Mette hammerlund - 0815251 - Task 3

When working with the theme of domestic abuse, we knew we needed to treat this subject with care. It was not just to tell an interesting story as many of us have previously tried in other productions, but to expose traumatic experiences which real people go through every day. Due to this we had to take into consideration how to tell this story truthfully and respectfully.

Rémy Charest: “We let the production guide us there. We try not to force our ideas, our concepts, onto it; the show has its own logic, poetry, rhythms, that we have to discover. ” (Dunjerovic, 2009, p. 29)

The process we have gone though has almost been backwards to how many other companies work. In traditional theatre the initial stimulus is the story as it will be word for word performed on stage. In the case of physical theatre, it is often derived from an emotional stimulus, which slowly evolves into a narrative. This means that no one knows the ending of the story before it actually happens. Even Tanzteater, Jasmin Vardimon Company and Vincent Dance Theatre go through the same process of working in the dark until the stage lights illuminates their stories.

Although we never quite knew where we were going, it somehow seemed to bring us closer together. We were on the same journey. We had the same fears and worries and inhibitions to overcome. Our openness and ability to express these thoughts and feelings helped us help each other to get through the process of dealing with these issues. When a few individuals dare to expose themselves, more will follow and this is how we have ended up with a group that has such trust in each other. We found that through eclectic exercises it became easier to give in to the action and leave the critical part of the mind behind. This was especially visible in our play sessions and contact improvisations, where we discovered that when in the right mindset a person is free to explore the body's potential without being restricted my fears of exposure and inhibitions of touch.

Many of us have experiences to achieve this state of mind once in the process of creating the performance. By working as a character or submerging oneself into a specific emotion, the restrictions of the self can be eliminated for a moment, and the body is free to perform towards its true potential.

“Contact Improvisation is not just another dance technique or discipline. It is a forum for discovering who we are beneath our skins. It is a place where our self concept is questioned. Who am I? What is the shape of my fear? To what degree am I present?” (Martini, 1996)

The experience of losing oneself in one's character became even more accessible as we moved the work out of the classroom and into the set. Here the surroundings, the lights, the music - everything amplified the connection between performer and character. A world was created for the characters to fully come to life.

Although the set helped the performers to connect with their characters, it also had the potential of becoming a distraction. We had to put some effort into locating ourselves in the space, making sure not to bump in to furniture, nor to let the props distract from one's purpose in the narrative.

By creating a simple rule such as not allowing shoes on stage, the space became in some sense holy to me and a ritual for entering the space was established. This added to the magic of the space, giving it a special energy or atmosphere that added to my concentration and empathy for my character.

Although I felt more connected to my character within the performance space, she seemed to only come to life during the action of the performance itself. I began finding it very hard to connect with my character outside the storyline. This meant I really had to struggle during the character warm-up, but I felt that as soon as the story was playing the character came to life within seconds of concentration behind the curtains. This might be partially caused by the fact that I had two separate characters which confused me during the warm-ups. I found it difficult to choose which one to focus on during the warm-up and especially to choose which part of the story was most emotional. Looking back it appears clearer for me that my one character had her peak when she finds out that the woman was raped, and when I was playing the woman it is when she is giving back the heart that is the climax of her story. However during the warm-up I found it very difficult to see the bigger picture. For me it was something that came by itself through the course of the narrative. And at times it would differ slightly, as to which moment I loaded with more intensity.

In addition, by working in a draughty environment wearing only a skimpy costume I felt the need for a high-pace warm-up, also in order to work some of my nervous energy away. I tried fitting this in before the group warm-up and I found it to be highly beneficial. When my body was warm and slightly tired I was able to concentrate on the more mental focussed warm-up.

“Your movement has to be saying something all the time.” (Steel, 2006) In order to have constant intention behind my every movement and every gesture, I discovered that I needed to listen to both the needs of my body and my mind. Through the work I have learned much about my own needs and my own processes prior to a performance, as well as the importance of engaging and connecting with the ensemble.

Even before we had an audience I could feel a tension building in the ensemble. Everyone knew that we were getting closer to the performance. Once the audience came I was expecting the whole piece to lift immensely. In my privious experiences the audience functioned as a fix of pure energy for the performers. I am sure our performance did lift in some areas, however it felt as though we were all holding back a little, feeling a bit unsure of what we were doing. I believe it was a combination of only having had one day before to rehearse in the theatre and that we had just had a tiring run-through. Also for our second performance we seemed to have reached a point of slight exhaustion and were lacking in energy and performance intensity. However Thursday's performance had a great energy. We were rested and ready when we came in. There was a general feeling that we were clear on our tasks at hand and there was excitement in the air. Everyone took great care in applying the notes that were given, and it raised the entire performance to a new level. I spoke to someone who had seen two of the performances. He said: “It was like seeing two different performances.”

“In devising theatre, the resource is a stimulus for the performance – an object, place, piece of music or memory. The score is the material that arises from research, discussion and improvisations – settings, characters, images and events.” (Allain & Harvie, 2006, p. 51)

The idea started from the Avon Refuge campaign Four Ways to Speak Out. The initial brief given to the group was that we were about to create a piece of physical theatre revolving a woman's disappearance from a community, and that it was somehow linked with domestic abuse. This was our Resource in the early stages. We then started gathering our Score. This included the letters written by all the members of the group, the movement devised through ensemble work and work in smaller groups or pairs, as well as the props we brought in.

“Valuaction is the process of evaluating, selecting and organizing the collected material, and performance is the testing out in practice of the resulting performance draft.” (Allain & Harvie, 2006, p. 51)

Through the process of Valuaction, we made the decisions of what would actually be part of the product on stage. Much of the gathered material would not make it to the performance, but would still be part of the score, and some even became part of the Resource. The letters for instance, became a foundation in our character work, yet was not directly part of the performance.

“As the acronym 'RSVP' suggests, the method aims to facilitate continuous feedback amongst participating makers and audiences. The designation 'Cycles' indicates that the creative process in ongoing, the performance is always open to revision.” (Allain & Harvie, 2006, p. 51)

In the duration of our process we have used Resource, Score, Valuaction and Performance as headlines for the different stages we were going through. However, each element has constantly been part of our way of working. By using the Resource as a stimulus we would collect a Score, which we would then Perform in order to Validate it. The process is a constant cycle of gathering, refining or discarding.

By looking at the process from our dress rehearsal through to our final performance it is clear that the development of a performance is never truly finished. There will always be elements that can be polished and edited in order to improve it. It is a long and slow process of perfecting a piece of theatre, and even when it appears complete, it will still have to change slightly from performance to performance in order to keep the material fresh and lively. This is one of the joys of physical theatre, where parts are left to chance and the emotional state of the performer in that exact moment.



Bibliography

Allain, Paul & Harvie, Jen (2006) The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance Abingdon, UK: Routledge

Dunjerovic, Aleksandar (2009) Robert Lepage Abingdon, UK: Routledge

Martini, Ken (1996) Contacting the Soul [online] Naturedance >http://nurturedance.org/contactimprov.php<

Steel, Liam (2006) Creating Physical Theatre – Stan Won't Dance [DVD] Australia: Contemporary Arts Media

Jessica Green Blog Task 3 0820731

“When discussing the building process of a performance Barba… says that although there can be no general message contained within a performance, as each spectator hears something different, there are key ideas and realities that are embodied by a culture in a particular time and space, and these ideas and realities might constitute a shared understanding on a general level.” (Turner, J. 2004, p31)
This quote is true in relation to the ‘validation’ and ‘performance’ process of Four Ways To Speak Out. There was ‘no general message’ due to the complex narrative, enabling the audience to decipher the ‘ideas and realities’ and each to have a unique reading of the piece. The ‘ideas and realities’ or common themes and issues were explored and embedded in the piece creating the complex narrative. Common themes explored in the work included; curiosity, confusion, loss, domestic violence, community, guilt, blame and commercial love.

The sense of community was instrumental during the creation of the piece, as it was our initial relationship to ‘the street’, the area that we all lived and existed in, that allowed us to explore the individual dynamics within our created community. However, the piece didn’t start with a tight-knit community, it started with a realistic community, where each individual character stuck to their secular group of friends and only through the course of the piece did the community unite through the story of this missing woman.

