March 2013 – Page 3 – ________-Safe House-_________

Nudity in Performance

Jake Robinson / March 13, 2013May 10, 2013 / Performance process, Rooms

The extra space which we have in the main bedroom, the huge cupboard, has been a source of much debate in our group.

Taken 01/02/2013 by Jozey Wade

It has been a sticking point for our performance in terms of its best usage. It is a space too powerful to abandon but also very difficult to incorporate into a piece centred in a bedroom. We have recently, however, come upon a use for the space which fits perfectly into our theme of mixing childhood and adulthood. The cupboard will be an ultra sexual space in which there will be a naked female. A submissive female to be more precise. She will be tied up, covered in baby oil and gagged. We hope that the cupboard will show very vividly the sexual nature of the bedroom.

When this idea was first discussed we were unsure, firstly, whether the sex of the submissive would change the way in which our Voyeur reacted to them. And secondly what the differing reactions would entail and whether this would lead our performances in a different direction. Toepfer believes that “even to an entirely female audience, female performers who expose their breasts will appear more “naked” than male performers who expose their bare chests” ((Toepfer, Karl (1996) ‘Nudity and Textuality in Postmodern Performance’, Performing Arts Journal, 18 (3) September: pp.76-91. P.76)) following this believe we thought that it would be best, in the sense of getting a greater reaction from our Voyeur, to have female performers naked in the cupboard.

The idea to have a naked female in the cupboard was always to push boundaries, for an audience to see something out of the ordinary. By no means did we think that an audience would see something completely original as there have been performances such as the work of Carolee Schneemann which have included female nudity. However we did want something which would come as a shock to our Voyeur. Rupert Everett’s statements in an interview for the BBC are therefore quite worrying, he says that “in the old days it (nudity) used to throw an uneasy frost across an auditorium but these days I think people really enjoy it and we got a lot more bums on seats because of the nudity – bums on seats and bums on stage” ((Masters, Tim (2013) Actors reveal challenges of stage nudity, Online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21654036 accessed 11 March 2013)) this begs some questions for our piece. Is the nudity going to have the effect which we desire it to? And will our audience be shocked by the nudity or will it simply become something which they would expect when coming to view a bedroom performance?

The nudity that we were showing had to have something which was more than simple just a naked human body. The nakedness had to be just one part of a much larger character which we were building. Returning to Toepfer he says that “the voice is as much a part of the body as any organ, and the capacity of a body to speak means that a completely unclothed body, with genitals exposed, can become more “naked” or signify even greater vulnerability by speech emanating from it, speech addressed to it, or speech about it” ((Toepfer, Karl (1996) ‘Nudity and Textuality in Postmodern Performance’, Performing Arts Journal, 18 (3) September: pp.76-91. P.77)). Using the voice on top of and in relation to the naked human body makes the naked form far more powerful to our Voyeur.

Following this idea we have incorporated a headphone system. The Voyeur will be told to put the headphones on immediately they enter the room and will be read a narrative by the naked woman in the cupboard. It is a narrative which only they will be able to hear. There are two narratives, differing for the sexes. The male narrative is more explicit while the female looks for understanding and sympathy.

The voyeur will have the nakedness of the woman attacking two of their senses simultaneously. They will be completely consumed by the woman in the cupboard, developing emotions towards her, whatever these may be. We hope to make it an extremely personal experience which the Voyeur will be sharing with the naked performer.

The Veiled Woman

Lauren Simpson / March 12, 2013May 8, 2013 / Home, Performance process, Research

(http://www.robincamille.com/2009-03-22-veiled-lady-femme-voilee/) accessed: 12/03/13

“Men do not think of themselves as cases to be opened up” ((Showalter, Elaine (1992) Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siecle London: Virago Press. page 134)) in a sexual context. They want to carry out the act of opening to get the feeling of power and domination. They can choose a time and a place for this act to be carried out which takes away any power from the woman.

“They gain control over an elusive and threatening femininity by turning the woman into a “case” to be opened or shut.” ((Showalter, Elaine (1992) Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siecle London: Virago Press. page 134))

With reference to our performance, the cupboard represents the metaphorical case. It is opened by another performer but will invoke different audience reactions depending on the gender of the performer. If a male opened the cupboard to reveal a naked, bound and gagged female, it would come across as much more sinister than if it was the other way around.

A female is generally considered to be the more vulnerable. For instance, when walking in the street at night, a lone female would be considered to be more at risk. So what would happen if we were to reverse that? How would a man feel if his power was stripped away and suddenly he became dominated by the same woman he was once in control of? How would he react? Would he then actively take on the role of the submissive?

If a text is being read to them by a female through their headphones while they are looking at the same female tied, gagged and blindfolded, they will sympathise with her. They will feel a sense of guilt if the text makes out that it is their fault that this character is in such a vulnerable position. If that text suddenly subverts into an accusatory text aimed directly at them, their role is instantaneously reversed. Their gaze becomes entirely different to what it was before. It becomes “both self-empowering and self-endangering.” ((Showalter, Elaine (1992) Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siecle London: Virago Press. page 146))

To accompany the shift in text, the ‘sub’ female in the cupboard will remove her blindfold and make constant eye contact with the voyeur. This in itself will be an unnerving experience, without the added pressure of the instructions on the recording. Lifting the blindfold is a powerful image “for what lies behind the veil is the spectre of female sexuality, a silent but terrible mouth that may wound or devour the male spectator.” ((Showalter, Elaine (1992) Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siecle London: Virago Press. page 146)) The idea of the veil was linked with femininity and was used in a ritual context. The blindfold could be considered to be the modern day veil for rituals like BDSM.

Over Exposure.

Lauren Bethany Elouise Watson / March 11, 2013May 8, 2013 / Documentation, Research, Rooms

“Even to an entirely female audience, female performers who expose their
breasts will appear more “naked” than male performers who expose their bare chests” ((Toepfer, Karl (1996) ‘Nudity and Textuality in Postmodern Performance’, Performing Arts Journal, XVIII (3) September: pp. 76-91, p. 76.)).

Nudity in performance exploits the performers’ innate position of vulnerability, exposing everything, giving them nothing to hide and nothing to act behind. Leaving all inhibitions at the door, revealing and performing the most intimate parts of yourself to strangers. Although nudity is becoming more common place within the theatre, with the mantra “bums on seats and bums on stage” ((Masters, Tim (2012) ‘Actors reveal challenges of stage nudity’, BBC News, Online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-2165403 (accessed 06 March 2013).)), often filling the auditorium and having a greater pull of an audience. Nudity no longer “throw[s] an uneasy frost across an auditorium” ((Masters, Tim (2012) ‘Actors reveal challenges of stage nudity’, BBC News, Online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-2165403 (accessed 06 March 2013). )) when done with sensitivity and distance. However, what would happen if we brought this nudity closer the audience, and placed it in such a space in which they couldn’t escape?

Having a narrative played to an audience member, leading and coaxing their reactions, and encouraging them to interact with a naked performer changes the dynamics of a performance beyond recognition as the performance is no longer ‘safe’. Being ‘naked’ is accepted, but to be naked and chained. Or bound. Gagged? To have no voice or identity, and just to be a naked object. An object to be possessed and owned could be highly unnerving to the audience.

Carolee Schneemann, Up To and Including Her Limits. Photo: Courtesy Henrik Gaard
Carolee Schneemann (1996),’ Up To and Including Her Limits’ photo: Courtesy Henrik Gaard in Karl Toepfer ‘Nudity and Textuality in Postmodern Performance’, Performing Arts Journal, XVIII (3) September: pp. 76-91, p. 81.

“This potential of the nude performing body to shock, incite, frighten, disgust, or otherwise produce intense emotional turbulence” ((Toepfer, Karl (1996) ‘Nudity and Textuality in Postmodern Performance’, Performing Arts Journal, XVIII (3) September: pp. 76-91, p. 77. )) can be considered as pushing the boundaries of performance and what we call art. Showing a naked woman in a compromising position will shock any audience member who views the piece, making them question what they deem acceptable as ‘performance’. For the woman to show herself, and not a character, is a brave thing to do. No aesthetics of performance to hide behind, no fake identity, no alternate reality.

