The train is about to leave the station and head into the land of wonderful chaos. I am talking about the production 'The Exception and The Rule'. You may notice there is a new page in the tabs at th side for this show. Keep checking it out as I update it and post important stuff.
You will see that I have posted the draft press release. How exciting is it when you do that???? You put the show into concrete words and are telling the world 'It is really going to happen, and this is what it is going to be'. You are also saying 'Come on in!'.
We are at the staging where casting is almost finalised (pending a couple of acceptances), a rehearsal schedule is drafted, a production meeting is scheduled, and room bookings are being sorted out. Good stuff!
I actually felt really guilty this morning when I saw emails from the Stage Manager and Production Manager. They have obviously been working hard whilst I lazed the weekend away. That is why I thought I should be a bit more productive today, and thus the media release is done. Guilt really is a brilliant motivator!
Of course, the next urgent task it do mock up some photographs. I might need to have a chat with the Stage Manager about that - see what actors would be available and think about the kind of shots we could take. Craziness is a-coming! :D
Tuesday 17 December 2013
Saturday 30 November 2013
Another Revelation
Such a great day today. This morning I attended the performance making workshop run by the DIG collective at MU. To begin, I discovered that the person leading the workshop was a post grad VCA animatuer whose work I saw last year. It was nice to be able to connect her to her work so that I felt I had a understanding of where she was coming from.
We did a lot of fun stuff, with a focus on some Le Coq techniques. This was exciting for me because I had heard about Le Coq, but I hadn't been able to find out many specifics when I Googled. We did this brilliant changing faces exercise where you respond to a face being pulled, but you do so by turning away from the person, coming up with an answering face before turning back to them. It turns into a really interesting non-verbal conversation, that is very considered.
The second main element we looked at was the 7 stages of excitability - super relaxed, relaxed, pragmatic, neutral mask, excitable, operatic, and rigid. My favourite was relaxed. It is kind of like you are drunk. I seemed to knock a lot of people over whenever I was in super relaxed and relaxed. I also managed to injure my wrist in operatic. I was running away from a tsunami and fell on the floor and slid into the wall. Please note that I did not for a single minute break the pose. That is dedication!
Of course, now I have a black bruise on my hand and a lot of trouble typing the letter 's'. Actually, I hurt all over, but it is my own fault. I don't have anything else I need to achieve today though, so it is relaxation and recovery time now. I hear a cup of tea and a book calling my name...
We did a lot of fun stuff, with a focus on some Le Coq techniques. This was exciting for me because I had heard about Le Coq, but I hadn't been able to find out many specifics when I Googled. We did this brilliant changing faces exercise where you respond to a face being pulled, but you do so by turning away from the person, coming up with an answering face before turning back to them. It turns into a really interesting non-verbal conversation, that is very considered.
The second main element we looked at was the 7 stages of excitability - super relaxed, relaxed, pragmatic, neutral mask, excitable, operatic, and rigid. My favourite was relaxed. It is kind of like you are drunk. I seemed to knock a lot of people over whenever I was in super relaxed and relaxed. I also managed to injure my wrist in operatic. I was running away from a tsunami and fell on the floor and slid into the wall. Please note that I did not for a single minute break the pose. That is dedication!
Of course, now I have a black bruise on my hand and a lot of trouble typing the letter 's'. Actually, I hurt all over, but it is my own fault. I don't have anything else I need to achieve today though, so it is relaxation and recovery time now. I hear a cup of tea and a book calling my name...
Thursday 28 November 2013
The Art Of Compromise
Progress, progress, progress. I had a very important meeting today regarding the Brecht. I went into the Union House and had a chat with Clynton about what was happening in our performance week and what the limitations would be. They are quite severe, but as we all know, restriction enhances creativity.
I had this stunningly brilliant idea of placing the seating on the stage and performing on the seating tiers, giving us a vertical space to work in. Unfortunately, this is not going to be possible because we will be sharing the space with possibly 2 other groups, so I will have to use the stage. This is significant because it changes from a verticle space to a horizontal space. There isn't really anything I can do about it though. The other problem is that because it is a shared space I can't really erect anything to create a vertical space either. Oh well. I will save the tears for later. Right now I have to reimagine my concept.
