Final piece.
I have been thinking of talking female desire through three mediums: Film/Vedio, theatrical performing and dance. Trying to use their unique story-telling languages to decribe female desire from characters. Hope can examine how text and costume can be purify and change to apply to the characters.
Here, a special thanks to Magda, who reminded me the amazing play and novel 'Les Liaisons dangereuses'.
Once in my second year, I was a rehearsal assistant of this play production.
I was amazed by those characters and the lines came from their mouths.
Those strong desire and love has been written perfectly and extremely, but still present the most guenuin personalities like the people aroud us. The novel was written in 1782 by Choderlos de Laclos, and now it's still cutting the edge.
I will adopt two different characters from it. Monologues will be taken from the novel.
Also, will look the play with the same name written by Christopher Hampton, 'Quartet' written by German playwright Heiner Müller. Films: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1959 and TV Series 2003), Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Volmont. Dance: Rosas.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Saturday, November 18, 2006
A question after Central Saint Martin's MA Scenography graduates' performance。
Couldn't say more than "interesting" to describe the performance, really.
Apart from standing all night during the performance and trying to concentrate after the critical studies lecture and cross course crits all day, I quite enjoyed the vibe there, evoked me the all times: watching all the student works, which were called "experimental theatre pieces".
And here comes the question, rather than being critical to the performance. A critical quesiotn that I have been asking myself since I started studying theatre and knowing performances.
How much should I bare for the lack of perfection from student's work (of course, nothing could be perfect!)?
Since the "experiment" has no longer exist anymore in theatre because there is always somebody doing the thing that we think is experimental and even much better than we do. So I would say that is a method we are using to approach or achieve what we want, rather focussing on creating a "new form" or "experiment".
Luckily, the graduates from CSM did not give that feeling of they want to show a new form of theatre to fresh our eyes and mind. But unfortunately, I saw too many major mistakes that shouldn't happen to a MA graduate student or even for a current MA level student. What I saw was like the students' pieces from the first or second year in my university in Taipei.
Very typical:
Interesting and somehow quite fresh and amazing ideas, concepts, texts.
Lack of knowledges in how to control a performance.
Immature skills of acting, blocking and directing directions, not only in performance but occured during rehearsals.
So I always try to see performaces as many as I can, to know how and what people are doing now in theatre, not matter good or bad, I learn more than just thinking in front of the desk and reading text, but every single elements they are using.
And I always question my self while I was in different level, even now I am a MA student. The problems and mistakes should come out with a higher level but not like a BA student. Therefore I am alerted by my lack of that.
I was trained to be professional, so I shall be and have to be.
Be critical to my self and keep a self awareness like an actor.
Never, never and never enough....
Apart from standing all night during the performance and trying to concentrate after the critical studies lecture and cross course crits all day, I quite enjoyed the vibe there, evoked me the all times: watching all the student works, which were called "experimental theatre pieces".
And here comes the question, rather than being critical to the performance. A critical quesiotn that I have been asking myself since I started studying theatre and knowing performances.
How much should I bare for the lack of perfection from student's work (of course, nothing could be perfect!)?
Since the "experiment" has no longer exist anymore in theatre because there is always somebody doing the thing that we think is experimental and even much better than we do. So I would say that is a method we are using to approach or achieve what we want, rather focussing on creating a "new form" or "experiment".
Luckily, the graduates from CSM did not give that feeling of they want to show a new form of theatre to fresh our eyes and mind. But unfortunately, I saw too many major mistakes that shouldn't happen to a MA graduate student or even for a current MA level student. What I saw was like the students' pieces from the first or second year in my university in Taipei.
Very typical:
Interesting and somehow quite fresh and amazing ideas, concepts, texts.
Lack of knowledges in how to control a performance.
Immature skills of acting, blocking and directing directions, not only in performance but occured during rehearsals.
So I always try to see performaces as many as I can, to know how and what people are doing now in theatre, not matter good or bad, I learn more than just thinking in front of the desk and reading text, but every single elements they are using.
And I always question my self while I was in different level, even now I am a MA student. The problems and mistakes should come out with a higher level but not like a BA student. Therefore I am alerted by my lack of that.
I was trained to be professional, so I shall be and have to be.