Being naked, and exposed is a challenge.

To let others see you in such a demeaning position. Those who are your elders, superiors, friends, peers and strangers. Hiding behind nothing but handcuffs and a thin layer of baby oil.

I am not a professional performance artist, this isn’t my job. Although…for this performance, I guess I am. Trying to forget the pre-established relationships is the hardest block I have come across as “in the act of stripping, actor and character become indistinguishable: the flesh that is exposed by the character is the actor’s flesh” ((Scolnicov, Hanna (2010) ‘Stripping as Gesture’, ASSAPH: Section C: Studies in the Theatre, XXIV, pp. 139-152, p. 139.)).

“Stripping is a radical and unique gesture because it collapses the gap between the actor and the character” ((Scolnicov, Hanna (2010) ‘Stripping as Gesture’, ASSAPH: Section C: Studies in the Theatre, XXIV, pp. 139-152, p. 150.))

The reactions.
Forcing the audience to share something intimate about themselves by them possibly showing their raw reactions . Personally, I find this thought comforting. Knowing that the audience members are also ‘stripping bare’ while we were literally stripped bare offers some sort of comfort – the audience is also being placed in a slightly compromising position, while at the same time, witnessing us in, and simultaneously adding to our established comprised position.

“Detached from the desirability of bodies, mythic nudity invites the spectator to emulate without “anxiety,” the naked identity of the performer: all bodies become “the same,” since it is the condition of nakedness, not the condition of bodies” ((Toepfer, Karl (1996) ‘Nudity and Textuality in Postmodern Performance’, Performing Arts Journal, XVIII (3) September: pp. 76-91, p. 79.)).

Toepfer argues that “all bodies become “the same,”” ((Toepfer, Karl (1996) ‘Nudity and Textuality in Postmodern Performance’, Performing Arts Journal, XVIII (3) September: pp. 76-91, p. 79.)) due to the exposure, then our naked bodies might strike a chord with the audience members.

Getting naked in performance is not a new idea, or even so much a radical one for modern audiences. But for me, personally, it “is a radical and even violent theatrical gesture” ((Scolnicov, Hanna (2010) ‘Stripping as Gesture’, ASSAPH: Section C: Studies in the Theatre, XXIV, pp. 139-152, p. 141.)). By doing this performance, and getting over personal reservations and boundaries has made me a stronger performer. And, arguably, person. To know I have the power to push past pre-set social and personal restraints is liberating. Personal reservations? Personal revelations is perhaps more fitting.

The Impossible Tasks

Elizabeth Soper / March 9, 2013May 13, 2013 / Documentation, Home, Performance process, Research

“They are ‘outsiders’, but oddly appealing.” ((Williams, David and Carl Lavery (2011) Good Luck Everybody: Lone Twin: Journeys, Performances, Conversations, Wales: Cambrian Printers)).

Photo taken: 21/03/2013 – ‘Library Student Card’

Lone Twin’s performances are durational and throughout the performance process ideas are formed, either from audience members or situations, and these are added into their work. One piece of work, called ‘Sledge Hammer Songs’, was one which consisted of them in the street in green plastic capes and hunting horns. They directly addressed the audience and started having conversations with them. Good Luck Everybody discusses this idea of them being outsiders and displaced which I find particularly evident in my ideas for performance. “..their outdoor outfits do not belong in any urban context, and their behaviour sets them apart from anyone else around.” ((Williams, David and Carl Lavery (2011) Good Luck Everybody: Lone Twin: Journeys, Performances, Conversations, Wales: Cambrian Printers)). They asked the audience to sit in a circle. Gary consistently danced around this circle while they told stories they had heard as they travelled and toured with the piece.

Thinking about their work I have decided to take on the task of writing as many things that would be impossible to achieve in a rabbit costume. I will trial them and make a film of them to document my progress and to see whether they are in fact impossible. These impossible tasks are in and out of the home, and range from everyday normal activities to random ideas. For example; opening a bag of crisps to getting into a nightclub while being dressed as a rabbit. Like Gregg and Gary I can use these stories I have collected on my travels as the white rabbit and tell them to my audience over a cup of tea in the kitchen. The idea of telling them stories, asking for their feedback and using their reactions will create another story for later audience members.

