Makers Diary: Participatory Toolkit and more

I e-mailed all of the invitations today to all the research students and staff and I posted an advert on the portal on both the student and staff pages-lets hope that we have a really good up take for this. I do not yet have any ushers.

I took photos or more accurately Richie took photos of the cast for me, so that I could finish the programme (which I have now done).

We spent the whole of today’s session on the participatory toolkit. The warm up part of the session was really successful again today; the games really energised and focused the performers. Nikki, Rich and Debs really seem to have bonded now and are starting to trust each other and there is a real sense of chemistry developing between them. We went through each game separately and I joined the performers for the first round of each game because I hoped that this would set an example and motivate them to work in a particular way. After the first round, I participated as audience.

Despite playing each game numerous times with feedback after each, they seemed to opt for the most obvious or most humorous option each time in response to the material I was giving them. We are just going to have to keep going and keep developing the way in which they handle and respond to the material. It is so difficult because this part of the performance is entirely reliant upon them and their relationship with the audience. It is totally reliant upon the performer’s skill and imagination to use the audience’s material in exciting and challenging ways. I can’t do that for them.

In the second half of the session we refined and adjusted the rules of the game to combat confusions and difficulties that came up against in the first section of the session.

The adjustments are as follows:

We came across some confusion as to how we will decide which boards
Are chosen and who will start off. We decided that we did not really want to have explicit discussions or planning on the stage, we wanted it to be more organic than that. So we had to adjust the structures slightly and tighten up the rule; (it is interesting that this seems to be a running concept, that the tighter the rules of the game or activity the more freedom it creates).

We decided that during the music, while the audience write on the chalkboards, the performers will remain still. Once the music stops they will move around the audience simply asking them to “show us”. They can have as long as they like to look at the chalkboards but they are not going to discuss them. Nikki will choose first, and then Richie, then Debbie and this will be repeated twice. This will just save any confusion and hesitation from the performers. Once Nikki has decided upon her first chalk board, she will stand in the centre of the space in a neutral position. Once she has done this the other two will ask her ‘Why is she crying?’ and Nikki will respond with what was on the chalk board. Once she has done this, they will all form a semi circle facing the audience. Nikki will tell them which tool she is choosing and once she has spoken, she has to initiate the game. This is then repeated for each of the performers. Once she has called “stop” she will approach the audience member whose material they used and ask if there is anything that they would like to change or if they would like to join them to replay the game. Once the game has been replayed or no changes are required it moves on to Richie’s first choice.

Storytelling: One of the performers has to start by choosing a chalkboard that they want to address. Once they have chosen this, they will start by saying Once upon a time there was a woman……they have to keep going with telling a story that is based on the chalkboard until another performer interrupts them and then continues the story or changes its direction. This continues indefinitely until a performer calls stop and then that scenario is over. When they interrupt they have to say “actually, once upon a time there was a woman…” this just distinguishes the interruption from the end of the game and is a reminder that the story is not fixed but a dynamic and fluid entity being constructed in that very moment.

Soundscape: One of the performer’s chooses a chalkboard that they want to use and respond to. They will start to produce a soundscape that tells the story or responds to the chalkboard suggestion. Once they have started the other performers will join in to build on it. It stops once one of the performers calls stop. We have decided that no words can be used in this game it can only be sounds and vocality. We have also decided that any part of the performer’s body can be used to produce sounds as well as the floor. We also realised that an open horse shoe is not productive in this game and the performers found it easier to create a soundscape when in close proximity of contact; so for this game they will form a tight circle on the floor.

Freeze Frame Montage: Once the board has been chosen, the performer will take up a position and then the others will join them to create a freeze frame. Once they have held the first freeze frame for five seconds, the starting performer will call change and take up the next position; this process will be repeated until the starting performer calls stop. We decided that three freeze frames are enough to tell a story.

Movement Machine: Once the chalkboard has been chosen, the starting performer will begin to make two repetitive movements in succession accompanied by a sound. The other performers will join in until they form one single unit- a machine. We did not make any changes to this game is it went fairly smoothly and there were no difficulties or confusions as to what was happening.

Naturalism: This is fairly self explanatory really. The starting performer will begin a naturalistic improvisation and the others will join in until the starting performer calls stop. We decided that the performer who starts the improv does not have to include all of the performers, it depends what the scene demands. They felt that it was confusing to have everyone facing in on the semi circle so decided that they would face away unless included in the actual improv.