Jessica Green 0820731 Blog Assessment 2

“RSVP… a cyclical structure that is concerned with process rather than with product.”(Dundjerovic, AS. 2008, p36)
This quote describes the devising structure entitled ‘RSVP’, which has been used in the creation of Four Ways to Speak Out. The abbreviation ‘RSVP’ stands for Research, Score, Validate, and Performance. The quote implies that the structure, ‘RSVP’, empowers the creative journey rather than the final product.
At the beginning of the creative process of Four Ways to Speak Out, we were introduced to the concept in a physical way. We were shown the scenographic spaces (street, wasteland, pub and bedroom) and asked to respond to them through embodied gestures. This strategy enabled the ensemble to really get a feel for the space, physically, and stopped us from reverting to conventional traits, whereby we would have discussed the idea and intellectualised it. Voiceovers, of real life, domestic abuse testimonials, were played and presented us with a visceral sense of the conceptual theme. The song On the Street Where You Live by Mr Hudson & the Library introduced us to the idea of a missing woman, who lived on this street. The lyrics, “Let their time row by, I don't care now I Know I'm here on the street where she lives” (2007), made the ensemble think about the relationships they could have with the woman and how they feel to live and be in this community with and without her. This lead directly into a set, writing task, where we were asked to think about the last time we saw the missing woman. This enabled us to individually create a relationship with the woman, which was put into the context of a community by writing a letter to outsiders who had expressed interest in the woman’s disappearance. Using the letters as inspiration, we improvised a beginning to the piece, which started off naturalistically and allowed character relationships to develop. What was interesting about this improvisation was that the two male characters were excluded from the group and this is something that is an ongoing idiosyncrasy of the community. The letters also gave us the impetus to split into groups determined by where we last saw the woman. After physically creating our sections, we were asked to create some text in our groups to highlight what our movements were depicting. This helped the groups to determine exactly what their movements were communicating and were played to the ensemble so that we could all see the development of the narrative.

“…the body is a product of social and historical modes; it is able to both read and respond to the environment around it.”(Govan, E & Nicholson, H & Normington, K. 2006, p166)
This quote details the efficiency of the body and is particularly relevant to the creative process of Four Ways to Speak Out, given how we were introduced to the concept of the performance. We were thrown into the environment and our characters were created as a direct response/ reaction to it. My initial character was quite soap operatic and my thoughts on the woman were that she was being physically abused. Whilst this was a good starting point for developing my character, I realised that it was quite unimaginative. After that point I decided to create my character from the movements that my body was making during the physical sessions. During one of the first ensemble improvisations, I kept turning my back on Andy and through this small movement, I became emotionally attached to the process and realised that my character felt guilty about this woman’s disappearance. Guilt was quite a strong emotion and one that I felt I could use to develop my character further. However, I didn’t yet know why my character felt guilty, so needed more meaningful movement to contextualise my emotions. When we split into groups, inspired by our letters, we created movement with the emotions our character was feeling the last time we saw the woman. My character was worried about the woman and used this as my main stimulus to create my physicality in that flashback section. It was not until recently that I realised my character feels guilty because she should have done more to help her friend (the woman) in the flashback.


Throughout Four Ways to Speak Out there are peaks and troughs of emotional intensity. My character starts with relaxed body language which quickly changes when the missing woman’s suitcase is discovered, and with the realisation that something is amiss. During this section, the body becomes alert to the changes around it. Unconsciously my knees unlock and my sense of vision widens, the body is preparing itself for anything to happen.
In the second ensemble section, my character’s overriding emotion is one of guilt, this is shown physically through my character’s desire to run and fall. At this point the character doesn’t care whether she’s caught or not because the fall is her way of dealing with her guilt.
In the smaller group section my character is relaxed and close to the floor, until the representation of the woman is put into a difficult position. The body is then upright and alert to the battle between the two different groups, which my character’s group loses. Subsequently, the body’s gravitational pull is towards the floor, showing disheartenment and ultimately defeat.
Antonin Artaud was concerned with:
“…the effect of gesture and facial expression on an audience’s unconscious: how these signs could be seen to express and communicate far more than a mere substitute for words.” (Mackey, S & Cooper, S. 2000, p263)
In the final ensemble section the body uses repeated valentine or love gestures, in a slow and measured way, with no facial expression. The lack of facial emotion is a deliberate tool to give the section a surreal and creepy atmosphere. Artaud notes how gestures can be used to communicate a deeper meaning than words, as through this style of theatre the audience will “… understand… on a level of grasping meaning almost without being able to articulate it.” (Murray, S & Keefe, J. 2007, p5)


Bibliography
Dundjerovic, AS (2008) Robert Lepage London: Routledge
Govan, E & Nicholson, H & Normington, K (2006) Making a performance: Devising histories and contemporary practices London: Routledge
Mackey, S & Cooper, S (2000) Drama and Theatre Studies Cheltenham: Thornes
Mr Hudson & the Library (2007) On the Street Where You Live (Online) (Accessed on 23 March 2010) Available at: http://www.lyricsmania.com/on_the_street_where_you_live_lyrics_mr_hudson_and_the_library.html
Murray, S & Keefe, J (2007) Physical Theatres A Critical Introduction London: Routledge