Author: Amy Houchin

So When You See It has been performed and what a rewarding experience it was. I feel so lucky to have worked with such an incredible group of people. We combined so well together, ensuring a cohesive performance. The overwhelming feedback we received, including comments that ‘it was delightfully performed, conceived and staged’ and how ‘there were many quite beautiful moments, haunting, sensitive, moving, entertaining’ (Jordan, 2015), made our hard work worthwhile.

Performance wise, I feel our total connectivity with each other really shone through. Our commitment throughout rehearsals meant our scenes encompassing fluctuating emotions were performed confidently, captivating our audience. This allowed our sobbing and laughing audience to easily determine the famous images behind our refracted narratives but view them more personally, making our declaration ‘Refract is opening your eyes to new possibilities’ (Refract, 2015) triumphant. Our piece being primarily physical, I was concerned how effectively we would provoke an emotional response. However it is argued that ‘when the body is pushed beyond the normal limits… interesting articulations can be discovered’ (Govan et al, 2007, 172). Notably during the scene where Dolly lost her baby, its extreme physicality effectively conveyed Dolly’s emotional and physical state and provoked more of a reaction from our audience than perhaps dialogue would have managed.

As costume designer, I couldn’t be happier with how costume transitions went. We had one technical hitch which was so minor it didn’t jeopardize the performance. Minimal costume was all that was required to enhance the foundations of our story.  For example, although I only added a shawl and pearls when my character, Dolly became old, these stereotypically old ladies’ garments alone were sufficient to impart ageing. The subsequent removal of these was again, all that was required to symbolise my demise and evoke the audience’s emotional response.

Being part of Refract has pushed me beyond my comfort zone, taught me the value of determination and persistence and, to quote one of Steph’s lines, has proved to me that when you ‘walk’ and work together, ‘you are an army of humans’.

 

Works Cited:

Crow, P. (2015).

Govan, E., Nichols, H. and Normington, K. (2007) Making a Performance: Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices. 1^st edition. London: Routledge.

Jordan, A. (2015) Drama Subject Site (DRA-SUBJECT): When You See It. [email] University of Lincoln, 18 May.

Refract Theatre Company (2015) Manifesto. [online] Available from https://refracttheatrecompany.dev.lincoln.ac.uk/our-manifesto [Accessed 20 May 2015].

 

 

 

As the public performance of When You See It draws nearer, our scenes are really beginning to take shape. Laura has recently provided Refract’s actors with the show’s running order which has given a much needed ascending structure to our fragmented and through-line scenes which they previously lacked. Mindful of our declaration that ‘Refract is storytelling’ (Refract, 2015), fictional linearity throughout the show is crucial.

The finalised running order has enabled me to fully comprehend the sentimentality of Billy and Dolly’s through-line story. Before the structure was embedded, I struggled to sympathise with Dolly’s infatuation, and eternal but problematical relationship, with Billy. I can now fully appreciate her emotional life journey throughout the performance and focus on making her story a convincing one.

 

Another complication with Billy and Dolly’s scenes has been staging their relationship. Because the production chiefly engages physical theatre to depict narrative, a performance style that ‘emphasises the actor’s body, rather than their words or their mind’ (Pavis, 2013, 181), and one I have little experience of, I initially found it difficult to convey an emotional connection with Billy. Bereft of speech, Tom and myself explored alternative means of creating a believable story including symmetrical, timed movements and close body contact. Once these had been practiced and perfected, the scenes instantly conveyed emotional intensity on a personal scale as intended by Laura.

Establishing the running order has also helped clarify my costume plans. Before the scenes were ordered it was difficult to determine what costume I needed for each section of the production. I have now been able to create a series of documents which, for example, records, scene by scene, which performer needs which costume, costume positions on stage and where they re-locate to. These were trialled in our tech and, apart from minor adjustments, were deemed successful.

Now that When You See It has a clear structure for myself as a performer and ready in terms of costume preparation, I can hardly wait to stage this brilliant and multifariously emotional production.

 

Works Cited:

Lancashire, A. (2015).

Memorable Kisses Throughout History (2015) [photograph] Available from: http://www.slideshare.net/guimera/memorable-kisses-throughout-history [Accessed 7 May].

Pavis, P. (2013) Contemporary Mise en Scène: Staging Theatre Today. London: Routledge.

Refract Theatre Company (2015) Manifesto. [online] Available from https://refracttheatrecompany.dev.lincoln.ac.uk/our-manifesto [Accessed 7 May 2015].

 

 

 

Designing costume for When You See It has, so far, been a challenging process. Deciding what myself and my fellow performers should wear when, for the most part, we are not portraying distinguishable characters but are simply being generic actors, is far from easy. Thankfully, after a workshop with director Laura, my costume ideas have begun to flourish. As preliminary preparation for the Billy and Dolly through-line scenes which Tom and myself will be performing, Laura made us watch Theatre ad Infinitum’s Translunar Paradise. The production was inspiring and not only aided the development of mine and Tom’s scenes, but also influenced my ideas for costume.