The discovery of the woman’s suitcase was the catalyst for the community’s first shared experience. A series of movements were performed and each character was drawn into the action. Not everybody joined at once; it took some time for the realisation of what was taking place and the implications of this, to filter through the whole community. The feelings experienced here were different for each character; personally I felt confused by the situation but had an almost overwhelming sense of concern for the woman. Consequently during the set movements, I was looking for the woman and looking to Andy, who started the movements, to find out what was happening. Turner notes that, “Rituals can also confirm a sense of collective identity for a particular group and involve the participants in some sort of transformation.” (Turner, J. 2004, p8) The drawing in of all but one of the characters to this repeated set of movements, helped to establish us as a community. We were a community that had come together after the strange occurrence of a woman’s suitcase being found. Due to one character’s resistance to join our ‘ritual’ (Dan), the focus of the community changed from Andy, who started the ‘ritual’ to the person refusing to be involved with it. At this moment I felt that because Dan was avoiding the community, he must know something about the woman, subconsciously the community started to blame him.

Through a dialogue between the two male characters, Dan and Andy, the suitcase opened to reveal the woman’s diary. The communal reading of this diary and the unloading of the woman’s story, forced the community to examine its past actions that had led to her disappearance. My character felt an overpowering sense of guilt, I felt that I could have and should have helped the woman. This guilt manifested itself in the second ensemble, whereby my body hit a wall of shame and just wanted to throw itself to the floor. The group then shared an intense experience of fear as Andy tried to separate us and get one of us alone. He succeeded in this by convincing Dawn to take his hand, and make contact with him. At this moment the group were shocked but let her go with him as they felt that they could not stop it, it would be a never-ending circle of entrapment. This led the group to feel despondent to their situation and this showed during the subsequent movement section, where the characters kept throwing themselves to the floor.

For Four Ways To Speak Out, the transition from studio to theatre space was fluid, but not without certain difficulties. The main problem that we had to quickly overcome was the change in the shape of the space; the theatre space was deeper and narrower than the studio. This meant that in the ensemble sections we had to be aware that instead of spreading out length-ways as we had in the studio, we had to spread out towards the back of the stage. This brought into question the placement of people, as some people were concerned that if they stood at the very back of the stage, they would not be seen. This obviously was not the case and was inevitable as many of us have experienced the Western traditions of ‘rich theatre’, which is big on spectacle and which attempts to keep up with cinema and television. (Grotowski, J. 1975, p19) “Work in such an ensemble can never be stable. It is nothing but a huge challenge and, furthermore, it awakens such strong reactions of aversion that these often threaten the theatre’s very existence.” (Grotowski, J. 1975, p45) This was true to some extent, since people wanting to be constantly lit did create unnecessary challenges; however these were quickly ironed out during the technical rehearsals, with a word from the directors. Therefore ‘reactions of aversion’ were not given time to manifest.

Kevin Finnan, the Artistic Director of Motionhouse Dance Theatre, describes “the strong link between space and performance” (Finnan, K) and creates his work using the space and set as a stimulus. For Four Ways To Speak Out we used an imagined space, the street, as our stimulus. This meant that we encountered another setback in the movement from studio to theatre space; this being the placement of set and props. In the studio we had imagined where each of the set items, such as the bed and the bar, would be placed but you can never truly appreciate how much space the bed is going to take up without seeing it in the space. Therefore, once in the space we had to achieve a heightened awareness of this space as well as with the community. “The requisite state of mind is a passive readiness to realize an active role.” (Grotowski, J. 1975, p17) The ‘active role’ described here is a responsibility to the safety of the performers, this was realised in our piece during the second ensemble when people nearest the bar moved the stools so that nobody fell onto them. This was done effectively and with great common sense.

Once in the space we had a technical rehearsal where we mechanically marked out where we would stand and move. This mechanical movement carried on into our further rehearsals and it felt as if the group was just going through the motions, without attaching emotion or intention to the movement.

On the principle of the ‘decided body’ Barba,
“… suggests that it is achieved when an actor is immersed in the theatrical reality that is their tradition to the point where the artificiality is experienced as normal behaviour within that space; the work no longer needs to be mentally considered or translated by the mind for the body – usefully, mind and body are working as one.” (Turner, J. 2004, p56)
After absorbing the mechanical and clinical learning of where we needed to be positioned, we re-entered the space afresh the next day and found that our artificial movement from the previous day had been replaced as ‘normal behaviour’. There was no longer a “hierarchy of word over body” (Murray, S & Keefe, J. 2007, p7) our minds and bodies were ‘working as one’.

Grotowski notes that,
“during a rehearsal an actor may reach a climax that he will work on. He keeps the same gestures and the same positions but never again reaches the same intimate climax. The peak of a climax can never be rehearsed… The climax itself can never be reproduced.” (Grotowski, J. 1975, p172)
The cast of Four Ways To Speak Out experienced this point of ‘climax’ in the final rehearsal before the performance; subsequently the two performances on that day had us keeping ‘the same gestures and the same positions’ without achieving the same intense performance as in the rehearsal. During the two performances, I found myself thinking ‘you were here on the bed last time when you cried, so you need to be there again to feel that same emotion’. This completely impeded the growth of my character, as I stopped living in the imagined space, I became more like an outside party analysing my past actions.

This is where Robert Lepage’s ‘RSVP’ model still came into use, as after performing for an audience we were able to gage what worked and what did not. An example of this was when the characters in the bar scene went into a slow motion series of gestures. When performed for the rest of the group, this section was found quite funny however when the first audience saw it they didn’t give a humorous reaction. It was only through analysing the audience’s reaction that we realised that, they were seeing a grotesque nightmare and this is something that was brought up and embedded into the actors. It is important to remember that the ‘RSVP’ model empowers the creative journey rather than the final performance. For that reason, one must note that the creative journey isn’t over until the end of the final performance, so the company needed to continue to ‘Score’ and ‘Validate’ between each performance.

After two slightly disappointing performances, the importance of a focused warm-up, before the final performance, was great. During this warm-up, we did similar exercises to the ones we had done prior to the previous performances, however before we began I made a mental decision to forget about the usual physical positions my character adopted and to find new ones within the space. This really helped me to find new dimensions of my character that I had not yet explored and sparked a renewed excitement in the work. This carried across into the final performance where my character was fully engaged throughout the whole performance and I was not preoccupied with remembering where I needed to be to feel a certain emotion.

Murray observes that,
“in live art and certain types of physical theatre, the body is regularly used to investigate the unspoken, the forgotten and the silenced, thus bringing marginalised or hitherto excluded experience to the foreground of the performer’s arena.”
Four Ways To Speak Out certainly falls into this description, as we investigated the difficult and often unspoken subject of domestic violence. Through audience feedback, I think we handled the subject delicately and were able to give an example of a strong woman who leaves her tormentor.

