A Very Belated Blog Post

SO... I delayed a bit on this one, Benji. But I've got magnificent memories of the performances I saw, and now i will relate them to you as best I can.

http://vigszinhaz.hu/galeria/35+othello++el%C5%91ad%C3%A1s+fot%C3%B3k/

This is a link to the first show's photo gallery, on their website. This first show was a Hungarian edition of the Shakespearean classic Othello. This version stuck to the original text (in Hungarian of course) and yet modernized the setting, bringing the warfare into the time of the World Wars. The set reflected the modern setting, and was simple and functional enough to allow for fluid scene transitions and awe-inspiring moments of people dropping from level to level.

There was an element to this show that was unusual, Othello was not a Moor. I do not know if they did this to emphasize his equality as a mere man with other characters, or simply did it as a political statement of making the black man the bad guy, or if it was something as simple as he was the right actor, and race did not matter to the director. I thought that this change was good in many ways, but in the beginning led to a bit of confusion in my mind (the language barrier did not help) as to which actor was Othello, and which ones were other characters.

MOVING ON.....

This is Robert Wilson. His solo show, Krapp's Last Tape, was an... interesting experience to say the least. I was not happy during the show. However, reflecting on it now, I am glad i experienced this format of post-modernist performance art. The silence he built was deafening, and the slow movements (such as the 5 minute peeling of one simple banana) were excruciatingly painful. My younger brother, who also attended, referred to it as some sort of "theatrical mind torture". In a way, I believe that Wilson's goal was not to entertain audiences, or make them leave the theatre feeling self-assured or happy. His goal was to have them leaving with questions, have them exit the theatre feeling uncomfortable with what had just been but before them. This was a type of theatre that I could imagine being very painful for the actor as much as it is for the audience watching.

LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST...

To begin, Tadashi Suzuki was in a different location, a much more intimate space. No microphones, smaller stage. Suzuki's Dionysus was a visual wonderland, a play that you could literally take a snapshot of every second on stage and want to frame it for posterity. Many moments had people transformed into architecture, my favorite being the men in the back, solid columns of absolute truth, frozen in pillars of life. Speaking of FROZEN, the actor's ability to stand still was incredibly. I found myself holding my breath in anticipation more than once. The play was in Japanese, and the subtitles were in Korean, but i felt like the words weren't even important. In fact, i may have enjoyed it less at times if i did understand. Once the play was translated in a brief version by the lovely John Park following the show, a few stray hairs of the plot fell into place. But I could have walked out of the theatre without it and would have been perfectly satisfied. For the true joy came from what the bodies were doing, not the words that came out of their mouths.

Sorry again for the lateness. <3

Melissa

Mark Hill... Day 2

Just a short blurb on what I did with Mark Hill today :)

The first session was with the FRINGE group. We focused on reacting to what's outside of ourselves. We started with a simple exercise about feeling when the rest of the group had turned around in a circle. This reminded me of the Group Awareness exercises from yesterday's morning session (the Up/Down lines). I found it very difficult to listen with my body for when others moved, and it was very tempting to watch the other members of the circle, and training the fixed point focus to the wall was increasingly difficult as the tempo quickened.

The second exercise was brilliant, to say the least. We had to stay in lanes, reacting to one another with  movements such sitting, lying down, standing, or jumping. The pure auditory quality of the exercise was astounding enough, with the natural rhythm forming as bodies moved in and out of sync with each other. The sound of the bare feet jumping on the wooden floor was cathartic, a real, solid sound. Watching the other group, the visual added a completely different feel to the entire exhibit. The visual was very unusual, a lot of asynchronous movement. Overall, the very different images caused for a stirring and awe-inspiring improvisatory performance.

The second session in the day was one on characterization (specifically with Shakespearean plays) that was through Mrs.Wilcox's English class. This was the first workshop i had been to that actually had notes and a bit of a lecture, and i actually learned a lot. I really liked his approach as to how to build a character from the bottom up, ending with the text itself. Then i discovered that this wasn't his approach at all-- it was Anne Bogart's! Appropriate, no?

Well, another good night's rest awaits me, and another early morning with Mark Hill is on the other side of it! Yippee!

<3 Melissa

Mark Hill = LOVE

I am in love, Benji.

Mark Hill. A Tribute in List Form.

