Appendix 1: The Flowering Desert Creative Process
AP 1.1 Cycle 1: Jan-April 2020
AP 1.2 Cycle 1: Short Story - The Flowering Desert
AP 1.3 Cycle 1: Online Workshops and Outcomes April 2020-February 2021
AP 1.4 Cycle 1: Exploration through Performance and Film: March - June 2021
AP 1.5 Cycle 2: Leading to the Performances in May 2022
Appendix 1 - The Flowering Desert Creative Process
In this appendix I have chosen materials, reflections or transcriptions from key pieces of work, or workshops, that were carried out during the creative and performative process of developing the opera The Flowering Desert.
AP 1.4.a Overall outcomes of the movement and costume workshops
Mother Star:
We explored performing the text alongside the movement and added the use of a ball to engage the performers in a constant activity. This was to represent the constant process of fusion and developing metallicity which is explored in the libretto during scene 2. We also explored movements which would replicate the protonic bombardment. All of the performers were instructed to perform without direct relation or acknowledgement of Pantele, especially in those moments when they are circling her (or reaching her with the stellar radiation). During these workshops we recited various elements of the text used the recording of the Triple Study as well as some recordings I had already made of the new music written for scene 1 and scene 2. The costumes for the star consisted of various different tones of red and included structural circular neck pieces to reflect the colour and shape of the star itself.
Pantele:
We found a few key movements which would represent Pantele’s tidal locking, the two halves separated by the terminator, and the probable strong winds. These were to be repeated actions throughout the whole piece. We also decided on her costumes as a white dress with a red sash to highlight the hold that the Mother Star has over her. We added a hat which we were considering using as a tool in the moment of collision in scene 4. The costume itself was very structured and had a clear form.
Xoe:
At this stage we were exploring movements that would make Xoe lighter than Pantele, and we also explored a costume which would float in contrast to Pantele’s more structured dress. We explored movement patterns that might replicated the gravitational pull of both Pantele and Mother Star. At this stage we were working with a dancer so the movement was tailored to them. When we would be allowed to work with Hannah McDonald, the singer for this character, the movement would change drastically.
AP 1.4 Cycle 1: Explorations through Performance and Film - March-June 2021
After completing this stage of the work unfortunately Tadas was no longer able to take more footage and create films due to his own PhD deadlines. We did however have the ability to work with the students that had been assigned to our COVID-19 ‘bubble’ by the university. This pool of students comprised of the composition students, the experimental performance students and other PhD students. We sent out a call for workshop participants and from the people that responded began to hold workshops to explore the movement and costumes for each character.
In this period we held movement and costume workshops during March and April, and filmed the performers in May. I then collected recordings from singers and edited the footage, whilst Daniel collected and edited audio recordings from the instrumentalists and created a mix of the music for scene 1, mélodrame 1 and scene 2.
AP 1.4.b Scene 1, Mélodrame 1 and Scene 2 Film
During the editing of this film I continued to use the concept of layering as had been discussed in the workshops, in order to create a sense of Pantele’s submission to the star, and to show more of the dream like nature of the system, along with the internal thoughts of the Measurer. I made use of Tadas’s footage from both the earlier film of the overture, and the Triple Study. You can find the film below.