So what would I call Site-Specific?
Dictionary definitions;
Site: ‘The area or exact plot of ground on which anything is, has been, or is to be located’
Specific: ‘Having a special application, bearing, or reference’
Site-Specific in our case refers to that of a space in which we are creating performance that links back to the site. When looking for performance ideas we are creating it around the site specifically.
Our site is The Collection and Usher Galleries on Danes Terrace in Lincoln. But first we went to explore the city, I will talk about this in a later post but before that I want to talk about other practitioner’s definitions of site performance and how they relate to their sites.
‘how different types of spatial arrangements affect our understanding of and relationships with performance: specifically, the particularities of ‘place’ and its capacity to recontextualize performance’ (Tompkins, 2012, pg 1) this quote from Tompkins really intrigued me as it talks about how ‘place’ can change the relationships of performance. I like the idea of creating a piece where the audience don’t relate to it as a performance. The freedom that site-specific performance gives us as performers is really daunting but at the same time it’s very exciting as we can create what we want in response to the site itself.
(Subltlemob, 2009)
The subtlemob video shows the practical effect of the Tompkins quote. Subtlemob use city spaces that are frequently inhabited by people and use a soundscape to change the way they see the site. As if it were the last time is a performance of Subtlemob’s work, from the video you can see people’s reactions to the piece and the space they are occupying. I like the idea of changing an audience perspective as it seems like an interesting concept to explore. I hope that in our final performance our group can incorporate some of these ideas.
I am looking forward to visiting our site for the first time and seeing what it has to offer us as performers.
Subtlemob (2009) OFFICIAL “as if it were the last time” – 2009 subtlemob Video, Online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY6S4GkCZ9c (accessed: 19 january 2013)
Tompkins, Joanne (2012) ‘The ‘place’ and practice of site-specific theatre’, Anna Birch and Joanne Tompkins (ed) Performing Site Specific Theatre, New York: Palgrave Macmillan