1 The transformation from validation stage to performance stage created many themes and issues within Porto. The issues and themes came from individuals and also arouse from groups that formed throughout the performance. People in the community of Porto were alone and lost and found themselves wanting interaction with other people within this space. Themes such as love, jealously, control, attention, interaction, scared and loneliness shined through the performance of Porto. All people within Porto longed for that certain somebody, someone they could share the journey with and help them, somebody that could make them feel complete . Individuals of Porto found them selves becoming drawn to becoming one with the community, but certain individuals found it hard and was forced to becoming one. These individuals found it hard to merge and felt forced, but were finally dragged in and were drawn into the ensemble pieces. An example of this was my distinct character not wanting to be part of the community it was not until she was forced and dragged in that she gave in. People within in the space of community all had one think in common there relationship with an single item that was in there bags. This one item that everyone had, linked certain individuals together some more than others. This one item brought people together and felt connections and drawn to people with this item in common. Individuals then found a purpose for being in this space together and found a reason to interact. Characters entered this space alone but most people left with somebody, this being someone they felt drawn to or somebody they felt a connection with. The themes and issues that arouse within the space became clear as time went on in Porto everybody wanted to belong either if it was part of the ensemble or as part as a group.
2 When beginning work in the studio this became our space of Porto we adapted to it. This was our common home and every move was based around the space we had within the studio. This had it’s limitations due to the space that provided knowing we would move into the arena theatre space. Being in the studio for 6 months I think was a disadvantage because we never had the space that we would finally perform. When Porto was rehearsed in the arena space, I found It hard at first this being for many reasons. Reasons such as my movement could now be bigger, having to adapt to the new space that was provided and last of all the community within Porto could spread out more. The main difference was the depth of space we had, the space in the studio was much smaller and when performing the opening routine in the arena it was different knowing we had a lot more space to work with. My moves could be bigger and not toned down as they was when I was in the space of the studio. When creating the transitions between the studio and the arena I felt my character change. She changed because she was in a new surrounding and was used to the space in the studio I seen new characteristics shine through when performing in the new space. ‘An actor who looks at the floor is uninteresting . Like a rally driver navigating the road ahead, the actor has to ‘read’ the space. But in order to do this s/he has first to really ‘see it’, to create parallels of attention so that the whole space becomes there filed of vision’ (Callery, D. 2001 p79 )
The final week we moved into the arena this had it disadvantages, reasons such as lighting and sound rehearsals, we could not have these in the studios so this was a frustrating time for us. It was a element of what needed to be done to make the performance complete but I feel this was time we needed to rehearse in new space.
The ensemble sections and sub groups I thought were much stronger and easier to perform when we was in the space of the arena, they had more of a impact and impression. I think this was due to that fact we could explore more with the space we had. At first I think we all was scared of the new space but when we came nearer to the performance we were taking more risks and exploring the new space we had.
3 Throughout the 3 shows I thought I could not develop anymore as a character, but as we went through to the final show my character developed a lot since the first performance, finding new things out about her self and taking new risks. In the first stages of creating my character I was very strong and was reluctant to changing her once I had established her. As the performance was moved into arena my character started to change and started to explore more and take new risks within the new space. This was a shock to me and was also a challenge adapting to her new characteristics whilst performing our final shows. My character has developed so much from what she first was. As well developing her characteristics her involvement inside Porto developed as well. Before my character never interacted with anyone within the space, it was not till the last 3 performance that she created and formed a relationship with one individual. This was strange for me as a character because she was always alone and always pushing people away until she met this one person that she let in and found that connection and purpose to explore more. The person she let in was also in love with somebody else she had to fight for attention from him, it was a love triangle. As the 3 shows went on she pushed and fighted more for his attention I felt my emotions get stronger. The 3rd show I felt my character was at it’s fullest that it could be ,I was so into my character that it was hard for me to come back to my normal self and back into a world that wasn’t Porto. My emotional state of my character was at its fullest and boiling point in my 3rd show she was fighting for the man she wanted to let in. Luke lets me in throughout the show and as the performance goes on the fight for attention of him becomes a struggle. My time in Porto I notice Luke even when he is with Michaela I am still interested but I become more emotionally upset towards the end where Luke is the middle and he is torn between the two of us. I never thought my character would never let anyone in but as the 3 final performances go on this becomes visible that I want interaction and attention on Luke. I don’t let anybody but Luke in and still have kept my characteristics such as being lost and alone towards everybody else. I don’t know what she see’s in Luke but she finds some kind of connection with him and around him she feels complete. Even though she knows Luke finds interaction with everyone else she still feels drawn to him. The RSVP stage I think was still present even in the final stages of Porto was a very useful process in creating our individuality of our characters. Our final performance as a group I feel was at its strongest on the 3rd and final show I feel all off our characters was at our highest emotional state and this was clear by the performance we pulled of as an ensemble.
Bibliography
Callery, D. (2001) Through the Body, A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre. London. Routledge
Other resources
www.dv8.co.uk assessed 12 May
http://www.vincentdt.com/ 14th May
Friday, 15 May 2009
Emilia Breadon Final Blog
1) The process form the ‘V’ stage to the ‘P’ stage of devising was a very exciting step as it was our final stage to go through. As an ensemble we gelled together more creating a stronger community. From our entrances everyone had individual emotions this varying from loneliness and wanting to interact with others to have that safe/secure feeling to characters who ranged emotions being confused, anxious and excited not wanting to communicate with others. As the piece developed, from an audience perspective more was being explained as to why we entered with these emotions and why we had an attachment/detachment to our baggage. An audience member actually said that they did not understand why I was so attached to my bag until Dan actually pulled my item out (the ballet shoes) and showing the audience with my response to his action, and this was the same with the other characters and their items being revealed.
In the ensemble work at the beginning of the piece even though we all had our different characters we all formed together as one to do repetitive movements. It was as if we were trapped in these movements and could not escape them or change our movement to break out of the ensemble, it is not till Nicola enters where she changes the dynamics and everyone quickly forms back into their characters interested and reacting to why she was entering in such distress.
Some characters in Porto changed completely with their emotions that they had in the beginning to at the end, and example of this is Zara, she entered a confident character who was quite stubborn especially in the train scene where she shows this by becoming dominant about her space on the three chairs at the back ignoring those around her. It was not until I started to interact with her that she showed her emotions deep down and that was that she was quite upset because of her past and although she seemed strong on the outside deep down she was sensitive and towards the end of the piece this is shown by us sharing a chair together. So it went from her taking all the space of three chairs to us sharing one. Also at the end of the piece we do a reprise of the ensemble movement we did at the beginning but really slow and controlled and it was interesting to see that Nicola and Jay are in the middle not moving with the ensemble but rather than us react like we did at the beginning, we don’t we continue as a community it is not until Nicolas face is revealed when we react. This shows that as a community we became used to Nicola not being part of the community but when her face is revealed we have not seen this before so initially the community was interested into seeing who she was.
