Charlotte Swaby 0803698 - 'Blog Assessment 1'

Throughout the module of Process and Performance as a group we explore various techniques and ways of working that make up the genre of Physical Theatre. We look at the ability in which to engage with a collaborative and creative devising process through which we learn a performance vocabulary of techniques and skills. We look at the interplay between practice and theory using significant ideas from other disciplines such as the choreographic element of Dance. Some of the key features of the module are improvisation and play where throughout you are encouraged to respond to an impulse to create what Sanchez-Colberg calls a ‘non-verbal idiom’. Through interaction and repetition, the body becomes central creating a body memory that establishes specific “ways of moving that become personal to the performer” (Murray, 1948, p76). The body is the main medium of communication that creates a balance between pedestrian gestures and choreographed stylised technique. The module upholds a healthy balance between individual gestures and mass communal movement whilst also exploring the notion of neutrality. The module is centered on the body and just as Etchells states we see “the body observed, the body in struggle, the body blindfolded, the body in exhaustion, the body thrown” whilst training your body to show “the comfort of the catch, the fear of the fall, the rejection of the drop” using the “body itself as witness” (1994, p116). Here the physicality of a body is classed to be far more important than a performer’s verbal or textual skills and it’s the movements and gestures that encode many of the themes and stories. Ultimately “the primary means of creation occurs through the body rather than through the mind” (Callery, 2001, p4) because as Jacques Lecoq puts it “the body knows things about which the mind is ignorant” (Callery, 2001, p4).

The term ‘hybrid character’ used by Sanchez Colberg suggests that Physical Theatre is a joining together of many different performance types implying that it combines the features of more than just one genre particularly that of dance. The fusion of these genres has created this all encompassing term that we now know to be Physical Theatre but this collaboration between dance and theatre has been around ever since Commedia dell arte, mime and even Japanese Noh theatre however through time there has become more of a need for movement to be more than just beautiful. Both dance and theatre started to look for a new identity, looking for a way to reform and to create a new way of showing individual expression. This reform of both dance and theatre together has now created this inter-disciplinary nature of what we now know to be physical theatre thus prompting an eradication of any previous confined definitions of what theatre and dance should be known as. This development of what has been loosely termed physical theatre now marks “one of the most significant trends in dance and theatre since the 1980’s” (Sanchez- Colberg in Keefe and Murray, 2007, p21). Physical theatre is a hybrid performance genre because just like dance, physical theatre is technique driven and relies heavily on choreography to create movement. It incorporates the physicality of dance theatre and the performance elements of traditional theatre therefore creating a new physical language altogether. The lifts, throws and the pure emotion that comes with dance is just as present in physical theatre and even though there may not be a solid script in either there will always be meaning in both. Like Callery states “whether the performers are dancers of actors, the process is still the same…ideas are scored in rehearsal through the body” (2001, p8). The genre itself though is so diverse and so influenced by many aspects its still hard today to exactly categorize what physical theatre actually is.

A British contemporary performance company who’s known for the practice of physical theatre is Dv8. Dv8 was founded in 1986 by Lloyd Newson and they question the traditional aesthetic of dance forms by bringing together dance alongside theatre. They were the first company in which to attach the name Physical Theatre to this new style of working and whose “impact meant it became more widely used” (Callery, 2001, p6). In reference to their practice, Dv8 works tend to focus on the observation and commentary of human behaviour using their body as the source of inspiration. They focus on making meaning, especially on topics of genuine concern or relevance to the dancers and Newson often encourages them to create material as a company rather than just interpreting it. Newson believes that every movement has to a have meaning and a purpose no matter how technical the move may be and like Newson himself states “if a leg is thrown up beside the ear, why is it there? There must be a reason for it” (1995). They break down the social barriers and the norms of dance and theatre and explore themes and issues that people prefer not to confront and even though some of their ideas are often radical, their renowned for communicating themes and feelings clearly and precisely. To do this they use everyday pedestrian gestures alongside the more meaningful naturalistic technique whilst taking “high level risks both aesthetically and physically” (DV8, 2010). Their work contains a catalogue of jumps, lifts, rolls and falls more often than not performed with a frantic pace that truly shows the amount of technical skill and the courage the company is renowned for. They display a highly developed performance energy that provides their pieces with an intense and emotive quality that works extremely powerfully alongside any moments of stillness they also use. In terms of defining physical theatre, Newson and his company retort the question of “what is physical theatre?” by claiming that this question is today no longer relevant. Newson truly believes that if this question really needs to be answered its “best left to people who analyse work rather than make it” (Murray, 1948, p81).


Bibliography

Callery, D. (2001) Through the body: A practical guide to physical theatre. New York: Routledge.

DV8. (2010) Artistic Policy [Accessed at 1st March 2010]. Available at: http://www.dv8.co.uk/about_dv8/artistic_policy

Etchells, T. (1994) Some trends in recent performance. Contemporary British Theatre: Macmillan.

Keefe, J & S Murray. (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader. London: Routledge.

Murray, S. (1948) Physical Theatre: A critical introduction. London: Routledge.