Dramaturgy Workshop Day 4
Did you know the average width of the Colorado River is the same distance as the length of a football field?
Upon making this discovery, we knew a football field activity was a must. Accordingly, for the 4th day of dramaturgy week, we braved the heat and made our way outside onto the field. Each boat group was given a length of rope to keep together and asked to move around the field following three rules:
1) Don’t stop moving
2) The numbers on the field are rocks
3) If you get close to another boat, you must move in the opposite direction
With these rules in place to help simulate a river, we asked them to run through the first scene from the show—a scene which takes place on the river.
The cast discovered how inhibiting the movement and distance is to communication and they all ended up having to shout their lines in order to be heard. After feeling what it’s like to move around in a space more accurate to the journey historically, the actors were then challenged to figure out how to keep that same feeling as they went into rehearsing how to portray the journey down the Colorado on a stage.
