New York International Fringe Festiva, 2006
City: New York, US
Company:
Show: A One Man Hamlet

Festival Fringe Praha, 2006
City: Prague, Czech Republic
Company:
Show: A One Man Hamlet

Buxton Festival Fringe, 2005
City: Buxton, UK
Company:
Show: A One Man Hamlet

Shizuoka Spring Arts Festival, 2000
City: Shizuoka, Japan
Company: Frank
Show: Heavy Metal Hamlet

The Australian Shakespeare Festival, 1998
City: Bowral, Australia
Company: Frank
Show: MacBeth

Toga International Arts Festival, 1998
City: Toga, Japan
Company: Frank
Show: Salome

‘Sea Change’ Olympic Festival, 1998
City: Sydney, Australia
Company: Frank
Show: Heavy Metal Hamlet

The ‘gestalt’ of the method serves as a framework to discover and explore clarity, precision and potency of performance that can only be taught through a very strict form. This process is demanding and extremely technical, though paradoxically offers a performer more freedom to explore. Imagination and spontaneity play important roles in ‘how’ an actor performs the training.

The method creates opportunities for performers to develop awareness of themselves and the group. Central to this corporeal approach is a connection between mind and body and a requirement for a strong mental focus and concentration.

By focusing on physicality, the training offers an international, cross-culture system for performer development. This method has emerged as a contemporary approach, which has gained international recognition both as a training method and through practitioners’ performances. The result of the training is a powerful and theatrical expression.

Tadashi Suzuki is a theatre director, writer and philosopher working out of Toga, Toyama, Japan. Suzuki is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival), co-founder of the Saratoga International Theatre Institute in Saratoga Springs, New York, and creator of the Suzuki Method of Acting. Suzuki also was General Artistic Director of Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC)(1995~2007), an international committee member of the Theatre Olympics, founding member of the BeSeTo Festival (jointly organized by leading theatre artists from Japan, China and Korea) and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Japan Performing Arts Foundation, a nation-wide network of theatre professionals in Japan.

Improvisation is at the core of what an actor does – of how he or she creates. It is not enough for a performer to idly recite lines of text. The actor needs to engage with what they are doing in the performance and make their role live.

When an actor performs, he enters the stage having endowed himself with craft to effectively be heard and understood, developed a physicality, analysed the script, developed a characterisation and interpreted meaning. But craft alone is not enough; the craft needs to be related to the performance. For example, when an actor has developed a strong speaking voice, it is not something the actor necessarily should be focusing on when performing a character. The application of actor’s craft is performed through improvisation:

All performance uses the body of the actor, giving space and form to an idea, situation, character, text or event in the moment of creation. It does not matter if the work has been rehearsed for a month, with every move, every nuance of speech learned and practised. In the act of performance the actor becomes an improviser. (Frost & Yarrow, 2007, p. 4)

The “moment of creation” is the point of discovery, where something new is realised through an act by the performer. “If we think of art as a means of giving form to life, improvisation can be looked at as one way of adding to our sense of liveliness of art, a means of avoiding the sterility that results from rote recitations of abstract conventional forms” (Wright Wexman, 1980, p. 29). This view is repeated by Dewey and Collingwood (Sawyer, 2000, p. 152-154) who have both developed a theory of art, based on different perspectives of aesthetics, that has resulted in “a theory of the creative process as interpretation” (Sawyer, 2000, p. 152).

The importance of improvisation in the process of acting is reflected in it’s inclusion in many performance methods. Some major western practitioners who have formed performance approaches utilising improvisation include: Stella Adler, Antonin Artaud, Clive Barker, Suzanne Bing, Augusto Boal, Michael Chekhov, Jacques Copeau (first modern use of improvisation for exploratory development), Etienne Decroux, Jerzy Grotowski, Keith Johnstone, Jacques Lecoq, Sanford Meisner, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Michel Saint-Denis, Constantine Stanislavsky (the first modern use of improvisation for rehearsal and training) and Lee Strasberg, to name but a few (Frost & Yarrow, 2007, p. 17-62).

