Hamlet

Creating the world of the Court through movement
The following record of the Court Workshop with the Movement Director Liz Ranken, the director Michael Boyd and the designer, Tom Piper is based on Jacqui O'Hanlon's rehearsal journal. Jacqui is Creative Support Leader for the 2004 Tragedies season.

Wednesday 5th May
What does it feel like to be in the Danish court? The following exercises were designed to explore the powerful, insecure, dynastic court situation at Elsinore and ways in which actors can get the world of the Danish court under their skin. The designer Tom Piper joined the session half way through: some of the movement work informed choices he made in terms of costume.

FINDING A RHYTHM
There is some doubling in the show, but for the purposes of these exercises, Liz Ranken asked each actor to work on their main character. She asked them to close their eyes and connect with a rhythm that feels like that character. The actors walked around the rehearsal room, clapping a rhythm that felt like their character - some were fast, others slow - e.g. Polonius had a slow, regular rhythm and Rosencrantz a rather staccato wiping hand movement. Next they were asked to bring the rhythm they'd found into their physicality as they continued to walk about. The ghost's rhythm was very slow. After a while, Liz asked them to stop clapping but to keep the rhythm going internally, telling them that the rhythm might find expression in arm gestures or in changing direction. As Ophelia walked, she changed direction continually and made a gesture with her arm as if to wipe her face.

Liz asked each actor to touch their character's physical centre:

Gertrude chose the heart, as did Ophelia

Hamlet chose the head

Rosencrantz chose his knees(!) and so on.

As the company moved around, they exaggerated their chosen centre, as if, almost cartoon-like, the centre were leading them. After a while, that sense of being led by a certain body part became less evident, more subtle, more integrated.

TENSION
When Liz asked each actor to think about where their character holds tension;

Clive Wood (Claudius) decided that his character held his tension in his head

Hamlet in his stomach

Ophelia in her heart

Gertrude in her neck.

When asked to find a way of relieving that tension, to find a gesture that would relieve their tension, Gertrude stroked her neck, Hamlet held his stomach and Ophelia brushed her temples.

FEAR
Liz then asked the actors to add in an element of fear. What does this do to the physicality of the body? She told them to let the tension be very real, very present in the body and then asked them to exaggerate the fear. They were asked to imagine that their characters were in a private space where they were free to express their fear: Claudius bent over double and Gertrude held her neck. Liz encouraged everyone to push it as far as they could and be conscious of what happened to their breath when, for example, Hamlet doubled up on the floor.

PUBLIC v. PRIVATE
When Liz asked everyone to imagine someone had walked into their private space, they had to cover up their fear on a clap. They switched from private to public and back to private before being asked to walk around the room with the subtext of fear and discomfort present in their bodies and consciousness. They were asked what the subtext of fear did to them when they greeted other people in the room? How much space would they give other people? Would they make eye contact? etc.

GESTURES and ANSWERS
The company played around with these ideas for a while and then were asked to find the person who was their twin in the play:

Claudius paired with Gertrude

Ophelia with Laertes

Hamlet with Horatio

Rosencrantz with Guildenstern etc.

One person in each pair made a movement, which their partner answered with another. They were encouraged to use abstract movements with no narrative, to use their whole body and different levels. A fantastic sense of play developed as the company grew more confident and experimental. After a while everyone swapped partners but continued to offer and respond using movements without narrative and then the pairs separated, so that they were offering and responding across the space.

RESPONDING TO THE KING
Next, focus turned to the king. Clive offered movements to which the whole the court had to respond. Liz insisted they answer the king as if their life depended on it. Next they answered the queen, even if she made the smallest of gestures. Liz wanted them to realise that everything has a consequence. Then the level of fear was stepped up and everyone had to continue as if they were absolutely terrified. This increased the level of tension in everyone physically. Then the cast were told to reduce the effect the tension had on their body, as if trying not to show the tension, because they were in a public space. Lastly, everyone had to answer Hamlet. Throughout each improvisation there was a strong sense of the presence of the Ghost getting in the way of characters, coming between Gertrude and Claudius, following Hamlet and holding him in his gaze. It was interesting that Claudius did reach out to Hamlet a couple of times, as if trying to make contact with the solitary figure.

