Current Issues in Drama, Theatre and Performance

And Relax…

Mo Rangwalla / January 27, 2015

After our initial performance showcase were postponed for a month due to scheduling difficulties, I am quite relieved to say that I have finally been able to perform (on two occasions I might add!) in front of a live audience. More so, I was proud to have been able to perform my performances as part of the Newvolutions festival, an occasion that I have always wanted to be a part of but was never a part of during my tenure as an undergraduate until a week ago.

I was a little apprehensive on how exactly I was supposed to introduce my performance piece to the audience. At first, I had decided on starting the performance immediately, and then perhaps explain my aim for this performance to everyone. However, I made a last minute decision on how I should address the audience. In the end, I felt compelled to explain to the audience that this performance is more of an experiment with liveness and mediation and that they should shift their focus between my face and the projection of quotations. I believe this was the best approach to acknowledge what my aims were for this performance, in order for the audience to avoid feeling lost and confused at what is transpiring on stage.

I was very particular with which quotations would suit best for my performance. Each quotation used had a specific mood or emotion. In some ways, it was a blatant move on my behalf, just so I can convey the emotion clearly for the audience. However, I was hoping to cause some means of controversy by selecting a distinct, notorious figure, to create a juxtaposition between the quotation and source. Here are the quotations along with the authors who wrote them in the order they were presented at the performance:

‘There comes a time in the lives of those destined for greatness when we must stand before the mirror of meaning and ask: Why, having been endowed with the courageous heart of a lion, do we live as mice?’ – Brendon Burchard

‘Believers, be mindful to God, speak in a direct fashion and to good purpose, and He will put your deeds right for you and forgive you your sins.’ – Osama Bin Laden

‘Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and a richness to life that nothing else can bring.’ – Oscar Wilde

‘Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.’ – Herbert Hoover

I hope each quotation had a clear emphasis on the emotion or mood I was hoping for. If not, here is a brief outline on the emotion I was going for:

Quote 1. – Motivational

Quote 2. – Religious

Quote 3. – Love

Quote 4. – Grievance

I certainly do hope that I have succeeded in replicating The Kuleshov Effect using different techniques and ideas. If I had the chance to perform this piece again however, I would certainly try and mediate the entire performance rather than perform it live, just so I can experiment with the level of conveyance of emotion using a different form.

Thank you to everyone who saw our MA Drama Showcase during the Newvolutions festival, and I congratulate everyone who took part in it. I also thank the tech team for their help throughout the day.

Also a big thank you to Phil Crow for the pictures. For the entire photo album of the MA Drama Showcase as well as his portfolio, click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232%40N02/sets/72157650394311512/

Study of Historiography.

Mo Rangwalla / January 27, 2015January 27, 2015

‘…events can only be narrated, while structures can only be described’ (Postlewait 2009, 2)

According to Postlewait, all events are ‘illustrations of the theory, which defines the context and controls the interpretation’ (2). Postlewait is of course referring to theatre history. Theatre as we already know from my previous blogs is ephemeral. We are in the moment whenever we see a performance and that particular moment will forever be planted in our memory. Historiography however, can change all of that. Historiography is defined as ‘etymologically (…) the writing of history’ (Jones, 2014). Since we cannot fully explain to others how aesthetically engaged we were after viewing a performance, other sources such as reviews, journals are available for us to understand just how good or bad a performance can be. However, the 21^st century has unveiled a new concept of viewing a performance without actually ever attending it physically. In a previous blog, I mentioned live broadcasts and live recordings. These concepts allow users to watch a performance through a different scope, such as a television recording or a live stream online. Whilst this can save you money on time and travel, it does tend to have a few disadvantages. For example, you are viewing a performance through the eyes of another person, meaning that you will not be able to experience the liveness of attending a performance physically. There is also the possibility of signal interruptions in connectivity between you and the server if you are experience a live performance online.

However, live recordings and broadcasts can be beneficial in some cases (this is where Postlewait’s theory at the beginning comes into fruition). A recent production of John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi was performed at the Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, and was performed in front of a live audience whilst recorded live and later broadcast as a BBC programme.

