Solo Performance – Newton-Bennett, A.

The focus of our sessions in Week Three, both in sessions 3.1 and 3.2, was on our reactions to particular practitioners. The first practitioner we were presented with was Marina Abramovic, notably her works The Artist is Present (2010), Rhythm 0 (1974) and Lovers (1988). Lovers, as shown in the photo below, involved Marina and her partner Ulay walking from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China, only to meet in the middle where they would end their relationship. The most notable reaction to the performance was the length of time it took for her and Ulay to achieve permission to use the Wall in the performance. It took Abramovic EIGHT years to achieve the permission to use the wall to end their relationship, which could be argued to either be an act of insanity or a work of genius. Her dedication to the art opened the discussion of dedication to performance, as she has often stated, particularly in her TEDx talk, that “blood can act as a performance material, your body is the vehicle” (Tedx, 2018).

 

Abramovic states that performance “is a mental and physical construction, performed with an audience in a specific time and space” (Abramovic, 2018). The idea of performance being a ‘specific time and space’ was particularly intriguing for me. One of my initial performance ideas is to discuss and use imagery from The Illuminati and the New World Order, poking fun at the way in which they are depicted in popular culture. Creating a specific ‘world’ where I have a specific time and space for the audience could be an effective way of create the tone I want for my final performance product. I had the idea of using an installation style for my performance, as the main purposes of installations is to “act as an interruption to the everyday place-world of the […] site and the associated habitus” (Hunter, 2012, 261) encouraging spectators to “re-assess their surroundings and experience them in an extra-daily manner (Hunter, 2012, 261). Owing to the prevalence of the Illuminati in popular culture, I feel that it would be interesting to explore reactions and interpretations of their presence in the media on regular individuals through an installation-based performance. To do this, I would focus on creating an atmospheric performance space/design to set a somewhat serious tonality to begin with, which would be interrupted by a comedic analysis of pop culture and media symbolism. Despite my preliminary research, I still believe there is much research to be done into installation work and how to create mood and atmosphere appropriate to my performance idea.

 

In session 3.2, we were introduced to the artist Karen Finley, an artist who discusses female identity and sexuality, often in a rather explicit manner. Her depiction of hysteria through poetry particularly resonated with me, as it showed a way to convey emotion and passion about a subject with problematic connotations and histories in a hard-hitting manner. Hysteria as a term is particular problematic, as it was “originally believed that hysteria and hysterical symptoms were caused by a defect in the womb, and thus, only women could become hysterical” (Sine, 2015). Work which tackles issues head-on in an interesting manner is particular intriguing, as it leaves little room for the theatrical and instead places focus on being informative. The informative nature of her performance is the area I wish to explore further, as the representation of the Illuminati, like hysteria, is convoluted and misunderstood by the mass media and audience. Through a depiction of comedy, I aim to poke fun at the representation of the Illuminati and the idea of conspiracy in popular culture, to then reiterate the misinformation and ‘stretched truths’ surrounding them and their iconography.

 

WANT: To begin creating the basis of a performance around my initial idea, whilst further researching how to create an ‘installation’ based performance.

LEARNT: 1) About installations and the beginnings of creating tone through set design.

2) The importance of set, timing and tonality in performance.

EXPERIENCE: Overall my experience with the work this week has been very informing, allowing me to find a precedent for my work and find an overarching idea to experiment with.

 

Works Cited

Hunter, V. (2012) ‘Moving Sites’: Transformation and Re-location in Site-specific Dance Performance. Contemporary Theatre Review. 22(2) 261.

Sine, S. (2015) On the sexist etimology of “hysteria,” and what academia did about it. Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@peacelovetrig/on-the-sexist-etimology-of-hysteria-and-what-academia-did-about-it-ef98815ddb6c [Accessed 22nd February 2018].

In session 2.1, the key focus was autobiography as a means of creating a performance. The script we studied was Refreshment by Craig Gingrich-Philbrook. As opposed to the storytelling we had explored the week prior, body and motion were central to the piece. In Refreshment, the writer uses motions such as “gesturing for emphasis” (Gingrich-Philbrook, 1997, 354) and “I step a bit to the side, and say, in a stage whisper”(Gringrich-Philbrook, 1997, 358) for example. Writing such explicit and detailed movement directions allows the audience to visualise the story by setting the scene for them and placing them further in the performance. Gingrich-Philbrook’s imagery which described the story was something that particularly interested me, as he used an everyday item such as food (sorbet) to represent blood. Connotations of the ‘raspberry sorbet’ to represent blood worked well with the overall theme of the piece, detailing the story of a stabbing at an LGBTQ+ pride event. Blood and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s are closely related and it is difficult to discuss AIDS without blood and transfusions being brought up.  With the piece being written in 1997, it acts as a retrospective reflection of this and the writers struggle as a gay man who lived through this time period.