These methods approach performance from different perspectives and use varying terminology to communicate how to act. Below are examined four commonly used terms and how they relate to improvisation. These terms denote different approaches to the creative act and will provide valuable incite into improvisation as practitioners discuss their work.

• to play

Why begin with the “Jeu”? Because “Jeu” – game and play – is the source of everything: of the pleasure and desire to be an actor. Playing in the theatre is the same as playing at running, jumping, fighting as people and animals do: playing cowboys, Indians, soldiers, doctors and with dolls. … Is my pleasure immense when I play with the freshness of my childhood before a thousand spectators beneath two thousand theatre projectors, or not really so immense? If it’s not immense, leave the stage. You won’t be loved enough. (Gaulier, 2008)

Gaulier’s view is supported by Gale Edwards, who stresses that acting is directly related to an actor’s ability to play (Macauley, 2003, p. 137). Acting requires a person to enter imaginatively into another world, like a child playing a game, but at the same time add “mature attributes like intellect and [an] investigation of ideas” (Macauley, 2003, p. 137).

This type of play directly relates to the same kind of active exploration undertaken with improvisation. Improvisation is a kind of play focused on performance.

• To be in the moment

For an actor to be in the moment infers a conscious effort not to pre-conceive or plan ahead, but to allow actions to come “in response to the immediate stimuli of one’s environment” (Frost & Yarrow, 2007, p. 4).  Being in the moment means to allow ‘this’ moment to play, and see where it takes you (Macauley, 2003, p. 25). The moment allows for spontaneity, for fresh, natural response that leads to an unravelling of dramatic events. This moment is the moment of creation, of discovery, and the same moment being found using improvisation – different terms describing the same creative process.

• Exploring aspects of self

I think that the revealing of the self – or aspects of the self – in the moment of acting is an unconscious thing, but I think that to allow an unconscious revelation to happen probably requires a ‘conscious’ process. (Australian theatre director Ros Horin, as cited in Macauley, 2003, p. 93)

The actor’s instrument is themself: their body, emotions, voice and mind. This instrument is used to realise characters within a specific dramatic situation. The performance is concerned “with an exploration of ‘self’ and ‘reality’ for performers and/or audience.” (Frost & Yarrow, 2007, p. 18) This exploration is based in the performer’s reality, happens during the performance and manifests itself for an audience. The explorer, as with the improviser, must hold him or herself tenderly open and aware for the discoveries to arrive and these discoveries are what the audience is attentively waiting for.

• Acting / re-acting and listening

One thing that’s central for an actor is that acting/reacting thing … this kind of connection should be happening automatically. (Australian theatre director Aubrey Mellor, as cited in Macauley, 2003, p. 60)

As improvising is not pre-planned, it is critical that actors listen to one another (Macauley, 2003, p. 77). This listening is a pre-cursor to a response or re-action, which in turn becomes a further catalyst for more actions. This dynamic relationship of acting and re-acting between the actors requires the performer to ‘respond’ to their environment (including other actors) and creates spontaneity. When an actor is not listening “it’s because someone’s probably learnt their lines and … worked out beforehand how they’re going to play the scene” (Macauley, 2003, p. 77).

The aim of using improvisation in adapting a stage play to screen is to provide the director and actors with a process for exploring the material, as well as to facilitate the actor’s process as a performer. In this context, improvisation can be defined as a creative process for an actor in the following way:

 Improvisation: the skill of using bodies, space, all human resources, to generate a coherent physical expression of an idea, a situation, a character (even, perhaps, a text); to do this spontaneously, in response to the immediate stimuli of one’s environment, and to do it à l’improviste: as though taken by surprise, without preconceptions.  (Frost & Yarrow, 2007, p. 4)

Hamlet is uniquely suited to the format of a one-man show as the play’s dramatic tension stems from Hamlet’s internal thought processes rather than a conflict between two characters. His sense of isolation and alienation are emphasised by removing other actors from the stage.