Reasons why he rocks:

-          He is Australian, and has an accent that just makes your insides tingle with excitement.
-          He has trained under INCREDIBLE theatre practitioners, like Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki.
-          He is not afraid to be crazy and out there, and he makes us all feel more confident about letting loose.
-          He is intelligent and articulate, and makes us laugh.
-          He has really pretty eyes :)

When I initially walked into the room this morning, I was feeling awful because:

-          It was a Monday.
-          It was early.
-          I forgot a jacket, and was freezing.
-          I had to run to the cafeteria to buy a bottle of water for this class
-          I was afraid that Mark Hill was some scary and pretentious theatre guy

Fortunately, Mark Hill was neither scary nor pretentious. He was a million other positive things instead (see list above). Next up is a list of the activities I remember doing (in both the morning IBTA session and the Greek Theatre workshop during lunch):

-          Aerobic Dance workout (Woo! Got me all warm and toasty in the first five minutes)
-          Mirroring exercise (Got to be the example with Mark :) he has a fabulous stare)
-          7 levels of energy (Dynamic stillness—who knew it could be so difficult?!)
-          Walking exaggeration (you feel so self conscious when you know there are 4 people behind you purposefully mocking you!)
-          Up/Down Group Example (Wow. Katie O’Grady didn’t fidget at all. The power of Mark Hill, man.)
-          Flock of Birds (I would like to try this one again—not sure I quite got the hang of it...)
-          Pride, Betrayal, Revenge (I liked the transitioning bit best—really something)

These workshops were AMAZING, but I am looking forward to the other sessions this week! These are my goals:

-          Talk to Mark Hill One on one
-          Talk to Mark Hill with my Practitioner Project group about Anne Bogart.
-          More dance aerobics!
-          Learn more about Butoh Theatre
-          Introduce new people to Mark Hill through more lunch sessions (if there are any) and FRINGE

I just can’t wait for more of Mark!

<3 Melissa

Anne Bogart: Notes and Findings :)

Hey Benji!

You ever heard of Anne Bogart? I hope you haven't, or this will be incredibly repetitive and long for you.

Let's start with a bit of a clip from her main squeeze, the SITI Theatre Company in NYC.

Now, here are some notes i got after doing a bit of research (note: still waiting on getting the Viewpoints book itself, and therefore the web was my main source).

ANNE BOGART

1.                   Overlie’s Viewpoints on Movement

a.     Space

                                                              i.      Architecture (scenery, etc.)

                                                           ii.      Spatial Relationships (Distance between objects, etc.)

                                                         iii.      Topography (how movement over scenery occurs)

b.     Shape

                                                              i.      Shape (how bodies/objects appear, contour, etc.)

                                                           ii.      Gesture (either realistic or metaphorical movement)

c.     Time

                                                              i.      Tempo (how fast/slow something is onstage)

                                                           ii.      Duration (How long an action lasts)

                                                         iii.      Kinesthetic Response (Instinctive reaction to outside stimulus)

                                                         iv.      Repetition (Internal/External pattern of something being repeated

d.     Emotion

                                                              i.      Happy, sad, angry etc.

e.     Movement

                                                              i.      Quick/slow, smooth/jerky, etc.

f.      Story

                                                              i.      How all the little elements work together

2.                 Anne Bogart’s Viewpoints for Actors

a.     Regarded all of Overlie’s but selected a few as the ones for theatre

                                                              i.      SPACE

1.       Shape

2.     Gesture

3.     Architecture

4.    Spatial Relationships

5.     Topography

                                                           ii.      TIME

1.       Tempo

2.     Duration

3.     Kinesthetic Response

4.    Repetition

b.     Added a new Viewpoint

                                                              i.      VOCAL

1.       Pitch

2.     Dynamic

3.     Timbre

c.     Considered Viewpoint not just a physical practice, but also spiritual, philosophical, etc.

d.     Bogart Practice with the SITI Theatre Company 

                                    A LINK TO ANNE'S BLOG

                         http://siti.groupsite.com/blog   

                         

ENJOY! Finally, a closing video of students using the viewpoints method to explore physically. VERY interesting....

<3 

 

Prezi Experiment....

Melissa Wilde: A Performance Resume on Prezi

So, I've been learning to use Prezi and I thought I would at least make my first  experiment something useful :) So I've put my theatre experiences into this format. Let me know what you think, Benji! :P

Notes on Chapter 15

NOTES
Chapter 15: Twentieth-Century Theatrical Diversity

1.       The period after World War II was very conflicted, very turbulent, and raised questions few or none were actually prepared to answer. In a way, theater trends of the time mimicked it, doing very experimental practices and asking questions about human rights that made an audience think beyond the simple pleasure of a night to the theatre. One unique correlation I notice was how around the time the world was engaged in the “Space Race”, a time of scientific progress and change, Jerzy Grotowski was working on a laboratory of his own. This one being theatrical and based in Poland, Grotowski worked to “experiment” on his actors, pushing them to limits they had never before visited, much like Sputnik into space.

2.       Selective realism is using a familiar and realistic setting and circumstance, while also accentuating aspects of the show to unreal proportions in order to emphasize an underlying message or theme. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, scenes from the main character’s past are interwoven with scenes from the present, and in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, a narrator is utilized for a theatrical, non-realistic effect in an otherwise very realistic show.

3.       A group of Anti-establishment playwrights who wrote about issues concerning the class conflict in England and the decline of the British Empire in the 1950’s. The most famous of these playwrights was John Osborne, who wrote the play Look Back in Anger.

