Performance: My experience

The Performance is over, feedback received, and all my vulnerabilities have been exposed for a room full of people to see. I feel that as a contemporary experimental performance we as a collective achieved our intentions of creating a combination of mental and physical vulnerability, through live actions and the use of multimedia. By engaging with a traditional passive audience role, they could not hide behind an act or de-humanise the actors to a task. The setting of the space encouraged the audience to witness the whole exposure, whether that be through the physical exploration or the mental. Much like Vanessa Beacroft, our piece was very much rooted in the actors inner complex, inviting the audience in through the emotional connection created by the video.

Through this performance i believe we created “… a necessary theatre, one in which there is only a practical difference between actor and audience, not a fundamental one.” (Lehmann and Spittle et al., 1982, p.41)

Throughout the piece, it could be argued that much like Laura mulvey, the multimedia and our physical break down could be described as a form of feminism. However, although on the surface this could be true due to the all female actors and questions asked on the film. I believe that the piece could be representative for any gender due to the relatability of the context of the performance.

I feel that through this piece we have shown true exposure and vulnerability.

Works cited

Lehmann, P., Spittle, D. and Lehmann, K. 1982. The Temenos. Princeton: Princeton University Press

Final changes, experiments and influences…

Leading up to our final piece, the group created many varying experiments, an influence for the ‘sweet’ experiment was ‘Cut Piece’ by Yoko Ono which was first performed in 1964 and was a show of Destruction in Art Symposium, the ideology behind this ‘was to focus attention on the element of destruction in Happenings and other art forms, and to relate this destruction in society’ (Tate.org.uk, 2013). She achieved this state of destruction by requesting audience members come up on stage and cut away at her clothing until she was naked. I feel that this is interchangeable with the concept of vulnerability and exposure within our piece, and I feel the simplicity of ‘Cut Piece’ should be visible within mine.

‘Cut Piece’ has helped inspire one of our main experiments, in which we invited the audience members to come and take a sweet from 3 bodies showing various stages of nudity and in turn various stages of exposure and vulnerability. I wanted the piece to highlight to the audience that the vulnerability shown through the body effects the decisions the spectators make. The atmosphere felt within this experiment, is something I want my final piece to exude; a highly charged atmosphere. After the performance, the reactions of the spectators were recorded and there was a significant similarity throughout all of the recordings, that being that they took sweets from the naked person. This was because they felt sorry for her, highlighting how her vulnerability affected the way they acted throughout the piece. This idea of creating a reaction towards my vulnerability is something I want our piece to exhibit.

A second influence for me would be SNNG’s ‘Untitled Flesh’. Within this performance four girls are naked, and are seen to be vulnerable through their nude state. However, it can be argued that they are also strong through this vulnerable state. The strength within our performance will come from our vulnerable aspects, the strength to become vulnerable. Much like us they have ‘insisted that there is more than one layer to ‘nakedness’ (Cheng, 2002, p.253.) Focusing on multiplicity, like this group my performing naked is tantamount to exploring the process of vulnerability and exposure within society.

Much like a change in ideas, our performance space has changed direction from a public space to a theatrical space. However, I don’t want to use this space in a theatrical manner, I want to produce an piece of live art within a theatre and change the audience’s role to that of a spectator, free to interact how they like in a simplistic installation piece. Shaughnessy explains that ‘The role and experience of both the spectator and the community in which the art is produced is central to the re-evaluation of efficiency in these relational and participatory practices and encounters’ (n.d, p.xvi.). Taking this on board, I want to change the perceptions of theatre, i want the space to become a place where a ‘real’ portrayal of vulnerability is possible. While portraying my real vulnerabilities, i also want to create an aesthetically pleasing intense and intimate environment in which a clock image is used to indicate to the audience that something will occur during the two hours. This will therefore create a sense of anticipation and an atmosphere that will be intense and focused on the piece.

