Acting and Fabric

Acting, Movement and Fabric

Perspectives on Process

by August Roy

“I want fabric to move like actors and actors to move like fabric, ” said Director Mark Hardiman at a recent rehearsal.

He continued, “Fabric is useful to the theatre in so many ways, Not only do we make costumes out of it, use it in our set designs, but we can completely substitute fabric for walls, doors, and veils between worlds. Most of Poe’s pieces deal with the permeable, or sometimes impermeable, barrier between the worlds of the living and and the dead, the veils, awake and dreaming. For this project we are using enormous pieces of fabric 55’ by 6’ wide. Fabric in this quantity has a way of moving that suits this piece really well. It wants to move in a continuous and languid way in a free float or a lash. It cannot be rushed recklessly but must be guided in continuous and structured ways.” Hardiman adopts the actions in his body as he speaks, illustrating the moving fabric with his arms, hands, and body. “This is not to say that it cannot move quickly, but it wants careful consideration in doing so.  We are structuring the actors’ movements in a way that mirrors the nature on consistency of our primary scenic element. Our goal is to have the complete piece reflecting a structured control, where movements are considered carefully and form the physical sinews of this piece writhing between worlds.”

All of Hardiman’s notes taken into consideration, fabric is incredibly hard to work with as an actor. Having been an actor working with it myself, once upon a time, I know how frustrating it can be. Fabric on a stage is slick when stepped upon, and can be a major safety hazard when, tripped on, tangled in, and caught by unintentionally. If dealt with inappropriately, this can even be hazard for an audience member. An actor has to be constantly aware of, without trying to be in control of, the fabric. And the fabric is always right. The fabric will do what it wants, when it wants, and will never do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time every night, reliably. Thus, improvising is crucial, and being able to say “yes… and” to the fabric when it decides to do what it will, is an absolutely necessary skill. Another great skill for an actor working with fabric is soft focus. Being able to see everything at once without focusing on any one particular section or moment, but being able to adjust to the whole. This allows an actor to gauge what changes will have to be made when working with the fabric, but also to maintain focus on their character and the actions on the stage. All of this adds pressure to the critical thinking that is required to be an active and present actor in a production.

New Press Release!

Blog and social media offer behind the scenes look at upcoming world premiere of “The Shadows of Edgar Allan Poe”

SPRINGFIELD – Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) Theatre is offering a behind the scenes look at developing the world premiere piece of theatre, “The Shadows of Edgar Allan Poe,” under the direction of Mark Hardiman, professor of theatre. The production runs Dec. 5-7 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.

Former LLCC theatre student August Roy, winner of departmental honors in 2013 and now a student in the “Serving Up Art” class at the University of Illinois-Springfield, is documenting the process through photos, interviews and posts to the new LLCC Theatre blog, llcctheatre.blogspot.com, as well as atfacebook.com/LLCCTheatre.

“We have devised this piece through collaborative methods, framing the staging of the works of Poe through discussion, debate and experimentation of the company,” says Hardiman. “The resultant piece pushes the boundaries of performance and is the kind of theatre seldom seen. We felt it important to share the process with our audience in an effort to introduce them to this fresh kind of theatrical adventure.”

“This is such a great connection between all these institutions – LLCC, UIS and the Hoogland Center for the Arts,” says Roy. “This kind of synergy is exactly what the ‘Serving Up Art’ class is about.” 

LLCC’s theatre program’s mission is to embrace and engage its community through curriculum and programs that advance theatre, arts and the community of theatre artists.

Questions may be directed to mark.hardiman@llcc.edu or by calling 217.786.4942.

Acting, Movement and Fabric Perspectives on Process by August Roy

Acting, Movement and Fabric

Perspectives on Process

by August Roy

“I want fabric to move like actors and actors to move like fabric, ” said Director Mark Hardiman at a recent rehearsal.

He continued, “Fabric is useful to the theatre in so many ways, Not only do we make costumes out of it, use it in our set designs, but we can completely substitute fabric for walls, doors, and veils between worlds. Most of Poe’s pieces deal with the permeable, or sometimes impermeable, barrier between the worlds of the living and and the dead, the veils, awake and dreaming. For this project we are using enormous pieces of fabric 55’ by 6’ wide. Fabric in this quantity has a way of moving that suits this piece really well. It wants to move in a continuous and languid way in a free float or a lash. It cannot be rushed recklessly but must be guided in continuous and structured ways.” Hardiman adopts the actions in his body as he speaks, illustrating the moving fabric with his arms, hands, and body. “This is not to say that it cannot move quickly, but it wants careful consideration in doing so.  We are structuring the actors’ movements in a way that mirrors the nature on consistency of our primary scenic element. Our goal is to have the complete piece reflecting a structured control, where movements are considered carefully and form the physical sinews of this piece writhing between worlds.”

All of Hardiman’s notes taken into consideration, fabric is incredibly hard to work with as an actor. Having been an actor working with it myself, once upon a time, I know how frustrating it can be. Fabric on a stage is slick when stepped upon, and can be a major safety hazard when, tripped on, tangled in, and caught by unintentionally. If dealt with inappropriately, this can even be hazard for an audience member. An actor has to be constantly aware of, without trying to be in control of, the fabric. And the fabric is always right. The fabric will do what it wants, when it wants, and will never do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time every night, reliably. Thus, improvising is crucial, and being able to say “yes… and” to the fabric when it decides to do what it will, is an absolutely necessary skill. Another great skill for an actor working with fabric is soft focus. Being able to see everything at once without focusing on any one particular section or moment, but being able to adjust to the whole. This allows an actor to gauge what changes will have to be made when working with the fabric, but also to maintain focus on their character and the actions on the stage. All of this adds pressure to the critical thinking that is required to be an active and present actor in a production.

The company working a sequence in which the veils between life and death are illustrated, in the foreground a sea is created using waves of fabric.