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.
Interrogation Freewrite
When playing the part of Cupid, I found a timid young man. More timid than you would expect someone of his stature to be. He seemed to feel eclipsed by his mother. All he has ever wanted was a genuine love. Both to help in its creation and to hopefully experience it himself. He is conflicted in helping his mother because he knows he is aiding in the removal of people’s free will. But he does it in the hopes that good will come of it.
When the interrogation started, I chose a point in time from the story to use as a reference point to respond to questions. That point was just before Psyche comes to the castle. I realized later that this made the ‘are you a virgin?’ question awkward without that as a general knowledge. But I felt he was still a virgin til he was with Psyche. Cupid is torn by his mothers promiscuity and because of her lack of faithfulness he longs for a stability and commitment that he finds in Psyche.
I found that when Cupid’s interrogation was over, I continued to see things from his perspective as others continued to be interrogated. The questions I asked, or wanted to ask were questions I thought Cupid would be interested in knowing the answers to.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Tiltes, Sentences, and Other Thoughts
The Nag, or How to Madden a Rogue Youth
Thereupon she calls her winged son Cupid, mischievous enough in his own nature, and rouses and provokes him yet more by her complaints.
She annoys Cupid so much with her complaining that he’s pissed at Psyche just because he has to listen to Venus’ whining about being old and unattractive. She probably starts wearing clothes that are too skimpy to try and prove she’s still desirable. And she probably asks Cupid whether or not she looks good in her new outfits, which is the last thing he wants to be asked by his mother. With a groan he’ll reply ‘you look fine’ without even looking.
A Knowledgeable Mother, or How to Lose an Idiot Son
She points out Psyche to him and says, "My dear son, punish that contumacious beauty; give your mother a revenge as sweet as her injuries are great; infuse into the bosom of that haughty girl a passion for some low, mean, unworthy being, so that she may reap a mortification as great as her present exultation and triumph."
This actually happens. She falls in love with Cupid and eventually has to jump through all these hoops that make her miserable and cause her to almost commit suicide. Does Venus foresee this? Does she see Cupid as a low unworthy being? She thinks: “What is the worst punishment I can inflict on Psyche? Horrible deformations of her beautiful face? No. I will give to her my slacker, good for nothing son.” And Cupid falls in love with her for her beauty. And Psyche’s doubt of his love only fades when she sees that he too is beautiful. Then some stuff happens and the two beautiful idiots live happily ever after.
The Green-Eyed Sisters
With this idea, without saying a word of her intentions, each of them rose early the next morning and ascended the mountain, and having reached the top, called upon Zephyr to receive her and bear her to his lord; then leaping up, and not being sustained by Zephyr, fell down the precipice and was dashed to pieces.
They had married princes, which were not enough for them, fore they desired gods and immortality. Sounds like something I’d do; to give up a good thing in search or something better only to end up alone and broken.
Friday, February 8, 2008
WEDDING NIGHT
A thought on the wedding night...
We could show two figures behind a sheet, backlit so that they are the shadow-puppets. We could have interlapping/interlocking text from various authorities on sex:
Joy of Sex
Kama Sutra
Cosmo
romance novels
Hustler
We could have the figures "disrobe" and begin with tame simulations of sex, moving into wilder and wilder, more acrobatic simulations. We could have a description, story-style, of Psyche's wedding night discoveries...then turn the lights out, Cupid disappears, the sheet comes down and wraps around psyche, becoming the sheet from the marital bed, in which she is entangled and bereft.
Any interest?
We could show two figures behind a sheet, backlit so that they are the shadow-puppets. We could have interlapping/interlocking text from various authorities on sex:
Joy of Sex
Kama Sutra
Cosmo
romance novels
Hustler
We could have the figures "disrobe" and begin with tame simulations of sex, moving into wilder and wilder, more acrobatic simulations. We could have a description, story-style, of Psyche's wedding night discoveries...then turn the lights out, Cupid disappears, the sheet comes down and wraps around psyche, becoming the sheet from the marital bed, in which she is entangled and bereft.
Any interest?
Jenny and her frickin' daydreams
Keep seeing this image:
The face of a woman seen through an ENORMOUS MAGNIFYING GLASS...so that we see all her pores and stray nosehairs and all the things that we micro-analyze when we look at ourselves to see "beauty". Perhaps this image somehow repeated in several media.
The face of a woman seen through an ENORMOUS MAGNIFYING GLASS...so that we see all her pores and stray nosehairs and all the things that we micro-analyze when we look at ourselves to see "beauty". Perhaps this image somehow repeated in several media.
New York Fringe Festival?