Bibliography

Finnan, K Interview With Kevin Finnan (Online) (Accessed 25 April 2010) Available at:
http://www.motionhouse.co.uk/documents/SyndicatedinterviewwithKevinFinnan_002.pdf

Grotowski, J (1975) Towards A Poor Theatre London: Methuen

Murray, S (2003) Jaques Lecoq London: Routledge

Murray, S & Keefe, J (2007) Physical Theatres: A critical Introduction London: Routledge

Turner, J (2004) Eugenio Barba London: Routledge

Emma Gill - 0808614 - Blog Task 3

1. Moving from the validation process to the performance brought out themes and issues that had not arisen when working individually or on our group sections. The main contributor for that may have been the addition to the periphery and how our characters developed while watching and listening to the performance as this had not been experienced or used in rehearsals. A theme that was apparent through out was the unity of the female cast members. Although Daniel Harris was mainly part of the ensemble he was nit noticed as often. At times I myself did not even know he was on stage. The response from the periphery may have been completely different if his character was more ‘in the space’, more interactive with what was happening on stage. The theme of community was overwhelming during the second ensemble, the chaos section. Although everybody had their own individual reaction to Andrew’s character, everybody at one point did not want anything to do with him, and without knowing were segregating him for what he had done and what he knew about the woman’s disappearance. This however was also apparent from the beginning as nobody knew why he was being secretive about the suitcase. The community were always reacting to what was being presented. During the tech runs the community always seemed to peak emotionally during Hayley Rockley’s suitcase scene, this meant that the rest of the performance was at its highest emotional capacity. However when performing the cast’s emotional reaction was during ‘Bobby’s Girl’. This meant the emotion was fresh and gave the finale a greater impact.
When it came to the performance, the opening became stronger as people had already created relationships with people in their environment. I think because people had planned what they were going to say and where they were going to move and when, this meant the opening lost a lot of its original intention. When it came to the first ensemble people joined because they had to at the rough time they did before in the previous rehearsal/performance, instead of letting it be intension based. This may have been due to the adrenaline from the performance or it could stem from ‘the deep- rootedness of the human desire to perform, to act and play outside of the everyday..’(Keefe & Simon 2007 p:38) so a sense of getting the performance ‘right’ may have meant that some of the cast over acted and lost the intension, forgetting why their character would move or react in a certain way.

2. When moving the ensemble from the studio to the theatre, the cast had to overcome some changes and were at times challenged by using a different environment. Overall the ensemble created an altered perception of the ‘street’ this was also helped by the items such as the bed and bar. While investigating the space a few problems arose, such as spacing and the placement of our sections. The chaos section took the most reworking, as at points the whole ensemble were centre stage. While in the ‘scoring’ process we had not accounted for the depth of the space and therefore did not use it’s potential as most of the ensemble would not use it as they may have thought you could not be seen. Another thing the ensemble had to deal with was the spacing for the periphery and making sure we were using the space efficiently and without drawing the attention away from the main action, with the studio we did not have the stairs, the pillar or the bed and bar, so when we moved into the performance space we had to rework and re-space the certain elements. Not only did things need to be re-spaced but our transitions which included moving set had to change as well. I found this extremely hard as I found my character was getting lost as I moved the set, as I didn’t have an intension to be moving set or helping to move the set. We also had to watch out for lights as at certain points we were really close to the floor light and this would mean they would be out of focus for the rest of the performance.
In addition to these problems the most important to me was during the tech, when we had to do things repeatedly and with out much intension. I started to lose all the emotion I had built up in rehearsals. So in the performances I was trying to get back to that emotional state which meant my intensions were false and did not feel right. All though there were problems a strength was the professional relationship between the ensemble and the new environment. When decisions were being made the cast helped out as much as the could, this was how the piece kept developing and changing because the environment changed. Our performance space was used to its maximum as the only thing that determined the edge of the space was the use of light. We performed right up to the audience’s feet. This is a common technique used in physical theatre in particular it is seen in the work of Pina Bausch, Alain Platel states ‘the division between audience and stage should be made as minimal as possible…in other words what is shown may deal with reality but it is not reality’ (keefe & Simon, 2007 p81)
Emalene Hickman says ‘I think the communication of the message became stronger..’ (accessed on 25/4/2010) this is due to the fact that the ensemble was always changed and always performing, reacting to what they were seeing, this was the major strength as we managed to portray the sensitive issue of domestic violence.

3. After each show and rehearsals we were given notes on either things to improve on or things we had performed that looked effective. This is in effect when we then changed what we needed to make the piece look complete and effective. I was given a note on the second performance that I then felt I had to replicate for the final show, I did manage to revisit the movement as for the first time it was instinctive and therefore it happened again but with more intension as my character was more emotional. One part of the performance that was constantly being scored and validated was the toilet rape scene between Naomi Chamroo and Andrew Smith. Although this was not personal it did impact on my reaction to what I had listened to and seen about the woman’s story. My character’s personal journey had started from the first ‘S’coring session, as at first my character was over protective, purely because she had not seen anything that happened to the woman, but during the play sessions in the warm up, my character wanted to save everybody. This as also apparent in the first scoring of the chaos scene, where we were falling and being caught, I felt that it was my job to catch everybody else. This changed however, when the opening was re-scored and my intension changed, I was not interested it the suitcase therefore did not care who it belonged to, until we found out whose it was, and how my relationship with the woman was closer then I first thought. Instead of feeling over protective I was riddled with guilt, and couldn’t let it happen to anyone else, this is where my relationship with Jess developed from.
There were clear differences between performances, this was due the ensemble growing and adapting to changes that were made. I believe that this was purely down the running order being remembered and not coming out of character. From feedback received the audience did not always understand the opening ensemble, they were not aware of why everybody was doing this, if the cast had portrayed more intention when starting the group ensemble then the audience may have be able to comprehend it. Also we started the performance in a naturalistic manner then merged it with the physical theatre element. This may have thrown the audience, and only when it was clear that physical theatre was being used through out the whole performance they understood it on a deeper level.
The performance grew with the ensemble using always acting in the periphery, there was ‘not a held image, but one of movement and urgency that does what it needs to establish…’ (Keefe & Murray, 2007, p:173) we established our understanding and feeling about the action on stage, and although we were not meant to be over powering the action we still had to react, by the final piece mine and Andrew’s relationship had developed into me not being able to stand him for what his character had done. I instinctively lashed out. Not in a violent manner more in the tolerance for him being in my space, and touching me, however there was a couple of shoves and at one point without thinking I did elbow him in the back, on purpose but as my character. This was as true to my character as I could be, but other members of the ensemble at times through out the process feel they were not portraying their characters 100%, as Emalene Hickman quotes in her blog ‘I soon realised I was not being true to my character’(25/4/2010).

Bibliography:
Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction London: Routledge
Other sources:
http://jemenpp.blogspot.com/ [accessed on 25/4/2010]

Final Blog - FOUR WAYS TO SPEAK OUT - NAOMI CHAMROO 0820502

Naomi Chamroo - 0820502

1. Robert Lepage uses the ‘RSVP Cycle’ as a tool for creating a narrative within a piece of devised theatre, using this process enabled us to come up with the narrative for FOUR WAYS TO SPEAK OUT. Conquering the ‘research’ stage, and verifying the ‘score’ stage with the material, we reaffirmed a clear and concise chronological linear structure through, the ‘validation’ phase. Anticipating the events when entering the final phase ‘performance’.

As the ‘validation’ phase, transformed into the ‘performance’ phase, the key themes and issues emerged through the sequence of events within the piece. The key themes of loss, guilt, anger, control, manipulation, confusion and desperation were all explored through our performance. The characters within the community felt these emotions at different points throughout the performance, and individually we experienced these and expressed them through similar gesture with differing intentions.

The issues of domestic abuse and the key themes came to light in the scoring phase, and emerged through the piece as we validated, with the ensemble. The first ensemble saw the community gradually being drawn into a series of emotional gestures lead by Andy, who controlled and manipulated the ensemble who became fixated on him and felt compelled to join in. The ensemble became so physically powerful that Dan who remained on periphery was overwhelmed by the sense of togetherness and eventually forced by Liz to join the piece. This ensemble explored the initial feelings of a sense of loss, manipulation and confusion, mixed with uncertainty as to where the woman has gone and why?

Jean Sabatine explores emotional gestures:-
Emotional gestures: Gestures that replace language when verbalization is impossible or not needed – for example: holding hands; raising a fist; kissing; opening the hands in shock or surprise, (Sabatine,1995, pg:120)

The second ensembles key themes where of fear, anger and desperation, it begins with a sense of fear of Andy, as the story unfolds and the community discovers the woman has been abused at the hands of Andy, the run in desperation and fall into the arms of someone who can save them. As the ensemble moves through the choreographed sequences the anger builds and community separate themselves leaving the perpetrator alone.
In the ‘validation’ phase of the process my individual experience changed dramatically, in ‘scoring’ I welcomed a connection with other members of the community when watching the ‘Diary Entries’ I often become overwhelmed and needed the human interaction. However, I rejected everyone who comforted me in the ‘performance’ stage and remained alone; I felt this was truer to my character as my character was work colleague and new no-one in the community.
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2. The space or the architecture ‘the physical environment in which you are working and how the awareness of it affects movement’, (Bogart, 1995, pg:22). This has a significant impact on how the actors feel and respond to the performance space. Practical things need to be overcome and dealt with, to allow creativity to flourish.

