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Challenging Improv Principle #9- CYCLES OF MOVEMENT and CONVERSATION (Otkas, Posyl, Stoika, and Tormos. Cool words and Cold War Counterintelligence)
Challenging Improv Principle #9- CYCLES OF MOVEMENT and CONVERSATION (Otkas, Posyl, Stoika, and Tormos. Cool words and Cold War Counterintelligence)
RECENTLY DE-CLASSIFIED INTEL FROM CHALLENGER H.Q.-
Deciphering and ultimately using Agent Meyerhold’s work on “Cycles” has been a particular passion for Supreme Mission Commander Johnson. The first redacted documents only mentioned a vague “Beginning, Middle, and End” when referring to the Cycles of Movement and Conversation, and it was several more years before the Words OTKAS (The Refusal), POSYL (The Sending), STOIKA, (The Stance), and TORMOS (The Brake) made it to Challenger H.Q. Then, when Supreme Mission Commander finally saw some filmed footage of Agent Meyerhold’s Cycles within an actual play (The Inspector General), that changed everything. The Challengers of the Improv-ssible had been working with what had been called the “Scooby Doo” Protocols for years… Leaning away from an action and exclaiming “Arooo?” as a reaction to the action, before launching into their next move in response to that action. Now they had the image of OTKAS, a refusal or “pushing down of the spring” (or a musical Anacrusis), then POSYL, the sending or full response, then STOIKA, the stance or simply the Beat of Separation between those actions and the next. All with the wild abandon of Improvisation tempered by the CONTROL (TORMOS) of the hand on the BRAKE. Seeing all that in footage from a Meyerhold directed play from the 1930’s… all the pieces fell together. The Challenger’s Training had words from something other than Saturday morning cartoons AND a quantifiable outcome. Seeing Challenger performances ebb and flow like waves in an ocean of communication was worth all the years of painstaking experimentation. The Challengers had a framework of 1. Physical response to a Force. 2. Aim and send the Force to the next location. 3. End that sequence with a stance or moment (BEAT), which is also the beginning of the next cycle. And the image of TORMOS, the Brake, was a powerful addition to the already used “Embrace the Contradictions” that the Challengers had employed as a way of rationalizing the combination of Control AND Wild Abandon. The next step was to incorporate this intelligence into our daily training…
I am the embodiment of wild abandon.
Embrace that.
DEEP COVER, ASSET CONDITIONING and FIELD SITREP –
All Work on Cycles is naturally combined with Reflex Excitability, Full Expressive Potential, Rhythm, and Aim. Crossing the threshold into Music and Dancing is a great start to any Training session dealing with cycles. Cadets should feel Loose, Free, Flexible, and Disciplined. “Poppy” and “Bouncy” are words that should describe all Mission Commanders, Agents, and Cadets before launching into serious Training in Cycles. Work on Cycles requires discipline to maintain the focus on the three step structure through all activities. Time and repetition are necessary, so making sessions varied and FUN is essential.
BASIC TRAINING FOR ALL FIELD OPERATIVES –
The Concept of Cycles can be taught with ANY Action or Piece of Conversation. Just jumping off the ground can teach the words… You have to push down the springs of your legs BEFORE jumping (Otkas), then jump straight up or slightly to the left, right, forward, backward, with a half twist, etc. (Posyl with AIM), then land with control and a pause before any next move (Tormos and Stoika). Of course, Precision drilling and Muscle Memory are the CHALLENGER way…
Etudes. Rather than just drilling the same Etudes over and over, which is still great training, Challenger H.Q. advises allowing cadets to fully develop their own Etudes with Eight cycles, supporting drawings, music, and at least several days of repetition to develop Muscle Memory.
Chehkov’s Stick work. Repetitive stick flipping and tossing can fully reinforce Cycles. Emphasizing knee bend, eye contact, and the pause between catching and throwing (without any “Hitch”or full stop) is key.
