ensemble work

Black Light Theatre

Holly Margaret Lomas Choreographer , , , ,

Outer space offers up visually incredible scenery. Our company believe that the best way to represent such beauty is to use Black Light Theatre, a form that originated in Asia and is now famously performed in Prague and other parts of the world, as a depiction of space during the Handyman’s delusion. The use of UV lighting in this style of performance allows for the possible illusion for objects and people to float in darkness. Along with the Handyman, I also want the space helmet to float across the stage, and have the ensemble actors use gloves and UV paint to represent shining stars that move and whizz around the stage. Black Light Theatre seems the most effective and appropriate way to achieve these aims.

Here are some examples from Jiri Srnec Theatre, the founder and first ever company of Black Light Theatre. This video displays the sense of magic that this type of theatre can create, and the creative imagery that we want to capture in our performance.

Despite the goal to use UV light in this way, we have to be conscious of the limitations of the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre’s stage lighting. If UV lighting is not possible to use, an alternative is to use LED lights to represent stars, and allow for more visible ensemble work such as puppetry theatre, seen in War Horse – choreographed by Tony Sedgwick and puppets created by Handspring Puppet Company.

WAR HORSE London Cast 2014
War Horse from warhorseonstage.com

By encompassing the puppetry type methods that are used in War Horse, the emphasis is placed on the stars, and not the actors embodying the stars. Just as Poppiti states of the puppetry in War Horse: “[t]he animation and voices of the horse puppets must be believable, or the entire illusion is shattered” (Poppiti, 2011, 47), so must be the case in our performance, else the audience will not be captivated by the illusion of space and stars.

 

BlackLightTheatre (2009) The Best of Black Light Theatre – Black Light Theatre of Jiri Srnec. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L7-cLP9AOc&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 28 April 2017].

Poppiti, K. (2011) War Horse. Theatre Design & Technology, 47 (4) 42-53.

War Horse on Stage (2017) London: warhorseonstage.com.

The First British Man on the Moon

Holly Margaret Lomas Choreographer , , , ,

Since our performance has developed from focusing on moments of love to moments of life, we have found that the daily delusions of everyday people provides a fascinating representation of individuality and great opportunities for moments of artistic creativity. We have hence integrated another full scene of physical theatre, this time with dance incorporated movement.

The main scene that I am now choreographing is the Handyman’s delusion, also known as the ‘space scene’; this involves the character building a rocket and flying into space. It holds elements of escapism, as well as him chasing his dreams – all executed through the means of physical theatre. When thinking of movement, I began by researching ways to represent anti-gravity. I considered that the best way to represent anti-gravity was through the use of lifts, leans and balancing methods. For these to be implemented, ensemble work is necessary and therefore teamwork is crucial.

To prepare for choreography, I watched many spacewalk videos to analyse the speed, pace, and the physicality of astronauts.

After watching videos such as these, I noted the height, bounciness and floating elements of the movement and started to use the ensemble to practice ways to represent space walking. Our experiments can be seen from the video below.

 

After experimenting with base movements, I had to find a story within the choreography. Through discussion and character analysis, I worked with the director to develop the scenes narrative to hold representations of the Handyman chasing his dreams, but unable to reach or touch them. To portray this in a visually stimulating way, I incorporated a female dancer into the piece to represent a personified embodiment of the galaxy. The act of chasing his dreams can then be more clearly portrayed through a series of chasing sequences, as well as creating a magnetic draw between the Handyman and the Galaxy, yet having no contact between the dancers. Below are some video examples of this: here you can see the ensemble experimenting with leans and lifts, whilst incorporating the chase and non-contact elements.

 

We also often film in slow motion to analyse our intricate movements in more detail. This helps each actor clearly see where they need to improve, and how every part of their body works throughout each movement.

 

Graham and Hoggett talk of the importance of filming rehearsals when creating physical theatre. For their rehearsals with Frantic Assembly, the choreographers explain how “the video camera became a necessity in the rehearsal studio” (Graham and Hoggett, 2009, 33). The media provides actors to reflect of how their movement looks to an outside party; “[i]t is there to show you what you don’t yet know” (ibid, 35). I will continue to film videos for the actor’s benefit, so we can continue to improve and develop the movement scenes, and analyse the details of the choreography.

 

amovees (2013) Astronauts tripping on the surface of the Moon. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2adl6LszcE&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 19 April 2017].

Graham, S. and Hoggett, S. (2009) The Frantic Assembly book of Devising Theatre. Abingdon: Routledge.

NTDTV (2012) Neil Armstrong – First Moon Landing 1969. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwZb2mqId0A&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 19 April 2017].