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.