Why work ‘in an animal’? Make discoveries for character, action and story.
Whilst the lion may lie under the shade of a tree and not appear to be doing anything, it is indeed active. It pants, flicks away a fly, reacts to something it has seen/heard, shifts the body to get cooler. When the actor endeavours to bring this scenario ‘in their animal’ into the rehearsal room, they have much to do. From their regular, non anthropomorphic observation, they have a memory of many activities which can fuel them and keep them present ‘in their lion’. These enable the actor to live truthfully in imagined circumstances. This work is a layer of action which occurs on top of the fundamental work ‘in the animal’. And the fundamental work is ‘inner’ commitment and envolves the initial processes of identifying and continually giving over or committing to -
the weight of their lion- as it is at rest, when it lifts up from the ground or returns to the ground, as it travels.
the senses of their lion- so that reactions that occur while they are ‘in lion’ are triggered not generally by being alert, but with specificity- by being alert in their ears, or eyes, or nose, or fur/skin/ tail or tongue or haunches .
the inner tempo of their lion. This tempo will of course alter according to the activities and situation, but it’s important to acknowledge that it will be other than the actor’s own tempo. This work changes habits and the deeper you can go towards habit changes, the greeter the chance you have of making new discoveries they can be committed to. The actor may come to the point of no longer being aware they are altering their tempo- until perhaps afterwards when they are no longer ‘in the animal’.
Working in animal is active work. Internally and externally. And it is why this approach - Jaques Copeau in its lineage- developed well alongside the work of Stanislavski. It is about action. It is about living in imagined circumstances.
Transformation and Imaginative Improvisation is never about being an animal for its own sake, but about reaching beyond oneself towards the specific subject of the animal or bird one is working in so as to let new discoveries occur. The imaginative discoveries that come are the fruit of physically committing to the animal in it’s imagined circumstances.
That is why returning to the same subject for observation many times alongside returning ones body to the ‘work in animal’ in the studio is a necessary process of this approach. It allows the actor to be available for some sort of transformation to occur. This is what is sought as opposed to an easy come by choice often made through a quick , anthropomorphic decision.
The animal, like the human, will do what it needs to according to its situation. The very impossibility of the actor- as they draw upon an animal for transformative work- being able to ‘copy’ a particular animal’s action in any particular moment enables the actor to let go of outer perfection and seek instead inner conviction.
“ Gabrielle is a master teacher, guiding us into the most focused work you could do as an actor. We were alive, listening, doing, moving, sensory beings all buzzing with the joy of transformation. ”
“The impossibility of ever actually becoming an animal has taught me that acting has never been - and never will be - about that. Gabrielle has not only opened doors but burnt the whole house down. Possibilities are endless - and I finally understand what that means.”