Lifts

In the field of physical theatre, lifts are a extremely important technique to be able to carry out with ease and grace. Being able to carry out lifts requires extreme commitment and focus. It isn't about amount of extravagant lifts you can perform, but the quality to which they're carried out.

Pencil lift - In partners, partner 1 will jump up straight infront of partner 2 three times and partner 2 will catch them at the peak of their third jump by placing their arms around partner 1's thighs to support them. As they are being lifted partner 1 must breathe out to control their breathing - this makes the lift even more effective and successful as you are in control of your body. This is an effective lift to use when you are playing with levels and status. The person holding the other up partner could be portraying a lower status than the person they are holding up - this is a creative and imaginative way to present it to the audience. This is also an effective lift when you need to work on a transition between moves or levels as it focuses on moving someone from one place to another and could be used in a routine.

Performing lifts requires extreme commitment and the most important thing, trust. The need to develop your lifting techniques is all down to the fact it allows you to become more expressive in different ways in you work. By learning and developing different lifting techniques an actor is more diverse and knowledgeable in different ways to use their body. They're able to develop their work in different ways and in greater detail than they were able to before - they're able to play with different levels, experimenting and telling different stories through different types of lifts. They're able to present different ideas towards the audience in experimental and unconventional ways. It also helps you learn your strengths and weaknesses, you learn you can do more with your body than your originally thought.