‘This is about letting go. These are my balloons and I am leaving some things behind’ – Shannon Turnbull

Audience feedback is important to me as from this I can observe their reactions, understand any confustion that may have arised and establish an overall feel on what they thought of my performance. There are things I would have liked to have done better on the day, however due to windy weather I do not feel this obstructed or effected my performance in any way, if anything I think my performance benefited.

Post-performance, I asked some audience members to send me comments on what they felt worked, what they felt didn’t, how they felt at different times, did they establish an emotional connection and if they think the props worked throughout?

 

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After reading these comments, I appreciated their honesty and involvment and felt proud that I had accomplished my intentions. I made some people cry, smile and laugh, sing and even dance. I attracted attention from both the B&L building, the library and passers-by, interested in what I was doing, stopping to record and join in. I’m glad I excelled out of my comfort zone because I wanted to truly understand what it means to perform solo. I have enjoyed understanding various practitioners techniques in vocal delivery, creations of atmopheric settings, their use of multi-media and their continous progression from the start to achieve an exciting end performance, this has helped me in understanding that you shouldn’t rush and go with your first idea.. it should be a continour journey, exploring different possibilities.

From Spalding Gray’s notion of ‘being in the moment’ and Laurie Anderson’s use of emotional stimulation through music (both of which influenced my performance greatly), Solo Performance has shown me a different, more thrilling side of theatre in which a ‘one-man-show’ can entertain as much as a full-cast broadway show! Sometimes more is less.. I have enjoyed the long process from the creation of an idea, initial knock-backs and the changing of  ideas, the research behind practitioners, the research behind my own ideas with Bansky and quotations and finally the end performance which I hope benefited not only myself in the ability to actually let things go, start a fresh and say good-bye to Uni but also to my audience who I hope felt moved and empathy, towards my situation comparing it to theirs.

I leave this module behind with a quote (of course) that’s helped me in my time at Uni..

‘EVERYTHING IS OKAY IN THE END, IF IT’S NOT OKAY, THEN IT’S NOT THE END. NEVER A FAILURE, ALWAYS A LESSON’.

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Life is the greatest show on earth!

I performed The Little Girl and her Red Balloons on Wednesday the 15th May at 12 midday, on the University campus bridge to a crowd of around 30-35. I felt nervous, as anyone could imagine but I also felt excited. Excited at the fact I was performing outside wearing nothing but a dress, in such a public area. It was exhilarating to perform as Shannon but also as a Solo Performer, making the private, public knowledge. I wasn’t there to drone on about life/life quotes/sadness, I was there to perform aspects of my life in a reflective manner.

I trusted my narrative, however I enjoyed performing some improvised speech. Accommodating to my audience was something I felt I needed to do, to help them in understanding my intentions but to also include them. There were many people on the bridge who stopped, stared, joined in and recorded my performance and I appreicated the interest. At one point whilst I was shouting at the LPAC, releasing my frustration over essays, performances and dissertations, I asked.. WHO EVEN CARES ABOUT DISSERTATIONS?  One audience member responded with.. I CARE! This was humourous and I appreciated that someone felt comfortable enough to join in! I had to improvise and respond as I didn’t want to dismiss it and pretend it didn’t happen. Anything could happen in a performance and I wanted to incorporate improvisations in to make it more truthful. My performance wasn’t static as my audience followed me around the bridge as I moved around the area. Sometimes I was close (in their faces) and at others times I distanced myself, depending on my narrative. “Distance is always central to involvement in small shows, as when the physical distance is, in actuality, close, a special bond can develop between solo performer and viewer” (Reid 1997, p.6). I hope this bond was established in my performance, both whilst I was close to them and distant.

 

Here are some photos of my performance taken by audience members – (click on them to enlarge):

There were some things that went wrong in my performance but I feel I coped with them well and had to improvise on the spot. I wanted to let each balloon off singularly however as it was extremely windy, the strings got tangled and produced a big knot. I overcame this by using the balloons as a bunch rather than as singular problems. This worked and actually gave a bigger impact when I let them go, this was when I was thankful for the wind!

I also wanted to give out my song sheets for 5ive – Keep on Movin’, however there were too many people and if I stood there and gave them all out, this would have detracted from my performance. Instead, I let the audience give them out but was glad most of them already knew the song, hence why I chose a popular 90’s classic!

Overall, I felt my performance went really well and I was thankful for the turnout and support I recieved off my audience. There were very interactive when asked, yet fell silent at the right times. I’m happy that I trusted my up & down personality and delievered my piece in the mood I felt at that particular time.

 

WORKS CITED:

Reid, Gilbert (1997) You’ll become part of me: Solo Performance, Canadian Theatre Review, Issue 92, pp:5-10.

‘Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground’ – Theodore Roosevelt

Practical issues need to be taken into consideration for every performance, both for health and safety reasons and budget conditions for overall cost of performance. Here are the relevant sources I have looked at in relation to a professional production.

 

Health and Safety issues.

  • Permission gained by Garry Richardson to write on glass panels of the bridge with glass pens/chinographic pencils.
  • Gone through performance with tutor to amend any dangers to myself and/or audience members.

 

Cost of performance with regards to props/costume/location.