Wouldn't it be great to take this to the New York Fringe festival, if we put it up in New Works? Here's the page for it.
http://www.fringenyc.org/
Their criteria fits nicely with the mandate of the New Works Festival...innovative, low-tech, low-budget. I really think that we could do this, and that its/the NWF constraints might force us to be creative with our staging in cool ways.
http://www.fringenyc.org/
Their criteria fits nicely with the mandate of the New Works Festival...innovative, low-tech, low-budget. I really think that we could do this, and that its/the NWF constraints might force us to be creative with our staging in cool ways.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Re: First Rehearsal
Marie, that beginning exercise sounds great. I've done similar ones before.
The idea of this being about "psyching ourselves out" and falling on our own arrows...eros...yes, I'm very much there with that, nice, nice...
I like the idea of people having read th story, then talking through the story and DRAWING the thing on some huge-ass piece of paper...making a map, if you will. Still of the original story.
And then generating?
Tom, thoughts?
I feel like we're still at the point where we should each lead a piece of the rehearsal...then the next time we meet, we can plan a broader arc for the time we have this semester, and figure out our rotation.
Yes?
Do we need to get a room? Do we need any props or supplies?
The idea of this being about "psyching ourselves out" and falling on our own arrows...eros...yes, I'm very much there with that, nice, nice...
I like the idea of people having read th story, then talking through the story and DRAWING the thing on some huge-ass piece of paper...making a map, if you will. Still of the original story.
And then generating?
Tom, thoughts?
I feel like we're still at the point where we should each lead a piece of the rehearsal...then the next time we meet, we can plan a broader arc for the time we have this semester, and figure out our rotation.
Yes?
Do we need to get a room? Do we need any props or supplies?
Monday, January 28, 2008
New to the blog world
So this is my first time working with a blog. I personally have a strong dislike of the word "blog" but the idea is great!
Anyway. Thoughts. First. I think some of Jenny's ideas for jumping into the material are great. I think a homework assignment of reading the myth and finding one image that resonates would be fabulous and not too much to do. I actually did a shameless internet search the other day to find a quick version to read and found a whole bunch with no problem. So a far as I am concerned that is all it has to be. Just something to get a little refresher on the details of the myth.
I think actually that as far as time-breakdown percentages go maybe more like 20% physical and 80% material would be better right now. I think I personally want to jump start the whole thing. The sooner we have some sense of a piece to fiddle with, the sooner this will feel like it is breathing on its own.
As far as the physical...I was thinking of doing an ensemble exercise I have always found really effective at either building ensemble of demonstrating what needs to happen to build ensemble.
It goes like so. Everyone standing in a circle. Lock eyes with the person across. Soften gaze. Include the two people on either side into your scope of awareness. Then add the new two and the next two until you are "looking" at the how group. And then with no particular leader everyone simultaneously take two steps forward and on the the left. It usually takes a few tries but once it is going we just let it go and see where the group goes. This can lead to incredible things when everyone is able to give into it.
It would take maybe 15 or 20 minutes.
As for content work, I think taking part of the time to talk through the story the major plot points, and identify the really rich symbolic elements that resonate for each of us; the points that there can be lots of exploration. And then we can take the rest of the time to take a few scene titles ( as Jenny suggested) and try to explore those through either scene work, or more elemental compositional gestures and tableau; in a sense just start to explore the physical vocabulary we might want to work with.
For me I look at this myth mostly in reference to the symbolism of how we interact with love. The ways in which we hide ourselves from our lovers for fear of what...? of being as fully ourselves as we absolutely are?...of having sides that are to big, too ugly, too powerful, too weak, too divine to handle? That we lay too much value in the perfection, blind faith, trust. That we fall on our own arrow when we either least expect it, or would really prefer not to cause it's gonna make mamma real angry. That we are so able to "psych ourselves out" (HELLO!!) and to convince ourselves or be convinced our partner might be not right, they might be false, or not good enough, or stupid, or downright monstrous when really all those fears are parts of our own dark side more than anything else. And how mythologically typical to finally realize what you have as it flies out the door. And all the ridiculous bologna we put ourselves through to get another chance. That is what I am excited to explore in this story.
that is all for now.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Dream Image
Had a dream last night that we had a woman walking along the top of the high wall in Tom's courtyard, wrapped in a sheet and carrying the excess fabric. She was crying. Someone asked why. She dropped the fabric and it unfolded, that incredibly light, reflective silk that is almost parachute-silk. The story of why was projected across it in images and words. Then she jumped, and the fabric became the river Styx.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Planning First Rehearsal
So we had a good audition! Good energy in the room (some of it, as Marie pointed out, was the "nervous energy" of an audition) and, by the end, we had a good crowd. A few surprises, a few punches to roll with, but a good start.
If all the folks we liked accept, we've got a working group of seven -- three men and four women, with the strong chance that we'll add two men and one more woman, bringing us to an even five and five.
We want our first rehearsal to be three hours long. We know that we want to push movement, continue to push physical training, but that we don't want the session to break down as "class, then making stuff" -- we want to INTEGRATE training and generation, to the degree we can. We got a little of this today, and we want more.