4.       A movement in Germany during  the 1960’s where historical documents were taken (and possibly altered) and made theatrical. The most famous of these “docudramas” was The Investigation by Peter Weiss, who covered the war crimes trials Post-WWII.

5.       A set of common theories that several playwrights had in common, and have since formed into a template for a type of theatre know as Absurdist Theatre, where everything in life is considered to be ridiculous and should thus be portrayed as so through dramatic action.

6.       Nothing in this life is worth living for, atheists rule, and what you do is your fault, so deal with it.

7.       World War II

8.       The Theatre of the Absurd

 
9.       Eugene Ionesco (1912-1994)

10.   Happenings were theatrical performances, often taking the form of improv, that had little or no structure, and minimal planning, in a space not conventionally a place of performance. The theory behind it was that art shouldn’t be confined to a music hall or museum, or even a black box.

11.   Jerzy Grotowski wanted his theatre to not be poor monetarily, but poor as in lacking glitzy special effects and set pieces, making the actors be the things they must rely upon, not props or set, the ACTORS must make the show.

12.   Peter Brook takes in unrealistic parts of theatre (such as circus arts) and applies them to traditional theatre (like Shakespeare) in modern times.

Notes on Chapter 16

NOTES

Chapter 16: Contemporary Trends

I.                    The Dawning of a New Century

a.       Worldwide issues affected theatre in the late 20^th century

                                                              i.      AIDS

                                                            ii.      Genocide

                                                          iii.      Religious conservatism

                                                           iv.      War on terror

II.                  Today’s Theater: Diversity and Eclecticism

a.       Diversity

                                                              i.      Many different forms of theatre available in multiple translations, and to multiple groups of people in different locations worldwide

b.      Eclecticism

                                                              i.      Contemporary theatre covers such a variety of topics and reminisces on so many different events of the past.

c.       Asian American Theatre

                                                              i.      Moved on in the late 20^th century from being cast solely as stereotypes

                                                            ii.      East West Players in L.A. founded in 1965, P.A.R.T. in 1977, Asian Exclusion Act in 1973

                                                          iii.      Groups focused on putting on plays that were from Asian heritage or written by Asian-Americans.

                                                           iv.      1980—Song for a Nisea Fisherman, 1988—M. Butterfly

d.      Hispanic Theatre

                                                              i.      Three Groups

1.       Chicano Theatre

2.       Cuban American Theatre

3.       Puerto Rican/Nuyorican Theatre

                                                            ii.      Some plays written in Spanish, though most are in English

                                                          iii.      Often grew out of the labor protests with Cesar Chavez, etc.

                                                           iv.      El Teatro Campesino, Teatro de la Gente, Teatro de la Esperanza

                                                             v.      Zoot Suit (1978), Roosters (1987)

                                                           vi.      Nilo Cruz won the Pultizer Prize for Anna in the Tropics.

e.      Native American Theatre

                                                              i.      American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1972 allowed for more religious dances/ceremonies

                                                            ii.      Led to an awareness and then emergence of “Native American Theatre”

                                                          iii.      Spiderwoman Theatre: Feminist AND Native American, longest running in North America, since 1975

                                                           iv.      Theater has separated from the historical and ceremonial significances.

                                                             v.      Playwrights: Diane Glancy, Bruce King, William F. Yellow Robe, Jr.

f.        Feminist Theatre

                                                              i.      Main goals to question gender roles and the place of women in society

                                                            ii.      Maria Irene Fornes: Fefu and Her Friends (1977)

                                                          iii.      Feminist theater companies have sometimes teamed up with gay theater groups (i.e., Belle Reprieve)

                                                           iv.      Rachel Crothers: earlier playwright who paved the way for feminist theater

g.       Gay and Lesbian Theatre

                                                              i.      Lesbian/Feminist Theatre sometimes interchangeable, but Gay theatre is its own movement.

                                                            ii.      First presentation of gay life through theatre was The Boys in the Band (1968) by Mart Crowley

1.       While celebrated for the milestone in gay theatre, this play is often criticized for painting a false and exaggerated view of gay life and people.

                                                          iii.       Angels in America, The Normal Heart, Take Me Out, The Ritz

h.      Performance Art

                                                              i.      Performance art is experimental theatre that initially incorporated elements of dance and the visual arts. Nowadays, most of the productions are based upon the vision of a single performer or director, and is often the form of an autobiographical monologue.

                                                            ii.      Example: Eric Bogosian (WUASTC)

i.        Postmodernism

                                                              i.      SEE---POSTMODERNISM---NOTES

j.        International Trends

                                                              i.      Previous notes apply mainly to USA, but theatre is flourishing in other areas of the world, including but not limited to:

1.       African Theatre/Drama

2.       Middle Eastern Drama

3.       Asian Theatre

a.       TADASHI SUZUKI

4.       Alternative European Theatre

III.                Today and Tomorrow: A Look Ahead

a.       Digital Theatre

b.      Theater has SHIFTED, not suffered.

c.       Lot of making the audience re-examine thoughts they have/had