"make devised work as an ensemble and place great emphasis on the personal contribution [and] individual physicality…" (Vincent Dance Theatre http://www.vincentdt.com/artistic-policy.html 2009)
2) I think the initial transition from the studio to the Arena Theatre had an impact on everyone and we had many boundaries to over come such as the different area space we had to perform in, we were all so use to the space and size of the studio even though we were told many of time through out the devising process that we will be performing in a bigger space. So when we did our first run thorough we were not using the space given correctly and by doing that run through it gave us chance to realise what we needed to improve, such as our work at the front of the stage, we were moving too far forward and it was not being seen from the audience seats. We needed to learn that when we came to floor work near the front that we needed to move it back a little, this was still a problem until the first performance, when I am not quite sure what happened but everyone kicked into gear and moved back. We also needed to make our movements in the periphery smaller and not so abstract that it draws the audience away from what was happening in the middle, again I think the atmosphere of the Arena Theatre hit everyone and this was done well. Also when we moved into the Arena we needed to be aware or the technical equipment around us as there were lanterns that were rigged up at our head and foot height so we needed to make sure we did not bang into them and know them out of the light line they were supposed to be in. this resulted in us going over the piece a few times not only for us but also for the technical team to know the lighting and sound cues, the majority of us started to feel the strain of running over the piece so much and getting tiered however I felt although I was also tiered I needed to go over the piece again so that when we did perform it I was not having to think of anything but just let my body memory do it all. It was not until we got into the Arena that I felt I really connected with the music that was given to Dan, Zara any my scene. i just let my self go to the words of the music and really attached an emotional bond to this piece of music.
3) My own growth throughout the performances was different on every one. On our first performance I found my self thinking too much about the process and thinking what came next which meant I messed up on some bits because I was thinking too much about what I was doing. On the second performance my family came and of course I was very nervous however I loved the performance and remember at the end of Porto I suddenly realise ‘oh we are at the end’ because I was enjoying it so much. This was the same with the final performance because I knew I would never get the chance to perform this piece again I really gave my all in the last performance I have the bruises to prove this, I loved every moment of it and I think this was the same for a lot of people as their emotions were sky high and as we left the stage there were a lot of tears. For my characters own emotions I felt that I left the stage every night happier than the previous performance, my character makes a really strong bond with Zara and I become much more confident in myself. Although Zara leaves the stage before me and I ended up looking for her and only finding her ear phones my character is sad to leave alone which I felt made a strong contrast to when we re entered and I found Zara which made me very happy. The strongest part of the journey for me was he ‘scene’ where Dan takes my ballet shoes out of my bag because I am a mixture of feelings, I am upset to the fact that I felt I was being controlled by Dan to give him my bag however at the same time I craved his affection but was not getting it, it is not until I look to Zara for comfort and a sense of needing help from her, when she does finally get back my ballet shoes off Dan I then know that she will be there for me and that I can trust her.
Bibliography:
Vincent Dance Theatre (2008) [online]. Sheffield: [Home Page] [cited 15th May 2009].
In the ensemble work at the beginning of the piece even though we all had our different characters we all formed together as one to do repetitive movements. It was as if we were trapped in these movements and could not escape them or change our movement to break out of the ensemble, it is not till Nicola enters where she changes the dynamics and everyone quickly forms back into their characters interested and reacting to why she was entering in such distress.
Some characters in Porto changed completely with their emotions that they had in the beginning to at the end, and example of this is Zara, she entered a confident character who was quite stubborn especially in the train scene where she shows this by becoming dominant about her space on the three chairs at the back ignoring those around her. It was not until I started to interact with her that she showed her emotions deep down and that was that she was quite upset because of her past and although she seemed strong on the outside deep down she was sensitive and towards the end of the piece this is shown by us sharing a chair together. So it went from her taking all the space of three chairs to us sharing one. Also at the end of the piece we do a reprise of the ensemble movement we did at the beginning but really slow and controlled and it was interesting to see that Nicola and Jay are in the middle not moving with the ensemble but rather than us react like we did at the beginning, we don’t we continue as a community it is not until Nicolas face is revealed when we react. This shows that as a community we became used to Nicola not being part of the community but when her face is revealed we have not seen this before so initially the community was interested into seeing who she was.
"make devised work as an ensemble and place great emphasis on the personal contribution [and] individual physicality…" (Vincent Dance Theatre http://www.vincentdt.com/artistic-policy.html 2009)
2) I think the initial transition from the studio to the Arena Theatre had an impact on everyone and we had many boundaries to over come such as the different area space we had to perform in, we were all so use to the space and size of the studio even though we were told many of time through out the devising process that we will be performing in a bigger space. So when we did our first run thorough we were not using the space given correctly and by doing that run through it gave us chance to realise what we needed to improve, such as our work at the front of the stage, we were moving too far forward and it was not being seen from the audience seats. We needed to learn that when we came to floor work near the front that we needed to move it back a little, this was still a problem until the first performance, when I am not quite sure what happened but everyone kicked into gear and moved back. We also needed to make our movements in the periphery smaller and not so abstract that it draws the audience away from what was happening in the middle, again I think the atmosphere of the Arena Theatre hit everyone and this was done well. Also when we moved into the Arena we needed to be aware or the technical equipment around us as there were lanterns that were rigged up at our head and foot height so we needed to make sure we did not bang into them and know them out of the light line they were supposed to be in. this resulted in us going over the piece a few times not only for us but also for the technical team to know the lighting and sound cues, the majority of us started to feel the strain of running over the piece so much and getting tiered however I felt although I was also tiered I needed to go over the piece again so that when we did perform it I was not having to think of anything but just let my body memory do it all. It was not until we got into the Arena that I felt I really connected with the music that was given to Dan, Zara any my scene. i just let my self go to the words of the music and really attached an emotional bond to this piece of music.
3) My own growth throughout the performances was different on every one. On our first performance I found my self thinking too much about the process and thinking what came next which meant I messed up on some bits because I was thinking too much about what I was doing. On the second performance my family came and of course I was very nervous however I loved the performance and remember at the end of Porto I suddenly realise ‘oh we are at the end’ because I was enjoying it so much. This was the same with the final performance because I knew I would never get the chance to perform this piece again I really gave my all in the last performance I have the bruises to prove this, I loved every moment of it and I think this was the same for a lot of people as their emotions were sky high and as we left the stage there were a lot of tears. For my characters own emotions I felt that I left the stage every night happier than the previous performance, my character makes a really strong bond with Zara and I become much more confident in myself. Although Zara leaves the stage before me and I ended up looking for her and only finding her ear phones my character is sad to leave alone which I felt made a strong contrast to when we re entered and I found Zara which made me very happy. The strongest part of the journey for me was he ‘scene’ where Dan takes my ballet shoes out of my bag because I am a mixture of feelings, I am upset to the fact that I felt I was being controlled by Dan to give him my bag however at the same time I craved his affection but was not getting it, it is not until I look to Zara for comfort and a sense of needing help from her, when she does finally get back my ballet shoes off Dan I then know that she will be there for me and that I can trust her.
