Left of Bruise. Part 2: What does Robocop & the OODA Loop have to do with Slapstick? What the?

Left of Bruise is a small series of blog entries / musings that seek to unpack my ability to see near misses, incident, accidents & injuries (MIA&I) before they happen and why. If you missed the first entry, please follow this link for the preamble.

I remember once having a conversation with my father. He was trying to understand my craft and what it is that I do. In that conversation I recall saying something like: “I feel like a fighter pilot when I’m on stage dad. Constantly measuring and assessing all the information around me and making decisions about what is going on and what could go on”. Little did I know. Sadly, my dad passed away years ago now, but that conversation has always lived with me.

Left of Bruise Part 2: Robocop & OODA Loop

The very nature of slapstick and physical comedy is that it is chaotic. The performing of it and the environment itself lends itself to the potential for MIA&I. This can be the same for a staged fight but it is especially ubiquitous in slapstick. To remain ‘left of bruise’; the moment I make an entrance into a scene on stage or set I need to do what I have always referred to as: a ‘Robocop’. Yes, another film analogy. A clinical and scientific analysis and observation of the space before me. I literally do a diagnostic of the environment around me both geometrical and atmospherically. I need to take stock of all the elements. I do a 360 of the space. This entails things like:

• Location of objects – check measurements are consistent with what was rehearsed etc
• Proximity to audience & crew is consistent to rehearsals and previous performances
• Operational tempo of the scene before
• Geometrical observations of the objects
• Observe any anomalies in the space (ie has a chair been left in the wrong place?)
• Is a prop missing that I need?
• If other actors are involved – how are they placed? are they present?

This list can be extensive but hopefully you get the idea. Only other variation to consider would be if the scene is improvised. 

This ‘Robocop’ process usually occurs in split seconds. It needs to happen faster than the actual operational tempo of the scene being acted out so I stay ahead of the game while remaining present for the performers and the performance itself. It is fluid. The ‘robocopping’ continues as I move through the scene or scenario. A constant feedback loop between me and the elements to ensure all is going to plan and that nothing is out of place that could cause any MIA&I’s. The ‘Robocop’ is ultimately an observational and decision-making process. This is about what to do when things are not as they should be to remain ‘left of bruise’. 

At this point I would like to make a personal shout out to Brian Marren & Greg Williams from Arcadia Cognerati. These guys have a great podcast and YouTube channel you should check it out! I have been dishing out the same old approach to my style of stuff over the years but recently with my journey to becoming an Officer in the Army Reserves I have started to look at my work with fresh eyes. These guys have really helped me adjust the way I see my own work and give it a re-boot! Thanks guys. While listening to one of the podcasts they mentioned the OODA loop. I became fascinated by it so looked a little deeper. 

OODA Loop — Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. This break down is care of Wikipedia – but you can use professor Google to dive deeper. But for the purpose of this blog entry this might help us. 

The OODA Loop is a concept by John Richard Boyd (January 23, 1927 – March 9, 1997). He was a United States Air Force fighter pilot. According to Boyd, decision-making occurs in a recurring cycle of observe–orient–decide–act. An entity (whether an individual or an organization) that can process this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than an opponent, can thereby "get inside" the opponent's decision cycle and gain the advantage. 

Boyd developed the concept to explain how to direct one's energies to defeat an adversary and survive. Boyd emphasized that "the loop" is actually a set of interacting loops that are to be kept in continuous operation during combat. He also indicated that the phase of the battle has an important bearing on the ideal allocation of one's energies. 

I know Boyd is making references to ‘combat’ and ‘winning’ but it is not a big leap to make the link to the dilemmas we face when dealing with props and scenarios that are going sideways on stage. On one level the OODA Loop can appear simple, it does however get deeper the more you investigate it.

What the OODA loop brings to my ‘Robocop’ process for slapstick is a reminder that the playground and tempo of the area of operation can and will no doubt shift all the time. When things are not as they should be there is no time to get caught up in what they should be – as the circumstances have changed so I need to move to the new circumstances. An example may be that a chair is not where it ‘should be’ on stage or has not actually even been put there. There is no time to waste on the motives around why it isn’t there. I must now move on and deal with the new. Time is of the essence.

Observe – Isolate specifically what has changed or occurred. What is different?  Identify clearly the parameters of the problem. File it away for future reference as well.

Orient – Mentally check if I have experienced something like this before if so draw on that. Adjust emotionally, mentally and physically to what has occurred. Orient myself fully to the problem. Slow my breathing down so I remain open to change and be calm. Bring the tempo of the operation under my control.

