So, furthering thoughts on Viewpoints is definitely something I can expound upon after having taken a semester of it. There's something really interesting and freeing about this form of movement to me, because it offers some unique challenges away from what one would expect when constructing a movement piece. There's questions that can be asked in each of the categories that allow you to explore in your own unique way, and better still each one is a tool to express something incredibly unique. I think that it's hard for our class to grasp it because like any beginning course, there's an attraction to the literal. When we were posed with the idea of, " You're in a war." There wasn't a whole lot of exploration to be had other than fighting and dying. Which is fine, it's great to play, but with viewpoints it allows you to expound on that idea and give a really unique movement perspective. What does it feel like, in your opinion to die? How would you personify the fear of going into battle? What is the first thing you do after you've taken someone's life? These are questions that an actor would certainly have to approach in a play about a war and killing people, and view points allows a really visceral, body oriented expression of that rather than a mental one.
Gesture is my favorite part of Viewpoints. I love the idea of finding a way to use your hands and face and body to imply something not so obvious on the body usually. Orderliness, Playfulness, Lonesomeness, these are things that can be read in body language, but this form of movement is more the way you can tell how serious a person is when they shake your hand, or how close a friend you are to someone by how comfortable they are with hugging you. Gestures allow an artist to show levels of emotion in an approachable, and sometimes easy to understand way.
Topography is also a great viewpoint, given that a lot of us normally, in the space, tend to just arbitrarily move. Our topography is more a kinesthetic response than actual topography, since in a lot of instances we are reading the room, how close are we allowed to be, how fast is everyone moving, what direction is everyone moving. Making conscious choices about that though can be very interesting and give a lot of purpose to the other uses of your viewpoints. There's also a lot of power in deciding how high or low your movement is, and whether or not you move at all. Stillness can say just as much as movement can.
I could literally go on and on about the uses of each viewpoint, but the point is it's definitely an interesting approach to emotions and expressions and interactions in a way that is purely visceral and reactionary. When we were in class last semester, there was a section focused on poetry, where poetry was read allowed and we were expected not to depict the poetry's story itself, but how it effected us, the words that stood out to us, and what the poem meant to us on deeper levels. It was very intense in a lot of ways, and very eye-opening to the need to see between the lines with text.
I'll leave this at that note!
Rio
Great!
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