Author Topic: MORALE: Warm-up/ Games (do you participate?)  (Read 16893 times)

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Jessie_K

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #15 on: Dec 01, 2006, 03:23 pm »
I often warm up with the cast.  I love it.

This is a habit I picked up while touring with dance.   I was invited to take company class and when schedule permitted, I would join.  I would often not do the full class and step out before things got too challenging.

And I almost always would do pre-show stretching with the dancers.  My body needed the TLC and it is a great bonding process.

Now that I work a lot at a college most rehearsals involve a group warm up.  I usually do not participate if it is very formal and being lead by the director or involves character work or partnering.  But if it is a freer session, I will definately jump in. 

I also encourage the students to warm up as much as possible.  If the director is busy at the very beginning of rehearsal I will call for a volunteer to warm up the cast while we wait.

Rebbe

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #16 on: Dec 03, 2006, 04:58 pm »
I don’t participate in physical warm-ups or character building exercises, but I’ll follow the director’s lead in occasionally playing along with the ice breaker/getting to know you types of games.  Most of the time I catch up or get ahead on paperwork while they do them.   

In an Equity setting, I can only recall one director doing general movement/warm-up exercises with the cast, and those were mostly during the first week of rehearsals.  For non-eq shows and in college, I’ve seen directors who do them at the start of almost every rehearsal and some previews.

During performances, it’s usually up to the actor to individually do whatever kind of warm-ups they need or want, and I’m not involved in those, though I or my ASMs may be onstage doing pre-show checks at the same time. Sometimes I’ll see a pair or trio of actors who like to do a few pre-show warm-ups together.  I’ve seen my small-cast shows sometimes create a pre-show ritual together.  One group did a 5 minute sun-salutation before ½ Hour.  Another gathered and each took a candy heart (ala Valentine’s Day) and shared the silly message with the group. By the time the actors are doing their thing, I’ve already been at the theater for well over an hour, and am as warmed up as I’m going to get.  Plus, I want to be available for last minute issues from crew or the house, not engrossed in a cast warm-up.
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cuelight

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #17 on: Dec 04, 2006, 09:51 am »
Preshow rituals fall into a different catagory for me though. On my last show for example, one of the rituals became that the lead actor ran around the stage and gave hi-5's to all the cast and crew before I opened house. That I would participate in. On another show the cast came up with a saying that everyone had to say once I called the half.

I'll gladly participate in a "Hey batter, batter, batter!" very quickly but if it takes more than a minute of my time then I classify it as a warm-up and don't participate.

I do think that joining in on preshow rituals keep a good moral and humour amongst the whole company though. And it's a bit of togetherness without having to be there doing warm-ups with the cast.

Balletdork

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #18 on: Dec 04, 2006, 12:23 pm »
I think warm ups & games are a lot more common in the college scene- I don't think I've any director do any kind of actor warm-ups outside of college. But i did not participate in college- it was my time to go over things with the other folk on the production team/ stage management staff.

I do have a sort od pre-show ritual, as I do dressing room visits in the half hour pre- curtain and the ASM calls 1/2 hour, 15 blah blah blah...

The last thing I say to each dressing room is always "MERDE" and the first thing is "Hello (insert informal term of affection which implies skinny-ness here) Does anyone have any questions, comments, concerns, drama or gossip?" Which they find very amusing since I'm not a very good gossip-er.

I also have some boys who get the baseball-style booty-pat pre-curtain. This is proceeded by what we call the "booty-back-up" which is a little scooty dance step they do in my direction until they get the booty-pat (or in some cases smack!)  ;)
 
Note: since most of us ballet-folk have been living in each other pockets for 7 years, as we're a resident company of 42 dancers I think we're a lot more informal than what would be appropriate in a more traditional theatrical setting.

Matt.L

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #19 on: Feb 23, 2007, 06:39 pm »
I think it depends on the cast and the production personally i like to bond as much as possible with the cast but sometimes the games just get on my nerves a bit i find another way tosaty busy

ashadeofbrown

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #20 on: Feb 24, 2007, 01:38 pm »
Lately, I've been trying to get my current actors to even do warm-ups. The last professional show I did, the actors were responsible for warming up before the house opened, and at the beginning of rehearsals. I didn't join in because I was uncomfortable with doing so.

It was fun watching them though, they were hilarious.

Right now, I'm working with high school students as a high school student, and it's hard for them to take the show seriously enough to do a warm-up activity that would otherwise get them in the mood for acting. The last time I asked them to do a warm-up, they did a game called "Booty booty." Oh well, something's better than nothing.

What are a few good movement warm-ups? The vocal warm-ups would be difficult to introduce and then immediately produce with the students I'm working with now.
Curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought it back.

djemily

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #21 on: Feb 25, 2007, 06:15 pm »
I personally like doing warm ups when I have time. It puts me in a great mood and makes sure I'm completely awake. BUT I won't join in if it feels in the least bit uncomfortable for me or the cast, so I have to pick my moments. And where I'm at most directors don't require warm ups so if the cast members decide to do warm ups it's on their own time. I do always speak with the director about this before I make the technical/performance schedules to see if they want me to put that in the schedule.