Gemma Arteton in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi (2014). — Gemma Arteton in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi (2014).

The production was intended to be a replica of a typical Jacobean staging, which involved the inclusion of candles as lighting for the stage (which cost around £400 a show). Whilst the staging of The Duchess of Malfi was considered near enough authentic as when it was first performed in 1614, this particular production had a number of flaws. For instance, the candles were considered a problem from the very beginning, as audiences found it very discomforting to sit through an entire performance whilst soaking in sweat. In fact, members of the audience were warned by ushers to leave their coats in the cloakroom because it had turned out to be ‘so hot in there’ (Lawson, 2014). In addition to this, the audience were seated in the traditional format of wooden benches, to replicate how audiences sat during a traditional Jacobean production:

‘The stepped wooden benches are also relentlessly uncomfortable: no one who has a deep personal concern with both theatre of the Shakespearean era and the management of long term sciatica should risk the Wanamaker’ (2014).

This particular example brings us back to Postlewait’s theory as noted at the beginning of the blog. However, to further elaborate on Theatre Historiography, here is a Postlewait’s model which examines the relationship between the theatrical event and its context.

As we can see, Postlewait’s model depicts various aspects of the context of a theatrical event, in order to understand the relationship between the two, ‘…each of these four factors – world, agents, receptions, and artistic heritage – need to be understood as part of the even as well as part of the context’ (Postlewait 2009, pp.14-15). Each triangle found in the model marks as connection between each aspect of context, linking (1) agent, world, agent; (2) agent, artistic heritage, event; (3) audience, world, event; and (4) audience, artistic heritage, event. (17). In addition to this, the 90 degree angles of each triangle must meet at the central event i.e. (1) agents and event; (2) world and events: (3) audiences and events; and (4) artistic heritage and event (17).

With Postlewait’s theory and model into account along with Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi contemporary approach, it’s amazing to believe that no matter what approach a particular narrative takes, the structure can always be etched in theatre history!

Works Cited:

Jones, Kelly (2014) The Contemporary in Historical Contexts 1 [lecture] Current Issues in Drama, Theatre and Performance DRA9020M-1415, University of Lincoln, 19 November.

Lawson, Mark (2014) Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse casts new light on Jacobean staging. [online] The Guardian. Available from http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/jan/20/globe-sam-wanamaker-playhouse-light-jacobean-staging. [Accessed 27 January 2015].

Postlewait, Thomas (2009) Unmarked: the politics of performance. London: Routledge.

My Essay and Performance Ideas Are Now Finalised.

Mo Rangwalla / January 27, 2015

This blog entry was in fact written on 12/11/14!

After several weeks of reviewing the current issues of Drama, Theatre and Performance, I have finally come to a decision on both of my essay and performance.

First, the essay. My essay will focus on modern technology’s use in theatre. Over the weeks, we have discussed on the nature of modern technology’s involvement with theatre and performance. We spoke of the use of the Digital, as well as the power of live broadcasts and recordings. So far, I am indecisive on whether or not live broadcasts and recordings are beneficial when watching a performance as an alternative form, so for me to research further on this matter will be rather interesting. I also wish to further question the necessity of cyberspace if possible. During my final year studying for my first degree, I was a part of the Multimedia Performance module, and one of the question raised during my time in this module was whether or not the future of theatre was in cyberspace. This essay would be a great opportunity for me to expand on this matter further by utilising the findings that I have uncovered on this Current Issues module.

Now, for my performance idea. The video below will hopefully give you an idea on what I am aiming for:

The video above entitled The Kuleshov Effect, is a montage called developed by renowned filmmaker Lev Kuleshov around the 1910s. The montage emphasizes on the aesthetic power of using single camera techniques and transitions. As you can see in the video, it illustrates images of various objects (the man is the prime subject) transitioning one after the other to convey a meaning or emotion. For example, when the montage transitions from a bowl of soup to the man, it is meant to emphasise that the man is hungry. What makes this experimental video brilliant is that shot of the man is repeated and not rerecorded for the montage. Below is a synopsis of the meanings conveyed in The Kuleshov Effect.

