Our final performances were a success. I believe that given our circumstance in particular, we managed to handle our scene rather well. Upon arrival to the scene to set up, we were informed that we were not having an extra 7 adult actors but one 12 year old actress who added much more emotion to our scene. Phoebe did phenomenally well taking our brief and creating a backstory, relationship with Janay and added to the atmosphere created in our scene.
After visiting the site and speaking to the owner Michael, we were informed that we may 6-7 more actors added to our scene as the employees wanted to join in. James and I decided that one or two would have a bigger role alongside James at the front of the scene, whereas the remaining 4-5 would help fill the rest of our scene.
Taking our feedback on board, we worked with adapting the scene with the same plotline. This is what we created.
A few weeks away from the final production we were informed that our current location 'Humanitas' will nto longer be participating in Zombie Quest.
We were then allocated a property agents workplace Norgans Lettings & Property. This was based down Sun Street, near the main market which is down a relatively busy street.
Upon receiving this information I decided to call the company to see if I could gain measurements of the place or even arrange a visit to take photos, visually read the site and plan our space. There must've been some form of miscommunication as the company weren't fully informed about the project and no longer were interested in taking part in it.
Once again we were relocated to the main Market Square area to which we would need to visit to gain a measured perspective of the conditions we would be working in.
Ideas for the Market Square Scene:
-Sectioning off an area for us to work in
-Placing plastic sheets to cordon off our area
-Survivors taking refuge in a public but hidden place (not the obvious 'hiding place')
-Campfire feel to the scene
-Someone (an extra actor) arrives who's injured which peaks Daisy's interest. We keep the same storyline which involves each character talking to select audience members about how they got there and how the epidemic affected them. The difference in this particular location is just that Daisy's senses would heighten and she'd eventually have to the leave the sectioned of area, attack a civilian (another extra actor) and return with blood all over herself which we would then cue the audience to leave.
Props:
Plastic sheets
Tinned Cans
Bottles of water
Stale loafs of bread
Barrel
Fairy lights (a form of lighting within the area)
Many issues with this storyline, for starters it's complex (it may not seem so, however, we would have to brief our extra actors maybe half an hour before the first run of the scene) as well as involved far too many props (especially with our limited budget) and we would not be able to reset in such a short space of time.
Another major problem would be finding a source of power as our location was not close to any shops that we could place a trail of extension cables; even then, due to health and safety it would not be allowed.
Placed outside would also require us to figure out where to place our personal items where no one would be tempted to take them, as well as our own well being. Many of us have caught the winter cold and being placed outside for 3/4 hours would've severely affected our performance.
Despite the constant changes, we tried to stick with our original plotline as much as we could and developed a scene for our locationless area.
The video itself speaks volumes as to how lost we were within our scene. We received feedback sheets from both people that were a part of our performance and those who just observed; this is what was said:
-The build up was lacking
-We need to asses everyone characters (too many characters were on the same level, they need to vary)
-To the characters who aren't meant to be aware of key information, they need to make it more obvious
-Focus on another character instead of Daisy (takes away the suspense)
-James needs a reason to be near to the door
-Create a confrontation between James and the other characters when trying to get audience members inside e.g. "don't let them in, we don't have enough to sustain them as well"
-Make a sign that we can have outside the shop (with the assumption that the zombies are illiterate)
-Ensure we're not blocking each other (audience members from all angles)
-James's character needs to be more believable, needs to not pace as much and not feel so fidgety
-Janay's character is strong - we need to root ourselves to her level
-Chloe and James's argument doesn't flow, it feels forced
Overall, we needed to simplify the story, from that we would have clear aims for each scene and be able to create specific aspects of the scene. We created a step-by-step guide so that we were all clear on our intentions:
1. James needs to 'invite' people inside.
2. Offer them the minimal resources we have whilst telling our own stories.
3. Daisy isn't participating as the others are - suspicion arises.
4. Daisy's sister defends her, gets bitten in the process - Daisy is revealed.
Thinking of our scene, we thought that we could use an extra actor outside the shop to help lure the audience in, however, analysing the scene we realised that it was not feasible nor did it make sense to have an extra person as we didn't know why we were inviting the audience in.
Leading the audience in 4 at a time.