I spent a bit of time in the space and did some visualising. In the end I think it will still work, and you never know - some gem may appear that would never have been possible working vertically. Maybe the river scene will be more powerful? It also means I can try challenging the actors to work vertically rather than relying on the space.
Clynton has agreed to the use of two 1.2x1.2 rostra, and I have permission to tape the floor up in a design if I choose to, so that might be the way to go. We can still use a drop for some shadow puppetry, and I had this brilliant idea on the way home where we can then pull the cloths down and then they become flags behind the judge for the final scene. Quite exciting really. And as I write this, I realise that I can bring my fascination with Vorticism into this in the tape design. It is the right era and has the right energy. Mmmmmmm. I think I might get to some sketching now:)
I had this stunningly brilliant idea of placing the seating on the stage and performing on the seating tiers, giving us a vertical space to work in. Unfortunately, this is not going to be possible because we will be sharing the space with possibly 2 other groups, so I will have to use the stage. This is significant because it changes from a verticle space to a horizontal space. There isn't really anything I can do about it though. The other problem is that because it is a shared space I can't really erect anything to create a vertical space either. Oh well. I will save the tears for later. Right now I have to reimagine my concept.
I spent a bit of time in the space and did some visualising. In the end I think it will still work, and you never know - some gem may appear that would never have been possible working vertically. Maybe the river scene will be more powerful? It also means I can try challenging the actors to work vertically rather than relying on the space.
Clynton has agreed to the use of two 1.2x1.2 rostra, and I have permission to tape the floor up in a design if I choose to, so that might be the way to go. We can still use a drop for some shadow puppetry, and I had this brilliant idea on the way home where we can then pull the cloths down and then they become flags behind the judge for the final scene. Quite exciting really. And as I write this, I realise that I can bring my fascination with Vorticism into this in the tape design. It is the right era and has the right energy. Mmmmmmm. I think I might get to some sketching now:)
Friday 22 November 2013
Meeting Meyerhold
What an interesting and rather fantastic day it was today.
The first and possibly best bit of news is that I have been offered an interview for the solo artist residency at VU. It is scheduled for 26th November which is only a couple of days away, so I had better get my thoughts together and gather some materials to show that I have a plan! I guess that is my weekend sewn up for me lol.
I also watched the final two Masters of Writing for Performance readings today. Overall it has been a pleasant series. Only one reading I wanted to walk out of. I might have if I hadn't been sitting right next to Rob Draffin and if Raimondo Cortese hadn't been in the house. It didn't improve and I will never get that hour and a half back. I learnt a lot about performance structure watching the various readings - about what works and, more importantly, what doesn't work. I had some fun too. There was a horror piece called 'Dead Twin' which was fun. Mainly for it's genre, but fun anyway. Also, 'Virgins and Cowboys' had me laughing out loud a lot.
Probably the most productive part of my day, however, was my research into Meyerhold's Biomechanics. I am looking into it because I want to incorporate it into the production of 'The Exception and the Rule' because Brecht was really into his work. When I was a student at VCA I had a research assignment into Stanislavsky and I first met Meyerhold there. I have to confess that I had very little understanding of what he was trying to do or how it fit in with Stanislavsky's work. Today, I realised that the whole point is that it didn't. It was actually a reaction against realism and naturalism. I watched a lot of YouTube and saw some great examples and analysis. I saw one clip, though, that really opened my eyes about how it works in performance. A group of actors at a University in Iowa spent months researching biomechanics and then performed Meyerhold's first play 'The Magificent Cuckold'. I soooo get it now. It actually falls into a school of story telling which includes Commedia and Farce amongst others. It is highly exagerated and incredibly specific, and kind of works like a moving tableau over which the text is layered, rather than starting with the text as you would with realism or naturalism. I can see this is going to be fun.
