My scene partner, Marti and I chose Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, a Greek comedy about women objecting to war and their husbands’ constant fighting by calling for a boycott of sex with their husbands until the a treaty was signed.

I played Cinesias, husband of Myrrhine back from the war who stands outside the wall of the city and calls for his wife to come down and stop this ridiculous behavior.

I began the scene.

CINESIAS
Myrrhine! Myrrhine! (she appears at the wall) Myrrhine! What do you mean? Come here at once!

MYRRHINE
O no I won’t. Why are you calling me? You don’t want me.

CINESIAS
Not want you! With this week-old strength of love?

MYRRHINE
Farewell.

CINESIAS
Don’t go, please don’t go, Myrrhine.
At least you’ll hear our child. Call your mother, lad.
There now, don’t you feel pity for the child?
He’s not been fed or washed now for six days.

MYRRHINE
I certainly pity him with so heartless a father!

CINESIAS
Come down! Come for the child’s sake!

MYRRHINE
A trying life it is to be a mother!
I suppose I’d better go.             (She comes down.)

Viola stopped us.

“What are you DOING!?” she hollered in that cranky, impatient tone that always signaled we weren’t getting it.

My scene partner and I by now were well used to her impatience. We stopped and waited to see what she wanted us to do.

She came up to me. “Gary, do you know what you sound like? You sound like you’re calling for your Mommy!”

A titter went through the class. I felt myself blushing.

“That’s not how you get your wife to give you sex! By whining! You’re a general!” she exclaimed. “Back from the war!”

I nodded.  She went on. “You command hundreds of men! You expect to be obeyed! You don’t beg for sex, you DEMAND it!”

I didn’t know what to say. I really hadn’t thought about it. I had the lines memorized and beyond that, what I got from the lines was that I had to woo her. I thought we were doing a passable job – what did I know? (not much at that point)

“OK, let’s make you a general. I want you to do a little space walk. Just start walking around.”

I started walking slowly around on the floor.

“Feel the space around you. Feel it on the back of your neck, your face. Feel the space pass through your fingers… feel the space flowing around you, surrounding and supporting you.”

Then she started to coach. “OK, you’re a general, you have on heavy armor. Feel the weight of the armor on your shoulders. Feel the hardness of the breastplate against your chest. Feel the leather straps pressing on your shoulders. Feel the weight of the armor.”

I immediately needed the strength to carry the weight of the armor. My posture changed. I felt the rigidness of space surrounding my chest. I felt the straps bearing down on my shoulders.

“Alright. Now you’re wearing a belt with a heavy metal sword in it. Feel the weight of the sword on your hip.”

My gait changed instantly. I felt the weight of the sword pulling on my belt and had to use more energy to keep myself moving forward with the rigid armor on my chest and the sword hanging from my belt was heavy. I began to lead with my hips, chest up, as I moved through the space.

“Now you’re wearing one of those skirts. You know, with the leather pleats. Stiff leather plates slapping against your thighs.”

I really felt those heavy leather straps against my legs. My stride grew longer and more deliberate. I began to feel my strength as I moved about. I felt very powerful. I was swaggering now as the sword dangled against my hip and my uniform took shape on my body.

“Keep walking and heighten that feeling. Heighten it!”

I was really walking around now, feeling very different. I felt strong and confident.

“Now start the scene.” She said.

I marched up to the wall

“Myrrhine! Myrrhine! What do you mean!!!? Come here at once!”

It was a command.

“There! Now you’re a general! Ha, ha, ha!” Viola laughed. “Keep going!”

MYRRHINE
O no I won’t. Why are you calling me? You don’t want me.

CINESIAS
Not want you! With this week-old strength of love?

MYRRHINE
Farewell.

CINESIAS
Don’t go, please don’t go, Myrrhine.

Viola stopped us after a few lines. “Dialogue is a physical thing.” She said. “It’s not just words!”

She came up and gave us a beanbag.

“Throw the ball to each other with each line.”

We began tossing the ball back and forth with our dialogue. With each line we hurled with the ball back and forth. I felt the difference. It was a real fight.

“Okay, start the scene again and keep what you were doing without the ball.”

What we had was a physical involvement with each other. It was very different than our using rehearsed dialogue with our ideas on how to deliver the lines. It felt wonderful to feel so fully connected to Marti. And that preparation with the space costume gave me a chance to really feel the part.

As we continued, the where started to appear.  Even though we were just standing on a bare floor I was really with Myrrhine, standing at the city gate. Me in my armor and she in her sexy Grecian dress.

It was a great lesson and it ended up being a wonderful scene.