Clock example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY0qCaMkO0Q

While creating an aesthetically pleasing piece, it became apparent that the use of the space is essential in the final performance, the piece will contain six girls, with each of us breaking down barriers to reach our individual states of vulnerability. Furthermore a projection of the six girls reaching mental vulnerable states will intensify the atmosphere. The audience within the piece will be free to walk around and sit down. In terms of props, there will be an inviting settee. However, the audience will have to walk through an uncomfortable setting to reach the one comfortable element within our piece, that being the settee.

Works cited

Cheng, M. (2002). In other Los Angeleses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Shaughnessy, N. (2012). Applying performance. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Tate.org.uk. (2013). Art & the Sixties, exhibition themes, Destruction in Art Symposium | Tate. [online] Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/art-60s-was-tomorrow/exhibition-themes/destruction-art-symposium [Accessed: 27 Nov 2013].

Changing ideas and influences…

After each experiment, my concept about our final piece is evolving and changing. The one thing that remains constant is the notion of Vulnerability and Exposure and the portrayal of these within my piece. However the representations of these words are causing a grey area within the performance. Through this performance, i want to achieve much more using the human body than just the physicality of the form; i want to communicate the artist’s ideas and feelings through the canvas. The piece will create a mental and physical exploration of vulnerability, the physical element of the vulnerability will be shown through the live element of the performance.

The physical live element

Through the Live element of the installation, I want to show the naked human body in all of our states of vulnerability, commenting upon individual vulnerabilities. Through the removal of clothes throughout the two hours i want to show to the audience that the experience broke down the performer, therefore upon leaving we are still six women thrown together with many varying vulnerabilities. But most importantly after the piece we are still broken. One element that was discussed was the idea of de-objectifying the body, Judith Butler and Gender Trouble became key when discussing the role of gender within performance. Within the book it states that if the appearance of “being” a gender is an effect of culturally influenced acts, then there exists no solid, universal gender. Through the practice of performance, the gender “woman” (like the gender “man”) remains contingent and open to interpretation and “re-signification.” She calls for gender trouble, for people to trouble the categories of gender through performance. In essence within our performance, much like Judith Butler and Nick Green in Body Politics we want to use the body to create ourselves as subjects and not objects as Judith explains, “we, ‘women,’ must become subjects and not objects” (Butler, 1990, p. 48)

The pre-recorded element

The prerecorded elements on the projection will highlight the mental side of vulnerability, the nuance of the film was used to help create an emotional connection, making the audience experience happiness and sadness within a short space of time. The projection will help to create an emotional connection between audience and performer due to the intimate nature of the questions and answers. Through these two combining elements, the piece is moving away from representing documentation as art, and towards a simple, minimalistic installation on vulnerability focusing upon the audience’s reaction, and subsequently the audience and actors reactions within the space. Through this final installation performance, i want my work to encourage spectators to reflect, to think and to feel. The way this will be achieved is not only dictated by the image, but by reflecting on it through the spectators own experiences and feelings.

The experiment which created this element was one in which we answered questions which made the person feel mentally vulnerable and exposed. Many of these questions were asked by 18-25 year old students which caused the theme to by body and sex orientated, for example:

Tell a personal story?
Have you ever had an eating disorder? What were your feelings during this period?
Explain your first sexual experience?

It was during the technical run through that the group realised how significant this experiment was due to the exposure we felt whilst the questions were being shown, it also allowed a structured vocal element within the piece that highlighted our vulnerability. In essence i wanted the video to show ‘Our lineage in random form’ (Etchells and Phelan, 1999, p.19.)

Works cited

Butler, J. 1990. Gender trouble. New York London: Routledge

Etchells, T. and Phelan, P. 1999. Certain Fragments. London: Routledge

Testing our Vulnerability and Intimacy levels

Live art, exhibition and installation, are all things that I want our piece to inhabit. Much like the ‘happenings’ that began in the 1950’s in New York, I want our piece to combine elements of theatre and visual art with sufficient space for spontaneity. To achieve this we are culminating our performance through continuous practical research, learning about the ‘self’ while testing vulnerability and exposure levels of the group, through the confusion of the audience performer role.