My next step is to have a look at Chinese Theatre because Brecht really liked that too, and I want to incorporate some mask work which I think will be informed by this.
The first and possibly best bit of news is that I have been offered an interview for the solo artist residency at VU. It is scheduled for 26th November which is only a couple of days away, so I had better get my thoughts together and gather some materials to show that I have a plan! I guess that is my weekend sewn up for me lol.
I also watched the final two Masters of Writing for Performance readings today. Overall it has been a pleasant series. Only one reading I wanted to walk out of. I might have if I hadn't been sitting right next to Rob Draffin and if Raimondo Cortese hadn't been in the house. It didn't improve and I will never get that hour and a half back. I learnt a lot about performance structure watching the various readings - about what works and, more importantly, what doesn't work. I had some fun too. There was a horror piece called 'Dead Twin' which was fun. Mainly for it's genre, but fun anyway. Also, 'Virgins and Cowboys' had me laughing out loud a lot.
Probably the most productive part of my day, however, was my research into Meyerhold's Biomechanics. I am looking into it because I want to incorporate it into the production of 'The Exception and the Rule' because Brecht was really into his work. When I was a student at VCA I had a research assignment into Stanislavsky and I first met Meyerhold there. I have to confess that I had very little understanding of what he was trying to do or how it fit in with Stanislavsky's work. Today, I realised that the whole point is that it didn't. It was actually a reaction against realism and naturalism. I watched a lot of YouTube and saw some great examples and analysis. I saw one clip, though, that really opened my eyes about how it works in performance. A group of actors at a University in Iowa spent months researching biomechanics and then performed Meyerhold's first play 'The Magificent Cuckold'. I soooo get it now. It actually falls into a school of story telling which includes Commedia and Farce amongst others. It is highly exagerated and incredibly specific, and kind of works like a moving tableau over which the text is layered, rather than starting with the text as you would with realism or naturalism. I can see this is going to be fun.
My next step is to have a look at Chinese Theatre because Brecht really liked that too, and I want to incorporate some mask work which I think will be informed by this.
Monday 18 November 2013
A New Beginning
It looks like 2014 will be a year of new beginnings. This is kind of the automatic result of endings, but to be honest, I think this should all work out okay. I was made redundant from my job last week. Normally this would be really upsetting, but my boss was a narcissist and a micro-manager so it was a bit of a nightmare working there anyway. It has also freed me up to look at the direction my life is taking and make some positive steps into the future.
Positive step #1. I just got given the opportunity to direct Brecht's 'The Exception and the Rule'. So exciting in many ways. Firstly, I haven't directed anything this year, so this is a great opportunity to get back on the horse as they say. It is a really exciting play. Strong, political, polemic writing very suited to my rather outspoken political views. Really relevant to the times we are living in with Abbott as Prime Minister too! I have some great ideas and am looking forward to realising them.
Positive step #2. I have applied for a year long artistic residency at Victoria University. I have a plan to explore Vorticism next year, and how it might be applied to performance making. I am going to do it on my own anyway, but if I can do it in a supportive environment and with free studio access all the better!
So, as you can see, I have bright hopes for 2014 and the year is going to start with a bang. Superb!
Positive step #1. I just got given the opportunity to direct Brecht's 'The Exception and the Rule'. So exciting in many ways. Firstly, I haven't directed anything this year, so this is a great opportunity to get back on the horse as they say. It is a really exciting play. Strong, political, polemic writing very suited to my rather outspoken political views. Really relevant to the times we are living in with Abbott as Prime Minister too! I have some great ideas and am looking forward to realising them.
Positive step #2. I have applied for a year long artistic residency at Victoria University. I have a plan to explore Vorticism next year, and how it might be applied to performance making. I am going to do it on my own anyway, but if I can do it in a supportive environment and with free studio access all the better!
So, as you can see, I have bright hopes for 2014 and the year is going to start with a bang. Superb!
