INTRODUCTION

Within these journals I wish to discuss how Comedy, Lighting, Sound, the Body, Costume, Scenography and Photography can be used within a performance. I aim to reference my own performances as well other companies, including visual media, book and internet references, and my own knowledge and opinion on the topics at hand.

COMEDY

At the beginning of the year we looked into comedy, discussing 'what is comedy?' and 'what is comic?’ Sadly I was ill at these times and missed these lectures, although I did a bit of research into comedy within performance. Within other lessons we have looked into Dot Comedy, and some of us have been lucky enough to work with them. As I'm sure is obvious by the company name, comedy is a key factor in all of their performances. For example, they did a performance called ‘GetLost' which was a maze filled with odd characters in different dead ends, and even within the walls. "Imagine Alice in Wonderland crossed with a Greek myth it's a great show!” (The Guardian, http://www.circusperformers.com/dotcomedy).

Within our lessons we have discussed what is funny to different people. To me this performance was amusing, but more visually interesting and entertaining. Another Dot Comedy performance is called ‘The car boot sale’. On first appearance it really is your typical, authentic car boot sale, but look closer. The objects they are selling are rather odd, or the prices don’t make sense, or the description of the object is extraordinary. Don’t forget to look at the characters, a pregnant woman openly smoking a cigarette, as well as someone dressed in eighties attire and a loud man with an army helmet on.

I didn't find this very funny at all. I believe that everyone finds different things funny, which is why they call it a 'sense of humour' Each person senses that different things are funnier than others. A company I did rather enjoy was ‘Desperate men’. I love the themes and ideas behind many of their performance, which seem highly creative and entertaining. ‘The pig pen riots’ is a show that is audience participatory. In fact, it is the audience who become the show itself. This is a great idea, and encloses a personal protest for whomever wishes to be involved.

“So I came up with the idea of the Pigpen Riots – a kind of rioting for the Coalition generation, where we approached people on the street and asked them what was bothering them. They’d write it on a board, then we’d give them a riot helmet, air horn and whistle, tape their mouth up and put them in a pen where they’d riot for five minutes before we hosed them down with a water cannon. There was a range of stuff, from ‘legalize cannabis’ to ‘no more bedtimes’. We’d made polystyrene bricks for them to lob out. We’re never going to get booked for shopping centres, let’s face it!” (Desperate men, www.venue.co.uk, 2010).

LIGHTING

We moved on to look into lighting with Graham. I found the first lecture really interesting. He showed us a powerpoint about how to use lighting within performance, especially outside. I learnt a lot about what 'IP numbers' are for and how to not blow a fuse, and also different types of lights. This was aided by the next lesson with Graham where we got to be hands on with the equipment. We got into groups and made a tableaux, whilst another group lit us, and visa versa. This helped us understand how to use the equipment, and also get a better visual idea of what we would like to use in future performances. The first years did a 'Son lumiere', which is a night time light performance. Regrettably I missed this due to rehearsals, but it would be something interesting to do within a performance one day. James Turrell is an artist whose work mainly revolves around light, space and form. I thought that the following quote is a great example of one of the reasons that light is important within performance and art:

“Through light, space can be formed without physical material like concrete or steel. We can actually stop the penetration of vision with where light is and where it isn't. Like the atmosphere, we can't see through it to the stars that are there during the day. But as soon as that light is dimmed around the self, then this penetration of vision goes out. So I'm very interested in this feeling, using the eyes to penetrate the space” (Turrell, J www.gagosian.com, 2010)

When we went to France we learnt a lot about a company called 'Luc Amoros'. A lot of their work is based around lighting. They use a lot of shadow; silhouettes and puppetry, which wouldn’t work without specifically, correct lighting. We hope to take this idea to make a performance based on silhouettes and painting, much like Luc Amoros' work. We will need to use a light, which placed behind us, will cast our shadows on a plastic wall in front of us, much like Luc Amoros’s early work. Luc Amoros is famous for his use of a large screen that the artists would perform behind using silhouettes and other multimedia techniques. This would create an illusion of 1930’s style film, with black and white imagery and theatre based on historical and cultural happenings. We have adapted this idea, keeping with the silent-film style, yet creating a comedy piece based on a fairy tale, with a music and sound effect based soundscape to accompany the performance. There was originally a technique where a fixed light would be shone against a screen to create silhouettes but Luc Amoros invented the technique of moving the light throughout the performance to make the shadows seem more alive. We used a static light within our performance.

