Distorting the face of reality

Andrew Tinley / / Music / Sound, Performance process, Research

How far can you change something to make it a distant reality?

Changing the impression of a room can be difficult because it relies heavily on audience interpretation and so their own individual associations. This is quite stimulating because it enables you as a performer to set up a base foundation for the audience to explore and almost create their own performance.

At what point does a performance become personal?

Sound is a powerful tool for engagement and as a performer, through experimentation, I found that certain sounds placed together in different ways evoked contrasting feelings and emotions. The time in the performance when feelings and individual thoughts and memories come to the forefront of your mind is the main focus of my work and so the other sections of the environment only supports this.

“DoMA/at Home is a meta-theatrical performance project which explores everyday living spaces using a combination of theatre, performance, fine art and movement, along with a strong emphasis on games and involvement of the audience in the process”. ((Lotker, Howard (2006) Divadlo HoME online: http://blackboard.lincoln.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_67088_1%26url%3D (accessed March 2013.) )).

DoMA at home 2 DoMA at home
(Home, DoMA/at home sourced: http://www.divadlohome.net/shows/doma_gallery.html (accessed 13th April 2013))

Throughout this performance the audience are going to be aware that they are watching or being involved in a performance, especially with the specific cliental that this site specific work interests, however, it’s the ability to get the audience so lost in their own world through distraction and distortion that makes the performance truthful.  Involvement of the audience in a main theme in my work and so I intend to not only involve them physically using headphones but also in their own performance of their thoughts and ideas will be individual, giving them a strong connection with the piece and therefore hopefully leaving my space feeling confused and not in control of their ideas.

“There are constant surprises and interesting questions raised about: borders, cultures, what is art (and how is it different or the same as real life), and about what home means to us” ((Lotker, Howard (2006) Divadlo HoME online: http://blackboard.lincoln.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_67088_1%26url%3D (accessed March 2013.) )).

Questioning of the art is also a critical engagement tool in my work and so I want my audience to be constantly questioning themselves and question what they are doing and so hopefully the art is reinforced and justified by individual opinions and ideas. Below is a review of the DoMA performance in which audience maintained the feelings after the performance had ended.

“They explored the apartments and improvised in unconventional ways. The evening is at an end, but afterwards you go away imbued with this intoxicating atmosphere which penetrates you, and for a long time afterwards you will carry with you the gratifying and unrepeatable feeling of this performance” ((Gráfová, Tifka (2005) An Evening of Voyeurism and Sweet Intoxication online: http://blackboard.lincoln.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_67088_1%26url%3D (accessed 18th March 2013.) )).

Collaborative soundscape experimentation…

Experimenting with sound and the notion of manipulation sets an instant confusion and disassociation. They ask themselves….What am I listening to? Why am I listening? But as the sound plays certain sounds become more obvious and due to the environment some links begin to appear, but having said that, some sounds remain unknown. The unknown sounds are what may make the audience think and question the sources. All the sounds are recorded on site and are kitchen sounds but the level of editing and manipulation on certain noises may start to create different sounds by use of experimentation. The tester above is one of my first ideas solely as experimentation. As you can hear some sounds are obvious, some not so obvious and the tense and unsettling notion that something is that close to your head I feel puts you on edge.

(Tinley, Andrew (2013) Soundscape Tester 1 online: https://soundcloud.com/andrewtinley2012-1/tester-sound-scape-1-mp3/s-5w3fx  (accessed 18th March 2013).

I decided to use headphones during this section so that the audience are unable to escape from the performance. This, due to the fact there are only two audience members with two separate headphones on, raises the question – Are they listening to the same soundscape? This question makes the space much more dynamic and creates a notion of isolation inside your head. This is a positive feeling in terms of my performance because I want each audience member to receive a different individual experience.

The kitchen as a space is quite familiar to use all so completely turning that notion on its head and making audience members enter a completely transformed space with subtle kitchen links may put them at unease. This feeling of tension and potential unknowing helps the space deliver its own characteristics because initially the audience may start thinking with the kitchen in the mind but as the performance goes on I do believe that those opinions and thoughts may get transformed and battled against due to their own personal associations and ideas.

Are you a Hoarder?

Tiffany Abatilda Thompson / / Home, Performance process, Research

Over time we accumulate things and memories from our past and present such as; letters, photos, birthday cards, invitations etc. We then become stuck in a rut with not being able to throw them away because the sentimental value they have. In my own room at university I’ve filled it with photos, teddies and pointless objects that remind me of home, by doing this it has cluttered my room but I can’t seem to take thing’s back home to un-clutter it. Without these things in my room I’m reminded that I’m not at home just a room 50 miles from home.

photo 923acf15-3a41-461d-8709-6d33a85b70ce.jpg
My Photo Wall: 155 West Parade
Reading Rodinsky’s Room and finding out what was left in his place after he disappeared in the 1960’s then reopened 20 years later we see the life he had by the objects he collected over the years. When the room was finally opened “Every space overflowed with books on subjects ranging from the Talmud to the study of Hieroglyphics”  (( Lichtenstein, Rachel (1999) Rodinsky’s Room, London: Grantab Books. p. 11 )).Rodinsky was an intelligent man that taught himself language’s that isn’t known now.

With our performance we thought of filling the space to show the audience that the space has been lived in, in such a dead room. Similarly, with us being still in a room covered and filled with memories and documents gives away clues to what sort of people we are. We want the audience to feel like they haven’t seen everything when they think they have.

Nudity in Performance

Jake Robinson / / 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.

The houseTaken 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 / / Home, Performance process, Research

veiledlady

(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 / / 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.