Once the student has mastered the foundation elements of the exercise, learning to truly commit to the ‘Truth of the Moment’, that is to say – not being an actor in an exercise but a real human living truthfully under the given imaginary circumstances – then we begin to expand the exercise with Relationship work, Preparation Work and Prejudices.
Activities and Doors expand to include Relationships (2 levels): close (e.g housemates) and most personal relationships (e.g sisters or lovers); Preparation- how to be emotionally full for the scene; Prejudices- specific point of view beyond the base relationship as defined by current circumstances (e.g students' characters are brothers but one of them just slept with the other's girlfriend). Once these levels are mastered we move into:
Impediments- We will begin true character work through the study and implication of specific physical and mental impediments within the activity and door framework. This takes a huge amount of dedication and the student will be encouraged to take these impediments into the real world (always accompanied by their working partner) but through this process, they will learn how to genuinely build a character.
Script work in intermediate expands to learning how to personalise scripts through the use of 'As-Ifs' and personalisation exercises designed to find the core truth of ourselves and how we connect to the character, ensuring we lift our point of view up to the character. We also learn how to apply what you've learnt in activities and doors to scene work. Ensuring a practical understanding of how to use the technique to create a scene.
