Neutrality

This week I am taking a Neutral Mask workshop with a fantastic actor, teacher, and director named Richard Crawford. I saw Richard perform a one man show where he sat behind a desk for the majority of the piece and was lit almost exclusively on his face and chest. It was the best acting I've ever seen, and in his classes I can see that he is teaching us how to perform like I saw him do. If you are an actor in the New York City area I greatly recommend his courses. You can see a list of workshops and instructors at the Movement Theater Studio website.

For those of you who don't know what the Neutral Mask is, it is a training tool developed by Jacques Lecoq meant to aid the actor in acheiving - you guessed it, neutrality (in the body specifically). By wearing the mask we become aware of our habitual mannerisms. Richard taught Lecoq and Neutral Mask at my college for half a semester, so I've gotten a chance to work on this before, but during this week my idea about the definition of "neutrality" has changed. When I hear the word "neutral" I think of a lacking of character or flavor, but with the Neutral Mask that's not exactly what we are after. It is true that we are seeking to dissolve our own personal "characteristics," but we are doing this with the aim of acheiving a universal physicality, the common denominator between movements. Richard explains this very simply with "I see, I go." Sans opinion, sans style, sans inhibition, sans expectation - I see, I go. I have trouble performing when I am self-conscious, thinking only of the things I shouldn't be doing. It is much simpler for me to think of achieving a universal body rather than negating everything that makes me April. Rather we each focus on the things that make us human.

It is because this universal recognition of movement can exist that I have such a difficult time understanding the concept of xenophobia. I understand that as animals we are going to be cautious or wary of certain things - we are programmed to be slightly skeptical and frightened out of self protection. But we all respond to the elements in the same way...mechanically we are built the same...it is an inefficient use of energy to try and find differences between what is fundamentally and inherently the same. But I think that might be an idea for another day. I'm not sure I have anything new to say on the matter. I just read articles today about racially charged criticisms of French soccer players, the slaughtering of Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan, and injustice against Tibetans in China and it all made me feel sick and angry.