I think as homework y'all should get your hands on a copy of Julie Taymor's Across the Universe. It is really incredible as a piece of work. A film clearly directed by a theatre maker. And something I think we might be able to take some inspiration from in its fluid movement between text, music, and film collage. Also in its generally interdisciplinary nature. I recommend watching it again with the directors commentary because Taymor and the composer and choreographer talk about the process. It is very informative and exciting.
Anyway. It made me really consider if we want to kind of throw this story into the pan and boil it down to the images. What is Cupid? Who would be a cupid in our understanding of that job? What is Aphrodite? What is the separating of the grains? and the ants that come to help? We have all talked about this. But it suddenly felt a bit more clear to me.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
An Idea from Ben...
What if, as an exercise, we told the entire play as quotes from love letters/emails...our own and other peoples'?
Dunno about you, but I've got some we could draw on...
Dunno about you, but I've got some we could draw on...
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The ARC of the psyche project
Phase I - Spring 2008
Exploratory/Generative Phase
Goal: To start work together as an ensemble
To begin to get to know the world of our play
To generate images, sounds, scenes, characters, text
Phase II: Summer Intensive 2008
Intense generative phase
FINALS WEEK, 25 hours over 5 days
Goal: To generate a massive amount of images, sounds, scenes, text.
To have a lot of our raw material.
Phase III: Fall 2008
Shaping Phase
Goal: To meet 3 hours/week ON A WEEKDAY before 6:00 PM. To have our whole team onboard. To begin to clarify who will be wearing what hats in the final production.
To take all of the material we have generated in the Spring and find the story shape of it -- to arrange it, throw chunks out, figure out where we need to add something. To create a working full draft of the script.
Phase IV: Fall Intensive 2008
Honing Script Phase
FALL FINALS WEEK
20-25 hours over 4-5 days
Goal: To spend the week in full workshop mode, doing more detailed rewrites/reworkings, so that at the end of the week we have our solid nearly-final draft and a clear idea of what needs to be fixed or rewritten during Spring semester. To really start REHEARSING what we have.
Phase V: Spring Intensive 2009* (tentative, depends on MFA Actor Show commitments)
Detailed Script Phase
15-20 hours over 2-3 days, the weekend before classes start
Goal: To implement and explore changes that have been worked on during break as a result of Phase IV. To hone our draft and push hard into rehearsal phase.
Phase VI: Spring 2009
Crunch Time
Goal: To rehearse 3-4 hours a week and really perfect what we want to show (we hope during New Works).
Exploratory/Generative Phase
Goal: To start work together as an ensemble
To begin to get to know the world of our play
To generate images, sounds, scenes, characters, text
Phase II: Summer Intensive 2008
Intense generative phase
FINALS WEEK, 25 hours over 5 days
Goal: To generate a massive amount of images, sounds, scenes, text.
To have a lot of our raw material.
Phase III: Fall 2008
Shaping Phase
Goal: To meet 3 hours/week ON A WEEKDAY before 6:00 PM. To have our whole team onboard. To begin to clarify who will be wearing what hats in the final production.
To take all of the material we have generated in the Spring and find the story shape of it -- to arrange it, throw chunks out, figure out where we need to add something. To create a working full draft of the script.
Phase IV: Fall Intensive 2008
Honing Script Phase
FALL FINALS WEEK
20-25 hours over 4-5 days
Goal: To spend the week in full workshop mode, doing more detailed rewrites/reworkings, so that at the end of the week we have our solid nearly-final draft and a clear idea of what needs to be fixed or rewritten during Spring semester. To really start REHEARSING what we have.
Phase V: Spring Intensive 2009* (tentative, depends on MFA Actor Show commitments)
Detailed Script Phase
15-20 hours over 2-3 days, the weekend before classes start
Goal: To implement and explore changes that have been worked on during break as a result of Phase IV. To hone our draft and push hard into rehearsal phase.
Phase VI: Spring 2009
Crunch Time
Goal: To rehearse 3-4 hours a week and really perfect what we want to show (we hope during New Works).
Friday, February 29, 2008
Ideas of things to maybe try
1. More "interrogations" of characters
2. Image collages of characters
3. Having everyone answer the questions:
a) Tell us when you've been Psyche
b) Tell us when you've been Eros
c) Tell us when you've been Aphrodite
d) Has there ever been a time when you felt like you invented love?
e) has there ever been a time when you felt like you invented sex?
f) tell us about your worst heartbreak
g) tell us about a time when you broke someone's heart
h) what have you done to win someone back?
i) when have you felt like the gods are against you/
j) what makes you feel beautiful?
k) what is your underworld?