James (paranoid, fearful character) addresses the audience (who enter) and becomes defensive towards them by trying to barricade them out of the premises. Daisy is in the back of the shop seated by herself who 'feels sickly' but has Chloe watching over her at all times from a distance. Janay is a panicked, scared character who has a one-to-one (this is where the actor singles out a character and gives that specific audience member a piece of the story that the rest of the audience won't receive) and engages an audience member by asking for their phone/any form of contact.
We reached a wall at this point about where to progress to but decided to improvise the beginnings of our scene and see what happens from then on.
Brainstorming ideas (writing up notes from private class sessions)
Group:
-Myself
-James Owen - Scene Leader
-Daisy Spicer
-Chloe Prior
-Janay
Our Precise Brief:
-Safe haven gone 'wrong'
-Someone has been infected (quiet one) being protected
-Ends up turning on other people
Site Specific:
-Campout
-Teachers and students (Duke of Edinburgh)
-18th Party/Student Night Out
(Coming back from a night out; some taking drugs or alcohol then we realise that we're in a zombie infested area and we look for a safe place to hideout. We stumble on Humanitas Gardens which is down the road from The Red Hart (our starting point) and take refuge there.)
-'Honest Sanctuary' - 'the safe haven' we've created is where we've been for months. We invite audience members in but we don't let them all leave. The idea was that we harvest what we need from the people we invite: clothes, water, and meat.
Props:
-Cans
-A Portable Heater
-Candles
-Fairy Lights
-Blanket
-Sleeping Bags
Costumes:
-Coats
-Boots
-Jumpers
-Hoodies
-Socks
-Gloves
-Scarfs
Budget:
-£100; this excludes makeup, specific eye contacts for characters and props that we own or ones that can be borrowed
Risk Assessment:
-Trip Hazards
-Electrical Faults
-Stabilised furniture (hooks/sharp corners)
-Collisions
-Doors/hinges
-Glass Windows
Site Inventory:
-Various bits of loose furniture in the garden
-Records
-Waist high shelves
-Books
Site Reading:
-My biggest concern in reference to the site were the close corners and narrow passageways. The entrance from the main road through to the garden left the entire front side of the shop vulnerable; the doorway between the back end of the shop and garden has an incredibly low ceiling accompanied with a high step to overcome. There is a lot of material that could be wrecked if not properly placed away. The site would need a reasonable amount of lighting as there are many trip hazards.
Tristan Sharps and dreamthinkspeak today announce the opening of their new piece ABSENT which will be staged at Shoreditch Town Hall from 24th August to the 25th October.
An intimate promenade installation inspired by The Duchess of Argyll's residence at a central London hotel in the 1970's.
A young woman enters a hotel. She is magnetic and compelling, yet strangely detached, as if in a dream. She books for one night and remains for a lifetime; she's happy and optimistic, yet unfathomably sad; she is wealthy and ostentatious, but bankrupt and survives on credit; she is beautiful, yet ugly; she has many lovers but loves no one; she is 18 years old - or is she 80?
The Duchess of Argyll booked into a central London hotel in 1978 and was ejected several years later, having finally run out of friends and credit. In ABSENT, she is surreally re-imagined entering a hotel as an optimistic 18 year-old in the 1950's and being evicted in the present day, into a modernised and radically changed world.
ABSENT will create an intimate journey for audiences through the maze-like basement of Shoreditch Town Hall, mixing film and architectural installation with a haunting soundtrack. As you thread your way through the labyrinthine passageways, you become enmeshed in a constantly shifting dreamscape in which the past, present and future of both the protagonist and the hotel become inextricably linked.
Margaret of Argyll, born Ethel Margaret Whigham was a well-known socialite, whose colourful public image made her a tabloid target in the middle of the last century.
The piece itself was immersive however, there was only one actress throughout the entire production and stationed marshals incase anyone wanted to leave the scenes. There was one scene in which there was any form of performance watching, the other rooms and corridors contained film on repeat or ripped letter and torn up piece of paper.
Research
As a part of our independent research, we were required to look at sources that would help us think of storyline ideas and character roles. Watching The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 5 gave us an insight of what we could create within our store to infer and explain a 'hide out - safe haven'.
The owner of the store was insistent on her area being used as a safe haven. This was also because the area of use was incredibly compact and filled with many items which could have been destroyed by the public even in the most careful use. It also became an advantage for us as the piece would in fact be both site specific and site adaptive.