Decide – Based on all the available options and story needs you will make a hypothesis about what is the best course of action to take. 

Act – Another word Boyd used was ‘test’. Because ultimately this whole process is a learning cycle and decisions you enact will feedback into the whole process. Thus, the cycle begins again.

No doubt there will be several observations and decisions you will be making in other areas of the performance. They will all impact on the whole feedback process. Remember it is fluid. Be comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty and you will be fine. One sure way to be ok with that is to train for it.  By train I mean training at operational tempo in a performative context. Train to be ready, to be ‘left of bruise’.

Left of Bruise. Part 1: Clusters of Clues

I have always had this expression when working on the floor – ‘I see dead people’. Lifted of course from the movie Sixth Sense. But what I’m saying is that I have always seen accidents before they happen. But over the years I have broken that down even more and tried to work out how and why I have this ability. This musing is about sharing that knowledge.

A major component of my movement praxis is about being ‘left of bruise’. Specially in my practice of slapstick and physical comedy. Left of bruise is a term I have appropriated and tweaked from the expression ‘left of bang’. In military and law enforcement circles ‘left of bang’ is a reference to a timeline when a deadly force incident has occurred. The ‘bang’ is when the attack begins, or damage is done or as the maxim infers when shots are fired. On this timeline moving from left to right, ‘right of bang’ is what happens after the event. Therefore, in the ideal world practitioners of this theory like to remain ‘left of bang’. 

Consequently, in my praxis, being ‘left of bruise’ is about being alert, ready, prepared, and able to respond before the injury (‘the bruise’) happens! Which means looking for pre-event indicators. This can be done by looking for a cluster of clues that could determine the likelihood of an accident, incident and or injury before it happens. 

For me the basic stage combat parameters of eye contact and cue are a great entry point for safety procedures.  Up front I am not knocking them, and I am certainly not saying don’t use them. I just think we can be more modern in our collective approach to safety. They are great for a basic stage combat class and even generating choreography. I am just of the opinion we can be more sophisticated. This can be done by creating diligent and vigilant safety procedures and practices for operating under performance conditions founded on our natural instincts. Specifically training those instincts to be more present and more receptive when in performance mode. I posit that most humans know when something feels a little ‘off’, that instinctual feeling that something feels unsafe. 

Developing and training an actors instinctual and situational awareness I believe can be the mainstay of remaining ‘left of bruise’.  

Because of the amount of work involved in this type of training I would like to unpack this blog over a few entries. 

Left of Bruise Part 1: Clusters

One aspect of my process for staying ‘left of bruise’ centres around looking for clusters of clues that lead up to events. Eventually that cluster will form a constellation and that constellation will mostly likely be an incident, accident and or an injury. ‘Bruise’. If not at the very least, you have remained alert to the possibility. Examples of clues might be an:

•  actor’s shoelace may be about to come undone
•  the pommel feels a little lose during a sword fight
• fellow actor maybe running late for a fight call
• the fight over the last few performances has slowly changed
•  cast change
• lines have been dropped in the lead up the fight moment

This list is extensive from my experience but hopefully you get the idea. There is always a cluster of clues we can sift through to ensure things are going according to the choreographic plan or are about to go sideways. This level of instinctual work needs to be trained at a performance tempo so actors can gauge how they will respond under pressure. Which goes beyond those two basic components of eye contact and cue. 

In order to frame the clusters of clues I find it easier to view them in these broader concepts. This helps to orient the binos (binoculars) when looking a little closer and deeper at the actor’s performance in front of me:

• Atmospherically: The collective and individual attitudes, moods, and behaviours present in a given situation or place during rehearsals and performance and how that may impact on actors.
• Geographically: Ability to notice correct use of the floor plan prescribed in the original choreography; and if that changes under performance pressure. Noticing props or furniture placement that is incorrect that now impacts on the fight scene.
• Biological Responses to Stress: How do you or your fellow actors respond when the situation is going sideways? Have you trained for that? If you don’t know how you respond to stress, then it will just be a roll of the dice as to how your safety will turn out.
• Proximity & Measure: The use of space, time and distance. How do actors use time and distance to their advantage? What kind of operational tempo do you train at and perform at? Are you even aware of your own tempo?
• Kinaesthetically: Conscious and subconscious body language. Is your fellow actor aware of their body or not? Are they presenting body language that supports full knowledge of the choreography? Reading their eyes for clues.

Well this is a big subject matter which is why I want to unpack it over a few blog. But for now, I hope that helps you gain insight to how my brain sees safety! Lets all stay ‘left of bruise’ – safe fighting!

To be continued...