1.
During the move from validation to the performance of Porto there were clear themes that began to emerge for the ensemble as a whole, one of the clearest themes from an audience perspective would be the transition from confusion to almost serenity as the piece progressed. Porto opens with a very chaotic and sensually offensive ensemble movement, as the characters began to feel comfortable with their surroundings however movements around the periphery of the stage became less overt as the characters began to settle. This led to the final ensemble movement which mirrored the actions of the opening sequence, the tempo however was drastically slowed giving the movements an air of familiarity which was lacking previously. Positioning of the chairs was also vital in the final ensemble movement as it allowed the subgroups that had formed in the previous sections to be explored by the community as a whole, with characters sitting next to those who they felt a connection with rather than who they were thrown together with during the first movement.
Secondly the importance of each member of the ensembles baggage became clearer as the performance progressed. As nearly every member of the community had an item in the luggage which held a characteristic personal to them, it was interesting to note how the emotional connection with item changed as the performance progressed. As the piece progressed for my character he became less dependent on the comic book item and its utilisation as a defence mechanism. As soon as a level of comfort was reached in the sub group which the character was a part of, the need to hide behind an item was lost as relationships were formed and solidified.
2.
One of the most interesting parts of the Porto was the transition between rehearsing the performance in the studio space to rehearsing, and finally performing on the stage at the Arena Theatre. One of the main challenges that the ensemble faced during the move were the practical issues of space change and the introduction of stage lighting into the performance. The floor space in the arena was larger than it was in the studio and, as such the performance had to expand accordingly. Whilst the periphery work done in the studio detracted attention from the action going on centre stage, when the performance was moved into the Arena the depth and width of the space, along with the focus of the lights allowed the work done on the outskirts to be seen, but not to the extent that the audience members would lose focus on the movements vital to the narrative of the piece.
Another challenge which emerged from the change of performance space into a conventional theatre involved the actor performing being seen. Whilst it did not matter whilst rehearsing in the drama studio how far forward we went, as soon as an audience was involved it became clear that the actors could not be seen by all audience members in certain areas of the stage. As such it was important for all cast members to become increasingly aware of their stage position at all times so that none of the movements carrying meaning were missed by observers.
Moving away from the purely practical, one of the biggest issues we felt as performers was the realisation that the studio space had become a comfort zone for us as an ensemble and that moving out of that zone was a daunting prospect. As Dymphna Callery states in Through the Body ‘Commanding the stage demands a control of space’ ( 2001,p70) and as the ensemble were not one hundred percent at ease in the space straight away it became a challenge for the space not to take control of the performer rather than the other way round. However, after a couple of day’s rehearsal, the new space gained a familiarity and with a high level of focus I believe the ensemble took control of the new space effectively.
3.
During the time that was spent in the Arena theatre the performances of Porto evolved with every showing, this could be attributed to the change in space, as well as the effect the audience reaction had on the ensemble as a whole. One of the key aspects of the performance that really changed during the showings was intensity of emotion, from my perspective as a performer the first matinee showing seemed rather flat. It could be argued that this was because the members of the cast were nervous and that more attention was being put into the moves they were doing rather than the emotion behind them. However, once the first performance was out of the way the initial fear of ‘mucking up’ was laid to rest and the cast could concentrate on fully giving themselves over to the work.
On an individual level I feel that throughout the performances in the theatre space my character not only strengthened but also changed in some rather large aspects of his personality. During the warm ups before shows I found my character slowly focusing more and more on Waquar and utilising every available opportunity to mimic and intimidate him. This then carried across to the performance as by the final show I was even making time in the periphery work to find Waquar and make him uncomfortable through stares and mimicry. Secondly throughout the performances my relationship with Lizzie changed, during the first show she was in my opinion just a member of mine and Richards’s gang. This evolved throughout the 3 performances so that, on the Friday night the character I was playing felt certain protectiveness for Lizzie, almost like a little sister that sometimes you tease but you will always do your best to look out for. I believe the reason that these changes occurred was largely down to the environment and the emotions resonating from other cast members, as the focus during the Arena shows had rarely been reached before by the cast it was almost as if a new layer of emotional content had been accessible for the first time.
As to the relevance of the RSVP method in this final stage of the Porto journey I believe it to be as relevant, if not more so than at any other stage. The final performances were a coming together of each stage of the process. If you imagine the process as baking a cake, R.S.V and P were the ingredients being added to the bowl whilst the Arena performance was the finished cake. If any one of the ingredients had been missing at any stage then there would have been no way that the finished product could have been achieved to such a high standard.
Bibliography:
Through The Body, Callery Dymphna, Page 70, Nick Hern Books 2001
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