IDEAS for FIRST REHEARSAL
- I'd like to get the story in the room. HOW to do this? Have someone READ the story...go around the circle and TELL each other the story, passing off the wand...Bring in a huge sheet of paper and do a timeline of the story...pair people up, and have them come up with a way to tell the story, then share with the group? I just want to give us a base point of "these are the things that we know happen in the original story"
- What about doing more of the GENERATIVE work with the story...We could pick a part to deal with...my idea would be to give everyone the title of their piece "and she fell in love with the mysterious voice" or "so she went to the underworld and" or "there were once three beautiful daughters," then give everyone an IMAGE from our collection of images, or a few PROPS, or a few more elements to include like "a silence, an entrance, a moment of ecstasy," (or all of the above) and give them time to work something out. We could have a pile of pieces of text (I'd have to work on this) that folks could mine for dialogues or diatribes...and see what happens. So basically we'd control it somewhat, decide what variables we want to fix, and give folks time to work. We could work in two small groups, show the pieces, the do what Tom talked about at our "breakfast meeting" and keep things, throw them, have people do the pieces again but differently, etc.
- What about giving EVERYONE the homework, between now and first rehearsal, of reading the C&P story, and finding ONE image or piece of music that feels, to them, like their way into this story?
Okay, that's what I've got for now. Thoughts? Comments?
If all the folks we liked accept, we've got a working group of seven -- three men and four women, with the strong chance that we'll add two men and one more woman, bringing us to an even five and five.
We want our first rehearsal to be three hours long. We know that we want to push movement, continue to push physical training, but that we don't want the session to break down as "class, then making stuff" -- we want to INTEGRATE training and generation, to the degree we can. We got a little of this today, and we want more.
IDEAS for FIRST REHEARSAL
- I'd like to get the story in the room. HOW to do this? Have someone READ the story...go around the circle and TELL each other the story, passing off the wand...Bring in a huge sheet of paper and do a timeline of the story...pair people up, and have them come up with a way to tell the story, then share with the group? I just want to give us a base point of "these are the things that we know happen in the original story"
- What about doing more of the GENERATIVE work with the story...We could pick a part to deal with...my idea would be to give everyone the title of their piece "and she fell in love with the mysterious voice" or "so she went to the underworld and" or "there were once three beautiful daughters," then give everyone an IMAGE from our collection of images, or a few PROPS, or a few more elements to include like "a silence, an entrance, a moment of ecstasy," (or all of the above) and give them time to work something out. We could have a pile of pieces of text (I'd have to work on this) that folks could mine for dialogues or diatribes...and see what happens. So basically we'd control it somewhat, decide what variables we want to fix, and give folks time to work. We could work in two small groups, show the pieces, the do what Tom talked about at our "breakfast meeting" and keep things, throw them, have people do the pieces again but differently, etc.
- What about giving EVERYONE the homework, between now and first rehearsal, of reading the C&P story, and finding ONE image or piece of music that feels, to them, like their way into this story?
Okay, that's what I've got for now. Thoughts? Comments?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
New Materials
Found several books at the PCL yesterday, including a couple of children's books that re-tell the cupid/psyche or beauty/beast story. Also an analysis of a c&S in afganistan, a psychological analysis of the story, and that wonderful "how to be a good mother-in-law" pamphlet. I'll bring them on Friday.
Have been thinking about what is motivating me to explore this myth. I think the myth itself is interesting, but what's really behind this for me is interrogating how the ideas behind the myth work on us now. The fact that this is a story to which other stories can trace their lineage, to which we can trace certain tropes in our culture (the rich man with the trophy wife? The pageant queen? The jealous mother-in-law?) is what really gets me going. I think one of my hopes for this piece is that it will go beyond telling the C&S story, into somehow creating layers of story that comment on the story, talk back to it, unearth it.
Does that make sense? I think that's why the pop-culture aesthetic keeps resonating with me.
Was just thinking about that today as I was walking the dogs. Thinking about hopes for our final product.
Have been thinking about what is motivating me to explore this myth. I think the myth itself is interesting, but what's really behind this for me is interrogating how the ideas behind the myth work on us now. The fact that this is a story to which other stories can trace their lineage, to which we can trace certain tropes in our culture (the rich man with the trophy wife? The pageant queen? The jealous mother-in-law?) is what really gets me going. I think one of my hopes for this piece is that it will go beyond telling the C&S story, into somehow creating layers of story that comment on the story, talk back to it, unearth it.
Does that make sense? I think that's why the pop-culture aesthetic keeps resonating with me.
Was just thinking about that today as I was walking the dogs. Thinking about hopes for our final product.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
after audition
hi
am looking at my schedule for this week and I have big love after our audition, if we could be done with our post audition talking by 6PM, which gives us an hour, that would be great.
what an exciting first post!!!
T
am looking at my schedule for this week and I have big love after our audition, if we could be done with our post audition talking by 6PM, which gives us an hour, that would be great.
what an exciting first post!!!
T
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