1

1

Guidelines for the Creation of Stories in Performance These guidel ines are meant to help you create your story and devise your piece. While reading you should always re-image these rules and principles in the context of movement and dance in order to see how you could possibly use them for your dance piece. 1. Three-dimensional characters: Physiognomy Physiognomy (a person’s physical features or expression) is the most obvious of the human dimensions regarding characters. Our appearance influences our att itude towards l ife. It determines our mental development, has an important influence on our behaviour and gives the reason for an exceeded self-confidence or inferiority complexes. It has an impact on how we move and hold ourselves. Sex: Age: Height and weight: Colour of hair , eyes and skin: Body stature: General appearance: e.g. attractive, clean, thin or fat , decent, untidy. Head, face, l imbs. Defects: e.g. deformities, birthmarks, diseases Genes: Soc io logy If somebody is raised in a small f lat and played in the streets his/her reactions are completely different from a person who l ived in a vi l la and who’s surrounding was rather steri le. Part of society: e.g. lower-, middle-, upper class Profession: e.g. kind of work, working t ime, income, working conditions, professional talent Education: e.g school types, period, grades, favourite subjects, talents, weak sides Family: e.g. parents - work, habits, development of parents, parental weaknesses, ignorance, indifference, orphan, marital status of the character Religion: Nationality: Place within the community: e.g. clubs, sport, boss or member among friends Polit ical interests: Leisure t ime, hobbies: e.g. kind of books, newspapers and magazines Psychology Psychology is the product of the other two (physiognomy and sociology). The influences of the two other dimensions produce ambitions, frustrations, temperament, habits and complexes… they al l manifest in the way we move and hold ourselves. Privacy, moral values: Personal prémisses, ambitions: Frustrations, bigger disappointments:

2

2

Temperament: e.g. choleric, rel ieved, pessimistic, optimistic General att itude: e.g. indifferent, mil itant, Complexes: e.g. weird ideas, fears, inhibit ions, superstit ion Extroverted, introverted Abil it ies: e.g. languages, talents Characterist ics: e.g. inner balance, taste, power of judgement or imagination IQ: To understand the movement vocabulary of a character we have to consider the motivation leading him towards his actions/movements. 1a. Main Character: - is the character who has a goal and definitely needs to achieve it - the goal has to be concrete and reachable, i t does not exist beforehand

(before the fi lm/play starts) – it evolves in the 1. act - at the end of the performance the question “Did the character achieve

his/her goal or not?” is answered - the way that leads towards the goal has to be real ist ic/possible - the main character should just have one goal and there should just be one

main confl ict (that connects the beginning with the end) - something big/important has to be at stake ( in order to achieve the goal) - there has to be a counter force opposed to the achievement of the goal

that makes it hard to get it - main character has to get active in order to oppose the counter force

“Someone (main character) wants (desire/wish/need) something (goal) badly (necessity) and is having difficulties getting it.” - the goal could as well be trying to come back to the status quo which was

disturbed in the beginning - the main character can be an ensemble/group - the need of a character (which is less specif ic than the actual goal of this

character) is an unconscious longing and the actual drive of his/her actions; a basic complex that everyone can relate to

- complexes such as longing for love, recognit ion, trust, self confidence (they are subconscious and the character is gett ing aware of this sort of lack during the performance = development of the character*)

- the lack connects the character to the spectator, the spectator and character can have these lacks in common (universal language) and the spectator could possibly foresee the need

- a need is an emotional longing, not an intel lectual desire - therefore the goal of a f igure is eventually inadequate to please the actual

need which creates the tension in the plot - “classical solution”: main character renounces his/her goal because

he/she sees and understands (through the development* of his/her character) her need

- GOAL= exterior plane versus NEED= interior plane - *development of character: the exterior plane is the visible batt le/way to

achieve the goal , the interior plane shows the change from not knowing

3

3

about one’s need towards knowing about it ; every inner change is a reaction to outer changes

- the situation of the main character can be clarif ied with side characters 2. Conflicts:

- attack and counter attack have to increase throughout the performance - comparison to an auction:

1. offer - 2. investment/stake of party A (=attack) - 3. higher investment of party B (=counter attack) – 4. party A offers more – 5. party B outbids etc.

- there has to be a challenge for the protagonist - structure:

Counterforce/antagonist puts obstacles in the protagonist’s way to achieve the goal .

2a. Possible Conflicts 1. confl ict with the antagonist (e.g. duet) : - the achievement of the goal is disturbed by only one person (antagonist) - there is no space for compromises - the goals of the protagonist and the antagonist has to oppose and exclude

each other - the antagonist has to be as strong/or even stronger as/than the

protagonist - protagonist and antagonist have to be dependent on each other

(dependence of opposit ion) - themes are very specif ic, according to individual features/nature of the

two characters 2. collective confl ict (e.g. group performance): - mostly social , polit ical issues - the main character is opposed by more than one antagonist (group) - themes are more general 3. confl ict with the situation: - opponent is e.g. nature, t ime - circumstances disturb the achievement of the goal - protagonist has to deal with the situation

Main Character

Counter Force

1. obstacle

2. obstacle

Goal

3. obstacle

etc.