Be critical to my self and keep a self awareness like an actor.
Never, never and never enough....
Monday, November 13, 2006
Thomas Ostermeier's Berlin Schaubühne production- Blasted (Zerbombt)。
How can it be banal but effective on stage? Here it is, German hit the Brit’s play!
Sarah Kane, a playwright who you can only read her by now, is one of my all-time favorites. In “Blasted”, she used simple plots and characters in it, but to express a strong concept by both language and story. We usually expect to see how they are going to do with those sex related scenes and directions. How real they should be to convince us and buy their bills?
It was no such surprise from Thomas Ostermeier, how he deal with all that we want to see on stage. For a theatre student ‘s view, he was using ordinary ways to present those parts on stage, apart from skipping it, he did give a direction to solve it, though I would say it was normal. Here comes the point, why there should be anything new or amaing to shock or entertain audience, as long as there is something which expresses exactly what u want through texts, actors, set, lighting and so on. This is a great play I saw that clearly transformed what the play intended to communicate and say to us.
The stage has a huge turntable underneath the set (a hotel room). The use of it is quite poetic, especially the scene Ian and Cate have sex and the explosion after the soldier comes. Came with explosion was not only just the turning room but with all the ashes felt from top of stage. Very beautiful images on stage indeed.
The lighting has an interesting design, and almost became the main visual element after the explosion, a massive wall full of four rolls of fluorescent lamps hanging up-centre of the stage. And it had various lighting textures followed by different lightness and darkness in the space. When the time it was off and on (or other way round), it showed the special effect only from fluorescent lamps.
Acting is another part that actors provoked the sense of terror and ordeal to us by using normal actions and lines from Kane, but I could tell they were fully equipped and prepared for the characters. Deep but simple, like a fresh tasty juice ads: “Nothing Added”.
Those I mention above aren’t very new or special from the history of theatre or performance, but that way he used it and combined those elements were successfully tell me both he and Kane want to express indeed.
I like this play very much.
I love Sarah Kane.
Sarah Kane, a playwright who you can only read her by now, is one of my all-time favorites. In “Blasted”, she used simple plots and characters in it, but to express a strong concept by both language and story. We usually expect to see how they are going to do with those sex related scenes and directions. How real they should be to convince us and buy their bills?
It was no such surprise from Thomas Ostermeier, how he deal with all that we want to see on stage. For a theatre student ‘s view, he was using ordinary ways to present those parts on stage, apart from skipping it, he did give a direction to solve it, though I would say it was normal. Here comes the point, why there should be anything new or amaing to shock or entertain audience, as long as there is something which expresses exactly what u want through texts, actors, set, lighting and so on. This is a great play I saw that clearly transformed what the play intended to communicate and say to us.
The stage has a huge turntable underneath the set (a hotel room). The use of it is quite poetic, especially the scene Ian and Cate have sex and the explosion after the soldier comes. Came with explosion was not only just the turning room but with all the ashes felt from top of stage. Very beautiful images on stage indeed.
The lighting has an interesting design, and almost became the main visual element after the explosion, a massive wall full of four rolls of fluorescent lamps hanging up-centre of the stage. And it had various lighting textures followed by different lightness and darkness in the space. When the time it was off and on (or other way round), it showed the special effect only from fluorescent lamps.
Acting is another part that actors provoked the sense of terror and ordeal to us by using normal actions and lines from Kane, but I could tell they were fully equipped and prepared for the characters. Deep but simple, like a fresh tasty juice ads: “Nothing Added”.
Those I mention above aren’t very new or special from the history of theatre or performance, but that way he used it and combined those elements were successfully tell me both he and Kane want to express indeed.
I like this play very much.
I love Sarah Kane.
The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs- Yippeee 2006。
Maybe too amazing for me to bare it during 100 mins non-stop shocking and waiting!
The beautiful spelling for these dance companies caught my eyes as well as my ears. After some research of the companies, I got even more interested in their performance.
It was a big feast for both visual languages and sound, and still has their own style of choreographing. On the stage, there wasn’t many sets on it, simply took all the tabs and legs off, exposed the stage behind the proscenium. There were 8 (or 10) booms (or small scaffolds) with lighting on them. Music band (DJ set) was at up-centre. Very much like a post-modern style.
