experiencing the world through the wrong sense
“Today I saw this image of a man laying naked on a piano. It reminded me of a young child experiencing the world through his mouth.”
“Today I saw this image of a man laying naked on a piano. It reminded me of a young child experiencing the world through his mouth.”
ACTING - Honest vs. Too Personal
FINDING THE POINTS OF CONNECTION
BRAINSTORMING SESSION
CREATING THE VIRTUAL SPACE
Exploring how to create the illusion that two or more actors are sharing the same physical space.
A brainstorm session for actors. directors and anyone interested in creating virtual theater, self-audition tapes or simply strengthening the connection with an imaginary partner in live auditions.
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The Absolute Creative Space
A VIRTUAL LABORATORY IN THE ABSOLUTE PLANE
While devising TRIPTYCH, I experimented with the three planes of existence, their physical location on stage and the "transcending" level of the characters to be able to navigate between these planes. The third plane - THE ABSOLUTE PLANE - was nirvana-like plane , a physical and spiritual plane that only could take place in the safety of the "sacred space" the actors strived to achieve on stage after they themselves had transcended to what I called their ABSOLUTE CHARACTER. The reasoning was that once the actors and the audience left the theater, the protection of this "safe bubble" they had created, would fade and they would - if the experience of the play had been successful - move down to the second plane or THE TRANSCENDED PLANE. Only in THE ABSOLUTE PLANE the actors - if they managed to reach that level of transcendence during their performance - would feel completely free to be themselves and free themselves of limitations imposed both by the outside world and themselves. THE ABSOLUTE CHARACTER is a level of transcendence that very few of us have been able to experience and when we do, it doesn't last too long. A few years back, when working on BECOMING A ROSE, I transcended to my ABSOLUTE CHARACTER and felt all the euphoria and intense mixed feelings that come with it.
Reaching THE ABSOLUTE PLANE on a regular stage is quite difficult because unless you engage the audience you will not be able to move up from the second plane but on a virtual stage - and in a solo show like Becoming a Rose was - it is much easier to create this "safe bubble" or "virtual womb". On a regular stage, the audience is right there with you but in a virtual stage ... you are on your own in this bubble and even if you know people are watching - unless you somehow open communications with the audience - they can't hurt you, judge you or break into your personal pod. In virtual theater, because of the intimacy that this platform provides, more than a regular audience ... the spectators become some sort of voyeurs and not knowing how they are reacting could go from being terrifying to incredible encouraging. It was this element of virtual theater - which I strongly believe to be unique to this language - that inspired me to open up and share a "secret" but "essential" side of me which I only get to let free in the safety of THE ABSOLUTE PLANE.
Like I wrote in my post: Honesty vs. Too Personal and ... now that I think about it ... told my actors repeatedly when rehearsing ... it's not about what you do or say on stage or in front of a camera but "why" you do it that the audience/viewers react to. Sharing with you my ABSOLUTE CHARACTER is important to my transcendence as an artist and as an individual and that's why I have decide to experiment with the idea of recreating THE ABSOLUTE PLANE in this virtual laboratory ... a VIRTUAL ABSOLUTE PLANE ... the ABSOLUTE CREATIVE SPACE.
Someone once told me that I was a "generous artist" ... which might be true but I believe that while I'm perfectly able to create for myself - and value my integrity as an artist more than recognition or fame - I'm a Sensory-Somatic Artist in practice and a Creative Energy Coach at heart. My work is not a statement of my own truth but a mere reflection of your musing energy and a bridge between you and the world.
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Honest vs. Too Personal
FINDING THE POINTS OF CONNECTION
While living in Montreal I had the opportunity to assist - as a casting director - several general auditions hosted by The Quebec Drama Federation. I saw hundreds of actors audition for the many casting directors, agents and so forth. I had held and continue holding auditions for my own projects throughout the years but, I guess since I wasn’t there to really cast anybody but just to watch the auditions, I learned many valuable lessons which I was sure to pass on to my acting students. One thing that became evident to me from the start … actors usually mistake honesty and vulnerability with being too personal.
