I imagine that Dame Judi Dench laughs easily in rehearsals – certain things would likely tickle her. She’s deeply serious about what she does, but at the same time, she’s playful. I know this because I’m reading her latest book about rehearsing. She understands that we human beings are all a bit silly from time to time, and she’s not afraid to laugh at herself either.
But there are many other benefits for young performers. It lowers anxiety and puts everyone on a level, so the group can take bigger steps together. When the group gets something wrong, it’s better if everyone can have a good laugh about it and make humour part of the learning. As we know, laughter releases endorphins, and that is good for you. What’s the alternative? Taking everything desperately seriously? Not for me. If we can all laugh, then we trust each other more, be drawn closer together and work better together in the future. And I don’t mean that kind of laughing that people do when someone gets it wrong. Those think-they-know-better people will one day be wrong themselves.
All performers can drop out of role and “lose it” for a while. I think that’s a great sign. It shows that they are lessening the tension. They take it seriously, but at the same time feel the ridiculousness of it because life is often ridiculous and laughter is a healthy way to deal with it. It’s good to laugh. It’s fine to be surprising, weird or wrong. It’s ok to look each other in the eyes and burst into laughter.
When they stop laughing, they are readier to focus again and be alive with what they are doing. It’s a useful reset tool.
If I visit a Theatretrain company, I love it when I hear a whole group laughing. Rehearsals get tense at times, and when you repeat things, some students get bored, but if the environment is joyful and spontaneous, then they can play more with the material and have much more fun. When we were at school, we all had strict teachers, we had bad teachers, but we loved the teachers who had a sense of humour and who loved their subject – they used humour to make an atmosphere of what’s-gonna-happen-today?
It’s not always about getting the steps or the moves or the words right; sometimes it’s about getting them wrong, sharing the feeling and moving on. It’s not so much about being talented or not, it’s about connection, curiosity and being present.
I ask creatives, can you find the ridiculousness in yourself? Can things be funny without putting people down? If the work is funny and you can be funny, then it’s more human and less scary for others. What a release it is when a whole group shares laughter. You can’t force it; it’s more of a happy accident, but when it comes along, you’re the better for it.
