Challenges and Rewards: Using Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals

in Movement Coaching William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

by

Stefan Sittig

CHAPTER V - EVALUATION

Getting Feedback

Having completed my movement coaching I wanted to get specific feedback from the three actors I had worked with so intensely throughout the production of Julius Caesar.  I decided to cull this information via a feedback form that I devised and would ask them to complete after the run of the production.  It was interesting for me to see what worked best for each actor, and what was not so successful.

To summarize, I asked each actor to list three positive aspects and three negative aspects about our work together.   I have also occasionally quoted directly from the feedback form to better explain successes and failures of the process.  I am happy to report that the written responses were overwhelmingly positive.

The Feedback Itself

I received my first feedback form from Jason Linkins and I was glad to see mostly positive responses.  The three specific qualities of my movement coaching he found most beneficial were my specificity, directness, and professionalism.  He felt I was specific because I used Laban's eight movement qualities and gave him specific tasks to accomplish.  He felt I was direct, because I put all my suggestions in "a simple, accessible manner."  He found I was very professional because I approached him and the work with a cheerful attitude, positive outlook, and in a challenging but not discouraging way.

When asked what he felt I could do better next time, Mr. Linkins simply stated that he felt we all would have benefited from a longer rehearsal period.  I found this to be a common thought of the three actors I worked with.  I believe that we all would have benefited from more time, but nevertheless, I still need to work on being able to work quickly.  Oftentimes rehearsal periods are very short, especially in professional theatre.  I think it would behoove me to work more quickly, which will come with practice and experience.

Jake Berger's feedback form listed "effective communication," "professionalism," and "valuable notes" as the top three positive aspects of my coaching.  Mr. Berger felt I communicated what I wanted clearly, concisely and creatively.  He also thought I approached my various tasks with a good attitude and a sense of humor, which he found to be "incredibly beneficial" to help him relax and produce his best work as an actor.  Lastly, Mr. Berger found my daily rehearsal notes to be specific and they gave him "things to work on outside of rehearsal." 

When asked what I could improve on, Mr. Berger felt the whole rehearsal process was "too rushed" and that on occasion he received contradictory messages from the creative staff.  Oftentimes, he felt that there were "too many cooks in the kitchen."  He was right.  In several instances, I found that I would give an actor a movement note, and then the vocal coach, or the director would give that same actor a contradictory note.  Being an actor myself, I know how frustrating this can be.

Paige Larson's feedback form listed my three strongest attributes as, "helping to eliminate unnecessary physical habits," "using clear movement terminology," and "leading daily warm ups" for the actors.  I found Ms. Larson touched on aspects of my coaching that Mr. Linkins and Mr. Berger overlooked.  Ms. Larson remembered all the specific work I did with her to eliminate actor habits, and how I used Laban's eight movement qualities in order to communicate specifically.  She also mentioned the warm ups, which I lead daily to help the actors energize their bodies and make them aware of how they moved. 

The warm ups ended up being one of the most fruitful aspects of the entire process.  They seemed to help the entire cast prepare themselves physically and vocally as well as make them aware of working individually and as a unit.

The only aspect of our work together that Ms. Larson found negative, was our lack of time together.  Much of her rehearsal time was spent solely on blocking and refining blocking with the director.  When Ms. Larson was not working with the director, I was busy working with the two other actors in the process and was unable to coach her more intensely.

Personal Evaluation

I was pleased by the positive feedback I received from Mr. Linkins, Mr. Berger, and Ms. Larson and I found their comments to be extremely accurate in portraying and evaluating the process so I have nothing to add about the positive comments. However, I do feel that two of the negative aspects of the process, the contradicting notes and the lack of time, need to be addressed.

The contradicting notes frustrated me in my work as a movement coach.  I often felt that a lot of the ground I was breaking, especially with Mr. Berger, was being unintentionally undermined by the vocal coach and the director.  This undermining was mostly a product of the lack of communication among the three of us.  The vocal coach was hired late in the process and was often not at rehearsal, causing her not to be fully aware of the complete process and how the actors were progressing.

The director and I worked on a much closer level, especially in the first half of the rehearsal period.  I felt that Dr. Campbell listened and incorporated many of my ideas, and often asked me for direct feedback as the process progressed.  I felt he was confident in my work and trusted me with the actors.  I believe the few contradictory notes occurred because he was not using movement coach terminology, but directing terminology when critiquing actor's movements.  I felt this was natural, and nobody expected him to be a movement coach, but once the actors got used to the eight Laban qualities, they sometimes were unable to translate what Dr. Campbell was asking of them into those terms.  That's when I stepped in.

Lack of time was a major negative factor in this production, and it ended up having a negative impact on my work as movement coach.  All the actors felt pressed for time, pressured to perform quickly.  This caused some of them to become defensive and close up physically.  When an actor is pressed for time, physical expression is the first aspect of the performance to suffer.  An actor who is hurried will make sure lines are learned and blocking is accurate, and may even make some vocal choices, but physical characterization will always be left for last.  This made my job very difficult.

On occasion I felt the lack of time actually affected the actors' physical well-being.  The stress was palpable in the air, and caused many to get easily tired, grumpy, and even sick.  It was difficult to work with the actors when they were under such pressure.  Occasionally, I felt my coaching was ignored because they were so overwhelmed with stress. No one likes to work under intense time constraints.

I believe the area I need most to improve in as a movement coach is being able to achieve large results in a short rehearsal period.  I find that I often get frustrated when I am rushed into something, and when I am unable to give my actor a full coaching experience.  Although I like to spend a long time working with an actor, taking them through the whole process, I realize how impractical that can be.  This process taught me to use time wisely and be as efficient as possible with my actors, for every moment with them in rehearsal is precious.