Evaluation

Last night our performance that we had been working so hard on all term came to stage. The piece was an exciting piece of theatre that was not only very fun to be in but I think was a memorable experience for the audience.

I felt the staging and lighting really came together in the end.As we had not had our space to rehearse in for most of the day it had been a stressful last hour and ,making sure there was enough lighting on each piece was hard especially as we wanted to keep the lighting dark and shadowy. However in the performance we set our pieces in a way that there were beautiful pools of light and cast of shadows surrounding the work which I feel really helped bring the piece together as a whole.

One of my worries about the piece had been keeping a sense of unity through it. Due to having different groups all having pieces and sections I had feared that the audience would feel like they were just watching little pieces which didn't have a bigger connection. However by adding in bits of physical movement in which the whole class worked together and used each other the piece became a big performance rather than a series of small ones.

In our dress rehearsal some of the people helping us had commented that they felt we were still creating a fourth wall which was stopping from our pieces being completely effective. They told us to completely let go and fully interact with the audience. In the performance I think we all pushed these boundaries much further. This made the piece come alive and opened the opportunity for an audience members unique experience. Also as our mini pieces were repeated by pushing ourselves and really interacting with the audience the pieces were no longer repetitive and a bit boring to watch. Also from a performers point of view I felt much more connected to the work and in the moment when I pushed myself to be experimental with my boundaries. Having said that I feel I could have pushed myself even further. As the piece was so different from anything I had done before there was almost a personal wall that I found hard to break down. Letting go of all my normal barriers was a challenge and if I were to preform it again I would have told myself to go even further as the moments were I did push were the most successful for the audience and for my own improvement in acting.

One of my favourite parts of the performance was when we formed tree roots. All of our small groups formed moving roots which joined at a trunk. This was a very powerful moment and the tree roots fitted perfectly with our piece as they became the essence of the struggle against industrialisation. Therefor linking in with Tolkien's themes. Also Artuad's as the roots of the tree showed building and destruction through theatre using catharthis.

Overall I was surprised at how successful the piece was , purely because it was so different and ambitious. From the dress rehearsal to the performance we all improved massively. Yet there were elements that could have been worked on. I think sometimes the sounds of the piece didn't quite work together as there would be screams alongside whispers. This meant that often some groups suffered. Timing could have been worked on if there was more time available to therefor sort out this issue.

Despite the pieces small flaws as a group we were all happy with our performance and talking to audience members they were too 'excited by the work'. I have personally learnt so much from working on this performance. From breaking down froth walls to creating really tormented physicality. It will be sad not to work on the pieces again yet I am proud of the performance we accomplished and felt it really addressed many current issues in England.

research on unexpected theatre.

As i was looking into Punch Drunk's work further i read an article from Felix Barrett . There was a section that particularly grabbed my attention as i really feel it explains why our piece is effective experimental theatre.

The thrill comes from not knowing what's round the corner or how you'll react when you find it. "In the theatre, you sit there closeted and you switch off part of your brain because you're comfortable," says Barrett. "If you're uncomfortable, then suddenly you're eager to receive."

Barrett notes that the unexpected is exciting and though uncomfortable at times it is needed to truly excite an audience. I feel this is what we are trying to accomplish with our piece. By using immersive theatre the audience are always on edge. As they make their own journeys they can not expect or predict what will happen as as they move our smaller pieces too will. They could take one step to the left and find themselves in a completely different situation to and audience member that perhaps they were next to before. Making our piece have that true element of the unexpected. 

final development on second piece

Today we looked again at our pieces stimulated by the Tolkien text . After going through the basic structure we really focused on voice and transitions. We had managed to create really experimental and effective physicality, yet our piece lacked good transitions and their were moments where it was us talking as ourselves , breaking the world we had worked so hard to create with our physicality.

We cut all 'walking on and off stage' , this made transitions easier as they weren't so blatant and our of place. Instead of walking we would move in our physicality we had developed for our role. By doing this the experimental world was boot broken by human normality , adding to the intensity of our piece. As we were creating a tortuous intense atmosphere this small change made a huge difference.

We also all choose a voice for our characters to have. These voices were experimental and thus fitted our physicality. We found the importance of really rooting these voices into our performance. For the strange voice to work it had to have purpose rather than just picking a strange voice and executing it from the throat. Instead we used motives like not being able to get enough air out to talk or wanting our voice to jump out of our chest . Having a motive made these stange voices have purpose and not just be a voice , be part of an experimental creature. It was really interesting to see that as we found our experimental voices the words we said became sounds rather than clear words , which again added to the magic of the piece.

Today's rehearsal was also really helpful for experimenting with lighting. We realised as a group that quite a dark atmosphere would be the most effective. We will use lights to illuminate sections of the room where we are performing. This looked really effective as i feel it added to the magical feel of the piece whilst also adding a creepy element. Not only does the lighting add to the piece as a whole but i also think it will make the audience more inclined to make their own journeys and experience the piece in a way that is unique for them.

Overall today's rehearsal really opened my eyes to how much the last touches can do to transform a piece of theatre. I feel like by making the small alterations we managed to completely change the piece and bring it from quite strange to extraordinary.

interesting video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n32RO_wnXQc

interesting Artaud quotes

Antonin Artaud 

Antonin Artaud quotes 

“Never tire yourself more than necessary, even if you have to found a culture on the fatigue of your bones.” 

― Antonin Artaud 

“There is in every madman a misunderstood genius

whose idea
shining in his head
frightened people
and for whom delirium was the only solution
to the strangulation
that life had prepared for him.”
― Antonin Artaud

“I would like to write a Book which would drive men mad, which would be like an open door leading them where they would never have consented to go, in short, a door that opens onto reality.” 

― Antonin Artaud, Selected Writings

“If our life lacks a constant magic it is because we choose to observe our acts and lose ourselves in consideration of their imagined form and meaning, instead of being impelled by their force.”
― Antonin Artaud, The Theater and Its Double

“I have need of angels. Enough hell has swallowed me for too many years. But finally understand this--I have burned up one hundred thousand human lives already, from the strength of my pain.” 

― Antonin Artaud, Lettres à Génica Athanasio

s

“All writing is garbage. People who come out of nowhere to try and put into words any part of what goes on in their minds are pigs. ”

“If I commit suicide, it will not be to destroy myself, but to put myself back together again. Suicide will be for me only one means of violently reconquering myself, of brutally invading my being, of anticipating the unpredictable approaches of God. By suicide, I reintroduce my design in nature, I shall for the first time give things the shape of my will.”
― Antonin Artaud

“I abandon myself to the fever of dreams, in search for new laws.”
― Antonin Artaud

“How hard is it, when everything encourages us to sleep, though we may look about us with conscious, clinging eyes, to wake and yet look about us as in a dream, with eyes that no longer know their function and whose gaze is turned inward.”
― Antonin Artaud, The Theater and Its Double

“For nothing bestializes a being like the taste for eternal happiness, the search for eternal happiness at any price, and mademoiselle Lucifer is that slut who never wanted to abandon eternal happiness.”
― Antonin Artaud

“I myself am an absolute abyss.

powerful theatre of cruelty image