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Who is Steven Berkoff?

'Steven Berkoff is one of the major minor contemporary dramatists in Britain and – due to his self fashioning as a bad boy of British theatre and the ensuing attention of the media – a phenomenon in his own right' (Pankratz, 2005). Steven Berkoff is a director, playwright and performer known for his expressionist style and physical theatre techniques. He is a polarising and influential figure in theatre due to his experimental style and intense presentation, which looks at taboo-breaking material. This investigation aims to understand his work and process to integrate critical ideas into a performance project.

Image of Steven Berkoff (BBC, 2022).

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Berkoff’s Influences

Berkoff's style is referred to as Berkoffian, shaped by multiple influences. He is one of the last students of Jacques Lecoq, and it is apparent that 'the techniques used by Lecoq are vital if you are going to practise Berkoff's work properly' (O'Brien, Sutton, May, 2012, p. 119). Additionally, we can observe numerous other sources impacting him, including Greek, Kabuki, Corporal mime, German Expressionist Film, Commedia Dell'Arte, Brecht, Artaud and beyond. Therefore As I am developing my project with these ideas, it is essential to expand my horizons by looking at these forms and not being afraid to explore other stimuli that fit into Total theatre.

Image of Greek Chorus (Kenton, 2006)

Image of Commedia dell’arte performance (Theatre Room Asia, 2015)

Performance of Kabuki (Yutaka, 2017)

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Total Theatre

Transcript

What is Total Theatre?

Berkoff uses Total Theatre to achieve his passion for a spiritual and psychological theatre that attempts to edify the text rather than merely present it. It is important to note he did not create Total Theatre, and it 'is a term that tends to arouse some confusion since it may be applied to an astonishing array of quite different theatrical traditions, styles and phenomena' (Cross, 1996, p. 89). His vision of the style means that all elements of theatre are equal and have the same participating value in contributing to the effect on the audience. He believes every aspect of the theatre must have a purpose in storytelling.

Performance of Berkoffian Total Theatre (Sheenan, 2016).

What techniques are used in Total Theatre?

We can see how Berkoff's version includes stylised movement, exaggerated facial expressions and vocal work, direct asides and tableaux, minimalistic use of costume and set, masks, and mime. This communication through a semiotic approach enables the chance for a 'multiplicity of different interpretations possible for any given text' (Rozik, 2009, p. 65). He aims to give an overwhelming experience to the audience by conveying emotion. 

Berkoff using his physical techniques (Bacon, 2011).

Challenges within Total Theatre?

However, working with physical theatre means the audience is prone to alternative personal interpretations. Therefore 'becoming the spectator relies not only on his own mental or imaginative powers, but delegates them to the verbal and body language of the character' (Vaughan, Cioni and Bessel, 2010, p. 172). There is no guaranteed way to ensure the intended message is received, but making every gesture and detail mean something personal to the actor will most likely make it more obvious.

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Writing

I intend to write/adapt a script as part of the process. Berkoff is known for writing and adapting plays, and his exploration of the overlapping areas is advantageous when creating. For example, he wrote Greek, directly adapted from the Classical Greek tragedy Oedipus the King. A play intended to serve as a political message that he has hijacked to tell a story of social disease in London that Berkoff saw as 'eating away at the heart of this nation' (Berkoff, 1992, p. 139). Berkoff comes from a lower-class upbringing. As a writer, we can see that he is not afraid to dig into his perspectives to create his writings.

Performance of Greek (Performing Arts, 2018)

Berkoff believes British theatre to be narcissistic as it primarily deals with what is in front of the public, such as class wars and politics. Berkoff comments that 'British culture loves the image of itself in the mirror, it does not want to look deep inside, behind the eyes, inside the brain, inside where those shivers and nightmares lie' (Snow, 2017). Therefore we can see how he has decided to 'write plays whose themes were non-representational images of human behaviour rather than simpy life-like 'character'. (Berkoff, 1992, p. 10). Accordingly, when it comes to writing in this style, I should not be doing so with the notion of exploring political issues. Any messages on such ideas should come about due to examining human nature.

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Berkoff demonstrates mime technique (Margy kinmoth, 2009).

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Audition Workshop

Due to the demanding nature of work I am utilising, auditionees need to understand what kind of work they are dealing with as it requires a certain fitness level. Therefore this audition process will be done as a group workshop to explore the physical language of the stage with a range of activities.

Warm-up

To warm-up, participants will stand in a neutral position and spread out in the space. After stretching, everyone will then begin walking around the space; shortly into this, they will make eye contact with everyone else as they walk around. Everyone will then weave around each other, focusing on walking through the centre of the room. As we begin to add different types of movement, it will allow them to explore their space and physicality while avoiding each other. 

