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There’s a time to share ideas, was it like we expected it to be?

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This morning we experimented two of our stations, to be honest, I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go. It was interesting to hear some of the feedback we got from members of our class who participated in our two little experiments.

Hugging

Hugging is one of our stations because we wanted to explore this idea of intimacy through touch. This idea of being hugged is normal to most people because it is normal to hug friends, family and partners as a friendly gesture. Exploring this idea of hugging is relating back to our idea of a ‘safety blanket’. Our initial idea was to hug for 10 minutes in a position of which was comfortable. So today we explored this experiment with 3 actors and 3 participants at a time for 5 minutes. In the actual performance it will just be a one on one performance in a station in which noone else can see.
When discussing the position of which the hug should take place, it was agreed by the people who took part that it should possibly be standing up. The reason behind this is that it is less sexual and there is no undercurrent as to where to hug could possibly go. As a group we always thought that we would do the hugging section under a blanket as it created a greater sense of intimacy however after receiving this feedback it might be reasonable to evaluate our thinking and maybe explore this idea of standing up instead.

Personally, I think standing up could have a greater effect if we are prepared to be the dominant hugger. There was a comment that was said throughout the discussion afterwards which has really stuck with me. “You can hold me back or just be held”. This has really stuck with me because it highlights our concept so much and if we can get it to the point where the audience feels comfortable enough just to be held then I personally think we have succeeded. Another thing that was suggested was the use of smell and touch. These are said to be able to heighten the participants experience.

Chatting

We are experimenting with use of chatting over the internet. We are placing a laptop in the station and they won’t be able to see the person they are speaking to (one of our group). We are seeing how much more intimate people are willing to go when they are seen as being anonymous.

Only a few of the class got to try this experiment so the feedback wasn’t as detailed as the hugging however, it seemed to generate a positive response. In discussion it was seen as a positive thing that the participant didn’t know who the typist was. I think this led us to thinking about where the typist would be positioned in the room, initially it was thought that we would just put up a partition between the two laptops. However, we felt that this would no longer work because it wouldn’t feel as intimate if it felt like there was a chance you could figure out who you were speaking to. This is how we came up with the idea to make the typist in a remote location that is unknown to any of the participants.

There was a lot of positive feedback with this experiment. The questions asked from the typist were said to be thoughtful and smart, they were questions which were general but made the participant feel like they were wanting to speak to them. The typist was congratulated on making the participant feel like what they were saying was interesting, for instance, there was one occasion when the participant made a comment in the experiment such as,  ‘gosh that sounds boring’ to which the typist turned this around and made them sound like what they were saying was really interesting and they would like to hear more. I think the key to this experiment is to get the participant to feel wanted so that they are more willing to answer the kind of questions we really want to ask. It is about getting the participant comfortable enough to share intimate details with you and for us as typists to be willing to push the participant as far as we feel necessary.

Overall the work in progress was a positive experience and now it is about developing the connections between the stations and making sure each actor knows each station well enough even if it is not considered their main station. I think focus needs to be on exploring the depth which the stations could possibly go, any issues that could arise throughout performance and how we are going to set the piece up as a whole, what is it going to look like?

My station

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We all will be experiencing all the stations but my main one is about body image.

I wanted to challenge myself as a person but make someone think differently. That we shouldn’t judge our bodies, our another person’s body. We need to notice that body image is a social construct.

I myself have always struggled with body image, I suffer from bulimia and often self harm my body, but I wonder what makes me that way? I remember in high school being bullied for my weight, my hair, the way my legs are shaped and even for my disabilities such ridiculous things but it hurt me.

I know it is not only me, this is incredibly common.