 

I was intrigued by Autobiographical Performance because it can be argued that it is some of the only work that can be considered truly original, coming from your own memory and person. Seeing as comedy is a route I currently feel I would like to take, I researched into how autobiographical storytelling can be made performative. Many stand-up comedians use autobiographical performance as the basis of their material, including drag queen and comedian Bianca Del Rio. Their ‘insult-based’ comedy was influential as it discussed a way to present information about yourself to an audience without presenting yourself as being ‘above’ them, or as knowing more than them in any way.

Del Rio manages to combine their signature ‘insult-style’ comedy and turn it on their self. As opposed to the style that Gingrich-Philbrook takes, the performance relies less on movement and instead relies on the material. Where the two performances meet are the way in which they interact with the audience. Comedy is a particularly prevalent way to interact with the audience because it establishes a light-hearted nature between the performer and audience.

 

Comparing the work of Del Rio and Gingrich-Philbrook to Marina Abramovic, whom we were introduced to in Session 2.2, added an interesting debate about performance and using personal details to evoke emotion. In her 2010 performance The Artist is Present, Abramovic places a table and two chairs in the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and stares into audience members eyes for a minute. The controversy arose when her ex-lover Ulay attended the performance, resulting in the both of them breaking down into tears. Whilst their previous relationship does add an emotional dynamic to the performance, it is highly debatable whether the interaction was genuinely unplanned and wasn’t used as a publicity stunt. As a personal precedent, I believe that if I were to explore autobiographical performance, I would want the work to be genuinely and there would be no ‘stunt’ or ‘gag’ planned. Therefore, whilst I am still intrigued in using autobiographical performance for comedic reasons, I feel as if my own autobiography couldn’t be used in an emotional or exposing way, as it is likely the work could (possibly unintentionally) be altered and ingenuine.

 

(Skip to 1:25 for relevant section)

WANT: To continue looking into how autobiographical performance and comedy (particularly stand-up) can be merged into one. I also want to discover ways in which I can potentially use body movement, like the autobiographical script studied, introduced.

LEARNT: 1) That movement can be used within storytelling to ‘move’ the audience through the process of the performance.

2) Autobiographical performance does not have to be emotional and evoke strong emotive feelings. There is merit in using your own story to make an audience laugh and appreciate your experiences.

3) There is a fine line between creating a ‘genuine’ autobiographical performance and then focusing too much on the theatrical spectacle. As seen with Abramovic’ work, bringing real emotion to a performance can create a strong reaction, but if it isn’t genuine eventually an audience will be aware of it, as detailed by the controversy and discussion surrounding whether hers and Ulay’s meeting was staged.

EXPERIENCE: Overall, my research surrounding Autobiographical performance has been positive. I’ve discovered the ways in which I would want to present autobiographical accounts and am more aware of the limits to it as a performance style.

 

Works Cited

Abramovic, M. (2010) The Artist is Present. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS0Tg0IjCp4 [Accessed 15th February 2018]

Gringrich-Phibrook, C. (1997) Autobiographical Performance Scripts. Text and Performance Quarterly, 352-360.

 

In this weeks session, the key focus was the use of storytelling and the creation of a narrative for the purpose of performance. One opinion of storytelling was that the context of where the story is being told is fundamental to whether it can be considered highly performative or not. The somewhat menial example of ‘someone telling their friends a story’ in an informal setting may not be considered a performance, as it lacks a certain level of skill and finesse. Where storytelling can be considered an art is when the individual elements of the story are produced in a theatrical function. The difference between contexts allow for storytelling to become a ‘show’, rather than simply a recital of information.

 

This isn’t to say that’s storytelling isn’t inherently performative, as it is an activity where you present yourself and your ideas to a spectating ‘audience’. According to the fundamentals of Schechner, to ‘perform’ is to “show off, to go to the extremes, to underline an action for those watching” (Schechner, 2013, 28). Therefore, it can be seen that there is merit in storytelling as an art form regardless of where it is set. Comparisons between ‘the theatrical’ storytelling and relax storytelling is simply only the location in which they are set and the conventions which are applied to them.

