Issue 23 - Warm Ups

Welcome!

Ah the warm up. So important, and yet sometimes so misunderstood. Aren't warm ups for jocks? Warm ups serve a lot of different areas and can be used for a lot of different purposes.

For the drama class, warm ups allow you to take students out of the regular classroom world and into your drama world. They're transitional. Because it's back to school time, I've included warm ups that are beginner driven: they're not all 'theatrical', but they open the door to that drama world.

In This Issue

• PODCAST
  Theatrefolk publishers talk theatre.
• FACEBOOK/MYSPACE
  More places to reach us.
• SHOUT! THE BLOG
  Starting the testing process.
• WARM UPS
  Everyone can always use a list of good warm ups.
• A WARM UP FOR WRITERS
  Writers need warm ups too!
• BOOK LIST
  A list of books that include warm ups.
• RINGTONES
  We've got ringtones!
• MRS MERRITT's BIG BOOK OF HOLIDAY SKITS
  Holiday plays for the whole calendar.
• WHAT'S NEW
  Have you seen our website lately?
• CONFERENCE ALERT
  Meet us in person.
• IN THE NEXT ISSUE
  What you can expect next.
• STAY IN TOUCH
  Contact Info/Read Our Blog.

Podcast

We have written word, audio and video now! Our latest video podcast shows SHOUT! composer Kristin Gauthier working on the mix tracks for our SHOUT! test schools. You'll get to hear snippets of four songs from the musical as intrepid Theatrefolk publisher Craig Mason records the male voice. Catch up with what we've been up to.

Facebook/Myspace

Another way to keep in touch with us! If you're doing one of my shows, join my Facebook or MySpace. Easy contact for questions or comments!

• Lindsay on MySpace
• Lindsay on Facebook

SHOUT! Blog

SHOUT! is Theatrefolk's first musical. There are three stories in the play: Jack and Tassi do the awkward dating dance; Ariane, a hooded insular loner must deal with Kate, a persistant talkative peer mentor; and Dana finds her life comes to a stop after her parents messy break-up. The music is magical, uplifting, and at times hilarious. It is also all a cappella. Yeeks!

After spending about two years getting the script and music in gear, we're ready let the show out of our hands and see what others think...

Kristin Gauthier and I will be spending almost a year testing out the songs and doing two test productions before the musical is published in June 2008. We'll be blogging about the experience as we go along. Here's our first one.

Kristin - the music

I'm finished the first round! Whew. I have a whole bunch of different feelings right about now. It feels amazing and exciting to complete this stage of such a huge project. It's also terrifying to complete this stage of such a huge project. I'm excited to see what other singers do with the songs. And I'm terrifed to see what they do! It's not just me and my keyboard anymore. Now others have to hear what I've come up with.

I've done a lot of work in a cappella music but never a full length musical. Most of my experience has been on the other side of the table as a peformer. That's definately helped: a couple of times Lindsay has asked 'what if we did this?' and I know right away, as a singer, if what's she's asking can happen.

My biggest question at this stage is the do-ability of the music. In theory it's great, but how about in practice? A cappella is hard stuff. Is the music melodic enough and yet accessable enough? Does the lack of instrumentation matter? I focused so hard during this process on the melodies of the songs: are they interesting but also learnable? This is a huge challenge! There aren't any professional a cappella musicals out there. In a way we're breaking new ground.

I had such a great time writing the music. Being creative is a wonderful rush. Each song is like a little world and I was responsible for building that world. I don't get to do that often.

Lindsay - the script

The focus has been on the music the past few months instead of the script. It's been fascinating to see my lyrics become songs! I've been a lover of musicals all my life (apparently my first song was 'Happiness' from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown) and now I'm actually writing one. It's a huge cliche and I'm cringing as I write this but it's truly a dream come true. I think both Kristin and I are writing the musical we would have loved to be in. I've spent all summer singing the songs.

I've had good response in the readings and workshops thus far for the script. I was thrilled to bits when a teacher told me he thought a particular scene was one of the few he'd come across where the dialogue between two teens was so real. And both our test production teachers are excited about doing the show (and I'm so excited they're excited)

We're extremely lucky that over the next year SHOUT! is going to get a full test production, a concert show, a one-act production, and there are a number of test schools doing individual songs. Also I'm doing a script only workshop at the end of September with TADA Theatre students in New York. Whew!

This is a huge project. The largest I've ever done. It's essential that we're happy with the final product.

At this stage, my biggest question is length. I want a lean musical; two hours, two-fifteen tops. I wonder if we're over that. My next biggest question, which I know Kristin shares, is whether the a cappella nature of the music is too tough. It sounds great, but will it sound great all the time?

The adventure begins. Oh wait, it already started. Phase two, of the adventure, begins....

Warm Ups

It's a new school year. Everyone is creaky and cranky from having their summer disappear. Or maybe you've got the class where everyone's afraid to be 'first.' How do you get the spark ignited?

