A picture is worth thousand words...

After reading the Viewpoints book over spring break, I was a little afraid of what would occur in class on Thursday. The book had mostly described quick paced exercises for experienced actors and blossoming directors. There were few exercises that would allow a room full of science majors to become comfortable enough with their own artistic ideas to perform them in front of others. However, there was one exercise that stood out to me, both as an interesting way to express information and emotion, as well as an effective bonding exercise for a group of potentially introverted strangers. The montage performance exercise was to be a highlight of the first class, I decided.

This last part of my expectations was met and my fears of awkward and giggly performances were expelled. The montages that each individual created were anonymous enough that there was no fear of judgment, and allowed for a demonstration of potential. Many montages revealed unique ways of depicting ideas, from a progression of images depicting an event, to inverted walls that drew the eye to the part of the montage that held the most importance and emotion. Every idea was acknowledged and supported by the whole room, and small accidents were overlooked or built upon.

The idea of montages themselves is one that I find especially interesting, mostly because of the lack of motion. It is typical and straightforwards to act out a scene literally, even without words, but in this literal interpretation the emotion that inspired or resulted from the action is sometimes lost in translation.