Dear All,
This post is for all of you who feel they have benefited from sharing and recording their journey through semester 1 and want to continue to do so through the making of Four Ways to Speak Out. I shall set out questions that attempt to recap the last three sessions, since we have started working on the performance including this morning's session.
Tuesday 8th December:
Through a performative exploration of the naturalistic environment where our performance will finds its identity and voice, Paul and I introduced you to the starting concept of Four Ways to Speak Out. We were strategic in our decision to allow you to discover these spaces through movement instead of just telling you about them through say a PPT presentation. We also introduced the one constant theme of the missing woman and the possible real life narratives relating to domestic abuse. Look at the link below for our own original inspiration for the thematic starting point:
http://refuge.org.uk/about-us/prevention-and-education/campaigns/four-ways-to-speak-out-campaign/
We then went on to create an ensemble section through the clap devising method marking the moment the community realise the woman's disappearance.
Questions:
1. Why did we choose a performative exploration to introduce the topic? What opportunities did such a an approach open up for you as individual an collective performers of the company?
2. What was the connection you made between our imaginary world which we set out to create and the real life stories of the women who died through domestic abuse?
Wednesday 27th January:
In the first week back after a long gap, using your letters as inspiration, we set out a very simple task of finding a chronologically settled opening to the piece. Some of the letters made strong references to her the missing woman's suitcase being found out in the open - bursting open, with her belongings strewed all over the road. So, we decided to use this trigger as a way to make the community encounter her items into realising that something was clearly wrong and that she was actually missing.
We chose to use a naturalistic opening to the piece - embracing text and pedestrian gestures and also allowed interactions to emerge between members of the community. The material you created established new dynamics within the group and gave birth to clear starting points for characters and their signature gestures. The isolation of the two males within the community also emerged through your improvisations.
Questions:
1. What devising strategy/ies did we use in this session to trigger off the creative process after a long gap? List all possible triggers/elements that we brought into the session which allowed the ensemble to create the material you did.
2. Describe in this very early stage the emotional qualities in your character. How are they reflected within your physicality.
3. What draws you into the ensemble section which Andy starts? Describe what you feel emotionally through this section.
Wednesday 3rd Febuary:
Today we wanted to diversify the creative sections the performance. We felt that in order to perform recollections of the woman's life in the community, which might throw light upon her disappearance, she would need to be represented by four different women at different points. Your ensemble vote allowed for the women to be selected.
The letters became the starting point for 'the last time we saw her' improvisations. At first this was an individual and vocal response creating a sudden cacophony of voices that became one large incomprehensible collective. The second approach was a visual/physical response setting out the environment and the actions of the last time you met the woman.
The scarves became the starting point for concealing the faces of the four representatives and they were asked to create a physicality that suggested their unison while implying the violent themes of the piece.
The suitcase became the point of dialogue between the two male characters in the piece. Developing from an aggressive exchange, the piece is aimed to become softer and more complex as it goes on.
Questions:
1. What devising strategies did we use this morning to allow creative responses in the group?
2. What were the highs and lows of the work created today and the process undertaken?
3. How do you think the tasks we said today came out of the work you created last week? Give examples in detail.
4. Discuss the possibilities emerging in the narrative as a result of the explorations you underwent and the material you all generated.
Looking forward to your responses.
Royona
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Tuesday 8th December:
ReplyDeleteChoosing a performative exploration to introduce the topic would no doubt as drama students stimulate more interest than a theoretical approach. This approach worked well because the module is mainly practically based and so as students we are prepared to be active during the sessions. It was similar to a play session, allowing us as individuals to explore, improvise and create whilst also working together and being an ensemble. As we all had a different relationship to the missing woman, it was interesting to see a range of different characters beginning to emerge, even though these are quite likely to change throughout the rehearsal process. The four established areas and settling on a title for the piece, Four Ways to Speak Out, gave the session a promising start.
The connection I made between the imaginary world which we set out to create and the real life stories of the women who died through domestic abuse was that normal life still continues while abuse often goes unnoticed. The combination of realism and abstract movements looked at so far give the piece an interesting diversity whilst also creating a solid narrative. Our imaginary world is the missing woman and the real life stories of the women who died through domestic abuse could be a reason for her disappearance.
Wednesday 27th January:
I felt there were two main strategies used in the session which triggered off the creative process. Firstly, the fact that everyone brought in two objects and somehow or another they were placed in the scene immediately made us all a part of the piece as we had contributed something. Without these objects, I perhaps wouldn’t have felt so involved and therefore as a group we wouldn’t have been able to create such material.
