Talking about myself - fine. Talking about myself as an artist - much more difficult. My script and the stills from giving my first ever Artist Talk reveal my tentative approach to this task... Can I call myself an artist? If so, what do I want my art to say? What is my identity as a performer? Looking back to my original artist statement on the home page of my website, I am embarrassed. It seems very naive. The Performance Lab has challenged me to reconsider my identity as a performer, to see myself as an artist. It has led to me exploring in depth, and sometimes painfully, ‘the argument that performance functions as a useful and rigorous means of engaging with different kinds of knowledge, including those that might not be otherwise accessible.’ I have had to examine the value of pain, both physical and psychological, in researching and devising performance. My body has recalled a maelstrom of gymnastic and dance routines; Feldenkrais, tai chi, yoga and capoeira moves; the stillness learnt from life-modelling and theatre tricks like how to stand in the light so your face is illuminated (or not). I have remembered how to sing in my own voice again. The FADS space was like coming home. I bask in it. It is a space were I can play, take risks and it has very pleasing tech. The lighting rig graces the header on my homepage and has even been a character in one of my films, embodying a safe environment. Learning more about live art has been a revelation. LADA a haven. There is a bibliography of some of my early influences as well as my new discoveries on the scrapbook page. I have tried to add hyperlinks where I can as references, click to find out more. How the Performance Lab process unfolded: (click on the week to access the blog post) Week 1 Theatre as a context for experimentation Week 2 Selina Thompson, I was gutted to miss this but the family wedding took priority and was suitably fabulous. Researched Selina’s work, read salt . Impressed and inspired. Week 3 Playwriting, storytelling and adapting Week 4 Modes of performance Week 5 Pushing form further Week 6. Action Lab #1 Week 7. Reading week Week 8. Staging work - pitching and All Goes to Pot Week 9 Running workshops and sharing your practice Week 10 Jay Miller and The Yard Theatre Week 11 Action Lab #2 So where to next? That is what the coming semester is for. I am confused and that is perfectly acceptable. More dance, more stillness, more song and more silence. Today it seems as though live art is where I fit, but I celebrate that theatre is where I am from.
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Viv HarrisNotes from FADS sessions Archives
January 2020
QMUL Perf Lab
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