WHO IS ORIGINAL?

WHO IS ORIGINAL?

– a collaborative project between Forsøgsstationen and Glad Teater.

April 29 to May 16, 2013, Mon. – tors. from 11-16.

An experiment in which actors trained at the State Theater Schools and the Theater School “Teater Glad” for actors with disabilities meet in search of new terrain and artistic material.

Read the report here.

Who’s original?
– is an exploration of how we access the artistic potential we believe lies behind the disabilities and masks that stand in our way as performing artists?
– an exploration of the encounter between two different theatrical reservations that – each bringing a handicap – might help shape a third and new theatrical expression ….

Background
Our creativity and openness to create something new is often held back by our self-perception and the demands we make on each other. We are influenced by our education and experiences, our environment and cultural norms. Everywhere we look, we see how we are expected to present ourselves as beautiful, confident and successful people. We see it on the street. We see it on TV, in cinemas and shops, and we read about it in newspapers. This is what we mean by a disability in this project.

We adapt, we take on roles and, being human, we are afraid of confrontation and going against the grain. We dodge, try to keep up and hide and protect ourselves behind smiling masks. But masks are often rigid and therefore senses to the outside world become limited – blind in multiple angles and inattentive to their surroundings. Over time, the mask can become ingrained as bad habits. We see in a certain way and don’t open our eyes to other realities. – possibly out.

Two theater reserves
In our work as theater school-trained actors, we often focus on success, success in each production and, in the long run, a successful career.
We often overlook the enormous potential and opportunities that lie deep within us, just waiting to emerge. Maybe it’s because the emotion/expression we have, which is hidden and surface-level, doesn’t feel “appropriate” in the situation or environment.

We take on a role in our daily lives, which can mean we can’t put it aside when we have to take on another person’s characteristics and situation in order to interpret the message of a play. As a result, the role can become one-dimensional, colored by our everyday mask: At best, it’s just a bit boring, whereas as artists we have the opportunity to create artwork on stage and elevate reality to another level. A place that puts the message in greater relief.

A starting point in this project is a belief that the actor with a disability, i.e. the Glad Teater-trained actor, has a more transparent filter and is a less trained mask player than the ‘normal’ actor. The meeting between the two groups aims to explore what will come from adding the quirky and unpredictable to the perhaps more predictable and conventional – and vice versa.

The starting point and course of the experiment
The experiment is based on working with techniques that are based on physical actions and the inclusion of personal material. The intention is to provide an opportunity to work with the habitual in order to get beyond the schooled to a higher level of authenticity (or ego). Techniques that will be introduced by the project team participants are
– Suzuki technology
– Decroux mimes
– Lecoq masking technology
– Voice work v. Nadine George
– Viewpoints

The trial begins with two groups working separately with the trial’s coaches and instructor. In this phase, the focus is on personal expression and the initial generation of material. In the next phase, different formats for the meeting between the two groups are tested. For example, groups can swap materials using video footage – or they can come together one by one from each group and solve tasks together. The intention here is to get an exchange of material going while the instructor adds something at the same time. Finally, everyone gathers in one group.

Documentation, reflection and reporting
As this is an experiment, the project will be documented in the form of video and observations on the floor. In addition, time will be set aside daily for a reflection room where project participants will have the opportunity to share observations and experiences from the ongoing work. The goal is to make reflection an integral part of the experiment. Individual interviews will supplement the documentation. TV Glad will be involved in the documentation part of the trial. The material will subsequently be compiled in a report.

The project team behind Who wants to be original?
The project leaders have all been exploring the boundaries of new expressions by dissolving traditional professional boundaries between performing arts practitioners for a number of years in their field of work with theater and new performing arts. This ranges from the methods and learning processes that students become familiar with in artistic education – to new ways of directing and the expression of the individual work.

Tue Biering, Theater director
Angelina Watson, Actor and voice teacher
Jesper Michelsen and Lars Werner Thomsen, founders of the theater school “Glad Theater”
Øyvind Kirchhoff, actor, artistic director of The Experimental Station
Karen Vedel, theater researcher and assistant professor at Theater and Performance Studies, KU

Many thanks to the Danish Actors’ Association for financial support for the project.

 

PRESENTATION DURING CPH STAGE

TRIALS IN SEASON 12/13