Performance Evaluation

In the weeks before our performance I was worried about the lack of work we had devised for it. It felt as though we were very unprepared. This was mainly due to the mix of three directors we had meaning we didn't create finalised work for about 2 to 3 weeks of our rehearsal time. However, when our director came back and we molded the first section of work it seemed like we had more direction to our piece.

The decision to improvise the second half of performance was a good one in the end. When I first heard this was the plan it sent me and other class members into panic mode where we just didn't feel confident in our performance or like we had any clue what we were doing. However, on the day of performance and we went through the different exercises we were going to do, I saw the potential of what we were going to do, and how it might be successful.

Improvising meant that the whole performance was truly experimental. Anything could of happened and we would have allowed it. The energy in the room felt very focused and as though we were excepting of each other and whatever movements we were going to create. This meant people could find something honest and new every time we rehearsed or performed. When someone found a moment within a movement that worked it suddenly became so interesting to watch, and audience members said they could often make little stories in their minds about what they think the person is going through or their relationships with other people. Even though this may not have been our initial intention I think it shows an element of success that people we able to do this despite us as actors not having stories or characters in our heads.

The section with the stories we told worked well. The initial story telling with just one person and the audience was really nice to have people open up about themselves and be honest on stage. When we took away the story and just had words and movements it seemed to delve deeper into the emotional impact of their stories. The more time that went by the more emotionally connected people got.

The feedback we got from other classes lead me to believe that they felt fully immersed into our piece. From how we moved the audience around the space, in and out of the circle. Someone even said that they felt like they were tempted to join in the piece and they would have done if they thought that would have been ok and it had not been our piece. I doubt the audience with our parents would have felt this as they are not familiar with this type of work but I'd hope that they also felt like they were part of our piece as much as possible.

This performance has made me re think how I look at experimental theatre and improvisation within performance. I think it can be successful and emotionally draining at the same time. I felt like I had worked harder in this performance then any other scripted or fully devised piece I'd ever done. I think this was because we were constantly being pushed to find something new within ourselves and support everyone in our class at the same time.