Bibliography:
Vincent Dance Theatre (2008) [online]. Sheffield: [Home Page] [cited 15th May 2009].
Michaela Lloyd 0709448 Blog Post 4
1. Turner explains that a group of liminal individuals can exist in a community where all are ‘equal’ and able to explore free from ‘law, custom, convention and ceremony’ in a realm that can only be described as that of ‘pure possibility and structural invisibility’. As an ensemble we became a group of liminal individuals and the space of Porto became our ‘realm of pure possibility’. [http://www.liminality.org.uk]
This realm was explored using Halprins RSVP model of devising in which the ‘V-validation’ stage of enables the cementing of liminal characters and the scenarios derived from their explorations within the ‘S-scoring’ stage. However, it is the ‘P’ stage of Halprin’s model, the actual performance of the piece that conveys the true content of the piece. [www.puppetcenter.org.uk]
As Porto became a cohesive performance we were able to further explore ourselves within our shared state of liminality. During this final stage of the devising process themes and issues began to emerge throughout the basic structure that altered the complicité between individual characters as well as the ensemble as a whole.
A common theme was our relationships with our bags that had initiated our personal journeys. As our journeys developed and coincided with other characters journeys a prominent common issue of belonging arose- either to an individual character, the ensemble or in the case of Nicola and Blake’s characters, simply belonging and being unable to escape from their own baggage.
Nicola and Blake’s characters had consistently been enigmatic and quite reclusive throughout the initial play sessions during the ‘R’ stage of the devising process. Their presence within Porto became a shared experience for the ensemble that allowed individuals to experience these characters from their own persepctive. Some characters wanted to help them and protect them, whereas other characters were over-whelmed with fear and wanted to hide in the periphery or with members of the ensemble they had developed a relationship with. The experience of these two characters tied the community together with their presence revealing aspects of our personalities that enabled us to develop further individually and as an ensemble as well as our shared curiosity, particularly in the ensemble section with Blake’s fight over his emotional baggage and attachment to his suitcase, embedding both themes of our relationships with our bags and belonging within Porto.
Throughout Porto we had developed and acknowledged that we all had emotional baggage and needed to belong. After witnessing Blake’s struggle with this task, we realised that Nicola’s character was vulnerable and this realisation culminated with the entire ensemble as a community fighting against an invasion of our personal journeys and defending the conclusion of Nicola’s personal journey as Leyna tried to photograph her relationship with Jay.
2. As Porto was given it’s own space within the theatre, several developments occurred. Initially there appeared to be a little resistance from the ensemble as a whole to remain focussed and committed to the work we had created. The theatre space was entirely new to all of us unlike the studio space we had previously been working in which could account for this. As the transition of Porto occurred this became a strength of the process.
Previously the work leading towards the Performance stage of the process had all occurred within a space that the group were familiar with as a teaching space. DV8 describe the devising process as an ‘exploration that continues even after the show is made’ with ‘intuition…and interplay of ideas and meaning between all the people involved, including the audience.’ [www.dv8.co.uk] As we moved into the theatre space the exploration between characters evolved with our exploration of the space that now belonged to Porto. The space actually was a transient space where we were able to completely remove our own characteristics and become our characters within Porto. To an extent this was a factor that had been hindered within the studio space as we were surrounded by reminders of our academic lives.
Within the theatre space interplay even on the periphery was strengthened with new relationships being formed and relationships that had emerged previously being developed. My character’s friendship with Ana’s character gained depth as we acknowledged that we both wanted to protect Nicola and we developed a mutual trust and understanding of one another. Ellen and Mikey’s relationship completely altered as it went from mutual affection to Ellen resenting Mikey and refusing to have further contact with him after their duet work. These developments only occurred within the theatre space, possibly due to the freedom that the space gave our characters to develop that we had previously unintentionally limited when working in the studio.
Oddey places great emphasis on the importance of play within the devising process. As an ensemble exploring our characters through play sessions in the studio had been a productive means of character development and the ensemble’s complicité. However when we had play sessions in the theatre, the extent of the developments were more sincere with the new relationships being explored as well as existing relationships continuing to develop even during the performances. Again the space could be accountable for this as it belonged entirely to the ensemble and Porto. Overall, the transition from the studio to the theatre space strengthened the ensemble of Porto but held the possibility to completely alter the piece we had previously created.
3. The RSVP model continued to apply at this stage as Haplrin explains that once the performance is reached, the cycle begins again with a new exploration of the Resource stage. [http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk]. This had begun as we had moved into the theatre space and at Porto’s first performance the group were unsure of their characters and the sense of ensemble was unsettled by the arrival of an audience. From this stage over the three shows the performance grew quite rapidly
During the first performance my character was not fully developed and I did not feel comfortable with the changes and new relationships that had occurred during the transition from the studio to the theatre space. It is acknowledged that an audience can affect actors by the ’quality of their attention’ (p 27 Brook 2008) and my initial apprehension of my character’s new connections made me more aware of the audience than my role in Porto. In this performance I believe my emotional involvement and place within the ensemble was hindered as my character had not fully adapted to the new environment and had not established the new relationships that had began to emerge. However, during the play session preceding our second performance I began to feel more settled as part of the ensemble and began to realise my place within the performance.
As my character was evolving within Porto I needed to make sense of the new surroundings, relationships and my own understanding within the piece of what my aim was and whom I had or wanted to make connections with and found myself relying on my initial Resource, my quest to find someone to love. This strengthened the opening ensemble section for the second performance. I felt as though we were more connected as an ensemble and more aware of our peripheral vision and the context of Porto throughout. It was during this performance that my relationship with Luke developed most.
I had always felt a strong emotional connection with Luke’s character from the initial Resource work at the beginning of the process. However up until this point I had never entirely felt as though our relationship was completely genuine. It was almost as if I was adopting characteristics I believed synonymous with love rather than simply relying on impulses my character felt and wanted to act upon. In the second performance I genuinely felt as though I had fallen in-love with Luke and each time he turned me away I felt genuine distress and a sense of betrayal. It affected me so much that I found myself entranced by the love triangle with Gavin, Sarah and Amy, as it appeared to mirror what was occurring in the periphery with Luke and myself. I felt a connection with Amy as Gavin spurned her in the same manner Luke was at that point- albeit on the periphery- rejecting me in favour of Emma. I watched Amy as she tried to gain Gavin’s affections and saw how she ended up alone and related that to Luke and my relationship. At that point I gained a determination my character had never had before. I was certain that by whatever means necessary I would not leave Porto alone. These experiences formed the backbone of my character for the final show in which the ensemble were cemented as a community, aware of their roles within the piece and during which I lived in Porto completely. The relationships I encountered and my place within the community were more than cemented- they were genuine.
