Expressive Gestures
Alternatives to realism Gestures carry messages, very often unintentionally. In performance, one can say, expressive gestures reflect the person’s inner emotional or mental state. They are non descriptive, non-illustrative and non-narrative yet far from abstract. Dramatic, meaningful, intriguing and moving – expressive gestures are the most powerful communicators between the performer and the audience.
This communication can slip with ease onto a subconscious level: instead of “word processing”, the “meaning of the non-verbal message bypasses the mind and the spectator absorbs directly what she/he sees. The shape, direction, dynamics and emotional charge of the gesture of the performer will trigger associations, long lost memories, and emotions stored in the unconscious of the spectator. Some kind of non-linguistic truth – otherwise inaccessible and inexpressible – of the unconscious might surface.
The focus of the film is on GESTURES and their “imaginative” application in non-realistic performance. Kriszta Doczy, theatre practitioner and lecturer has been involved in physical performance throughout decades and across continents. The video focuses on gestures with the special emphasis on imagination. The film is the first of a series planned to explore the physical aspects of performance. “Imagination is what makes the difference; between ordinary and extraordinary and between average and fascinating..”- KD