“50-88% of adolescent girls feel negatively about their body shape or size.
49% of teenage girls say they know someone with an eating disorder.
Only 33% of girls say they are at the “right weight for their body”, while 58% want to lose
weight. Just 9% want to gain weight.
Females are much more likely than males to think their current size is too large (66% vs. 21%).
Over one-third of males think their current size is too small, while only 10% of women consider
their size too small.”
This is the world we grow up in, this is so common nowadays in society we don’t even think about it, with models too thin, where you have to be a muscular man  and if you’re imperfect well then you aren’t worth thinking about.
I want my audience to go away with the feeling of self worth, to understand that I was not judging their body, that I found their body beautiful, not in a sexual way but to show they are beautiful.
I plan to talk and show the parts of my body, I hate or love or merely want to comment on and I will encourage them to do the same.
I want to show our bodies no matter what they look like are nothing to be ashamed of, not ugly, or wrong in any way.
This may be tough for the audience and I understand that as it will be hard for me too but I hope at least some will decide to do it and feel better about themselves afterwards. I want them to not need to hide their bodies, to be comforted in the fact they are beautiful.
To be as a small child again who doesn’t care what their body looks like.
[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.epi.umn.edu/let/pubs/img/adol_ch13.pdf. [Accessed 24 November 2013].

Finalisation of ideas.

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Today we had a group meeting to discuss the finalisation of each station, what they were going to be and who would be on what station. I think commitment is going to be the key to success. Each station will last roughly 10 minutes, if it finishes sooner then the participant is required to stay at that station until the 10 minutes is up. At any time it will be just the performance and the participant, no more than one person in a station at a time.

Station One – Greet – Beth

Station Two – Chat – Shellie

Station Three – Body – Gabriel

Station Four – Hug – Jordan

Station Five – Stream – Unmanned

Station One – Greet – Beth

‘My station is a welcome point for the participant, with a chance to have a cup of tea or a cold drink and cake before moving on. The inspiration for this station cane from Marina Abramovic’s one on one performance where she stared at a participant for a period of time. The idea behind it is to have a conversation with the participant about their day and what they are looking forward to. I am going to give them the option of a ‘get out clause’ so if at any point they feel uncomfortable they had the opportunity to say no. I will then take them to the next station where they will carry on their journey. (Canham, B 2013)

Station Two – Chat – Shellie

‘My station is designed to be the opposite of station one. It is explore the idea of anonymity because the participant who I am speaking to will not know it is me. They will be chatting through a laptop. It is this idea of a person being anonymous that interests me. Will they be willing to share more with a stranger?

Station Three – Body – Gabriel

“My station comes from a personal place and my image of my own body, I wanted not only an audience but myself to know that yes we can hate and love different parts of our bodies but it means nothing, and another person isn’t judging you on your body as we often think they do as a society.”      (Davis, G 2013)

Station Four – Hug – Jordan

“My station seeks to explore the depths of intimacy we stop ourselves experiencing in our day to day lives. Through participating in my station, both performer and spectator will travel safely together into the depths of intimacy.” (Holland, J 2013)

Intimacy

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In our work in progress today, I found we need to work on intimacy. Even though I was on laptop typing anonymously to them, it was still an intimate setting, only myself and performer reading it, sharing secrets and habits.

I felt if I had longer time, the questions and talk was on the surface, I believe to go deeper and share more intimate things, I would need the time to gain trust, for the conversation to naturally go deeper.

“Traditionally, theatre has been a communal experience, but Lois Keidan of the Live Art Development Agency argues that in the age of the internet, the opportunity for audiences to have face-to-face encounters in real time with real people is enormously appealing. “It feels more real than real life,” she says, “and because it isn’t a mass experience you know that nobody is going to have the same experience as you have. It makes the event unique and it makes you feel special.”

This quote is what I inspire to do, make my audience feel unique and special, whether I am on the hugging station, the laptop station or the greeting. I want to make my audience feel special, to go with our theme of child -like, unadulterated, I want to take them through this experience and to feel special by the time it comes to the ending.

I feel I need to do a practice run and see how it goes with the natural time of the piece.

One-on-one live-art performances | Stage | The Guardian . 2013. One-on-one live-art performances | Stage | The Guardian . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/mar/03/theatre2. [Accessed 19 November 2013].