In Anne Bogart’s book on her viewpoints, the architecture is a significant part of the process:
In working architecture as a viewpoints, we learn to dance with the space, to be in dialogue with a room, to let movement (especially shape and gesture) evolve out of our surroundings. (Bogart, 1995, pg:22)
As the community moved in to the theatre space from the rehearsal space initially we encountered logistical problems, the space itself seemed narrower with more depth. Even though in the validation phase we had discussed the set, the bedroom and the bar I did not anticipate how the objects would affect my character. Moving into the space and working practically with props meant overcoming unforeseen nuisance.

We are sensitive to people and objects outside ourselves in space. We develop a response to other people’s use of space and its effects on us. The way in which we relate to space is an important part of our expressive behaviour. (Sabatine, 1995,pg:112)

In order for the community to make the space come alive, the process of exploration must take place. This was explored in our warm-ups; we selected a part on the set where our character felt most emotional or vulnerable, their most heightened emotional state. This part of the stage enabled us to access our most responsive emotion.

This engagement of space and associated emotion was key in my characters development throughout the performance and enabled me to access the required emotion when returning to that space on the set. For example when representing the woman, I was most vulnerable at the stool and this was the most heightened emotional state my character found herself in before my interactions with the other characters.

The development between individuals and the community in the space became more apparent. The division of the bedroom and bar meant that the community split, individuals that connected with that part of the stage remained within that space and chose not to move. For example, my performances as the woman happened in the bar, I felt a connection to this area and never left this space.

The strengths of validating within another space allows you the freedom to change set and look at logistical problems you may encounter in the ‘p’ stage, it allows a trial and error approach to work. Logistical we were a large group and could often to all fit into the one room and would use the two rooms. The weakness in this meant for some people they felt disjointed from the rest of the group, we had spent the first half of the year connecting together as a community then we were split which some felt disrupted the communities journey. Another weakness, as mentioned previously was the size and shape of the space, when you encounter the actual space which was longer and narrower with a bar, a bed and chairs in it, this meant a great deal of manipulation around the set pieces.
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When everything comes from the actors, what happens in performance is determined by what happens in rehearsal, and accidental discoveries are part of that. (Callery, D., 2001, p164)
The above quotes shows how important each stage of the RSVP cycle is, one without the other simply cannot exist, each stage leads into the next. The three performances saw a different journey for the individuals with the community, the community as a whole and saw the themes emerge with more emotional impetus than ever known in the validation process. ‘Validation’ process explores using movements and gesture to create and physicalise the diary entries. The chronological narrative derived from this stage was very technical and felt less emotional connected to the community, when we reached the ‘Performance’ stage the process became less about technical performance and more to do with transferring an emotional message to the audience.

The RSVP module was executed until the curtain fell on the last performance, as a devised piece of work that is fluid and interchangeable is bursting with unknown exchanges within the performance space, thus leaving the performers in a constant state of readiness and awareness. When the community where placed around the periphery, the characters where constantly active, living in the moments and experiencing the past events, but viewing them for the first told as they are retold, being frozen in that moment in time.
The overall theme of domestic violence and sensitive portrayal one woman’s story of this type of abusive, was done without throwing punches, without bruises and cuts and but by perceptive emotional intention lead physical movements.

Simon Woods of the Zen Zen Zo physical theatre articulated that, ‘...Watching a group of people who go through this incredible process of transformation, physically, spiritually, mentally, intellectually over a period of time together in training room is a truly profound thing. The performance is like opening a door to say ‘This is where we’re at; this is what we’re thinking about’, and the door closes again and we go back into the training room. (Bradley & Woods, 2003, pg:156)

My role within the piece was layered with complications and disjointed emotions, I was torn in two halves. This is due to my experiences as playing two roles within the piece, the representation of the woman, and the character within the community. This unique role was challenging physically and emotionally I felt an automatic affinity with the other four girls playing the role of the woman and instantly felt their feelings when performing there snippets of the diary. However, found it very difficult to regain my character within the community, the insignificant act of putting on a piece of clothing that represented the character enabled me to make that connection, if a little incoherent.

I personally re-scored and re-validated throughout the process, when watching the ‘Bobby’s girl’ sequence, each time I saw this section my reaction changed, in ‘scoring’ I enjoyed the superficial playtime of the ritual of the girls getting ready, and saw a woman supported and loved by her friends. In ‘validated’ this became more sinister, the friends controlling her and manipulating her as her abuser. When it came to performance stage, this section left me feeling sad, gulity and often bringing me to tears, seeing the woman being forced to put on a happy face and carry on. The themes crescendo as the feeling of manipulation and control, now executed by her friends who seem to be unknowingly abusing her.
Through the RSVP cycle I saw the ensemble work flourish into the emotional lead sequences and the individual representations driven with force and meaning, and delivering a story and conveying a meaning through gesture, choreographed movements, moments of repetition and stillness.

As the key issue in the piece was Domestic Abuse, I felt we were successful in conveying meaning and dealing with this subject in a mature and delicate way, we left the narrative open. This left the audience to make their own mind up to how they chose to leave the woman, either empowered by her breaking away from her abuser, or did she simply choose to ‘give up’. Pina Bausch describes how I feel we best delivered this message: ‘It is not how people move, but what moves them’ (Bausch, 2002, Pg: 57)

Bibliography

Bogart, A (1995) Viewpoints USA: Smith and Kraus Inc.
CALLERY, D (2002) Through the body London: Routledge
Dundjerović, A. (2009) Routledge Performance Practitioners: Robert Lepage. Oxon. Routledge.
Govan, E & Nicholson, H & Normington, K (2006) Making a performance: Devising histories and contemporary practices London: Routledge
Huxley, M., 2002, The Twentieth Century Performance Reader London: RoutledgeMackey, S & Cooper, S (2000) Drama and Theatre Studies Cheltenham: ThornesMurray, S & Keefe, J (2007) Physical Theatres A Critical Introduction London: Routledge
Murray and Keefe (2007) Physical Theatres, an introduction. London. Routledge.Oddey, A (1994) Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook UK: RoutledgeSabatine, J (1995) Movement Training for the Stage and Screen London: A&C Black Ltd

Secondary Source

Frantic Assembly: About us. Online. [Accessed: 21st April 2010] Available at: http://www.franticassembly.co.uk/
Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre: About us. Online. [Accessed: 23rd April 2010] Available at: http://www.zenzenzo.com/

Emalene Hickman. Assessment Blog 3. 0803198

Themes of guilt, anger, vulnerability, manipulation, confusion, helplessness and fear were all explored throughout Four Ways to Speak Out. Individual characters felt each of these to a different degree and at different moments in the piece but the fact that these emotions were felt by someone meant that they were explored. The performance element brings something new and sometimes unexpected to the process and different things emerge. As a personal example I had never felt any anger towards Andy in the ‘V’ stages of the process, however, in the ‘P’ stages I couldn’t stand to even look at him, he made my skin crawl and I wanted to lash out at him.

The opening ensemble section draws the community together for the fist time. This scene explores confusion and manipulation in particular. The cast start performing a series of movements and people gradually get drawn in, some people join in fairly quickly, others look a little confused but join in anyway and others take a lot longer to join in, but inevitably, they do. Manipulation is a theme explored greatly within the piece, particularly within the main domestic abuse storyline and ‘the woman’s’ controlling friends. However you also see it in this section as the whole ensemble do the same thing, they may not have a reason to but they do so because everyone else is, they are being manipulated by the community.

