Taking the Plunge 

What does the first dip into Action Theater look, sound, taste like? This past year, at
Ruth Zaporah’s February 2004 month-long intensive in Berkeley, California, we asked the newcomers for their impressions: at the outset, part-way through the journey, and in the final moments preceding reentry into their regular daily lives.

Here is a sampling of their responses.

Kate Gibson, Oakland, California

I came into the training after hearing about the work for years. I always knew it was right up 
my alley, but somehow the time wasn’t just right until now. I came in wanting more clarity and 
simplicity in my performance work, as well as to have guidance from a skilled teacher.

I didn’t expect the content-driven level of improvisation, and the sourcing of imagery 
and story from the body was a really nice surprise. Also, I gained a certain level of 
understanding of just what I wanted in terms of simplicity, and the surprise of what that 
really means when it arrives.

I’ll take with me a deeper connection to myself, a bunch of really great connections to others, 
and a whole new understanding of improvisation as a practice that I can use like a meditation.

Robin Hathaway, San Francisco, California
               
Generally, I signed up for the training because I wanted to get my body moving again 
following a period of rigorous production/computer work. I wanted to do something just for
me as an artist. As an actor, I hoped to gain greater confidence in my ability to develop 
characters.

I was surprised by how much I tend to favor form over content. How challenging it is for me to 
maintain awareness of content in an improvisation.

 What I have gained:  “There is no recovery... just the next experience.”  – Ruth Zaporah