All circle warm-ups. (For example, the CHALLENGERS were very keen on passing an invisible throwing star across the room, complete with “thwip” sound effect on both the throw and the catch… and occasional incision). Emphasis on aim and physicalizing the reactions (Otkas)with Full Expressive Potential on all passes (Posyl), then a pause on the “Follow through” of all passes (Stoika). All Circle passing Warm Ups should look like Mime work with very pronounced Beats and Separation within and between cycles. Drilling in a very pronounced way in Training will allow for more natural expression in Performance, but still maintain the theatrical communication.
BLACK BAG ACQUISITIONS FOR DOG AND PONY SHOWS –
All performances will be greatly enhanced by precise Cycles, but Rhythm, Line, and Song games will see the greatest theatrical boosts right away.
All Music based Intro Games. Death by Rhyme, Gauntlet, What You Got, Verse, etc. If the game has a beat. Cycles of Movement and Conversation will help transcend to the Beauty of MUSIC.
Backwards and Forwards and even Liar. Any game where the caller can get a Player Agent into a repetitive Dance scenario will allow the training in Cycles to really shine through.
Original Games based on Theatrical Movement. Challenger H.Q. developed dozens of games to capitalize on our specific training. Two of the most popular were TV themes and Captain Planet. TV themes was simply playing an old obscure TV theme and having the Agents, who were invariably too young to have ever seen the show, play out a non-verbal TV intro to the show… trying to imagine the characters, places and general plot by just the song. Very theatrical (The latest James Bond was a variation using odd music or actual Bond themes and an attempt to play out a James Bond intro). Captain Planet was developed by Agent Beard in the very early days of the CHALLENGERS. Agents lined up and sent one OFF to be the Captain. They got a suggestion of Captain ____ from the audience and immediately brought the Captain back on to pose as the remaining agents sang the intro song starting with a one at a time list of attributes (so, if Captain TOASTER, the list might be… Bread!, Burnt!, Not in the Bathtub!, etc.), then the Captain proclaims, “By your powers combined, I am Captain Toaster!” (Or they get it wrong to much hilarity), Then the Toasterteers sing, “We’re the Toasterteers, you can be one too, cuz being (Something NOT like a Toaster) is not the way. Here’s what Captain Toaster has to say…” The Captain Toaster says “The Power is Yours (with a very TOASTER-LIKE gesture or pose)” Repeat sequence till all the Agents have been Captain ______. Encouraging Agents to create their own Theatrical games based on Cycles, or any Improv principles creates tremendous buy-in for Hard Training.
Slow Motion Fight and Dance Scenes. All CHALLENGER Shows ended with these free-form scenes with nothing but music and whatever detritus was available on stage or in the audience. Constant physical encounters provide an excellent showcase for our training in Cycles. Agents were coached to play the reality of every moment and react multiple times to the back and forth nature of both dance and combat. The best scenes were always those where Agents could sustain multiple cycles that escalated naturally with every back and forth.
Every aspect of a performance benefits from Cycles, from initial entrances to how you acknowledge applause at the very end. Everything is a received force, then giving something back. Pause and repeat.
Cycles are simply what make interactions between two or more people work. Recognizing the forces that are being transferred and being intentional about how you receive and where and how you send forces will benefit any interaction you might have in your day. Cycles are also perhaps the single best way to learn how to DANCE. Especially if you are one of those people who just can’t wrap your head around the concept that ANYONE CAN DANCE. Practicing a few subtle interactions where you lean slightly back to receive the force of others’ words and gestures (OTKAS), then lean slightly forward and aim your own modified force precisely where you want it to go and how you want it to look and sound (POSYL), then take just a subtle pause to let what you have said or gestured “sink in” (STOIKA)… recognize the natural RHYTHM of these interactions, then recognize that they are indeed a DANCE. Then… DANCE. Treat every interaction like a dance and every interaction will be more fun, fulfilling, and effective for you AND the other person or persons involved. Building up to the point where you might actually need some TORMOS… a hand on the brake to keep you from going all Tom Cruise on a talk show… Think how cool it would be to enjoy just talking with another human so much that you might have to consider toning it down a little bit. If you are like 99% of us, you never get anywhere near that in your interactions… and THAT is what is really NOT okay.
DANCE… it’s just a bunch of cycles strung together.
I could have been in Footloose… but you try dancing in these outrageously exaggerated feet.
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