As an artist, I have always pursued honesty in my work and as I have grown and transcended creatively, I have become less concerned about social limitations and strived to be myself without excuses or self-imposed boundaries.
In my virtual play: Becoming a Rose, I shared a video of what I called my Sacred Secret Photo Sessions … a sample of a private ritual I often perform but that no one had ever seen. I suppose it doesn’t get any more personal than that but … the first word coming out of an old friend was … I appreciate the honesty in the work. As I contemplate sharing more of my secret and sacred world with you on the Absolute Creative Space, I remind myself and share with you the findings about honesty vs. too personal I gathered from my acting coaching sessions.
In simple words … the big difference between being too personal and being honest are what I called “the points of connection” or finding that in our work - monologue, scene, photographs, etc. - that is shared by others or that makes our “personal experience” into a “collective experience”. The most common mistake I found actors made was that they did exactly the opposite and … not to bash anyone … they actually enjoyed a little too much making it about them. So … what’s exactly the problem with doing so … that most people don’t want to intrude or pry into other people’s personal affairs or tragedies so … the casting director would “disconnect” him/herself from your monologue and the audience of your play would do the same as saying … that’s not my problem or my experience.
No … not everyone take private pictures of him/herself in secret or have lived whatever experience or situation you might present to them in your monologue, play, etc. but … there’s something in your intention, motivation or even the reason why you picked that particular piece that is part of a “collective experience” … a point of connection.
Jean Genet has always been a big influence and inspiration in my work. When I first discover his plays, I was immediately drawn by them. At that time I had no idea why the experience of a person who could not be more different from me and whose world I could not even conceive resonated so much with me. After reading most of his work through the years, working on some of his plays and “technique” and devising Becoming a Rose - which was inspired by his work - I finally grasped … and tried to share with the audience of my play … what is the “point of connection”. To put it in the words of another artist - “To create one’s own world takes courage” - Georgia O’Keeffe. It is also “courage” what connects my “honest” work with other people … they either admire it, appreciate it, wish they had it or see their own courage reflected … it has nothing to do with the actual work but the courage it takes to be myself in front of them.
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Dissenting Scent
The dancer’s intoxicating scent awakened my most primordial instincts evoking a Sensory-Somatic connection between us.
When your work as an artist is mostly inspired by your Sensory-Somatic System, having highly developed senses comes to a great advantage. From all the senses, the vomeronasal sense is perhaps the most acute and influential of all my senses. Even when surrounded by the breathtaking visuals of the fall transition into winter at the mountains, it was the sultriness of the soil and the scent of the stillness of the menacing snow what evoked the deepest of my sensory-somatic memories.
During an exploratory trip to New York City in the spring of 2013, I attended a physical theater performance at La MaMa’s main stage. Unfortunately, I don’t recall the company's nor the production’s name but, I remember the driving force of the show: a man’s fight to overcome a gender identity struggle.
The audience was sitting on chairs along the two long sides of the stage at the same level of the performers. The show was engaging and the performers powerful and inspiring. It was half way into the show when I experienced what I would call a “total immersion”, a "sensory-somatic connection” with the lead performer at levels far beyond the performers' intentions.
As the lead male performer/dancer eloquently expressed his character’s torment with a series of very physical and explosive dances, he began to sweat profusely, saturating the theater with his intoxicating scent. Every time he ran past me, his penetrating scent awakened my most "primordial instincts" which allowed me to feel his pain, taste the sweat streaming down his face and body and, smell the fear emanating from his groin, armpits and body hair.
After regaining “consciousness", trying to collect my “thoughts”, I reflected on both the theatrical reality we were being presented with and, the show’s proposal … is there such a thing as a “masculine” scent? Could any “rational” inference we the audience could reach from the show’s proposal possibly defy the bold statement being made by this male actor’s powerful dissenting scent?
RELATED PROJECT DEVISING PAGE
Dis-scent: a NYC Story
More information about this project coming soon
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