Portraying documentation as art is something that intrigues the group because of its link to life. Documentation art can be viewed as similar to life, because essentially both are a pure activity that does not lead to an end result. The lack of an end result links to the work of Higgins and his theory of how artwork connects to what is understood compared to what is not ‘The concept is understood better by what it is not, rather than the what it is’ (Kaye, 2008, P.25), much like Higgins and Newling our piece is more focused upon conceptual art, as the group is more focused upon the ideas presented compared to the finished article.

As a group we are carrying out numerous experiments, firstly testing our levels of vulnerability through exposure but also experimenting with the vulnerability levels of any audience members we may encounter. Our first experiment was one which involved the group, experimenting with how exposed physically and mentally we could become before our own vulnerability took over, this for me also experimented with the role intimacy has within performance and society. “Intimacy enables two sentiment beings, who feel comfortable enough with each other on an emotional and/or physical level, to reveal something about themselves and connect in some form of meaningful exchange” (Smith, 2007, p.1.) I feel that as a group of girls who knew each other it was much easier to reach a state of ‘extreme’ vulnerability due to the comfortable environment. However, when moving this idea to our performance space we may become subject to hurtful reactions from onlookers. Therefore the exposure and vulnerability encountered will be a practice of a direct action, highlighting the idea of the psyche with society and the self and how we communicate with the world. For the second half of this experiment we analysed our personal vulnerability through a group conversation of how we felt whilst ‘performing’, this consequently allowed the group to reach a mental intimacy as ‘intimacy also involves an aspiration for a narrative about something shared, a story about both oneself and others (Smith, 2007, p.1).

Throughout the performance we want to capture the tension between performance and vulnerability, therefore choosing the space we have was key in the creation of Nuditate. I felt that a performance containing exposure within a Theatre is only exposure to a certain extent, as it is set in the context of a performance. Therefore for my second experiment i wanted to test intimacy and the boundaries this has. For this piece i experimented and performed in a shower room, the close proximity of the space allowed for much more intimacy and the repetitive question of ‘touch me again somewhere else’ experimented with the loss of the performer’s power when being intimate versus the power the audience member has when creating intimacy. The creation of intimacy however also lead to a sense of vulnerability, this was witnessed in a couple of audience members due to the intense nature of the question.

The two experiments which we have undertaken so far, have tested my levels of vulnerability but within the context of intimacy and this is something I want to achieve within the final performance through the use of the body as ‘language is not and cannot express what it seeks to describe – an admission of the struggle in everyday life’ (Etchells, 1999, p.102.) I want to achieve a simplified performance through the use of personal vulnerability, experimenting with the self but allowing the audience to be involved with the piece so as not to create an indulgent personal experiment.

The above photos indicate the intimacy of the touch me experiment, and the vulnerable nature which was highlighted through the exposure of the body and self.

Works cited

Etchells, T (1999) Certain Fragments: Contemporary performance and forced entertainment, London and New York: Routledge

Kaye, N. (2008). Site-specific art. London: Routledge.

Smith, C. (2007). Spank (at Intimacy: across visceral and digital performance).

Initial Thoughts

Introduction: Livvie Milne The aim of our piece is to expose vunareablitly on to society, blurring the lines between performer and audience. Based on the notions of reaction to surroundings and spectacle, the observed becomes the observer, witnessing exposure from in front and behind the glass. By setting this durational piece in an intuition, this live art piece becomes witnessed by everyday people, who would not nesseccarily be exposed to such artistic context. By exploiting the notion of vulnerability in the physical framework of a glass window, we project our bodily and mental insecurities, onto the general public. The piece is based on the breaking down of boundaries, created in physce and by the expectations society puts on us. The reactions by the performer and the audience confuses these generic roles, as the performer will be able to see and hear the spectators reactions.