Vocal and Physical warm ups should be a staple of any drama class. They get the ball rolling, they get the creative juices flowing and get the cobwebs swept away. Drama class is different than any other class and warm ups are one way to define that difference.

If every class starts with a warm up, by October students will be used to the routine. As part of their participation mark, have each student come up with and lead their own warm ups. Work toward students seeing the value of the warm up in class, that it's something to look forward to.

The next stage is to introduce warm ups that are suitable for rehearsal and pre-performance. Warm ups are a wonderful habit to get into. Now's the time to introduce them!

Physical Warm Ups

These warm ups have been chosen specifically for the beginning of class. They're not theatre related per se, but they do the job to bring students out of the 'class world' and into your 'drama world.' They are the type of exercises that a class does all together and no one has to stand out before they're ready.

Shake and Stretch:

It's important to wake up the muscles by shaking and stretching. Why shaking? Well, presumably you'll have a large class and a small space. Shaking is a great way to get moving in place. Create your own routine: move methodically from the top of the head to the tip of the toes, shaking each body part individually. Once you've done that, start shaking in pairs: head and knees, shoulders and torso, legs and head. Then do all over body shakes. Have the group shake their body in a high space (reaching to the ceiling), a medium space and a low space (as low to the floor as they can get). Have them shake wide and skinny. Vary the speed. Try to shake without bending at the elbows and knees.

ADDING ON: After a couple of weeks of shaking, start shouting FREEZE as the group shakes their whole body. Emphasize that they should form a shape when they freeze. After a few shapes, have students create a character based on the frozen shape they end up in. Students move around the room, in character.

There are a million stretching exercises. Use traditional sports stretches or why not try yoga stretches? Over the weeks of class, go step by step to teach the sun salutation. What a great way to start each class! You can find a step by step guide to the sun salutation here www.yogasite.com/sunsalute.htm complete with diagrams.

Tense and Release:

Tense the body, hold for five seconds and release. Do this for the whole body and then separate body parts. How do you tense your knee?

The Alphabet:

Draw the alphabet in the air with different body parts: ankle, elbow, top of the head, shoulder, knee.

Weather Walks:

Every one moves around the space, walking at a brisk pace, trying to use all the corners of the room. Everyone should focus on walking so that they don't bump into anyone. There should also be no talking. Try to avoid 'the circle of doom' where everyone ends up walking around the room in a circle, all going in the same direction. Once everyone is focused at neutral walking change the weather. The aim is that everyone must change their walk to suit the weather. The more specific they can be, the better! How do you walk in different weather? Some different environments include:

• hot sticky summer heat
• a blizzard
• a breeze, a fall wind, a hurricane
• a perfect summer day
• a rain storm

Once you have different weathers down, change the environment:

• a rocky steep mountain top
• underwater
• dark forest at night
• Amazon jungle
• New York City
• the moon
• a sheet of ice

Greeting Walks:

Everyone moves around the space, walking at a brisk pace trying to use all corners of the room. Everyone should focus on walking so they don't bump into anyone. There should be no talking. As they walk, give instructions to the group that at the count of three, they have to interact with the next person they make eye contact with. Example interactions are:

• the person is your best friend who you haven't seen in years.
• the person is your worst enemy (stress no physical violence)
• the person is someone you know a secret about.

In between each interaction have the group go back neutral walking.

Gesture Grow:

Form a circle. Person One does a small gesture. Everyone in the circle repeats the gesture. Person Two does the same gesture, and exaggerates it just a little. Everyone in the circle repeats this new gesture. Person Three does the same gesture, and exaggerates it a little more. Everyone in the circle repeats the gesture. Continue around the circle. It's important to 'grow' the gesture step by step instead of leaps and bounds.

Who's the Leader:

Form a circle. Person One goes outside and stands in the hall. Appoint a 'leader.' This 'leader' leads a series of changing gestures (clapping hands, slapping thighs, snapping fingers, dancing in place) which everyone else in the circle imitates. Their job is to change the gesture without being caught. Person One returns and stands in the middle of the circle. Person One must try and guess who's the leader. They get three guesses.

Made You Look:

Form a circle. Everyone has their head down and their eyes closed. On the count of three, everyone looks up and at another person in the circle. If two people make eye contact they have to point directly at each other and cry out 'Made you look!' These two are out and the circle closes in for another round. Certainly, you can have the two making eye contact cry out anything you like. Just make it clear and loud. Also, draw out the suspense of the count to three. Again, it doesn't have to be numbers, you can say anything!

Monkey Say Monkey Do:

Here's one for the concentration book. Form a circle. Two people stand face to face in the centre of the circle. Person one has to come up with a physical action (eg. jumping up and down) and a verbal action (eg. I am spinning in a circle). Person two has to do the verbal action, NOT the physical action. So, Person Two would have to spin in a circle, not jump up and down. Have another pair come to the centre and try their luck. Here's a list of actions:

• jump up and down
• spin in a circle
• do the twist
• slap your knees
• the chicken dance
• click your heels
• do the front crawl
• windmill the arms
• do a high kick

Vocal Warm Ups

These are not singing exercises, these are simply exercises to get students used to using their voice. Again, they are exercises that everyone can do at once. They sound a little goofy and can act as great ice-breakers. They act as a starting point.

