Final Blog Submission

Defying Gravity
Framing Statement
In order to perform a piece of site specific theatre, one must first examine what is meant by the term ‘site specific’? Patrice Pavis proposed in 1998 that a play-as-event belongs to the space. The observations relate it to practices originating in theatre. He dismisses distinguishing common features, focusing upon process rather than object. On the other hand, Fiona Wilke argues that the performance is a reaction against the site, instead of being comfortable merging with the resonances of the site. Essentially she is saying instead of performing something fitting with the setting (a religious play in a church) one should consider performing something contrasting (sci-fi in a church).
The original site was a shopping centre in Grantham, resulting in retail themed ideas. Having failed to establish any thoughts on shopping, Grantham itself became the centre of focus. Ideas on science and politics were considered, due to Grantham’s rich tapestry of history. Gravity Fields Festival became involved in the process giving a clear direction towards a science based piece, as the Festival is a Grantham based festival created to celebrate the site and appreciate its history.

Taking this into consideration, the retail theme becomes less challenging. Integrating ideas relating to science, specifically physics, into a performance becomes easier to comprehend once an understanding of site is achieved. Therefore, an idea was born from the simple concept of breaking the rules of gravity. Initial thoughts were primarily, to exercise our bodies, pushing them to their limits, against gravity, or perhaps ever bending the illusion of gravity i.e. attaching furniture to the wall. The main foundation for our piece revolves around limits. Something often tested by site specific. However, instead of testing the limits of the space, the focus is on the performer’s personal limits, and their bodies in the space. The performance is outlined in its stance, attitude and presupposition as ‘walker: sauntering- ‘equally at home everywhere’ (Thoreau, H. 1862, 71-72),’ ‘validated by its effects on the body- from sweat to heart rate to muscle stretching.’ (Thrift, N. 2008, 68). The piece’s main focus shall be the deterioration of the human body, battling against gravity. As it evolved the performance becomes an experiment, timing each of the participants. Grotowski’s laboratory theatre was explored as a result.
‘Performance exists in and through time. It is usually scheduled, of certain duration, with beginning and end to its parenthesis. As a ‘time based’ art, it demonstrates its nature by playing with time: slowing down, speeding up, attenuating and intensifying the norms of social practice, in combinations of simultaneous, sequential, folded, suspended and discontinuous activity.’
(Pearson, M. 2010, 159)
The piece is not bound by the constraints of time, as there is no way to predict the length of each performance. The stamina of the players may fall, or the strength may build. The eventuality of gravity’s victory is inevitable, however, it is this decay, not time itself, that determines the piece’s length.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, the actual performance took place in the LPAC building, on the university campus. As a result both sites will be examined in terms of space and site.
Analysis Of Process
Some Inspiration and Another Point of View
A variety of themes came out of the work, both during the rehearsal process and for the final piece. As site specific theatre concentrates on the space, the set out and design became imperative. The institutional fixates and sureties of the auditorium are absent at site. Other displacements of, and relationships with, audience become feasible. Conventions of theatrical prudence and decorum may not apply. As the performance developed it became clear the audience would be viewing an experiment. The idea was born out of the simplification of previous thoughts. Previous rehearsals had a focus of defying gravity. Trying to defy gravity physically is exhausting, but faking it using visual techniques would be both interesting and attainable. Inspiration was pulled from varying sources including ‘Fighting Gravity’ who appeared on America’s got talent. Fighting Gravity used glow in the dark balls to create a routine, however paint became a more appealing option. The space then evolves into an entirely new area for performance. Ideally it would be held in an entirely blacked out room, with glow in the dark paint, and a sheet of Perspex through the centre, separating performer from audience. Not only will this be visually stimulating, but it challenges the proxemics of the performance. Standard site performances are usually ‘thrown together in sociopetal arenas, sites where the audience is thrown into proximity.’ (Pearson, M. 175). The audience will feel close to the performers; however there will still be a barrier. Although, as only two out of the four performers would be behind the Perspex at any time, the others shall integrate into the audience, becoming both a performer and observer. Performing behind the Perspex adds another layer as an’ auditorium often locates a performance as ‘over there’, necessitating projection and a particular economy of physical and vocal rhetoric, site-specific performers may be ‘just here’, ‘up close’.’ (Pearson, M. 176). In conceiving the actor-spectator relationship, it was decided that there would be no direct participation from the audience. There would be two ensembles: actors, spectators, in two precise roles. This ‘behind the glass’ effect also conjures thoughts of mannequins behind a shop window, relating directly to the retail aspect of the site. The direct response to music became the focal point for the performance as synaesthesia. Research into Cathy Berberian’s performance of ‘Stripsody’ was carried out looking at how a musical score can be created out of anything. Henri Lefebvre explores that anything can have a rhythm .We train ourselves, and are trained, to behave in a number of ways. Everybody has their own individual rhythms. The idea of responding to conventional music became redundant as other avenues were explored. The use of colour was important too as various colours represent different emotions according to the chakra. A small performance was devised using sounds of emotions and assigning them to colours. The performance itself threw up many issues. As it involved paint, it had to be outside, causing problems with the weather. Another attempt used glow sticks in an improvised routine.