The middle ensemble was also particularly striking as it showed helplessness, fear and guilt. Each member has a moment of vulnerability as they run, fall, catch and collapse with someone else. Emotions run particularly high in this scene and I think this is clear to the audience as they begin to feel threatened by this male figure. Each audience member will create their own meanings however, “It is impossible for a piece of theatre not to convey a meaning” (Murray & Keefe, 2007, pg.92). I think this is particularly important in this type of work as the smallest of moments will create meaning for the audience. I feel this is something that was some what forgotten by the cast in the ‘Performance’ part of the project. The ensemble members who were not involved in the central action became very lacks and tended to simply watch the action. Whereas the simplest of gestures, character traits and body language will transpose a meaning to the audience.

The first thing I noticed about the stage space was that it was a lot deeper and narrower than the studio. This was inevitably going to cause problems as the cast grew used to these changes. People became selfish and felt as though they could not be seen unless they were front and centre. This meant that the ensemble sections became cramped into one part of the stage and everyone fought to be seen in the sidelines. Also, with the full set people soon started to realise that they couldn’t always be where they had originally anticipated. For example the bed and bar took up more room than I had expected and meant that I could not start the second ensemble where I always had done in the studio. The props and costume also caused a few problems; however, I feel the cast dealt with them extremely well. In the bar section drinks got spilt, pieces of costume flew across the stage, the bed had no mattress and the directors had to buy yet another suitcase on the day of the performance. All things considered I think the ensemble did a good job of avoiding the spillages, moving potential trip hazards and readjusting to last minute changes.

There is something about the stage environment that brings a performance to life in a way the studio cannot. Being in a stage environment with full costume, set and lighting immediately brings another level to the performance which allows the actor to feel more. This in turn allows the production to take flight and cause a response from the audience as “with an actual exchange of emotion between the actors, the scene instantly will come alive” (Allensworth et.al, 1982, Pg.165). However, as much as some people achieved this by taking the process seriously, others took a long time to get to an emotionally heightened place. This seriously affected the others on stage and in some cases distracted them from their character considerably.

I also noticed that the warm up became longer, more intense and a lot more focussed on breathing and character. For me, this helped greatly as the new space is off putting at first and the importance of character and personal journeys is higher in a performance environment. This helped me achieve “The neutral body, immobile, breathing, [which] is ready to act…ready to reflect, not only through the eyes, but through the whole body, all that is happening inside” (Dennis, 1995, Pg.52). I feel this quote is extremely relevant to what we were trying to achieve through our concentrated warm up. The neutral body is ready to respond to stage action and the use of breath helps the body to show this reaction, as opposed to just the eyes. The specific part of the warm up when we are asked to breathe, as our character would at its most intense, then asked to develop that into a physical gesture is a precise example of this. The physical embodiment of an internal emotion is something Process and Performance students are constantly trying to achieve.

This devised performance was very typical in the fact that it was used “to communicate and express particular interests or concerns” (Oddey, 1994, pg.12). I think the communication of the message became stronger with each performance, due to emotional connection from the performers and from the changeable nature of this work. Each performance was different and more developed than the last and the somewhat delicate subject of domestic violence was dealt with sensitively. “In a theatrical setting, the purpose may be to display skill or express a universal reality in an aesthetic form created by the individual artist” (Alter, 1991, Pg.75). The aesthetic we were trying to create was one of symbolism to represent the universal reality of oppressive love. In the performance we showed domestic violence without throwing any punches, without the woman being violently killed and without any blood and cuts. This aesthetic was achieved more successfully each performance as the casts reactions became more intense and more real. So much so that, particularly in the ‘Booby’s Girl’ scene, some of the actors found it very difficult to embody the happy-go-lucky, smiley faces the scene required.

For my character personally the growth was there but rather unexpected. I noticed throughout the performance several people crying and I originally took that to be a goal, I had to get so upset that I cried. However, I soon realised I was not being true to my character for two reasons; one, it meant I was trying to get to something and not feeling the emotions and secondly I realised that tears in their essence felt wrong for my character. I was extremely emotional in the performances and at times found it difficult to watch but I never became upset to the point of tears. I found that I became upset to the point of anger, I wanted to get up and help her leave, I wanted her to be her own person and I wanted to do something to stop it ever happening to someone else. Yet, I never did. I was so immobilised by my emotions, the anger, hatred and fear stopped me in my tracks. I just sat and watched, completely helplessly, more and more so in each performance.

I think the RSVP model can be applied at this late stage of the performance as actors will always analyse and wish to improve their performance for each show. I think the ‘S’ and ‘V’ stages of the model happen between each ‘P’. As Dundjerović (2009) supports: “’P’erformance as a final part of the RSVP cycles, [is] not necessarily a finalized and fixed performance as expected in professional theatre; on the contrary the performance structure remains fluid and open to further change” (pg.30). A specific example of one section I personally re-scored and re-validated each performance was my reactions to Hayley’s scene. The first performance I perched on the side of the bed, I think this came about so that I could get away should I choose to. When I thought back on it however I felt unengaged with the action. Therefore on the second performance I sat closer to the middle of the bed with my legs crossed in front of me. This made me feel more involved in the action but in comparison to my physicality in the other scenes it still didn’t feel quite right. So, I re-evaluated my position once more. The third performance I sat right in the middle of the bed, with my knees clutched in close to my body, holding a pillow tightly to my chest. This felt natural for my character; I felt involved in the action and gave me more of a stimulus to move for the next section.


References:
Allensworth, C, Allensworth, D, & Rawson, C. (1982) The Complete Play Production Handbook. New York. Harper & Row.

Alter, J. (1991) Dance-Based Dance Theory. USA. Peter Lang Publishing.

Dennis, A. (1995) The Articulate Body. UK. Nick Hearn Books.

Dundjerović, A. (2009) Routledge Performance Practitioners: Robert Lepage. Oxon. Routledge.

Murray and Keefe (2007) Physical Theatres, an introduction. London. Routledge.

Oddey, A. (1994) Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook. Abingdon – UK. Routledge

Blog Task 3

Deadline: Wednesday, 21st April 2010, 5 pm
Word Count: 1500 words total (400 + 500 + 600)

Task:

•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 Four Ways to Speak Out 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? Discuss with clear and succinct examples. (400 words)

2. Critically evaluate the transition of Four Ways to Speak Out as the ensemble moved from the studio into the theatre space. What were the strengths and weaknesses of this phase and process? (500 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. (600 words)

If you have any queries over these blog questions, please email me in good time before the deadline. Looking forward to your final set of blog responses.

Royona

Emalene Hickman 0803198 Assessment Blog 2

The main strategy of devising used within the process and performance module is Robert Lepage’s RSVP model. “’RSVP’ stands for ‘Resource, Score, Valuaction and Performance’. In devising theatre, the resource is the stimulus for the performance…The score is the material that arises from the research… Valuaction is the process of evaluating, selecting and organising the collected material…Performance is the testing out in practice” (Allain & Harvie, 2006, Pg.51).
The Resourcing of this piece started like many others; as Oddey 1994 states: “Devised theatre can start from anything” (pg.1) and is often used “to communicate and express particular interests or concerns” (pg.12). The original resource could be seen as the ‘genre’ physical theatre, as the cast worked vigorously to learn and develop skills in this area. The second level of ‘concern’ which was chosen to be explored in the piece is domestic violence. “1 in 4 women will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime – many of these on a number of occasions” (Women’s Aid. (2010) Available at: http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic_violence_topic.asp?section=0001000100220036§ionTitle=Statistics). We explored these themes meticulously through play sessions and improvisations.
The group have used a delineated approach to the creation of the material and ‘scored’ several sections as an ensemble and in smaller groups. The sections are created in a seemingly random order, created independently and strung together later once in the ‘Valuaction’ stage. The piece, now in the ‘valuaction’ stage, is beginning to take shape as the ensemble work together to develop the plot further. This allows for a better development of character as the actors approach each scene individually and their progression as a character becomes more natural. This also allows the ensemble to create a combined energy as characters come together rather than a group of people placed together without personal aims. The ‘performance’ part of this production is yet to be completed as the ‘valuaction’ stage is still in progress.


