Category: Practitioners

Posted in Concept, Performance, Practitioners, Rehearsal Process

Semiotics in the space!

Posted on by Jamee-Lee Fleming

In our performance, we have used objects which are used in the analysis of semiotic theory. “Semiotics or semiology… involves addressing physical objects in terms of their ability to convey meaning” (Saussure, 1974, p. 3).  This can be seen through signs such as body movement to which express a certain attitude or emotion, colours that can show the mood or atmosphere or even what a person wears could identify what sort of person they are in terms of class, race or gender.

Ferdinand de Saussure who studied linguistics and is known as the former for semiotics, states that there is two parts to semiotics, one is the signifier which is “the material phenomenon we are able to perceive” (Fortier, 2002, p. 20). For example, waving to someone in the street and the second part to the equation is the signified, this is the acceptance of that sign from someone else.

Being able to receive signals from objects when watching a performance gives the audience an indication of not only what the actors are saying but also what the space around them signifies. Semiotics are everywhere including lights, sound, costume and set design, it all takes massive part when analysing a performance.

So how are we going to show this? In our experiment  everything that is being used or displayed is a form of semiotic analysis. There are eight categories that we cover; sexual references, disgusting objects, blasphemy, animal names, ethical, racial and sexuality, physiological deviations, ancestry and vulgar terms. By using visual objects and seeing the words printed on paper, this will give the audience more of a reaction and feel to the experiment as they will be hearing and seeing these subjects all around them.

Within our set, we have created a den that includes blankets that are suspended from the ceiling to create an intimate atmosphere, and pillows to associate ourselves with a safe and comfortable environment.  In and around the space, we have added objects and words that represent the categories that we are trying to show.

From a young age we are told by society that certain words are frowned upon and should not be used. Within a group we have picked out five words in which we think are the worst words to be said such as: cunt, nigger, whore, paki and retard. To create this image, we have made a mobile that suspends from the ceiling with words stated dangling above us. This is a representation in which that these words are always around us whether they are being used or not in day to day life.

Still carrying with the child theme, we have created a child like presence in the space, we have A-Z carpet squares which are for children who are learning their alphabet. These will be displayed on the floor where the audience can sit and interact with us throughout our performance. By doing this we have created a teacher and child relationship which is what we are trying to portray.

So linking it back with Saussure’s theory, the teddy bears and the alphabet tile flooring is the signifier and the signified is the audience responding it childlike and innocence. This is the same equation with the sexual objects. We don’t have to say anything to do with the topic but having them objects there signifies to the audience that they are to do with sex.

Works Citied

Frontier. M (2002) Theory/ Theatre – an introduction. Oxton: Routledge.

Posted in Concept, Performance, Practitioners, Rehearsal Process

Intimacy Exploited

Posted on by Lauren Simpson

Taking inspiration from Marina Abramovic’s piece The Artist is Present, intimacy became a concept that appealed to us during the devising process. “Museum patrons were invited to stand in line for the chance to sit in the empty chair and make silent eye contact” with Marina for as long as they wanted. This blurs the line between performer and spectator and makes them one in the same thing. It also creates an intimate performance space as the two participants are close together with only a table between them. As the show progressed, the table was no longer used to enhance the intimate feel. “Intertwined with feelings of closeness, trust and familiarity, intimacy occurs through effective communication between people in some kind of relationship” (Chatzichristodoulou & Zerihan 2012, pp. 1). The performer and the audience already have an established relationship, so why not test the boundaries of that relationship by incorporating intimacy. This can be achieved through careful audience participation.

“All spectators are active irrespective of the form of performance”

(Chatzichristodoulou & Zerihan 2012, pp. 4). However, if they can be seen by all other audience members and the performers themselves, they are less likely to hide away when it comes to the participatory aspects. Opening up the dramaturgical barriers, and inviting the audience in could be very dangerous and requires a huge amount of trust in them. However, if you are fully committed, “offering them real choices; giving them a sense of ownership, or the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution” to your performance, then you are more likely to gain reward from their input (Freshwater 2009, pp. 76). One section of our piece involves opening up a discussion around taboo words or subjects, which has the potential to go very wrong. However, this is one of the experiments of the piece. We want to see people’s instant reactions and hear their thoughts. This ties in with the techniques of Marina Abramovic who “encourages the idea of ‘confrontation’ with the audience: the artwork should provoke a response” (Richards 2010, pp. 68). This section of our piece is directly asking for a response and so prevents us, as performers, with a number of risks. However, this is the idea of experimental performance. It should provoke a number of different responses and cause discussion or debate.