Instead of full costume, Translunar Paradise invites you to ‘experience a journey of life, death, and enduring love’ (DESIGN Blast Factory, 2015) through minimal, suggestive clothing. For example, both actors use elderly looking masks to depict their advancing years. The show taught me that full costume is not always necessary and, in some cases, can be a threat, especially when it risks substituting ‘independent values for the signification of the staged action’ (Collins and Nisbet, 2012, 205). It has persuaded me to dress the performers who do not play specific characters in casual attire. A colour scheme could be employed to provide the same visual consistency that full costume would achieve, to prevent the audience from being distracted by multiple colours on stage. The cast members who do play identifiable characters, namely Tom and myself during the Billy and Dolly scenes, will, as inspired by Translunar Paradise, don minimal costume to ‘function as a mobile piece of scenery connected to life’ (Pavis and Shants, 1998, 81). I am particularly interested in using hats as a continuing emblem for Billy. I plan to source a groom’s hat for the couple’s wedding, an army cap for Billy’s departure and a flat cap to depict his age progression. The use of minimalist costume, and when to employ it, will be something I shall continue to explore.

 

 

Work Cited:

Collins, J. and Nisbet, A. (2012) Theatre and Performance Design: A Reader in Scenography. London: Routledge.

DESIGN Blast Factory (2015) Translunar Paradise. [online] Alton: DESIGN Blast Factory. Available from http:/www.theatreadinfinitum.co.uk/productions/translunar-paradise/ [Accessed 21 April 2015].

Pavis, P. And Shantz, C. (1998) Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts and Analysis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Sogmann (2011) Translunar Paradise Trailer – Theatre Ad Infinitum Ltd. [online video] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w5DUdKaL_E [Accessed 21 April 2015].

Translunar Paradise (2012) [photograph] Available from: http://bealtaine.com/marys-bealtaine-blog/translunar-paradise [Accessed 21 April].

Translunar Paradise (2013) [photograph] Available from: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/events/2013/10/14/translunar-paradise/ [Accessed 21 April].

 

Refract Theatre Company was recently invited to compare its work with Forefront Theatre Company’s, a fellow fledgling company. Alison Oddey articulates how ‘a planned “work in progress” is often useful, in order to consolidate the work so far, as well as identifying specific problems with the product’ (1996, 198). Forefront and ourselves performed the works we have devised thus far to each other. We in Refract accepted how it is ‘not good trying to insist that the imagination [of our company] be always correct and proper. The second stage involves accepting the imaginations of others’ (Johnson, 2005, 128). Our aim to take globally recognised images and transcend them into stories on a more personal scale, requires our audience’s imagination to closely match our own so they can follow the scene and also recognise the image we’ve ‘refacted’ the story from. Being assured that the famous images we have reframed were clearly identifiable with no alternative ideas suggested, strengthened our resolve.

There were however some areas of our work which Forefront suggested we review. They felt our ‘Selfie song’ might not be as well understood by older audience members. We thus became determined to ensure this scene would be equally appreciated by both the older and younger members of our target audience. Delgade and Svich argue how the audience are as important as the actors in making the performance work: ‘The audience…contribute their imaginations and, in concert with the actors, create the performance event’ (2002, 96). To ensure When You See It is a success, the performers will take the ‘selfie’ photos mentioned in the song prior to the performance and project these on stage for the audience to match with the ‘selfie’ titles being sung. The work in progress convinced me how invaluable a ‘second pair of eyes’ can be. It has yielded new ideas and, through constructive discussion, has helped improve our current ones.

 

 

Works Cited:

Delgade, M. and Svich, C. (2002) Theatre in Crisis?: Performance Manifestos for a New Century. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Johnson, C. (2005) House of Games: Making Theatre from Everyday Life. London: Nick Hern Books.

Oddey, A. (1996) Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook. London: Routledge.

Whitfield, S. (2015).

We have now gathered and started to ‘refract’ several renowned images into scenes in keeping with our company’s ambition to show loss, relationships and new beginnings. Each workshop is now themed on reshaping one particular image per session. This system appeals to me as it has started to sculpt the content of our performance. What’s more, we now have the name of our show. When You See It, ‘It’ being the refracted image, will be performed at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre on the 17^th May.

George Seurat’s pointillist painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte has provoked much interest since I brought it into rehearsals. We studied the different interpretations that could be contrived from the uncomfortably still, eerily atmospheric narrative of the image, practicing our ethos of ‘not seeing things in black and white’ (Refract, 2015). We decided the man in the foreground of the painting looks incompatible with the other figures. His attire suggests a different class and time period. We developed this proposition by devising an intimate story exploring the disparity between the bourgeois figures and the seemingly modernistic, proletariat man.

The devising period being a time for ‘growth, experimentation, creativity’ (Berger and Luere, 1998, 32), we resisted making a snap decision on the staging of the images narrative. Through improvisation, we decided to illustrate the contrast through dissimilar timed movements. The performers playing the upper class figures executed separate, slow, elongated movements which complimented their character’s persona and prop. I played the bourgeois man standing with a cane and focused my movement around the cane, slowly lowering it to the ground, marking my territory. After these movements were completed we froze and Morgan, playing the proletariat, walked brusquely through the space. These contrasting movements emphasised Morgan’s character’s detached relationship with the other figures. The scene concludes with everyone except Morgan regaining their positions in the painting, allowing an audience to determine the image we have ‘refracted’, but encouraging them to form a revised opinion of it.

 

Works Cited:

A Sunday afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (2015) [photograph] Available from: http://www.artble.com/artists/georges_seurat/paintings/a_sunday_afternoon_on_the_island_of_la_grande_jatte [Accessed 18 March].

Berger, S. and Luere, J. (1998) The Theatre Team: Playwright, Producer, Director, Designers, and Actors. London: Greenwood Press.

Lancashire, A. (2015).

Refract Theatre Company (2015) Manifesto. [online] Available from https://refracttheatrecompany.dev.lincoln.ac.uk/our-manifesto [Accessed 18 March 2015].