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Space, outside and live situation
Every surrounding has a different atmosphere, the wind, sounds, colours the surface. There for its important to use colour that support the visibility. How ever, it is always a surprise how you fit in this environment.
The workshobs by Anja Reihardt gave me insight in how to have invited audience and accendental passers-by in the same audience and play with that. 'By placing our research in this environment we are also adding different dimensions to our performance. Suddenly we become hypersensitive to sounds and background noises, to the lines and shapes in space and to the passersby who are simply trying to get from point A to point B' ( from Reinhardt, A. (2020). How Much Public Space Is Our Space. architecture image studies, 1(1), 110–119. https://doi.org/10.48619/ais.v1i1.365)
Performers
Their influence is quit substatial, I usually choose people who I like and know. The interpersonal relation is very important to me. I also look at skills and ability to be present on stage. I work with them by giving improvisational assignments and give space to work things out. I make the choices, but it is possible that I make a choice because its better for the performer, not for the play. Decisions like this are made on physical and emotional level. During the process I asked for feedback on different levels, How do they experience my approach? What should stay in the piece and what could go? What could the piece be about?
Also I was Interviewed by Nick, one of the performers as part of the research.
Material/object
My research mentor brought me to the idea that the object was the main character in the play. I asked the audience and my performers about this, how they felt and I started to play myself with this idea. I gave it a role also by it self and now, in the end of the performance I first ask for an applause for the structure. I like the idea that we can bring an object to life, but also that the presence of this object influences us and the audience. But how big is this influence? It was created for a practical reason and now it has become more then an practical tool. Already a structure has meaning in it self and there for it can be valued.
Audience Influences:
There were 4 sessions with the audience,
First Audience presentation; dec '22
I asked the audience to only communicate what they saw, what their fantasy was about this play. Images, interpretations…
There were answers like: playing children, children from another part of the world, there was falling trees in the rain forest, a game, many things.
From this first experience I took the idea that the tripod, the material it self is an important character and maybe the main character in the play.
The second time the audience got 3 questions: see PDF on the right. How big is the role of the object in the play, did you feel safe, and did you feel part of the show at some point.
The 3rd time I asked the audience to observe me while I interacted with the performance in the setting of a public rehearsal. I also asked what works and what is missing? Do you want a storyline and what do you think it is about? You can also read the answers in the pdf on the right.
I made an appointment with an audience member I have never met before to interview me about what she saw. You can hear the interview bellow.
The 4th time was a public try-out where we filmed the audience reactions as feedback. You can see the impact and enthousiasm.
References:
Audience feedback are my most important references. They are my mirror and help me to see what kind of dramaturgy they experience.The video above clearly communicates the involvement and joy the audience experience waching our performance.
In Brown, A. M. (2017). Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, Brown writes about:' what we practice on a small scale, sets patterns for the whole system' (pg 53) and in the recording below I explain to my artisitc coach that this is how I could see the influence of a smile that starts in a very small square and spreads out like a raindrop in a pond, as a world changing ritual starting on a very small scale.