Sunday 21 July 2013
Ethics
Today I got to attend the last MTC 'Open Up' session. I am going to miss them. They are so stimulating and it is great to see important issues discussed publicly.
Participants this week were Cameron Woodhouse (theatre critic), Adina Jacobs (soon to be resident director at Belvoir), Joanna Murray-Smith (playwright), Andrew Upton (STC), and Simon Stone (resident director at Belvoir). The topic was 'The Art of Adaptation'. And what a timely topic that was.
There were so many controversial comments, but then, this is a very controversial area. The big question for me is whether the form of regietheatre should be taken as the yardstick for theatre or is it just another school of theatremaking. I would argue for the latter, but I can see that the theatre makers who use the technique would absolutely refuse that idea and take the position that it is the natural evolution and base form of the art in the modern era. I suspect they would not even consider stating it as the form in use as they would if they were doing something absurdist or commedia for example.
This was not really the controversy I refer to however. Andrew Upton made a statement that he considers adaptations to be Australian works. This drew a negative reaction from a number of people in the room (me included). He also said that the STC support new work and said that the level of Australian work produced has never dropped. At a later point in the proceedings he was forced to admit that if you exclude adaptations from the definition of Australian work, they only produce around 1-2 Australian works each year out of a season of 12 shows.
This was really a sideline to the big issue of the day was though. What is adaptation, how far can a director go, and what are the rights of the playwright. Simon Stone bore the brunt of this so I want to feel sorry for him, but he was so arrogant that I can't make myself feel it. Of course, the whole controversy of his changing Death of a Salesman came up. He had the temerity to say that it was a 'beaurocrat's' fault and that he had no obligations in this regard. There was a young guy in the audience who saw the show and did not have a lot of theatrical experience. He said he liked the show but later found out that it does not end the way Simon directed it and then read the play. He said that his appreciation of the show diminished quite a lot once he had read it and his big question was why? Why change it? Despite his arrogant demeanour, Simon really did not effectively address the questions presented to him. His default position was it's my art and I can do what I want.
I think this is a really good time in the industry. I think we need to start questioning that position. We need to develop some ethics just like science, medicine, and the law do. I think it does matter what we do and how we do it. Joanna Murray-Smith was asked if she would mind if a director changed her work. At first she said no, that she expects that and it is the nature of the industry. I then later asked if she would feel the same if someone had applied to make a change and she had refused it, but they went ahead anyway. She then admitted that she would be upset by that, and that every change must be applied for.
I think that is another thing we need to look at. I suspect there is a lot of theatre happening where rights are not applied for or the whole story is not being told about what you intend to do. Don't get me wrong. I love regietheatre and it is an important part of my practice, but I am mindful that I am altering someone else's art, and they need to know. I am not trying to be parsimonious. I am trying to respect the artists around me, and therefore myself as an artist. I would not like it to happen to me so why would I do it to someone else?
Time to get off my soapbox now:)
Participants this week were Cameron Woodhouse (theatre critic), Adina Jacobs (soon to be resident director at Belvoir), Joanna Murray-Smith (playwright), Andrew Upton (STC), and Simon Stone (resident director at Belvoir). The topic was 'The Art of Adaptation'. And what a timely topic that was.
There were so many controversial comments, but then, this is a very controversial area. The big question for me is whether the form of regietheatre should be taken as the yardstick for theatre or is it just another school of theatremaking. I would argue for the latter, but I can see that the theatre makers who use the technique would absolutely refuse that idea and take the position that it is the natural evolution and base form of the art in the modern era. I suspect they would not even consider stating it as the form in use as they would if they were doing something absurdist or commedia for example.
This was not really the controversy I refer to however. Andrew Upton made a statement that he considers adaptations to be Australian works. This drew a negative reaction from a number of people in the room (me included). He also said that the STC support new work and said that the level of Australian work produced has never dropped. At a later point in the proceedings he was forced to admit that if you exclude adaptations from the definition of Australian work, they only produce around 1-2 Australian works each year out of a season of 12 shows.