Using paintings
In the next stage of the workshop, Liz produced some copies of paintings by Rubens. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was a Flemish painter, court painter to the archduke and teacher of Anthony van Dyke. A friend of Velàzquez, Rubens painted the Spanish monarch and, in England, Peace and War which now hangs in the National Gallery. He was also commissioned to paint pictures for the banqueting hall at Whitehall. Many will be familiar with Rubens's portraits of his first wife, Isabella Brant. Tom Piper has used Rubens' work as inspiration for his costume designs. Liz asked the company to make a composition, a tableaux, inspired by one of the paintings. In new pairs, the company greeted each other as a classical portrait and continued to offer and answer gestures whilst making beautiful pictures. Liz wanted each actor to have a self-awareness, to draw focus, as if desiring the public to look at them in their portraits. Tom had brought in rails of Jacobean costumes and boxes of accessories (i.e. lots of ruffs) and each actor was asked to choose something they felt suited their character. In groups, they made a series of tableaux from key moments in the play, e.g. the first court scene (Act 1 scene 2). It was interesting to note who was on the edge of the group and who was in the centre.

The court in costume
The picture starts with Clive entering and striking an image which others add on to. Liz called in the named characters in order - Gertrude, Polonius, Hamlet, Ophelia - followed by the rest of the company. All were asked to enter the picture with the physicality of their character. Most of the court went to the edges of the picture. Laertes joined the central group. Next everyone was asked to move about, their status conferred by their costumes. The court was suddenly alive with gestures and answers and connections between characters. When they were asked to say goodbye, as if leaving the court, they explored different ways of departing - e.g. there was a long, lingering kiss between Claudius and Gertrude. Slowly everyone left the space.

Summing up
When the company was asked to create a grotesque tableaux of the court after the murder of Polonius, Liz clapped her hands to signal that everyone should make manifest their fear and then clapped her hands again to signal everyone to suppress their fear and put on a 'public face'. Afterwards, Michael Boyd talked to the company about what he had seen, which he described as 'a muscle of emotional intelligence being worked'. He said that locating the centre of each character's anxiety was a very useful exercise and that alertness, peripheral vision and self-awareness, all were vital for the court.