Exposure: Livvie Milne Exposure can come in multiple forms and be varying in extremity. The basis of our piece is on the idea of revealing something of us to an audience. The blurring lines between the spectator and performer we find both sides of the glass reveal their emotions and are exposed to the reactions of each other. The words Exposure’s two definitions are 1 the state of having no protection from something harmful: 2 the revelation of something secret, especially something embarrassing or damaging: In our piece we find both of these ideas capitalized on. The first one definition is highlighted through the physical removing of clothes. We become subject to potentially hurtful, angry reactions from on lookers. We felt the location of the durational piece was crucial. We wanted the audience not to be people who attend exhibitions or contemporary pieces, regularly. We wanted the performance not to be framed in a theatrical, experimental setting, but in the middle of an institution where young people exposed or not exposed to the arts would witness the process. There is more than just a physical exposure, (removing clothes to show body) we are also exploring a mental vulnerability through vocalizing our thoughts and emotions in the piece. The idea of putting on a brave face is rejected as a stream of consciousness can or cannot be verbalized through microphones projecting these thoughts to the observers the vulnerability demonstrated in this. The theme of Exposure is as prominent as the observer or the performer wants. The idea of a ‘Brave Face’ can be a shield to the exposure, and the observer can look or ignore as much as they choose, similarly the performer can chose to reveal as much of their body and mind as they choose. Vunerliablty is witnessed by both sides and it may be so overwhelming that both sides chose to let it block their exposure. The battle between insecurity and the openness will be clearly shown and heard in this process. The second definition summarizes clearly the inhibitions that may prevent exposure. Physical and mental insecurities, for example someone may have spots, therefore often masks their complexion with makeup, and would feel nervous exposing that to society. The Role of exposure in modern day Western society is controversial. Some may say through the emphasis on media and its accessibility that nudity is something that is common. With the porn industry in the UK alone being estimated at One Billion pound industry. Is exposure still relevant to an audience whose age consists of a modern generation who has lived through this increase of this growing market? We feel it still is. The idea of emotional exhibionist is something not often revealed, especially in the ages of 18-25. The Market is made up of airbrushed glamour models many surgically enhanced and made up. The piece we are conducting promotes the opposite of this. It is more than revealing our bodies; it is revealing our emotions, our worries our Insecurities. It rejects the idea of perfection or tampering with the natural physical form by barely exposing traits, or scars or feelings the performer may not feel natural to reveal. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4305257.stm

Boundaries: Chloe Pitts

Boundaries:

1. Something that indicates a border or limit.

2. The border or limit so indicated

For our piece, I wanted to read further into the role boundaries play within our everyday life and culture. In our modern society, there are a number of things created, to disconnect the relation and create boundaries between what our minds can create, and what we in practical reality may achieve. Every day we face a social constraint, which further increases the limitation of our capacity as individuals. Within our piece ‘Nuditate’ there were many boundaries that needed overcoming in order for the piece to be created, such boundaries included; boundaries that Society places on the individual, theatrical boundaries (including the breakdown), and the problematic boundaries of our performance space, which was later decided as being too difficult to work with due to the intimate nature of the piece versus the extremely public setting of that performance space. Society creates a strong sense of boundaries on the individual through family boundaries, religious, racial, political, national, geographical and many more social boundaries – these boundaries however are mainly constructed within the mind. This relates much to the boundaries created within the theatre; perhaps the only boundaries in theatre are the ones we place on ourselves, on our imagination. Performance Art however, ‘continues to indicate the contemporary tendency to break down barriers between the arts and to help us to understand that ‘performance’ can take many forms’ (Brockett and Ball, 2011, p. 252). Much like performance art, i wanted my performance to break down barriers through the many different technical and visual elements used within the installation piece. The first boundary we faced when creating our performance was the element of nudity in our piece; nudity in theatre can and has been criticised as a churlish way to give shock value to a production, while also being described as a ‘semiological scandal’ (Pavis, 1998, p.238). However, due to the shocking manner of nudity it highlights why it still shocks the audience and why it is still such a powerful tool. As a society, we believe we are comfortable with the naked body; as it appears to be advertised all around us, in the media. These images however are not true to life and have been photo shopped to have imperfections and fat removed, therefore what we really see is an ideal of what humans might look like if they were produced as perfect. The raw power of theatre, on the other hand, is that it can cause the audience to experience discomfort by exposing the audience to things that they might not be as accepting of as they thought. I wanted to use the nudity aspect within my piece to explore the process of vulnerability, and exposure within society through the ‘de-eroticising of the nude body’ (Harris, 2001,p.69) I wanted to achieve this by confusing the performer audience role through the use of ‘Self-reflection, decomposition and separation of the elements of dramatic theatre’ (Angelaki, 2013, p. xii) There were also many boundaries when choosing performance space, and this is one which my group faced as we tried to choose a space which was open to the whole university, therefore giving an honest true to life feel to the piece but also creating problems which might not have been encountered if performed in a theatrical environment. Within that space, the performers also had boundaries to overcome in terms of feeling comfortable with their bodies. My performance, much like society had many boundaries that need overcoming in order for it to work.