Actor, Will Bligh, takes on the dark mantle of Shakespeare’s prince of Denmark in Andrew Cowie’s unique and highly acclaimed adaptation. Only Shakespeare’s text is used to present the play as seen through Hamlet’s eyes, creating an immediate and personal experience of the play.

A one man Hamlet is a brave and intelligent thing to try.

The incorporeal characters are ambiguous – do they exist invisible to us or are they the creations of Hamlet’s mental torment? And it is this torment that is so forcefully embodied by this rendition of the play. The focus is entirely on Hamlet. We see events through his eyes, we learn of them as he does. The audience is not privy to the events that happen “off-stage”. We know what Hamlet knows and learn as he does of the developing tragedy. There is a stronger sense of his madness than will ever be possible in the complete play.

But this is a complete play; faithful to Shakespeare and intensified by the immediacy of the audience’s relation to Hamlet. The bravery lies in one man being all with no support or reaction from the rest of the cast. The actor must more truly become Hamlet than in any conventional production. Your reviewer’s thoughts strayed to the possibilities of a One Man Macbeth or Lear? A complement to “Lear’s Daughters” perhaps, also on the Fringe this year.

The work was created by Andrew Cowie in 1990 and has seen many Fringes including Edinburgh and Adelaide where it won a Festival Fringe First. Will, an Australian himself, has performed it in Berlin recently and honours Buxton with a fine performance. For those familiar with the play this work will ask new questions and bring new insights. It is a play to provoke thought which is one of the things a Fringe is for!

John Wilson, Buxton Festival Fringe 2005
(Read this review online at http://www.buxtonfringe.org.uk/reviews2005dra.html)

from Fringe Festival Praha, 2006

It is clear from the opening moments of ‘A One Man Hamlet’ that Will Bligh is one hell of an actor. As he takes the stage and begins Andrew Cowie’s adaptation of the Bard’s most famous play, we see in him the intensity to carry it through to the end. The production is lucky to have him, because the rest of it can’t live up to Bligh’s work. The adaptation is effective but loses all flow and grace in the final moments, right about the time we should be fully engaged. The music and sound effects are wooden and poorly chosen. The production is, by the end, more of a showcase for Bligh than an effective attempt at portraying the world of Elsinore entirely through Hamlet’s eyes. However, worth seeing for a brilliant take on ‘what a piece of work is man’ speech.

Liam Billingham, BLATT (Bohemian’s Review on Art, Lit and Ideas) Prague
(Reviewed for festival; http://www.praguefringe.com for more)

from New York International Fringe Festival, 2006

If you think tackling the role of Hamlet is a daunting task for an actor, try tackling it as a one-man show. Which is what Australian actor Will Bligh does in A One Man Hamlet, presented by Haus Der Farben Productions.

Adapted by Andrew Cowie, this 70-minute version of one of—if not the—most produced Shakespeare play (I’ve seen more than half a dozen productions myself) offers us Bligh in the role of the Prince of Denmark, along with his “ghost” father and a couple of the Players in the play-within-a play. Making it a one man show-within-a one man show!

On a stage with nothing but a small black trunk, Bligh appears in a simple white dress shirt, black pants, and black shoes. A twelve-inch dagger at his side, he removes from the trunk a variety of props he will use to tell the story of a young man, “commanded by the ghost of his father to murder his uncle.”

Citing the First Quarto, the Second Quarto and the Folio as its source material, Cowie’s adaptation not only features Hamlet’s famous “soliloquies,” it includes scenes from the rest of the play. Bligh and director Lauren Pfitzer have shaped his performance so that it happens in one of three ways: either to internalize (during soliloquies like “To be or not to be”) or to address the audience (which is when Bligh is at his best; I kid you not, when Hamlet says, “Good friends…Never make known what you have seen tonight…Nay, but swear’t, ” I wanted to stand up and do it!) or to talk to imaginary characters he places on the stage with him (Hamlet’s love, Ophelia; Hamlet’s Queen mother, Gertrude; the Players to whom Hamlet gives his famous “advice.”)

