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A shuffling of feet there.
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Either can distract an audience, making people see there’s an actor on stage. And if they see an actor, they’re not seeing the character. We don’t just have to believe the words of a performance. We have to believe the movements.
It’s movement coach Jef Awada’s job to make sure that every move the actors at the Great River Shakespeare Festival make is 100 percent believable.
“I’m the text coach for the body,” Awada said.
Ninety percent of all communication is physical, Awada said, making movement an essential part of portraying a character. Awada works with the GRSF actors, allowing the directors to concentrate on other things.
“If I can see my effect on the show, I’m not doing my job,” he said.
Awada has been a movement coach for eight years and teaches movement at Webster University in St. Louis. He’s always paid close attention to the way people move and how we tell stories with our bodies.
“I see people’s bodies move before I see anything else,” Awada said.
Awada gets the cast to play games like ninja toe tag at the beginning of rehearsals to help give them a sense of play and to feel comfortable working physically with each other.
Awada watches for “noodling,” a word he uses for actors who meander into movement rather than getting right to it. Noodling is the equivalent of the “umms” and “ahhhs” of conversation.
“People don’t know they do it usually,” Awada said.
It’s often a matter of clarifying movements and eliminating anything extraneous.
“We’re constantly sending messages with our bodies,” Awada said. “I think it’s incumbent on actors to have as much control as possible of the message they’re sending to an audience.”
There are multiple gestures that can be used to help convey the words. A slight tilt of the head shows a sense of wonder. Looking up changes the meaning entirely. Even teaching actors the importance of being still is important, Awada said.
“I don’t know where there isn’t movement,” Awada said.
Awada said it’s good for actors to be able to do a scene multiple ways and give director options.
“Great actors are great movers,” he said.
Behind the bard
This is part three in a series of “Behind the Bard” stories, offering a glimpse into the backstage work that helps make the Great River Shakespeare Festival possible. The fifth year of the festival takes place June 27 through July 27 at Winona State University’s Performing Arts Center. For more information, visit www.grsf.org.
Contact Käri Knutson at kknutson@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3523.
xfs-123 wrote on Jun 14, 2008 7:21 AM: