A community, as explained in the Oxford dictionary is: “a group of people living together in one place, the people of an area or country considered collectively; society. A group of people with a common religion, race, or profession: the scientific community. The holding of certain attitudes and interests in common. A group of interdependent plants or animals growing or living together or occupying a specified habitat.
The transitional process between studio and theatre space seemed to cause a number of physical queries. It also brought to life the world in which we were to coexist as characters and cast members. On the first day of using the Arena Theatre, we could enter the room at the start of the day and use the first fifteen minutes to simply absorb the surroundings; taking note of every minute detail. To explore our physical community space and walk around each environment, walking through the journey of our characters made everything come to life. The woman’s story became easier to visualise as we played through each of the scenes in our minds, silently absorbing the ambience.
The biggest weakness I found was that a number of the cast were confused about where to position themselves; both in the wings and onstage. The space we had become accustomed to was a wider, yet shorter area; this being longer yet narrower. This created confusion in particular when entering the stage and then both of the ensemble pieces. Oddly enough, it seemed that the adjustment to a new performance area appeared to create a lapse in remembering if your character was situated at stage left or stage right. The two ensemble pieces naturally had to be revisited due to the positioning of the cast as a whole. It appeared the cast seemed to work in close proximity and were a little afraid to maximise the potential space. Downstage right became the apparent hub of the community, so we had to walk through the choreography, ensuring that everyone gave each other the safest possible surrounding support but also that the stage in its entirety was explored; in particular, the whole of the upstage area.
Thomas Leabhart, Push Theatre Company philosophies we should be; ‘Actors of presence, actors who did not disappear on such a stage, actors large enough to fill the empty space.’ This can be said of our piece, in the way the cast seemed to want to stay by the audience for, perhaps, fear of not being seen. On the contrary, when I watch a performance I often see through the centralised characters and attempt to seek out other stories and surrounding stories.
Another point I would comment on would be that the moving between one space to another created a few difficulties regarding professionalism. I feel for some people the importance of remaining focused and on target the whole time was not so important. Simple things like disrupting the ambience backstage and in the dressing rooms meant the rest of the cast had to work harder to stay focused. Not to mention, the them of the piece was domestic violence and was essential we delivered it in a way that was true and honest, but very respectful and empathetic to the victims; in particular the 72 women that died as a result of it last year alone and also those suffering daily in silence.
When training as an actor one is taught to always rehearse, revisit and relearn in order to strive for honesty in a performance. Thus, the RSVP model should not only be applicable during the first stages of a production, but continue to be revisited and relearned until the final curtain call.
In 1989, Suzanne Lacy wrote “I never know if a work is “right” until I see it. But along the way to that moment when, well into the middle of a performance or even near the end, I ‘recognise’ the image, there are many decisions in which the shape is created.” So, just as Lacy explained, decisions are constantly needed to be made in order that the piece is representative of the true negotiation between inner and outer reality. The body must be used to mirror emotions and stories. Similarly, the artistic policy for physical theatre company DV8 details;
“...above all, communicating ideas and feelings clearly and unpretentiously...”
When the first dress rehearsal of Four Ways to Speak Out took place on Wednesday the cast were united and excited, the tech run had gone successfully; utilising the time together efficiently, and the set was the empty space in which the story was to unfold. Standing in the wings awaiting my arrival into the space I felt confident and content with the work we had devised this semester. After an extensive character workshop, I felt ready to deliver the woman’s flashbacks. Then something happened.
Onstage I found myself questioning why I wasn’t as engaged as I was during the dress run and why I didn’t feel I was delivering an honest account of the woman’s disappearance. I believe this was a result of a number of factors. Due to the success of the dress run, subconsciously I feel we as a cast; myself included, took for granted the RSVP effect and thought we could aesthetically recreate the previous emotion without returning to the originality of the piece. I allowed myself to engage with fellow cast members in the wings. Although I didn’t hold any conversations, I still became too aware of what the surrounding circumstances were, and found myself in the heart of the disruption, rather than allowing the previous character exercise to find and indeed keep, the woman’s account. Had I have found a quiet corner I could reflect in I think I would have delivered a stronger description for the audience. Stanislavski dedicated his actor training to delivering the truth, and is quoted in An Actor Prepares as saying “It is so much easier to lie when you are on the stage than to speak and act the truth”.
Another factor of my performance was my meticulous attention to detail. Upon reflection, this only led to delivering a “lie”. In the last interactions between Andy and the women, the action created onstage was always unknown and was something the five of us never delivered exactly as the previous performance. This concerned me as I was keen to close the woman’s story with a final reflection of the state at which the relationship had reached. After both of the Wednesday performances Andy and I would take a few minutes out to revisit those interactions; seeking to create something we could ‘nail’ and perfect so it was easier to recreate in the performance. We didn’t do this for the final show however. On Thursday we relaxed, just as the rest of the cast did. We stopped trying to reach a perfect performance and instead concentrated on forgetting. That is, to forget the body and any outside influences , but rather to enjoy the last performance and use it to showcase the work we have become so proud to share with the public. This relaxed atmosphere did not make us complacent (as with the first production) but rather stayed true to the themes and narrative we were to share. By returning to the R stage of the process we could effectively deliver an honest account; something essential to remember when exploring physical theatre.
Bibliography
Anderson, J.(1997) Art Without Boundaries Dance Books Limited
Brook, P.(1968) The Empty Space McGibbon & Kee
Crickmay, C & Tufnall, M (1990) Body Space Image. Dance Books Limited
Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction London: Routledge
Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader London: Routledge
Stanislavski, K. An Actor Prepares (1980) London:Methuen
Other Sources
www.akramkhancompany.net. Accessed 20/04/10
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/community?view=uk. Accessed 20/04/10
http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8/artistic_policy. Accessed 08/04/10
http://www.pushtheatre.org/philosophy.htm. Accessed 04/04/10
Monday, 26 April 2010
Blog Assessment 3. Grecia CHARPIN. Student Nº: 0916113
Four ways to speak out it’s a show that came to life in a very singular and creative way. From the very first sessions of the “R” “S” “V” process, when exploring ideas, objects, music and the space, one of the main themes of our performance -Domestic Violence- emerged collectively in its very “first draft” in the form of the very representative locations within a community where the narrative could take place. Yet, at this stage, I would say, domestic abuse wasn’t something we were identified with or fully committed to. Thus further analysis and physical exploration of our characters during the sessions was necessary in order to embody and impregnate ourselves individually and collectively with the narrative.
Following this phase, a wide range of characters emerged taking strong positions in this issue, another resulting theme appeared as well imperative to be revisited, standing for the role of the society in fighting domestic abuse. Other themes such as friendship, recreation, protection, vulnerability, manipulation, violence, desperation, loss of control, moral judgements and liberation, were then contextualised to animate and bring energy to each of the sections in the piece where this missing woman will have had a critical moment.
The accent was put in those representative places around which people build their lives, and establish their connections with the exterior -places where both conflicts and events can potentially originate and be altered- as in the example of the male characters meeting this woman in the street for the first time, or the case of the toilets in the bar, where she was raped by her partner, places where inevitably the issue was not anymore a “private” problem but where the people involved can interact as well –which was one of the main purposes of the community in the play. Thus, portraying the manipulation and consequences of a tyrannous love through all the emotions and interpretations that the four women and we as members of the community could have experienced as a result of our journey started.
To my view what tied the community together was our inner interpretation and commitment as performers to this issue. The first ensemble piece in the play is a genuine proof of strong connections that tied our community together, we could see in a very effective way our transformation from being mere members -yet emotionally involved with the story for this one fact: the disappearance of one woman- towards a united group reacting together, concerned and somehow looking for answers. Then, through the different stages of the narrative, the community is being put to a severe test when acknowledging the facts through the diary entries and then facing the reality and responding to it through the ensembles, this clearly showed not only the chronology of the facts but also the individualities of each of the characters as members of this community and especially the strong connections that can tie together a group of people when it comes to defending one of its members identity, sharing a common sense of unity and belonging.
The transition of Four Ways to Speak Out from the studio into the theatre space appeared an exciting moment for us all that we were looking forward to discover. Surprisingly once we saw the stage and explored its shape and volume we realized very quickly that we were sat at ease in a very comfortable zone-attitude resulting from the time spent in the studio while devising our piece. Callery states: “the actor has to read the space. But in order to do this s/he has first to really ‘see’ it, to create parallels of attention so that the whole space becomes their field of vision.’ (Callery, D. 2001: 79) Once each of the sections was fully validated and we moved to the "V" stage completing and impregnating the movements, energy and intentions that each part demanded, certainly unconsciously, we settled our own boundaries of awareness of the space and the others in the space, to the restricted area of the studio.
During the whole period we were only working and enriching our piece in the studios, the space never represented an issue whatsoever, yet, it demanded in some occasions the necessity of dividing our group to work in two different rooms in order for us to better examine, test and articulate the tasks we were assigned. But then, when working once again as an ensemble putting everything together until obtaining the final product I could say that our performance was aesthetically meaningful with a great sense of achievement.
However, when articulating the whole piece in the new space that represented the stage in the Arena, several issues arose as important and our awareness of the space, and other’s characters demanded to be revisited. Indeed the space in the stage was bigger and deeper than in the studios, therefore we had a tendency to remain close together without taking full advantage of the space, and for certain, a fear of perhaps not being seen by the audience started to crawl into the thoughts of some of the cast members, which was reflected when rehearsing the piece. Also during the sessions in the studios we were used to work with “fake” furniture and props, when arriving to the final set where a new real decoration was installed with real furniture and props, we had to run a full recognition and exploration of the space and embed ourselves of the possible actions that needed to take place as well as the extent of our boundaries of our space as individuals in order to expand our performance and deliver our story properly. Resulting from this discovery, some of the section’s work needed to be slightly modified in terms of fully making use of the whole surface, magnifying and broadening the gestures so as to gain visibility and better suit the performance’s intentions and the harmony and weight of their individual messages. Furthermore, we had to be absolutely aware of the volume and shape of the stage as the ensemble pieces, needed to be as well, restructured and reshaped, not only to be conscious of the cast in the space but also to move freely and securely through the space during the performance in the scenes where the vision would be reduced. As we moved on and the cast finally began to validate the piece we slightly overcame these problems.
The weakness of this transition, I think, lie in the fact that as a result from this comfort zone we had got used to, the piece suffered slightly in its quality and completion. Partly because of the lack of focus and serious commitment of some at that precise moments but also due to the re-adaptation to the space and the décor: for example the scene in the slow motion where one of the four women is taken back to the bar after the unspeakable had happened, was really effective in the studio when devised using just chairs, on the stage it was slightly different due to the height of the seats, a fact that might have deviate the focus of the audience. The strength of this transition are certainly the fact that once in this new environment with all the lights, the setting, the props and costumes needed for the show, not only we entered and experienced our narrative in a more realistic way but our characters really engaged with the commitment and the intention of the piece, with a sense o belonging to this story. I would say even that the very depths and developments of our roles were really put forward once we arrived at the stage.
Once the new boundaries of work at the stage were established and we started to build a new energy for the performance, the show took another material and psychological dimension. At the end of the last show, I felt like if I was really in my community, I had this sense of belonging and identification with my character and the others and I felt sad that it was finished. However, this was not the case from the beginning. I remember that the first day at the arena, really impacted my perception of the piece. So far through the "V" stages of the process, I felt being part of the piece without implicating myself in a more personal way, I was aware that my character was not having the dimension I wanted to give and was somehow struggling with that. So far at the studios my character had rather evolved as a person who was concerned by the issue but was powerless in the face of it. Once I reached the Arena space, I felt that perhaps a more urgent sense of determination would give the right evolution of my character, and this new goal helped me better to embody my character. Dennis stated that « in the physical training of the actor, is the unique responsibility of the actor to convey, through his physical being, the thoughts and feelings of the theatrical évent » (Book overview) At one point I was ready to take arms to protect this woman and found myself facing Andy with firm intentions of not letting him pass through and even ready to force him to leave should I need so. I realised then that the very essence of my character had unconsciously emerged through feelings of anger and distressed condition.
This transition, to the space and the context of the Arena, however, didn’t happen at a fast pace, and perhaps, my very best achievement appeared more visible in the last show. I was conscious that I needed to readjust constantly my interpretation of the themes and shift back my concentration whenever it was deviated in order to gain in emotion to incarnate my role. So I tried to focus more deeply on the very tensions and conflicts that were being portrayed through the sections and in particular on the very dramatic moments of the piece. The warms ups helped me greatly to reach this dimension I was looking for. It was more focused on breathing exercise and controlling our bodies to better position ourselves in the context, time, moment and space our characters were the most representative of, and developing it to it highest expression. Once gone through really exaggerating our breath and the gestures that accompanied, bringing our characters to life, we were ready for the play, just a few minutes before the show. It also helped us to control our stage fright - a common factor for us all during the three shows. To my view the warm ups on the stage were the most effective and conscious ones I have ever experienced.
I think the RSVP model applied in the whole process until de end of the last show. The comfort zone we were all in when first arrived at the arena was literally demolished and we evolved in a more mature process. Through the analysis of each show, a process of readjustment, and validation was always in development, which corresponds to the “S” and “V” stages in the Robert Lepage’s model. In this new environment our characters adopted a new dimension and I think the “P” process was reached successfully. Each show was different, Akran states: “There are no formulas. It never feels the same twice and never approaches you in the same way twice » (http://www.akramkhancompany.net) and the strong connections that started to build at the studio between the characters were reinforced as we performed. I would say that towards the end it was richer and better achieved in terms of focus but also in terms of communication. We took a view at the theme of domestic abuse and all the situations, emotions and feelings that can derivate from it. Lloyd Newson believes that the point of departure and the motivation for a performance of this nature should include « Content, rather than style, issues, rather than 'prettiness' or aesthetics, how individuals relate to one another, emotionally and intellectually, rather than being about movement or design patterns per se exploring the individual's actions, and looking at how these in turn reflect political and social issues » (http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8) We analyzed the issue with no intentions to provoke shock or disgust the audience but rather raise awareness. No punches or violence were shown, a final moment conveyed a rather moment of liberation instead of a dramatic death. We had a message to deliver to the audience and working through the sensitiveness of the subject, and becoming familiar with it made our work not only accessible and understandable but most important believable and impacting.
Bibliography:
1-Callery, D. (2001) Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre. Routledge. New York.
2-Dennis, A. (1995) The Articulate Body. UK. Nick Hearn Books.
3-Dundjerović, A. (2009) Routledge Performance Practitioners: Robert Lepage. Oxon. Routledge.
Other resources:
1-http://www.dv8.co.uk/ (Accessed on 22/04/2010 at 19:04)
2- http://www.akramkhancompany.net (Accessed on 22/04/2010 at 20:03)
Following this phase, a wide range of characters emerged taking strong positions in this issue, another resulting theme appeared as well imperative to be revisited, standing for the role of the society in fighting domestic abuse. Other themes such as friendship, recreation, protection, vulnerability, manipulation, violence, desperation, loss of control, moral judgements and liberation, were then contextualised to animate and bring energy to each of the sections in the piece where this missing woman will have had a critical moment.
The accent was put in those representative places around which people build their lives, and establish their connections with the exterior -places where both conflicts and events can potentially originate and be altered- as in the example of the male characters meeting this woman in the street for the first time, or the case of the toilets in the bar, where she was raped by her partner, places where inevitably the issue was not anymore a “private” problem but where the people involved can interact as well –which was one of the main purposes of the community in the play. Thus, portraying the manipulation and consequences of a tyrannous love through all the emotions and interpretations that the four women and we as members of the community could have experienced as a result of our journey started.
To my view what tied the community together was our inner interpretation and commitment as performers to this issue. The first ensemble piece in the play is a genuine proof of strong connections that tied our community together, we could see in a very effective way our transformation from being mere members -yet emotionally involved with the story for this one fact: the disappearance of one woman- towards a united group reacting together, concerned and somehow looking for answers. Then, through the different stages of the narrative, the community is being put to a severe test when acknowledging the facts through the diary entries and then facing the reality and responding to it through the ensembles, this clearly showed not only the chronology of the facts but also the individualities of each of the characters as members of this community and especially the strong connections that can tie together a group of people when it comes to defending one of its members identity, sharing a common sense of unity and belonging.
The transition of Four Ways to Speak Out from the studio into the theatre space appeared an exciting moment for us all that we were looking forward to discover. Surprisingly once we saw the stage and explored its shape and volume we realized very quickly that we were sat at ease in a very comfortable zone-attitude resulting from the time spent in the studio while devising our piece. Callery states: “the actor has to read the space. But in order to do this s/he has first to really ‘see’ it, to create parallels of attention so that the whole space becomes their field of vision.’ (Callery, D. 2001: 79) Once each of the sections was fully validated and we moved to the "V" stage completing and impregnating the movements, energy and intentions that each part demanded, certainly unconsciously, we settled our own boundaries of awareness of the space and the others in the space, to the restricted area of the studio.
During the whole period we were only working and enriching our piece in the studios, the space never represented an issue whatsoever, yet, it demanded in some occasions the necessity of dividing our group to work in two different rooms in order for us to better examine, test and articulate the tasks we were assigned. But then, when working once again as an ensemble putting everything together until obtaining the final product I could say that our performance was aesthetically meaningful with a great sense of achievement.
However, when articulating the whole piece in the new space that represented the stage in the Arena, several issues arose as important and our awareness of the space, and other’s characters demanded to be revisited. Indeed the space in the stage was bigger and deeper than in the studios, therefore we had a tendency to remain close together without taking full advantage of the space, and for certain, a fear of perhaps not being seen by the audience started to crawl into the thoughts of some of the cast members, which was reflected when rehearsing the piece. Also during the sessions in the studios we were used to work with “fake” furniture and props, when arriving to the final set where a new real decoration was installed with real furniture and props, we had to run a full recognition and exploration of the space and embed ourselves of the possible actions that needed to take place as well as the extent of our boundaries of our space as individuals in order to expand our performance and deliver our story properly. Resulting from this discovery, some of the section’s work needed to be slightly modified in terms of fully making use of the whole surface, magnifying and broadening the gestures so as to gain visibility and better suit the performance’s intentions and the harmony and weight of their individual messages. Furthermore, we had to be absolutely aware of the volume and shape of the stage as the ensemble pieces, needed to be as well, restructured and reshaped, not only to be conscious of the cast in the space but also to move freely and securely through the space during the performance in the scenes where the vision would be reduced. As we moved on and the cast finally began to validate the piece we slightly overcame these problems.
The weakness of this transition, I think, lie in the fact that as a result from this comfort zone we had got used to, the piece suffered slightly in its quality and completion. Partly because of the lack of focus and serious commitment of some at that precise moments but also due to the re-adaptation to the space and the décor: for example the scene in the slow motion where one of the four women is taken back to the bar after the unspeakable had happened, was really effective in the studio when devised using just chairs, on the stage it was slightly different due to the height of the seats, a fact that might have deviate the focus of the audience. The strength of this transition are certainly the fact that once in this new environment with all the lights, the setting, the props and costumes needed for the show, not only we entered and experienced our narrative in a more realistic way but our characters really engaged with the commitment and the intention of the piece, with a sense o belonging to this story. I would say even that the very depths and developments of our roles were really put forward once we arrived at the stage.
Once the new boundaries of work at the stage were established and we started to build a new energy for the performance, the show took another material and psychological dimension. At the end of the last show, I felt like if I was really in my community, I had this sense of belonging and identification with my character and the others and I felt sad that it was finished. However, this was not the case from the beginning. I remember that the first day at the arena, really impacted my perception of the piece. So far through the "V" stages of the process, I felt being part of the piece without implicating myself in a more personal way, I was aware that my character was not having the dimension I wanted to give and was somehow struggling with that. So far at the studios my character had rather evolved as a person who was concerned by the issue but was powerless in the face of it. Once I reached the Arena space, I felt that perhaps a more urgent sense of determination would give the right evolution of my character, and this new goal helped me better to embody my character. Dennis stated that « in the physical training of the actor, is the unique responsibility of the actor to convey, through his physical being, the thoughts and feelings of the theatrical évent » (Book overview) At one point I was ready to take arms to protect this woman and found myself facing Andy with firm intentions of not letting him pass through and even ready to force him to leave should I need so. I realised then that the very essence of my character had unconsciously emerged through feelings of anger and distressed condition.
This transition, to the space and the context of the Arena, however, didn’t happen at a fast pace, and perhaps, my very best achievement appeared more visible in the last show. I was conscious that I needed to readjust constantly my interpretation of the themes and shift back my concentration whenever it was deviated in order to gain in emotion to incarnate my role. So I tried to focus more deeply on the very tensions and conflicts that were being portrayed through the sections and in particular on the very dramatic moments of the piece. The warms ups helped me greatly to reach this dimension I was looking for. It was more focused on breathing exercise and controlling our bodies to better position ourselves in the context, time, moment and space our characters were the most representative of, and developing it to it highest expression. Once gone through really exaggerating our breath and the gestures that accompanied, bringing our characters to life, we were ready for the play, just a few minutes before the show. It also helped us to control our stage fright - a common factor for us all during the three shows. To my view the warm ups on the stage were the most effective and conscious ones I have ever experienced.
I think the RSVP model applied in the whole process until de end of the last show. The comfort zone we were all in when first arrived at the arena was literally demolished and we evolved in a more mature process. Through the analysis of each show, a process of readjustment, and validation was always in development, which corresponds to the “S” and “V” stages in the Robert Lepage’s model. In this new environment our characters adopted a new dimension and I think the “P” process was reached successfully. Each show was different, Akran states: “There are no formulas. It never feels the same twice and never approaches you in the same way twice » (http://www.akramkhancompany.net) and the strong connections that started to build at the studio between the characters were reinforced as we performed. I would say that towards the end it was richer and better achieved in terms of focus but also in terms of communication. We took a view at the theme of domestic abuse and all the situations, emotions and feelings that can derivate from it. Lloyd Newson believes that the point of departure and the motivation for a performance of this nature should include « Content, rather than style, issues, rather than 'prettiness' or aesthetics, how individuals relate to one another, emotionally and intellectually, rather than being about movement or design patterns per se exploring the individual's actions, and looking at how these in turn reflect political and social issues » (http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8) We analyzed the issue with no intentions to provoke shock or disgust the audience but rather raise awareness. No punches or violence were shown, a final moment conveyed a rather moment of liberation instead of a dramatic death. We had a message to deliver to the audience and working through the sensitiveness of the subject, and becoming familiar with it made our work not only accessible and understandable but most important believable and impacting.
Bibliography:
1-Callery, D. (2001) Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre. Routledge. New York.
2-Dennis, A. (1995) The Articulate Body. UK. Nick Hearn Books.
3-Dundjerović, A. (2009) Routledge Performance Practitioners: Robert Lepage. Oxon. Routledge.
Other resources:
1-http://www.dv8.co.uk/ (Accessed on 22/04/2010 at 19:04)
2- http://www.akramkhancompany.net (Accessed on 22/04/2010 at 20:03)
final blog. charmaine chambers 0920286
As the creative process turned from the validate stage to the performance stage, there were common themes and issues that arisen; not only in the piece but also in relation to the ensemble, their personal journeys and the process of the performance. Four ways to speak out, explored domestic violence and oppressive love, this difficult subject; often a subject that is not mentioned, was finally being explored through the forms of physical theatre. Through the subject matter (domestic violence) common themes arisen, one of these common themes was the way in which the company communicated the devised performance. Through the use of voice over’s and diary entries, the structure of the piece became contextualised, aiding the understanding for the audience, it is through the diary entries and voice over’s that flash backs into the life of the missing women were shown. The theme of oppression was evident in every encounter “the women” was present; this presentation enabled the women to be a character that was constantly spoken for. As an ensemble we demonstrated how oppression and emotional torture is often not constituted as domestic violence.
“Domestic abuse may also be defined by identifying its function that being the domination, punishment or control of one's partner. Abusers use physical and sexual violence, threats, money, emotional and psychological abuse to control their partners and get their way.” (Hidden hurt: 2010)
The ensemble also presented domestic violence in a non- stereotypical way, we wanted to show how a complex subject, like domestic violence differs and how the missing women had a strong persona that enabled her to leave the relationship.
“When I am asked why a man/woman doesn’t leave abuser I say: They stay because the fear of leaving is greater than the fear of staying. They will leave when the fear of staying is greater than the fear of leaving.” (Burns: http://thelaststraw.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/quotes-about-domestic-violence/)
As an ensemble we shared a vast amount of experiences throughout the creative process this was because we collectively devised the work and allowed our emotions and intentions to become the substance in the performance, as a company we grew as an ensemble by the use of characterisation tasks, this not only allowed our individual journey to be formed but also the journey of the company, we began to react to one another and also protect each other through these acts which in turn created a closer bond and shared group experience, this close bond, transferred on stage, which defined our first ensemble piece
The transition of four ways to speak out created a vast amount of strengths but also exposed many weaknesses as an ensemble. Aspects like doubting the quality of our work, a loss of intention in the piece and space awareness became some of the themes experienced as a result of the transition from the studio into the theatre space. Other issues were; allowing adjustments to be made to the piece, applying criticism to the work and adapting to the performance space; these particularly affected the whole ensemble at some point. In regards to four ways to speak out and its creative process, the whole piece as a performance began to be questioned by the ensemble; it is evident that in the validate stage the ensemble became aware that audience members would be viewing our work at the performance stage. Personally I was aware that as university students, not only were we tackling a complex issue, but we were also embarking on a highly complex genre. Although as an ensemble we were portraying our performance style as physical theatre, we also stepped away from a complete physical exploration. What I mean by physical exploration is that we were not afraid to step away from physical theatre styles such as Jasmin Vardimon Company; instead we incorporated the use of voice over, text and pedestrian movement which in turn created a new dimension to the piece. I believe in hindsight it can be stated that creating a performance that became true to its subject; like domestic violence is more imperative than creating a performance that merely looks good; this differs from dance. “can dance deal with complex emotional narrative:” ( newson.1992:11-13)
Many of the group doubted the work of the ensemble because they compared the work of four ways to speak out to other performances they had seen such as Jasmin Vardimon. I believe it is important that we portray confidence for our work as it was our ideas that drove the creative process in that particular direction. Although our style differed to those of dv8 physical theatre company, I believe our intention is somewhat the same. Dv8 states on their website that,
“DV8 Physical Theatre's work is about taking risks, aesthetically and physically, about breaking down the barriers between dance and theatre and, above all, communicating ideas and feelings clearly and unpretentiously. It is determined to be radical yet accessible and to take its work to as wide an audience as possible” (dv8:2010)
This statement coincides with the views of four ways to speak out because we have learned to break down the barriers of dance and drama to create the highbred character of physical theatre. Our chosen subject seems to be present in most people’s lives which allow our theme to be “accessible” so our audience connects with our work. A result of doubting the creative successfulness of the company meant that our work began to lose intention, it can be said that we started to focus on the technicalities of the piece and not the intention behind that movement. “ the body knows things about which the mind is ignorant” (callery.2000:4) this quotation embodies the thoughts of the ensemble, we are so unused to using our bodies to speak that when we do use them we are fearful that we will not look socially correct or perfect, it is physical theatre that allows our bodies to speak the truth.
Through the “R, S and V” devising process, four ways to speak out was developed in the drama studios, this space although bare with no scenographic elements in place, did not hinder our creative developments, instead I believe it enhanced our creative process. The main factors for this enhanced creativeness could be the discipline we established throughout the year with the use of respiratory exercise and physical warm-ups without the use of speech. “ the Alexander technique will provide you with a means of releasing excessive tension, enabling you to perform much closer to maximum ability”. ( Brennan. 1996:17) Moving into the theatre space contributed to the loss of focus and intention; the ensemble allowed the change of space to interrupt the work previously created, which slowed the pace of the work and stunted the creative process, the reasons for this was not knowing the dynamics of the theatres proximity. Practising our performance in one area and adjusting to that space allowed a comfort zone to be formed, moving from this space meant that adjustments had to be made and we had to consider the set, work around it and interact with. ‘[…] actors might be severely restricted in time and training space’ (Zarrilli, P. 1995: 92)
“Every show was a unique devising experience, resulting in an original product which changed with every performance.” (Oddey.1994:7) Over the three shows the performance changed each time, many factors contributed to this change but it is through an individual perspective that the growth of the performance became evident, it was the individual growth that enhanced the growth of the ensemble and in turn the performance. In comparison to the studio space my individual role in the piece grew but did not always feel emotionally connected, this differed when entering the performance space as my character’s emotions became heightened and even before the show the RSVP model continued to transform. The first performance, although in the “P” stages felt like it was still being refined and validated and I assume for the audience the piece in some places felt mechanical or synthetic as opposed to the truth we wanted to portray.
