Category Archives: Artists

From stand-up, to beaches. My journey through solo performances.

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The range of performances over the assessment period have been large and fantastic. It has been an honest pleasure to see everyone’s own unique performance style come through in each of their pieces which ranged from those of an autobiographical nature, to a true theatrical performance. Although I did not manage to see every solo performance, those which I did have the pleasure of watching were very well crafted and engaging.

At the beginning of the module we had a discussion over what self indulgence was in solo performance, and came to the conclusion that self indulgence was fine and was often encouraged within solo performance. Arrogance on the other hand was not, and often alienated the audience. I can happily say that from the collection of solo performances I saw no-one was arrogant, although some were self-indulgent.
It was those which I enjoyed the most.
Combined with a mixture of voice-overs, music, live singing and often honest elements the solo performances shone in their own right. Although no-one chose to obviously go down the performance art route, the variety on offer was still refreshing, and every performance was different.

Solo tickets
(Photo Credit: Lauren Watson, 21.05.14)

Stand-up comedy was popular within our year group, yet each performance was different. Steph’s focussed on more observational comedy, whereas Jake’s came from a more biographical stand point reminiscent of  Gray and Bogosian, especially in relation to his character changes and definitions. Honesty carried through with almost every performance, stand-up or not. Whether it was honesty about themselves or their interests, the pieces which I saw really grasped the audience and made us believe what we were watching because the performer believed in what they were doing.

Taking themselves and presenting them on stage for us to see was often a brave move for some of the performers. Interestingly, almost all the performances had some sort of underscore/musical element to them. Two performances which stood out to me though using this device was Sam Davis’ and Chris Greenhall’s. Both chose popular songs, and re-wrote them with their own lyrics to further their own performances, adding an extra autobiographical, and often moving, element.

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(Photo Credit: Lauren Watson, 21.05.14)

 

Overall, our year group has produced some outstanding pieces of solo performance work, which were “infused with the infectious, raw energy of spontaneous storytelling” (Bonney 2000, p. xiii). Although influenced by varies artists which we were introduced to while studying, they have all evolved into something personal and unique to each individual person.

 

 Works Cited
Bonney, Jo (2000) ‘Preface’ in Extreme Exposure: an anthology of solo performance texts from the twentieth century, ed. Jo Bonney, New York Theatre Communications: Group 2000.

Creating a world with origami characters.

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Trying to create a space which retains the essence of reading while making it a more immersive event without entering into a ‘circle time’ idea of relaying a story was one of my initial stumbling blocks. I initially looked at such practitioners as Chris Goode, Laurie Anderson and Tim Crouch, and although they all have different outcomes of their story-telling, they are still essentially ‘story-telling’ (albeit breaking the natural connection we have of being told a story). By creating characters or a narrative, these practitioners mix both music and speech to relay their tales. So, rather than personally telling a story live, I want to create a reading atmosphere by using my recorded voice, the use of music, alterations in light and the use of set.

Recorded voice: when a person reads, they read in their own voice – the descriptions and the dialogue. Rather than myself reading aloud, I want to involve audio books. This way the audience can be told a story on a personal level, but rather than hearing it in their own voice, they are hearing it in my head voice.

Staging idea #1 Staging idea #2
Set idea #1 Set idea #2

Initially I wanted to separate different performance elements. The idea of moving from the real world into a more fictional, personal world.

In idea #1, the space is separated into the real world, a comfortable reading world and an internal world. Moving from the harsh realities of numbers (ISBN numbers), to an idea of an ideal reading world- pillows, blankets, fairy lights- which then contains elements of fiction: hanging cut out images of iconic characters and the opportunity to listen to certain chapters from books. The audience members would then progress into a more internalised space which is centred around a hug book rug which I would be sitting on, reading a book. The space would be lit in a white wash around the space, with colours (pink, yellow, purple, green, orange) which are introduced towards the centre of the space which focus on the rug.

Idea #2
I wanted  to see what would happen if I combined all of these elements into a singular space. The elements remain the same; the audio books, the use of colour, the hanging elements and the creation of a comfortable space but the composition of the space would make the piece more immersive, and overall a more active performance. Personally I like the 2nd idea better as it allows the audience more freedom, while also creating a more dynamic space; with the ideas overlapping and crossing each other’s domains it creates a more intelligent space while allowing a more colourful experience for the audience; allowing them to inhabit one space more fully, allowing them to become more comfortable within it, also allowing them more freedom to own the space as much as I will.
Owning the space won’t come through the domination or interruption of the piece, but by the opportunities given to them. There will be books scattered around the book rug, increasing in density the closer to the rug they get. Hopefully with the space created and after being invited to listen to various audio books, alongside me reading, the audience might feel inclined to pick up a book themselves and involve themselves in my space.