I have decided to decorate the kitchen with things that I own to make it more homely, creating a friendly atmosphere. During my adventures as a rabbit I have managed to get a student/library card made in which I have used in some of the videos. This will be hung up on the wall to help decorate the space, showing something I have collected along the way. There’s also something nice about having a student card reading ‘Libby the White Rabbit’ and giving this sense of identity to the role and sharing this with my audience.

This makes me again reflect on Bobby Baker’s piece; The Kitchen Show. I like this idea of the absurdity mixed with the norm and the humorous contrast that it portrays. It is something I very much hope to achieve in my performance – holding a normal conversation and doing everyday things in the kitchen, yet they will be somewhat impossible to accomplish in a rabbit costume.

When does a performance become an experience?

Andrew Tinley / March 7, 2013April 13, 2013 / Documentation, Music / Sound, Rooms

“Art does not provide answers or solutions, but is rather a questioning, which should be as clear as possible so that the listeners can look for answers themselves” ((Weiner, Lawerence et al (1998) other rooms other voices Switzerland: Memory cage editions))

I feel like constant questioning and engagement not only makes the audience feel a part of the performance but also provides them with an individual, potential performative experience which only they can be involved in. This experience can then be discussed and shared through dialogue or kept private depending on their approval during or after the performance. What would happen if the audience physically got involved in the communication of language through playing and experimenting with the sounds of a kitchen?

(Weileder, Wolfgang House Projects (2005), http://www.house-projects.com/ (accessed 13th April)

“The interface between space and time defines Wolfgang Weileder’s central field of artistic activity” ((Weileder , Wolfgang (2005) House-Projects Manchester: Cornerhouse publications)) Weileder worked with a range of architectural structures and sites to form a relationship and response to the art he provokes, starts or aids. In House he converses how he provokes discussion and interaction during the performance. In traditional theatre performances audience follow the conventional rule of not talking, this is so the actors do not get distracted and therefore change their actions and words to make the performance different to how it should be, and so, change its overall intention. Intentions of performances are quite limiting and I think the broader you are the more flexible and exciting the art can be to create and to experience. Making a piece different every night moves it from a performance to an experience.

What happens when audiences talk to each other?

The power of discussion will surely enhance the creation and therefore change the initial intention of the piece. The idea of an ephemeral, tangible piece of art is something which excites me as a performer – to know that your idea can change and be interpreted differently depending on the receiver makes the performance have more personalisation and potentially makes it more of an experience for each audience member. Using senses to trigger peoples’ emotions, especially in such a accustomed site would be quite an easy task to do, but putting an audience member in a familiar room with unfamiliar settings and control – this is where their memories may not link so logically. Which would make the experience much more individual, unique and different.

To use a pre-performance audience (due to our limited performance run) as a base to then work with, those memories and connotations could potentially be a path in which would locate and humanise what I am creating. This link to peoples’ lives and own experiences, whether they be domestic or not, will hopefully aid me in my creations but more importantly understand what type of material is surfacing so I can have some creative control in the final performance.

(Mobile Art Production (2011) The role of the audience inside contemporary art and theatre online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v7bLdISHvE (accessed 1^st March 2013)
The video above states the idea of “being inside an artwork”, she discusses an audio experience in which she felt included by someone talking to her through her headphones. The feeling of someone being that close to you in one way, depending on what they are saying, is quite unnerving but I do believe that you, as an audience member, will very rarely challenge their words if it’s an unknown voice, so whether it is realistic or not I strongly believe the element of control is with the sound inside the headphones. This excites me as a creator and potential performer because I feel as if I can pre-determine the outcome and experiment with fiction. Rational and logical thinking disappears when you can’t visually see who you are talking to meaning that the normal conventional conversation rules wouldn’t apply. To provoke an unnatural experience is quite exciting and so by doing this audience members will automatically, due to the context and surroundings be placed temporarily in to an unfamiliar state of mind.

I think it’s the responses which give the audience a chance to delve in to their own individual experience and not the literal performance itself.