 

 

In light of discovering my keen interest in comedic performance when researching after the previous session, I decided to look into comedic theatrical storytelling. This is what I aim to achieve within my post-workshop research next week.

WANT: To explore the impact of storytelling and how it relates to Verbatim Theatre. To also research comedic storytelling and how it can become theatrical.

LEARNT: That storytelling is an art form regardless of its context, it is simply viewed differently depending on where it is set and the skills set behind the telling.

EXPERIENCE: My experience with storytelling work has been positive. It isn’t a style I had previously considered for solo performance, but there is such merit to using both your own and other peoples stories to create a theatrical spectacle.

 

Works Cited

 

Schechner, R. (2013) Performance Studies: An Introduction. London: Routledge.

On the 29th January 2018, we started our first Solo Performance session. One artist which we were introduced to that was particularly intriguing was Matt Chewiwie. According to his artistic statement first published in December 2008, his sole intention is to create work which “strives to find the inner child in others” (Chewiwie, 2008). Having been introduced to the work of Chewiwie, it reaffirmed the idea that performance in a solo context can be produced through a comedic lens, as opposed to one which takes a serious focus.

His obsession with staging the insanities and amazements commonplace in life are intriguing to me as it introduces the lack of limitations within a solo performance. The vast majority of his work manages to retain this, in particular his Step Dad Poetry (2008) which involves a child-like dance mat which is retrospective of common childhood arcade experiences. Through the use of the mat, Chewiwie explores seemingly serious topics at the beginning, managing to take a comedic turn at the end of the piece through utilising the mat to performance a somewhat menial activity to reinforce the child-like nature of his work.

 

Chewiwie’s work inspired me to research into comedic solo performances in the mainstream popular culture. Stand-up comedy is an art form which I have admired for a long time, so viewing Chewiwie’s entertaining blend of planned stand-up and theatrical spectacle influenced me to research further into their work. UK-based comedian Lee Evans is one who uses physical comedy alongside the spoken word to create a performance. His performances can be described as having “captured audiences’ and critics’ imaginiations with his irrepressible physicality and disarming charm” (Evans, 2018). The way in which he uses his physicality develops a freer audience-performer relationship, as displaying himself as light-hearted and ‘one of the lads’ removes a distance between the two. Removing theatrical distance between the performer and the spectator is something that I would like to explore within my performance, as I believe there is a lot of merit in making a statement to an audience when they feel more comfortable and immersed within the performance. Breaking the ‘fourth wall’, per say,

 

The impact of breaking the Fourth Wall for comedic effect was highlighted by Brecht. According to Davis,

“Though Brecht was certainly

not the first modern playwright to break the fourth wall, he was perhaps

the first to seriously consider the social, political, and philosophical implications

of the technique, which had otherwise been employed to achieve a primarily comedic effect” (Davis, 2015, 87)

Both Evans and Chewiwie are successful in breaking the fourth wall by humanizing themselves to rid of the distance and barrier between actor and spectator. As detailed by Davis, ridding of this wall allows an ability to make more of a philosophical, social and political implication in performance. I am a firm believer that comedy is the ideal vehicle to make commentary on serious issues. Moving forward, this is something I would like to explore further.

WANT: To further research the impact of comedic performance in creating a social, political and philosophical comment

LEARNT: About how the fourth wall implicates a barrier between self and audience. The strength of comedy and how physical and nostalgia are powerful tools in performance.

EXPERIENCE: My experience with the work researched this week has been positive. It has given me suitable scope to further the nuances of the performances I wish to create.

Works Cited

Chewiwie, M. (2008) Artist Statement. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yJPZfFOrsc [Accessed 5th February 2017].

Chewiwie, M. (2008) Stepdad Poetry. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoouBqguWzg [Accessed 5th February 2017].

Davis, N. (2015) Not a Soul in Sight! Beckett’s Fourth Wall. Journal of Modern Literature, 38(2) 87.

Evans, L. (2014) Channel 4 Comedy Gala. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yn7RMqis-E [Accessed 5th February 2017]

Evans, L. (2018) Lee Evans Website. Available at https://www.leeevans.net [Accessed 5th February 2017]

A blog detailing the creating and researching process of a performance as part of the Solo Performance module at the University of Drama.