Over the three performances the ensemble was able to validate continuously until the end performance, Dundjerovic states that, “ Valuaction is not about evaluation, which is a psychological process, but about selecting the best from a number of improvised scores so it can be developed into a performance.” (Dundjerovic.2009:37). Understanding what to improve or change became accessible through feedback obtained by our module leader, from this I began to understand my character’s journey, the characterisation exercises enabled me to discover the advanced dimensions of my character’s emotions so that I was able to respond truthfully to the situations I was in. “ only if an actor is clear himself, will he be able to respond physically to the dramatic situation being created.” ( Dennis.2002:22) Through the characterisation tasks a past to my character’s life was able to form and I realised qualities that affected the way I walked, the way my weight transferred and the interaction I shared with other member’s of the ensemble. These qualities became the most apparent on the final performance of Four Ways To Speak Out, the second ensemble made me feel a sense of anger, my interaction with other members of the ensemble at that point became quite forceful and my weight was carried predominately on the top half of my body, mainly across my shoulders, this resulted in the physical exploration I shared with others for example being forceful and showing traits of oppression to the women in the bedroom scene. My emotions were not only shown in physical scenes, my body and my emotions continued to be explored through scenes where I was on the periphery of the stage. The act of using my emotions at a time where I am not physically part-taking on stage was the most emotionally challenging part of the performance which is why I believe it took me until the final performance to fully submerge myself into the performance. “ actors need extra- daily awareness, having a kind of third eye which monitors what is happening within the self.” (callery.2001:22)
Through the creating of the four ways to speak out and the performing of it, the ensemble and my individual character has grown and transformed to show a true sense of feelings on stage. Even in the ensemble sections in the piece, the companies individual characters emotions were evident although it seemed as if we were all doing the same in the ensemble piece what changed the synchronised movement is the intention behind it. “one performer improvised a sound and movement which is adopted by another performer who changes it and passes it on to another.” (Shank.1982:14)
Bibliography
Brennan,R. ( 1996) The Alexander technique: take control of your posture and life.little brown and company (uk). London
Callery, D. (2001) Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre. Routledge. New York.
Dennis, A. (2002) The Articulate Body: The Physical Training of the Actor. Nick Hern. London.
Dunderovic, A. (2009) Robert Lepage. Routledge. New York.
Oddey, A (1994) Devising Theatre: a practical and theoretical handbook, London: Routledge.
Shank, T: (1982) Primary explorations. in Shank, T. American alternative theatre. London: Macmillan, pp.8-49.
Zarrilli, P. (1995); Acting (re)considered: Theories and Practices.
London: Routledge.
Other sources:
DV8. (1993) Interviews [Accessed at 24th April 2010]. Available at:
http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8/interview_dance_now_lloyd_newson_on_dance
Hidden hurt. (2002-2008) Hidden hurt [Accessed 24th April 2010]. Available at: http://www.hiddenhurt.co.uk/Types/faces.htm
“Domestic abuse may also be defined by identifying its function that being the domination, punishment or control of one's partner. Abusers use physical and sexual violence, threats, money, emotional and psychological abuse to control their partners and get their way.” (Hidden hurt: 2010)
The ensemble also presented domestic violence in a non- stereotypical way, we wanted to show how a complex subject, like domestic violence differs and how the missing women had a strong persona that enabled her to leave the relationship.
“When I am asked why a man/woman doesn’t leave abuser I say: They stay because the fear of leaving is greater than the fear of staying. They will leave when the fear of staying is greater than the fear of leaving.” (Burns: http://thelaststraw.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/quotes-about-domestic-violence/)
As an ensemble we shared a vast amount of experiences throughout the creative process this was because we collectively devised the work and allowed our emotions and intentions to become the substance in the performance, as a company we grew as an ensemble by the use of characterisation tasks, this not only allowed our individual journey to be formed but also the journey of the company, we began to react to one another and also protect each other through these acts which in turn created a closer bond and shared group experience, this close bond, transferred on stage, which defined our first ensemble piece
The transition of four ways to speak out created a vast amount of strengths but also exposed many weaknesses as an ensemble. Aspects like doubting the quality of our work, a loss of intention in the piece and space awareness became some of the themes experienced as a result of the transition from the studio into the theatre space. Other issues were; allowing adjustments to be made to the piece, applying criticism to the work and adapting to the performance space; these particularly affected the whole ensemble at some point. In regards to four ways to speak out and its creative process, the whole piece as a performance began to be questioned by the ensemble; it is evident that in the validate stage the ensemble became aware that audience members would be viewing our work at the performance stage. Personally I was aware that as university students, not only were we tackling a complex issue, but we were also embarking on a highly complex genre. Although as an ensemble we were portraying our performance style as physical theatre, we also stepped away from a complete physical exploration. What I mean by physical exploration is that we were not afraid to step away from physical theatre styles such as Jasmin Vardimon Company; instead we incorporated the use of voice over, text and pedestrian movement which in turn created a new dimension to the piece. I believe in hindsight it can be stated that creating a performance that became true to its subject; like domestic violence is more imperative than creating a performance that merely looks good; this differs from dance. “can dance deal with complex emotional narrative:” ( newson.1992:11-13)
Many of the group doubted the work of the ensemble because they compared the work of four ways to speak out to other performances they had seen such as Jasmin Vardimon. I believe it is important that we portray confidence for our work as it was our ideas that drove the creative process in that particular direction. Although our style differed to those of dv8 physical theatre company, I believe our intention is somewhat the same. Dv8 states on their website that,
“DV8 Physical Theatre's work is about taking risks, aesthetically and physically, about breaking down the barriers between dance and theatre and, above all, communicating ideas and feelings clearly and unpretentiously. It is determined to be radical yet accessible and to take its work to as wide an audience as possible” (dv8:2010)
This statement coincides with the views of four ways to speak out because we have learned to break down the barriers of dance and drama to create the highbred character of physical theatre. Our chosen subject seems to be present in most people’s lives which allow our theme to be “accessible” so our audience connects with our work. A result of doubting the creative successfulness of the company meant that our work began to lose intention, it can be said that we started to focus on the technicalities of the piece and not the intention behind that movement. “ the body knows things about which the mind is ignorant” (callery.2000:4) this quotation embodies the thoughts of the ensemble, we are so unused to using our bodies to speak that when we do use them we are fearful that we will not look socially correct or perfect, it is physical theatre that allows our bodies to speak the truth.
Through the “R, S and V” devising process, four ways to speak out was developed in the drama studios, this space although bare with no scenographic elements in place, did not hinder our creative developments, instead I believe it enhanced our creative process. The main factors for this enhanced creativeness could be the discipline we established throughout the year with the use of respiratory exercise and physical warm-ups without the use of speech. “ the Alexander technique will provide you with a means of releasing excessive tension, enabling you to perform much closer to maximum ability”. ( Brennan. 1996:17) Moving into the theatre space contributed to the loss of focus and intention; the ensemble allowed the change of space to interrupt the work previously created, which slowed the pace of the work and stunted the creative process, the reasons for this was not knowing the dynamics of the theatres proximity. Practising our performance in one area and adjusting to that space allowed a comfort zone to be formed, moving from this space meant that adjustments had to be made and we had to consider the set, work around it and interact with. ‘[…] actors might be severely restricted in time and training space’ (Zarrilli, P. 1995: 92)
“Every show was a unique devising experience, resulting in an original product which changed with every performance.” (Oddey.1994:7) Over the three shows the performance changed each time, many factors contributed to this change but it is through an individual perspective that the growth of the performance became evident, it was the individual growth that enhanced the growth of the ensemble and in turn the performance. In comparison to the studio space my individual role in the piece grew but did not always feel emotionally connected, this differed when entering the performance space as my character’s emotions became heightened and even before the show the RSVP model continued to transform. The first performance, although in the “P” stages felt like it was still being refined and validated and I assume for the audience the piece in some places felt mechanical or synthetic as opposed to the truth we wanted to portray.
Over the three performances the ensemble was able to validate continuously until the end performance, Dundjerovic states that, “ Valuaction is not about evaluation, which is a psychological process, but about selecting the best from a number of improvised scores so it can be developed into a performance.” (Dundjerovic.2009:37). Understanding what to improve or change became accessible through feedback obtained by our module leader, from this I began to understand my character’s journey, the characterisation exercises enabled me to discover the advanced dimensions of my character’s emotions so that I was able to respond truthfully to the situations I was in. “ only if an actor is clear himself, will he be able to respond physically to the dramatic situation being created.” ( Dennis.2002:22) Through the characterisation tasks a past to my character’s life was able to form and I realised qualities that affected the way I walked, the way my weight transferred and the interaction I shared with other member’s of the ensemble. These qualities became the most apparent on the final performance of Four Ways To Speak Out, the second ensemble made me feel a sense of anger, my interaction with other members of the ensemble at that point became quite forceful and my weight was carried predominately on the top half of my body, mainly across my shoulders, this resulted in the physical exploration I shared with others for example being forceful and showing traits of oppression to the women in the bedroom scene. My emotions were not only shown in physical scenes, my body and my emotions continued to be explored through scenes where I was on the periphery of the stage. The act of using my emotions at a time where I am not physically part-taking on stage was the most emotionally challenging part of the performance which is why I believe it took me until the final performance to fully submerge myself into the performance. “ actors need extra- daily awareness, having a kind of third eye which monitors what is happening within the self.” (callery.2001:22)
Through the creating of the four ways to speak out and the performing of it, the ensemble and my individual character has grown and transformed to show a true sense of feelings on stage. Even in the ensemble sections in the piece, the companies individual characters emotions were evident although it seemed as if we were all doing the same in the ensemble piece what changed the synchronised movement is the intention behind it. “one performer improvised a sound and movement which is adopted by another performer who changes it and passes it on to another.” (Shank.1982:14)
Bibliography
Brennan,R. ( 1996) The Alexander technique: take control of your posture and life.little brown and company (uk). London
Callery, D. (2001) Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre. Routledge. New York.
Dennis, A. (2002) The Articulate Body: The Physical Training of the Actor. Nick Hern. London.
Dunderovic, A. (2009) Robert Lepage. Routledge. New York.
Oddey, A (1994) Devising Theatre: a practical and theoretical handbook, London: Routledge.
Shank, T: (1982) Primary explorations. in Shank, T. American alternative theatre. London: Macmillan, pp.8-49.
Zarrilli, P. (1995); Acting (re)considered: Theories and Practices.
London: Routledge.
Other sources:
DV8. (1993) Interviews [Accessed at 24th April 2010]. Available at:
http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8/interview_dance_now_lloyd_newson_on_dance
Hidden hurt. (2002-2008) Hidden hurt [Accessed 24th April 2010]. Available at: http://www.hiddenhurt.co.uk/Types/faces.htm
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Task 3 by Toni Alonzo 0800786
Four Ways To Speak Out was performance that explored the almost taboo area of relationships; that of oppressive, manipulative love and domestic violence. I call this a taboo subject because although the public has become aware of the actions of couples behind doors, it still seems that society do not wish to speak openly about the subject. However, it is something that happens more often than most people believe. And even though the performance itself focused on a woman's struggle through this, it can just as easily happen to the male involved in the relationship. To tackle this taboo nature, we knew it would be a struggle because if done wrong, these pieces can easily upset an audience and not prove to be valuable. This is why we showed other aspects of a troubled relationship. We showed a woman who was not just beaten, but manipulated and tormented emotionally and mentally.
As we moved through the RSVP model, we created this missing woman and as a community all had an input and created our own connections to her. It was inevitable that some of these connections would be similar and some would be extremely different, but working together with how we perceived her, we were able to create her as a person. To me, I hardly knew her, but knew that she seemed really happy all the time. As the piece was developed further, my connection to her ultimately changed and although it was not what I expected, it developed my characters hugely. Knowing what had happened and what she had experienced that my character had now knowledge of originally made my character feel extremely guilty and ultimately angry at the man who had caused all this.
However, what I did not expect, but really worked for this piece was giving this woman we had created a strong enough presence to decide she wanted to leave and ultimately did. Not only did this provide an overall ending to the piece and the narrative, it also gave a strong and positive message to our audience and this is what we ultimately intended.
Even though we as a community each experienced an individual emotional journey, we also experienced one as a community. When we worked as a ensemble to create ensemble moments, there was a real community experience working as we all put in our ideas to create gestures that represented our narrative point in the structure. Not only that, we also had communities within the community. For example, all the flashbacks scenes created a smaller community in which the characters all had a role in what the women was experiencing, sometimes even adding to the control and manipulation she was already receiving.
“The actor's working space is the space around them” (Callery, 2001, p79) As said here by Callery, as an actor, your working space includes everything around you. The transition between the studio space and entering the theatre space with the set completely built and ready was a challenge, as could have been expected. We as a community had become so used to working in the space for the past year that brining it into a new space was almost daunting, but also very exciting. The first thing to notice is the difference in the floor and walls and the size of the space. Working in the studios, we were limited with a full space to use and in the theatre space, the performance area was much larger and had more depth. Not only this, but in this space were objects that we as performers had to realise whether they were available to work with or if they were an obstacle we had to work against. It When we were in the space for the first time, there was an excitement in the air as now, our story what we were trying to tell was really beginning to come to life and reveal new elements that not on person had experienced yet.
As soon as the piece itself was placed in a set that the community had been imagining was there and had locations, my character really began to make all the connections to this women and the role that I had played and the whole community played in her reason for disappearing. Being in these locations added the level of reality that is not often used in this genre, but was needed to create this story fully.
The transition also featured a new thing we had never dealt with before, an audience. Up until this point, we have be experiencing this journey and the women's story with just as a community and now there was a third eye joining, watching your moves and hearing her story. Experiencing the audience almost felt as though you were questioning why they were here to see her story. The easy explanation is that they were there for entertainment purposes, but yourself as a character in this story and emotional mindset wondered if they were allowed to see both the women's story and how your character reacted to the motions of the piece as the narrative developed throughout the piece.
“Even if you go back to see the play again, no two performances are exactly identical.” (Oida and Marshall, 1997, p 33) Any play you watch is never the same performance twice. There are many things that can happen because it is a live stage. Sometimes, there are problems, lines forgot and technical glitches. Physical theatre is no different, but can experience a vast majority of differences in each shows. In this performance, we are so in touch with our characters and their emotions that emotion changes can be experienced. I myself experiencing this a lot throughout the three shows, as my emotional intentions were slightly different in each on.
Throughout each show, my emotions were very strong and during the first show, I felt really strong as a character and felt that this woman had deserved better than what she had got. I almost began to feel more and more protective of each member of the community. I had failed this woman who needed help, so I protected them instead. Although I felt anger at myself as a character, my main source of anger was towards Andy because of how he had treated this woman.
These emotions stayed pretty much the same in the second show, however, I became weaker and this time around, felt the need for people to protect me. After the scene with Hayley, Ellen and Jodie, my character had degraded into tears and myself as a character felt like an emotional train wreck. I experienced a whole new level of emotions by only a slight change in the way my character behaved and felt emotionally. However, it was the third show that my character experienced the biggest emotional change and that was towards Andy.
Andy played the man who had treated our missing women the way that made her leave and for the first two shows, I felt extremely angry towards him all the time. Whenever I saw him, I wanted to protect others from him. However, in the last show we did, my feelings had completely become the opposite. I instead felt really sorry for this man who didn't know how to show his love in any other way. I felt sorry that the community were treating him so badly and I just wanted to protect him from the backlash he was receiving. As I felt this towards Andy, the rest of my connections to the community also changed. I began to hate them because they were treating him in such a vile way, that it was almost as though history were repeating itself. They community themselves had become this oppressive aggression towards this man, who was alone and felt almost hopeless against this body of people.
