Pearson wrote a book on Site Specific on how to get into the frame of mind as an actor working on a completely different site from a theatre. It entails going to many different places and asking yourself the same questions at each place, for example, ‘Who am I and what am I doing?’, ‘What are the conditions of my access’. On our very first site specific lesson we went around Lincoln and asked ourselves these numerous questions, this was relatively easy as we went to places we had been many times before. However when we first went up to the Usher gallery and done the same thing it became a lot more interesting as we were challenged with the questions and it made us explore the site we were about to spend many weeks rehearsing and finally performing in in a lot of detail. Pearson also states you should become different types of people or characters, for example when walking around a certain site turn yourself into a Tourist, someone who is new to the place. Another example is to turn yourself into a Runner; these tasks and activities really helped us explore the environment we were working in and made us notice a lot of things we previously would not have. It also meant when we chose where our performance was going to be we were definite and had done enough research and wondering around the gallery before making our final decision.
At our site in the art museum, each building has its own environment and focus which stays constant each day. The Collection focuses mainly on educational exhibits for schools, however is adapted to cater to a wider audience range from young children to adults. Because of this, the space is loud, vibrant and full of voices both from the visitors and the sound wall stretching the width of the building. In contrast to this is the Usher Gallery where we intend our performance to be based. The building has the feel of a ‘typical’ art museum set in a beautiful manor house with traditional paintings and artifacts being the central focus. Here, the atmosphere is much more hushed and serious. Even in the room holding more contemporary art, visitors still keep their voices to a whisper whilst the sound of footsteps and music echo through the rooms. In the room holding the paintings, this is particularly amplified with silence feeling naturally expected of you as a visitor.
Bearing in mind this natural urge to be quiet and respectful in the gallery, how would visitors feel when this traditional silence is broken by our performance and what impacts will it leave on the space? Considering the nature of the space we are to work in, as actors we will have to consider, “the possibility of the audience member moving through or past the performance“(Randle, 2001, p86). The nature of a site specific performance means that our audience will be much more involved than with a typical theatre based performance and so will be forced to acknowledge what we are doing and question it. However, considering the kind of people who are attracted to art galleries, I believe they may be open to new ideas about art through performance as when questioned, they are willing to talk about art and don’t shy away from seeing different interpretations of the art surrounding them. Some were interested in what the reality of our focal painting of the Lincoln Brayford would be by stripping away the idealised image. Hopefully when this is put into action, we will leave a lasting impression on the space and change the way in which paintings are viewed by the public. This will reflect Artaud’s idea to “fuse art with life” (Randle, 2001, p86) and also challenge the stereotypes and boundaries of what kinds of ‘art’ can be shown in a traditional gallery.
Randle, J (2001) ‘Theatre for the Interactive Age: Participatory Site-specific Productions’, International Journal of the Arts in Society, April: p83-93
After looking around our Site, what were most exciting for me were the spaces we had to play with and the design of the buildings. The Collection boasts a very modern feel, with its large windows creating a feeling of openness whereas the Usher Gallery felt more enclosed, a beautiful period building oozing nostalgia.
In our first lesson we spoke about the definitive aspects of ‘space’. Space is very much divorced from cultural connection and acts only as a functional component.
As a society do we appreciate the spaces we have? Personally I think we neglect the beauty of perhaps confined spaces, and from a theatrical point of view, spaces to perform in. For example spaces by toilets or even on stairs.
I wanted to get a feel for site specific performances in Museums or galleries; I was inspired by Stephen Goldblatt’s event called Surface:
To me this showed how much variety there was to responding to a site. Here he had taken the exterior of the building and incorporated visual effects and sound to make a statement. There was something unconventional about the way he had chosen to exploit the wall compared to all the artefacts and art that must be inside but that’s what I enjoyed most about this it got me thinking about the architecture of buildings.
A group consisting of 4 of us all really liked the idea of finding spaces for performance where we could reveal certain things to the audience and respond to the architecture of the building. Enclosed spaces, big spaces, playing with the atmospherics of the space will all aid our performance ideas.
