Week 8 preparation and performance

 
This could really annoy anyone who likes their lists consecutively constructed. But I’m leaping ahead to our first lab after reading week to keep this blog current.
 
After the Action Lab #1 lizard boy experiment I decided to return to “skin” reassured by Joseph at LADA that autobiographical work was often a mark of Live Art.  I had a chance to rehearse in FADS for a couple of hours on Wednesday afternoon and been able to mess around with what I could use as a set.
 
At our check in (circle time but not quite) I admitted to being super anxious on the tube despite getting a seat.  It had been frustrating because the success of my morning’s performance depended on being relaxed at the start. 
 
Luckily Dee led a great warm up that shook the heebi-jeebies out.

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The text/script/score I was working from:
 
Hello
 
This piece is called ‘recharging’.
 
I need to move a couple of things before I start - I might ask for help with that in a moment.
 
When I’ve dimmed the house lights I’m going to sing a couple of songs, show you a film and finish with a couple more songs.
 
It’s lovely having a relatively intimate space.
 
And an audience of friends. 
 
You will be familiar with the first song - however possibly not with the story behind it.
 
My mum ran a nursery (play-centre) back in the days when regulations were a little looser. She would have twenty or more toddlers in her sole care. 
 
She loved small children, me less so.
 
At naptime she would sing them to sleep. You get to close your eyes if you wish but you don’t have to. 
 
The film I would prefer you to have eyes open for. 
 
[house lights down]
single spot
 
Twinkle 
Frére Jacques
Ain’t Necessarily So
 
Film plays
 
[This is the split screen film version of the piece ‘skin’ with live audio including the poem ‘skinless’]
 
While the film plays I climb on the cabinet in front of the large TV screen and very slowly, over the 3 minute 30 sec duration of the film, I fold down into a semi-foetal position in front of the screen.
 
When the drilling sound starts near the end of the film my breath becomes ragged and this is the only discernable movement.
 
I then freeze when the drill stops. The screen goes from black to a single shot of the lighting rig and the audio is one verse of the syncopated version of ‘Twinkle twinkle little star’.
 
End
 
[I had thought after the recorded version of twinkle I might sing it again live and then segue into ‘Summertime’.  But I didn’t. It felt better to unfold off the top of the cabinet and just say thanks.]
 
……………………
 
I want to see if I can post this with the set photos embedded in the word doc, the construction of this website is as steep a learning curve as accepting that autobiographical work is OK! [I couldn't, but hey the drag and drop function for images seems to be OK]
 
Will write about how the performance went in the next blog post.

If I am feeling extremely brave I may even post a video of the split screen film.