At the start of the creative process the ensemble created a very naturalistic scene whereby characters were developed through communication. In this scene I was particularly quiet, making no attempt to talk to anyone and ignoring those who tried to talk to me. My character is withdrawn, unsure and extremely shy. However, as the process moved on I was in a situation where I was getting ready to go out, drinking and partying with my friends. In this scene my character developed to be more outspoken due to alcohol consumption. ‘The woman’ is being pressurised by a group of friends to please her man and wear what she knows he likes. I felt as though I would be more inclined to encourage somebody to be their own person and this came through in my character. We then created another ensemble section incorporating falls and catches. In this scene I began to feel very vulnerable again, the character traits from the first scene unintentionally coming back to my person. This suggests to me that the bedroom scene is indeed ‘out-of-character’ due to the influences of alcohol.
In the final ensemble routine we perform slow choreographed duets. In this section we stare blankly into the audience, by this point I feel so emotionally drained that it is physically impossible to express any emotion. Yet, the blankness of the face does transpose to the audience as they see someone who has given up.


My Character has a very closed physicality, I spend a lot of time sat down with my knees clenched closely to my chest. If and when I move I do so very slowly and rarely make eye contact with other characters. I give my weight into the floor a lot; I see the floor as a magnet, my body giving in to the gravity 90 per cent of the time with moments of sheer power to separate from the force, before immediately being dragged back down.
The idea of Stanislavski and method acting is in the forefront of my mind when creating my character. Whyman states that: ‘The three bases of the system [are]: activeness, truth of passions and the subconscious’ (2008, Pg.39). ‘Activeness’ suggests to me external awareness, the physical embodiment of an internal emotion. For example, nervousness portrayed with a lowered head, hunched shoulders and flitting eye contact. ‘Truth of Passions’ implies that an actor must be true to themselves when creating a character. Also, the ‘subconscious’ is relevant when building a character as improvisation often reveals a heightened version of an aspect of the actors own personality. For example, the shy withdrawn qualities of my adolescence are extremely evident in my character.
One particular movement that has become a key gesture for my character is incessant fiddling. I am wearing a long, flowing halter-neck top that has a long train down the back. I pull the train over my shoulder and pull the end through my fingers in varying speeds. Sometimes extremely slowly, gripping the train tightly, other times quickly, repeating it over and over again. A different time I barely move the hands, just rubbing a finger back and forth, whilst staring intently at action on stage.


Bibliography
Allain, P & Harvie, J. (2006) The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance. USA. Routledge.

Oddey, A. (1994) Devising theatre: a practical and theoretical handbook. London. Routledge

Whyman, R. (2008) The Stanislavsky System of Acting. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Women’s Aid. (2010) Statistics [online] [Accessed on: 22/03/2010] Available at: http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic_violence_topic.asp?section=0001000100220036§ionTitle=Statistics.

Mette Hammerlund 0815251 - Blog Assessment 2

The objective of our work has now progressed from learning a set of skills to developing material intended for performance. Therefore the work is now more focussed on producing a narrative with a higher level of aesthetic elements.

We have moved away from, though not excluded, learning technical approaches of movement and are now relying more on techniques of collaborative and creative production. When creating a series of movement in an ensemble, the clap method has proven highly efficient. This allows each member to a democratic contribution to the piece, relying solely on physical communication. Although we work through the media of physical theatre, the use of written and spoken responses to a physical or emotional stimulus, has been an important element in creating and shaping the narrative. In the process it is necessary to maintain a balance between verbal and physical communication.

“Theatrical dancing has historically been an often orally transmitted, face-to-face tradition, in which choreography is passed from one body to another in the rehearsal studio.” (Banes, 1998, p. 8)

It might seem a paradox, yet during ensemble improvisations of the entire group, individual characters are often developed and felt the most through this work. By working amongst 30 other performers the outside focus is no longer on the individual but on the group as a whole. This can allow a performer to feel less exposed and therefore engage with a deeper emotional intensity and awareness than if given an individual task. A group improvisation can also build an atmosphere in which heightened emotional response comes more naturally.

“The art of improvisation rests on … a developed awareness of one's expressive individuality. This knowledge grows through interactive exercises with a teacher, whose function is not to present models for imitation, but to pose problems intended to provoke personal responses.” (Duershuk, 1984, p. 52) / (Keefe & Murray, 2007, p. 72)

The road of character work has been long and twisted on my behalf, due to my duality in the piece. Not only am I portraying a member of the community, but I am also a representative of 'the woman'. This has been cause to some confusion.
My initial character, I will call 'new in the neighbourhood', sprung from the task of writing a letter about the missing woman. She came quite easy and naturally as she is, as with so many other characters, an extension of myself, or at least a part of my self. She is new to the community as I am new in this country and foreign to the culture, still adjusting to find one's place.

“It is not a question of portraying himself under certain given circumstances, or of “living” a part; nor does it entail the distant sort of acting common to epic theatre and based on cold calculation. The important thing is to use the role as a trampolin, an instrument with which to study what is hidden behind our everyday mask – the innermost core of our personality – in order to sacrifice it, expose it.” (Grotowski, 1968, p. 37)

When I first started working on 'the woman' it was difficult to engage emotionally due to its foundation of choreography. However, as the work progressed, so did my ability to derive material from an emotion. Again I rely on expressing a part of myself, this time using memories of bad relationships and experiences. However, I sometimes find myself distancing myself from the work, when it relates to memories too painful. I will try harder to not to do so, but to use these experiences as a resource of creativity.

Both characters have some of the same qualities in their physicality although different intentions. Both have body language which signify low status and insecurity. 'New in the neighbourhood' is mainly insecure due to the feeling of being a stranger in a tight community, whereas the woman shows signs of fear and hopelessness. 'New in the neighbourhood' has a fairly light connection with the floor, shifting eyes and easily stumbles. The trick is to show an ungrounded body language but to maintain a connection with the floor in order to stay in balance and in control. Her hands are hardly ever down by her side, she takes short steps and her breath is shallow. She keeps her head down, which causes her centre of gravity to move forward and up in comparison to the 'neutral stand'. 'The woman' has a similar centre of balance, although her shoulders are more heavy and are often the lead in her movements. Her eyes will often be focussed in the opposite direction of which she is is moving to signify the inconsistency between her actions and her objectives. She wants to leave, but stays.

The change between the two characters will become more organic through the work and will be indicated to the audience and to myself by presence or absence of the necklace.


Bibliography

Banes, S (1998) Dancing Women – Female Bodies on Stage London : Routledge
Grotowski, J (1968) Towards a Poor Theatre Odin Teatrets Forlag
Keefe, J & Murray, S (2007) Physical Theatres – a critical reader London : Routledge

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

Emma Gill - 0808614 - Blog Task 2

1. One of the key strategies for devising work not only for Four Ways To Speak Out, but for other performance based work was the use of the ‘clap’ method. This was used as it eliminated the need for talking and gave the creative control to whoever had an idea. It also gives the people with low self esteem the chance for the whole group to see their ideas without them being ignored or disregarded. When working with the ‘clap’ method, learning the sequence of moves became easier as they were introduced and learnt together, often with talking, this was just to understand the essentials, i.e. which hand it was and how the head would sit. Working like this may appeal more to a physical theatre performer as the ‘work uses the language of gesture…one of the great strengths of this form’ (Lyn Gardner, the Guardian (UK)). If a move is created, a certain layer can be added, such as a specific emotion. This can totally change a move that was before mundane and routine looking, once this element has been added it can make it more visually appealing for the audience.

Most physical theatre performances come out of ‘play sessions’, these can only happen once the ensemble reach a high level of technique and trust, play sessions help to develop not only technique but also help to form relationships. After 5 weeks of Four Ways To Speak Out, my relationships with certain cast members still have not been formed yet, but when working on the a scene where we were given the freedom of spontaneous falling, I found that my character had to catch everybody. So from that exercise my character has been very protective over the people she finds close to her.