Lincoln is one of the world’s great small cities, renowned for its striking fusion of old and new.
Living in Lincoln for 1 and half years I have never explored and discovered the true identity that hides behind the bricks and water. The design and culture of this city expresses the historical features and the contemporary/modern buildings that we see today, eg. The University Of Lincoln.
(^^^Picture of The University of Lincoln^^^)
Is the city losing its identity Maybe it doesn’t quite know where it belongs, is it the past,present or heading towards the future? or can it work with both? Which being the old and the new.
Discovering Lincoln, has enabled me to discover the clear divide between the past and present. We had to discover the architecture and the smaller details of Lincoln and this made me discover the new and the old contrast with one another. When you go to the town centre, your purpose is to go there for shopping, or food etc so you never take any notice of the buildings that you are passing or are in, such as the cafe that is opposite the Waterside shopping centre, doing this exercise ,it help me become aware of the historical and contemporary content that the town centre holds as a city.
Finding the strong link between Lincoln city and both, The Usher Gallery and The Collection, the divide between the old and the new has a big effect on the society The collection, taking the educational (factual) modern approach to the members of the public, where as the Usher gallery takes the more mature approach to the members of the public allowing people to interpretate the art, rather than being told the facts of the piece.
The feeling between the old and the new creates a sense of division between members of the public. This is why the Museum caters for the younger generation (The collection) and the more mature generation (The Usher Gallery.) Discovering Lincoln I believe that this is because of the clear separation between the old and the new and it highlights this in the museum.
Lincoln is a changing city trapped in the historical content of the city. It’s constantly developing, with The University Of Lincoln, Wagamamas ( restaurant) being on the Brayford pool, what is the next new thing to be built in this old, historical city?
Will the City lose its identity or will it emphasize the crucial historical features of this beautiful city?
“In order to help us focus our copious amounts of ideas, we needed to find a way to get the project on its feet. Correlating with our fascination with the clock in gallery 3, it had to be an exercise that would involve everyone constantly, and producing a mechanical like performance. I decided that although it was a small space and we had spent several hours in it, we needed to look at it in a more performance base way. This was the reasoning behind each person walking around freely, although with the intention of covering as much ground as possible. As well as this we passed a ball around linking our separate entities together. Furthermore reflecting back to the mechanism of a clock, bringing seperate things together and making them work effortlessly, which we intended each transfer to be.
Each time we did the exercise we added a different discpline, whether it be the way we move or the way we passed the ball.
The exercise took 6 minutes to do. Our performance is intending to be six hours long so in theory it could be a microcosm of the final performance.
Can you keep up with the ball?”
Author: Shane Humberstone
For our first attempt, this was a more natural movement, exploring the space with the only artificial element being passing the ball between us. This was used to help us engage with the space and interact with each other. We felt that this was useful as it showed us what it was like to work as part of a unit whilst still moving naturally, much like the mechanics of a clocks interior.
We then experimented with the concept of bio-mechanics whic included moving our bodies in time with the monotonous rhythm of a ticking clock. This made us consider the possibility of a more regulated piece, dominated by time and having time dictate our movements to us. The videos also show the reactions of an audience surprised by an experience they were not expecting. Several individuals were hesitant in entering the room, whilst others did not do so at all.
The final endeavour was one which was completely at odds with the first, in so far that it was mechanical, utterly devoid of natural movement and totally regulated. We found this to be useful as it challenged our previous conceptions of the space, forcing us to move differently and observe aspects of the room and displays we had hitherto ignored.
After our excercise, we interviewed members of the public who had briefly observed our performance. It was intriguing to hear their response to how the use of sound in the room did not distract from our visual display but was still recognised. They also said how the darkness of the room helped to channel their attention on to the performance. One individual compared our use of the concept of time with their own performance of an Ibsen text, also correlating with time. He explained how his exploration of the text included a coordination between human movement and the ticking of a clock.
Authors: Chloe Doherty, George Creighton, James Barker, Tabitha Hilton-Berry, Stephanie Jackson
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