For Berkoff, 'actors primarily create psychological and physical environments' (Rosen, 2000), which is vital in Berkoffs storytelling techniques. Therefore by the end of the activity, they should be much more spatially aware, laying the foundations for the rest of the workshop.

Task 1

Participants will start at a wall together and run to the other side in slow motion. The focus is not on winning the race but exaggerating their movement while acting. Building upon this, the participants will continue to walk around with given motivations, such as walking on hot coals or becoming a banana.

Berkoff saw the performer as an artist, 'the physical performers, have scales, key, techniques, rituals, languages and body movement' (Newe, 1998). Berkoff saw the body's potential as a storytelling machine by using all human elements in motion in physical theatre. Additionally, this intends to break any self-conscious barriers for the next activity.

Task 2

Working as an ensemble, each participant will take it, in turn, to lead the group in a series of actions. The leader will make up whatever action they like, but they will not see the others. Following up on this, they will be standing in a line next to each other, so they can only use their peripheral vision to decide what they should be doing while swapping leaders without saying anything.

This is a task of complicity, asking that each member be confident in performing even if they cannot see the others. In Berkoff's ensemble, 'a chorus is an internally directed and purposeful group moving and speaking with one intention (Foley, 2010, p. 234). Doing this task will give the potential cast an idea of the work to ensure they are happy to explore it while preparing them for the final task.

Image of where the participants will face when acting in complicite

Task 3

The participants will use an extract of text, and allotted time to develop a physical interpretation they will present. They are to use at least four phrases as it is essential that whoever performs have a voice with presence due to the type of work. Serving as the central part of the casting audition process, we will be looking for someone who presents something confidently and captivating.

In an interview about the casting process on the production of Oedipus that Berkoff worked on, they looked for actors who were 'bold in their choices and prepared to commit absolutely to a methodology without discussion and endless debate about interpretation and meaning' (Liverpool Everyman, 2011, p. 10). Berkoff is not against intellectualising but wants to first draw from the Actor's deep human spirit. Therefore the casting will look at what an actor can draw upon from introspection.

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Mime Workshop

Warm-up

With the show cast, we will start with looking deeper mime with a workshop as Berkoff did with his process for Macbeth (Berkoff, 2019). As a quick warm-up exercise, everyone will begin by miming, without talking, about how their day has gone so far, for example, how they travelled to rehearsals.

Berkoff took an exercise of Marcel Marceau to devise the piece for the Actor whereby he would walk on the spot otherwise known as marche sur place, to connote the idea of a journey. Using this singular technique, he was able to 'create the idea of the man going through his life which wouldn't really have been possible in another way. '(Grimkanwood, 2009) by using gestures to create symbolic representations. For example, the father was presented as a critic, so Berkoff had to look straight up to exaggerate the power dynamic. The participants will consider communicating with their bodies effectively by telling the travels through mime.

Task 1

Participants will be put into a line using an action such as laughter or hunger. One by one, they will feel this emotion passing it around the room by using intense eye contact, increasing the intensity and exploring how it naturally develops. 

This exercise is one of Jaques Lecoq's exercises using commedia dell'arte, where everything is portrayed using exaggeration. He focused on the idea of being in a state of Play. Lecoq saw this state as one about action, agency and movement. It exists as an 'embodied and emotional disposition which, although not psychological in any habitual sense of the term is certainly psycho-physical' (Hodge, 2010, p. 225). We can see how this idea reverberates through Berkoffs work throughout the other techniques and his desire to search inward. Using this, as well as other Play inducing techniques, will be vital in rehearsal warm-ups.

Task 2

We will then look at Lecoq's seven levels of tension. The cast will be provided with a scenario on which to focus and will begin by laying down starting at level 1, which is essentially a state of being catatonic. Slowly, they will become more comfortable by going through each state and exploring them multiple times.

Image explaining the 7 states of tension (Facilitate this!, 2022).

This technique allows the cast to explore physical control and isolated movement. 'It is like putting on a mask and discovering its way of acting and reacting' (Martin, 2004,p .68). Thereby, they will discover new ways to use the body and its possibilities. 

Task 3

Expanding on the previous task, we will do an exercise to create and bring a world to life. I will give each of them a job individually and privately. This can include someone smuggling sandwiches or being a dinosaur. I will let the improvisation happen and shout out one of the seven states that the performers switch between in their given scenario. 