On the other hand, Unikorn is a body piercing shop and tattoo parlour and is also known for selling clothing and jewellery. The owner of this shop was incredibly excited about our project and the only concern was where exactly we were hoping to perform the piece and how lively the piece would be as most of the shelving in the shop is glass surrounded by mirrors. She gave us free reign with our storyline and hoped to be involved in the piece too; the certainty that both owners would be there at all times was clarified at this point.
James and I were excited about this site in particular as there was already so much a story there with both the products that were sold there but also the layout of the shop itself. Hanging from the ceiling was a rather large light which was in a pentagram shape and then had a another star surrounding it. Instantaneously we thought of holding a seance in the shop to which we would place underneath the light itself; the aim of the scene was both to instill fear but mainly keep a very strong comical element to it.
Researching more into site specific theatre, we were approached by Fuel Theatre Company to get involved in this kind of project that our tutor Ella Kent, would be directing. This piece was called Zombie Quest.
Set in an apocalyptic future, a deadly virus has broken out in Hitchin turning those infected into horrifying zombies, hungry for flesh. The fate of historic Hitchin hangs in the balance and it's up to you, the survivors, to gather ingredients for the antidote to save our town. Blood- thirsty zombies hide around every corner, lurk in every nook and cranny, lying in wait for their human prey. Just one wrong move and you might be 'turned'.
Succeed, and you'll be rewarded with an awesome after party at The George. Fail - and Hitchin will never be the same again.
Have you got what it takes to survive?
The Game
- Saturday 31st October
- 7pm -11pm with an after party at the George until late.
- Test your nerves this Halloween with Zombie Quest, a terrifying real life experience taking place in and around Hitchin town centre. Are you ready for the zombie apocalypse?
- Tickets: £20 for human players, £15 for zombie players
- Group Ticket: 5 tickets for the price of 4! (£16 each)
Allocated onto 6 sites within Hitchin: Panic Ink, Humanitas Gardens, Jolly Brown, Unicorn, Wilkinsons and the Courtyard Area. We went for a guided tour in which were each allocated our area of work.
Working with James, we were given Humanitas Gardens and Unicorn which were parallel to each location wise. Our journey started on this day as we met the owners of the shop, had conversations with them about what they had in mind for their shops' use within our game and took photos of the premises.
As a more so new age term and more modern style of theatre, this art form does not only 'put something pretty on to watch' but thrives on audience members (more often than not) i.e. the general public to watch and participate at their own free will. "It's a show that isn't put on in a purpose built building".*
This tends to change slightly when it's a site specific piece is one where the people involved are paying audience and normally sign a disclaimer.
It's where an artist (actor, director, scriptwriter or even technical manager) discover a place of interest, accumulates research on the found area and makes a decision on what could be performed there which would be both engaging and sensical.
An example of this could be a funeral scene which would take place in a graveyard (completing my research, most if not all churches are less likely or unwilling to let such a performance take place on sacred ground) or even summertime picnic in a field or park.
With site specific theatre there needs to be a direct link between the storyline (or message) of the piece and the area chosen.
To gain a greater understanding of this concept we watched videos on the following website as a class and discussed the main themes that were spoken of during the interviews with the professionals: https://www.xlearn.com
Summarising the videos the key elements are:
- Be firm in your intentions of your piece
- The perimeters are fluid (as many areas are public)
- Chances of rehearsals are incredibly low
- If outdoors the chances of weather change can be inevitable
- Most site specific performers are volunteers and can be unreliable
- Permission may not be granted by the council/mayor for area use
- Most of the work is low budget
- Clarity and simplicity is key
The key is finding passionate ad reliable artists who are as captivated with your vision as you are; this is echoed through costume, set, props and lighting if required.
On the other hand, site adaptive is where a piece of theatre is created in a space which is not your typical theatre space. For instance, if a play is to take place in an empty swimming pool but has the storyline of a baking show, there's no direct correlation to the environment therefore the meaning behind the piece is seems irrelevant and lacks depth.
As tradition follows suit, the second years created a piece of theatre to present to the first years. Our given brief was that we were using the rat run and dressing rooms behind the stage; otherwise, we had free reign to do as we pleased. The decision was then made to create a site adaptive piece where we would make out audience feel as uncomfortable as possible whilst still engaging in an important message. The scenes took place at the back end of the club, with the rat run being the outdoor smoking area and the rooms being where the scenes took place.
