“‘Physical theatre’ then traces its origins in our contemporary sense to those ideologies and manifestos which sought to reverse a dualism and hierarchy of word over body.” (Murray, S & Keefe, J. 2007, p7)
This quote implies that in contemporary ‘physical theatre’ practices, the body is empowered over the spoken word. Making the text subservient to the body enables the body to become the privileged medium of communication. Throughout the module Process and Performance we have been encouraged ‘to do’ rather than ‘to think’. This has aided us in discovering that our bodies are capable of storing memories. Putting trust in our body memory has also made the experience somewhat liberating, as we are not preoccupied with thinking about lines like in conventional Western theatre. In a sense the body becomes the voice and it is able to think and decide for itself. To explore this we have used Contact Improvisation, which uses points of contact between bodies through which weight and pressure are shared and transferred. This generated an intelligent and responsive body, which was opened up to relationships within time, space and with other bodies. Alison Oddey notes, “It is the relationship between performers and fictional space that is significant.” (Oddey, A. 1994, p19) This is true for our ‘physical theatre’ piece, Four Ways to Speak Out, as after learning techniques in the first semester, we returned to the idea of a street, which was scenographically set up in one of the studios. Our characters were created through our connections to the street community and our relationships to a missing member of this community. In this style of work, characters are created as extensions of selves and not imposed from outside control, i.e. a script. Movement is improvised and intentions are created through the developing relationships as formed from the movements. The work is a mixture of pedestrian gestures and choreographed stylised technique. Using pedestrian gestures, gestures that we all use in everyday society, we are making the work accessible and socially relevant.
“The term itself – ‘physical theatre’ – denotes a hybrid character and is testimony to its double legacy in both avant-garde theatre and dance.” (Sanchez-Colberg in Keefe, J & Murray, S. 2007, p 21)
In this quote, Ana Sanchez-Colberg implies that the title ‘physical theatre’ indicates an amalgamation of different genres. She says that the evidence of this can be seen in ‘avant-garde theatre and dance.’ “There may be a dominant or hegemonic set of theatre conventions in any one era, perhaps of style or language.” (Murray, S & Keefe, J. 2007, p3) This can be seen in the nineteenth century where the dominant cultural art and theatre conventions were reflecting reality, presenting it in a naturalistic manner. Then during the early twentieth century, both theatre and dance were in crisis. Theatre wanted to move away from naturalism and dance wanted to react against the strict tradition of ballet. Both performance genres wanted to reform, to find a new identity and to eradicate confined definitions. To do this theatre practitioners looked to the non-western countries, where they found theatre practices that embraced the body and movement. At the same time dance was looking at movement to be more than just beautiful.
“… the development of physically based practices can be seen to stem from the collision of a number of performative practices.” (Govan, E & Nicholson, H & Normington, K. 2006, p172) These ‘performative practices’ include mime, acrobatics, Commedia dell’arte, mask work, contemporary dance and many more. Due to the many different practitioners that apply the title ‘physical theatre’ to their work, ‘physical theatre’ has become an all encompassing term which has no specific requirements or rules. Ana Sanchez-Colberg continues, “It is precisely this double current of influences which needs to be taken into consideration in any attempt to delineate specific parameters of the new genre.” (Sanchez-Colberg in Keefe, J & Murray, S. 2007, p 21) This suggests that the genre is still being defined and no rules have been set because the genres that ‘physical theatre’ stems from would need to be explored. Therefore, ‘physical theatre’ is a ‘hybrid’ performance genre because it is combination of dance and theatre.
The Jasmin Vardimon Company was founded in 1997 by the Israeli choreographer Jasmin Vardimon. Vardimon has been an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells since 2006. The Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells, Alistair Spalding, notes: “Jasmin Vardimon is working within a contemporary dance practice that can be traced back to Pina Bausch… A European approach to dance making - the performers on stage are developed flesh and blood characters rather than neutral bodies that are used in a sculptural abstract way. Jasmin’s characters are real people who, although usually somehow on the edges of society, represent aspects of what it is to be a human being right now.” (Spalding, A) This shows that the company combines choreographic technique with ‘quirky’ characterisation. Much like the frustrated practitioners of the early twentieth century, the company looks to other cultures to approach theatre making. Spalding goes on to say, “… when it is not possible to go any further with any other kind of language Jasmin’s dance takes over to express the inexpressible, to utter the unutterable, to communicate in a direct way with the movement of the human body.” (Spalding, A) This suggests that the company wants to break down the barriers that language creates; everyone has a body and can interpret movements which express emotions. This makes the Company’s pieces truly visceral theatre experiences. Jasmin Vardimon Company is successful at creating visceral pieces due to their thematic rooting in human experience. This makes their work accessible to a wide range of audiences. With dark humour they identify human behaviour traits, examine the British justice system and explore the effect of sickness and health. In their piece Yesterday, which is a collection of different sections from previous productions put together to celebrate their tenth anniversary, the dark humour is expressed in a scene where a doctor is delivering a talk on cancer. In the talk he describes how one must attack the illness and continues to attack the nurse as if she were the disease. The company often use innovative technologies in their productions. An example of this can be found in their piece Yesterday, where one of the characters brings a video camera on to the stage and sits close to it, whilst drawing lines on her body. This image is projected onto the back wall of the stage, so the audience has two different perspectives of the woman; real and live feed. This section is done in silence; the body is the principal source of communication.
Bibliography
Govan, E & Nicholson, H & Normington, K (2006) Making a performance: Devising histories and contemporary practices London: Routledge
Keefe, J & Murray, S (2007) Physical Theatres A Critical Reader London: Routledge
Murray, S & Keefe, J (2007) Physical Theatres A Critical Introduction London: Routledge
Oddey, A (1994) Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook UK: Routledge
Spalding, A (Online) (Accessed on 24 February 2010) Available at: http://www.jasminvardimon.com/testimonials.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment