Wednesday 17 October 2012

Day eleven - invisible architecture and back to improv



I am very unwell. The intense work of the previous weeks has exacerbated an underlying health condition that I have. This means that I can't take hold of the process in the way that I usually can.

We begin with more sound work but in my depleted state I am less able to connect intellectually with the very fine detail. Jonnie and I are working in a way that we worked before with Elephant in the Room but it doesn't seem to be working quite so well in relation to the non-narrative game structure of Museum of Terrifying Example.

In Elephant in the Room the sound and action were inextricably linked with the action and sound cueing each other at different stages. I had thought that we'd continue along the same vein but trying to do this isn't productive. This is not just because of my fatigue. It seems that the best way forward is to run the structure and play with both the sound and the movement. The work is evolving through doing rather than through detailed intellectual investment. This makes sense as we're working with a fluid structure rather than a fixed script. We video everything and review it afterwards to establish what did and didn't work. Simply pointing out what is good and what not to do next time rather than being prescriptive about what we'd like to happen seems to bring about productivity and forward momentum.

We introduce a framing/structure element that we haven't yet applied to the work in the form of a system of numbers like the ones used in museum display cases to catalogue exhibits. The performers can use these to display themselves, to mark out moments of exhibition. As we improvise with this new element new moments occur. It is an effective structuring/framing devise for an otherwise chaotic sequence of action.

We leave early to allow some recovery time. Hopefully this will rectify my significant drop in energy and also help the rest of the team rest a little before the big push at the end of the week.

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