However, its having you own individual journey and emotions that make this a real performance. The audience want to see what each character is feeling. As said on a DV8 interview by Lloyd Newson, “I want to see characters on stage, I want to see people experience things. Well, hopefully our process facilitates and draws out individual qualities and characteristics, both in terms of the way they move as dancers and how they think on stage” (Newson, 2003) The audience doesn't want to see you acting a character, the audience wants to see you being a character, whether it is in a text based performance of physical theatre one. There is the need for a character to make this as a story believable and as a performance, entertaining. Not only does it give the audience, it gives you a performer something to. To experience the emotions and feeling on stage gives you as a performer a greater sense of achievement.
Bibliography
Callery, D. (2001) Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre. Routledge. New York.
Oida, Y. and Marshall, L. (1997) The Invisible Actor. London: Methuen.
Lloyd Newson, DV8. (1993) Interviews [Accessed at 24th April 2010]. Available at:
http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8/interview_article_19_lloyd_newson_and_dv8
By Toni Alonzo, 0800786
As we moved through the RSVP model, we created this missing woman and as a community all had an input and created our own connections to her. It was inevitable that some of these connections would be similar and some would be extremely different, but working together with how we perceived her, we were able to create her as a person. To me, I hardly knew her, but knew that she seemed really happy all the time. As the piece was developed further, my connection to her ultimately changed and although it was not what I expected, it developed my characters hugely. Knowing what had happened and what she had experienced that my character had now knowledge of originally made my character feel extremely guilty and ultimately angry at the man who had caused all this.
However, what I did not expect, but really worked for this piece was giving this woman we had created a strong enough presence to decide she wanted to leave and ultimately did. Not only did this provide an overall ending to the piece and the narrative, it also gave a strong and positive message to our audience and this is what we ultimately intended.
Even though we as a community each experienced an individual emotional journey, we also experienced one as a community. When we worked as a ensemble to create ensemble moments, there was a real community experience working as we all put in our ideas to create gestures that represented our narrative point in the structure. Not only that, we also had communities within the community. For example, all the flashbacks scenes created a smaller community in which the characters all had a role in what the women was experiencing, sometimes even adding to the control and manipulation she was already receiving.
“The actor's working space is the space around them” (Callery, 2001, p79) As said here by Callery, as an actor, your working space includes everything around you. The transition between the studio space and entering the theatre space with the set completely built and ready was a challenge, as could have been expected. We as a community had become so used to working in the space for the past year that brining it into a new space was almost daunting, but also very exciting. The first thing to notice is the difference in the floor and walls and the size of the space. Working in the studios, we were limited with a full space to use and in the theatre space, the performance area was much larger and had more depth. Not only this, but in this space were objects that we as performers had to realise whether they were available to work with or if they were an obstacle we had to work against. It When we were in the space for the first time, there was an excitement in the air as now, our story what we were trying to tell was really beginning to come to life and reveal new elements that not on person had experienced yet.
As soon as the piece itself was placed in a set that the community had been imagining was there and had locations, my character really began to make all the connections to this women and the role that I had played and the whole community played in her reason for disappearing. Being in these locations added the level of reality that is not often used in this genre, but was needed to create this story fully.
The transition also featured a new thing we had never dealt with before, an audience. Up until this point, we have be experiencing this journey and the women's story with just as a community and now there was a third eye joining, watching your moves and hearing her story. Experiencing the audience almost felt as though you were questioning why they were here to see her story. The easy explanation is that they were there for entertainment purposes, but yourself as a character in this story and emotional mindset wondered if they were allowed to see both the women's story and how your character reacted to the motions of the piece as the narrative developed throughout the piece.
“Even if you go back to see the play again, no two performances are exactly identical.” (Oida and Marshall, 1997, p 33) Any play you watch is never the same performance twice. There are many things that can happen because it is a live stage. Sometimes, there are problems, lines forgot and technical glitches. Physical theatre is no different, but can experience a vast majority of differences in each shows. In this performance, we are so in touch with our characters and their emotions that emotion changes can be experienced. I myself experiencing this a lot throughout the three shows, as my emotional intentions were slightly different in each on.
Throughout each show, my emotions were very strong and during the first show, I felt really strong as a character and felt that this woman had deserved better than what she had got. I almost began to feel more and more protective of each member of the community. I had failed this woman who needed help, so I protected them instead. Although I felt anger at myself as a character, my main source of anger was towards Andy because of how he had treated this woman.
These emotions stayed pretty much the same in the second show, however, I became weaker and this time around, felt the need for people to protect me. After the scene with Hayley, Ellen and Jodie, my character had degraded into tears and myself as a character felt like an emotional train wreck. I experienced a whole new level of emotions by only a slight change in the way my character behaved and felt emotionally. However, it was the third show that my character experienced the biggest emotional change and that was towards Andy.
Andy played the man who had treated our missing women the way that made her leave and for the first two shows, I felt extremely angry towards him all the time. Whenever I saw him, I wanted to protect others from him. However, in the last show we did, my feelings had completely become the opposite. I instead felt really sorry for this man who didn't know how to show his love in any other way. I felt sorry that the community were treating him so badly and I just wanted to protect him from the backlash he was receiving. As I felt this towards Andy, the rest of my connections to the community also changed. I began to hate them because they were treating him in such a vile way, that it was almost as though history were repeating itself. They community themselves had become this oppressive aggression towards this man, who was alone and felt almost hopeless against this body of people.
However, its having you own individual journey and emotions that make this a real performance. The audience want to see what each character is feeling. As said on a DV8 interview by Lloyd Newson, “I want to see characters on stage, I want to see people experience things. Well, hopefully our process facilitates and draws out individual qualities and characteristics, both in terms of the way they move as dancers and how they think on stage” (Newson, 2003) The audience doesn't want to see you acting a character, the audience wants to see you being a character, whether it is in a text based performance of physical theatre one. There is the need for a character to make this as a story believable and as a performance, entertaining. Not only does it give the audience, it gives you a performer something to. To experience the emotions and feeling on stage gives you as a performer a greater sense of achievement.
Bibliography
Callery, D. (2001) Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre. Routledge. New York.
Oida, Y. and Marshall, L. (1997) The Invisible Actor. London: Methuen.
Lloyd Newson, DV8. (1993) Interviews [Accessed at 24th April 2010]. Available at:
http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8/interview_article_19_lloyd_newson_and_dv8
By Toni Alonzo, 0800786
Friday, 26 March 2010
Annette Campbell 0922152 blog assessment 2
Callery states that “Devising is rooted in the concept of the creative actor developing idea’s from tasks”. (Callery, D.2002: pg 165) In the creative process of 'four ways to speak out' one of the key strategies of devising that were used involved the usage of play. Introducing the play method enabled us to experiment without the need of a stimulus. This provided an adequate amount of freedom which enabled us to create pieces to levels in which we may never have experienced. It also allowed us to express ourselves in a way that uses our bodies to create pieces rather than our minds. Referring back to semester 1 we learnt a palette of techniques in our play sessions. The techniques that we had learnt have been proven to be extremely beneficial when creating pieces for ‘four ways to speak out’. The reason being is that our bodies are now trained to hold different body weights and we remember certain movements through body memory. Another strategy that has been fundamental throughout this process is the clap method. The clap method has proven to be a success throughout our ensemble pieces as it has provided the opportunity for each person to provide an input by creating a gesture that relates to domestic abuse. It is important that when devising different pieces, we should not allow ourselves to become precious with the creations we have made as this is a working process and ideas will constantly change throughout. “Devised theatre can start from an infinite number of possibilities such as an idea, image, concept, object, poem, piece of music or painting and the precise nature of the end product is unknown”(Oddey.A, 1994, pg.1).
In the beginning my character was portrayed to be a woman full of confidence, extremely self involved and likes to think of herself as a highly respected individual that the community aspire to. As she was the owner of a wine bar i imagined her to be the type of person who was the life and soul of a party and was friends with the whole community. I also had a sense that my character was not the nice person that everyone perceived her to be. Although she was friends with the missing lady, there was a huge resentment towards her that my character kept hidden. Throughout the process of p&p, my character has transformed into the opposite of what i imagined her to be. As my character was placed into a trio working with Huma and Sarah, it has changed my perspective. My character is no longer this confident, colourful individual. She has become extremely paranoid and feels over protective over her two other friends. She no longer feels any resentment towards the missing woman and is deeply concerned about her well being. As the three of us have lost our dear friend which has had a huge impact on us, i am determined to keep the other two women safe from Andy.
Throughout the process of the performance, my characters physicality had transformed into the opposite of what it once was. At the start of the process when walking around the space, my spine was straight, the shoulders were back and i held my head high making slow movements to walk around the space. When we were placed in our trio as my character had changed, my whole body language began to mold with my new character. When walking around the community my spine is curved and i am constantly looking around to see how far Andy is away from me. My pace has began to speed up and my facial expressions are never relaxed. During the piece there becomes a point in which i regain my confidence but this only lasts a few minutes. This is during the first duet piece, as i travel the room to reach my partner my spine is straight, the shoulders are back and my head is held high. For some unknown reason during these few minutes, i am no longer afraid of Andy and he is no threat to me. The character that i now portray would not have been the character i would of chose but it does fit well in the sections i work in.
Bibliography
(Oddey. A. Devised Theatre: A practical and Theoretical handbook. London, Routledge, 1994)
(Callery.D Through the Body. London, Routledge 2001)
In the beginning my character was portrayed to be a woman full of confidence, extremely self involved and likes to think of herself as a highly respected individual that the community aspire to. As she was the owner of a wine bar i imagined her to be the type of person who was the life and soul of a party and was friends with the whole community. I also had a sense that my character was not the nice person that everyone perceived her to be. Although she was friends with the missing lady, there was a huge resentment towards her that my character kept hidden. Throughout the process of p&p, my character has transformed into the opposite of what i imagined her to be. As my character was placed into a trio working with Huma and Sarah, it has changed my perspective. My character is no longer this confident, colourful individual. She has become extremely paranoid and feels over protective over her two other friends. She no longer feels any resentment towards the missing woman and is deeply concerned about her well being. As the three of us have lost our dear friend which has had a huge impact on us, i am determined to keep the other two women safe from Andy.
Throughout the process of the performance, my characters physicality had transformed into the opposite of what it once was. At the start of the process when walking around the space, my spine was straight, the shoulders were back and i held my head high making slow movements to walk around the space. When we were placed in our trio as my character had changed, my whole body language began to mold with my new character. When walking around the community my spine is curved and i am constantly looking around to see how far Andy is away from me. My pace has began to speed up and my facial expressions are never relaxed. During the piece there becomes a point in which i regain my confidence but this only lasts a few minutes. This is during the first duet piece, as i travel the room to reach my partner my spine is straight, the shoulders are back and my head is held high. For some unknown reason during these few minutes, i am no longer afraid of Andy and he is no threat to me. The character that i now portray would not have been the character i would of chose but it does fit well in the sections i work in.
Bibliography
(Oddey. A. Devised Theatre: A practical and Theoretical handbook. London, Routledge, 1994)
(Callery.D Through the Body. London, Routledge 2001)
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Blog Assessment 2.
Grecia CHARPIN. Student Nº: 0916113
1. “Four ways to speak out” as a form of is a physical theatre, has been devised using a large range of devising features to create a product with a specific content: the inner and outer reactions to Domestic Abuse as a social issue present in our societies nowadays. Our response together as an ensemble to this issue stands to my view, as one the first key strategies that have appeared intrinsic from the beginning of the creating process. Our journey started from our responses to stimulus presented under different forms, such as various objects disposed distinctively in the space, music, and ideas. “Devised theatre can start from anything. It is determined and defined by a group of people who set up an initial framework or structure to explore and experiment with ideas, images, concepts, themes, or specific stimuli that might include music, text, objects, paintings, or movement” (Oddey,A, 1994, Devising Theatre,p.1). Following then, specific tasks helped us to generate a series of gestures and movements either aesthetic and stylistic or pedestrian in relation to them, in order for us to give an interpretation of what these objects could awake in our minds and bodies. We have also developed our characters through written responses positioning the narrative in the time and space we felt appropriate, a fact that has given us certain confidence in terms of delivering our roles emotionally - a strategy that has paid back as the characters have grown in the story. To develop the tasks we have used among others the clap method so we all could have a personal contribution to the product gaining in objectivity and effectiveness. We have explored and tested small routines including those movements through improvisation, codified archetype forms, ensemble pieces, duets, and reactions of the characters sometimes as emotions emerged. This allowed us to give strong and sometimes very natural responses, not only physical but with psychological and symbolic cultural resonance as well, thanks to the diversity of the member’s multicultural and multi-gender background. “Devised theatre offers the opportunity to groups of artists to try out ideas or notions that were not text-led. It provoked the potential for a designer, Choreographer, o performer to initiate a concept or starting point of performance” (Oddey,A, 1994, Devising Theatre,p.1). Putting into practice the whole palette of skills typical to physical theatre, such as body memory, awareness of the space and the partners, distribution of weight, as well as the hybrid character of this expression. Through the use of music, written text, physical movements, and dance, we have reached our final stage, and the narrative is now complete.
2. My character was born as a response to what she could have been in relation to this missing woman. As it, she was one of this woman’s next-door neighbours in her building. At the beginning, it was quite clear what the depths of her intimacy with this woman were, what her position in the community was and where she was when she last saw the missing woman -in my particular case it was in the street accompanying her to the post office to send a letter to her brother. She was really worried by what was going on next door, she knew something was not right and she knew it was something hard to say, something taboo. On the other hand, she never asked this woman to explain the situation, she was somehow powerless. Therefore, when in desperation this woman asked her for help she didn’t hesitate to accompany her to what ever she needed to do, in this case to the post office. As the narrative developed, my character suffered some changes. As we settled the need to have 4 representative women, instead of only one interacting in different situations, and the idea of the environment also created in more representative locations of one community, such as the bar, the street, and this missing woman’s bedroom (as one personal touch connected to this woman) the purpose and reason of my character somehow disappeared, (this includes the props needed to her description) and developed into something more general: one of the community neighbours who saw this missing woman in the street.
3. My character development takes place mainly in the street. Through different situations she goes, she experiences emotional ups and downs related mainly to this woman’s reactions seen in the flash backs as the story is narrated. When the actions take place in the street the movements developed are quite artistic, in an ensemble routine with some pedestrian gestures added in order to portray women reactions when getting ready and also when interacting with the opposite gender. Following this encounter with the boys in the street, then interacting violently with them as they try to take control of this woman, we developed more sharp violent movements which include catches and falls – my character in particular takes a high jump into the woman’s boyfriend in her last attempt to stop him from taking control of this woman. For this bit the trust in my partner is crucial as he takes my full weight on him, so I need to lighten my body weight by means of shifting my centre of gravity through my pelvis position, using some key points to lean on him, stretching my spine and keeping my muscles tight as much as possible from the beginning in order for him to take me to the highest point possible above him without any difficulties. On the way down as my character will be just thrown out of the way, this time I need to make my body heavy without loosing control, so again it can be achieved safely. To give more meaning to this section we also decided to repeat this woman’s movements in a sort of robotic way, the aim is to portray in us women from the community as this woman has if we were in her situation. The other key moment when my character makes great physical movements is in the chaotic ensemble where I receive weight from my partner in different falls during the section, and I transfer mine as well in different jumps and up lifts. In those moments, a neutral position when catching my partner is essential, as well as the right stance, in order to no only produce the movements without any harm but also gain my partner’s trust and deliver a sense of lightness.