Again, when Bligh engages the audience—daring to look us directly in the eye—is when he rocks as Hamlet. It’s when I was most routing for him to kill that (literal) mother-f***er of an Uncle of his! But when he excluded us—posing questions only to himself—that’s when he lost me. (If the eyes are the windows of the soul, when I could see into Bligh’s soul is when I truly cared for him.)

A totally engaging moment occurs in A One Man Hamlet—thanks to the lighting design of Shane Stevens. A simple pool indicates the arrival of the “ghost.” Which Bligh steps into—as if being pulled by the unseen force—actually becoming the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father (and also showing his diversity as a performer).

I do commend Will Bligh for daring to tackle such a feat. I also encourage him to play each and every moment with the kind of strength he does when he’s at his best—including his audience.

Frank Anthony Polito, nytheatre.com
(Read this review online at http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/archshow.php?key=580)

It was with Frank Theatre that I twice toured to Japan and performed at Tadashi Suzuki’s international festivals. Both experiences were seminal to my understanding of the potential of theatre.

The first visit was to Toga, located in the mountains near Toyama, Japan. Toga is where Suzuki produced many famous pieces with his ensemble, Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and also developed his method of acting. In contrast to Toga’s small town country environment, Shizuoka is a city on the east coast of Japan. We were invited to perform in Suzuki’s international festival at ‘Udo’ (apart of SPAC), an outdoor Greek amphitheatre situated in the hills behind the city. These tours were heightened by the rich cultural experiences I gained training with Suzuki’s actors, watching his shows and performing at his venues.

I returned (without the company) to Japan in 2002, to train in Toga with Ellen Lauren (from CITI), and immersed myself in performance and culture.

The first video contains excerpts of my performance in Sydney.

The second video is an entire performance (around 70 minutes) from a season in Berlin, Germany. Click here to view this video.

At the heart of my filmmaking processes is a very personal interpretation of the world. I strive to communicate to an audience issues that reflect our shared human condition through a specific context.

Genre: Drama

Format: 16 mm

Year of Production: 1998

Country of Production: Australia

View: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4296992824550423625
Finalist in the Queensland New Filmmakers Awards, ’98.

Synopsis: Set the night after a party, a bitter clash between Sara and Michael presents two opposing ideologies.

“The Main Course” (writer/director/producer)
Duration: 23 minutes
Genre: Drama

Format: Video

Year of Production: 2000

Country of Production: Australia

In competition for National Short Film Competition, Canberra international Film Festival, ’00.

Finalist in the Queensland New Filmmakers Awards, ’00.

Synopsis: The primary focus of “The Main Course” was to create an environment conducive for improvisation, where the actors, using developed characters, discovered the story while shooting. The story is about Michelle’s revenge on her unfaithful boyfriend.

“Artistic Lives” (writer/director/producer)

Duration: 67 minutes.

Genre: Drama

Format: Video

Year of Production: 2004

Country of Production: Germany, Australia

View Scene: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3350326822134381328
Public screenings at: Filmbuhne am Steinplatz, Berlin, Germany, ‘03; and “Off the Mainstream”, University of Wolloongong, Australia, ‘04.

Synopsis: “Artistic Lives” aim was to develop believable performances by creating scenes in the story using improvisation. Mike Liegh’s method strongly influenced this process. The filmʼs story was created after casting and was based on the seven actors using the themes of ‘art’ and ‘relationships’.

“A Day In The Park” (writer/director/producer/actor)
Duration: 5 minutes.

Genre: Drama

Format: Video

Year of Production: 2006

Country of Production: Germany

Synopsis: Inspired by silent filmmakers, “A Day In The Park” follows a ‘tramp’ and his run-in with the law.

Teaser trailer of “My Life In Art” (writer/director/producer)
Duration: 4 minutes.

Genre: Drama

Format: 16 mm

Year of Production: 2010

Country of Production: Australia

View:  http://www.livingart.info/trailer.mp4

Produced for the screenplay of the same title.

Synopsis: Shows scene excerpts from the screenplay of “My Life In Art”.