This was really a sideline to the big issue of the day was though. What is adaptation, how far can a director go, and what are the rights of the playwright. Simon Stone bore the brunt of this so I want to feel sorry for him, but he was so arrogant that I can't make myself feel it. Of course, the whole controversy of his changing Death of a Salesman came up. He had the temerity to say that it was a 'beaurocrat's' fault and that he had no obligations in this regard. There was a young guy in the audience who saw the show and did not have a lot of theatrical experience. He said he liked the show but later found out that it does not end the way Simon directed it and then read the play. He said that his appreciation of the show diminished quite a lot once he had read it and his big question was why? Why change it? Despite his arrogant demeanour, Simon really did not effectively address the questions presented to him. His default position was it's my art and I can do what I want.
I think this is a really good time in the industry. I think we need to start questioning that position. We need to develop some ethics just like science, medicine, and the law do. I think it does matter what we do and how we do it. Joanna Murray-Smith was asked if she would mind if a director changed her work. At first she said no, that she expects that and it is the nature of the industry. I then later asked if she would feel the same if someone had applied to make a change and she had refused it, but they went ahead anyway. She then admitted that she would be upset by that, and that every change must be applied for.
I think that is another thing we need to look at. I suspect there is a lot of theatre happening where rights are not applied for or the whole story is not being told about what you intend to do. Don't get me wrong. I love regietheatre and it is an important part of my practice, but I am mindful that I am altering someone else's art, and they need to know. I am not trying to be parsimonious. I am trying to respect the artists around me, and therefore myself as an artist. I would not like it to happen to me so why would I do it to someone else?
Time to get off my soapbox now:)
Sunday 7 July 2013
It's A Long Way To Tipperary...
Well hasn't it been a long time since I spoke with you! It wasn't deliberate. I didn't decide to drop out. There was no personal or political statement involved. Time just disappeared. I got swallowed up in a vortex of happening and couldn't find the space or intent to do anything but participate.
So what was that period that had me so engulfed. Sadly very little of true excitement. Illness assailed me over the first couple of months of the new year and then I suddenly found myself preparing to head to the Dublin Dance Festival with (what we hope) was the last presentation of Monumental. It was a fun time but I am finding long haul plane travel increasingly difficult, so I am nowhere near as enamored of touring as I was when I was younger.
Today I attended a forum at the MTC. It was a Q&A session with industry leaders and was really informative. There were great representatives - a working actor, Brett Sheehy, the AD for the Melbourne Writer's Festival, Emma Valente, Daniel Schlusser, Lally Katz, and the AD for Belvoir St Theatre. The questions were many and varied and all of the panelists aimed to answer them concisely but honestly. I really like this kind of public industry discussion. It is true to say that there was very little of any kind of controversy raised and it was not a particularly interactive format. It was still a great way to stimulate discussion and let people in to understanding a bit about how people work, and how 'the system' works. There is another one in a fortnight about adaptations. Now THAT should be a bit more lively I think. lol
So what was that period that had me so engulfed. Sadly very little of true excitement. Illness assailed me over the first couple of months of the new year and then I suddenly found myself preparing to head to the Dublin Dance Festival with (what we hope) was the last presentation of Monumental. It was a fun time but I am finding long haul plane travel increasingly difficult, so I am nowhere near as enamored of touring as I was when I was younger.
Today I attended a forum at the MTC. It was a Q&A session with industry leaders and was really informative. There were great representatives - a working actor, Brett Sheehy, the AD for the Melbourne Writer's Festival, Emma Valente, Daniel Schlusser, Lally Katz, and the AD for Belvoir St Theatre. The questions were many and varied and all of the panelists aimed to answer them concisely but honestly. I really like this kind of public industry discussion. It is true to say that there was very little of any kind of controversy raised and it was not a particularly interactive format. It was still a great way to stimulate discussion and let people in to understanding a bit about how people work, and how 'the system' works. There is another one in a fortnight about adaptations. Now THAT should be a bit more lively I think. lol
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