4. Have people bring in objects that might be or represent the following:
a) Eros's arrows
b) Beauty
c) The Box Psyche brings from the underworld
d) the grains she sorts
e) Psyche's lamp
f) Psyche's knife
Then do some exercises where we play with transforming them from one scene to the next
5. Break out the scenes in the story we think are most important, and try telling them different ways, and or in different styles, ie the "there were once three daughters" as noir, a beauty pageant, a rock video, a mary zimmerman play, etc.
6. Have everyone toss certain images into the pot that keep coming up (a la Marie's dream, my image of projections on silk, etc) and see how we can build scenes around them that we may or may not put in the final production
7. Have some "arts and crafts" days, where we let our more visual art inclined folks lead us through making set pieces, masks, possible costume pieces, possible puppets, etc...
8. Try telling the entire story as a non-traditional puppet show.
9. Try telling the entire story in silent movement.
10. Try telling the entire story as a series of still tableaus.
Just a few ideas for tonight...
2. Image collages of characters
3. Having everyone answer the questions:
a) Tell us when you've been Psyche
b) Tell us when you've been Eros
c) Tell us when you've been Aphrodite
d) Has there ever been a time when you felt like you invented love?
e) has there ever been a time when you felt like you invented sex?
f) tell us about your worst heartbreak
g) tell us about a time when you broke someone's heart
h) what have you done to win someone back?
i) when have you felt like the gods are against you/
j) what makes you feel beautiful?
k) what is your underworld?
4. Have people bring in objects that might be or represent the following:
a) Eros's arrows
b) Beauty
c) The Box Psyche brings from the underworld
d) the grains she sorts
e) Psyche's lamp
f) Psyche's knife
Then do some exercises where we play with transforming them from one scene to the next
5. Break out the scenes in the story we think are most important, and try telling them different ways, and or in different styles, ie the "there were once three daughters" as noir, a beauty pageant, a rock video, a mary zimmerman play, etc.
6. Have everyone toss certain images into the pot that keep coming up (a la Marie's dream, my image of projections on silk, etc) and see how we can build scenes around them that we may or may not put in the final production
7. Have some "arts and crafts" days, where we let our more visual art inclined folks lead us through making set pieces, masks, possible costume pieces, possible puppets, etc...
8. Try telling the entire story as a non-traditional puppet show.
9. Try telling the entire story in silent movement.
10. Try telling the entire story as a series of still tableaus.
Just a few ideas for tonight...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Yes to day dreams
I am also having many a day dream about this piece. And I need to be writing more of them down. That process alone has proven to be incredibly difficult these days.
I am beginning to see this piece more an more as having several layers of style and storytelling technique. One would involved the characters themselves and their scenes. One might involved vignettes with experts such as Joseph Campbell on mythology, or as Jenny mentioned the authorities on love such as The Kama Sutra and Cosmo. Actually after my thoughts on Aphrodite I think it would be fabulous to find a place to bring in the ridiculous hype surrounding the volatile love affairs/marriages/pregnancies/parenting of the hollywood stars these days.
And then I feel there might be place for a layer that does not involve text...that leans more on the emotional, expressionistic, ambigious forms of music and dance.
Thus my day dream....and actually this is one of those day dreams that has been bouncing around in my head for many years and may finally be finding a home in this piece.
It is episodic. Little bits. The music would preferably by made by the rest of the ensembles voices, instruments, drums (and/or other live musicians.)
two people enter an empty stage. wearing masks. and otherwise very sparce/dancible/gestural clothing with a very long gauzy strip wrapped neatly around their waist in such a way that it matches as part of their attire. They dance in the mode of the first meeting of eventual lovers. there is unexpected attraction. The subtle search to see if the other may be feeling the same attraction. a moment a some flirtation.
Other scenes ensue.
Then we see the same two enter again. again the flirting. contact.
other scenes
back to our buddy love affair. this time one may begin to sensually untie the gauzy stip and begin to unwrap the other. A play of the unwrapping begins. She may use the strip to pull the other too her, or he may use her strip to wrap her playfully to him. Foreplay.
other scene.