			The following record of the Court Workshop with the Movement Director Liz Ranken, the director Michael Boyd and the designer, Tom Piper is based on Jacqui O'Hanlon's rehearsal journal. Jacqui is Creative Support Leader for the 2004 Tragedies season. What does it feel like to be in the Danish court? The following exercises were designed to explore the powerful, insecure, dynastic court situation at Elsinore and ways in which actors can get the world of the Danish court under their skin. The designer Tom Piper joined the session half way through: some of the movement work informed choices he made in terms of costume. There is some doubling in the show, but for the purposes of these exercises, Liz Ranken asked each actor to work on their main character. She asked them to close their eyes and connect with a rhythm that feels like that character. The actors walked around the rehearsal room, clapping a rhythm that felt like their character - some were fast, others slow - e.g. Polonius had a slow, regular rhythm and Rosencrantz a rather staccato wiping hand movement. Next they were asked to bring the rhythm they'd found into their physicality as they continued to walk about. The ghost's rhythm was very slow. After a while, Liz asked them to stop clapping but to keep the rhythm going internally, telling them that the rhythm might find expression in arm gestures or in changing direction. As Ophelia walked, she changed direction continually and made a gesture with her arm as if to wipe her face. Liz asked each actor to touch their character's physical centre: Gertrude chose the heart, as did Ophelia Hamlet chose the head Rosencrantz chose his knees(!) and so on. As the company moved around, they exaggerated their chosen centre, as if, almost cartoon-like, the centre were leading them. After a while, that sense of being led by a certain body part became less evident, more subtle, more integrated. When Liz asked each actor to think about where their character holds tension; Clive Wood (Claudius) decided that his character held his tension in his head Hamlet in his stomach Ophelia in her heart Gertrude in her neck. When asked to find a way of relieving that tension, to find a gesture that would relieve their tension, Gertrude stroked her neck, Hamlet held his stomach and Ophelia brushed her temples. Liz then asked the actors to add in an element of fear. What does this do to the physicality of the body? She told them to let the tension be very real, very present in the body and then asked them to exaggerate the fear. They were asked to imagine that their characters were in a private space where they were free to express their fear: Claudius bent over double and Gertrude held her neck. Liz encouraged everyone to push it as far as they could and be conscious of what happened to their breath when, for example, Hamlet doubled up on the floor. When Liz asked everyone to imagine someone had walked into their private space, they had to cover up their fear on a clap. They switched from private to public and back to private before being asked to walk around the room with the subtext of fear and discomfort present in their bodies and consciousness. They were asked what the subtext of fear did to them when they greeted other people in the room? How much space would they give other people? Would they make eye contact? etc. The company played around with these ideas for a while and then were asked to find the person who was their twin in the play: Claudius paired with Gertrude Ophelia with Laertes Hamlet with Horatio Rosencrantz with Guildenstern etc. One person in each pair made a movement, which their partner answered with another. They were encouraged to use abstract movements with no narrative, to use their whole body and different levels. A fantastic sense of play developed as the company grew more confident and experimental. After a while everyone swapped partners but continued to offer and respond using movements without narrative and then the pairs separated, so that they were offering and responding across the space. Next, focus turned to the king. Clive offered movements to which the whole the court had to respond. Liz insisted they answer the king as if their life depended on it. Next they answered the queen, even if she made the smallest of gestures. Liz wanted them to realise that everything has a consequence. Then the level of fear was stepped up and everyone had to continue as if they were absolutely terrified. This increased the level of tension in everyone physically. Then the cast were told to reduce the effect the tension had on their body, as if trying not to show the tension, because they were in a public space. Lastly, everyone had to answer Hamlet. Throughout each improvisation there was a strong sense of the presence of the Ghost getting in the way of characters, coming between Gertrude and Claudius, following Hamlet and holding him in his gaze. It was interesting that Claudius did reach out to Hamlet a couple of times, as if trying to make contact with the solitary figure. In the next stage of the workshop, Liz produced some copies of paintings by Rubens. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was a Flemish painter, court painter to the archduke and teacher of Anthony van Dyke. A friend of Velàzquez, Rubens painted the Spanish monarch and, in England, Peace and War which now hangs in the National Gallery. He was also commissioned to paint pictures for the banqueting hall at Whitehall. Many will be familiar with Rubens's portraits of his first wife, Isabella Brant. Tom Piper has used Rubens' work as inspiration for his costume designs. Liz asked the company to make a composition, a tableaux, inspired by one of the paintings. In new pairs, the company greeted each other as a classical portrait and continued to offer and answer gestures whilst making beautiful pictures. Liz wanted each actor to have a self-awareness, to draw focus, as if desiring the public to look at them in their portraits. Tom had brought in rails of Jacobean costumes and boxes of accessories (i.e. lots of ruffs) and each actor was asked to choose something they felt suited their character. In groups, they made a series of tableaux from key moments in the play, e.g. the first court scene (Act 1 scene 2). It was interesting to note who was on the edge of the group and who was in the centre. The picture starts with Clive entering and striking an image which others add on to. Liz called in the named characters in order - Gertrude, Polonius, Hamlet, Ophelia - followed by the rest of the company. All were asked to enter the picture with the physicality of their character. Most of the court went to the edges of the picture. Laertes joined the central group. Next everyone was asked to move about, their status conferred by their costumes. The court was suddenly alive with gestures and answers and connections between characters. When they were asked to say goodbye, as if leaving the court, they explored different ways of departing - e.g. there was a long, lingering kiss between Claudius and Gertrude. Slowly everyone left the space. When the company was asked to create a grotesque tableaux of the court after the murder of Polonius, Liz clapped her hands to signal that everyone should make manifest their fear and then clapped her hands again to signal everyone to suppress their fear and put on a 'public face'. Afterwards, Michael Boyd talked to the company about what he had seen, which he described as 'a muscle of emotional intelligence being worked'. He said that locating the centre of each character's anxiety was a very useful exercise and that alertness, peripheral vision and self-awareness, all were vital for the court.