4

4

4. inner confl ict : - the confl ict l ies/happens within the character - “shall I , shal l I not?”, “can I or not?”, “what /who is the right?” - an inner confl ict is mostly represented/symbolised by an outer confl ict - inner voice has to be represented/visual ised by e.g. a group

(common mistakes: no development of confl icts = story remains static and has no rising action, attacks do not increase or change quality, stake is not the highest possible) 3. Plot Structure:

- the plot/action changes direction at a turning point , the 1s t turning point

kicks the character out of his/her status quo and indicates the plot’s direction

- inc i t ing inc ident : What disturbs the main character’s l ife? Where? How? - Incit ing incident is placed at the end of the 1s t sequence, gives transit ion

into the 2n d sequence; usually an event, a decision, particular information etc.

(the exposit ion is complete when the goal and the counter force are named)

Exposition, 1st Act

Sequence 1 Sequence 2

non disturbed state, status quo

set up the confl ict , development of plot

Inc i t ing inc ident

1. turning point

Sequence 1: - introduction of

characters, t ime, site, a confl ict that describes the main character, description of the non disturbed state

Sequence 2: - counter force is shown

but is not yet active, the confl ict is set , closes with a turning point, goal is clear, character cannot go back

Confrontation, 2nd Act

Seq.3 Seq.4

obstacle

obstacle

obstacle

obstacle

- obstacles have to alter quality (emotional towards desperate)

- main character comes closer to his/her goal by trying new ways but is forced back by obstacles (1s t cl imax: goal lost)

1s t cl imax, emotional cl imax (turning point)

Seq.5 Seq.6

2n d cl imax (turning point)

5

5

- at the end of the 4t h sequence the main character has almost reached his/her goal (whilst increasing the confl ict) which creates an emotional cl imax (e.g. a catastrophe) and is the actual cl imax of the performance

- the emotional cl imax is a turning point where the character changes towards an emotional down (he/she might think that the goal wil l never be achieved)

- the 2n d act contains the main tension and the confl ict situation 4. Sequences: -

- division into 8 sequences helps structuring the performance, name each

sequence - every sequence has a purpose (nameable)

5. Scenes:

- a scene serves to define the characters, their history, their status, their

present state/situation, their goal , their confl ict (a confl ict serves to describe a character)

- ask: a) Who’s scene is that? Who is the main character? (the scene belongs to that character which aims for a goal and has the bigger problem)

b) Who is the counter force/antagonist? c) Which goals do they have in common?

1. intention: What do the character(s) intend to do? 2. motivation: Why do they want to do that? 3. situation: With which knowledge do they enter the scene? Where do they

come from, where do they go to? In which emotional state are they? What are the circumstances?

Act 1: Exposition Act 2: Confrontation Act 3: Solution

Seq. 1 Seq. 2 3 4 5 6 Seq. 7 Seq. 8

Solution, 3rd Act

7. Sequence 8. Sequence

turning point

turning point

- in the 7. Sequence tension rises towards a cl imax that fal ls for a l i tt le moment (1s t turning point) and recovers in the 8. Sequence (2n d turning point) to r ise towards the final cl imax and end of the play/fi lm

6

6

4. hypothesis about the partners: How do the characters think about their partners? What do they expect from each other?

5. roles: Which roles do they have/play? 6. strategy: Is there a strategy with which the characters want to achieve

their goal before the scene starts? 7. location: locations influence actions and dialogues, they should rather be

concrete than general 8. status: characters try to achieve a constant status (a lower or a higher

one), every character prefers one status and tr ies to actively get there, the scene is designed in order to (consciously or not) achieve or maintain the character’s preferred status; high s tatus means to act from above and a low status means to be humble/inferior, some characters corre late in between in order to find a balance; the status can change during the development of the character; characters can have the same status, which increases the potential for confl icts in a scene (example: two main characters of same sex - one weak, one strong – develop contrari ly, they change status from e.g. person A being weak and dominated by person B to a relat ion where person A’s character develops towards a stronger status which is higher than his/her partner’s

- characters within a scene have to be dependent from each other, they

have to use their most important stake (the strongest tactic, the strongest movement)

- in general : start a scene with the main character - a scene is structured l ike an entire play containing confl icts, emotional

cl imaxes and turning points - create a network of performers within the plot/story - psychology of a scene: if the audience gets a detai l they get intrigued and

want to see the whole picture 6. Time:

- the past can constantly be reflected within a scene, i t can be concrete,

show detai ls , s ite and time - the present is reflected whilst the characters show their goals, their

situation, their feel ings - the future : the scene should st imulate the spectator to question the future

of the characters “If in the first act a gun is hanging on the wall it has to be used by the third act.” (Tschechow)

7. Indication versus Execution: - to indicate means to almost coincidental ly introduce an idea:

e.g. a character, a prop, a costume, a motive or a location that wil l be used later on in greater detai l

- to execute means to go back to previously established ideas

7

7

8. Voice over: - voice over means a voice of a non present/visible character/narrator - a voice can give orientation in a complicated sett ing (e.g. when movement

cannot communicate a part of the story) - a voice can anticipate parts of the story, summarise events or define leaps

in the t ime structure - narrator: auctor ia l means al l-knowing; the I-narrator talks in the 1s t person,

the personal narrator talks in the 3r d person - the narrator can appear as a real but independent character in the

performance