2.I formed my character after following a set of exercises that were there to aid us at the beginning of Four Ways to Speak Out. After working with different people and reacting to the different environments around me, my character changed dramatically, from being the woman’s close friend, to someone she just new, this then affected my relationships with other people. After working on the text for my scene, it was clear that my character, would soon feel guilty that she did not try to help when she could, this therefore affects her relationship with Jessica as she feels that she has to, out of loyalty look after her now. However because my character feels this sense of guilt, no matter who the relationship is after the community find out what has happened to the woman, she will do anything and everything in her power to protect them from any threat. An example of this is on our working weekend, when we were allowed to react to each other during the walk around, and Andy’s stare was locked on to Emelene, and I made it my main priority to get him to break the connection, this was also the case when Dawn was the target. The change of my character is how i myself might feel if it were to happen to me, at first because I don’t know she is gone I don’t care, but then to find out more information the guilt is then on myself.

3.As physical theatre is constantly changing, so is the way the characters move and hold themselves. To be able to describe my characters body language I would have to take one specific session, as no two sessions are the same. As the story begins to progress, my posture changes from being open with the space and the people inside to becoming closed my centre of gravity is more forward and lower within my body. This may be as I am constantly preparing myself to protect somebody should they need me. This is never made apparent though out the performance, but it is my characters on personal need.

‘Physical theatre allows the voice to explain the details and the body to control the atmosphere and changes in the metaphysical temperature of the space.’ from Daniel Stein of Dell'Arte, via network member Kali Quinn

Quinn talks about the voice, this doesn’t necessarily mean that of spoken text, it could be a song, but the body is there to justify the sound used whether it be live or recorded, or it could place a juxtaposition on the piece being performed.

My character does not have a gesture that she repeats, however she does conform to the gestures that are used in the pub. This is as she feels confident in this setting.

When working with Jessica i use my body as a shield, this is not only for protection, but in a sense it makes me feel as though I am doing what I should have done to protect the woman.


Gardner, L http://nycphysicaltheatre.com/definition.aspx accessed on 15/3/2010
Quinn, K http://nycphysicaltheatre.com/definition.aspx accessed on 15/3/2010

Naomi Chamroo – 0820502 – Assessment Blog 2 – “FOUR WAYS TO SPEAK OUT”

Naomi Chamroo – 0820502 – Assessment Blog 2 – “FOUR WAYS TO SPEAK OUT”

ROBERT LEPAGE, - RESEARCH SCORE VALIDATE PERFORMANCE

The basic idea of the RSVP Cycles is just trying to create work from your intuition and not necessarily only from your intellect. To reconnect artistic expression to something that is more organic. (http://www.sf360.org/features/robert-lepage-progress-report)(Lepage)(Accessed)(20/3/10)


Question 1

The key strategies used in the devising process saw the development of physical techniques, partner work, lift catches and falls into character development and ensemble work, through the creative process. Then the creation of the idea came to light in a pinnacle session where the development of the main theme was created, the idea’s informing the piece came to light, and the main theme of focusing on a woman in abusive relationships and the loss of a woman from the community created our narrative.

The “play” session where significant in creating individual character, and enabled growth and development. The ensemble work, unveiled a series of challenges, our first ensemble piece was choreographed and gave us a taste of the type of movement expected of us, using the techniques taught and learnt from our session and the work shop delivered by Jasmine Vardimon Company.

This gave us the confidence to create our own piece; devised through the “Clap” technique this helps the group to stay focused on task, without interrupting movement flow. The ensemble work strengthened us into a community of people. The idiosyncrasies, simple movements such as, the side breath, the arms pulled from in front of us to the side forcing our gravitational pull upwards and outwards looking as though we a searching for something or someone, or the whisper to the audience, (addressing them directly.) The ensemble at the end signifies the breakdown throughout the performance, at the beginning the discovery of the missing woman, to the finale where the broken society clearly affected by the series of moments within the woman’s life. The narrative leads us to the final ensemble where the movements are very fluid, slow and emotionless, clearly portraying the journeys end.


Question 2

....... movement simply involves gestures of the body. Nothing can be more false. Stillness is movement as well as acrobatic. (http://www.giovannifusetti.com/public/file/The_Paradox.pdf)(Accessed)(20/3/10)

The above quote by Fusetti encompasses my journey through the process of physical theatre, more precisely through the creation of a character. Indulgencing of movement can be emotive, that the smallest of movements from the slightest arm movement will encapulaslate a number of signifiers for an audience reading the visual signs.

Starting the development of character through the techniques was at times stilted and stifling, ensuring my physical development and initiating muscle memory was correct and learnt meant I did not develop my character until later in the process. Once I had gained confidence with the physical techniques my character began to emerge through the play session, as stated on previous blogs. I found these session invaluable. However, my character came to fruition when we were asked to write the letter, about the missing woman. This enabled me to cemented position within the community, I only knew the woman, no-one else, I have no direct attachment to community, and I am always looking for her, searching, seeking never finding her.

When I was nominated to portray the woman, along with three others, I didn’t anticipate how hard this devolution into the woman would have on my character. I am merely portraying a point within the woman’s life, however this momentarily throws me off kilter and I lose a sense of my character.

In reflection, at this point in the process, we are still validating, I foresee as the score is validated and we enter performance, I will have clearly refined my character through furthering my connection to the community, and exploring further emotions behind my characters motive for wanting to find the woman, and define when I portray the woman.


Question 3

My characters physicality is still being defined; my body language is still exploring patterns, shifts in movement, weight distribution, gravity and relationship to the community. The reason I see this is due to the removal of my character over the last six weeks of rehearsal and working on the physicality of the woman.
However, my character’s physicality developed so far, is born through anxiety, constantly shifting weight from leg to leg, nervously looking round, and searching for the one thing missing from her life, the woman, her friend. Facial expressions are key in expressing emotions, however there visual signs can be easily lead. My characters key gestures are repetition of twitching, scratching and repeatedly fussing my hair to expression the above emotions. The character is always up right, standing on tip toes, to look over the top of heads within the community to see if she can find the woman,
My portrayal of the woman are that I play her after a traumatic event. Her body language is foetal like, curled and her sense of gravitational pull is on the floor, she is at her lowest point this portrayed by movement on the floor, sequences devised using physicality through pulls and push by others within the community to move her. When lifted from the ground she is propped up and pulled, until slumped upon a chair, where she is then subjected to more probing, polishing and perfecting to by like them, one of the community.

Bibliography
http://www.blackfishacademy.com/physical.htm
http://www.giovannifusetti.com/public/file/The_Paradox.pdf
http://www.sf360.org/features/robert-lepage-progress-report)(Lepage)
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/pina-bausch/

Blog Task 2 Details

Deadline: Wednesday, 24th March 2010, 5 pm

Word Count: 750 words total (250 + 250 + 250 )

Task:


* There are 3 questions you need to answer as part of this task.

* The questions relate to the last 5 weeks of Four Ways to Speak Out’s development through the ‘R’ phase of the RSVP model of devising

* Conduct wider independent reading and use quotes and examples to support your views.

* Present your writing in academic language with Harvard Referencing and a Bibliography presented alphabetically at the end of your post.

Questions:

1. What are the key strategies of devising that have been used through the creative process of Four Ways to Speak Out? Reflect briefly on how these strategies have enabled the growth and development of both individual characters and the ensemble’s idiosyncrasies. (250 words)

2. Analyse the growth of your own character from the beginning of Four Ways to Speak Out to where you are at in the process now. State the reasons for its development/change/refinement. (250 words)

3. Identify your character’s physicality through detailed analysis of its body language. (For example describe your character’s use of spine and its relationship to gravity, its shift of weight in the pelvis and even the repetition of a key gesture) (250 words)

If you have any questions please contact me directly and in good time for the deadline. Looking forward to reading your answers on your own blogs.

Royona

Mette Hammerlund -0815251- Task 1

Although it has been more than 20 years since 'physical theatre' emerged as a genre, it is still under debate on how to define it.

“There are several quite distinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre", which has led to a lot of confusion as to what the definition of physical theatre actually is.” (Black Fish Arts Academy)

Through our work in the class room combined with the pieces viewed and the research of other companies' approach, it is clear that a vital element of 'physical theatre' is that it is devised narrative movement. The narrative is not equal a story line necessarily, but can be solely portrayal of emotions. Often these devised narrative movements are collectively improvised using an emotional stimulus as focus-point of a group. Using an example from our own process, the 'community street routine' was created by collaboratively responding the emotional stimulus of 'loss' focussing the movements as expressions of guilt, anxiety, blame etc.
Throughout our process the 'play sessions' have proved a vital tool in developing our bodily imagination and our ability to emotionally engage with the work.

