Trestle Theatre Company | Mask Resources - States of tension

Trestle is a mask and physical theatre company: our mission is to inspire creativity through participation and dialogue and we do this by approaching opportunities with an open mind,
playful approach and our ever surprising and engaging masks. Trestle has been making innovative physical theatre since 1981 and in recent years has focused its work on school workshops, performances and teacher training; we work in partnership with schools, FE colleges, PRUs and Universities to deliver the skills and resources needed to encourage high quality learning through the arts.

Tension States

Aim: character work, improvisation, preparing for mask work and/or clowning, devising.

Setup: Participants find a space in the room.

This is a particularly valuable section of Trestle work, which can be applied to any area of drama, including improvisation, script work, mask theatre, clowning and devising.

The following description outlines the physical qualities of the ‘seven states of tension’. It will be down to the participants to explore who the characters become in these states. The teacher/facilitator can provoke the improvising by asking them:

• What are your character’s intentions?
• How does your character feel about the other characters around you?
• Where is the tension being held in your body/muscles?
• What is your character’s catchphrase/mantra?

These are the tension states:
1. Melted: no tension, inert, sloth.
2. Fluid: no problem, relaxed, content, smooth.
3. Neutral: living, straightforward, void of emotion, accepting.
4. Watchful: curious, indirect, paranoid, playful.
5. Indirect: insincere, politician, flouncy.
6. Pushy: high status, legacy, authorial, iconic.
7. Stuck: immobile, tense, shock.

Don’t be concerned about remembering the exact terminology for the seven tensions. It is more about the feeling.

Visit www.trestle.org.uk for workshop bookings and Mask purchases.