PHYSICAL
Moving in different times
We experimented with performing actions in different times - at different paces and rhythms. We examined our own behaviour in our every day life, taking notice of what actions we rush and which ones we take our time over. We juxtaposed different rhythms together and played games with attention and distraction.
The Orbit
We wanted to physically represent the passing of time on stage with our bodies and experimented with the ways we could become the hands of the clock. We gave ourselves exercises where would experiment with walking at different paces away from each other and created an orbiting routine which we developed into transitions in the final piece. It caused us to really focus on time and pace in relation to each other and because exhilarating we allowed ourselves to move faster and faster in circular motions around the table.
The Chaos Dance
The chaos dance became another element of our devising process that ended up in our performance. The dance started as a warm-up exercise at the beginning of each session that we then included in the performance itself. It was an eruption of rhythm and time that was released through movement of the body on stage.
Creating Intimacy
We wanted to create the sound of the voice in a similar way that it is used in ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos, creating an intimate connection with the audience member by talking right into their ear. This dramaturgical choice meant that we developed a very close dynamic on stage with lots of leaning in to Anna and creating intimacy.
Characterising Past, Present and Future
Part of our process we spent characterising our own personifications of Past, Present and Future. We spent time exploring how these concepts might move if they had bodies.
Hand gestures of Past and Present.
Hand gestures of Future and Past.
We also explored through creative writing what the ideas of Past, Present and Future mean to us, and how these concepts could become characters. We did lots of writing excercises trying to capture moments of our hopes, fears, regrets, and memories that became part of the show. We then went on to explore how these moments and emotions could be evoked through sound. Here are some quotes from our writings:
Future:
“… Do you know what happens to you tomorrow, next month, next year? Is it going to be better or worse? Can you still change? Do you want to? What if the world soon explodes? Picture yourself with your future children and partner in a park and thinking: ‘I am soo bored’. Is that you want? Are you going to have children at all? Imagine yourself with your wrinkles and suddenly realise you don’t have what you wanted? How much time do you have left? “
PAST:
“Have you ever thought about what happened before time? Do you wonder if there has ever been nothing? Do you ever wonder what life was like before we decided to measure time? There was once a time when everything that is around you did not exist. A time before text, a time before speech, a time before time. There was once complete darkness, stillness and a great silence. “
FUTURE:
”How much time do you have left? Dont worry, you might be 30 on this planet but you are already 122 on Mercury, but only 2 years old on Jupiter.”
PAST:
“Your body is shaped and sculpted by past decisions. Your hands bear the traces of every task you have completed to sustain your life. They have been sculpted by all those glasses you picked up, the pencils you gripped too hard and that other hand that held yours.”
PAST:
“I am nostalgia and regret. I am that step you tripped up on. I am that bad decision you made at 4am on a Wednesday when you were 18. I am the things you’d wished you’d asked your mother. I am you before you now. “