SOUND

I believe that sound is highly important for Street Artists. There have been moments where I have been performing in the past, and to catch the audience we need to create sound. A great example of this is when a few members of our Degree took part in the Hat Fair in Summer 2010. They worked with DotComedy to create a performance called ‘The chain’. Without sound the audience may not have noticed that this was going on, although the loud crashing sounds attracted peoples attentions. A few of us tried to replicate this in class. We wanted it to be spontaneous, but when we started no one even noticed for a while. We realized after that it was because our ‘chain’ was almost silent, and we should have incorporated a loud noise, at least at the start, so that we didn’t go unnoticed.

BODY

With Olu we discussed ‘What is body?’ We discussed how the body uses circles naturally with your hinges such as your hips and shoulders. Feldenkrais uses circles within many of his practices, often calling the body ‘a clock’. “Try once more to shift most of the pressure of the pelvis on the floor to the point marked six o’clock, the coccyx”(Feldenkrais, M. 1990:116) When creating circles with the body we interact with other performers, create shapes to guide the focus of the audience, or drop shadows on our surrounding stage.

“Space – my space – is not the context of which I constitute the ‘textuality’: instead, it is first of all my body, and then it is my body’s counterpart or ‘other’, its mirror-image or shadow; it is the shifting intersection between that which touches, penetrates, threatens or benefits my body on one hand, and all other bodies on the other” (Lefebvre, H. 1991:184)

In the practical side of our lessons about the body, we practiced body strengthening and core balance. We placed our hand out to the side, and walked in a circle around it as if holding an invisible pole. This was a focus exercise, as keeping your hand in the same place proves more difficult than expected. We also did some animal stances, based on a martial arts movement called Thai-Chi, as well as his own interpretations and a Capoeira influence. For example the Bear stance is where you stand with your legs shoulder width apart with your hands facing outward. This prepares you for attack or defense, and puts your body in a centrally balanced position ready for quick movement. These lessons are great for body strengthening, and even general focus.

COSTUME

We had some lessons with Alex about costume. In our first lesson we selected different body parts from magazines and newspapers, and placed them together to make a person, costume or scene. It was really interesting looking at the outcome of this, as everyones were very different. Some people were comical, others very fashionable. It gave me some inspiration to our next lesson, where we had to bring in some fabric. I had an old pair of cotton leggings, and we used some of Alex’s velvet material. I created a long sleeved piece that went round the shoulders and into a hood. On the hood I created some ears to create a ‘cat-woman’ look. The majority of this design was spontaneous, and it was all hand stitched and pinned. I had loads of fun doing this, so I decided to create a dress for one of my performance exams. Our performance is based on the seven deadly sins, and I was cast as Greed. I wanted to be a beggar wearing an exuberant costume under a tatty blanket. I made a dress out of a satin type fabric in a royal green, with gold detail. I made this using a sewing machine, and was reasonably happy with the outcome.

We are aiming to do a performance at someones wedding in March. For this we have chosen the theme alongside the bride’s ideas, as A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I have been sketching some costume ideas for the Oberon and Titania characters, as we are going to make costumes to save on our budget. I look forward to this as well, as fashion and design has always been an interest of mine.

Without costume performance can lack interest, especially for elaborate stage shows. Yet some performances rely on simple dress, so that the performance or skill is not overruled. Many of my favourite performances have had great costumes, but in ‘Page Blanche’ by Luc Amoros they wore tatty painting clothes. I really like this performance and there is no need for costume as the whole show is full of art and colour already. I hope to create parts of our costume for another performance based on ‘Page Blanche’. We are to be the three little pigs and I aim to hand sew foam snouts and ears to highlight our characters seeing as our costumes will be plain. The reason for this is because we are using shadow work, so our silhouettes need to be clear, and we are also painting. Anything elaborate could get easily ruined.