My performance will be based around the idea of The Kuleshov Effect, however, I plan on adapting this live rather than mediatised, and instead of images of various objects, I plan to use quotations based on different emotions and project them on a wall. My decision for these changes is so that I can experiment with liveness and mediation, as well as to see if the quotations work just as well as images of certain objects.

Works Cited:

EsteticaCC (2009) Kuleshov Effect / Effetto Kuleshov [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gGl3LJ7vHc [Accessed 12 November 2014].

Moura, Gabriel (2011) The Kuleshov Experiment [online] Available from http://www.elementsofcinema.com/editing/kuleshov-effect.html [Accessed 12 November 2014].

The State of British Theatre/The Dramatic Text

Mo Rangwalla / January 27, 2015January 27, 2015

How did theatre become mainstream in Britain? This particular blog outlines a brief history on British Theatre.

Before our National Theatre was established, British Theatre came quite late as various movements and productions from different nations would make their way to Britain to artistically express themselves e.g. Avant-Garde was always coming from other countries. Although by 1956, John Osbourne’s Look Back in Anger garnered some popularity, courtesy of George Devine’s decision to produce Osbourne’s work with the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. Devine was influenced by his understanding of the continental experimental theatre, and therefore brought it to England with Look Back in Anger as an experiment.

Look Back in Anger was a provocation and is now considered to be a landmark in 20^th century theatre, because it was considered a new experimental piece in comparison to the gritty studies of everyday life that other theatre companies seemed obligated to produce during the 1950s (2012). Since the success of Look Back in Anger, The Royal Court Theatre allowed English playwrights to express themselves, and certain movements were also established. For instance, the job of the director was to serve the text, and experimental political theatre playwrights were given ‘the Right to Fail’ as a way to express themselves freely as ‘Angry Young Men’ (Hudson, 2014).

Prior to 1961, a National Theatre was not established, although it was considered to be great idea for British society to have one (it is worth noting in this instance that Britain opened their National Theatre, 300 years after a National Theatre in France was unveiled). In the same year as the unveiling of the British National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company was also introduced.

The 1970s saw more experimental, along with fringe theatre. Although, the 1980s saw a decline in new work and writers, along with replays of productions of the past. However, by the 1990s British Theatre was introduced to an array of new, young, edgy and contemporary first time writers, who avoided remaking Shakespearean plays. Writers such as Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill and Anthony Neilson who were described as people who have something to say, rose to prominence during the 1990s for their work involving naturalism and nothing else. These writers allowed critic Aleks Sierz to coin the term In-Yer-Face Theatre, for their willingness to experiment with extremism.

Finally, this brief history brings us the era of the noughties. From the year 2000 and beyond, we have seen the rise of the verbatim plays, presenting us with big issues that are current, and tribunal plays. However, ethical issues were raised such as the fact that verbatim plays focused on real issues. One such example of a verbatim play is Alan Rickman’s My Name is Rachel Corrie, which is based on a number of diary entries and emails of Rachel Corrie, a peace activist who tragically died during a protest against the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza. Another ethical issue verbatim plays have raised is the question of whether or not these plays are theatrical or dramatic.

This brief history of British theatre brings me to an analysis of a particular play that embodies a number of key facts that were outlined above. Simon Stephens’ Pornography is considered as a rather shocking play because of its context. Pornography centres on key events that occurred in Britain in 2005. In particular, the announcement of London hosting the 2012 Olympics and the tragic 7^th July bombings in London. However, neither topics are described or mentioned in the play. Instead, the play includes a constant mentioning of consumer products, as well as a number of multicultural issues. The play’s title is also unexplained in the play, allowing us to speculate the title’s significance to the play. For example, ‘pornography’ is a term that is often objectified and exploitative because of the nature of its content. However, it can be argued that the title of the play is an indirect reference to one of the characters depicted as a ‘suicide bomber’. For instance, as we have subjectified the term ‘pornography’, it is clear in the play that ‘the bomber’ has subjectified his victims in one of the scenes, so this can perhaps be a valid explanation for Stephens’ choice of entitling a verbatim play such as Pornography.