Bibliography :
Oddey, A Devising Theatre: A Practical And Theoretical Handbook London: Routledge 1996
Brook, P The Empty Space Penguin Modern classics 2008
Halprin, L The RSVP Cycles G. Braziller 1970
http://www.dv8.co.uk/faqs/faqs.html#four (accessed 9th May 2009 18.30)
http://www.liminality.org/about/whatisliminality/ (accesed 9th May 2009 19.10)
http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animationsonline/aonineteen/playprocessproduct.html (accessed 9th May 2009 19.40)
Porto performances at the Arena Theatre, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, Thursday 7th May 2009, 1.oo p.m and 7.30 p.m, Friday 8th May 7.30pm
This realm was explored using Halprins RSVP model of devising in which the ‘V-validation’ stage of enables the cementing of liminal characters and the scenarios derived from their explorations within the ‘S-scoring’ stage. However, it is the ‘P’ stage of Halprin’s model, the actual performance of the piece that conveys the true content of the piece. [www.puppetcenter.org.uk]
As Porto became a cohesive performance we were able to further explore ourselves within our shared state of liminality. During this final stage of the devising process themes and issues began to emerge throughout the basic structure that altered the complicité between individual characters as well as the ensemble as a whole.
A common theme was our relationships with our bags that had initiated our personal journeys. As our journeys developed and coincided with other characters journeys a prominent common issue of belonging arose- either to an individual character, the ensemble or in the case of Nicola and Blake’s characters, simply belonging and being unable to escape from their own baggage.
Nicola and Blake’s characters had consistently been enigmatic and quite reclusive throughout the initial play sessions during the ‘R’ stage of the devising process. Their presence within Porto became a shared experience for the ensemble that allowed individuals to experience these characters from their own persepctive. Some characters wanted to help them and protect them, whereas other characters were over-whelmed with fear and wanted to hide in the periphery or with members of the ensemble they had developed a relationship with. The experience of these two characters tied the community together with their presence revealing aspects of our personalities that enabled us to develop further individually and as an ensemble as well as our shared curiosity, particularly in the ensemble section with Blake’s fight over his emotional baggage and attachment to his suitcase, embedding both themes of our relationships with our bags and belonging within Porto.
Throughout Porto we had developed and acknowledged that we all had emotional baggage and needed to belong. After witnessing Blake’s struggle with this task, we realised that Nicola’s character was vulnerable and this realisation culminated with the entire ensemble as a community fighting against an invasion of our personal journeys and defending the conclusion of Nicola’s personal journey as Leyna tried to photograph her relationship with Jay.
2. As Porto was given it’s own space within the theatre, several developments occurred. Initially there appeared to be a little resistance from the ensemble as a whole to remain focussed and committed to the work we had created. The theatre space was entirely new to all of us unlike the studio space we had previously been working in which could account for this. As the transition of Porto occurred this became a strength of the process.
Previously the work leading towards the Performance stage of the process had all occurred within a space that the group were familiar with as a teaching space. DV8 describe the devising process as an ‘exploration that continues even after the show is made’ with ‘intuition…and interplay of ideas and meaning between all the people involved, including the audience.’ [www.dv8.co.uk] As we moved into the theatre space the exploration between characters evolved with our exploration of the space that now belonged to Porto. The space actually was a transient space where we were able to completely remove our own characteristics and become our characters within Porto. To an extent this was a factor that had been hindered within the studio space as we were surrounded by reminders of our academic lives.
Within the theatre space interplay even on the periphery was strengthened with new relationships being formed and relationships that had emerged previously being developed. My character’s friendship with Ana’s character gained depth as we acknowledged that we both wanted to protect Nicola and we developed a mutual trust and understanding of one another. Ellen and Mikey’s relationship completely altered as it went from mutual affection to Ellen resenting Mikey and refusing to have further contact with him after their duet work. These developments only occurred within the theatre space, possibly due to the freedom that the space gave our characters to develop that we had previously unintentionally limited when working in the studio.
Oddey places great emphasis on the importance of play within the devising process. As an ensemble exploring our characters through play sessions in the studio had been a productive means of character development and the ensemble’s complicité. However when we had play sessions in the theatre, the extent of the developments were more sincere with the new relationships being explored as well as existing relationships continuing to develop even during the performances. Again the space could be accountable for this as it belonged entirely to the ensemble and Porto. Overall, the transition from the studio to the theatre space strengthened the ensemble of Porto but held the possibility to completely alter the piece we had previously created.
3. The RSVP model continued to apply at this stage as Haplrin explains that once the performance is reached, the cycle begins again with a new exploration of the Resource stage. [http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk]. This had begun as we had moved into the theatre space and at Porto’s first performance the group were unsure of their characters and the sense of ensemble was unsettled by the arrival of an audience. From this stage over the three shows the performance grew quite rapidly
During the first performance my character was not fully developed and I did not feel comfortable with the changes and new relationships that had occurred during the transition from the studio to the theatre space. It is acknowledged that an audience can affect actors by the ’quality of their attention’ (p 27 Brook 2008) and my initial apprehension of my character’s new connections made me more aware of the audience than my role in Porto. In this performance I believe my emotional involvement and place within the ensemble was hindered as my character had not fully adapted to the new environment and had not established the new relationships that had began to emerge. However, during the play session preceding our second performance I began to feel more settled as part of the ensemble and began to realise my place within the performance.
As my character was evolving within Porto I needed to make sense of the new surroundings, relationships and my own understanding within the piece of what my aim was and whom I had or wanted to make connections with and found myself relying on my initial Resource, my quest to find someone to love. This strengthened the opening ensemble section for the second performance. I felt as though we were more connected as an ensemble and more aware of our peripheral vision and the context of Porto throughout. It was during this performance that my relationship with Luke developed most.
I had always felt a strong emotional connection with Luke’s character from the initial Resource work at the beginning of the process. However up until this point I had never entirely felt as though our relationship was completely genuine. It was almost as if I was adopting characteristics I believed synonymous with love rather than simply relying on impulses my character felt and wanted to act upon. In the second performance I genuinely felt as though I had fallen in-love with Luke and each time he turned me away I felt genuine distress and a sense of betrayal. It affected me so much that I found myself entranced by the love triangle with Gavin, Sarah and Amy, as it appeared to mirror what was occurring in the periphery with Luke and myself. I felt a connection with Amy as Gavin spurned her in the same manner Luke was at that point- albeit on the periphery- rejecting me in favour of Emma. I watched Amy as she tried to gain Gavin’s affections and saw how she ended up alone and related that to Luke and my relationship. At that point I gained a determination my character had never had before. I was certain that by whatever means necessary I would not leave Porto alone. These experiences formed the backbone of my character for the final show in which the ensemble were cemented as a community, aware of their roles within the piece and during which I lived in Porto completely. The relationships I encountered and my place within the community were more than cemented- they were genuine.