“I first went into play [...] and for the first time I discoverd an emotion relating to the moves” (Naomi Chamroo, P&P blog response, 30-09-2009)

The 'play sessions' have also contributed to breaking down our inhibitions and preconceptions about our selves, each other and the work.
By working as a community, collectively devising narrative movement, we embrace the essence of the modern understanding of what 'physical theatre' is. We then have the option to add further layers to this such as music, spoken text, recordings and scenographic features in order to support or add depth to the narrative.

Although 'physical theatre' has proven difficult to define due to its multi-faced nature, many agree that it falls under the category 'hybrid'. It originated in dance, but distinguished itself by gradually adopting increasing amounts of theatrical elements. 'Physical theatre' emerged from a fusion between dance and theatre thus creating a new genre on its own. This is what Ana Sanchez-Colberg refers to when she states that: “‘physical theatre’ – denotes a hybrid character” (Keefe & Murray, 2007, p 21)
However, several 'physical theatre' performers has incorporated many other genres into their performances. This includes mime, acrobatics, stomp which become integrated elements of the pieces.
It seems that the entire range of performance genres can now be picked and plucked to fit a specific need or purpose, and then labelled 'physical theatre'. If it is abstract movement but not dance, if it is acting through non-pedestrian movement, then it will most likely fall under the category of 'physical theatre'. The possibility of working interdisciplinary has expanded the opportunities of expression within performing arts. It started with a need for breaking the old frames, thus creating a new flexible frame of endless possibility.
'Physical theatre' originated as a hybrid genre between dance and theatre but quickly became a concept of merging genres. We cannot avoid that it is narrative movement, but what we add to this is only restricted by our imaginations.

Jasmin Vardimon Company has proved great versatility in their compilation piece 'Yesterday'. Due to it being a summary of previous productions, it does not have a master narrative, as oppose the performance 'Justitia'. Instead it communicates a serious of minor narratives creating a more fragmented audience experience.
The cast consists mainly of dance trained performers, which reflects on the creative process of the company. They often start from a point of choreographed movement, closely related to the working process of dance. What differentiate them from dance companies is the adding of emotional qualities to the choreography, creating intentions and characters as a theatrical depth to the work. Through this process movements becomes actions and communicate narratively to the audience.
During our workshop with members of the company we experienced how adding a quality to a series of movements can express a narrative. When you turn the focus of the performer from choreography to emotional engagement the experience completely changes, thereby affecting the experience of the audience.
The Jasmin Vardimon Company produces interdisciplinary pieces, not only by merging dance and theatre, but by incorporating elements of numerous artistic disciplines and media. Looking at 'Yesterday' we experience elements of film, body art, painting, text, acrobatics and visual arts. By drawing on other disciplines expands their artistic language which they are communicating with. Each 'physical theatre' group has their own signature features and ways of interlinking their skills. The genre of 'physical theatre' can encompass virtually all creative expressions, making it an excellent frame for bringing physical art to new heights.

Keefe, J & S Murray (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader London: Routledge

Chamroo, N. (2009) [online]

Black Fish Arts Academy [online]

Emalene Hickman 0803198 Assessment Blog 1

Many people consider ‘physical theatre’ to be simply abstract movement, but it is much more advanced than that, it includes characters and the interactions between them creating relationships and narrative, although, not as necessarily linear or obvious as conventional theatre. Callery describes ‘physical theatre’ as “companies whose work has a strong visual style which focuses attention on the physicality of the performers” (Callery, 2001, pg.6). This is obvious in works from companies such as Jasmin Vardimon, Frantic Assembly and DV8.

Distinctive attributes of ‘physical theatre’ include uniformed, acrobatic or slapstick movements without forgetting profound music and a lack of spoken word. The ideas we have established as ‘process and performance’ students are supported here as we have learnt numerous physical activities which look visually striking and have began to use music which adds another prominent level to the piece. ‘Physical theatre’ requires more from an audience member than most other forms of conventional theatre. Pieces tend to stem from an issue or dilemma that a company feel needs addressing; DV8 for example explore a lot of relationships and homosexuality. The way in which these issues are raised are less obvious than in traditional theatre, the signs are layered up and over-lapped to create a web that the audience have to try and untangle.

However, “Physical theatre is not codifiable. The term is applied to such a diverse range of work that it has become virtually undefinable” (Callery, 2001, pg.5). Each and every company and piece of work that is considered ‘physical theatre’ is so distinguished that it must be treated in its own individual and unique way. Some companies create complex routines with startling physical feats where others choose to concentrate more on movement as a means of expression. We have focussed more on creating character with emotional stimulus’ to create clear narratives as we are in the early stages of our education of ‘physical theatre’.


A hybrid is defined as “anything derived by a mixture of components or characteristics from two distinctly different sources” by dictionary.net(http://www.dictionary.net/hybrid). ‘Hybrid’ performance styles take two noticeably different styles and combine them to create a new genre which has similarities to both of its predecessors but is fundamentally its own genre. Essentially ‘physical theatre’ stems from dance and theatre, combining the two to create a new genre which incorporates elements of both. It Combines physicality, technique, lighting, sound effects and large stages to create a ‘new’ style.

To say that ‘physical theatre’ is a ‘hybrid’ genre would be technically correct as the influences of dance and avant-garde theatre on the style are unmistakable. It takes elements such as chance choreography from dance; throwing movements together in a random order and seeing what looks best. Using a movement to portray a specific emotion is common in ‘physical theatre’, for example, using a fall to express that the character is giving up; or a literal ‘jump-for-joy’. Theatrical influences upon the style include characterisation and emotion memory to inspire such movement. The complicated stories and issues addressed in the works also comes from the drama practitioners as they are used to a stimulus driving them to create potent work.

“Since the 1980s the term ‘physical theatre’ has been used to describe work of a hybrid nature where dance, text, design and sound collaborate to support a choreographic intention” (ed.Mock, 2000, pg.51). Combining these techniques allows a narrative to be created from what would have previously been a pure dance piece. The dance and theatre languages become unified to create a new performance genre that encourages personal interpretation and individual thought. The complex storylines are aided by clever design and thought-provoking scenography to captivate its audience.


Lloyd Newson’s company DV8 are a physical theatre company whose work largely focuses on relationships and emotions. The performers are asked to use their own emotions to create a character to bring a raw edge to the performance which is unlike any other. When the company began in 1986 they were considered very controversial as they were doing things never seen before. “DV8 Physical Theatre's work is about taking risks, aesthetically and physically, about breaking down the barriers between dance and theatre and, above all, communicating ideas and feelings clearly and unpretentiously” (http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8/artistic_policy). The name DV8 being particularly potent here and they were deviating from the traditional norms. DV8 mixed drama and dance to such an extent that the boundaries between the two became so blurred that the genre ‘physical theatre’ was created.

Most of DV8’s work is considered episodic. It has a narrative but it is not straight-forward; their work tends to be based on one idea or issue and the story comes from that rather than the other way around. The performers are given a stimulus and experiment with creating movement with an emotional intention. The intensely physical style always in the forefront of the creators minds as they portray inner turmoil through exasperated body movements. The directors mould the masses of pure movement into a coherent plot once the storyline becomes apparent through observation. This is one of the main reasons DV8 focus on relationships so heavily, because relationships on stage ‘just happen’. This way of working seemed ‘back-to-front’ to many people but it created a very unique look on movement and theatre.





Callery, D. (2000) Through the Body. London. Nick Hearn Books.

Dictionary.net (2009) Define:Hybrid. [Accessed 03/02/2010] Available at:

DV8 (2010) Artistic Policy. [Accessed 28/02/2010] Available at:

Mock , R (Ed.) (2000) Performing Processes: Creating Live Performance. UK. Intellect Books.

Jessica Green 0820731 Blog Assessment 1

“‘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