An open mind has

been the attribute

that I have tried to
obtain this week. I
feel that as a
Performer, I have
been able to be
enthusiastic about not
only my ideas, but also the ideas of others. My strength has lied in my
positivity and attitude to the work. I feel as a company, we have all
obtained this strength during this week. Last week, it seemed as if we were
being very possessive and sensitive to new ideas, but now we now seem a
lot more accustomed to them. A weakness of mine would be my continued
sensitivity and possession over my work. I need to feel in complete control
of it in order to feel like it is being properly executed, which can put a
negative energy into the work we are producing. As a company, I feel we
need to work on our overall energy and attitude to work. There have been
times during the week where the energy has been dropped and we have lost
focus on what we want to achieve. We need to be maintaining a healthy
lifestyle in order to ensure that we are prepared for the physical demands
of this kind of work. Even though we have tried a lot more ideas this week,
we are still questioning each others ideas, rather than experimenting with
them. I feel that when we constantly questioning each others ideas, it not
only wastes times, but puts a negative energy inside the space which proves
to be unproductive. Its as if we are competing with each other and trying
to make our own sense of creativity seem superior to others. Next week, if
we want to make sure we and the piece progress, we need to do a lot more
doing, and lot less questioning.
We have managed to seek outside help and direction this week, which has
proved to improve the overall strength of the work. Claire managed to help
improve our physical clarity in the shadow puppetry section of the piece. I
feel that with her help, we have a much better understanding of the
Preaching for
Productivity

(03/10/2014) (WAYS OF SEEING)
Credited: Google Images
importance of being precise with our movement. Beforehand, it seemed as
if a lot of our physicality was passive and uninteresting, whereas it now
seems to be a lot more alluring. I think the audience will need to see things
from behind the scrim as clear and prominent as possible.
Carleigh also helped develop some elements of the physical section of the
piece. This proved to be extremely beneficial as I feel we were all getting
stuck in predictable patterns when it came to the choreography. The
company and I learnt that we must never make the choreography so
predictable that the audience can then tell what is going to come next. Its
important to add different dynamics to any piece and its extremely
important to always experiment so things dont become so robotic. Carleigh
helped diminish our trait of always repeating a lot of the choreography over
the same amount of counts, which proved to seem very predictable from an
audiences point of view. I really appreciated how much this direction
affected our overall attitude to the work afterwards. We seemed to be able
to be a lot more inventive and creative with the ideas that we wanted to
execute.
This week has seen some confusion educed debate over what our overall
piece should be based on. I think these debates have stemmed from our
individual frustrations over how interpretive the piece is. On a personal
level, I have accepted that the piece is very ambiguous and can be
perceived from various different perspectives. Even though I have accepted
this; it is getting very tedious to see that other company members
constantly want direct answers to questions that arent necessarily
answerable.
Our overall piece is coming along very well and I have a positive feeling
about its overall story and message. The juxtaposition between the two
sections adds an appealing dynamic to the overall piece. I believe that with
more work, the shadow puppetry section can look very sleek and impressive
with more work. I feel this section adds a playful and at times comedic
element to the piece, which contrasts the more sincere and abstract
physical section. I feel there does still need to be a lot more clarity inside
the story of the dog and its owners, as it can come across as random or
confusing at times. We need to focus on becoming a lot more graceful as an
ensemble, as shadow puppetry accentuates the most subtle physical habits
that different individuals have. I think we could even incorporate elements
of choreography into the shadow puppetry section, in order to make it
appear a lot more like a performance. I would say that the physical section
is probably the most proficient and strong out of the two sections. In a
visual sense it is now starting to become a lot more captivating and
enthralling. The physical section is constantly evolving and I appreciate how
its always making me feel inspired whenever I perform inside of it. I love
its sense of flow and I feel I have added intrigue and a mystical element to
choreography. I feel very proud of the work I have managed to produce and
I feel glad that I have managed to add a dynamic to the overall ensemble
piece. I think the physical piece can be perceived in a variety of different
ways. This came to light, when Carleigh gave her own interpretation of the
piece which was actually something completely different to the original
idea. I believe a performance should always be down to interpretation, as
the audience should always be allowed to think and make their own
judgements. I think a performance that is too precise and literal doesnt
give the audience time to think or digest anything.
This week I have also managed to create and mix the music that we will
be using for the physical section of the piece. I feel like the music that I
have chosen (in some way) acts like the 12
th
performer on stage. I think it
has a true sense of dynamic and I believe that it will suck the audience in
and intrigue them. Although we have choreographed two thirds of the music
we plan to use, we still need to choreograph the last section of the music. I
feel this last song on the mix Crystal Castles I Am Made Of Chalk, will
give perfect closure to the piece. I suggested the idea of using the distorted
and harsh sound at the beginning as a background for when the group or
formation turns against the living thing that I am representing. I think this
adds a twist to the story, because even though the living thing has tried to
find strength and well-being inside the formation, they have now turned on
the living thing in the middle. I think it could also relate back to the
relationship idea that we originally had. For example when a relationship
ends, and a person either takes themselves away from you or is taken away
from you, you feel as if they have a piece of you still.
I believe we are finally being able to feel comfortable inside our and
piece. Next week, we need to continue with being productive and being
open to new ideas and interpretations.