Bibliography :
Oddey, A Devising Theatre: A Practical And Theoretical Handbook London: Routledge 1996
Brook, P The Empty Space Penguin Modern classics 2008
Halprin, L The RSVP Cycles G. Braziller 1970
http://www.dv8.co.uk/faqs/faqs.html#four (accessed 9th May 2009 18.30)
http://www.liminality.org/about/whatisliminality/ (accesed 9th May 2009 19.10)
http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animationsonline/aonineteen/playprocessproduct.html (accessed 9th May 2009 19.40)
Porto performances at the Arena Theatre, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, Thursday 7th May 2009, 1.oo p.m and 7.30 p.m, Friday 8th May 7.30pm
Final Blog - Luke Manley - 0705972
[1]
Before we digest the Reshearch, Score, Valadation, Process (RSVP) we must understand the meaning of Physical Theatre, in its broadest term.
Physical theatre is a general term used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling through primarily physical means, this in the case in question, being the production of Porto.
As the process of Porto moved from the Valadation to the Process stage of devising, the most common themes and issues that the cast found that kept emerging were, conflict, waiting, self descovery, trust, love and a community of indaviduals emerging together as an ensamble.
An example of one the themes from Porto, specifically with my character was shearching. I felt that this was an immensly strong issue within my characters journey and indeed within Porto, as it was an extension of my personal emotions, and I feel that with the process of Porto, it helped me to overcome those emotions.
The obviouse experience that tied the Porto community together was the ensamble. This suggested, that even though we are all individuals there is one thing that conects us all together, this being the journeys we travel, creating a community ensamble.
Although we cannot comment on each performers personal jourent through Porto (each charcter is an individual) “The search for expression results in individual moments…” (Climenhaga, 2009, Pg62). We all had our own personal emotions which we wanted to explore, and by doing so we created individual movments, which was evident within the periphery as well as center area.
During the whole ensamble, although the movments were exactly the same as the whole of the commuity, each charcter would put a different ammount of emotion into it.
[2]
As Porto moved from rehearsal space (studio) to performance space (theatre), the cast felt an imidiate change. The professional attitude towards Porto took over, as we were no longer students, but performers.
The first experience of Porto within the theatre space was a difficult expericane to digest, as it was to be performed for technical reasons, and was difficult to fully grasp the emotions of my character as I had previosuly hoped for. We felt that although it was a necessity and needed to be done, the characters we not able to adjust to the new enviroment as quickly as we thought.
“The actors’s skill if to fill his space, to inhabit it fully: to be there, totally, in the moment of performance.” (Frost & Yarrow, 1990, Pg100)
Once the technical had sucssesfuly run through, the community had time to introduce the characters of Porto into the new enviroment. This allowed each performer to adjust changes with their characters, as each of the characters were being introduced to a new area, and some found that their emotions, movements, reactions and general behaviour changed.
This was immenlsy evident within my character, as I feel his emotions changed from shy, to desperation and despondent. The new enviroment was a major factor in adjusting my characters emotions. Once the lights and music where introduced together I felt an imidiate reaction to Porto, and thought, this area had changed the way I feel towards the persons he makes contact with. And although it was the performance, I was still exploring new emotions and meeting new characters within Porto during the transition between the two spaces.
Although with the technical and the transition, there were weaknesses, I feel that my character had evolved into someone different during the time. I felt that I was able to touch on deeper emotiond and to fully explore his own transition between the spaces.
The transitions also allowed me to reflect myself into my character, and by doing so, my character became an extension of myself.
Once in the new enviroment of Porto, I always become my character as well as the space itself. The space of Porto was mearly an extension of my character, which was an extension of myself.
“The central principle of ‘presence’ is mental and imaginative. It is a matter of concentrating without straining, attending and behaving in accord with the situation.” (Frost & Yarrow, 1990, Pg 101)
[3]
“Activating and sharpening the physical nature of preception is fundamental; it develops a consciousness linked to theatrical presence: being awake, alert, attentive, constantly being ‘in the moment’.” (Callery, 2001, Pg 22)
Over the three productions of Porto, my own physical precense grew immensly. I wanted my character to develop an understanding from each show and to use it to inflict into the next show, ultimatily growing his emotions and developing into a transformed character within the last performance. I wanted to take the knowladge and skills which I may have learnt from previous shows and to inject new life into each show, helping my character to understand his goal within Porto.
Reshearch
I would keep rechearching Physical theatre throught the whole process of Porto hoping that with each rehersal and show the influences I may have come across or the companys I studied would be able to influence me. An example beoing, I payed a lot of attention to DV8 and the social issues they inject into their productions. One DV8 production I payed particualr attention to was Strange Fish. Which looks at a quest for someone to love and something, or someone, to believe in. The tyranny of couples and groups, the pain of not belongingand the fear of being alone. This helped me to disect my characters emotions and to develop his movements and to use the influences of DV8 in my own work during Porto.
Score
Once the chronological order was announced, I felt that my character could then fully explore his journey, as he now knew where he could go through and what emotional state he was at certain points. This also allowed my character to explore new things, such as developing relationships once in the periphery.
Valadation
Valadating Porto was a very strong part of the process, as we had a long running time previous to working in the rehersal space. The timing and slickness of Porto is a major contribution to the effects of the characters emotions, as a character would not have enough time to reflect on the ceratin event, or have too much time to relfect.
Process
“When an improvising actor gets into difficulties, he or she has to know that somebody will come to their rescure, and that somebody will take what they are offering to develop it.” (Frost & Yarrow, 1990, Pg105)
Even during the final shows of Porto, improvisation was sytil a major player within. If something went wrong the cast would have to work around the difficulties on stage. Or also during the final shows the process for developing and finding new depths within the performers characters would still be developing, as I had found with my character, he was at conflict with himself during the final show of Porto, but this still led me to come to new conclusions about him and his journey.
Bibliography.
Climenhaga, R. (2009) Pina Bausch Routledge
Frost, A. and Yarrow, R (1990) Improvisation In Drama The Macmillan Press Ltd
Lecoq, J. (2006) Theatre of Movement and gesture Routledge
Callery, D. (2001) Through The Body A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre Nick Hern Books Ltd.
www.dv8.co.uk
Before we digest the Reshearch, Score, Valadation, Process (RSVP) we must understand the meaning of Physical Theatre, in its broadest term.
Physical theatre is a general term used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling through primarily physical means, this in the case in question, being the production of Porto.
As the process of Porto moved from the Valadation to the Process stage of devising, the most common themes and issues that the cast found that kept emerging were, conflict, waiting, self descovery, trust, love and a community of indaviduals emerging together as an ensamble.
An example of one the themes from Porto, specifically with my character was shearching. I felt that this was an immensly strong issue within my characters journey and indeed within Porto, as it was an extension of my personal emotions, and I feel that with the process of Porto, it helped me to overcome those emotions.
The obviouse experience that tied the Porto community together was the ensamble. This suggested, that even though we are all individuals there is one thing that conects us all together, this being the journeys we travel, creating a community ensamble.
