Month: April 2017

Acting. Drama. The degree I’ve been studying for the past 3 years, yet I’ve never in my life experienced anything like this. Endurance? Most people would think of sport or nutrition upon hearing this word, however endurance performance pieces really do exist; safe or not.

When joe approached the group, asking who felt comfortable eating a considerable amount of food on stage, my instant reaction was to throw my hand in the air dramatically. Anyone that knows me will know how much I eat and how usually this would not be a problem. Usually. After accepting the challenge, joe sat me down and explained in detail my role within the show and how I would need to prepare. I waited to write this blog until after I had tried out my scene, so I could really explain it detail.

So, my role appeared from a personal story within the group focusing on eating disorders and obsession. The story was of a girl that became obsessed with calorie counting and exercise alongside her eating habits. The exercise was a form of escapism juxtaposing her eating. The scene would be an ongoing piece throughout the entire play, to show the negative impact escapism can have on our bodies physically and how dangerous it can be. During the show at different intervals, a total of 5 cakes would appear on stage at different times for me to eat one by one, followed by excersising on a spin bike at regular points. Throughout this, there is several passages of dialogue between me Brodie and Rob, whom are, in a gameshow manner, guiding me through the process. Before running the scene through, I did a lot of research into endurance based performances. Carolee Schneeman is a endurance performer and it was intriguing to research her performance ‘Up to and including her limits’ (Schneeman, 1976). Although this was unlike the eating endurance piece I was about to do, it was eye opening to see a performer pushing her body’s limit physically and mentally; something that I was about to do.

The first run through of this scene with the cake happened yesterday and I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting it to be this hard.

Endurance eating (Workman, 2017).

I had to be driven home and proceeded to be sick for the rest of the day. Although it was an awful experience, watching the recording of it today was powerful and very moving. It really brought to light the struggles man people in the world face today with body image, over or under eating, exercise and general self-consciousness. I am very aware that this scene will not be able to be practised with cake many time before the show, as it is very unhealthy and completely impossible to do during daily rehearsal. However, the spin bike is residing in my student house so I shall be training on that daily to prepare myself in the running up to the show.

Work sited:

Workman, L. (2017) Endurance eating.

Schneeman, C (1976). Up to and including her limits.

So, I’ve decided to post a blog purely about my role as a choreographer, as it is VERY separate from my acting role in the show now. In fact, I am involved in no choreographed sequences at all, but we will get to that later.

As our show has progressed, so has the choreography, and it is very exciting to be given the chance to create some funny scenes regarding movement. A scene we’ve been working on today involves shadow work behind a sheet using a big flashlight- something I have no experience with. However, the movement behind it is very similar that of a ‘fairy tale’, so working with the shadows is just a heightened version of something I may choreograph without them. As we are going with the comedic effect throughout our piece, the use of props within this part is very poignant, as it allows us to create funny images and even scenery. The fairy tale begins with a little girl, who’s mother and father spoil her, however as she grows up she no longer has them to rely on and has to make her way in the world. This story involves the entrance of a spinster, a mother and father figure, and a troll. Organising an extra rehearsal specifically for this choreography was extremely helpful going into the next rehearsal as it only involved 4-5 bodies to create the piece.

Shadow choreography (Jarrold, 2017).                                                                    Shadows with props (Jarrold, 2017).

As well as this, another scene towards the end of the show has a drag performance in it, whereby Ben is performing a caberet style drag act. Our director Joe started this scene having Ben improvise and as hilarious as it was to watch being friends with him, visually it needed some choreography in order to have a successful scene. I was really exciting to get stuck into this, as although the undertone of this scene was extremely sad, it could be fun and light hearted too. Before organising a rehearsal with Ben, I watched a few drag act routines on youtube, as my dance background doesn’t delve into drag at all. I came across ‘RuPauls drag race’ which I was able to watch on Netflix and was the inspiration behind Bens choreography. The reality show involves ‘emphasis on the survival stories of its contestants reveals how performance can be empowering’ (Betancourt, 2017). Although the choreography needed to be entertaining, our director wanted it to have a message regarding Ben’s struggle in the modern day world.

Bens scene- Ending (Jarrold,2017).                                                                                                             Bens scene (Jarrold, 2017).

Ben and I had so much fun in rehearsal choreographing this, and having already prepared a routine this was easy to portray to him. The choreography involved Ben as a drag act, with 4 others participating and being his ‘wardrobe’. The routine came naturally to Ben, as he already had a good sense of rhythm and technique, so we were able to add lots of detail. Although this piece was comical, I was very aware of the sad undertone this scene portrays. I decided, towards the end of the routine, to have a 4 beat pause whereby ben does nothing but stare at the audience showing ‘desperation’ just before other company members rush to dress him in yet more drag attire. Watching him do this was very powerful and I believe can only get stronger in the lead up to the final performance.

Work Cited:

Betancourt, M. (2017). ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and the Art of Self-Love. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/05/rupauls-drag-race-and-the-art-of-self-love/482265/ [Accessed 16 May 2017].

Bowie, D. (1983) Lets Dance.

Jarrold, R. (2017) Bens scene-ending.

Jarrold, R. (2017) Bens scene.

Jarrold, R. (2017) Shadow choreography.

Jarrold, R. (2017) Shadows with props.