The playful intertwining of wraps continues, playfully at first, but then becomes a need to pull the wrappings tighter and tighter and if in hopes to push each other into one another and become one. wrapping chest to chest, pelvis to pelvis, head to head. upwrapping and wrapping. until a climax of sort s occurs. stillness wrapped as one.
other scenes.
waking. wrapped. in that terrifying instant the realization of being trapped. clostrophbia. They are tied together, heads to bound they can not see. The act of one trying to pull away only tightens the bonds and thus marks the start of struggle of the two to regain sight, self, freedom. they begin to pull themselves apart but more in a bit knotty mess than by unravelling. The yank and tear. They are each still wrapped and covered head, chest, pelvis, even as they pull part. so even as the closer they get to being apart they are still blinded by the wrappings. The at least rip/ cut the last piece and stand two mummfied individuals stunned.
other scenes.
still covered. stillness. they feel themselves with their hands assessing the blindness. they realize again the desire for the other but are not sure of how or why or what. the fumble for themselves, wanting to run. but unable. the fumble for each other. but cautiously or ambivilently. finally one feels and finds the tail of a ribbon and starts every so gingerly to unwrap the other's bindings. again the are undressing each other. slowly. ever so slowly. until finally the wrapping at last falls away from each other their faces and bodies. and they each stand in a pile of shed skin, naked or something like it, staring into each other.
other scenes.
not sure past this... ideas.
And quickly. I love your image Jenny of the shadow puppet sex with Hustler, etc. text. I also loved your description at the last meeting of your goal for depicting their wedding night and feel to pull that off the use of text may prove to lean toward comedy rather than toward the mass orgasmic hotness you were mentioning. I feel that state of euphoria is so far beyond our deeply flawed language of words, that I would be more apt explore how to create that degree of heat in other mediums. However I also totally love the idea and would love to play with it and am all for being persuaded otherwise.
I am beginning to see this piece more an more as having several layers of style and storytelling technique. One would involved the characters themselves and their scenes. One might involved vignettes with experts such as Joseph Campbell on mythology, or as Jenny mentioned the authorities on love such as The Kama Sutra and Cosmo. Actually after my thoughts on Aphrodite I think it would be fabulous to find a place to bring in the ridiculous hype surrounding the volatile love affairs/marriages/pregnancies/parenting of the hollywood stars these days.
And then I feel there might be place for a layer that does not involve text...that leans more on the emotional, expressionistic, ambigious forms of music and dance.
Thus my day dream....and actually this is one of those day dreams that has been bouncing around in my head for many years and may finally be finding a home in this piece.
It is episodic. Little bits. The music would preferably by made by the rest of the ensembles voices, instruments, drums (and/or other live musicians.)
two people enter an empty stage. wearing masks. and otherwise very sparce/dancible/gestural clothing with a very long gauzy strip wrapped neatly around their waist in such a way that it matches as part of their attire. They dance in the mode of the first meeting of eventual lovers. there is unexpected attraction. The subtle search to see if the other may be feeling the same attraction. a moment a some flirtation.
Other scenes ensue.
Then we see the same two enter again. again the flirting. contact.
other scenes
back to our buddy love affair. this time one may begin to sensually untie the gauzy stip and begin to unwrap the other. A play of the unwrapping begins. She may use the strip to pull the other too her, or he may use her strip to wrap her playfully to him. Foreplay.
other scene.
The playful intertwining of wraps continues, playfully at first, but then becomes a need to pull the wrappings tighter and tighter and if in hopes to push each other into one another and become one. wrapping chest to chest, pelvis to pelvis, head to head. upwrapping and wrapping. until a climax of sort s occurs. stillness wrapped as one.
other scenes.
waking. wrapped. in that terrifying instant the realization of being trapped. clostrophbia. They are tied together, heads to bound they can not see. The act of one trying to pull away only tightens the bonds and thus marks the start of struggle of the two to regain sight, self, freedom. they begin to pull themselves apart but more in a bit knotty mess than by unravelling. The yank and tear. They are each still wrapped and covered head, chest, pelvis, even as they pull part. so even as the closer they get to being apart they are still blinded by the wrappings. The at least rip/ cut the last piece and stand two mummfied individuals stunned.
other scenes.
still covered. stillness. they feel themselves with their hands assessing the blindness. they realize again the desire for the other but are not sure of how or why or what. the fumble for themselves, wanting to run. but unable. the fumble for each other. but cautiously or ambivilently. finally one feels and finds the tail of a ribbon and starts every so gingerly to unwrap the other's bindings. again the are undressing each other. slowly. ever so slowly. until finally the wrapping at last falls away from each other their faces and bodies. and they each stand in a pile of shed skin, naked or something like it, staring into each other.
other scenes.
not sure past this... ideas.
And quickly. I love your image Jenny of the shadow puppet sex with Hustler, etc. text. I also loved your description at the last meeting of your goal for depicting their wedding night and feel to pull that off the use of text may prove to lean toward comedy rather than toward the mass orgasmic hotness you were mentioning. I feel that state of euphoria is so far beyond our deeply flawed language of words, that I would be more apt explore how to create that degree of heat in other mediums. However I also totally love the idea and would love to play with it and am all for being persuaded otherwise.
