The Performances went very
well, and all the groups impressed me. It was amazing to see how even though
each group were given the same word as our stimuli for our pieces, how the
combination of different people, ideas and backgrounds can produce such varied,
creative and meaningful pieces of theatre.
Risk Assessment
From the start of the
project I was very enthusiastic about the Risk project. The word ‘Risk’ sparked
a flame inside of me and got my creative juices flowing. My initial thoughts
were to create a piece that interacted with the general public, which I thought
in itself was risky due to the unpredictable variables. I suggested the idea of
a performance that engaged people within a Job center, highlighting the risks
involved around unemployment and financial issues. ‘REAL’ was my motivating
thought, I wanted to create and present a piece that was ‘real’ and
‘challenging’ for the actors and the audience. I am fairly experienced in
street performances that interacted with the general public, in contrast to the
rest of my group who didn't seem enthusiastic or comfortable with the idea.
I was happy with how we
worked together as a group. We were open with one another, shared and explored
ideas no matter how silly or absurd they might have seemed at the time. As a
group we bounced ideas of each other, often an idea came from many ideas put
together.
Starting with, 'What Risk
meant to us' as individuals, and as a group was critical in defining our group
message, which our focus in the development of our piece.
I was aware very soon on in
the project about my groups dynamic, and the roles we each individually played.
After the first week of devising which was up and down I saw that my role was
to keep the group on track, sticking pieces together, and filtering out the
rubbish so we could get our message across.
I often asked my group
questions such as, 'what's the image?’ 'What’s to gain?’ 'What’s the risk?’
Making sure we maintained the structure of the piece and didn't get carried
away with unnecessary stylizing.
As a collective we
challenged each other during improvising and performance, aiming to produce
compelling work for our audience.
In our final performance
there were just a couple technical hiccups (due to lack of technical rehearsal
time), but otherwise it went smoothly. We worked well in unison, kept to our
cues, and were fairly relaxed throughout the performance. Our timings were
good, as was our focus as we transitioned from scene to scene. We remained in
character for the duration of the piece without breaking concentration, and in
a professional manner.
I was also happy with my
individual effort in the final performance. Feeling focused, energized, and
maintaining in character throughout the performance. I demonstrated my vocal
ability in my scene where I played the violent boyfriend, as I raised my voice
in raging anger but kept vocal control. Unfortunately I felt like my opening
line got swallowed due to lack of commitment to the line at that point in time.
(LO Unit 73. 4.2) I was also pleased with my performance in regards to my
physicality. Ranging from the tension of the violent boyfriend to the fluidity
of the flying Bird in the end image.
I was satisfied that our
piece communicated the message that we set out to portray. The audience understood
the symbolism used and the message itself.
Further Risks
What would work extremely
well for this pieces development would be some kind of 'Risk Performance
Workshops'. We would provide creative ways for the workshop participants to
take risks in performance. Whether that would be experimenting with playing
untypical roles, or exploring a new area of performance from singing, movement,
comedy, or mask work. The aim would be to get the participants to take a risk with
their art and discover parts of their performance vocabulary.
Effect
What effect did we want to
have?
In regards to the
effectiveness of our piece I related this question to, 'What is the Purpose of
Theatre?'
In this project my personal
purpose was to engage, relate, challenge, and inspire the audience. I
wanted to meet our audience where they are, in their everyday lives, with there
everyday challenges and take them on a journey.
We Engaged our audience on
a relational level, with openness and vulnerability.
I wanted to first of all Relate
to the audience so they are willing to journey with us. I felt like this
piece related well to the audience, as we showed truthful portrays of people
and the challenges they face in life. Not just present challenges but also how
past events in a persons life can effect present challenges. We touched
on a range of issues from guilt, isolation, insecurity, and fear. I felt by doing
this in a vulnerable open manner we gained the audiences respect and trust.
Then I wanted to Challenge
the audience by holding up a mirror to them, so they could see their reflection
in the characters and scenarios. This is why it was so important that the
characters and situations are recognizable to the audience, and that style of
the piece was naturalistic.
And finally I wanted to
Inspire the audience. Not by painting a perfect picture ending which I felt
would have been patronizing, but by leaving the audience with the message of
Hope. Our final image of our piece I felt communicated this departing message
of hope beautifully.
An Eagle taking flight for
the first time, and gliding on the wind.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
DV8 (2004) http://www.dv8.co.uk/
Cost of Living http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NShJJr1ztkM
PUSH Theatre Company (2007) http://www.pushtheatre.org/
Push Theatre Promo http://www.youtube.com/watchv=DmMQN0AMk7k
(Accessed 11th Oct 2012)
Swale, Jessica. (2012) DramaGames for Devising London: Nick Hern Books
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp-gCvW8PRY (2008) (Accessed 9th Oct 2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-PZlj0UH0c (2009) (Accessed 9th Oct 2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0-AY2rBJs&feature=related (2011) (Accessed 11th Oct 2012)
'What is the Purpose of Theatre?'
ReplyDeleteThis is a very hot topic and could be expanded as your blog grows.Use your sources more DramaGames for Devising etc. Good work, even better production. start to treat your blog more as essay. This will help you when you move on to level 6. By this I mean that if you printed it out it could be adapted into an essay.
I often asked my group questions such as, 'what's the image?’ 'What’s to gain?’ 'What’s the risk?’ I think your approach gave this group a maturity and vision that made it the most complete divised piece of all of the productions and its impact was demonstrated on the level three students. Now I think you need tp be more formal in your blogs to move to the next level of relective practice.
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