“The Shirt”
Schedule an hour alone with
just the two actors you need to work with.
If more than one actor couple needs work on believable intimacy, you can
run it with multiple couples at the same time.
I once did it with all of the possible lover combinations for Mystery of Edwin Drood. I closed the curtain on the stage and dimmed
the lights low enough so the kids didn’t feel self-conscious but it was still
bright enough to be safe.
Materials needed: A long-sleeve shirt, something soft but
strong like a light flannel over-shirt or pajama shirt. L or XL is best. Undo the buttons. A way to play music. I have three songs I generally use, but you
may have your own favorites that will work for your purpose.
My three songs: ‘Dancing’ by Elisa, ‘I’m Kissing You’ by
Des’ree and ‘I Would Die For You’ by Jann Arden
(another song I like to use sometimes is ‘Falling Slowly’ from Once).
Step One
Give the actors permission to
handle their sensitive scenes together with honesty, maturity and
professionalism, and ask them to state to each other, “I trust you” while
maintaining eye contact.
Step Two
Have the two actors sit back
to back (backs touching) and tell them to close their eyes and just breathe
together for the duration of the first song (‘Dancing’). Then have them swivel around to face the same
direction with their sides touching and have them hold hands for the second
song (‘I’m Kissing You’). Remind them
that their characters are holding
hands, not the two actors who portray them.
For the third song (‘I Would Die For You’), have them face each other,
sitting criss-cross with knees touching, both hands held, making eye contact
and then side-coach them to lean in and touch foreheads. Drape the shirt over their legs so it covers
them. It’s a way to connect the shirt to
intimacy in their minds and get used to it in a tactile way.
Step Three
You are going to play all
three songs again, this time with the actors holding the shirt by the arms and
moving around the space however they please with the shirt between them. They are familiar with the songs now, and
have already dispelled a lot of discomfort around entering one another’s
personal space. Explain to them that the
shirt represents the feelings the characters have for one another. Those feelings may shift as the music plays,
and they may at times be holding the shirt comfortably, playfully, tenderly, wistfully,
and other times angrily, desperately, sadly, jealously etc. The important thing is that they pick up on
one another’s emotional cues, kind of like a mirror exercise, and that they
move freely around the space and use all available levels—standing, sitting,
lying side by side, wrapping each other in the shirt as a symbol of the
protectiveness their characters feel for one another, taking turns leading and
following, pushing and pulling. You may need to side coach a lot for the first
song, but by the third song, they will be all in.
The shirt represents the love
their characters have for one another, the passion, the disappointment, the fear
of abandonment, whatever the emotions their characters go through in the
play—encourage them to explore those emotions with the shirt.
Step Four
Make sure each thanks the
other for trusting them, while making eye contact, and then congratulate them for
doing the “real work” of an actor and for approaching it with maturity,
professionalism, and for taking care of one another in the process.
[Optional Steps: You may choose to have them read their scenes
together before you do “The Shirt” and after, and then discussing any
discoveries they may have had in the text after doing the exercise.]
Musings on this Exercise
I’ve found it becomes both a
bonding experience and a source of in-jokes for the cast, who invariably hear
about ‘The Shirt’ from their cast-mates.
The name alone becomes kind of a
cheeky eyebrow-raiser, inspiring much speculation and mythology. Until this year, I thought it would only work
for high school and higher, but I tried it with my middle school Belle and
Beast (scaling it down a bit) and I must tell you that our audiences SOBBED at
the end when the Beast dies in Belle’s arms.
They also CHOSE, themselves, to include a kiss at the Prince reveal
because they felt it was important to the story. When we got to that scene in the blocking, I
addressed them this way:
“I’m not going to tell you
what to do here. You may decide a hug is
sufficient, and I will support that fully. As far as I’m concerned, I am not
directing children; I am directing young artists who are capable of telling an
honest story and moving an audience. We
are going to break for ten and when we come back, you will tell me how you wish
to handle this moment.” Amazingly, when
break was done, my 12 year old Beast and 13 year old Belle came up to me WITH
their understudies, who they included in the decision (with no encouragement
from me) because “it effects them too”, and they told me they decided that a
kiss was necessary to resolve the story.
I was incredibly proud of them, and it was a beautiful moment I believe
we would never have gotten to had we not done “The Shirt” early on in the
rehearsal process.
As for the kiss: They did a thumb-kiss (Belle grabs his face
with both of her hands, says “It is you!”, and then moves her upstage thumb
over his lips and kisses her own thumb).
It looked very real, and it served the story. We scheduled a special rehearsal for that as
well, and choreographed it second by second, with counts. (3 count going into the kiss, hold for 2,
pull away for 4, maintaining eye contact and holding both hands). I filmed it for them on my phone so they
could immediately see how real it looked.
They were relieved and from that day forward it was no longer a source
of anxiety.
It’s a great way to teach
consent, too. Nobody takes
liberties—everybody knows exactly what is happening, how and for how long.
I hope this has been
helpful. I wish you many broken legs!!!!
Let me know how it goes!
Best,
Lara Morton
Connecticut
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