West Side Story by Boal
So called because of its resemblance to various dance routines in the film of that name.
Two teams are formed, standing in two lines facing each other, with a leader a few paces in front of the middle of each team.
The first leader must make a rhythmic movement forward, accompanied by a rhythmic sound, six times in succession. He thus makes six forward movements.
After the first or second repetition, his team-mates will have grasped the rhythms of his movement and his sound, and must join in, moving forwards in their line behind him.
As he advances, the opposing gang must retreat the same distance.
At the end of the sixth repetition, the leader leaves the central position and joins on the end of the line. Another leader takes his place, and faces the opposing leader, who gets through the same process – six times, advancing, he repeats his own rhythmic sound and movement, which is copied by his team-mates, who also start advancing, while the first team repeats at the same rate.
And so on, until alternating advance and repeat, until every member of both teams has been a leader.
There can be a tendency towards repetitive aggressive sounds and actions – it is important to side–coach the actors also to make soft sounds, sometimes to use low voices, and to try to make rich and complex movements, not just ‘poum, poum, poum!’
(from Games for Actors and Non-Actors by Augusto Boal)
Variation:
The participants must use a particular designated part of their bodies to make the rhythmical movement.
Variation for GV:
To link this exercise with a series of lessons based on West Side Story, students work together and make a list of non-verbal ways of showing hatred and hostility using only hands, arms and faces. Such a warm-up can be done in pairs, before students join in the two opposing teams. Consider a use of simple percussion instrument (a rattle), to make a rhythmical syncopated sound.
west_side_diagram
