Using the Plateau Exercise as a Director

I would use the plateau exercise in order to make my actors aware of the space they have and the way they can use it. If I were to plop them on stage and tell them to start acting out a scene, they might be able to deal with the space, but would they understand the importance of one spot versus another in seeming more powerful or less so? I'm not quite sure.

As a director, I would first let them try acting without the exercise and then ask them how they felt about the space. Then, I would try the plateau with them and hopefully it would heighten their awareness of the space.

What others said:

• help actors know where to stand/position themselves
• stage presence
• how to depict balance
• use it as an exercise before a performance
• use it during the rehearsal process
• beginning of rehearsal process
• apply it to each line in the scene

What Ms. Lynch said:

• it's a double-tool - work at the nitty-gritty dynamics of a scene and then turn it over to the actors
• cohesion
• invisible way of getting the actors to work together
• not something you can use all the time
• used for awareness and power of presence and emphasizing space
• it is not a thinking exercise/ you cannot think this through: Sensory
• could relate to the neutral mask in a way