Family improvisation exercise

A great exercise that we used today was a group improvisation with the just the characters, involving a family meal. Specifically this was the breakfast of the morning they went in search of the Director. 

The improvisation started with the Father (myself) walking into the room to set up the table and take some toast and an apple for himself. Over time the rest of the characters entered one after another, creating various dynamics between each other that I feel, really developed my understanding of the characters I interact with, as well as my own character. 

I found an almost grudging respect for The Sons intelligence in finding the venue we could try first, as well as a sickening attraction to the Steodaughter, which made it hard for my character to reprimand her too often. The dynamic between the Son and the Stepdaughter the was also interesting to watch as well; any little thing the Stepdaughter did would antagonise the Son, perhaps due to his own sickening attraction to her. Additionally the Father and Mother's relationship was also interesting to play out, as he has almost complete control over her in everything they do, the Mother having no real say in whatever was discussed and decided. She would occasionally come out with an outburst (normally regarding the wellbeing of the young children) but would be quickly silenced by the Father again. He only source of defence was from the stepdaughter, who would defend and attempt to reprimand the Father, something that would normally happen due to the Fathers inability to lecture due to their shares past.

I really enjoyed this exercise, as it provided me with crucial character development, as well as a better understanding of the characters I interact with. From his relationship with the Stepdaughter to his dynamic relationship with the Son, there was much to be gleaned from this exercise.