Movement Analysis

My piece features three character who move in very different ways. Beer Girl is a puppet. Her movement is controlled by Shelby the puppeteer. Her movement is constrained and limited because of the physics of the puppet body. I have chosen to not utilize her legs, keeping her trapped on the couch. This has given me some blocking difficulties, keeping sightlines open and keeping my actors open to the audience has proven a challenge. Beer Girl’s movement is deliberate and direct. She moves within her range of motion when motivated. Her movements are slow, smooth, and sustained.

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Flo is a driving mover in this play. Flo forces her way in the door and never stops pushing. In Laban movement, I would classify her as a punch and press. Heavy and direct. She chases Bob through the play and engages in the tennis match with him. I started using the spatial metaphor of a tennis match to get the intensity and speed of the back and forth between Flo and Bob and it has worked quite well with my actors. Bob is less erratic. He is steady and slower but he is always driving towards his goals. He plays the tennis match with Flo but never initiates, but he sends her volleys right back.

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Bob takes up a lot of vertical space in the room, so he is less forceful so that Flo is an equal match for him. Bob dominates the vertical space, while Flo dominates the horizontal action. Bob is also sitting on the couch with Beer Girl often, which evens out his power from a height imbalance. The tennis match takes them across the horizontal space of the room. They drive each other from one end to another with their arguments. The action gets much lower and more focused to the center when Beer Girl comes into play. Her spot on the couch becomes a focal point around which the action of the end of the play occurs. She lowers Bob and brings Flo in towards her.