March 2013

Back to the drawing board!

Shannon Turnbull

Unfortunately after discussing my ideas with the module co-ordinator, I have now been sent back to the drawing board as my ideas were not sustainable. I am at a lost cause and feel like I have nothing to show for all the hard work I have done. However after discussions around why my performance wouldn’t work, I can understand some practical issues raised. Why would an audience want to come and observe my life? It is a good autobiographical performance however I now feel I would like to pursue something non-autobiographical.. the performance aspect of my original idea would be difficult to produce as the main body of the performance would be the exhibition. This would also differentiate myself from the rest of the group in wanting to do something objective. I feel that the problem with Solo Performance is the want for it to be original, unqiue and in some ways revolutionary. This is where I feel I am restricting myself, I need to acknowledge that my performance might be simple yet very powerful.

I still have ideas surrounding the nostalgia of the 90’s and reactions to emotive music but I’m not sure as of yet what my Solo Performance will consist of. Nevertheless, this has taught me that not ‘anything’ and ‘everything’ can constitute Solo Performance and that with every bit of rough, SHOULD come a ton of smooth.

‘We have all the better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be’ – Jane Austen

Shannon Turnbull

‘The Archive of My Life’

I have summarised my ideas and noted my intentions for both myself and audience and have concluded a feasible and emotive performance. Drawing on my ‘up and down’ persona I will delve into my life and experiences prompted by home videos and specific objects.

The performance will start as soon as people walk into the studio, they will be asked to walk around ‘the exhibition of my life’ – there will be objects ranging from clothes, videos, baby photo’s, teddies, phones, medals etc that I have acquired in my life, all of whom mean something to me. There will be place cards next to the items stating WHAT IT IS, WHEN DID I USE/MAKE/CONDUCT THIS AND WHY IT IS SENTIMENTAL TO ME? Whilst the audience is walking around being informed of those parts of my life, a silent home video from when I was younger will play in the background on a projection. The spectators will watch this but not be able to hear the audio, they will think nothing of it and continue to look around the exhibition. I will be placed in darkness surrounded by barriers in the middle of the floor. I wanted to use physical props to create a sense of claustrophobia, people will look but as I will be motionless their attention will be drawn to other aspects in the studio.

I would then like a blackout as people are walking round and then the home video to start playing with sound. They will be drawn to that and watch the repeat but with audio. When that has finished, I want a spotlight shone onto myself surrounded by these barriers, starting my monologue with “Do you ever feel like you’re life is an exhibition?” – a scripted/improvised monologue will then follow. I am going to perform partially improvised because that captures the crux of my performance. As previously explained, I have a very up and down personality and because that mood changes very quickly and becomes controlling, myself and Martin have agreed that I will perform how I want and what I feel like on that day.

This isn’t set in stone as of yet but I would then like to choose 3 or more objects in that exhibition to interact with and comprise a short story about. I am still unsure as to what I want the audience to feel and to what outcome I want to achieve, however exhibiting my life including the bad parts is a big step for a Solo Performance and hopefully my monologue with be both emotional, exhilarating and humorous.

Meaningful media..

Shannon Turnbull

What strikes me about Solo Performance is the range of media outlets and techniques you can use. Solo is about the self yet by working correctly with technology to create an atmosphere difficult to achieve by just human interaction, it infuses a piece in a way that becomes mesmerizing. It would be difficult to create something on this level but Avatar incorporate basic technological aspects to sustain audience attention and showcase potential as a Solo Performer.

 

I enjoy watching this piece and appreciate how her bodily movement connects to the projections behind her. This must have taken time and many rehearsals to establish her intentions. It is a promotional video so to sell Solo Performance like this is brilliant. Balancing heavy body movement, large and colourful projections along with the dark silhouettes which also embody the space, inspires me into wanting to embody my dialogue and physicality in my performing. 

There is an aspect of story-telling within this video, when discussing the cultural strain and strong reliability on social-networking sites in the modern day which in turn is communicated through different projections of various websites in the background and lines of speech overlapping the visual. This makes clear that media can help with the story-telling and by allowing yourself to embody and work with and for projections, it may help to clarify your piece and make for entertainment with the audience.

I would like to use media in my performance but not to this extent. I don’t want my whole performance to rely solely on media and projections, however I would like to have home video’s play in the background to set the scene, agenda and tone of my piece and respond to them in my dialogue. I would still embody space and create a bold connection to what is being shown however not communicate to the video and disregard audience interpretation and response.

 

 

WORKS CITED:

Avatar (2011) Solo Performance AVATAR Promotional Video, Online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VajYFGNKemA (last accessed: 1st March 2013).