I was chatting with some of the theatre faculty here at Interlochen, and the topic of "blocking" came up. It's important - extremely important -they tell me, and it involves far more than telling actors to dodge the furniture.
Picture a vast stage. Audience members could be looking anywhere - and probably are. The trick is to position the actors in such a way that every eye is drawn to the place on the stage where the action is taking place.
One of the best ways to accomplish this is to arrange the actors in sort of a wedge that funnels all eyes to the right spot. It's subliminal, but it works. The audience members focus on the important business.
Sort of like a flower, I thought . . . Because this time of year, I think a lot about pollination. The flower petals' purpose is to attract a pollinator's attention and then direct an insect in such a way that a load of pollen from one flower is deposited at the exact place on the flower where fertilization takes place.
That's why some flowers are shaped like trumpets; others resemble targets. Some blossom configurations, like stage sets, have elevated platforms so the pollinators can be funneled to the reproductive organs of the plant.
Properly directed, the pollinators get a sip of sweet nectar or the protein-rich pollen they need to raise their young. The flowers are pollinated and consequently are able to produce seeds. Insects do something for plants and in exchange, plants do something for insects - "quid pro quo."
And understand that for flower species, the floral shapes which provide the best blocking have the longest run.
