FEEDBACK SCRATCH 3 – WEEK 10/11

-Jen generally questioned the use of projections for all three groups. Additionally movement may be pushed and developed also.

-The main feedback was that the intention of the piece had been lost – for example the sparkler perhaps needs rethinking with burning things or lighting matches seen as preferable. Likewise the motivation behind Louise’s section was questioned; many were not aware that Louise was standing on ice at all. Jen suggested playing with a block of ice with Louise perhaps inserted in the block.

-Perhaps this links in with a lack of clarity – the physical clarity seen in the Vincenzi section needs to be seen in the other sections also. Jen commended our through line in the performance – that we are bodies which are moved rather than free moving – but still stressed perhaps the narrative hits spoken about with Hilary – each section needs a dramatic purpose.

-Characters seem to be the way forward; each move is then potentially motivated to enhance the through line as discussed by Jen. Perhaps bringing back the singing may go someway to making us liberated again as performers.

-Several of the pieces of set also need refining; in addition to the sparkler and the ice, the elements needed to be dramatically enhanced with lighting or relevance in performance. The clarinet also needs working into the performance more to seem effective. The poem section needs work also – slowing and a different voice effect?

-Framing the piece was another issue – initially, what is our relationship to the cage? We need to leave the cage sooner and spend more time out of the cage that yesterday. It was suggested that the cage is placed in the centre and that each character finds another restricted area in which to perform in the second half, but is constantly tied to the cage by the elastic. This may be a possibility and may also link to the split screen idea with the projections which is intended to either break up or expose the one dimensional space – the word axis was used.

-The final issue was the intentions we have as directors – what do we want an audience to see? An installation? A digital performance? A cabaret? An ode to death? And importantly are they involved in our practice or are they segregated.

I think that all of the above can be answered with relative ease – it is the time to make distinctions and stick to ideas. What do we want the overall concept to be and what do we want an audience to get out of watching/interacting with us? (Perhaps this is the time to use our self-evaluation sheet from a few weeks back). Once more of a solid grounding is in place ie our research questions refined, so the rest should fit into place: how we stage the piece to reflect our central aims, the structure of the piece, the set and movement work, the individual characters and even the afterlife of the piece can be made clearer. We have produced three scratches with rich material in all and these have in turn provided three very helpful feedback sessions – my feedback would be to strip back to basics now and work upwards. Its all there – we just need to locate THE concept and then realize it.