This exercise consisted of
every actor being given a small sheet of paper, written on it was a task, that
was thought impossible by the writer.
We then had to perform these tasks to the best of our ability. Examples of these tasks were ‘open the
window with your mind’ or mine ‘walk on the ceiling’ (there were many
more). The director helped to keep
all the actors working to their absolute capacity, by simply saying
motivational things like ‘Work harder.’ Obviously the harder you work to
complete the tasks the more tired you become. Artaud believed that acting wasn’t an easy job that just
anyone could do, you had to train your body and mind to be able to become a
truly great actor. The harder you
tried to complete this un-winnable task the more awkward you feel and fatigued you
get. This helps an aspiring actor
to understand what Artaud meant by “acting is not to entertain, nor instruct,
but to affect.” If you are truly
trying to get this task completed then the audience will feel emotion for you,
and feel tired when watching you perform drastic movements to get your task
done.
In my opinion the impossible
task exercise could also be seen as being similar to a Grotowski exercise. This is because from trying really hard
to complete these un-winnable tasks you get more and more fatigued. Grotowski believed that when you were
tired emotions lay closer to the surface of an actors arsenal, and they were
much more pure, therefore they could be accessed more easily. This exercise helped us get to that
stage of exhaustion.
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