Staccato/Legato & the Six Directions of Movement

Tempo is the speed or pace of a character's inner or outer qualities. A character may have an inner tempo that varies from his/her outer tempo.

There are 5 Universal Rhythms with which all energy moves in. In fact, all sound and motion can be described with:

1. Legato - Flowing
2. Lyrical - Legato/Staccato, stillness in rhythmic patterns
3. Staccato - Choppy, quick movements
4. Chaos - Legato/Staccato, stillness with no pattern
5. Stillness - Absence of motion

The suggested exercise illustrated in the video below can be done on the stage in preparation for a performance, before the audience is admitted. This is a wonderful way to warm up the instrument. It also allows you to fill the space with your energetic self. It is a creative act to do with other actors, as it helps the ensemble feeling. 

You may also use it as a kind of cleansing as you throw off unwanted stale or negative energy that can insidiously interfere with my best intentions as a performer.

The exercise also helps us to ground these two tempos within the body, thereby incorporating a dynamic understanding of character and quality. We can discover a great deal with these two tempos if we see them as viable means of expression.

Mastery of Tempo/Rhythms is key to being able to deliver the rising and falling action of the climactic moments of the composition of a story, play, screenplay, etc.