1.
When working within the genre of Physical/Dance theatre it is crucial to consider the ways in which meaning is conveyed to an audience. “Theatre is a transaction between actor and spectator.” Callery, D. (2001, pg. 103). The conventional use of language is often absent from Dance Theatre performances and so it is crucial for the performers to engage with their audience through another means. The idea of communities and the different relationships within them had crafted our performance from the outset and we had spent months developing personal relationships and scenario’s that were highly relevant to our own personal journeys. Having spent a long period of time working on individual tasks we needed to now come together and recreate the community we had first formed. Putting a structure to something that had developed in a fragmented way, using an organic framework seemed like a difficult task for Royona and Paul. The fractal pieces of our performance had to reconnect and form part of a whole piece. At this stage we had to pose the question would the relationships and scenarios we had created be transferable to an audience?
The title of our piece was Fractal and was highly relevant to how the company progressed throughout the process. It was not until the final couple of weeks before the performances that we got to see the work we had all produced. For this reason it was understandable that we should have doubts about how our individual work could come together to form one complete piece. It was amazing to see the strong bond that our company had developed over the months of devising considering how separated we had been for a large majority of the process. It was clear to see the close relationships between the couples who had individual pieces together, but it was interesting to note the close group relationship we as a whole company had. The fact that we had worked apart for so much of the process our collective appreciation of the piece and what we wanted to signify to the audience integrated us back together smoothly.
With the kind of work we were producing there was a tendency to become emotionally attached to our own pieces, especially as we had been working individually for much of the process. Not being witness to the overall picture that was being built by all of our separate work there was a tendency to become precious about we had created individually. When told by Royona or Paul to refine our pieces some people did find it hard to part with their work. Although this was an understandable reaction, it needed to be understood that anything that was being refined was being done for the benefit of the overall piece.
2.
For me the performances were the culmination to a lengthy journey of discovery. The emotional connection I felt to the piece and everyone within it reflected the hard work we had all put into the process of developing the piece. When we first began the module none of us truly understood the effect this type of performance genre would have on our personal lives. One of the reasons I think we were able to become so emotionally involved in the piece is because we spent such a huge amount of time creating the work. It has been a year long process with each performer taking their own personal journey of development. The emotional and physical barriers faced by each of us have helped us to grow as performers and as people.
Unlike traditional scripted theatre where everything is directed in some way or another and has a very structured format, Dance Theatre is much more fluid in its nature. The freedom of working in this manner is that as a performer you can put so much more of yourself into the characters. Royona said during a discussion with the first years: “The difference between acting in a traditional play and performing in a Dance Theatre piece is that with acting a character is generally imposed onto the actor. With Dance theatre there is the freedom to create your own characters from scratch.” I absolutely agree with this statement, because although most actors will bring something of themselves into a character, that character will have been written to behave in a certain manner and therefore there is not as much room to be creative.
Performing in front of an audience had an enormous effect on the emotional intensity of the piece. As a performer emotionally engaging with the audience is an important part of the performance. Feeling connecting to an audience whilst on stage and knowing they have an understanding of what you are trying to portray, is a very thrilling feeling. Dance Theatre by its nature is very much about interpretation, so whatever the audience decided to take from the performance is up to them. The positive thing about this is the fact that there really is no wrong or right interpretation. Even if the intension of the piece was to reflect on the relationships within a community and some members of the audience interpreted the performance differently, it doesn’t make them wrong. I feel that it is actually a positive thing that so many people can have many different appreciations of the same piece.
The fantastic thing about working on a performance like Fractal was the fact that no two shows were ever that same. I know from my own experience that I entered into each performance with a totally different mind set every time. The first performance in front of the first year Drama students was a nerve-raking but exhilarating experience. I personally felt a mixture of anxiety because it was our first performance, but also strangely safe because I knew subliminally they would be on our side as they were drama students. The second performance for me was the best performance. Personally I always feel I perform best if there are people in the audience who I know. The nervousness I feel before the performance seems to propel me forward and brings out in me a determination to prove myself in front of the people I know.
The final performance was the culmination to a year long journey and I did feel very sad that it was all coming to an end. The other performances seemed to have gone by so quickly without us truly realising and when I thought about the fact that after this performance I would probably never do Physical Theatre again I did feel very emotional. The performances which seemed to fly by so quickly, with each one seemingly over within a blink of an eye didn’t represent the long and arduous journey we had taken to get to that point. The emotional intensity from every member of the company during the final performance was electric. Each person brought with them to the performance their own emotional baggage. Some went into the performance with the knowledge that it was the last show and they were glad of it, others like myself felt sad that it was all over. Whatever motivated each performer, I truly feel that the emotional drive behind the performance brought a new level of intensity to the piece and concluded our journey through the world of Fractal.
3.
The blog has played an enormous part in the process of developing Fractal. From the outset it has been a productive and useful way of documenting our own personal journeys through the module. Being able to reflect critically on aspects of the process has given everyone the opportunity to engage analytically and theoretically to the work. The practical nature of the process meant that often we would move rapidly from one exercise to another within the space of a short time and often it was only when reflecting on the days lesson on the blog that you could fully appreciate what you and everybody else had actually achieved. Communicating through the blog meant that often you would be given a true insight into how different people within the company were engaging with the work.
I often find it harder to reflect theoretically about work when speaking to other members of the class face to face and it has been easier to do this when given the time to think about what you want to say and then write it on the blog. The blog has also been a great discussions board. Being able leave comments on other people’s posts meant that we could engage in theoretical and practical discussions with other members of the company. This was particularly relevant in the beginning half of the module where we were learning techniques. It was often nice to know that other people where struggling in the same areas as you and meant that strategies for overcoming these problem areas could be shared between the group.
No comments:
Post a Comment