Works cited

Angelaki, V. 2013. Contemporary British Theatre. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Brockett, O. and Ball, R. 2011. The Essential Theatre, Enhanced. Boston: Micheal Rosenberg.

Harris, S. 2001. Bertrand Blier. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Pavis, P. 1998. Dictionary of the theatre. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Insecurities: Gabby Evans

What constitutes as insecurity? Hating the way you look? Feeling repulsed by your own body? Disagreeing with your thoughts? Loathing the way you think or speak? Being alone? When you feel worthless? A personal dislike? Basically, to be insecure means to be uncertain or anxious about ourselves, both physically and mentally. Insecurity is closely linked with the key themes of Vulnerability and Exposure. Everyone at some times in their lives will feel insecure, whether it is about what they look like or about how they act around other people. At one point or another it will affect us, however like myself, many try to mask these insecurities from public view. Over the next couple of weeks we aim to explore our own individual insecurities and why they make us so vulnerable. Personally I believe the more we expose our faults, the more vulnerable we become. I also think it is going to be a challenging aspect over the next few weeks and will need us to be fully committed as we shall be letting other members of not only our group but potentially audience members into our essentially personal thoughts, feelings and insecurities.

Intimacy:

Tiffany Thompson Defining intimacy can be difficult as there are different types of intimacy, intimacy in a relationship, intimacy in performance and intimacy within society. Definitions of intimacy are:

The condition of being intimate
An instance of being intimate

Different definitions come across however the definition of intimacy leans towards intimacy if relations with another person and not in performance. However, Maria Chatzichichristodoulou and Rachel Zerihan define intimacy as, “Intertwined with feelings closeness, trust and familiarity intimacy occurs through effective communication between some people in some kind of relationship” ( 2012, p.1) as we are exploring the notion of vulnerability on society I think intimacy plays a big part in being vulnerable. However, when being intimate with someone whether it being in a performance or in relations with someone could make you become vulnerable within yourself. Questions asked when exploring Intimacy, how can you be intimate with someone when you can’t be intimate with yourself? Can you be honest when exposing intimacy and vulnerability? How can you make the audience be intimate with the performer? Chatzichichristodoulou, Maria and Zerihan, Rachel (2012) Intimacy Across Visceral and Digital Performance, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Vulnerability: Lauren Olerenshaw
adjective

adjective: vulnerable

1.

exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.

“we were in a vulnerable position”

Our final experiment and our process, Is wholly based on vulnerability, what we have come to realise is that mental vulnerability and physical vulnerability can come hand in hand. During our process we have played with the boundaries of who has been made to feel vulnerable whether it is the audience or us as performers. What we discovered throughout this process is everyone will have a different state in which they feel vulnerable, for us as 20-21 year old girls what we found as a common ground was we all felt at our most vulnerable when physically bare, we use make up and our clothes as masks to hide what we do not want others to see.

Conclusion: Chloe Pitts To conclude, we decided to conduct a series of experiments within the dramatic context and safety of the theatre. This exposure to an academic, theatrical audience will help shape our piece before it is shown to the public. By exhibiting some of our original thoughts that have helped us reach a progressive idea, we will monitor reactions and self-reflect upon our boundaries we have, to evaluate if they prevent us, or if they can be expanded and stretched.