Although we cannot comment on each performers personal jourent through Porto (each charcter is an individual) “The search for expression results in individual moments…” (Climenhaga, 2009, Pg62). We all had our own personal emotions which we wanted to explore, and by doing so we created individual movments, which was evident within the periphery as well as center area.
During the whole ensamble, although the movments were exactly the same as the whole of the commuity, each charcter would put a different ammount of emotion into it.
[2]
As Porto moved from rehearsal space (studio) to performance space (theatre), the cast felt an imidiate change. The professional attitude towards Porto took over, as we were no longer students, but performers.
The first experience of Porto within the theatre space was a difficult expericane to digest, as it was to be performed for technical reasons, and was difficult to fully grasp the emotions of my character as I had previosuly hoped for. We felt that although it was a necessity and needed to be done, the characters we not able to adjust to the new enviroment as quickly as we thought.
“The actors’s skill if to fill his space, to inhabit it fully: to be there, totally, in the moment of performance.” (Frost & Yarrow, 1990, Pg100)
Once the technical had sucssesfuly run through, the community had time to introduce the characters of Porto into the new enviroment. This allowed each performer to adjust changes with their characters, as each of the characters were being introduced to a new area, and some found that their emotions, movements, reactions and general behaviour changed.
This was immenlsy evident within my character, as I feel his emotions changed from shy, to desperation and despondent. The new enviroment was a major factor in adjusting my characters emotions. Once the lights and music where introduced together I felt an imidiate reaction to Porto, and thought, this area had changed the way I feel towards the persons he makes contact with. And although it was the performance, I was still exploring new emotions and meeting new characters within Porto during the transition between the two spaces.
Although with the technical and the transition, there were weaknesses, I feel that my character had evolved into someone different during the time. I felt that I was able to touch on deeper emotiond and to fully explore his own transition between the spaces.
The transitions also allowed me to reflect myself into my character, and by doing so, my character became an extension of myself.
Once in the new enviroment of Porto, I always become my character as well as the space itself. The space of Porto was mearly an extension of my character, which was an extension of myself.
“The central principle of ‘presence’ is mental and imaginative. It is a matter of concentrating without straining, attending and behaving in accord with the situation.” (Frost & Yarrow, 1990, Pg 101)
[3]
“Activating and sharpening the physical nature of preception is fundamental; it develops a consciousness linked to theatrical presence: being awake, alert, attentive, constantly being ‘in the moment’.” (Callery, 2001, Pg 22)
Over the three productions of Porto, my own physical precense grew immensly. I wanted my character to develop an understanding from each show and to use it to inflict into the next show, ultimatily growing his emotions and developing into a transformed character within the last performance. I wanted to take the knowladge and skills which I may have learnt from previous shows and to inject new life into each show, helping my character to understand his goal within Porto.
Reshearch
I would keep rechearching Physical theatre throught the whole process of Porto hoping that with each rehersal and show the influences I may have come across or the companys I studied would be able to influence me. An example beoing, I payed a lot of attention to DV8 and the social issues they inject into their productions. One DV8 production I payed particualr attention to was Strange Fish. Which looks at a quest for someone to love and something, or someone, to believe in. The tyranny of couples and groups, the pain of not belongingand the fear of being alone. This helped me to disect my characters emotions and to develop his movements and to use the influences of DV8 in my own work during Porto.
Score
Once the chronological order was announced, I felt that my character could then fully explore his journey, as he now knew where he could go through and what emotional state he was at certain points. This also allowed my character to explore new things, such as developing relationships once in the periphery.
Valadation
Valadating Porto was a very strong part of the process, as we had a long running time previous to working in the rehersal space. The timing and slickness of Porto is a major contribution to the effects of the characters emotions, as a character would not have enough time to reflect on the ceratin event, or have too much time to relfect.
Process
“When an improvising actor gets into difficulties, he or she has to know that somebody will come to their rescure, and that somebody will take what they are offering to develop it.” (Frost & Yarrow, 1990, Pg105)
Even during the final shows of Porto, improvisation was sytil a major player within. If something went wrong the cast would have to work around the difficulties on stage. Or also during the final shows the process for developing and finding new depths within the performers characters would still be developing, as I had found with my character, he was at conflict with himself during the final show of Porto, but this still led me to come to new conclusions about him and his journey.
Bibliography.
Climenhaga, R. (2009) Pina Bausch Routledge
Frost, A. and Yarrow, R (1990) Improvisation In Drama The Macmillan Press Ltd
Lecoq, J. (2006) Theatre of Movement and gesture Routledge
Callery, D. (2001) Through The Body A Practical Guide To Physical Theatre Nick Hern Books Ltd.
www.dv8.co.uk
Hannah Page.
1.) Throughout the ‘P’ stage of the devising of Porto it became apparent that certain themes had become to weave themselves through the fabric of the piece. These themes being loss, uncertainty, hope, fear and the main theme that stood out for me was obsession. Throughout the sub-groups many different themes were reflected through their work, but obsession for me stood out as a theme that run through almost all of them, for example; Jay’s obsession with Nicola or Sarah’s obsession with Gavin. The obsessive as theme translates many different emotions and themes within it and for my character her obsession with Edward could also have been translating a theme of love or need for Edward to the audience.
The ensemble pieces translated a theme of obsession in their repetitive movements. These movements showed how as a community they are obsessed with conforming to each other and not their own free will. This theme is then revisited in the ‘ensemble reprise’ Where the same movements are used but at a slower pace, showing that although everyone has experienced their own individual journeys they are still a community and still conform to one another.
2.) As the ensemble moved from the studio to the theatre it was apparent how difficult it was devising in such a small studio space. With the freedom of a larger theatre, as well as the extra wing space, the freedom to move around opened up the entire piece.
This helped with making a focus on the journeys going on centre stage because they had more room to move about and the ensemble didn’t seem so boxed in.
This helped with making a focus on the journeys going on centre stage because they had more room to move about and the ensemble didn’t seem so boxed in.
This strength of space however also caused a weakness because although we had all this new space to ‘play around with’ we had to loose half the space because any floor work done past a certain point would not be seen by the audience at the back. This meant we had to shift chairs and move our work much further back than we had originally intended. Another weakness of moving from the studio to the theatre was that in the theatre their were no hiding places. In the studio you could leave the room or go behind a curtain, but in the theatre everything was stripped back so the ensemble had nowhere to hide. “Everything and actor does is seen and interpreted. The actor informs through his physicality, In silence,” (The Articulate Body: The Physical Training Of The Actor. Pg 10) this awareness that they will be constantly on stage and constantly performing unnerved a few of the ensemble upon entering the space and dramatically changed their periphery work.
3.) When starting to run the three shows it became apparent that characters where still finding out new things about themselves and new connections with other members of the ensemble, and even throughout the final performances these new connections were being made. The main example for me was during the exits from ‘Porto’ during the first performance Waquar put his hand out to me, something which to my knowledge he had never done, or at least I had never notice him do before. It surprised me that even after six months of rehearsals and polishing the finishing product the ensemble was still driven by their impulses.