Let’s Get Physical
Unfortunately, with the sites relocation, and the nature of the project, it soon became obvious that this performance was not going to work. However, during the process a lot of attention was paid to the movement work and particular focus on choreography and the way one presents oneself. The physicality of the piece was key to its success; therefore a great deal of research was carried out on various types of physical theatre. Two stood out particularly; Pina Bausch and Vsevold Meyerhold. Both styles resonated well with the group, especially the work with physical lifts. Having practised lots of physical work the idea of resisting gravity was born. The simplicity of the idea became a focal point. Varying exercises in stamina and strength were explored using Pilates to increase both. By repeating these exercises we decided to conduct our performance as an experiment. With this in mind, an exploration of Grotowski’s laboratory theatre occurred. To begin with, the space had to be immaculate. This idea emphasized the essential element of any theatre event: the intensified participation of actors and spectators in a shared space. This clinical feel removes any distractions from the audience, enabling them to focus solely on the performance. The experiment is also relevant to the science festival, which was our original site. Luckily, our performance wasn’t uncompromising in its need for space. ‘Emptiness is an illusionary category and performance may have to work hard to assert itself’ (Pearson, M. 156). Although the space was clear and uncluttered, the nature of the piece meant it still commanded attention, and the players all asserted their presence. Incorporating bright orange yoga mats into an entirely blacked out space provided the audience with an obvious focal point and also linked back to our glow in the dark idea.
The Illusion of Time
One of the most interesting elements of our piece was the use of time. Unlike conventional theatre, which runs on event time, we had no specified performance time; it was all based on our own physical capabilities. Generally in theatre it is all achieved in narrative order, until the story is told. It can also include symbolic time, e.g. 3 days can pass. In site specific theatre, time can also function as an organising principle and structuring device. Because of the lack of narrative, the entire piece we’d created ran in real time. The original piece would have run according to the music. Again however, because there was no story to be told the audience receive a different perception of time. Cliff Mclucan explores the audience’s perception of time within site, ‘they just stand in the same room as you and share ‘plain time’ with you’ (Mclucan quoted in Pearson and McLucas, no date, 14). The piece however was unique in other elements of time, as the neither the audience, nor the performer could see the timer. During the performance no one knew how long each time they had set was. Because of the strenuous nature of the exercises the actor felt as if time was going a lot faster than it was e.g. 45 seconds felt like 2 minutes etc. It became ‘A time that forgets time, during which time no longer counts (and is no longer counted) […..]. This is in time: it is a time, but does not reflect on it.’ (Lefebvre, H. 2004, 76-7).
The lack of narrative also opened up many other themes within the piece. None of our ideas had a story incorporated into it. The paint performance would have existed as a string or pattern of events and singular occurrences. This simple idea was transferred to the piece using overlapping frames in which one activity did not illustrate, nor allude to another.
Rarely does site specific focus solely upon, or proceed at the pace of, that form of dramatic dialogue in which characters talk face to face, exchange information and their feelings about things, and constantly refer to events off stage, elsewhere, in the real world. (Pearson, M.167)
The research suggested that physical action, without a story, becomes schematic and non-illustrative; from technical task to rule based engagements, the participants would not speak to each other, or the audience. In the shop, two performers would be within the audience, ready to welcome them, but otherwise silence would be attained. During the piece we performed, one player opens the door to audience to encourage them in, but again silence was mandatory. The silence also encouraged intensity within the piece. Acceptance of this silence can be a major catalyst toward transformation. Just as the exterior space must be free of clutter, so, too, the actors interior space must be empty itself of trivialities. Using Grotowski’s rehearsal techniques, several rules were implemented during the rehearsal process: maintain silence even during breaks or pauses: curtail any discussion among observers. Silence is a principle that appears throughout all the different phases of Grotowski’s research. He often measured the quality of work by the quality of silence attained. During the Pilates rehearsal, our instructor took this outlook too, as Grotowski states ‘that a bad instructor talks a lot and tries to describe the results of the exercises.’ (Slowiak, J. Cuesta, J. 2007, 121) The silence encouraged focus within in the exercises, both for the performer and spectator.
