Reflective Practitioner: text

I was thinking about the performers as cipher and vessel yesterday- in terms of undertaking games, tasks and activities in preparation for today’s session. I have been thinking about how we can approach the text in a non-naturalistic way. I want the text to be something fluid and dynamic that holds the potential for stories rather than being a fixed story for interpretation. I want the performers to deliver it up and the audience to make something of it, something personal, something specific and particular to them-for them. I want the texts to be sites of possibility.

In tomorrows rehearsal I want us to find ways of presenting and delivering the texts rather than interpreting them. I have written the texts as ‘writerly’ rather than ‘readerly texts’ because they were intended to be used in this way and not used as scripts in the Cartesian fashion. We are going to have to explore ways of delivering the words into the air and use performative modes that venture the possibility of those words in the air rather than using the words to illustrate.

In a way, Richard should have an advantage as a non-actor, he will not have years of Stanislavski and Strasberg based training to overcome; although, Nikki and Debbie both have the advantage of other disciplines and other physical training to utilise as a mode of expression. I am hoping that their skills in the discipline of gymnastics and dance will bring lots of interesting possibilities to the devising table.