Directing dialogue directly at the audience engages them to listen intently to the words that are being said. This is particularly important with our piece as the main content throughout the performance is the spoken words. We will be limiting our audience capacity to a maximum of ten people. This will allow us to address each individual and their opinion won’t get lost in the crowd. “Louis Althusser’s subject hailed by the policeman,” refers to the fact that it is easier, and more effective, to address one person rather than an entire ‘public’. This is “suggesting that any onlookers will move on when they understand that they are not the subjects of address” (Sherman 2011, pp. 56). Applying this to a performance, it means that we can articulate a clearer message to less people. If we had a larger audience, people would lose interest when they were not being directly addressed.

Contemp den 4

Intimacy can also be achieved by creating a ‘safe’ performance space. Our style of performance takes on a teaching approach. It’s as if the audience are children learning language for the first time, and the performers take on a teaching role. We thought back to our own childhood and where we felt the safest. Safe places are where children “feel they can explore and roam with some freedom” (Hancock & Gillen 2007, pp. 348). They are places of familiarity and comfort. Instantly, the idea of a den came to mind. This seemed like the ideal option for a performance space. It would lead the audience into a sense of security which juxtaposes the content of the piece. This picture represents a snapshot of childhood that we want to reproduce.

Children's Den

 

The toys are innocent and the cushions are brightly coloured. Everything is soft in texture and inviting to touch. The fairy lights create a warm atmosphere as opposed to harsh lighting. We liked the idea of the content of the piece being very oppositional to the environment.

 

Works Cited:

Chatzichristodoulou, M, & Zerihan, R (2012) Intimacy Across Visceral And Digital Performance / Edited By Maria Chatzichristodoulou And Rachel Zerihan, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Freshwater, Helen (2009) Theatre & Audience, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hancock, R, & Gillen, J (2007) ‘Safe Places in Domestic Spaces: Two-Year-Olds at Play in their Homes’, Children’s Geographies, 5, 4, pp. 337-351.

Richards, Mary (2010) Marina Abramovic, Oxon: Routledge.

Sherman, JF (2011) ‘Plural intimacy in micropublic performances’, Performance Research, 16, 4, p. 52-61, viewed 18 November 2013.

Posted in Performance, Practitioners, Rehearsal Process

Tim…The Inspiration!

Posted on by Lauren Simpson

Forced Entertainment are a contemporary company who adopt a very collaborative approach to their performance making.  Although they have a writer/director figure, Tim Etchells, they all contribute fully to the development process. This is an idea that we want to adopt for our piece as we do not want to be constrained by a text or a specific structure. Improvising in the rehearsal room “allows for spoken text on stage to be less constrained by the conventions of realism and more responsive to contemporary life.” (Bailes, S 2011, pp. 67) This is a trademark strategy used by Forced Entertainment. We can freely experiment with ideas without fear of it going wrong. Sometimes the better ideas come from unsuccessful endeavours.

A huge range of ideas can appear through play and these often happen within the breaks in rehearsal when actors are simply being themselves. You can’t always predict where ideas will occur but it is imperative that you experiment with them to test if they could work. If they are successful, you can then choose to explore them further and develop a structure. It is inevitable that you will leave “behind a trail of failed attempts and nonsense” but “slowly, very slowly, you accumulate a store of scenes and fragments that you love.” (Etchells 2012, pp. 36)

As well as the company’s techniques inspiring us in our piece, one of their performances Filthy Words and Phrases really interested us. The performance is a 7 hour piece in which one woman writes words which are

“‘normally’ unsayable, unwriteable and illegitimate”

(www.forcedentertainment.com) on a chalkboard in an old school hall. We found this notion of the ‘unsayable’ interesting and within ten minutes we had already compiled a list of words which are considered taboo in society. However, they are just words. They are simply letters combined together like any other word. So, why is it that they are so frowned upon? This led us to the idea of presenting them in such a ridiculous way that they lose their current meaning.

http://forcedentertainment.com/page/3073/Filthy-Words-and-Phrases/91#-gallery

As they state on their website, Forced Entertainment are “interested in making performances that excite, frustrate, challenge, question and entertain.” (www.forcedentertainment.com) This sums up exactly what we want to achieve when creating our piece of contemporary work.