I strongly do believe that the current state of British theatre is on a high note, considering its history of ups and downs.

Works Cited:

Hudson, James (2014) The Dramatic Text: approaching contemporary material. [lecture] Current Issues in Drama, Theatre and Performance DRA9020M-1415, University of Lincoln, 29 October.

Victoria and Albert Museum (2012) ‘Look Back in Anger, 1956’ in The Explosion of New Writing [online] Available from http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/node/8793 [Accessed 27 January 2015].

The Post-Dramatic: playwriting, scripting and devising

Mo Rangwalla / January 26, 2015January 26, 2015

Post-dramatic theatre, is a concept suggested by theatre researcher Hans-Thies Lehmann, which explores the relationship between drama and the ‘no longer dramatic forms of theatre that have emerged since the 1970s’ (2006, 1) which during that period, media technology had proliferated. According to Lehmann, this relationship has often been neglected or ‘under-explored’, and have somehow been referred to as ‘postmodern’ by those who have approached these new dramatic forms (1). Prior to the publication of Postdramatic Theatre in 1999, Lehmann had already set himself to find a language for these ‘new theatre forms’ by ‘systematically considering their relation to dramatic theory and theatre history, including their resonances with (and divergences from) the historical theatre avant-gardes’ (1). The term ‘post’ however, is not defined as rejecting the drama, but Lehmann utilises the term to emphasise that the drama is taking new forms,

‘…’post’ here is to be understood neither as an epochal category, nor simply as a chronological ‘after’ drama, a ‘forgetting’ of the dramatic ‘past’, but rather as a rupture and a beyond that continue to entertain relationships with drama and are in many ways an analysis and ‘anamnesis’ of drama’ (2).

In order for me to gain a clearer picture on how postdramatic theatre works, I took it upon myself to read Dan Rebellato’s When We Talk of Horses: Or, what do we see when we see a play? Reballato’s paper provides an interesting insight on Lehmann’s theory of postdramatic theatre, by describing his experience with plays:

‘…How I read a play. I don’t simply read it as words on a page, but I couldn’t really say that I produce particularly vivid mental images, that inwardly I am transformed into a grand theatre in which these characters and their actions come to life…When we go to the theatre, what are we looking at? How does that relate to the fictional world being represented? Do we take what we see on stage as a visual representation of the fictional world? How vividly are we to fill in the gaps in the performance?’ (2009, 17).

Reballato’s essay is quite interesting, particularly when it can physically come into fruition with another play. Fortunately, there is such a play that utilises Reballato’s theory. Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree has proven to be that play which conforms to these new dramatic forms that Lehmann was referring to.

A promotional poster of Tim Crouch's An Oak Tree. — A promotional poster of Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree.

An Oak Tree centres on a father’s grief after the loss of his teenage daughter in a traffic accident. Crouch’s play deals more on instructing the actor to perform the play in a certain direction in front of an audience. The catch however, is that the actor is unable to improvise and must abide by the requirements of the director during the performance. This is mainly due to Crouch’s approach to these dramatic forms similar to Lehmann’s theory, ‘Crouch demonstrated that the theatre space, together with the performance of written dialogue spoken within it, had transformational possibilities potentially exceeding those of the gallery’ (Bottoms, 2009, 65). Having received a number of accolades for his production, Crouch has succeeded in portraying these dramatic forms whilst establishing a narrative at the same time in An Oak Tree.

Works Cited:

Bottoms, Stephen (2009) ‘Authorising the Audience: The conceptual drama of Tim Crouch’ in Performance Research, 14(1), pp. 65 -76.

Lehmann, Hans, L. (2006) Postdramatic Theatre. London: Routledge.

Reballato, Dan (2009) ‘When We Talk of Horses: Or what do we see when we see a play?’ in Performance Research, 14(1), pp. 17-28.