For me, I feel that my character didn’t really flourish until the dress rehearsal. Until that point I was just a lonely character, seeking acceptance by copying those around me, especially Edward and Roxanne. I would copy the way they stood and how they behaved to try and gain their acceptance. However, during the dress rehearsal Roxanne had left the ’podium’ leaving just Edward and I. I then received an impulse to calm Edward as he seemed upset that Roxanne had left him behind, but every time my character would go to touch him something would stop her, or her would turn away. This impulse touch Edward grew and grew until during the ‘ensemble reprise’ in the second dress rehearsal run through I touched Edward. The reaction from him was to shove my character away which ended up in my character falling to the floor in desperation. For me the RSVP model applied the whole way through the final stages of the piece as the day before the first show I was scoring and validating new material.
With this type of work I feel that it is hard to stick to a set string of movements or polished work because as I found, you are always developing new things and new movements and with no script to follow you are free to move with those impulses.
In my entrance I was really uncertain of what I wanted to do, this lead to many changes in how I approached my entrance. It wasn’t until before the first show when we got into character at our most extreme emotional point in the piece that my entrance became concrete. At my most emotional point my character Is upset and frustrated with trying to get Edward to notice her. Starting the show at this heightened emotional state for me meant that I had to keep that level of intensity and then really add some power behind it to make it even more intense for my character pivotal moment.
Bibliography.
Oddey, A Devising Theatre: A Practical And Theoretical Handbook London: Routledge 1996
Dennis, A The Articulate Body: The Physical
3.) When starting to run the three shows it became apparent that characters where still finding out new things about themselves and new connections with other members of the ensemble, and even throughout the final performances these new connections were being made. The main example for me was during the exits from ‘Porto’ during the first performance Waquar put his hand out to me, something which to my knowledge he had never done, or at least I had never notice him do before. It surprised me that even after six months of rehearsals and polishing the finishing product the ensemble was still driven by their impulses.
For me, I feel that my character didn’t really flourish until the dress rehearsal. Until that point I was just a lonely character, seeking acceptance by copying those around me, especially Edward and Roxanne. I would copy the way they stood and how they behaved to try and gain their acceptance. However, during the dress rehearsal Roxanne had left the ’podium’ leaving just Edward and I. I then received an impulse to calm Edward as he seemed upset that Roxanne had left him behind, but every time my character would go to touch him something would stop her, or her would turn away. This impulse touch Edward grew and grew until during the ‘ensemble reprise’ in the second dress rehearsal run through I touched Edward. The reaction from him was to shove my character away which ended up in my character falling to the floor in desperation. For me the RSVP model applied the whole way through the final stages of the piece as the day before the first show I was scoring and validating new material.
With this type of work I feel that it is hard to stick to a set string of movements or polished work because as I found, you are always developing new things and new movements and with no script to follow you are free to move with those impulses.
In my entrance I was really uncertain of what I wanted to do, this lead to many changes in how I approached my entrance. It wasn’t until before the first show when we got into character at our most extreme emotional point in the piece that my entrance became concrete. At my most emotional point my character Is upset and frustrated with trying to get Edward to notice her. Starting the show at this heightened emotional state for me meant that I had to keep that level of intensity and then really add some power behind it to make it even more intense for my character pivotal moment.
Bibliography.
Oddey, A Devising Theatre: A Practical And Theoretical Handbook London: Routledge 1996
Dennis, A The Articulate Body: The Physical
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Roxanne Mcdermott, final blog.
[1]
From the Beginning of creating Porto we were never made aware of a particular theme or issue that we had to address in the piece, unlike in what is seen as traditional theatre were often the theme is what starts the development.
However since moving from the V stage of devising Porto to the P stage we have seen 3 dominant themes developing; love, jealousy and friendship. Although at times these themes may not have always been apparent, it always seemed to be these 3 issues that were being covered in each sub group.
When firmly in the V stage, it seemed that somehow on a sub-conscious level we had created issues that pushed our characters, without realising it, we had created a purpose for ourselves within Porto and themes that could now be shared within the entire group.
As a ensemble these issues become more and more prominent when we reached the P stage, from an audiences point of view the first theme would of been desperation, in the opening you see us a group becoming restless with this limbo we have found ourselves in, although at times our reactions to things seemed un- naturalistic, it was these scenes that the audience could relate to for example, the scene were Blake's character tries to keep himself away from his constant need to be in contact with his suitcase, you see us as an ensemble repeating his movements, this although exaggerated is the way people react when they don't know what to do. It was moments like this were the themes were most noticeable. Another clear ensemble moment was during what is known to us as the reprise, here you see the group at a point where we don't know what else to do but follow each other, our characters were now at a point were we had tackled our personal issues and needed to escape.
[2]
After successfully completing the R and S stages of Halprin's devising model, the group were gradually becoming confident with the piece, although at times becoming irritable with the process we could now see a strong piece with a clear structure. Throughout all of the in class rehearsals you could see the development of both individual work and ensemble work, everything had gradually become stronger; the timings, the movements,and the energy would increase immensely with every rehearsal. However it was not until we moved into the theatre were you could see the real raw emotion of each character, once in the theatre you really did feel that you were now in Porto this place where you knew not how you got there or why, or how you could escape, this sense of panic and frustration helped to build such intense feelings that grew and grew with every run through.
Although saying this at first it did seem that because we had made this transition into the theatre we were now thinking of it more as a piece of theatre instead of state of being which was our first approach. We gradually become more aware of the lighting and the sound and everything outside of the world we had taken so long to create, which at times disturbed our concentration which of course affected the overall affect.
After this however the group again regained its perspective over the piece and decided to carry on with the same level of compassion towards each other and the end result.
Even though we encountered this problem it did became yet another thing to focus our energy on, towards the end of rehearsing in the studio, the groups energy was beginning to become too relaxed, this change of scenery was the perfect thing to regenerate all of the feelings we had already discovered about the piece and now we could build on it.
With this transition the groups ensemble work was now showing a intensity that had not yet been seen in the studio, emotions had become clearer, even in the last performance you could feel different responses to what was happening It became the strangest feeling to know exactly what was happening yet not know anything.
[3]
To all involved in Porto the growth between each performance became increasingly apparent with every show the intensity and desperation of the characters multiplied.
To begin each character was given the chance to bring their baggage into the performance area while the audience were entering. So whilst it wasn't exactly vital for them to see your initial entrance, it helped to round off the character.
On a personal level character development was always going to be the biggest struggle, the connection between myself and my character seemed un- reachable at first but then throughout the devising period I began to create this 'alter ego' a dark menacing character which I had never yet played.
To begin with my character was closely related to Edwards, creating a comfort zone for both me and my character, it was when i began to move away from him that i felt the development.
While at times there was focus on certain people we were able to develop our characters throughout the whole piece.
Our characters became the the only ones that actually came out of the action completely to develop our characters. Everyone froze during our section whereas every other section things were still going on around the action. Therefore it could be thought that our two characters were therefore the only two that the audience openly got to see the thoughts of.