 

Works Cited:

Bailes, S (2011) Performance Theatre And The Poetics Of Failure: Forced Entertainment, Goat Island, Elevator Repair Service, London: Routledge.

Etchells, T (2012) ‘In the Silences: A text with very many digressions and forty-three footnotes concerning the process of making performance’, Performance Research, 17, 1, pp. 33-37.

www.forcedentertainment.com – accessed 26.10.13.

Posted in Practitioners, Rehearsal Process

Yo’ mad Marina!

Posted on by Jamee-Lee Fleming

Marina Abramović is a contemporary artist who thrives off audience reaction. Her performances consist of taking her body and her surroundings to the next level. One of the performances which caused havoc which was she placed ” placed on a bridge a three minute looped recording of a building collasping” (Richard, 2010, p.8). The soundscape was removed shortly after after the public complained that it reminded them of the war. From then on, she has created many performances which has made her noticed around the world where many audiences attend to see her outstanding art work.

Our focus in class during this session was Marina Abramović and her performance of Nightsea Crossing.  Nightsea Crossing is a durational performance which involves Marina Abramović and her partner Ulay. The performance consisted both of them sitting at opposite ends of a table staring motionless at each other. They did this for seven hours with no food, just water for sixteen consecutive days.

We started the exercise by doing a ten minute trial of Abramović’s performance as a whole class. We were positioned in two rows stretched across the space and was told to look at the opposite person. As the timer started, my first thought was that it was going to be easy and that ten minutes would go quick. I thought wrong. As time went by, I felt as though I was in a battle between my mind and body. Because my mind was concentrating too hard on focusing on the person in front this made time longer and more tedious. I felt the need to try and get past the barrier in order to keep this exercise going.

After the ten minutes had finished, we were told that we were going to repeat the exercise but this time for an hour and half. I repositioned myself into a more comfortable position and began the exercise again. I went in with a fresh mind so that I did not compare it with the one before but everything had moulded into one. At first I was relaxed and comfortable in my chair, even to the point where I had to move because I felt as though I was glued to my chair. As soon as I did, I could not stop moving around as my body became sore and aggravated.

Everything around me started to change as though it was drained of colour, even the person’s face I was looking at. Her face looked as if it was melting just like the clocks in The Persistence of Memory picture by Salvador Dalí:

The Persistence of Memory (Dalí, Salvador, 1939, cited in Klingsöhr- Leroy, 2004, 38)
The Persistence of Memory (Dalí, Salvador, 1939, cited in Klingsöhr- Leroy, 2004, 38)

 

This picture to me represents a dream – like world as the objects are surreal. When you are in a dream everything around you can feel distorted and out of place but as the time went by it became the norm to us because we were becoming used to the state we were in. It felt as though I broke through the “pain” barrier and that my mind could keep on going and going. A barrier meaning getting past that point where you felt a struggle but knowing you had to carry on.

I let my mind wonder and ideas were being explored in my head throughout the experience. Ideas such as performance ideas we could try out. This happened because I had broke through the barrier on mental exhaustion. I thought it would be a great idea to go further with this by exploring the fight between physical and mental exhaustion and how we could stage it as a performance. I was also interested after the exercise we did about audience reactions in how they react and their opinions.

The idea would consist of a group of people running around a large space until they could not move any longer. This would be a durational piece where audience members would be able to come into the space and either gives us aid to help us keep going or place obstacles in the way depending on how they reacted to the piece.  This was taking the ‘pain’ barrier to another level and to see whether what outcome would come out of this.  Just like the exercise of the Nightsea Crossing and what thoughts and the mind process we went through throughout the experiment.

This is a site specific piece of Martin Creed’s Work No.850

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8Fl45-DFw

This piece of artwork is about standing out from the crowd, like he said in the video that if you see someone running whether it is theft or just someone running down the street, you as the audience are automatically drawn to what they are doing and question why are they running. He also quotes about “being alive” and feeling your heart beat when running. This artwork has inspired me into thinking about our piece and the phrase of “being alive”. This is by exploring the body and pushing our boundaries by developing a connection with ourselves and see how our body reacts when we push ourselves to our maximum.

As the process tried to keep on going, unfortunately we didn’t get anywhere with this idea. The positive outcome from this idea was that we still was still interested in audience reaction. In this we will take this further and see what we can explore and create with this theme in mind.

 

 

Works Cited

Klingsöhr- Leroy, Cathrin (2004) Surrealism. Köln: Taschen.

Richard, M (2010) Marina Abramović. Oxon: Routledge.