Knowing the Body
It was absolutely imperative that one became physically fit for the performance. One must determine how the actor relates to his/her own body. In order to eliminate the bodies’ resistances, “the actor should be able to decipher all the problems of his body which are accessible to him.” (Grotowski, J. 2002,35) the exercises of the Polish Laboratory Theatre described in Towards a Poor Theatre were developed more than thirty years ago, by a specific group of actors, from a specific culture, and in a specific time and place. Since Grotowski’s initial research knowledge of the human body has changed, but the concepts are the same. The physicality of the rehearsals demanded an intimacy with oneself. Very often the imagination we have of our bodies has little to do with the reality of our anatomy. These misconceptions can create physical habits that prevent us from maintaining ‘a state of idol readiness, passive ability, which makes it possible for an active acting score’ (Grotowski, J. 37). Using Grotowski’s body mapping to establish knowledge of ones physicality, and each others, the various lifts were established. A sense of trust had to be present also, to allow someone to lift and hold you for as long as they can physically handle. Grotowski understood that actors have many blocks, not only physical blocks, but also in terms of their attitude toward their own bodies. Being ashamed of your body or narcissistic toward it both indicate a lack of acceptance of your body. You divide yourself into “me” and “my body” and this attitude creates a feeling of insecurity, a lack of trust in the body, and, therefore, a lack of trust in one’s self. By spending time mapping the body and awakening an active attention, the actor begins to know her body and accept herself. “not trusting your body means not having confidence in yourself; to be divided. Not to be divided; is not just the actors seed of creativity, but is also the seed of life of the possible whole” (that blog). Most of the work became very solitary, working ‘alone together,’ and in relationship with the environment.
Enter Grotowski
Grotowski influenced the work very heavily. His ideals on how theatre should strive to be different from other categories of performance urged the piece to be stripped of spectacle, makeup and superfluous decoration. The core of the performance was the exercises. Everything else would have served as a distraction. It was important to devise a piece without makeup, autonomic costumes and scenography. We did want a separate performance area, but one with close proxemics between the performer and audience. The actor-spectator relationship remained direct. This art of ‘not pretending’ was important throughout the whole process. The aspect of not-pretending meant themes of personal honesty became palpable in the theatre space and a new relationship between actor and spectator was born. Our piece was always about action rather than acting. Grotowski believed that human beings play so many roles in their daily lives that the theatre should be a place where the actor does not play a character, but tries to seek a more authentic self. During the process, we had looked at chair duets. Beginning with areas each individual is uncomfortable being touched in; the players would attempt to displace each other. This illustrates natural impulses, which were something that needed eliminating. The result is freedom from the time-lapse between inner impulse and outer reaction in such a way that the impulse is already an outer reaction. Impulse and action are concurrent: the body vanishes, burns, and the spectator sees only a series of visible impulses. Repeated manipulation of each others impulses resulted in eventual desensitisation, removing the problem of the internal becoming external.
Performance Evaluation
The performance itself was very successful. A primary concern was the audience’s reaction and understanding. On the whole the feedback was positive. Our aims were simple and clear, therefore easily understandable. The gradual detrition of each performer throughout the exercises, and during the day, proved very interesting to spectators. The performance had a strong, definitive structure, using repetition throughout. It was important, due to the experimental nature of the piece, to keep as many variables constant as possible. The method of timing remained constant, the exercises were run on cycles and breaks were not scheduled. The performance space itself looked fantastic. The professional, clean, clinical atmosphere was easily conveyed to the audience, and using Grotowski inspired much of the layout. In depth research into extentialism revealed many similarities between the piece and Grotowski’s production of The Woman is a Devil. Both include a quartet of actors against a backdrop of black curtains. The minimalistic environment emphasises the individual’s isolation, developing the existentialism of the piece.
Although the piece was highly successful, it could be developed in many further ways. Although the performers worked incredibly hard during the rehearsal process to develop core strength and stamina, the physical fitness was still an issue. Having only the last two month of the process to train, the levels of fitness were not at their peak. Never-the-less, this then provided the audience with a better visual representation of the body’s collapse. Shaking and sweating were visible side effects, along with breathlessness.
Another development could be integrating the audience. There were a large number of spectators on the day, yet there was absolutely no interaction. The silence was an important aspect for this performance, but when taking it to Grantham it would perhaps be more prudent to invite the audience to join in and compete in various challenges.
Due to the change in site, certain spaces were not utilised. Having the entire floor, the group could have split up the performance in various areas. The lift for example would have provided a wonderful space, using movement of the space, and the actor. Another example is the disabled toilet, or even the corridor itself. Given the opportunity again, these areas would have been used as their potential is now obvious.
Another idea was to introduce the piece. Not vocally, but by printing pamphlets or information on the theories and definitions behind our piece. Having spent a lot of time researching the Newton and gravity, it was a little disappointing to not include it in the piece.
This process has been difficult, confusing and very stressful at times. The major issues were grasping the concept of site, then catering to the festival’s requirements and having to cope with the shift in site. After grasping the concept, the devising itself became very problematic, but by research and simplification the performance was achieved. Although physically strenuous, the performance itself worked very well and was as effective as we had hoped.

Bibliography

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