Blog

Devising: Because where’s the fun in copying?

Amy Houchin / / Amy H

The past two weeks have seen Refract’s performers heavily experimenting with our primary stimuli, images. Our company’s decision to devise our own performance makes such experimentation vital as this will help influence and shape the content and framework of our show. Addressing our aim to ‘reframe stories that consider notions of identity and communication’ (Refract, 2015), Laura, Refract’s director, has been presenting us with various iconic images and set us the task of focusing on one person in an image. Next we have composed alternative, personal stories about them. These workshops reflect the elementary process of devising and how it ‘enables a group of performers to be physically and practically creative in the sharing and shaping of an original product…’ (Oddey, 1996, 1). We, as performers, have an active role in the development of our piece and will collaborate with our director in devising ways of reframing iconic images into original narratives.

One image which has remained in use is Banksy’s A Girl With a Balloon. This well known graffiti image is often considered to depict a political narrative. The quote next to the image, ‘there is always hope’, triggered our ideas for a ‘refracted’, personal story. An alternative connotation could be that the girl is holding onto the balloon because her happiness and emotional stability depends on it. It metaphorically symbolises hope. The way Laura translated this idea into a possible scene was through movement. As a group, we worked to physically represent the girls situation. To show how our bodies collectively represented the girl, enabling an audience to distinguish the image we were ‘reframing’, we stayed close together, moving as one. Laura devised a narrative involving extremely windy conditions, making it difficult to keep hold of the balloon. The balloon was repeatedly taken from us and we were directed to run and catch it before it blew away. What became evident was how successfully global images can transcend into personal, emotive stories. This has motivated us to continue devising more ‘refracted’ narratives.

The globally recognised image. Girl With a Balloon by Banksy (2015)
The globally recognised image. Girl With a Balloon by Banksy (2015)
The image’s ‘refracted’ story. Photo: A. Lancashire
The image’s ‘refracted’ story. Photo: A. Lancashire (2015)

 

Works Cited:

Girl With a Balloon by Banksy (2015) [photograph] Available from: http://www.stencilrevolution.com/banksy-art-prints/girl-with-a-balloon/ [Accessed 10 March 2015].

Lancashire, A. (2015).

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

Refract Theatre Company (2015) Manifesto. [online] Available from https://refracttheatrecompany.dev.lincoln.ac.uk/our-manifesto [Accessed 10 March 2015].

Reaching, Tilting, Falling, Flying

Thomas Hitchen / / Tom H

An integral part of our work ethic is establishing narrative and theme through movement and dance. As such, this notion has established the strong collaboration that must exist between director and choreographer. As a creative partnership, Laura and I decided that the ‘Falling’ image (see below) taken at the 9/11 terrorist attacks would be shown through a collection of dance and movement sequences.

The Death Posture (2015)
Figure 1. The Death Posture (2015)

I believe that movement and phrasing should stem from an improvisational approach. With this in mind, I asked the company to take the image and utilize the patterns and shapes evident in the photograph, as well as take pre-existing moves from earlier workshops.  Louppe tells us, “Improvisation is, like composition, an indispensable element of contemporary dance” (2010, 160). An important part of being choreographer is to notice the relationships and dynamics forged in these type of sessions, and to recognize that ideas and phrases can be discovered when the whole ensemble is involved in the devising process.

“[A] characteristic of creativity in contemporary choreography cognition is that the dancers and choreographer increasingly work together exploring, selecting, and developing dance material” (McKechnie and Stevens, 2009, 40). Therefore, even though I had final say as choreographer, the artistic process of developing and crafting material comes from the b0dies of your performers and their ideas being put into practice. Initially, I saw the image as a group routine. The routine would capture the emotions, fear and trauma of that fateful day, and I would use the image to explore those situations. The four main factors I considered were:

  • Reach
  • Connections
  • Tilt
  • Gravity (pulling/pushing down)

IMG_3858[1]

 

In this sense, the dance sequence would highlight this specific image, but, it would also connect and reaffirm the recurring motif of relationships and physical connections. Louppe says, “It is the dancer who reveals the powerful source of the imaginary” (2010, 55). Therefore, to evoke the sense of loss and empathy, as a group we had to work closely with intention and focus; if we could see the plane coming towards us, or embody the sense of falling, the audience would hopefully see and feel this too. It was in our hands to recreate the amalgamation of thoughts and feelings present in that drastic situation. The movements came quite naturally: reaching forward, tilting, stumbling, leaning. My inspiration came from existing work such as Freedom (2013) by Jasmin Vardimon and commercial choreographer, Mia Michaels. The latter works heavily with choreographing loss and empathy.

Mia Michaels Choreography (2015)
Mia Michaels Choreography (2015)

The visual impact of this photograph extended to create an entire stage picture. After one company member likened the falling pair to Peter Pan and his shadow, I worked closely with Mark and Morgan to develop a Pas de Deux to express and explore this notion. Did this pair know each other? Or, did they just hold hands and jump? As much as this duet exemplified the idea of falling, the routine also suggested a feeling of euphoria and freedom; the vocation to address and reminisce of people being together in horrific situations, of couples and relationships shining through from the darkness.  “The power of movement and dance to evoke memories has been identified as an important factor in communication” (McKechnie and Stevens, 2009, 45). Although this dance expressed what I believed to be contained in that image, the movement can also transcend this inception and comment on other disasters; global or personal.