"And their Eyes Met" and "Aphrodite's confession"
"And their eyes met"
In the dim light of the candle/flashlight/headlamp?...after months of marriage and the most incredible physical ,yet sightless, intimacy their eyes finally met. And in that moment of recognition Eros opened his wings and flew.
I have to track it down...but there was a beautiful quote I found when Craig and I were composing our wedding and writing our vows about how that moment of recognition. The moment when that deep inner part of yourself sees the inner part of another in such a way that you both recognize yourself in the other. It talks about how it so terrifying and how if we are unprepared or unwilling to accept the magnitude of that transformation, then we are apt to be blown about from each other. I think that is what is happening in this scene.
"Aphrodite's Concession"
Ah. yes. of course. You like so many other fools think I am jealous. For thousands of years, you and your foolish kin have painted me a vain , superficial, embarrassment of a goddess. You have disgraced, discredited and demeaned me and all that I stand for. I am the goddess of love. Love! Not just beauty. Love is NOT beauty. Love is not Beautiful. Love is hard, dirty and endless work. And it is not different for the beautiful. You are cursed with the burden of loves twin easily won...but lust will not hold your roots in the ground through the wind storm. A flickering glance may breathe life into a flaming torch of passion time and time and time again. But a good rain will douse it cold. Lust disguised as love comes quick and easily to the beautiful. And for this I pity you! for this, I disgusted sit back and watch the dim-witted beauties muck up everything for themselves and everyone who feeds their illusion of worth.
But for the awake. the alert. the capable. For those beauties whose countenances are not more than a gorgeous sculpted set of muscles and nerves and flesh that hold in their souls...for those I am unwilling to sit aside and let the foolish rob you of your true worth. So for you I pull you from the herd to face challenges that go beyond a contest of beauty or a union of lust or duty... And in your case I give you a challenge beyond find just love for a mortal lifetime. I give you the greatest challenge any god has the power to give. I give you an immortal eternity to make love. To work and trust and fight and fuck and kiss and scream and make love again. And while it was not my wish to have you face that eternity in the arms of my son...it seems some aspects of love go beyond my power. You have proven to me that your heart is more fierce and durable that your perfect face. Even I, can't seem to break you. either of you. So I have no choice but to joyously endorse you and welcome you as the immortal lover of my son. My job is done.
In the dim light of the candle/flashlight/headlamp?...after months of marriage and the most incredible physical ,yet sightless, intimacy their eyes finally met. And in that moment of recognition Eros opened his wings and flew.
I have to track it down...but there was a beautiful quote I found when Craig and I were composing our wedding and writing our vows about how that moment of recognition. The moment when that deep inner part of yourself sees the inner part of another in such a way that you both recognize yourself in the other. It talks about how it so terrifying and how if we are unprepared or unwilling to accept the magnitude of that transformation, then we are apt to be blown about from each other. I think that is what is happening in this scene.
"Aphrodite's Concession"
Ah. yes. of course. You like so many other fools think I am jealous. For thousands of years, you and your foolish kin have painted me a vain , superficial, embarrassment of a goddess. You have disgraced, discredited and demeaned me and all that I stand for. I am the goddess of love. Love! Not just beauty. Love is NOT beauty. Love is not Beautiful. Love is hard, dirty and endless work. And it is not different for the beautiful. You are cursed with the burden of loves twin easily won...but lust will not hold your roots in the ground through the wind storm. A flickering glance may breathe life into a flaming torch of passion time and time and time again. But a good rain will douse it cold. Lust disguised as love comes quick and easily to the beautiful. And for this I pity you! for this, I disgusted sit back and watch the dim-witted beauties muck up everything for themselves and everyone who feeds their illusion of worth.
But for the awake. the alert. the capable. For those beauties whose countenances are not more than a gorgeous sculpted set of muscles and nerves and flesh that hold in their souls...for those I am unwilling to sit aside and let the foolish rob you of your true worth. So for you I pull you from the herd to face challenges that go beyond a contest of beauty or a union of lust or duty... And in your case I give you a challenge beyond find just love for a mortal lifetime. I give you the greatest challenge any god has the power to give. I give you an immortal eternity to make love. To work and trust and fight and fuck and kiss and scream and make love again. And while it was not my wish to have you face that eternity in the arms of my son...it seems some aspects of love go beyond my power. You have proven to me that your heart is more fierce and durable that your perfect face. Even I, can't seem to break you. either of you. So I have no choice but to joyously endorse you and welcome you as the immortal lover of my son. My job is done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)