When it comes to working with physical theatre, 'mimes can touch the very rhythm of life, which they draw from the universals sense' (Lecoq and Bradby, 2000, p. 5). Putting the levels of tension with an intrinsic motivation will prepare them for rehearsal while also preparing them for the vital task of working as an ensemble.

Image of Jacques Lecoq (Mime London, 2022).

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Berkoff’s performance of Actor (Grimkanwood, 2009).

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Ensemble Workshop

Warm-up

This preparatory exercise by Berkoff is to find a group's base pulse. Participants will use the neutral level of tension from the previous workshop. Starting from the left foot, they will visualise the flow of energy transfer around their body. During this, they will alternate their heels up and down. One member will then be chosen as the leader with whom everyone will synchronise, matching everybody's pulse rhythm.

We can see how Berkoff has been inspired again as 'Greek choral work is another of Lecoq's main dramatic territories (O'Brien, Sutton, May, 2012, p. 121). This warm-up is useful in rehearsals when preparing to work like this. We will naturally continue into complicity exercises from the audition process.

Task 1

For this task, The participants will move fluid and simple throughout the stages of life. Starting in the womb and going up to old age will imagine how they would move. Taking turns to lead the ensemble, they will mime out actions that they may do at that time. Everyone else will attempt to find or give that movement meaning to themselves, where we will then check if people thought what the action was.

This task helps people discover things about their physical lives; this is important as 'Berkoff's work is played in a heightened reality, you still need to make truthful decisions as a performer' (O' Brien, Sutton, May, 2012, p. 128). With this in mind, they would be ready for the main task.

Task 2

As a group, the ensemble will use the technique of being bouffons which incorporates elements of greek chorus and clowning. They will move as a chorus improvising on mocking key issues such as politics or power. They will then attempt to make fun of the topic as a chorus, bouncing off of each other and using both voice and body.

Image of Berkoffian Bouffon (Stapleton, 2022)

As discussed earlier, Berkoff does not intend to attack political issues; however, this technique does precisely that. Berkoff uses bouffon, who appear as grotesque beings, to 'reveal the truth of humanity' (O'Brien, Sutton, May, 2012, p. 126). The way the bouffon is presented appears to mock how humans create and deal with the issues rather than the actual issue themselves. Exploring this technique in the workshop will allow us to explore it in rehearsals. 

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Rehearsals

Due to the experimental nature of his work and my lack of familiarity, I need to understand how Berkoff did his process. During his early work on the production of Macbeth, he mentions mistakes in his rehearsal process that affected his work. He commented that he 'didn't allow a sense of improvisation to take place curtailed the actors' imaginations by imposing my own' (Berkoff, 2019). This philosophy means I would allow explorations to occur, with a hesitation to stop starting during rehearsal and discuss what worked after the scene concludes.

Berkoff found the best way to direct was to focus on looking to 'direct the actors to find themselves, as if by accident'. (Berkoff, 1995, p. 10). He was inspired by what he saw, which relates to his goal of providing an overwhelming experience to the audience. He goes of how he felt in the process. This is how it collaborates with the actors to stage human's psychological and spiritual nature.

Berkoff believed in turning the stone to reveal the darker side of humanity. He constantly looked at the ugly side of humanity, 'Berkoff is a style that must be based in truth' (O'Brien, Sutton, May, 2012, p. 121). Getting the actors to constantly introspect, combined with exercises done in workshops, will be vital during the process. With this in mind it will also be important to provide a safe space when doing this.

Performance of Metamorphosis (Swope, 2003)

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Why I chose Berkoff

I have chosen Berkoff because his methods focus on looking inwards; for him, he sees his themes and subjects as 'living embodiments of my life' (Cross, 2004, p. 7). Meaning I would be able to work on something meaningful to me in a new exciting perspective. His methods work with the abstract, allowing me to work and develop a new set of skills. This includes looking at new parts of theatre canon such as kabuki, further improving my professional skills.

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Plan

This critical path diagram illustrates the final project's intended process, including the devising phase, the workshops and rehearsals, and up to the performance. As time continues and the production gains identity,  relevant workshops may be added, such as vocal work.

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References

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Berkoff, S. (1995) Meditations on Metamorphosis. London: Faber and Faber.

Berkoff, S. (2019) A World Elsewhere. Google Books. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lXzADwAAQBAJ&dq=steven+berkoff&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s (Accessed: 3 March 2022).

Cross, R. (1996) ‘Steven Berkoff’s Metamorphosis: total theatre and self-reflexivity’, Doshisha, 66(1), pp. 85- 109. Available at: file:///Users/Ben/Downloads/e06605.pdf (Accessed: 4 March 2022).

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