Costume was outstandingly designed by Simon Vicenzie. The style and amount of its own evoked me the colour and senses of circus. Alien’s shapes, full of funny and interesting ideas just like they were really having fun with clothes and no restriction with diaphanous trousers from which dangle an extra leg, ropes of pearls that come accessorised with gas masks and padded taffeta skirts that sport kangaroo tails.
Choreography was also having its strong compelling weirdness-- chug in geometric formation; exotic tableaux are fringed with slowly fanning arms and legs; hands dance an exquisite kaleidoscope. But the cast never looks fully human, sometimes reverting to primitive animal mannerisms, sometimes simply twitching through ghostly, residual dance memories.
But in reality, I really could not bare for all the performance with lots of period which wasn’t a dancer standing out while they were busy changing their clothes on the stage. I would say it was totally an ordeal for me being an audience. Influenced by that feeling, I could not even enjoy the visual part since I was so tired of waiting and getting bored with that “post-modern” style of performance.
The beautiful spelling for these dance companies caught my eyes as well as my ears. After some research of the companies, I got even more interested in their performance.
It was a big feast for both visual languages and sound, and still has their own style of choreographing. On the stage, there wasn’t many sets on it, simply took all the tabs and legs off, exposed the stage behind the proscenium. There were 8 (or 10) booms (or small scaffolds) with lighting on them. Music band (DJ set) was at up-centre. Very much like a post-modern style.
Costume was outstandingly designed by Simon Vicenzie. The style and amount of its own evoked me the colour and senses of circus. Alien’s shapes, full of funny and interesting ideas just like they were really having fun with clothes and no restriction with diaphanous trousers from which dangle an extra leg, ropes of pearls that come accessorised with gas masks and padded taffeta skirts that sport kangaroo tails.
Choreography was also having its strong compelling weirdness-- chug in geometric formation; exotic tableaux are fringed with slowly fanning arms and legs; hands dance an exquisite kaleidoscope. But the cast never looks fully human, sometimes reverting to primitive animal mannerisms, sometimes simply twitching through ghostly, residual dance memories.
But in reality, I really could not bare for all the performance with lots of period which wasn’t a dancer standing out while they were busy changing their clothes on the stage. I would say it was totally an ordeal for me being an audience. Influenced by that feeling, I could not even enjoy the visual part since I was so tired of waiting and getting bored with that “post-modern” style of performance.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Rosas Danst Rosas。
Rosas Danst Rosas
A film by Thierry De Mey (Belgium)
1997, 35 mm colour
A minimalism-dance masterpiece!
I have to say as a performer, this is the kind of piece I want to perform. Starts with four girls, from floor to the chairs and then occupy all the space by those simple movements, the hands through hair, frown, pull jumper over shoulder, turn head and even a sigh, composed to a dazzling phrasing like poem. Her purified, calm and chastening compositions make me not just enjoyed the moments but the aftertastes that I every time think of it. The strong feelings of the desire from female bodies and feminine gestures are evocative of some parts of Pina Bausch’s works but in a gentle or even more delicate way just like poem.
Regards to my research or would say my interest in costume. It’s a example that I think very successful for dance on screen. Very clear, simple on lines and style that easily connect to “dancer” seemed banal, but in fact, very effective on a kind of language using minima feminine elements in colours and style but provoked that part mainly by movements and compositions.
Minimalism have been using for applying to every kind of arts and designs for decades, even now some people feel fed up with it and started to crticise it, still, in terms of the shapes and ideas that contain so many things and keep in simple, can be fabulous and outstanding. Especially this piece was repertory in live performance in 80s’, but can be fantastic even nowadays.
Little things and ideas could now be totally new for performance. Just depend on how we apply them into our own pieces and if it is reasonable and do mean something that relate to what we want to express or not. At least, for me, a performance is a way that we communicate by using different languages. It is very important to look at what audiences feel and how much they get from us. From Rosas, I leanrt and inspired a lot and make me feel like to narrow down my research more, just like minimalism does!
A film by Thierry De Mey (Belgium)
1997, 35 mm colour
A minimalism-dance masterpiece!
