A Blank Sheet of Paper: Theater Exercises Using Paper

Children transform sheets of paper into imaginary objects during a theater workshop.

A Blank Sheet of Paper is a series of activities built around our relationship with an everyday object and the many transformations that can turn it into a tool for theater exercises, a resource for creating scenes, and a stimulus for creativity.

Focusing on a Blank Sheet of Paper

I first heard about this exercise during a wonderful seminar led by Pierre Byland, which I attended many years ago at Erbamil.

It is an extremely simple exercise and, to my surprise, I discovered that it works exceptionally well even with children as young as six.

I explain to the children that concentration—the ability not to be distracted—is the power of the mind. Then I invite them to sit comfortably in a circle.

At my signal, they must focus as intently as possible on a blank sheet of paper I have placed in the center.

Anyone who shows even the slightest sign of distraction—even a tiny movement of the eyes—is eliminated.

After a couple of minutes, to keep the exercise from going on too long, I begin to distract them. I neither touch them nor shout; I simply try to make them laugh or get them to listen to me.

I have seen, with my own eyes, entire classes of rampaging little devils fall into monastic silence, leaving their teachers astonished.

Like most of the games I use, this one can also be repeated when I am not there. I know that some schools organize championships or keep track of improvements over time.

Transforming the Paper Without Folding It

We take a sheet of paper and look for every possible transformation: all the objects we can turn it into without folding or rolling it.

The transformation depends on the relationship we establish with the object and on how we use it.

It is therefore important not merely to name the transformation but to enact it, making it concrete through action.

The sheet might become, for example:

• a tablet;

• a plate;

• a placemat;

• a small window;

• a door;

• a mirror;

• a computer;

• a wall.

And so on.

Next, we repeat the exploration with the sheet rolled into a cylinder.

At this stage, the paper must not be folded, because a crease is permanent: once made, it cannot be removed.

We then repeat the same activity with the sheet rolled into a cone.

Finally, we crumple it up and open it out again several times, until it has become completely different. At this point, any new creases are indistinguishable from the previous ones.

We can then begin again, looking for every possible transformation with the newly crumpled sheet.