To begin the performance-making process, I thought it would be a good idea to find performance materials and ideas to get started. One performance which I’d seen at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre last year was entitled MK Ultra (2017). MK Ultra was a dance-style performance which detailed the MK Ultra, a significant part of the Illuminati and their involvement in pop culture. The imagery in the performance, particularly their use of geometric triangular shapes to create an almost acid-trip style to the show was particularly influential.
Whilst my performance won’t include dancing (I highly doubt ANY audience wants to see a fully grown man dancing like a dying walrus), I feel that the style of the performance would work for my proposed two minute introduction script. To start the introduction, I had to decide upon the images I wanted, as well as the style/delivery of the section. In light of my influence from MK Ultra, I looked to popular culture to find this imagery.
Above is the mood board I created, with the images I want to use at the start of my piece. In terms of style, I really wanted to go for an eerie beginning, with my voice recorder (with a filter on it) playing on top of the video. The first half of my provisional script writing for this section goes as follows:
V/O In 1776, the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati formed. They were a secret society that operated only for a decade, but their ideology and legacy still continues to this day. There were originally only nine members, with one sole intention – to take over the world.
The Illuminati used symbols, adopted pseudonyms to avoid identification and had complicated hierarchies. Their anti-clerical and anti-royal ideology placed them firmly against the grain of their society. Conservatives within society saw this as an immediate threat to their society and hence, the Illuminati were disbanded and the act of recruitment for secret societies was criminalised in 43 different countries.
But what is their relevance today? Well, just like any legacy, their ideology never died. Whilst the ORIGINAL Illuminati strived to take over the world with their political ideology, the modern day facet appears to have a different agenda. From the 1970s’ to the present day, the new Illuminati, branded the ‘New World Order’, are thought to be embodied throughout popular culture.
It is believed that the modern day Illuminati have the intention to create one dominant totalitarian state across the globe – to be known as the New World Order. In fact, in a recent poll done across Europe, over 28% of people believe that there is a possibility of a New World Order. Some even believe that influence of the Illuminati goes as high as the White House and the Houses of Lord. George Bush once made a rather eerie reference to the order in one of his interviews when he was in office.
(Insert George Bush Clip)
But it’s not just those in political power that have power in this New World Order. Pat Robertson argues that the Illuminati have recruited a variety of different people into the group, all to aid the domination of the New World Order under one key ruler – Baphomet. Baphomet parallels the Christian depictions of Satan, being a fallen angel who [TO CO CONTINUED].
WANT: To continue writing the opening script and to make a multimedia element for my performance.
LEARNT: More about the Illuminati group themselves, as well as the tone I want for the opening of my piece in light of MK Ultra and the imagery I’ve found.
EXPERIENCE: Overall, my experience writing the beginning of my script has been positive. I believe I know which direction I want to continue and will work at finding a way to juxtapose the beginning section of my script with the humorous tone I want for the majority.
Works Cited
Kay, R. (2016) MK Ultra. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB7bBtl1zWM [Accessed 23rd March 2018].