Another strategy we used was improvisation. And as I mentioned in the previous post, this gives everyone the chance to be creative and experiment. We then ran through the scene again and again, sort of like a trial and error, keeping elements of the improvisation that we liked whilst experimenting with other ideas.
My character has altered quite a bit throughout the process. In the letter, I was very close to the woman and so wanted to find answers for her disappearance. This caused me to go round and question the other members of the community during the improvisation and try and find out who is responsible. However as this improvisation progressed, I became very suspicious of everyone else in the community and followed the crowd when everyone began pointing at Daniel. At one stage I even felt anger towards the situation as I just wanted the woman to be found. My character is still not fully developed yet and it is something which I plan to work on both physically and mentally in the sessions over the next few weeks.
I think the piece becomes particularly engaging when Andy walks through the community with the suitcase. He has isolated himself from the community by choice and we question ourselves as to why he would do this. Everyone stops and watches and some members even try to stop him but it’s no use as he has made his decision. I pity the character as I would not want to be in his situation and am upset that he is leaving our community.
Rachel O'Connor
Wednesday 3rd February:
ReplyDeleteThis session we referred back to the letters focussing particularly on the last time we saw the woman. After Andy’s departure we ended up in one of the four areas where we last saw the woman and vocalised this experience simultaneously. We then worked with other people in these areas to develop a sequence which represented the last time we saw her. As we were on the street, we decided to perform our sequence whilst travelling down the street to suggest how each one of us saw the woman at different points and times along the street.
I really like the fact that this week we devised sequences in small group which could be integrated into the piece. Although improvising as a whole group is sometimes effective in creating material, a range of devising strategies will give the work scope and depth.
The choosing of the four women was fairly done and I think this idea of representation is leading to an interesting narrative but hopefully won’t cause confusion to the audience.
I think the sequence with Daniel and Andy adds another dimension to the piece. The abstract movements were intriguing to watch and it contrasts to the beginning of the piece which mainly consists of pedestrian movements.
An exciting narrative is beginning to emerge but as a group we have to careful that it does not become too complex so the audience do not understand what we are trying to communicate. We perhaps need to incorporate the stories that Paul read out to us in one of the sessions and we need to decide if the missing woman is a victim in these stories. If so the four people representing this missing woman could each have one of these story explained to the audience physically, with the help of the ensemble – perhaps this would explain her absence within the community.
Rachel O'Connor
Tues 8th Dec.
ReplyDelete1). I think the motive behind choosing a performative exploration to introduce the topic, was to immediately give us a sense of control/attachment over the piece- we were effectively ‘thrown in the deep end’, and it was inspiring to see how well the group responded to this. It gave us many opportunities, mainly allowing us to work creatively- using our imagination etc. And it also gave us a deeper insight into working productively as an ensemble (in such a large group!). As this is one of the key principles required for our company’s process.
2). the connection I made between our ‘imaginary’ world and the real life stories of domestic abuse, was on a very personal level for me- as one of my family members was a victim of domestic violence. She managed to get away from her abusive husband, but she was left mentally scarred and eventually was sectioned in a mental health institution. She also suffered with alcoholism and heavy smoking, which led to her developing emphysema, and died whilst she was in a home. So when we heard the voiceovers and I thought about what happened to my auntie, it reinforced how important this topic is. It also gave me an emotive response to the tasks, and because I can relate to the issues we were exploring, I felt like I delivered the movements in the ensemble sequence with a lot more truth than I would have found otherwise.
Wed 27th Jan
1). Devising strategies we used to trigger off the creative process after a long gap:
• The bringing in of items that belonged to the missing woman. When we placed them all in the centre of the circle and examined them, I found it was a very innovative way of getting us to piece together this woman’s style and personality.
• The exercise where we developed our characters physicality. We began by imagining a position/gesture in which our character attained the last time they were with the woman. We then expanded this into a movement, walking around the room and eventually talking (dialogue exchanged between our characters and the woman in the last meeting).
These tasks enabled us to create performance material with a strong idea of the missing woman’s identity (obviously different for every individual). This helped the majority of the ensemble feel a sense of responsibility when it was revealed that the woman had gone missing from the community.
2). at this early stage in the process, I’m struggling with finding a purpose within the community. When we were given the task to be naturalistic in discovering the woman’s disappearance, I didn’t feel anything at all. I was merely pretending to be bothered. I think this is due to the vast transition from physical theatre to naturalism- it’s difficult to merge the two together without feeling delusive. So, in reference to my ‘character’ (extension of ourselves) and emotional qualities- I tend to find my physicality portraying segregation from the community.
3). as I have explained in the previous point, I don’t have a deep emotional attachment to the community/ensemble at the moment. So, I joined the sequence because it just felt right to join in with everybody, and blend in.
