Posts by Libby Soper – Page 2 – ________-Safe House-_________

Keep Calm and Follow The White Rabbit

Elizabeth Soper / February 9, 2013May 13, 2013 / Home, Performance process, West Parade

“Non-acting can be understood as functioning in the tradition of the modernist avant-garde in that it is not a mimetic practice that seeks to represent a fictional character, but a reframing of reality that seeks to blur the boundaries of art and life.” ((Govan, Emma, Helen Nicholson and Katie Normington (2007) Making a Performance, Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices Oxon and USA: Routledge, pp.59-60))

For the past few weeks we have had a lot of different ideas about what is associated with the kitchen and how we can create a performance with it. I have discussed changing the function of the kitchen and playing with how long things take to make. But how can you link these ideas together to make an interesting performance, capturing the audience’s attention and creating something they have never seen before? The answer I found to this, it seems, is in the shape of a giant white rabbit costume.

“Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” ((Carroll, Lewis (1940) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, USA: The Colonial Press Inc. p.4))

The White Rabbit from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll, is the character inviting Alice in, which is what I will be doing with my audience. The idea of time links to The White Rabbit as he is always checking his pocket watch and conscious of being late. The kitchen in our West Parade house has several hooks on the walls in which I thought I could hang a variety of different wrist watches and pocket watches to accentuate the theme of time.

Photo taken: 08/02/2013 – ‘Time’

As for purpose, an idea that I very much want to experiment with would be to set up a dining table outside in the back garden which could perhaps link to the ‘mad tea party’ scene in the book. I like the notion of filling the kitchen cupboards with items that aren’t associated with a kitchen. The idea that things are where they don’t belong I find very interesting, which links to the fact that there is a person dressed as a rabbit in a kitchen – it shouldn’t be there. This sense of dislocation is extremely relevant to this performance and the notion of things being where they shouldn’t and disturbing the norm of that space. Adding to this, the concept of ‘non-performing’ would be apparent as I wouldn’t be acting as if I am The White Rabbit from the book, I wouldn’t be acting like a rabbit at all, I am just Libby who happens to be wearing a bunny costume which again emphasises the notion of dislocation. In Making A Performance it questions how the company, Reckless Sleepers, portray ‘non-performing’ in their devised performance of The Last Supper; “Are the actors themselves? (They are named as such in the script.) Are they invented personas? Are they momentarily representations of the people whose words they speak?” ((Govan, Emma, Helen Nicholson and Katie Normington (2007) Making a Performance, Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices Oxon and USA: Routledge, p.115))

Something I will be experimenting with now will be exploring different conversational topics and how to react if an audience member asks; ‘why are you dressed as a rabbit?’. “Theatre practitioners need to acknowledge that participation can be profoundly disturbing; that it may involve making ourselves vulnerable as we open ourselves to unexpected experiences and outcomes.” ((Freshwater, Helen (2009) theatre & audience, London: Palgrave Macmillan, p.76))

Do I acknowledge that I am dressed in a giant rabbit costume or not? Do I notice that there is no possible way to pour a cup of tea with my big fluffy paws without spilling it, or do I treat the situation as if I’m not wearing the costume at all? Time shall tell.

Let’s escape from reality.

Elizabeth Soper / February 2, 2013May 13, 2013 / Performance process, Rooms, West Parade

“The kitchen today is the cockpit of the dwelling, its high-tech gadgets and stainless steel fittings and electronics confirm its status as the nerve centre.” ((Heathcote, Edwin (2012) The Meaning Of Home, London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, p.56))

http://www.divadlohome.net/shows/doma.html

The kitchen has a certain purpose and everyone uses it for that function. Most people wouldn’t use their kitchen to sit and watch TV in or have a nap. There is also the concept of time that is relevant to the kitchen. The waiting for the bread to pop up from the toaster, the microwave to ping and the kettle to boil. “Places are about relationships, about the placing of peoples, materials, images and the systems of difference that they perform.” ((Pearson, Mike (2010) Site-Specific Performance, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, p.13))

So what would happen if we changed the function of the kitchen, if its purpose was completely different? And what if the waiting never ended? This quote written by Tim Etchells made me think about the reality and how far we can stretch the imagination, playing with the audiences perceptions to create something quite the opposite to what it should be; “how long do you have to have lived somewhere until you are allowed to lie about it?” ((Govan, Emma, Helen Nicholson and Katie Normington (2007) Making a Performance, Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices Oxon and USA, Routledge, p.131))

Perhaps using the kitchen as a space to do something else could be experimented with. This is something that Lital Dotan from Williamsburg did when she opened her house to the public and it became ‘The Glasshouse Project’. Her kitchen had various objects in for example, using the cupboard space as a bookshelf instead of storing food.

Williamsburg Couple Showcasing Their Home as Art Gallery, Online: “http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120823/williamsburg/williamsburg-couple-showcasing-their-home-as-art-gallery” http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120823/williamsburg/williamsburg-couple-showcasing-their-home-as-art-gallery (accessed: 21st Febuary 2013).

DoMA / at HoME is another example of a performance in a house which includes different performances, some rehearsed and prepared, and some improvised. The performances differ with the various people taking part, as each person lives somewhat differently, in diverse spaces and places. This is reflected in each individual space in the house as the performers experiences of home are the influence for their performance.

There’s no place like home…is there?

Elizabeth Soper / January 24, 2013May 13, 2013 / West Parade

“A place owes its character to the experiences it affords to those who spend time there – to the sights, sounds and indeed smells that constitute its specific ambience.” ((Ingold quoted in Pearson, Mike (2010) Site-Specific Performance, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, p.15))

For some people, a home is a place of safety and security. It is a place full of memories of their families and their childhood. For others it is somewhere to relax and unwind after a long day, shutting their troubles behind the front door. However there is something very different between a ‘home’ and a ‘house’. I think after seeing the house we will be working in for the first time, that is something everyone will agree with! There’s something about walking into a house with old fashioned peeling wallpaper, dirty and dusty skirting boards and the smell of muskiness hitting you in each room that makes you not feel at home – which already makes this a very intriguing place to be working in! “Not all spaces built by man have this character of homeliness, but they should not all have them; for not all are intended for the purpose of ‘dwelling’ in the strict sense, of feeling sheltered within them during ones stay.” ((Bollnow, O.F. (2011) Human Space, London: Hyphen Press, p.142))

Photo taken: 02/02/13 – ‘The Kitchen’

For me, the room I felt safest and most comfortable was the kitchen. This room I felt played no tricks, it was there for that purpose; to be a kitchen. Rooms such as the CCTV room was the room for spying, the cot room felt strangely eerie and held mystery (although interestingly it may not have felt this way if the cot had not been placed there), as does the main bedroom with it’s lack of furniture, yet perfectly made bed and out of place lamp. Whereas the kitchen felt like it was away from the weirdness, tucked at the back of the house, in which I could escape.

This whole idea of purpose gave me many ideas for what we could do with this space. Perhaps treating each room as if it was a different one, ignoring what it might be and its real purpose. For example the kitchen could become a bedroom using its cupboards as a wardrobe. I thought perhaps displaying pre-recorded CCTV footage on the television in the living room for the audience to watch would be interesting. This will already make the audience feel unnerved which is how I felt in most rooms of the house. “and the desire to provoke, shock, and unsettle spectators is central to the avant-garde.” ((Freshwater, Helen (2009) theatre & audience, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.45-46))