Book rug: I want to make a book rug! A massive rug made from materials, bed sheets, even paper, which is big enough for me to sit comfortably within. When you read, you enter a new world, but by using the rug I can literally enter a new space created by a book! As well as aesthetically looking like a book, it will also work like one with pages that turn!

Sarah Lewis is a theatre maker and designer who works primarily creating set, costume and props for the Nottingham Playhouse. Her designs encompass some of the ideas which I hope to create in my final performance; her use of draping and hanging materials/objects, with her unobtrusive use of lighting lends her designs to a feeling of natural growth, one which is welcoming to the audience and almost has a reach beyond the set rules of stage/spectator. Below are a few images taken from her portfolio which lend themselves towards my imagined image (Lewis also works extensively with puppetry, although those ideas will be ignored for the purpose of ‘creating a world’ here).

TEMPEST 4

Lewis, Sarah (2011) The Tempest, Online: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t4tb0FeMEfU/TvDh3HsG1NI/AAAAAAAAAk8/iUsbqCbtqmg/s1600/TEMPEST+4.jpg [accessed: 1 March 2014].
jar proression

Lewis, Sarah (2010) Memory of a Day, Online: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_d1oG1XYSxOg/TJoTl-eqmCI/AAAAAAAAAH4/gCkcOBHuaKM/s1600/jar+proression.jpg [accessed 1 March 2014].
thousand cranes scale model

Lewis, Sarah (2013) A Thousand Cranes, Online: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8eWeQDkriK8/UVQXA89tCZI/AAAAAAAACYY/fr0XOdIBGJo/s1600/thousand+cranes+scale+model.jpg [accessed: 1 March 2014].
mnd pics

Lewis, Sarah (2010) A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Online: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_d1oG1XYSxOg/TJoTl-eqmCI/AAAAAAAAAH4/gCkcOBHuaKM/s1600/jar+proression.jpg [accessed: 1 March 2014].

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Lewis, Sarah (2013) A Thousand Cranes, Online: http://25.media.tumblr.com/3bfebab1ddd44a61e3b6fb60c3994303/tumblr_mnoniiSzo11sn0w0io10_r2_1280.jpg [accessed: 1 March 2014].

It’s all Goode.

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Going back to the roots of solo performance, Chris Goode -in his piece The Adventures of Wound Man and Shirley– produces a piece “storytelling at its finest”.Fullscreen capture 22022014 114945Chris Goode PowerPoint

Though Wound Man is not Chris’ first solo performance, I believe that it is one of his most touching, and although not strictly grown from a autobiographical root, there are aspects of this piece which appear to have been influenced and crafted around certain events which had great influence on his past.

Creating and telling a story without unnecessary grandeur is something which Goode does with ease; making the audience feel at ease and welcome within the space he inhabits while telling a heart warming and engaging tale.

Although Chris Goode is not the only solo performer to still use this technique, his work comes as a breath of fresh air (alongside such artists as Tim Crouch, Laurie Anderson and Spalding Gray) compared to other performance artists whose techniques don’t stem from the idea of story telling: artists such as Marina Abramovic and Stelarc. Although viewed by some as art and as ground breaking material, the work these artists produce, for me, is at times questionable. What makes an ‘artist’ is a label which is almost always in contention when being applied to new/different/abstract pieces of work. Through investigating artists from varied practices, although all appreciated within their own merit, as an ‘artist’ now myself, I am leaning towards taking my work in a storytelling route.

Telling stories is, I believe, the most important aspect of being a performer. Stories come in all sorts of media and forms, and it is the generic area of storytelling which I want to explore as my process and into a final performance. Although an exact idea will inevitably change and morph beyond its original conception, the captivation which I feel when recounting/reading stories will be the foundation of ideas and concepts of my final solo performance.

Works cited
Hull Truck Theatre (2013)  The Adventures of Wound Man and Shirely, dir. Chris Goode & Company Online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud5jsvC1x4g (accessed 4 February 2014).