Bibliography:
1- Callery , D (2001) Through the body, London: Routledge.
2- Oddey,A, 1994, Devising Theatre
1. “Four ways to speak out” as a form of is a physical theatre, has been devised using a large range of devising features to create a product with a specific content: the inner and outer reactions to Domestic Abuse as a social issue present in our societies nowadays. Our response together as an ensemble to this issue stands to my view, as one the first key strategies that have appeared intrinsic from the beginning of the creating process. Our journey started from our responses to stimulus presented under different forms, such as various objects disposed distinctively in the space, music, and ideas. “Devised theatre can start from anything. It is determined and defined by a group of people who set up an initial framework or structure to explore and experiment with ideas, images, concepts, themes, or specific stimuli that might include music, text, objects, paintings, or movement” (Oddey,A, 1994, Devising Theatre,p.1). Following then, specific tasks helped us to generate a series of gestures and movements either aesthetic and stylistic or pedestrian in relation to them, in order for us to give an interpretation of what these objects could awake in our minds and bodies. We have also developed our characters through written responses positioning the narrative in the time and space we felt appropriate, a fact that has given us certain confidence in terms of delivering our roles emotionally - a strategy that has paid back as the characters have grown in the story. To develop the tasks we have used among others the clap method so we all could have a personal contribution to the product gaining in objectivity and effectiveness. We have explored and tested small routines including those movements through improvisation, codified archetype forms, ensemble pieces, duets, and reactions of the characters sometimes as emotions emerged. This allowed us to give strong and sometimes very natural responses, not only physical but with psychological and symbolic cultural resonance as well, thanks to the diversity of the member’s multicultural and multi-gender background. “Devised theatre offers the opportunity to groups of artists to try out ideas or notions that were not text-led. It provoked the potential for a designer, Choreographer, o performer to initiate a concept or starting point of performance” (Oddey,A, 1994, Devising Theatre,p.1). Putting into practice the whole palette of skills typical to physical theatre, such as body memory, awareness of the space and the partners, distribution of weight, as well as the hybrid character of this expression. Through the use of music, written text, physical movements, and dance, we have reached our final stage, and the narrative is now complete.
2. My character was born as a response to what she could have been in relation to this missing woman. As it, she was one of this woman’s next-door neighbours in her building. At the beginning, it was quite clear what the depths of her intimacy with this woman were, what her position in the community was and where she was when she last saw the missing woman -in my particular case it was in the street accompanying her to the post office to send a letter to her brother. She was really worried by what was going on next door, she knew something was not right and she knew it was something hard to say, something taboo. On the other hand, she never asked this woman to explain the situation, she was somehow powerless. Therefore, when in desperation this woman asked her for help she didn’t hesitate to accompany her to what ever she needed to do, in this case to the post office. As the narrative developed, my character suffered some changes. As we settled the need to have 4 representative women, instead of only one interacting in different situations, and the idea of the environment also created in more representative locations of one community, such as the bar, the street, and this missing woman’s bedroom (as one personal touch connected to this woman) the purpose and reason of my character somehow disappeared, (this includes the props needed to her description) and developed into something more general: one of the community neighbours who saw this missing woman in the street.
3. My character development takes place mainly in the street. Through different situations she goes, she experiences emotional ups and downs related mainly to this woman’s reactions seen in the flash backs as the story is narrated. When the actions take place in the street the movements developed are quite artistic, in an ensemble routine with some pedestrian gestures added in order to portray women reactions when getting ready and also when interacting with the opposite gender. Following this encounter with the boys in the street, then interacting violently with them as they try to take control of this woman, we developed more sharp violent movements which include catches and falls – my character in particular takes a high jump into the woman’s boyfriend in her last attempt to stop him from taking control of this woman. For this bit the trust in my partner is crucial as he takes my full weight on him, so I need to lighten my body weight by means of shifting my centre of gravity through my pelvis position, using some key points to lean on him, stretching my spine and keeping my muscles tight as much as possible from the beginning in order for him to take me to the highest point possible above him without any difficulties. On the way down as my character will be just thrown out of the way, this time I need to make my body heavy without loosing control, so again it can be achieved safely. To give more meaning to this section we also decided to repeat this woman’s movements in a sort of robotic way, the aim is to portray in us women from the community as this woman has if we were in her situation. The other key moment when my character makes great physical movements is in the chaotic ensemble where I receive weight from my partner in different falls during the section, and I transfer mine as well in different jumps and up lifts. In those moments, a neutral position when catching my partner is essential, as well as the right stance, in order to no only produce the movements without any harm but also gain my partner’s trust and deliver a sense of lightness.
Bibliography:
1- Callery , D (2001) Through the body, London: Routledge.
2- Oddey,A, 1994, Devising Theatre
Gemma Sage - Blog Two - 24th March
One key strategy for devising is collaboration; something that has been central in the creative process of Four Ways to Speak Out. Beginning in semester one, the group learnt very quickly the importance of collaborative input. Through workshops involving contact improvisation we learned to form an ensemble and learnt to trust our instincts. As Nancy Clarke Smith said in 1987, “The earth is much bigger than you are so you'd better learn to co-ordinate with it.”
Our community in Four Ways to Speak Out is expressed and portrayed through a series of ensemble phrases. By co-ordinating with gravity, the world around us and each other we are able to work alongside each other much more efficiently and effectively. In Physical Theatres; A Critical Reader, John Keefe and Simon Murray mention the importance of feedback and error correction. Each of our sessions ends in a debrief, where we can share opinions and concerns. Devising is a process which requires honesty in order to fulfil the needs of the piece and of the group, so the feedback given should always be taken openly; making any necessary adjustments or changes. There is no room for being ‘precious’ with the creation and as long as the criticism is constructive, it can be crucial to the development of a piece. Lastly in devising comes the performance. Usually a group work for a given amount of time to create a piece and perform at the final stages of the duration. Four Ways to Speak Out will be a showcase of the years efforts and attempts. All of the above, along with the constant feedback will help the growth of characters and produce a solid ensemble performance. It is “a narrowing of the gap between intended and actual motor and musical effects.” (Keefe and Murray:2007:69)
My characters journey in Four Ways to Speak Out began somewhat hazy and unsure. As with any devised production, the end seems an awful distance away and involves a process of which one is yet to ground oneself in. The letter of help from my character had been of confusion rather than upset and requested as a last resort, rather than an immediate reflex. I did not feel much attachment to the missing woman and felt a lack of engagement with the work. I think it was hindered greatly when I missed a pivotal session in the creation of a story.
At the start of this semester we were then asked to choose four members of the group to represent the missing woman. The role of the woman has helped me engage fully with the story and by exploring her scenarios each session; it has been only natural for the ‘woman’ character to develop. By continuous reworking and revisiting of certain scenes and persistent development of the ensemble work, it has required the group to forge relationships and not create a false environment. Due to the defining of the ‘woman’, my ensemble character has now developed also. At first, I believed I could use the character in the letter to enhance the suspicious notion of the group. Through improvisation, however, I quickly realised this was not possible. In the devising and playing, I felt that the community were interacting with me too often for me to ignore them, so I interacted back and became a part of the ensemble. My character now socialises with others in the bar or in the street and does not care, before we learn of the rape; after which I tend to protect others in the community and reject Andy.
My characters physicality changes during the piece depending on the emotional content of the work. The ‘Woman’ begins by being moulded into the woman her friends want her to be, and the love interest that the boys want her to be. Her body is extremely stiff, with every movement appearing to be an effort. Her legs do not move freely; they are forced left and right; the weight transferred to the calves. As the woman is taken over by her partner, her core strength is not visible and the weight is transferred throughout her body; seeming to be located in the pelvis. Her spine is arched to signal depletion. Gravity is working against her.
My ensemble character begins in contrast however. Gravity is used in conjunction with her and her spine is upright, with open body language; signifying a comfortable relationship with her body.
Keefe, J & Murray,S. Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader (2007). Routledge
Our community in Four Ways to Speak Out is expressed and portrayed through a series of ensemble phrases. By co-ordinating with gravity, the world around us and each other we are able to work alongside each other much more efficiently and effectively. In Physical Theatres; A Critical Reader, John Keefe and Simon Murray mention the importance of feedback and error correction. Each of our sessions ends in a debrief, where we can share opinions and concerns. Devising is a process which requires honesty in order to fulfil the needs of the piece and of the group, so the feedback given should always be taken openly; making any necessary adjustments or changes. There is no room for being ‘precious’ with the creation and as long as the criticism is constructive, it can be crucial to the development of a piece. Lastly in devising comes the performance. Usually a group work for a given amount of time to create a piece and perform at the final stages of the duration. Four Ways to Speak Out will be a showcase of the years efforts and attempts. All of the above, along with the constant feedback will help the growth of characters and produce a solid ensemble performance. It is “a narrowing of the gap between intended and actual motor and musical effects.” (Keefe and Murray:2007:69)
My characters journey in Four Ways to Speak Out began somewhat hazy and unsure. As with any devised production, the end seems an awful distance away and involves a process of which one is yet to ground oneself in. The letter of help from my character had been of confusion rather than upset and requested as a last resort, rather than an immediate reflex. I did not feel much attachment to the missing woman and felt a lack of engagement with the work. I think it was hindered greatly when I missed a pivotal session in the creation of a story.
At the start of this semester we were then asked to choose four members of the group to represent the missing woman. The role of the woman has helped me engage fully with the story and by exploring her scenarios each session; it has been only natural for the ‘woman’ character to develop. By continuous reworking and revisiting of certain scenes and persistent development of the ensemble work, it has required the group to forge relationships and not create a false environment. Due to the defining of the ‘woman’, my ensemble character has now developed also. At first, I believed I could use the character in the letter to enhance the suspicious notion of the group. Through improvisation, however, I quickly realised this was not possible. In the devising and playing, I felt that the community were interacting with me too often for me to ignore them, so I interacted back and became a part of the ensemble. My character now socialises with others in the bar or in the street and does not care, before we learn of the rape; after which I tend to protect others in the community and reject Andy.
My characters physicality changes during the piece depending on the emotional content of the work. The ‘Woman’ begins by being moulded into the woman her friends want her to be, and the love interest that the boys want her to be. Her body is extremely stiff, with every movement appearing to be an effort. Her legs do not move freely; they are forced left and right; the weight transferred to the calves. As the woman is taken over by her partner, her core strength is not visible and the weight is transferred throughout her body; seeming to be located in the pelvis. Her spine is arched to signal depletion. Gravity is working against her.
My ensemble character begins in contrast however. Gravity is used in conjunction with her and her spine is upright, with open body language; signifying a comfortable relationship with her body.
Keefe, J & Murray,S. Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader (2007). Routledge
blog assessment 2. charmaine chambers 0920286
Charmaine chambers – 0920286
There have been an array of strategies which have enabled the creative process of four ways to speak out, most of these strategies became areas in which we researched and developed ideas, emotions, and movement as an ensemble. Through the process, stimuli work developed from letter writing this also built on the initial character or feelings towards the missing women. The research process became a gateway to the score, validate and finally the performance sections. The idea of the research process is to collate many ideas and sections to either be eliminated or considered for the content. For four ways to speak out, devising was used to develop responses, emotions, physicality and sounds to add familiarity to the chosen topic. In the later stages of research we worked as an ensemble and collaboratively used a group response method by the use of clap to illustrate an idea in a considered and engaging manner this was a direct result of the naturalistic acting style as an improvisation in the space; using the missing women’s belongings created the emotional layer needed to embody the performance. The strategies demonstrated used play, stimuli and improvisation to add material and content, which allowed the building of individual characters and an ensemble who’s feelings differed but who also shared the same loss; the missing women. As a group we shared awareness for one another in the space even if we were not physically in the action we remained a part of the section through our individual energy to support the space. “ creating a bridge between energy and consciousness, between states of intensity and states of consciousness” ( Callery, 2001, pg 22)
The first set task for four ways to speak out was the trigger to my character and to the relationship my character had with the missing women. The growth of my own character has developed from the first letter I wrote and it is apparent that as a member of the ensemble in four ways to speak out, one should not become precious over any developments, contributions or sections in the piece. My character has been refined over the last few weeks, I think it can be fair to say this was not a conscious decision; instead I worked with the ensembles emotions and my instinctual response in the space and with the group. As the piece developed and the missing woman developed so has my character. As a character I feel a sense of anger as I was unaware of the true life she was living. Initially I wrote that my character was close to the missing person and that I was a business women who was highly known in the community, although this notation of characterisation was essential to the growth of the women and the piece it has also became a highly pivotal point that thinking of ideas which seem like they can work, will not always work when in the space or communicating physically with one another. Although working as an ensemble member i do not change my characterisation as this refined character has become the emotions and feeling I have experienced once in the space and I believe this gives all the other member’s of the ensemble a new energy to strive off, having distinct characteristics add to the development of the piece and the content of the performance.
My character’s physicality has altered from the start of the development of the piece till now. I have used the use of repetition and have continuously shown a shift in weight through lifts and falls throughout the process of four ways to speak out. Being part of the ensemble I embark on a lot of catches and falls, I am predominately a catcher so my body’s position is mostly in neutral, this is a conscious way of enabling my body to be ready to distribute some one’s weight and to support my own weight safely, effectively and effortlessly . The use of neutrality enables physical improvisation work to arise it is like a “blank page” ( Callery,2001, pg 33). The use of improvisation creates the ability to explore risks in work without set boundaries, my character’s physicality becomes heavy, as emotionally i experience the life i didn’t know about the missing women. In individual scenes my character uses repeated sequences and movements to create an almost mantra, it occurs to me that repeating gestures physically allows my body’s memory and my mind to remember that the chain of events in the missing women’s life was repeated and in a cycle.
Bibliography
Callery , D (2001) Through the body, London: Routledge.
