Vanessa Ewan is Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in Movement at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, having joined the school in 1989. She is a graduate of the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance and has worked previously as Head of Movement at E15, as well as having taught at Webber Douglas, Guildhall and RADA.

Comprehensive references for further reading

INTRODUCTION

Laban and His Work
Laban's Work on Effort
Approaching the Efforts
About this Book
How to Use this Book

Part A: THE BIGGER PICTURECHAPTER ONE: MOVEMENT AND THE ACTOR

What is Movement?
What is Effort?
What is Action?
Laban's Efforts and the Actor

CHAPTER TWO: UNLOCKING MOVEMENT POTENTIAL

The Body in Space
Basic Locomotion
The Body as Orchestra

Part B: BUILDING BLOCKSCHAPTER THREE: WEIGHT, TIME, SPACE

The Motion Factors
Examining Weight, Time, and Space

CHAPTER FOUR: EMBODYING THE MOTION FACTORS

Weight
Time
Space
Discovering the Eight Basic Efforts

Part C: DISCOVERING THE EFFORTSCHAPTER FIVE: ABOUT THE PROCESS

Process Overview
Basic Philosophies

CHAPTER SIX (a): THE PROCESS WITH FLOATING

Preparation
Meeting the Effort
Mapping the Effort
The Effort as Code
A Journey (Guided Improvisation)
Efforts in the World

CHAPTER SIX (b): THE OTHER SEVEN EFFORTS

Dabbing
Wringing
Thrusting
Pressing
Flicking
Slashing
Gliding

Part D: THE EFFORTS AT PLAYCHAPTER SEVEN: THE EIGHT EFFORT ARCHETYPES

What is an Effort Archetype?
Embodying the Eight Effort Archetypes
Applying the Eight Effort Archetypes
Observing the Eight Effort Archetypes

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE EFFORT WEAVE

What is an Effort Weave?
Effort Weave Preparation
Basic Effort Weave
Internalised Effort Weaves
Effort Weaves with An Agenda

CHAPTER NINE: EFFORT DUOS

What is an Effort Duo?
Discovering Effort Duos
Embodying Effort Duos
Effort Equation
Creating Effort Equations

Part E: APPLYING THE EFFORTS CHAPTER TEN: ADVANCED EXPLORATIONS

Uniting Efforts and Text
'Giving Birth': Embodied Storytelling
Creating a Precise Physical Score
'Cloning': Discovering Characters
'Gallery-Glide': Unlocking Text
Manifesting Thoughts and Feelings: Subtext in Action
'Bottling': Mapping Bottled Emotions

CHAPTER ELEVEN: EFFORTS IN REHEARSAL

Preparation
Creating Character
The World of the Play
Advanced Observation
Final Reflections

APPENDICESAPPENDIX A: NOTES ON PROCESS

The Role of Flow
Self-Reflection
Control
Working with Gestures
Working with Vocalisation
Using Music
The Game of Life
Relating to Constraints

APPENDIX B: A NOTE ON WORD CHOICESAPPENDIX C: FOCUSING THE WORK FOR THE ACTORAPPENDIX D: MUSIC SUGGESTIONSGLOSSARYBIBLIOGRAPHYLIST OF VIDEO RESOURCESABOUT THE AUTHORSINDEX