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....
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3 comments:
hello ming
please don't worry about your typos - i kew exactly what you were saying!
your english is definitely improving ;)
i agree about the quality of student productions - it's just so difficult because of budget and not having professional actors. But we have you! and that dramatic tragedy herself magda!
x
I myself constantly struggle with these thoughts. It is a frustration at not quite being able to reach that moment of cohesion and clarity in realising an idea. That’s what makes theatre and performance making so challenging and rewarding. Student work is often of this nature. When the word experimental is used I don’t think that just denotes that the student is trying to invent a completely original aesthetic or theatrical form but they themselves are experimenting. I think of the puppets I am making for the group project. Far, far from perfection or even close but what I am learning a lot about the nature of how too approach puppet construction and manipulation. Indeed this whole project is about the nature of collaboration, it’s an experiment, when else would you have so many designers working on a piece? We are our own harshest critics and will emerge the better for it.
I can name about three performances in my life I have seen that have really moved me, where I think all the elements ‘work’ at that precise moment. The process of making theatre is one of compromise, sometimes you might be lucky enough have minimal compromise but it’s always there. All theatre makers and artists have failure and imperfections throughout their work, some are just better at failing then others.
seems like this has got all of us thinking..
it's a toughy isn't it, because on the one hand of course we should be making work on a level which reflects the level of experience and education we have. But on the other hand, if we are constantly tring to make everything appear 'professional' and if we worry all the time about making mistakes then we will never give ourselves the opportunity to try out something new and untested (even if it is only untested by ourselves and has been done before by others). So i say hurrah! for all the crappy messy student work, maybe we'll get it right one day, but we won't get another chance like this when it's ok to make mistakes.
see you soon
cx
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