I have always found it hard to relate to a character,I feel that because this particular character was the furthest away from naturally I became so intrigued by her that I had to constantly develop her mainly so that i could understand her thinking.
``I loved to dance because I was scared to speak. When I was moving, I could feel.''
(Pina Bausch, Lawson (2002)
This quote to me is the exact way i felt throughout the entire RSVP model, through the use of movement and expression I found a way to expose my journey in a way I could have never done through words.
Bibliography
Lawson, V
2002
Pina, Queen of the Deep
In : http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_02/feb02/interview_bausch.htm
From the Beginning of creating Porto we were never made aware of a particular theme or issue that we had to address in the piece, unlike in what is seen as traditional theatre were often the theme is what starts the development.
However since moving from the V stage of devising Porto to the P stage we have seen 3 dominant themes developing; love, jealousy and friendship. Although at times these themes may not have always been apparent, it always seemed to be these 3 issues that were being covered in each sub group.
When firmly in the V stage, it seemed that somehow on a sub-conscious level we had created issues that pushed our characters, without realising it, we had created a purpose for ourselves within Porto and themes that could now be shared within the entire group.
As a ensemble these issues become more and more prominent when we reached the P stage, from an audiences point of view the first theme would of been desperation, in the opening you see us a group becoming restless with this limbo we have found ourselves in, although at times our reactions to things seemed un- naturalistic, it was these scenes that the audience could relate to for example, the scene were Blake's character tries to keep himself away from his constant need to be in contact with his suitcase, you see us as an ensemble repeating his movements, this although exaggerated is the way people react when they don't know what to do. It was moments like this were the themes were most noticeable. Another clear ensemble moment was during what is known to us as the reprise, here you see the group at a point where we don't know what else to do but follow each other, our characters were now at a point were we had tackled our personal issues and needed to escape.
[2]
After successfully completing the R and S stages of Halprin's devising model, the group were gradually becoming confident with the piece, although at times becoming irritable with the process we could now see a strong piece with a clear structure. Throughout all of the in class rehearsals you could see the development of both individual work and ensemble work, everything had gradually become stronger; the timings, the movements,and the energy would increase immensely with every rehearsal. However it was not until we moved into the theatre were you could see the real raw emotion of each character, once in the theatre you really did feel that you were now in Porto this place where you knew not how you got there or why, or how you could escape, this sense of panic and frustration helped to build such intense feelings that grew and grew with every run through.
Although saying this at first it did seem that because we had made this transition into the theatre we were now thinking of it more as a piece of theatre instead of state of being which was our first approach. We gradually become more aware of the lighting and the sound and everything outside of the world we had taken so long to create, which at times disturbed our concentration which of course affected the overall affect.
After this however the group again regained its perspective over the piece and decided to carry on with the same level of compassion towards each other and the end result.
Even though we encountered this problem it did became yet another thing to focus our energy on, towards the end of rehearsing in the studio, the groups energy was beginning to become too relaxed, this change of scenery was the perfect thing to regenerate all of the feelings we had already discovered about the piece and now we could build on it.
With this transition the groups ensemble work was now showing a intensity that had not yet been seen in the studio, emotions had become clearer, even in the last performance you could feel different responses to what was happening It became the strangest feeling to know exactly what was happening yet not know anything.
[3]
To all involved in Porto the growth between each performance became increasingly apparent with every show the intensity and desperation of the characters multiplied.
To begin each character was given the chance to bring their baggage into the performance area while the audience were entering. So whilst it wasn't exactly vital for them to see your initial entrance, it helped to round off the character.
On a personal level character development was always going to be the biggest struggle, the connection between myself and my character seemed un- reachable at first but then throughout the devising period I began to create this 'alter ego' a dark menacing character which I had never yet played.
To begin with my character was closely related to Edwards, creating a comfort zone for both me and my character, it was when i began to move away from him that i felt the development.
While at times there was focus on certain people we were able to develop our characters throughout the whole piece.
Our characters became the the only ones that actually came out of the action completely to develop our characters. Everyone froze during our section whereas every other section things were still going on around the action. Therefore it could be thought that our two characters were therefore the only two that the audience openly got to see the thoughts of.
I have always found it hard to relate to a character,I feel that because this particular character was the furthest away from naturally I became so intrigued by her that I had to constantly develop her mainly so that i could understand her thinking.
``I loved to dance because I was scared to speak. When I was moving, I could feel.''
(Pina Bausch, Lawson (2002)
This quote to me is the exact way i felt throughout the entire RSVP model, through the use of movement and expression I found a way to expose my journey in a way I could have never done through words.
Bibliography
Lawson, V
2002
Pina, Queen of the Deep
In : http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazin
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Final Blog Task
Deadline: Friday, 15th May 2009, 5 pmWord Count: 1200 words ( 300 + 400 + 500 words)
There are 3 questions you need to respond to
The questions this time are mostly reflective, however should still be analytical and not descriptive academic writing
Wider independent research, particularly from physical theatre practitioners via company websites should be used to support your opinions
Present your writing in academic language with Harvard Referencing and a bibliography
presented alphabetically at the end of your post
PLEASE TYPE YOUR FULL NAME IN THE POST TITLE
Questions:1. As the creative process turned from the 'V' stage to the 'P' stage of devising, and Porto started to come together as one cohesive performance, what were the common themes and issues that were beginning to emerge through the basic fabric of the piece? Despite the individual journeys, what shared experiences tied the community together apart from their state of liminality? Discuss with clear and succinct examples. (300 words)
2. Critically evaluate the transition of Porto as the ensemble moved from the studio into the theatre space. What were the strengths and weaknesses of this phase and process? (400 words)
3. Critically evaluate the growth of the performance over the three shows, with particular emphasis on your own role within the piece. Did the RSVP model continue to apply even at this final stage of the performance piece? Discuss with concrete examples. (500 words)
There are 3 questions you need to respond to
The questions this time are mostly reflective, however should still be analytical and not descriptive academic writing
Wider independent research, particularly from physical theatre practitioners via company websites should be used to support your opinions
Present your writing in academic language with Harvard Referencing and a bibliography
presented alphabetically at the end of your post
PLEASE TYPE YOUR FULL NAME IN THE POST TITLE
Questions:1. As the creative process turned from the 'V' stage to the 'P' stage of devising, and Porto started to come together as one cohesive performance, what were the common themes and issues that were beginning to emerge through the basic fabric of the piece? Despite the individual journeys, what shared experiences tied the community together apart from their state of liminality? Discuss with clear and succinct examples. (300 words)
2. Critically evaluate the transition of Porto as the ensemble moved from the studio into the theatre space. What were the strengths and weaknesses of this phase and process? (400 words)
3. Critically evaluate the growth of the performance over the three shows, with particular emphasis on your own role within the piece. Did the RSVP model continue to apply even at this final stage of the performance piece? Discuss with concrete examples. (500 words)
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