  • Cost of location of performance: free as public space.
  • Cost of printing 10 Bansky posters:
  • White Victorian dress: £15
  • Make-up: all own.
  • Flowers, scissors, iPod deck, song sheets: all own.
  • 24 red helium filled balloons attached with ribbon:£15.98
  • x1 red Chinographic pencil: £2.21
  • x1 white Chinographic pencil: £2.21

 

Possible problems that could affect the performance.
  • The balloons may become too heavy, restricting me of movement. They could be too light and interrupt my performance, distracting both myself and audience.
  • The weather may influence certain aspects of the performance. If it is raining, I will not be able to write on the bridge panels as it will be too wet. I will also not be able to use my iPod deck and iPhone to supply music to the song. The song will still be included however it will be sung acapella.
  • Lack of audience: It will be difficult to not attract an audience due to location, but a lack of responses would not make sense. This would therefore effect my narrative.

 

Banksy posters have also been posted around the University. Some have been put up along the walk to Uni through campus, some in the LPAC and some in the library. I hope that students will see these and recognise me when they may/may not see me perform.

 

 

‘I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across the empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged’ – Peter Brook

My Performance Space.

 

After exploring bridges in Lincoln City centre, I am 100% set on using the University campus bridge as my location of performance. Here are some pictures I have taken of my performance space to initially show proximity. All sides are documented. (facing LPAC, water, cathedral, Business & Law building, etc).

 

Taken with back to LPAC. The performance space is exceptionally wide which will help include audience members and allow me to freely move.
Taken with back to LPAC. The performance space is exceptionally wide which will help include audience members and allow me to freely move.
This image was captured in the place I lay in a partof my performance. I have captured my eyeline and this is what I will see.
This image was captured in the place I lay in a partof my performance. I have captured my eyeline and this is what I will see.
This picture captures the width of the bridge from one side to another.
This picture captures the width of the bridge from one side to another.
This is where I will be when I shout at the LPAC and start my performance. It shows how long the bridge is and how far away the LPAC is, therefore vocal projection is important.
This is where I will be when I shout at the LPAC and start my performance. It shows how long the bridge is and how far away the LPAC is, therefore vocal projection is important.
This image captures one side of the bridge (otherwise known as the positive side) In the distance the cathedral is visible and creates a picturesque backdrop.
This image captures one side of the bridge (otherwise known as the positive side) In the distance the cathedral is visible and creates a picturesque backdrop.

 

WORKS CITED:

Pictures are all taken from my iPhone on 11/05/13. Copyrighted to Shannon Turnbull.

‘Keep all special thoughts and memories for lifetimes to come. Share these keepsakes with others to inspire hope and build from the past, which can bridge to the future’ – Mattie Stepanek

My performance is site specific in which I am performing on a bridge relevant to the subtext of my performance. This bridge is the main University campus bridge and is used every single day by not only students, lecturers and working people of the University, but also locals of Lincoln travelling to enjoy comedy at the LPAC or drinks at the Tower Bar, etc. I chose this space because it is symbolic, it helps people reach one destination from the other. We trust that it will not fall and collapse and we never stop think how important they are. Bridges are symbolic in the emotional aspects of our lives also often being  quoted in ways that express anger, hope, desperation and moving on.

“Build a bridge and get the f**** over it”

“I hope we can move on and build bridges between us”

“I’m done. I’ve burnt my bridges with you” 

“Bridge over troubled water”

I decided to have a look at different types of bridges around Lincoln, see what they do for people on a practical level and explore other potential space. I know my performance will be taking place on a specific bridge however I would like to explore and see if there is a better space for me to perform on. “Autobiographical performances that are site specific, double the dynamic of the real subject/performed character with the audience embodied experience of a particular geography that is likewise both real and performed” (Stephenson 2010, p.336).

These bridges are all architecturally individual in both appearance and construction, however Uni campus bridge fits best with regards to space, audience, location and duration of piece. I have received permission off the University’s Student Union and Health and Safety manager (Garry and Colin) to purchase some glass pens/chinographic pencils and write on the glass panels of the bridge. The writing will consist of life quotes, sprawled along, not in linear order or pretty pattern. I want to do this because it creates a striking image and symbolically represents  our ‘bridge of life’ consisting of literal life quotes scrawled upon it. I will interact only slightly with the writing by smearing my hand across them in disgust, but I hope that the audience see’s my intentions. The life quotes follow you through your journey over a bridge, leaving one thing in search of another. What I find ironic about my choice of structure and narrative is, I live by life quotes. I like to live my life referring to them and will also cite them when talking or giving guidance to my friends. I am going to enjoy the fact that I turn them on their head and think negatively about them, I don’t want quotes to become a sort of religious bible people have to abide by where they preach to others in my performance, I want to show that those positive quotes can become negative and that major life events can influence your decision to believe in them. However, this is how I live my life and this distinguishes the difference between myself and ‘Shannon the performer’. I appreciate that Solo Performance allows such a dynamic and ambigous narrative of events.

 

WORKS CITED:

Stephenson, Jenn (2010) ‘Review of Deidre Heddon ‘Autobiography and Performance’ in Theatre Survey, Vol 51, pp:335-337.