This is the scene that inspired me when setting myself the grapefruit-eating task.
In the special features on the Twin Peaks DVD, the actors speak about their reluctance to go as far as David Lynch wanted, and their fear of looking stupid, and I think this comes across in the scene - in my opinion, they could have taken it a lot further. So how does a performer let go of this fear, and how can a director encourage this fearlessness? I hope to find out.
Monday, 21 July 2008
Archiving Practice: The Film
Here is the video my colleague Brody made of my experiments during the Archiving Practice Workshops with Chris Clow.
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Responses to Failure: playing the blame game
Another 'psychic' - James Hydrick, who claimed he could move objects with his mind, being debunked on live TV by the sceptic James Randi, who has asked Hydrick to perform his 'gift' under controlled conditions designed to prevent cheating.
Pay special attention to James' face at around 11 minutes 55 seconds. He is approaching his imminent failure, and he knows it - what do you think is going through his mind at this moment?
Pay special attention to James' face at around 11 minutes 55 seconds. He is approaching his imminent failure, and he knows it - what do you think is going through his mind at this moment?
Monday, 14 July 2008
Responses to Failure: denial
Sylvia Browne is a famous "psychic" and medium. She appears regularly on American TV, has published a number of books, hosts her own radio show on paranormal issues and gives psychic readings. She is a controversial figure and critics argue that she is a fraud, using 'cold reading' in order to give the ilusion of psychic ability.
This is a short video showing two of her more notorious failures in her premonitions whilst appearing on the Montel Williams show (excuse the weird comedy music and text the makers have added to the video):
I suppose one way of dealing with failure is to pretend the failure never occured...
This is a short video showing two of her more notorious failures in her premonitions whilst appearing on the Montel Williams show (excuse the weird comedy music and text the makers have added to the video):
I suppose one way of dealing with failure is to pretend the failure never occured...
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The ******* Project
So…I’ve been thinking a lot about Failure at the moment (what else?!) Particularly, the word Failure. I’m starting to question my use of this word in reference to this project. When in doubt, I turn to the dictionary:
fail·ure
1. an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success: His effort ended in failure. The campaign was a failure.
2. nonperformance of something due, required, or expected: a failure to do what one has promised; a failure to appear.
3. a subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency: the failure of crops.
4. deterioration or decay, esp. of vigor, strength, etc.: The failure of her health made retirement necessary.
5. a condition of being bankrupt by reason of insolvency.
6. a becoming insolvent or bankrupt: the failure of a bank.
7. a person or thing that proves unsuccessful: He is a failure in his career. The cake is a failure.
When looking at these definitions, I can see links between them and my own ideas, which feature various failures that can take place in the performing body (particularly in definitions 1-4). They are broad enough for failure to be what the subject makes of it. However, when thinking about the various responses to my project, perhaps the definition of failure is still an issue in my work. Perhaps it is too negative a word to use – when I use it, some people immediately prescribe value judgements to it, assuming that I am talking about ‘good’ or ’bad’ performance and ‘good’ or ‘bad’ performers. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Failure Project is NOT a negative one, it is not about telling performers there is something wrong with, that they are rubbish, it is not about judging the value of things. It is about honesty – being honest about one’s own physical limits, quirks and foibles, confronting them, and then utilising them in performance. I’m reminded of Jon Davison’s clown workshop, in which the performers were encouraged to confront the emotions they were really feeling, in the moment of performing, particularly if their improvisations were ‘failing’ (i.e. not funny), and to use these emotions in their performances. It was in recognising, confronting, and utilising this ‘truth’ that their scenes and improvisations came alive.
Maybe the whole enterprise should be renamed ‘The Honesty Project’?
fail·ure
1. an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success: His effort ended in failure. The campaign was a failure.
2. nonperformance of something due, required, or expected: a failure to do what one has promised; a failure to appear.
3. a subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency: the failure of crops.
4. deterioration or decay, esp. of vigor, strength, etc.: The failure of her health made retirement necessary.
5. a condition of being bankrupt by reason of insolvency.
6. a becoming insolvent or bankrupt: the failure of a bank.
7. a person or thing that proves unsuccessful: He is a failure in his career. The cake is a failure.
When looking at these definitions, I can see links between them and my own ideas, which feature various failures that can take place in the performing body (particularly in definitions 1-4). They are broad enough for failure to be what the subject makes of it. However, when thinking about the various responses to my project, perhaps the definition of failure is still an issue in my work. Perhaps it is too negative a word to use – when I use it, some people immediately prescribe value judgements to it, assuming that I am talking about ‘good’ or ’bad’ performance and ‘good’ or ‘bad’ performers. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Failure Project is NOT a negative one, it is not about telling performers there is something wrong with, that they are rubbish, it is not about judging the value of things. It is about honesty – being honest about one’s own physical limits, quirks and foibles, confronting them, and then utilising them in performance. I’m reminded of Jon Davison’s clown workshop, in which the performers were encouraged to confront the emotions they were really feeling, in the moment of performing, particularly if their improvisations were ‘failing’ (i.e. not funny), and to use these emotions in their performances. It was in recognising, confronting, and utilising this ‘truth’ that their scenes and improvisations came alive.
Maybe the whole enterprise should be renamed ‘The Honesty Project’?
