Laban's Efforts in Action

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


APPENDICES


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
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
INDEX