There have been an array of strategies which have enabled the creative process of four ways to speak out, most of these strategies became areas in which we researched and developed ideas, emotions, and movement as an ensemble. Through the process, stimuli work developed from letter writing this also built on the initial character or feelings towards the missing women. The research process became a gateway to the score, validate and finally the performance sections. The idea of the research process is to collate many ideas and sections to either be eliminated or considered for the content. For four ways to speak out, devising was used to develop responses, emotions, physicality and sounds to add familiarity to the chosen topic. In the later stages of research we worked as an ensemble and collaboratively used a group response method by the use of clap to illustrate an idea in a considered and engaging manner this was a direct result of the naturalistic acting style as an improvisation in the space; using the missing women’s belongings created the emotional layer needed to embody the performance. The strategies demonstrated used play, stimuli and improvisation to add material and content, which allowed the building of individual characters and an ensemble who’s feelings differed but who also shared the same loss; the missing women. As a group we shared awareness for one another in the space even if we were not physically in the action we remained a part of the section through our individual energy to support the space. “ creating a bridge between energy and consciousness, between states of intensity and states of consciousness” ( Callery, 2001, pg 22)
The first set task for four ways to speak out was the trigger to my character and to the relationship my character had with the missing women. The growth of my own character has developed from the first letter I wrote and it is apparent that as a member of the ensemble in four ways to speak out, one should not become precious over any developments, contributions or sections in the piece. My character has been refined over the last few weeks, I think it can be fair to say this was not a conscious decision; instead I worked with the ensembles emotions and my instinctual response in the space and with the group. As the piece developed and the missing woman developed so has my character. As a character I feel a sense of anger as I was unaware of the true life she was living. Initially I wrote that my character was close to the missing person and that I was a business women who was highly known in the community, although this notation of characterisation was essential to the growth of the women and the piece it has also became a highly pivotal point that thinking of ideas which seem like they can work, will not always work when in the space or communicating physically with one another. Although working as an ensemble member i do not change my characterisation as this refined character has become the emotions and feeling I have experienced once in the space and I believe this gives all the other member’s of the ensemble a new energy to strive off, having distinct characteristics add to the development of the piece and the content of the performance.
My character’s physicality has altered from the start of the development of the piece till now. I have used the use of repetition and have continuously shown a shift in weight through lifts and falls throughout the process of four ways to speak out. Being part of the ensemble I embark on a lot of catches and falls, I am predominately a catcher so my body’s position is mostly in neutral, this is a conscious way of enabling my body to be ready to distribute some one’s weight and to support my own weight safely, effectively and effortlessly . The use of neutrality enables physical improvisation work to arise it is like a “blank page” ( Callery,2001, pg 33). The use of improvisation creates the ability to explore risks in work without set boundaries, my character’s physicality becomes heavy, as emotionally i experience the life i didn’t know about the missing women. In individual scenes my character uses repeated sequences and movements to create an almost mantra, it occurs to me that repeating gestures physically allows my body’s memory and my mind to remember that the chain of events in the missing women’s life was repeated and in a cycle.
Bibliography
Callery , D (2001) Through the body, London: Routledge.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Blog Post 2 - Toni Alonzo (0800786)
When devising work for physical theatre, there needs to be a different approach to ensure that it is creative, but also safe for the members of the group. We have used a number of devices to get material created during our process of Four Ways to Speak Out and many of them stem from a stimulus or a given task. As Oddey states “Devising begins with the interaction between the members of a group and the starting point or stimulus chosen. The group absorbs the source material, responds to it and then generates a method of of working appropriate to the initial aims of the company and project” (Oddey, 1994, p24) When given a stimulus to work from, the members of the group then absorb this and create material. To create content and material in a fair way where all members get a chance to give a gesture, one of the methods we have been using is the clap method. We are given an intention or emotion that we must create and then, if we have a gesture that matches this emotion, we clap and display the gesture for the members of the group to see. This method is simple to used and allows all members to have the opportunity to present a gesture to be used. The development this offers to individual characters is creating gestures that this character would associate with their personality, as well as creating a sequence that can be performed by the group as a whole. Other methods include being given tasks and then responding to these using a method such as the clap method to create content. These tasks often provide steps for character development, as well as narrative progression.
Character development is a key feature of this work and as the process of narrative develops, so do individual characters that are created. It is hard to realize at the beginning how much your own character can progress so much and I have found mine to be developing new habits and traits each week. As a performer, I have experienced the changes of my character developing mostly from the way the narrative has progressed. The more we learnt about the missing women and her reason for her disappearance, the more my character has changed. To begin with, my character represented how I felt as part of the community. She was a loner, not really interacting with other members of the community, choosing instead to watch the actions of others. As the weeks continued, my character began to come out of the shell slowly, getting closer to the action and beginning to become involved with the interactions. Change has been important because my character has to function as a member of the community and has to not only react to the woman disappearing, but react to how all the other members of the community react to her disappearance. Where we are now, I feel that my character although having developed throughout the process still has development to experience and I will keep developing my character right up until the last performance. This is a journey that not only a character takes, but you as a person experience.
“When actors are aware of their own habitual ways of moving, and have a grasp of general phenomena, such as the image created by transferring weight, or pushing the pelvis forward or backwards, they can depart from their own characteristic movement and embody others” (Callery, 2001, p72)
To look at my characters physicality, I must look at my own physicality. “When actors are aware of their own habitual ways of moving, and have a grasp of general phenomena, such as the image created by transferring weight, or pushing the pelvis forward or backwards, they can depart from their own characteristic movement and embody others” Knowing the way your own body works and understanding the way it moves can help you begin to create a characters characteristics. This way, the character can become more alive and become a true part of the narrative you are creating.
To begin with, my character seems to be relaxed and playful. I'm not standing up straight, I don't walk with a straight posture. I am slightly slumped, relaxed in the area. However, as the narrative continues, a number of changes happens. During my flashback, there is a playful side seen to my character as she gets ready for a night out. However, when I interact with an image of the missing woman, I am playful, but give a sinister vibe. I offer no comfort to the woman, instead treating her like as doll as we get her ready. However, I find that my physicality changes entirely once we found out what Andy has done to this woman. I become very protective of every other member of the community and use my presence to protect them from him.
Bibliography
Callery D (2002) Through the body London: Routledge
Oddey, A (1994) Devising Theatre: A practical and theoretical handbook London:Routledge
Toni Alonzo
0800786
Character development is a key feature of this work and as the process of narrative develops, so do individual characters that are created. It is hard to realize at the beginning how much your own character can progress so much and I have found mine to be developing new habits and traits each week. As a performer, I have experienced the changes of my character developing mostly from the way the narrative has progressed. The more we learnt about the missing women and her reason for her disappearance, the more my character has changed. To begin with, my character represented how I felt as part of the community. She was a loner, not really interacting with other members of the community, choosing instead to watch the actions of others. As the weeks continued, my character began to come out of the shell slowly, getting closer to the action and beginning to become involved with the interactions. Change has been important because my character has to function as a member of the community and has to not only react to the woman disappearing, but react to how all the other members of the community react to her disappearance. Where we are now, I feel that my character although having developed throughout the process still has development to experience and I will keep developing my character right up until the last performance. This is a journey that not only a character takes, but you as a person experience.
“When actors are aware of their own habitual ways of moving, and have a grasp of general phenomena, such as the image created by transferring weight, or pushing the pelvis forward or backwards, they can depart from their own characteristic movement and embody others” (Callery, 2001, p72)
To look at my characters physicality, I must look at my own physicality. “When actors are aware of their own habitual ways of moving, and have a grasp of general phenomena, such as the image created by transferring weight, or pushing the pelvis forward or backwards, they can depart from their own characteristic movement and embody others” Knowing the way your own body works and understanding the way it moves can help you begin to create a characters characteristics. This way, the character can become more alive and become a true part of the narrative you are creating.
To begin with, my character seems to be relaxed and playful. I'm not standing up straight, I don't walk with a straight posture. I am slightly slumped, relaxed in the area. However, as the narrative continues, a number of changes happens. During my flashback, there is a playful side seen to my character as she gets ready for a night out. However, when I interact with an image of the missing woman, I am playful, but give a sinister vibe. I offer no comfort to the woman, instead treating her like as doll as we get her ready. However, I find that my physicality changes entirely once we found out what Andy has done to this woman. I become very protective of every other member of the community and use my presence to protect them from him.
Bibliography
Callery D (2002) Through the body London: Routledge
Oddey, A (1994) Devising Theatre: A practical and theoretical handbook London:Routledge
Toni Alonzo
0800786
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
blogg assessment 1- charmaine chambers 0920286
Process and performance as a module is an exploration of the physical theatre genre. The module is understood through its physical direction and teaching. Aspects such as body - memory, physical techniques, play, awareness, contact improvisation and sexuality became the starting point to the creative process of the module.
As a genre, physical theatre uses the body as a medium to communicate; it differs from the mainstream of theatre because it doesn’t rely on the process of words to convey emotion or social challenges. Body memory is a feature unfamiliar to most; it is an aspect which solely relies on the bodies’ awareness as apposed to the mind. As Lecoq said the “body knows things about which the mind is ignorant”(Callery,2001,p.4)
The importance of conditioning the body to its upmost physicality is a predominate element; it is the body that is used for the means of communication therefore the body should reach those boundaries to create a story. It is fair to say that the majority of people over think situations, processes and underestimate their physical ability; this thinking acts as a barrier for the body and the self consciousness which intern prevents any creation to succumb. “you must explore every possibility- in fact there is no such thing as the impossible: this only exists in our minds- it does not exist in the movement.” (Lecoq,2000, p.13) . Physical theatre is a genre connected with the breaking of conventions, it strips away the taboos of sexuality and exposes the stage with bodies that represent equality with no gender hierarchy, physical theatre also relies on the trust of ones self and the trust of others, contact is needed in this genre in order to create physical expressions, movements and performances, contact improvisation allows the senses and the whole body to speak without any actual text, it is aspects like these which triumph the differences of this genre in comparison to the mainstream.
Physical theatre is a hybrid character, this hybrid character becomes the term for physical theatre as stated by Ana Sanchez- Colberg, this term implies the different aspects that physical theatre has been created from but also the aspects that have been a result of physical theatre such as contemporary dance.
Physical theatre was morphed from dance and drama to create a change, this physicality derived from eastern cultures; expressed through rituals and then embraced by western practitioners. Physical theatre came at a time of historical change and also a social change where we see westernised theatre allow an “unofficial” style of performance in its theatres.
Although physical theatre is not seen as mainstream and is still difficult to define it was developed from the needs of dance; to constrict the restrictions of ballet and to define a style/genre that reflected more than beauty. The hybrid character could be so difficult to define because of the desperation to eradicate the once confined definitions that were present in dance and drama. Hybrid as a definition means to mix, crossbreed and to make a fusion, this definition supports Ana Sanchez- Colberg’s statement the traits of the theatre is working with text, character and emotion and the traits of dance is movement, form and aesthetics, these separated genres have intertwined their recognisable quality’s to form physical theatre that allows the body to be subservient to the voice and text and allows emotion and intention to be embedded in the movements thus conceiving the hybrid character physical theatre.
The jasmin vardimon company emulate the key features of physical theatre. There style is extremely dissaplined and through this they are able to create pieces that include awareness in body, awareness for the space and movement with intention. Physical theatre is about using the whole body to work in unision but it is also important to be able to transfer that personal awareness to every person on stage or in rehearsal. Jazmin vardimon company has performed a vast amount of pieces over the years. There use of stylistic ensamble work and detailed pieces create an understanding for the physical in theatre. As her company was founded in 1997 her style has been able to develop and her original choreographic performances create dimension on the stage. “Vardimon accentuates her work with an acute observation of human behaviour.”
Bibliography.
Callery, D. (2001) through the body. London: Routledge.
Dennis, A (2002) the articulate body. Norfolk: Biddles.
Keefe, J & Murray, S. (2007) physical theatres a critical reader. Oxon: Routledge.
Lecoq,J. (2000) the moving body.2nd ed. London: Methuen.
As a genre, physical theatre uses the body as a medium to communicate; it differs from the mainstream of theatre because it doesn’t rely on the process of words to convey emotion or social challenges. Body memory is a feature unfamiliar to most; it is an aspect which solely relies on the bodies’ awareness as apposed to the mind. As Lecoq said the “body knows things about which the mind is ignorant”(Callery,2001,p.4)
The importance of conditioning the body to its upmost physicality is a predominate element; it is the body that is used for the means of communication therefore the body should reach those boundaries to create a story. It is fair to say that the majority of people over think situations, processes and underestimate their physical ability; this thinking acts as a barrier for the body and the self consciousness which intern prevents any creation to succumb. “you must explore every possibility- in fact there is no such thing as the impossible: this only exists in our minds- it does not exist in the movement.” (Lecoq,2000, p.13) . Physical theatre is a genre connected with the breaking of conventions, it strips away the taboos of sexuality and exposes the stage with bodies that represent equality with no gender hierarchy, physical theatre also relies on the trust of ones self and the trust of others, contact is needed in this genre in order to create physical expressions, movements and performances, contact improvisation allows the senses and the whole body to speak without any actual text, it is aspects like these which triumph the differences of this genre in comparison to the mainstream.
Physical theatre is a hybrid character, this hybrid character becomes the term for physical theatre as stated by Ana Sanchez- Colberg, this term implies the different aspects that physical theatre has been created from but also the aspects that have been a result of physical theatre such as contemporary dance.
Physical theatre was morphed from dance and drama to create a change, this physicality derived from eastern cultures; expressed through rituals and then embraced by western practitioners. Physical theatre came at a time of historical change and also a social change where we see westernised theatre allow an “unofficial” style of performance in its theatres.
Although physical theatre is not seen as mainstream and is still difficult to define it was developed from the needs of dance; to constrict the restrictions of ballet and to define a style/genre that reflected more than beauty. The hybrid character could be so difficult to define because of the desperation to eradicate the once confined definitions that were present in dance and drama. Hybrid as a definition means to mix, crossbreed and to make a fusion, this definition supports Ana Sanchez- Colberg’s statement the traits of the theatre is working with text, character and emotion and the traits of dance is movement, form and aesthetics, these separated genres have intertwined their recognisable quality’s to form physical theatre that allows the body to be subservient to the voice and text and allows emotion and intention to be embedded in the movements thus conceiving the hybrid character physical theatre.
The jasmin vardimon company emulate the key features of physical theatre. There style is extremely dissaplined and through this they are able to create pieces that include awareness in body, awareness for the space and movement with intention. Physical theatre is about using the whole body to work in unision but it is also important to be able to transfer that personal awareness to every person on stage or in rehearsal. Jazmin vardimon company has performed a vast amount of pieces over the years. There use of stylistic ensamble work and detailed pieces create an understanding for the physical in theatre. As her company was founded in 1997 her style has been able to develop and her original choreographic performances create dimension on the stage. “Vardimon accentuates her work with an acute observation of human behaviour.”
Bibliography.
Callery, D. (2001) through the body. London: Routledge.
Dennis, A (2002) the articulate body. Norfolk: Biddles.
Keefe, J & Murray, S. (2007) physical theatres a critical reader. Oxon: Routledge.