I have to say as a performer, this is the kind of piece I want to perform. Starts with four girls, from floor to the chairs and then occupy all the space by those simple movements, the hands through hair, frown, pull jumper over shoulder, turn head and even a sigh, composed to a dazzling phrasing like poem. Her purified, calm and chastening compositions make me not just enjoyed the moments but the aftertastes that I every time think of it. The strong feelings of the desire from female bodies and feminine gestures are evocative of some parts of Pina Bausch’s works but in a gentle or even more delicate way just like poem.
Regards to my research or would say my interest in costume. It’s a example that I think very successful for dance on screen. Very clear, simple on lines and style that easily connect to “dancer” seemed banal, but in fact, very effective on a kind of language using minima feminine elements in colours and style but provoked that part mainly by movements and compositions.
Minimalism have been using for applying to every kind of arts and designs for decades, even now some people feel fed up with it and started to crticise it, still, in terms of the shapes and ideas that contain so many things and keep in simple, can be fabulous and outstanding. Especially this piece was repertory in live performance in 80s’, but can be fantastic even nowadays.
Little things and ideas could now be totally new for performance. Just depend on how we apply them into our own pieces and if it is reasonable and do mean something that relate to what we want to express or not. At least, for me, a performance is a way that we communicate by using different languages. It is very important to look at what audiences feel and how much they get from us. From Rosas, I leanrt and inspired a lot and make me feel like to narrow down my research more, just like minimalism does!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Michael Clark Company-Mmm。
A naughty, funny and clever choreographer ON STAGE.
Had a very enjoyable evening with Michael Clark at Barbican Centre.
For me it was not a masterpiece kind of dance, but it was very amusing by all the languages which appeared on stage. From dancers, movements, stage, lightening, costume, music to projection. I could imagine how amazing when this piece first showed in 1992. The important thing is I could feel that he enjoys having fun within his works and himself. And also he got many artists and designers involved and collaborated within his company, tried to give the dance pieces more energy and fresh air.
One of my friends who is a dancer now doing internship in a dance company based in London went with me tonight (and Magda as well), as her “professional” opinion, she didn’t like it. The reason is she thinks that Michael Clark didn’t “choreograph” at all. Those movements just like body excises and basic technique training compositions appeared on stage. But I think that’s the one of the most interesting parts, which is he did not create any new composition but using basic movements (for people who’s not dancers, like me for instance, those “movements” are not as basic as daily actions we have) as one of the languages on stage. Therefore his work had a complete and strong ideal in overall but not only focused on “dance”.
The costumes contained loads of fashion elements indeed, and they are all surprisingly working in his pieces. The shapes, styles fitted what the dance intended to express. The colours were all going with the lightening and stage perfectly. Even in the repertory, which all the dancers were naked with a shape of hand warmer from early 20th century around their hand and “down there” was amazing. How successful on costume design you would ask, and the answer is: Very, even my dancer friend who doesn’t like the performance likes the costume a lot!
Had a very enjoyable evening with Michael Clark at Barbican Centre.
For me it was not a masterpiece kind of dance, but it was very amusing by all the languages which appeared on stage. From dancers, movements, stage, lightening, costume, music to projection. I could imagine how amazing when this piece first showed in 1992. The important thing is I could feel that he enjoys having fun within his works and himself. And also he got many artists and designers involved and collaborated within his company, tried to give the dance pieces more energy and fresh air.
One of my friends who is a dancer now doing internship in a dance company based in London went with me tonight (and Magda as well), as her “professional” opinion, she didn’t like it. The reason is she thinks that Michael Clark didn’t “choreograph” at all. Those movements just like body excises and basic technique training compositions appeared on stage. But I think that’s the one of the most interesting parts, which is he did not create any new composition but using basic movements (for people who’s not dancers, like me for instance, those “movements” are not as basic as daily actions we have) as one of the languages on stage. Therefore his work had a complete and strong ideal in overall but not only focused on “dance”.
The costumes contained loads of fashion elements indeed, and they are all surprisingly working in his pieces. The shapes, styles fitted what the dance intended to express. The colours were all going with the lightening and stage perfectly. Even in the repertory, which all the dancers were naked with a shape of hand warmer from early 20th century around their hand and “down there” was amazing. How successful on costume design you would ask, and the answer is: Very, even my dancer friend who doesn’t like the performance likes the costume a lot!
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