On this same note, does anyone know the words to the "pheasant plucker" tongue twister? I know the first line, but I can't for the life of me remember the last one.

RuthNY

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #22 on: Feb 25, 2007, 07:01 pm »

On this same note, does anyone know the words to the "pheasant plucker" tongue twister? I know the first line, but I can't for the life of me remember the last one.

I'm a pleasant mother pheasant plucker.  I pluck mother pheasants.  I'm the fastest pleasant mother pheasant plucker ever plucked a mother pheasant in the whole wide world.


Interesting that you know this one.  Did I teach it to you?
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BalletPSM

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #23 on: Feb 25, 2007, 08:13 pm »
Quote
I'm a pleasant mother pheasant plucker.  I pluck mother pheasants.  I'm the fastest pleasant mother pheasant plucker ever plucked a mother pheasant in the whole wide world.

I've always done a different version of that:

I am not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant pluckers son, and I'm only plucking pheasants, till the pheasant plucker comes. 

I think one of my faves is:

What a to do, to die today, at a minute or two till two.
A thing distinctly hard to say but harder still to do.
For they'll beat a tattoo, at twenty til two,
with a rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tattoo
And the dragoon will come
to the beat of a drum
at a minute or two till two today,
at a minute or two till two.

Stage managing is getting to do everything your mom told you not to do - read in the dark, sit too close to the TV, and play with the light switches!

djemily

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #24 on: Feb 25, 2007, 09:01 pm »
Ruth, I know that one because a few actors I've worked with were playing with it one night, and it's such a crazy tongue twister that is REALLY funny when it's screwed up that I just remembered a part of it and made a mental note to learn it one day. But now you did teach it to me :)

RuthNY

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #25 on: Feb 25, 2007, 11:26 pm »
I am not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant pluckers son, and I'm only plucking pheasants, till the pheasant plucker comes. 

I think one of my faves is:

What a to do, to die today, at a minute or two till two.
A thing distinctly hard to say but harder still to do.
For they'll beat a tattoo, at twenty til two,
with a rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tattoo
And the dragoon will come
to the beat of a drum
at a minute or two till two today,
at a minute or two till two.

She stood upon her balcony, inexplicably mimicking his hiccuping and amicably welcoming him in!
"Be fair with others, but then keep after them until they're fair with you."
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Tempest

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #26 on: Feb 26, 2007, 12:52 pm »
My favorite is:
As I sit in sullen silence in a dull dark dock
In a pestilential prison with a life long lock
Awaiting the sensation of a short sharp shock
From a cheep and chipper chopper
On a big black block
A dull dark dock
A short sharp shock
From a cheep and chipper chopper
On a big black block
Jessica: "Of course I have a metric size 4 dinglehopper in my kit!  Who do you think I am?"

gNat

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #27 on: Feb 26, 2007, 02:30 pm »
I'm a pleasant mother pheasant plucker.  I pluck mother pheasants.  I'm the fastest pleasant mother pheasant plucker ever plucked a mother pheasant in the whole wide world.

What is the cadence you say this to? I can't figure out the beats for it!  (Though I'm having fun trying, my suitemate thinks I'm insane. ^_^)
You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.
- The Princess Bride

ljh007

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #28 on: Feb 26, 2007, 06:11 pm »
I've heard the Pheasant Plucker one (the second one noted here... "I'm not the pheasant plucker...") in many places. But once the Artistic Director did it at a children's theatre I worked with. I nearly spit out my coffee. Can you spell "inappropriate" children? Geesh.

And even though I have warm-ups, I'll toss in two I know:

You love New York
You need New York
You know you love unique New York

and...

Red Leather, Yellow Leather (repeat, repeat, repeat)

jempage

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Re: Warm-up/ Games
« Reply #29 on: Feb 27, 2007, 07:51 pm »
Having a slightly different organisational setup, my theatre's policy is usually not only that the Stage Manager participates in the warm-up, but actually leads the warmup!

I'm currently stage managing at a Youth theatre - basically the actors have to have done so many theatre classes before they get an audition call and a part in a play.  Most of the Stage Managers have been performing in the shows previous to teching, so they have experience at what its like on the other side of the stage, and usually have had warmups led by quite a few different people - so they know some tricks of the trade.

Keep in mind that this is really only applicable in youth theatre or school settings: NEVER TRY TO LEAD A WARMUP FOR PROFESSIONAL ACTORS. This is just a no-no - it's very easy to put peoples noses out of joint.

Practically, I find that leading a morning warm-up is a really good thing, because firstly it wakes me up, secondly, leads to a great sense of cast cameraderie, and the rest of my crew know exactly where to find me if they need to speak with me prior to half-hour.

Cheers,

Jem.

PS: My favourite twister? Fireman Fred Ruck's found a Red Truck.
Cheers,
Jem.
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