Please see ‘Choreographic Notes’ under Documents > Technical > Choreography, or click here.

Please see Gallery for more rehearsal photos, or click here.

Works Cited

Figure 1. The Death Posture (2013) [Photograph] At: http://timeconsumerrr.tumblr.com/ [Accessed 6 March 2015].

Louppe, L. (2010) Poetics of Contemporary Dance. Translated by Sally Gardner. Hampshire: Dance Books Ltd.

McKechnie, S. and Stevens, C. J. (2009) Visible Thought: Choreographic Cognition in Creating, Performing, and Watching Contemporary Dance. In: Jo Butterworth and Liesbeth Wildschut (ed.) Contemporary Choreography: A Critical Reader. Oxon: Routledge, 38-51.

Michaels, M. (2015) So You Think You Can Dance Photography [online] Available from: http://miamichaels.com/photo/so-you-think-you-can-dance/ [Accessed 10 April 2015]

Building The Company

Anthony Richard Lancashire / / Anthony L

“Once your company has established itself, spreading the message about the great work you’re presenting becomes one of your next objectives” (Mulcahy, 2002, 101)

Refract TC Week 3 Rehearsals

Towards the end of last week we finally decided on a name for our show. Although it is far from fully finished we feel that the large amounts of experimentations and themed rehearsals over the past fortnight has generated enough material that we can carry forward and add to. Furthermore, Lincoln Performing Arts Centre have now confirmed our show date meaning Refract Theatre Company will take When You See It to the venue on Sunday 17th May. Our marketing team have been working hard to create promotional material and social media accounts to begin to form a marketing strategy and advertise the show. It stands to reason that “the more people who know about you, the more people might come to see your show” (Mulcahy, 2002, 101). It could be argued that despite all the theory and strategies the world of marketing possesses “the best advertising is really just spreading the excitement” (Mulcahy, 2002, 101).

Works Cited:
Mulcahy, L. (2002) Building the Successful Theater Company. New York: Allworth Press.

My Week in Pictures

Thomas Hitchen / / Tom H

Please hover over the image to see the caption.

L. Spaven (2015)
First Poster Mock-Up.
The Death Posture (2015)
Teaser Material
Spaven. L. (2015)
4. Company Logo

 

This week saw the first mock up of our show poster, the creation of our teaser material and some choreography work with the cast. Also, our company brand continues to develop as Refract’s status begins to grow around the city.

On a marketing note, this week has seen the first concept images being created for our poster and flyer design, as well as ‘polaroids’ to use as teaser material. The latter’s purpose is to engage with the audience on a more ambiguous level; to hint at who we are but also reserve some creative tools for our main campaign launch. Inside each ‘polaroid’ is a quote from a famous photographer or a question written by ourselves to invite the audience into considering there own views on the text. I decided to use text instead of imagery because I thought there was an interesting dynamic in the combination of the two, especially when our piece uses storytelling, text, to understand and deconstruct photographs.

Based on our skill set as a company, movement and dance seemed to lend itself well to our group dynamic. As a budding choreographer myself and choreographer for the company, I developed a piece of movement linking to the harrowing image of the falling people on September 9/11; probably known as a ‘famous’ image across the world. Who were these people? Did they know each other? Had they only just met? What were their last words? As we are still in the early stages of the devising process, I approached the choreography with this image as a stimulus; to engage with the idea of loss, of falling and of relationships. A cast member even likened this image to Peter Pan and his shadow; what a beautiful interpretation.

Works Cited

Figure 1. The Death Posture (2013) [Photograph] At: http://timeconsumerrr.tumblr.com/ [Accessed 6 March 2015].

 

 

Being a Producer

Whitfield / / Sophie W

“The producer’s role can appear confusing and indefinable” (Seabright, 2010, 5)

As Seabright highlights, the role of a Producer varies with different companies and projects. It is from his definition and my own experience working with Chapterhouse Theatre Company that I will discuss the ‘traditional’ role of a Producer and which aspects of this definition I will also be taking responsibility for.

Traditionally, the producer of a theatre company would be the person responsible for choosing a play, hiring the company (including all office staff) and sourcing a venue. The Producer would be the top authority on all matters and decisions would always pass through them. In my experience, Producers will often attend work-in-progress sessions to give feedback and make sure the Company branding and creative vision is coherent.

Our Company differs slightly from the traditional model of a theatre company in the sense that the roles were decided after the full company came together. As a result my role as the Producer differs slightly as I have not hired the team or needed to source a Venue. However, similarly to a traditional company I am the final authority on decisions and responsible for schedules, admin work, budgeting. My role will become more of a Producer/Production Manager taking a hands on approach with the Company. Additionally, because the Venue is fixed we, as a Company, must create our work taking into consideration the demographics of the audience who attend the Venue and adapt our marketing strategies to suit the audience.

Seabright explains that with productions which are of a smaller scale the Producer and production Manager often end up being the same person and “take day-to-day control of certain areas of the budget and work closely with the design team to ensure that the creative vision of the show can be delivered onstage” (Seabright, 2010, 8). Therefore communication with all departments is key to create a successful Company and Project. As a result, I will be attending all production meetings and discussing the progress and development of our piece with the Director. Perhaps the most important role of a producer is “maintaining a view of the ‘big picture’ at all times of production“ (Seabright, 2010, 12).

Works Cited

Seabright, J. (2010). So you want to be a Theatre Producer? London: Nick Hern Books.