SCENOGRAPHY

Scenography is a rather broad subject when it comes to performance. It tends to cover many topics that I have already mentioned, including costume and lighting. It literally means the spatial translation of a scene, the interplay of space, time, movement and light on stage, or in my case, in the street. Everything on stage that is experienced visually is Scenography. Edward Gordon Craig created symbolism using meaning and imagery. He worked as an actor, producer, director and scenic designer. Craig used screens as a staging device, which became one of his most famous scenographic concepts. The screens created a sense of harmony and variety to the stage. One of his most famous works is his set design for Hamlet in 1908.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jaques-Henri Lartigue once said “I take photographs with love, so I try to make them art objects” (www.theblogatainsworthimages.ainsworthimages.com, 2011). He famously photographed not simply the beautiful and picturesque, but the extraordinary and bizarre. His photographs managed to capture single moments in time and turn them into lasting artworks. One of his most celebrated photographs which baffled many as to how it was actually taken is of a woman 'flying' down the stairs. This highlights the way a still image can enhance the movement and magic of an everyday action. Many street artists and performers look to photography as a way of highlighting their themes and making their work stand out. Photography is used to advertise and promote performances and companies, as well as being an integral part of the performance itself.

Robin Rhode uses photography and media to highlight his art and performance work. For example in a piece entitled ‘New kids on the Bike’, the photograph is the performance. Without an audience, Rhode takes images such as this into galleries and exhibitions. He also does performance work, but his work today is mainly based around film and photography. “My timeframe for a work on the street was longer, unlike the duration of the live performances I was doing, which took a little less than five minutes” (Rhode R, 2008:46).

Photography can also enhance performance by being another media within it. In our seven deadly sins performance we used different medias for each sin. Lust was depicted as photos of a girl in corsets and underwear. The pictures were idited in black and white, with a few sections of red to stand out. We also made a film, sound recordings, set, design, acting and costume. We also used photography on our invites to intrigue the audience and to give a taste of what the performance could be about.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I believe that there are so many elements within an artist’s performance that can enhance the performer, the stage or the piece itself. After looking into detail over the subjects I have mentioned within these journals, I believe I have found strong interests in some topics more than others. I have always had an interest in photography, but since this module I have learnt more about sound and the body for example, and have become more inclined to know more about costume. Since studying this I believe that my performances have become more varied, and open to other media and thought. I now take a wider selection of things into consideration when devising a performance. I hope to continue to study some of these topics more in depth, so that I can delve further into my ideas, and enhance my already broadening creation process.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Feldenkrais, M. (1990) Awareness through movement. New York: HarperCollins.

Rhode, R (2008) Who Saw Who. London: Hayward Publishing


Circusperformers (2010) DotComedy present The Comedy Car Boot Sale - www.circusperformers.com [online video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPLEX8nb9so [Accessed january 27 2011]

Flying woman (Lartigue) picture (2010) [online] Available from: http://therepublicofless.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/lartigue.jpg [Accessed January 27 2011]


GetLost image (date unknown) Dot Comedy [online] Available from: http://www.circusperformers.com/dotcomedy [Accessed 15 January 2011]


Hamlet (Edward Gordon Graig) image (date unknown) Gordon Craig si Adolphe Appia [online] Available from: http://www.scritube.com/arta-cultura/Gordon-Craig-si-Adolphe-Appia14296.php [Accessed February 1 2011]


Headon, R. cited in Wright, S. (2010) Desperate pleasures [online] Available from: http://www.venue.co.uk/features/3799-desperate-pleasures [Accessed 12 December 2010]


The Guardian (date unknown) Dot comedy [online] Available from: http://www.circusperformers.com/dotcomedy [Accessed 15 January 2011]


Lartigue, J. H., (2011) [online] Available from: http://theblogatainsworthimages.ainsworthimages.com/blog/archives/1818 [Accessed January 27 2011]


Lefourneau (2009) La Marche des 1000 Danseurs de la compagnie Tango Sumo [online video] Available from:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcgnxu_la-marche-des-1000-danseurs-de-la-c_creation [Accessed January 25 2011]


Turrell, J. (2010) Gagosian Gallery [online] Available from: http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/2010-10-13_james-turrell/ [Accessed January 21 2011]


James Turrell image (2009) Week 4 [online] Available from: http://llewis2.wordpress.com/ [Accessed January 21 2011]


New kids on the bike (Rhode) image (2009) Catch Air: Robin Rhode Available from: http://www.wexarts.org/info/press/rhode_press/images/lo_res/NewKidsontheBike_detail_lo.jpg [accessed January 27 2011]


Page Blanche (Luc Amoros) image (2010) Actualité [online] Available from: http://theatrerue.free.fr/actualite_2010_01-03.html [Accessed January 23 2011]


Winchesterchain (2010) The Chain Winchester B.A street Arts dotComedy [online video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwOKBOm77Wg [Accessed February 1 2011]