Lecoq,J. (2000) the moving body.2nd ed. London: Methuen.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Task 1 - Annette Campbell 0922152
Physical Theatre is a combination of Theatre and dance intergrated together. Three elements that is used in physical theatre is narrative, character and storytelling. Rather than using our minds to create a piece of work or a whole performance, physical theatre explores the unique ways in which we can use our bodies to create a piece. In order to produce a performance, a pallette of techniques are needed to be created for the performer to progress throughout the process period. Physical theatre technique is learnt through body memory. The fathers of modern physical theatre were Jerzy Grotowski,Vsevolod Meyerhold, Antonin Artaud, Peter Brook and many more. Their aim was to use improvisation as the actors main focus rather than using a text. It is fundamental that performers dedicate their focus and concentration whilst devising these pieces not only to produce a successful piece but also to meet the health and safety standards. Movements that we may use in everyday life are to be explored in physical theatre. These are usually developed to become larger obstract movements. Flexibility and physical control are needed in physical theatre.It is well known that the term 'Practice makes perfect' when working in drama. As an actor working in physical theatre practice is not always essential although training is. "What unites them is the belief that training for the creative actor means working through the body"(Dymphna Callery 2001 pg14)As in everyday theatre the actor will interprete a piece, in physical theatre the actor will use their skills and techniques to create a piece. "Physical theatre is not codifiable. The term is applied to such a diverse range of work that it has become virtually undefinable"(Dymphna Callery 2001 pg4)
Ana Sanchez-Colberg refers to physical theatre as the 'hybrid character' because there are so many different genres that physical theatre can represent." Hybrid can be defined as 'the off spring of tweo animals of different breeds, as produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics'(Dictionary.com,2008)
The two main key features of the genre of physical theatre is dance and theatre. As the two are incorporated together this then creates a new genre which is known as physical theatre."This intertwining and at the same time seperating of popular theatre and art theatre and the concomitant intertwining of the 'official and everyday body' is exemplified by the hybrid pathways that physical theatres have taken since the nineteenth century"(Murray and Keef 2007 pg 53. When working in physical theatre we use our bodys as a language to the audience rather than using text. Different gestures as small as they may be can be created into larger, exppressive movements through the body. Refering back to the hybrid, we use both aspects of dance and theatre in the sense that we are exploring our bodies to create exppressive body language whilst acting at the same time. As this genre is developed through improvisation, a piece that may have been created for the beggining of a performance may be completely different at the end of the performance. The way that physical theatre is different from other genres in drama is that it allows bounderies to be pushed and explored and their are many risks that we are able to take.
In 1997 the theatre company "Jasmin Vardimon was founded in london. The techniques that they use make each performance extremely effective. They create a choreograph and ensure that each movement displays meaningful exppression. From the workshop that i experienced with the Jasmin Vardimon company,i was extremely aware that bounderies have been pushed. They displayed a pallette of techniques which was then progressed whilst speeding up each movement.The movements were tight and precise and they were focused on the piece 100%. Although they were useing their bodies as a physical language to the audience, any vocal text that they used, they ensure that it was strong and sharp. They have demonstrated that everyday gestures can be created into a stylised abstract movement. They were able to demonstrate that physical theatre is a way for us to express and explore our bodies in ways that we may have never imagined.
Bibliography
Callery, Dymphna (2001) Through the Body, London
Murray and Keefe (2007) APhysical Theatres A critical Introduction, Oxon
Ana Sanchez-Colberg refers to physical theatre as the 'hybrid character' because there are so many different genres that physical theatre can represent." Hybrid can be defined as 'the off spring of tweo animals of different breeds, as produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics'(Dictionary.com,2008)
The two main key features of the genre of physical theatre is dance and theatre. As the two are incorporated together this then creates a new genre which is known as physical theatre."This intertwining and at the same time seperating of popular theatre and art theatre and the concomitant intertwining of the 'official and everyday body' is exemplified by the hybrid pathways that physical theatres have taken since the nineteenth century"(Murray and Keef 2007 pg 53. When working in physical theatre we use our bodys as a language to the audience rather than using text. Different gestures as small as they may be can be created into larger, exppressive movements through the body. Refering back to the hybrid, we use both aspects of dance and theatre in the sense that we are exploring our bodies to create exppressive body language whilst acting at the same time. As this genre is developed through improvisation, a piece that may have been created for the beggining of a performance may be completely different at the end of the performance. The way that physical theatre is different from other genres in drama is that it allows bounderies to be pushed and explored and their are many risks that we are able to take.
In 1997 the theatre company "Jasmin Vardimon was founded in london. The techniques that they use make each performance extremely effective. They create a choreograph and ensure that each movement displays meaningful exppression. From the workshop that i experienced with the Jasmin Vardimon company,i was extremely aware that bounderies have been pushed. They displayed a pallette of techniques which was then progressed whilst speeding up each movement.The movements were tight and precise and they were focused on the piece 100%. Although they were useing their bodies as a physical language to the audience, any vocal text that they used, they ensure that it was strong and sharp. They have demonstrated that everyday gestures can be created into a stylised abstract movement. They were able to demonstrate that physical theatre is a way for us to express and explore our bodies in ways that we may have never imagined.
Bibliography
Callery, Dymphna (2001) Through the Body, London
Murray and Keefe (2007) APhysical Theatres A critical Introduction, Oxon
Assessment Blog 1, Grecia Charpin 0916113
1.The origins of Physical theatre in Europe refer back to the beginning of the 20th century, “received ideas of how we see and interpret the visual were suddenly questionable” (Callery, D., 2001. Through The Body: A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre. p.8-9). However, it was firstly distinct as physical theatre in the 80’s when its previous definition responded to “dance-theatre” (Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader p.24). Although is hard to give it a definition du to the constant enrichment of the performances, some key features makes it distinct and unique among the others forms of theatre: firstly it combines two main genres of expression, dance and theatre, where the narrative goes beyond verbal and is delivered through the body movements and visual elements in -as predicted by Antonin Artaud: “a large unadorned space where the audience would be affected on a psychological level by the intensity of the action” (Callery, D., 2001. Through The Body: A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre. p.10). It is complex in its process, where the relationships and interactions between the performers as well as their exploration of life experience play an important role. Furthermore, it implies the commitment of the performers to the product and the message, whether justified by the need of change as in the origins of physical theatre itself or inspired by artistic, social or political issues.
It cost me some amount of time to clear up confusion whether it was dance or theatre when experiencing this form of performing for the first time, as the nature of our sessions included deep warm up and a whole set of techniques that needed to be learnt. With time, progressing in our module, it became clear that physical theatre involves much more in itself than learning mere techniques but the exploration of where those movements and the awareness of each other could lead. A process that will certainly grow into something richer and meaningful. Developing a narrative through body memory, exploring text, music, putting together our interpretations of life experiences with aesthetic sometimes sharp, shocking pedestrian movements, it is the way we are currently exploring “Four Ways to Speak Out” in an attempt to portray a message in domestic violence.
2.The thesaurus dictionary gives the following definition for the term hybrid: (…) mixture, blend, amalgamation, combination, composite, compound, fusion.
Taking the above mentioned and A. Sanchez-Colberg’s reflections of physical theatre’s avant-garde theatre and dance influences, it becomes clear that the very essence of a hybrid physical theatre implies a amalgam of genres and expressions in its inner process, where the verbal narrative takes a subordinated place to portray a message, using a vast range of elements and techniques, rather different from what conventional theatre or dance implies, as D. Callery states: “The somatic impulse is privileged over the cerebral in the making process … whether the product is an original devised piece or an interpretation of a scripted text” (Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader Chap. 2, p.23, p.4)
Furthermore, A. Sanchez Colberg makes allusion to how the visceral and eclectic character of the devising process works as generator of this hybrid nature in physical theatre. In the process, the ideas and material are explored, tested, reassessed, approved, through motion and space, often departing from an idea, a concept, a social issue, or a simple experience, yet with no predetermined shape or literal meaning, where the body language is privileged to the verbal one. “Language is used in a non-referential manner, it no longer carries any meaning nor does it provide the structures to organize world-experience. A direct sign-signifier relationship is broken. Objects characters, scenes and events acquire multiple fluctuating fragmented identity” Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader Chap. 2, p.23)
The hybrid character of Physical theatre is also its own unlimited resource, where the transgressions are not restricted only to dance or theatre, but to all means of artistic expressions. Elements of sound, light, music make indeed the whole product richer in order to excite emotions, whether through aesthetics messages or in a manner that awakes the disbelieve of the spectator. Moreover, when collectively exploring a particular concept or idea, the performer’s contribution to the product is key. D Callery, refers among others to the work of Frantic Assembly who shared the idea that “within every actor lies creative potential which can be accessed through imaginative play” … “Accessing this though provoking imaginative somatic responses of performers in the making process is the aim” (Callery, D., 2001. Through The Body: A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre p. 8)
3.DV8, led by Lloyd Newson created in 1986, is a British Company, which represents a good example of Physical Theatre Company. Through its different works, it has built a consistent reputation developing this genre both in form and content, where the use of image, space and motion are deeply exploited. Firstly known for its dance based productions, it has developed then into a more “hybrid” approached works along with dance and music fusing some different genres of expressions such as media through, text, documentary, film and animated projections and light, as referred on its name: Dance and Video (super 8 mm). The company plays with the word Deviate meaning disturbed, pervert, an idea that it has always aimed at transmitting to the audience in response to changes and tensions in the society most of them related to social, politics, religion, tolerance, intolerance and queer sexuality. As in “Enter Achilles” where he exposed the conflicts that involved being “a man” or in “The cost of living” putting forward the physical handicap often in harmony with a “normal” body, breaking the boundaries of both aesthetically.
DV8 use creative choreographed features but also disturbing pedestrian moments aiming at portraying the reality of the condition of the human being and its relationships in the society, whether straight, homosexual, handicapped. The company puts a particular emphasis on the devising process when creating new work. Experiencing issues “on the ground” of everyday life, is one of its premises, in order to achieve profound research and enrich the new ideas, but also for the performers to better embody the narrative, thus, reaching a wider audience in a deeper dimension. Often qualified as highly political, angry, powerful and emotional, its work is not only reduced to denounce, but also to maintain “rigorous artistic integrity and quality in each new project. The focus of the creative approach is on reinvesting dance with meaning, particularly where this has been lost through formalized techniques.” (www.dv8.co.uk)
Bibliography
1. Keefe, J. & S. Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader, Oxon: Routledge
Sánchez-Colberg, A., 1996. Altered States And Subliminal Places: Charting The Road Towards A Physical Theatre, s.l., s.n.
2. Callery, D. 2001. Through The Body: A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre, London: Nick Hern Books Limited
3. DV8 physical theatre (2008) [Home page] [online] [February 28, 2010.]
Available at: (http://www.dv8.co.uk/)
Other Sources
1. Physical Theatre http://www.blackfishacademy.com/physical.htm (Accessed: 25.02.2010)
2. http://nycphysicaltheatre.com/definition.aspx
(Accessed: 25.02.2010)
Grecia Charpin, 0916113
It cost me some amount of time to clear up confusion whether it was dance or theatre when experiencing this form of performing for the first time, as the nature of our sessions included deep warm up and a whole set of techniques that needed to be learnt. With time, progressing in our module, it became clear that physical theatre involves much more in itself than learning mere techniques but the exploration of where those movements and the awareness of each other could lead. A process that will certainly grow into something richer and meaningful. Developing a narrative through body memory, exploring text, music, putting together our interpretations of life experiences with aesthetic sometimes sharp, shocking pedestrian movements, it is the way we are currently exploring “Four Ways to Speak Out” in an attempt to portray a message in domestic violence.
2.The thesaurus dictionary gives the following definition for the term hybrid: (…) mixture, blend, amalgamation, combination, composite, compound, fusion.
Taking the above mentioned and A. Sanchez-Colberg’s reflections of physical theatre’s avant-garde theatre and dance influences, it becomes clear that the very essence of a hybrid physical theatre implies a amalgam of genres and expressions in its inner process, where the verbal narrative takes a subordinated place to portray a message, using a vast range of elements and techniques, rather different from what conventional theatre or dance implies, as D. Callery states: “The somatic impulse is privileged over the cerebral in the making process … whether the product is an original devised piece or an interpretation of a scripted text” (Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader Chap. 2, p.23, p.4)
Furthermore, A. Sanchez Colberg makes allusion to how the visceral and eclectic character of the devising process works as generator of this hybrid nature in physical theatre. In the process, the ideas and material are explored, tested, reassessed, approved, through motion and space, often departing from an idea, a concept, a social issue, or a simple experience, yet with no predetermined shape or literal meaning, where the body language is privileged to the verbal one. “Language is used in a non-referential manner, it no longer carries any meaning nor does it provide the structures to organize world-experience. A direct sign-signifier relationship is broken. Objects characters, scenes and events acquire multiple fluctuating fragmented identity” Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader Chap. 2, p.23)
The hybrid character of Physical theatre is also its own unlimited resource, where the transgressions are not restricted only to dance or theatre, but to all means of artistic expressions. Elements of sound, light, music make indeed the whole product richer in order to excite emotions, whether through aesthetics messages or in a manner that awakes the disbelieve of the spectator. Moreover, when collectively exploring a particular concept or idea, the performer’s contribution to the product is key. D Callery, refers among others to the work of Frantic Assembly who shared the idea that “within every actor lies creative potential which can be accessed through imaginative play” … “Accessing this though provoking imaginative somatic responses of performers in the making process is the aim” (Callery, D., 2001. Through The Body: A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre p. 8)
3.DV8, led by Lloyd Newson created in 1986, is a British Company, which represents a good example of Physical Theatre Company. Through its different works, it has built a consistent reputation developing this genre both in form and content, where the use of image, space and motion are deeply exploited. Firstly known for its dance based productions, it has developed then into a more “hybrid” approached works along with dance and music fusing some different genres of expressions such as media through, text, documentary, film and animated projections and light, as referred on its name: Dance and Video (super 8 mm). The company plays with the word Deviate meaning disturbed, pervert, an idea that it has always aimed at transmitting to the audience in response to changes and tensions in the society most of them related to social, politics, religion, tolerance, intolerance and queer sexuality. As in “Enter Achilles” where he exposed the conflicts that involved being “a man” or in “The cost of living” putting forward the physical handicap often in harmony with a “normal” body, breaking the boundaries of both aesthetically.
DV8 use creative choreographed features but also disturbing pedestrian moments aiming at portraying the reality of the condition of the human being and its relationships in the society, whether straight, homosexual, handicapped. The company puts a particular emphasis on the devising process when creating new work. Experiencing issues “on the ground” of everyday life, is one of its premises, in order to achieve profound research and enrich the new ideas, but also for the performers to better embody the narrative, thus, reaching a wider audience in a deeper dimension. Often qualified as highly political, angry, powerful and emotional, its work is not only reduced to denounce, but also to maintain “rigorous artistic integrity and quality in each new project. The focus of the creative approach is on reinvesting dance with meaning, particularly where this has been lost through formalized techniques.” (www.dv8.co.uk)
Bibliography
1. Keefe, J. & S. Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader, Oxon: Routledge
Sánchez-Colberg, A., 1996. Altered States And Subliminal Places: Charting The Road Towards A Physical Theatre, s.l., s.n.
2. Callery, D. 2001. Through The Body: A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre, London: Nick Hern Books Limited
3. DV8 physical theatre (2008) [Home page] [online] [February 28, 2010.]
Available at: (http://www.dv8.co.uk/)
Other Sources
1. Physical Theatre http://www.blackfishacademy.com/physical.htm (Accessed: 25.02.2010)
2. http://nycphysicaltheatre.com/definition.aspx
(Accessed: 25.02.2010)
Grecia Charpin, 0916113
Task One
Gemma Sage 0910917
Physical Theatre is somewhat varied and vague in its definition. Similarly, modern art and dance encounter the same none descript classification. “Modern dance is an art as elusive as it is great. No one has ever offered an all-inclusive, totally satisfying definition of it.” (p3, Anderson,1997) It is easier to view physical theatre than to explain it. The Process and Performance module at the University of Wolverhampton explores many aspects of the creation and study of theatre in its physical form.