Work the face:

Scrunch the face up tight and yawn it out as far as it will go. Have students make the face their mother always warned them about: 'If you make a face like that, it'll stay that way!'

Chew

Everyone stands in a circle and imagines they are chewing. Give instructions that they should work their jaw in conjunction to whatever's in their mouth. Some chew options are:

• bubble gum (1 piece, 2 pieces, 3 pieces)
• super sticky taffy
• carrots
• teeny tiny pretzels
• stale licorice

Then throw in something completely non chewable like soup and see what they do!

Noises

Start by buzzing the lips. Make motor boat sounds that start high and then go low. Don't think about notes, just think about sound.

• Move to humming. How long can they hum on a breath?
• Move on to making noise with an open mouth. Keep the sound going as students close the mouth and open it again.
• Make a short staccato sound on a ha-ha-ha-ha

Tongue Twisters

There's a huge list of twisters available. Try a new one each week. Have a competition to see who can do it the fastest while still being understandable.

OR......

If you've got students who just aren't into making weird noises go with school chants. Does your school have a fight song? Why not use camp chants? For example:

Poor Little Bug on the wall
No one to love him at all
No one to touch his nose, no one to tickle his toes
Poor Little Bug on the wall

Do this chant normal, as a typewriter, like your underwater, in opera style, in a high voice, in a low voice, in a slow voice.

Call and Response chants work really well because you don't have to teach them. You call out a line and the group responds:

Ooh kah lay lah
A tarrie tickie tumba
A messie mazzie muzza
Ooh a-lah way
A way a lah lay

Again, you're not training singers, you're just getting everyone to make sound. Have fun!

A Warm Up for Writers

Playwrights need warm ups too! Sometimes, all it takes is a little jab to get the creative juices flowing. A warm up at the beginning of class will help students get down to work. This is my favourite warm up

Organ Farewell

Write a monologue in which a character says good-bye, for whatever reason, to one of their organs. Heart, spleen, liver, skin, it's all fair game. There are two rules:

• Have a time limit. Two or three minutes.
• Once you start writing, you can't stop. The pen can never stop moving, even if you go off track!

The purpose of the warm up is to get writers to write without self-censoring. Let the thoughts, whatever thoughts, come out of the brain, down the arm and out the pen.

Self-censoring is a writer's greatest enemy. When a writer starts to doubt their writing, it can lead straight to writers block. But if the writer has a habit of creative writing without censorship, even if it's only for five minutes, that will lead into better work in general.

Book List

Here's a list of books that include physical and vocal warm ups!

• The Complete Choral Warm-Up Book
  By Russell Robinson, Jay Althouse
  On Amazon.com
  This book is focused on choirs but a possible great resource for vocal warm ups.
• The Singing and Acting Handbook : Games and Exercises for the Performer
  By Thomas Burgess
  On Amazon.com
• The Complete Voice and Speech Workout: 74 Exercises for Classroom and Studio Use
  By Janet Rodgers
  On Amazon.com
• Acting Games for the Individual Actor
  By Gavin Levy
  On Amazon.com
• Yoga Games for Children: Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements and Breath
  By Danielle Bersma, Marjoke Visscher
  On Amazon.com
  This book is essentially for children but if you want to incorporate yoga in your physical warm ups, it's a good starting place.
• Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher's Handbook
  By Viola Spolin
  On Amazon.com

Ringtones

Theatrefolk is going multi-media! Haven't you always wanted your favourite Shakespeare quote as your ring tone? Are you in a Theatrefolk play and want a quote to play when your fellow castmates call? Check out www.literaryringtones.com for more info!

Mrs. Merritt's Big Book of Holiday Skits

Looking for a Holiday Skit?

Mrs. Evelyn Merritt has what you're looking for. We're proud to be connected to this project.

Especially for elementary schools, this book is bursting with plays, scenes, skits, sketches and poems for holidays throughout the year.

See www.mrsmerritt.com for details.

What's new!

Our website has a whole new look! Tell us what you think.

AND Theatrefolk has a NEW HOME! Make sure you change any address information for us to:

Theatrefolk
PO Box 1064
Crystal Beach, ON L0S 1B0
Phone: 1-866-245-9138
Fax 1-877-245-9130

Conference Alert

Here's our upcoming conference schedule. If you're attending, please drop by and say hi!

In the Next Issue

What's new at Theatrefolk! Check out the new and the soon to be new scripts coming out this fall.

Stay in Touch

Future issues will be guided by your suggestions. Email stories, tips, suggestions, and questions to us. This newsletter belongs to you!

Some of our playwrights post to the Theatrefolk Blog. Check it out for insights into what's happening with Theatrefolk.