The Tangible Theory.

This is my new theory. I not only like it because of the alliteration but also because I love the word tangible.

Full Disclosure:
I realize there are no new ideas.
This is probably not a new theory.
It's probably not even a theory.
But, it's something. Something I've really found gets to the core of truth for my students--both young and old.

The premise? Start with the stereotype, start with something that's familiar and work from there.

For some reason when beginners and amateurs step up on to the stage, they lose all sense of their humanity. Suddenly, their body becomes a foreign object. They forget how to move their arms, their legs become caught up in a swaying motion (that I like to call the actor mambo), their voices become flat, and their face becomes like a kung fu movie, where the words are spoken and then seconds later the face reacts.

Everything human about them stops working.

It can be very disconcerting and daunting for a teacher. How do you change that with out hurting your students' feelings? How do you guide them to where they need to be? How do you help them discover how their body works again?

Then something strange happens:
The minute they got off the stage, they become expressive, full of life and reaction. Words are filled with expression and action. Stories about an event the day before are told with vigor and enthusiasm.

What was lost on that stairway to the stage? (See what I did there? ;))

The tangible. The relate-ability. The truth.

People think the stage is the enigmatic place that only those with incredible talent can fully navigate and understand. New students believe they are only visitors.

Not true. The stage and script are places where humanity and truth unfold. That is all. That's what makes it so perfect and down right spiritual. The stage and script are created for and by the people, so we all belong there in some way.

So, when I'm faced with a student--young or old, amateur or experienced--who is lost in that perplexing place of the stage and script, I bring them back to the tangible. I force them to play the stereotype. If it's a New Yorker, do your best impression of a New Yorker.
Sometimes I get, "Oh, but that's mean. You don't want to see how I think of that type of person." Yes, I do, because that idea you have informs your body! It gives you a nugget of truth you understand.

Do I want you to stay there? Absolutely not! I want that stereotype to be a seed. From that you will grow, but it will be from a place of truth and that is our goal. The tangible brings you back to truth and truth brings texture. (So many 'T's'!)

It works for kids as well. I had a child student yesterday who could not figure out how to be or sound like a talking cereal box. That's a difficult task. So, I asked him what he knew about a cereal box and he described it to me. I said, "do that with your body". So, he did. I said, "what's the first image that comes to your mind when you think of your favorite cereal?"
"A leprechaun."
"Great. How does a leprechaun sound when it talks?"
"Oh me lucky charms"
"Now, put it all together"

It was a brilliant adaptation of a cereal box.

This Tangible Theory brings us back to our human nature. It brings our students back to what they know.

Patsy Rodenburg brings us back to our breath. Here is where life and voice comes from.

For me, the Tangible Theory comes from this idea because both tell us to go back to what we know.

Allowing our students to start not only small but in a familiar place bridges that gap. The stage no longer becomes baffling but rather a place to explore and experience what we see, breathe, and feel in the world around us.

The Tangible Theory is only an idea. I am still developing this idea as well as understanding its possibilities for my students and myself.

As all ideas go, it is meant as tool to get us to where we are going.