The beginning of the module introduces you to contact improvisation; a key starting point for ridding oneself of inhibitions and ghosts that so many of us carry around. “...the body is understood and perceived as an outcome of the individual and collective socialisations and enculturations that each of us experiences as we move through our lives.” (p61, Keefe and Murray,2007) It is at the beginning we learn that nobody is ugly/beautiful, fat/slim, good/bad, strong/weak. We learn we must escape these demons and think of the bodies around you as purely that: a body; to be trusted, to be leaned upon and manipulated.
The module introduces you to the ‘palette’. Just as every painter should be able to call upon his palette for different colours, moods and effects, so should the performer. Contact improvisation was merely the start and progressed into learning to trust one another furthermore. Falling and catching was a hurdle to be overcome by much of the class and took some time to master. Learning the technique of lifts involved engaging fully with a partner, so that not only were you able to hold somebody else’s weight, but that you were equally able to transfer your own in a safe condition. Week by week the palette grows until all colours are required for the devising process. Our body memory is continually built upon and we learn that all phrases and movement can be executed successfully by the help of body memory, as opposed to academic memory. With physical theatre we also learn that not everything on stage must be uttered; that it is acceptable to be onstage and let only your body narrate. Through our bodies we should be able to create another world, just as believable as the literal one we live day to day. Devising was also implemented, whereby the crew involved create a piece of work (collectively/singularly) from no particular set stimuli.
A hybrid is the amalgamation of more than one subject, in turn creating another. The above quote implies that physical theatre denotes a ‘hybrid character’; thus suggesting that this type of theatre is perhaps the amalgamation of more than one subject. To answer from a personal perspective, I too would agree with this description. In the aforementioned chapter, Ana Sanchez-Colberg goes on to discuss;
‘What has become evident is that physical theatre – whilst focusing on the issue of the body on stage – does not constitute a single proposition. Rather, a double perspective has been identified.’ (p25,Sanchez-Colberg, 2007)
So, what the audience view onstage is not only a single matter, rather a collective of matter. When decoding a performance, the spectator should be aware that the body is not only used for one concept, but can take on multiple personas. The body can be used as a representation of something else; an emotion, a direction, a force. The piece itself can also be decoded differently. Physical theatre can be a blend of many different genres and the theatrical space is a mere playground for them to meet. To begin with, the concept behind the piece can be born from a variety of different ideas and influences, and commonly evolves through a devising process. A unification of cultures may be evident in the language, set, style of movement, costume or ritual/tribal resemblance. The choice of media used is often varied and can include more than one or two. Traditional classical performance can interlace with dance theatre. The text from novels can be replaced/coincide with text from plays. The use of radio, voiceover, image projection, musical instruments and microphones can acceptably reside onstage together.
A company resembling these features is Jasmin Vardimon Company. In devised work it is vital that each member of the group is equally as important and involved as the next. “Each person must become an ingredient in the mixing and making of a piece.”(p73, Crickmay,1990) As stated in Body, Space, Image, everyone is an ingredient; without one of the ingredients of a product, the result would be somewhat incomplete. When viewing the work of Jasmin Vardimon, the level of creativity always astounds me. They cross all boundaries and tick all boxes in performance. They take cultural influences from across the globe by way of song and dance (as seen in Yesterday) The company use the stage as a reflection of society; refracting back to the audience their social habits (as seen in Justitia and Park).
Every piece uses a variety of mediums through which to perform. Furthermore, their bodies become the epitome of physical theatre. The performers move across the stage in such a way you feel the electric chemistry between them. They include lifts, throws, catches, contact improvisation, trust, balance and more over, sheer determination. Jasmin Vardimon can represent anger and jealousy, love and hatred, kindness or sorrow with a single or sequence of movement. We, the spectator are left struggling to describe the piece as a whole as it becomes an understatement to their labours.
Bibliography
Anderson,J. (1997). Art Without Boundaries. Dance Press Limited
Crickmay,C. And Tufnall,M. (1990) Body Space Image. Dance Press Limited
Keefe,J. and Murray,S. (2007).Physical Theatres A Critical Introduction. Routledge
Keefe,J. And Murray,S. (2007) Physical Theatres A Critical Reader. Routledge
Physical Theatre is somewhat varied and vague in its definition. Similarly, modern art and dance encounter the same none descript classification. “Modern dance is an art as elusive as it is great. No one has ever offered an all-inclusive, totally satisfying definition of it.” (p3, Anderson,1997) It is easier to view physical theatre than to explain it. The Process and Performance module at the University of Wolverhampton explores many aspects of the creation and study of theatre in its physical form.
The beginning of the module introduces you to contact improvisation; a key starting point for ridding oneself of inhibitions and ghosts that so many of us carry around. “...the body is understood and perceived as an outcome of the individual and collective socialisations and enculturations that each of us experiences as we move through our lives.” (p61, Keefe and Murray,2007) It is at the beginning we learn that nobody is ugly/beautiful, fat/slim, good/bad, strong/weak. We learn we must escape these demons and think of the bodies around you as purely that: a body; to be trusted, to be leaned upon and manipulated.
The module introduces you to the ‘palette’. Just as every painter should be able to call upon his palette for different colours, moods and effects, so should the performer. Contact improvisation was merely the start and progressed into learning to trust one another furthermore. Falling and catching was a hurdle to be overcome by much of the class and took some time to master. Learning the technique of lifts involved engaging fully with a partner, so that not only were you able to hold somebody else’s weight, but that you were equally able to transfer your own in a safe condition. Week by week the palette grows until all colours are required for the devising process. Our body memory is continually built upon and we learn that all phrases and movement can be executed successfully by the help of body memory, as opposed to academic memory. With physical theatre we also learn that not everything on stage must be uttered; that it is acceptable to be onstage and let only your body narrate. Through our bodies we should be able to create another world, just as believable as the literal one we live day to day. Devising was also implemented, whereby the crew involved create a piece of work (collectively/singularly) from no particular set stimuli.
A hybrid is the amalgamation of more than one subject, in turn creating another. The above quote implies that physical theatre denotes a ‘hybrid character’; thus suggesting that this type of theatre is perhaps the amalgamation of more than one subject. To answer from a personal perspective, I too would agree with this description. In the aforementioned chapter, Ana Sanchez-Colberg goes on to discuss;
‘What has become evident is that physical theatre – whilst focusing on the issue of the body on stage – does not constitute a single proposition. Rather, a double perspective has been identified.’ (p25,Sanchez-Colberg, 2007)
So, what the audience view onstage is not only a single matter, rather a collective of matter. When decoding a performance, the spectator should be aware that the body is not only used for one concept, but can take on multiple personas. The body can be used as a representation of something else; an emotion, a direction, a force. The piece itself can also be decoded differently. Physical theatre can be a blend of many different genres and the theatrical space is a mere playground for them to meet. To begin with, the concept behind the piece can be born from a variety of different ideas and influences, and commonly evolves through a devising process. A unification of cultures may be evident in the language, set, style of movement, costume or ritual/tribal resemblance. The choice of media used is often varied and can include more than one or two. Traditional classical performance can interlace with dance theatre. The text from novels can be replaced/coincide with text from plays. The use of radio, voiceover, image projection, musical instruments and microphones can acceptably reside onstage together.
A company resembling these features is Jasmin Vardimon Company. In devised work it is vital that each member of the group is equally as important and involved as the next. “Each person must become an ingredient in the mixing and making of a piece.”(p73, Crickmay,1990) As stated in Body, Space, Image, everyone is an ingredient; without one of the ingredients of a product, the result would be somewhat incomplete. When viewing the work of Jasmin Vardimon, the level of creativity always astounds me. They cross all boundaries and tick all boxes in performance. They take cultural influences from across the globe by way of song and dance (as seen in Yesterday) The company use the stage as a reflection of society; refracting back to the audience their social habits (as seen in Justitia and Park).
Every piece uses a variety of mediums through which to perform. Furthermore, their bodies become the epitome of physical theatre. The performers move across the stage in such a way you feel the electric chemistry between them. They include lifts, throws, catches, contact improvisation, trust, balance and more over, sheer determination. Jasmin Vardimon can represent anger and jealousy, love and hatred, kindness or sorrow with a single or sequence of movement. We, the spectator are left struggling to describe the piece as a whole as it becomes an understatement to their labours.
Bibliography
Anderson,J. (1997). Art Without Boundaries. Dance Press Limited
Crickmay,C. And Tufnall,M. (1990) Body Space Image. Dance Press Limited
Keefe,J. and Murray,S. (2007).Physical Theatres A Critical Introduction. Routledge
Keefe,J. And Murray,S. (2007) Physical Theatres A Critical Reader. Routledge
Task 1 - Toni Alonzo 0800786
Physical Theatre is a theatre of many forms, a creative process where a person or a community of persons can explore the unlimited possibilities that their body has to create meaning. It has no definitive definition as this is still being changed with the new performances that are created.
“The characteristics of physical theatre are many and varied. Indeed the term is virtually impossible to define” (Callery, D, 2002 , p3)
However, although there is not a key definition, it has many recognisable traits that most audiences familiar with the style of theatre recognise. Physical theatre is usually bodily driven, with very little or no spoken words. The movements created are often abstract, however there can also be the use of simple pedestrian movements that can be used effectively to create a meaning. Performers use their body to encode a meaning that the audience will then read and decode. These body movements have a wide range and can be something as simple as drinking a drink or something more abstract and stylised, which takes the pedestrian movement and amplifies it to create a different meaning. Much like devised theatre, physical theatre can start without a stimulus and can be built by just having the creators in a space. Many physical theatre performances deal with breaking down social taboos that society has created and performers will have more bodily contact with one another which society will see as unacceptable.
The term hybrid is is used in genetics, where two items are used to create a third. For example, two plants can be taken to create a third one, which carries characteristics from both plants, but in itself is a new plant. Attaching this term to physical theatre like Sanchez-Colberg has implies that physical theatre is a theatre created by mixing two previous theatres together, in this case, the two forms that created physical theatre as a hybrid was dance and theatre. Both of these forms are story telling methods, but they use different techniques to tell the story. Theatre is much move reliant on spoken word and gestures, where as dance is reliant on movement and aesthetics. Physical theatre takes from both of these, using the narrative that theatre provides and the movement that dance provides to open up new techniques. However, although dance is created to be visually appealing with the move, physical theatre will create moves that would be considered ugly aesthetically. The narrative that physical theatre creates is often one that requires thinking work from audiences as there is usually inly movement and music that is involved in a performance. It requires an audience to decode the signs that they are seeing and create a meaning from what they read.
Void Physical Theatre are a newly created theatre group which fall into the category of physical theatre as they use both dance and drama to create a performance that offers an abstract view on reality.
“By exploring the boundaries of communication, this unique company produces work that unifies contemporary dance and drama. Void exploit the body to express intense narrative with an aim to mutate pedestrian movement to present an abstracted view of reality” Void Physical Theatre (2010) About Void [online] Void Physical Theatre [cited 1st March 2010]
Void take from both dance and theatre and create pieces that are full of narrative and physical moves creating this narrative. Through the use of physical theatre, Void create very highly emotional pieces that can speak to audiences on many levels. They hit at taboo subjects that many people feel uncomfortable to talk about, such as homosexuality and masculinity, using pedestrian movements and mutating them to create an abstract view of reality. They exploit there body to create movements that are unique and original. Physical Theatre is just that, exploiting the human body and creating a meaning through its movement.
Bibliography
Callery, D (2002) Through the body London: Routledge
Void Physical Theatre (2010) About Void [online] Void Physical Theatre [cited 1st March 2010] http://www.voidphysicaltheatre.com/
Toni Alonzo
0800786
“The characteristics of physical theatre are many and varied. Indeed the term is virtually impossible to define” (Callery, D, 2002 , p3)
However, although there is not a key definition, it has many recognisable traits that most audiences familiar with the style of theatre recognise. Physical theatre is usually bodily driven, with very little or no spoken words. The movements created are often abstract, however there can also be the use of simple pedestrian movements that can be used effectively to create a meaning. Performers use their body to encode a meaning that the audience will then read and decode. These body movements have a wide range and can be something as simple as drinking a drink or something more abstract and stylised, which takes the pedestrian movement and amplifies it to create a different meaning. Much like devised theatre, physical theatre can start without a stimulus and can be built by just having the creators in a space. Many physical theatre performances deal with breaking down social taboos that society has created and performers will have more bodily contact with one another which society will see as unacceptable.
The term hybrid is is used in genetics, where two items are used to create a third. For example, two plants can be taken to create a third one, which carries characteristics from both plants, but in itself is a new plant. Attaching this term to physical theatre like Sanchez-Colberg has implies that physical theatre is a theatre created by mixing two previous theatres together, in this case, the two forms that created physical theatre as a hybrid was dance and theatre. Both of these forms are story telling methods, but they use different techniques to tell the story. Theatre is much move reliant on spoken word and gestures, where as dance is reliant on movement and aesthetics. Physical theatre takes from both of these, using the narrative that theatre provides and the movement that dance provides to open up new techniques. However, although dance is created to be visually appealing with the move, physical theatre will create moves that would be considered ugly aesthetically. The narrative that physical theatre creates is often one that requires thinking work from audiences as there is usually inly movement and music that is involved in a performance. It requires an audience to decode the signs that they are seeing and create a meaning from what they read.
Void Physical Theatre are a newly created theatre group which fall into the category of physical theatre as they use both dance and drama to create a performance that offers an abstract view on reality.
“By exploring the boundaries of communication, this unique company produces work that unifies contemporary dance and drama. Void exploit the body to express intense narrative with an aim to mutate pedestrian movement to present an abstracted view of reality” Void Physical Theatre (2010) About Void [online] Void Physical Theatre [cited 1st March 2010]
Void take from both dance and theatre and create pieces that are full of narrative and physical moves creating this narrative. Through the use of physical theatre, Void create very highly emotional pieces that can speak to audiences on many levels. They hit at taboo subjects that many people feel uncomfortable to talk about, such as homosexuality and masculinity, using pedestrian movements and mutating them to create an abstract view of reality. They exploit there body to create movements that are unique and original. Physical Theatre is just that, exploiting the human body and creating a meaning through its movement.
Bibliography
Callery, D (2002) Through the body London: Routledge
Void Physical Theatre (2010) About Void [online] Void Physical Theatre [cited 1st March 2010] http://www.voidphysicaltheatre.com/
Toni Alonzo
0800786
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Assesment Blogs
This is where we will be posting are 3 assessments blogs from March until the performance.
Hope all is in working order.
Hope all is in working order.
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