Monday, 7 July 2008
A Stage of Transition...Part Two
And so, with these considerations in mind (among others), I took part in the Archiving Practice Workshop led by Chris Clow. I had no idea what these workshops would entail, and was completely unprepared when I turned up on the Tuesday, to be told I would need to have some practice ready to show and to be filmed the next day! This year I'm having to get used to working in ways which don't seem natural to me - it felt strange prescribing everything I was going to do and explore next term in my Research Proposal - I would usually let my process develop more organically - and it felt strange here, rushing into practice when I didn't feel ready to. Sometimes, though, using different working methods can bring illuminating results, and it did here with the Archiving Workshops.
On Wednesday I spent most of my 'practice time' explaining to Chris my interests - I then followed this with a silly exercise between me, Elpida and Hayley, almost like a version of Follow The Leader, where Hayley and I had to follow Elpida through a series of difficult dance moves (at which I was embarrasingly terrible). It was all thought up on the spot - I hadn't given any consideration beforehand to it - and as a result it wasn't very engaging or illuminating.
I knew I had to have something more interesting and engaging the next day, and one which had more relevance to my project. I decided to set myself a task, in the same way I planned to set my performers tasks in the process leading up to my Festival piece - a task which was relevant and unique to me.
I arrived the next day with a text I was going to read to my audience (admitedly, the only part of the task I did not put too much thought into - originally, the content of text itself wasn't important, I just needed it to have something to read, but of course, every text brings it's own added meaning to the situation, which I realised quickly). The text was 'Molloy' by Samuel Beckett, which I was currently reading in my spare time. I brought with me a Grapefruit and a knife. I slowly ate the entire Grapefruit, cramming as much of it into my mouth as I could, whilst reading my text.
There were a few questions I wanted to address with this task?
On Wednesday I spent most of my 'practice time' explaining to Chris my interests - I then followed this with a silly exercise between me, Elpida and Hayley, almost like a version of Follow The Leader, where Hayley and I had to follow Elpida through a series of difficult dance moves (at which I was embarrasingly terrible). It was all thought up on the spot - I hadn't given any consideration beforehand to it - and as a result it wasn't very engaging or illuminating.
I knew I had to have something more interesting and engaging the next day, and one which had more relevance to my project. I decided to set myself a task, in the same way I planned to set my performers tasks in the process leading up to my Festival piece - a task which was relevant and unique to me.
I arrived the next day with a text I was going to read to my audience (admitedly, the only part of the task I did not put too much thought into - originally, the content of text itself wasn't important, I just needed it to have something to read, but of course, every text brings it's own added meaning to the situation, which I realised quickly). The text was 'Molloy' by Samuel Beckett, which I was currently reading in my spare time. I brought with me a Grapefruit and a knife. I slowly ate the entire Grapefruit, cramming as much of it into my mouth as I could, whilst reading my text.
There were a few questions I wanted to address with this task?
- Could I manage both tasks together (to eat and to read) and could I succeed at both of them?
- I hate grapefruit - how would I deal with eating an entire one? What issues does it bring up in terms of the body, disgust, and violation?
I didn't know how the task would go - to my surprise, it became in engaging, fascinating, difficult, even distressing moment. The spectators who witnessed it (Chris and Elpida) told me how they couldn't take their eyes away from the scene, how they were moved from laughter to ............., how it was difficult and uncomfortable to watch me in obvious discomfort but how at the same time they willed me to continue and finish. There were also issues of voyeurism at play - I was locked in my own private world during the task, never once acknowledging my 'audience', and at times they wondered if they should be watching me at all.
As the 'performer' in the task it was a strnagely intense experience - extremely physcial and psychological, constantly battling opposing emotions; one willing me to stop before I was sick, the other willing me to continue to the end, the other telling me not to think about any of it, just read the text and eat the fruit.
The next day I recreated the task with another food and another text, but it had lost it's 'magic' from the previous day. We all knew what we were in for this time, and the change in text (this time I chose a deliberately light-hearted one, in response to a request from Chris) and food (celery - les messy than Grapefruit) didn't add anything interesting.
But I think I'm onto something here. I can't quite quite theorise or explain it right now - for the moment, it only exists in the moment, in practice- but I'm excited.
A Stage of Transition
Once again, it has been ages since my last post...if I fail at anything it'll be this blog, that's for sure. Since our performances at CGP, it's been a period of reflection and analysis, culminating in a Lecture-Presentation we gave a couple of weeks ago and a Research Proposal we handed in last week for the summer term. All of which has served as a bridge between CGP and the start (or continuation) or our process for the Festival in September.
So what has arisen from this process? It would be too long (and possibly too boring) to go into it in massive detail, so let's have it in bullet points:
My work this year has been:
So what has arisen from this process? It would be too long (and possibly too boring) to go into it in massive detail, so let's have it in bullet points:
My work this year has been:
- Self-reflexive
- Concerned with manifestations of authority in art (or the institution, of the performer, etc.) and what happens when these authorities are questionned or played with
- Task-based and improvisational
Where I need to take my investigations into Failure:
- Needs narrowing down - too broad, even if it is just focused on the performing body
- Needs awareness of the thin line between failure and success - how are these concepts judges, at what point does one become the other, and where do my investigations stand in relation to this?
- How can I bring in considerations of the audience into my investigations?
...and more...
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