Laban's Efforts in Action - A Movement Handbook for Actors with Online Video Resources

As an actor, awareness of your movement is the key to transformation

By making deliberate physical choices, you can fully and articulately embody different ways of being and thereby become someone or something else

Laban's Efforts give you a way of identifying and making these choices

Working with them helps the actor to create wholly present and physically ambitious performances.

This complete, stage-by-stage, working process has been developed through more than thirty years of work with actors in the studio

Clear instructions for practical exercises are woven throughout the book, as well as exciting ways to apply the work in rehearsal, performance and on set

This allows the actor to learn and apply Laban's Efforts for themselves

And full online video and audio resources allow the reader to experience the practical work in action.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Laban and His Work
Laban's Work on Effort
Approaching the Efforts
About this Book
How to Use this Book

Part A: THE BIGGER PICTURE

CHAPTER ONE: MOVEMENT AND THE ACTOR

What is Movement?
What is Effort?
What is Action?
Laban's Efforts and the Actor

CHAPTER TWO: UNLOCKING MOVEMENT POTENTIAL

The Body in Space
Basic Locomotion
The Body as Orchestra

Part B: BUILDING BLOCKS

CHAPTER THREE: WEIGHT, TIME, SPACE

The Motion Factors
Examining Weight, Time, and Space

CHAPTER FOUR: EMBODYING THE MOTION FACTORS

Weight
Time
Space
Discovering the Eight Basic Efforts

Part C: DISCOVERING THE EFFORTS

CHAPTER FIVE: ABOUT THE PROCESS

Process Overview
Basic Philosophies

CHAPTER SIX (a): THE PROCESS WITH FLOATING

Preparation
Meeting the Effort
Mapping the Effort
The Effort as Code
A Journey (Guided Improvisation)
Efforts in the World

CHAPTER SIX (b): THE OTHER SEVEN EFFORTS

Dabbing
Wringing
Thrusting
Pressing
Flicking
Slashing
Gliding

Part D: THE EFFORTS AT PLAY

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE EIGHT EFFORT ARCHETYPES

What is an Effort Archetype?
Embodying the Eight Effort Archetypes
Applying the Eight Effort Archetypes
Observing the Eight Effort Archetypes

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE EFFORT WEAVE

What is an Effort Weave?
Effort Weave Preparation
Basic Effort Weave
Internalised Effort Weaves
Effort Weaves with An Agenda

CHAPTER NINE: EFFORT DUOS

What is an Effort Duo?
Discovering Effort Duos
Embodying Effort Duos
Effort Equation
Creating Effort Equations

Part E: APPLYING THE EFFORTS

CHAPTER TEN: ADVANCED EXPLORATIONS

Uniting Efforts and Text
'Giving Birth': Embodied Storytelling
Creating a Precise Physical Score
'Cloning': Discovering Characters
'Gallery-Glide': Unlocking Text
Manifesting Thoughts and Feelings: Subtext in Action
'Bottling': Mapping Bottled Emotions

CHAPTER ELEVEN: EFFORTS IN REHEARSAL

Preparation
Creating Character
The World of the Play
Advanced Observation
Final Reflections

APPENDIX A: NOTES ON PROCESS

The Role of Flow
Self-Reflection
Control
Working with Gestures
Working with Vocalisation
Using Music
The Game of Life
Relating to Constraints

APPENDIX B: A NOTE ON WORD CHOICES

APPENDIX C: FOCUSING THE WORK FOR THE ACTOR

APPENDIX D: MUSIC SUGGESTIONS

GLOSSARY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LIST OF VIDEO RESOURCES

REVIEWS

"Vanessa Ewan's work with Laban and the Efforts, as you will find in this inspired book, provides performers with an incredibly fertile foundation from which to create. She has found an astoundingly practical way of applying Laban's work to the quest of being a fully embodied actor. You will find tools in this book that will open door after door to your own creativity and awaken you to the endless possibility of what you can create on stage and on screen" ~ Andrew Garfield, actor

"This is a fresh and invigorating new addition to the Laban for Actors family of publications. It's just like being in the studio with Vanessa - with practical how-to exercises and guided explorations in Effort, this book will be invaluable for all actors and teachers of movement for actors" ~ Juliet Chambers, Guildford School of Acting/University of Surrey, UK

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