Tuesday 8th December.
ReplyDelete1-2 - The choice of a performative exploration to introduce this topic had several purposes:
• Allow us to give an interpretation (in a very unconscious and natural way) of what the location was, as well as the different places we could develop on it, taking as point of departure a single object, giving our inner interpretation of what it represents for us and why it was there.
• Create movements in accordance with those objects and settle the situations that might have taken place there in order to make clear what the place was, thus giving live to four different places. The bedroom, the street, the bar, the waste place.
• As the music was playing, along with the lyrics, we realize that it was related to someone missing, yet we weren’t at that stage really conscious of this disappearance’s urgency.
• Finally, listening to sharp and poignant testimonies of people whose relatives had disappeared due to domestic violence, it eventually made us understand the meaning of the whole décor. A missing person, a missing woman.
As collective performers, analyzing this from the final result, this allowed us to extend the interpretation of the location where the play is due to take place, according to what we were more identified and comfortable with. Some felt the necessity to be in the bar, some others in the street and so on, this allowed us to create and develop movements in a natural way, gestures from routine, that could settle the idea of how common this issue can be rather than to limit the audience understanding to certain isolated situations, developing a whole familiar situation for the audience like can be the community, someone’s place, a bar etc. Thus, as the play will develop, we can take gradually the audience’s comprehension from a mere simple departure up to the realization of how serious, how urgent this situation is.
Wednesday 27 January.
1-In this session we developed several devising strategies:
• Bring in personal objects that represented for us an interpretation of what this missing woman could wear the last time we saw her. The fact that those objects were dispersed all around gave me a quick appreciation of the situation, which allowed to settled a more realistic décor and took us through creative ideas feeling more familiar and concerned by this woman disappearance
• Improvisation, in order to impregnate ourselves of our characters, and show what was our relation with the missing woman.
• A sequence of situations, where we could see what was happening in particular on each of the decor’s location.
2-I felt really amazed by the fact that we could develop different perspectives when it comes to talk about domestic violence. As this, some members of the community were really concerned by this missing woman, some others as showed in the bar didn’t care at all, some others were not even form this community, and some others didn’t really know what was going on. This shows the reality of the situation in real life. At this early stage I have to admit that my character wasn’t shaped, I felt confused by the all the fuss the situation itself created. I didn’t know whether I had to talk to some one else or just try by myself to find what had happened to this woman. Eventually, as the last time I saw her was in the street, (I accompanied her to the post office) I could talk about this and share this information with the others once I realized they were also looking for her.
3-I have to say that I was completely strange to what was happening at this point, I realized then that we all have some kind of relation with this woman, that I was not the only one to be concerned by this missing woman. As Andy developed this bit and the community gradually gathered around him I felt that we as a community had some kind of connection. Suddenly it came to light that each of us have a real identity, that we are recognized by the community giving us a sense of belonging in this moment and time.
Wednesday 3rd February
ReplyDelete1-Again improvisation was one of the key techniques used. It allowed us to continue to develop our characters in relation to the missing woman, as we’ll go forward, we’ll interact more with the others, we’ll reshaped our roles. Also, using the clap technique in order to develop a sequence of movements in relation with that final moment when we met her, as result, sometimes interesting and funny sequences were created, but it was precisely those controversial elements in opposition to the seriousness of the theme, that allowed different answers.
In a very enjoyable way, we could clearly see the 4 locations in the community as well as the moments exchanged with this woman and the conflicts between the male characters, I really liked the “suitcase dialogue” and the way it went on. The result that came out was very good. Ultimately, the 4 women representing this missing woman produced a sharp effect by covering their faces. For me it showed how many faces this issue can have, and it played its role almost perfectly.
2-Definitely the highs were that everyone could feel the devising process and give his or her contribution to it. The lows were that at some point we lack of focus and perhaps this had its influence on the final result.
3-We still need to develop more for achieving exactly the output needed. Of course not everything went smoothly but in general today’s tasks came out with some good work created. Arming our bodies of meaning in the gestures, using repetitions, simple games sometimes, pedestrian movements like in the bar or at the post office, but most of all, putting in the same purpose, so we and the audience can all together reach the same final result.
4-There are always different possibilities that can emerge. Basically this is a topic that is a taboo in our society, we tend to not talk, not react, leave it in silence and make it a sort of a secret. Some of the characters could develop this restrictions around this topic, because in fact it is hard to talk about it. But the aim is not to punish those who knows, but to take position, to find solutions, to give help and comfort to the victims. This could have a good ending, or an open ending yet is not the aim even though we know that often the story ends in horrors. The aim is to speak out, to denounce.