To put it briefly, Alchemy is:
a) a short performance showcasing the training of the Voice Theatre Lab in a performance context. The training for us is not separate from the actual rehearsals or performances, they are seamless.
b) a small scale work inspired by the training of Ozfrank Theatre Matrix and the music of The Chordwainers.
c) what’s classified to us, as small scale, devised, exploratory showcasing, as opposed to a larger, more solid performance.
d) risk taking, raw, visceral and collaborative experiential showing.
The influences of which make this performance vary widely, from the conceptual aspects of Butoh dance to the vocal elements of Eugenio Barba’s vocal actions, which make up the ‘extra-daily’ (as Barba calls it) and preverbal expressions that constitutes a vocal crisis. In amongst that, are clear physical elements attributed to the training aesthetic of contemporary Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki.
We put the training on stage. Our training sessions are rigorous and the link between the actual ‘exercises’ and ‘rehearsals’ are seamless. Sometimes I can sense the performers thinking ‘so this is what the performance/scene is going to look like?…I’ve experienced it, but had no real time to let it sink in…etc’. Normally, you would have some sort of a warm up or exercise clearly followed by the rehearsal that primes the performer for performance. We tend not to do this so the experience is a collective process from beginning to the end. Therefore, the performer doesn’t say ‘so that was the rehearsal, now we’re ready for the show…but I haven’t rehearsed for performance, I rehearsed for the play/show’. Not that I advise that all productions should be of an experimental nature like Alchemy, but I think it’s important to bridge that gap between process and product.
Since 2007, I have been in contact with John Nobbs from Ozfrank Theatre Matrix, in Brisbane. John has worked extensively with Suzuki since he performed in The Chrinicles of Macbeth for Playbox Theatre Company in 1992. He is also the only Australian artist who has been invited to codify the Suzuki Actor Training Method (SATM) along side eight other internationally renowned theatre practitioners. Ever since the Voice Theatre Lab training and performances began in 2006, I wanted to explore and include the SATM in our training as I believe it’s a profound way of training the actors voice and body at a higher, more energetic level. Of course, the SATM is very Japanese in nature, but Anne Bogart did a wonderful job in developing her renowned Viewpoints method from working extensively with Suzuki himself. John reviewed some of our performances and made some very valid comments. OzFrank Theatre Matrix have developed their own unique, Australian take on the SATM, and they have called it Frank Suzuki Performance Aesthetics (FSPA). FSPA don’t use a lot of the traditional music that Suzuki uses (some have been retained, like the music for the Tentekaten (slow walk)), and in with some very unique music choices, like Little Patty and Nick Cave.
Earlier this year, I experienced FSPA’s work first hand. I also interviewed them and spent many nights chatting and sharing ideas. Two very important bits of advice from John and Jacquie:
1) Make the exercises performative (e.g., make sure the audience sees the actors face and make them aware of the audience at all times (I knew this from previous Butoh/Suzuki experiences)) and
2) The use of music.
I invited John and Jacqui over to work with the Voice Theatre Lab core company members to give them a solid physical grounding of their work, which I think the VTL needed (we were fine in terms of voice, but something was lacking – perhaps it was the body!? We needed to work on more physical crisis!). At the airport on the way back to Brisbane, John said: ‘why don’t you use music in your company’s training?’ I thought it might be a good idea. ‘I could use Suzuki’s music though, just to see if it works’ I replied. John said 'What is truly Tasmanian music? Why don’t you find some real Tasmanian music and use it in your training?’ That got me thinking. What is truly Tasmanian music? I was really puzzled. A few days went past and I thought to myself ‘Wait a minute – White Dark!’. In 2007, Chris Jackson and I wrote and directed White Dark as part of Island to Island, a Ten Days on the Island performance event. The live improvised music was performed by Karlin Love from the Launceston based music group The Chordwainers, who played some Gary Greenwood made leather instruments. The process was very interesting, she would respond to my vocal sounds and I would respond to her music. It was then that I thought of The Chordwainers. They are uniquely Tasmanian, using unique instruments made by a Tasmanian, and I’ve worked with one of them before. I began to use their music in rehearsals and training sessions. I contacted Karlin to let her know what I was doing, and got her approval, and…
…this is performance is the result.
ALCHEMY: A guide to the performance
The following is an explanation of the scenes. Note: the sound and music interchanges between NASA recordings (prelude, interludes and post-show) and the music of The Chorwainers (the scenes). Some details may have changed since writing this.
Prelude
The sound is ‘Song of Earth’ which is actually a recording of electromagnetic waves of the planet Earth captured by the Voyager spacecraft. There are no musical instruments, all the sounds are real, apart form the digitalisations. The performers engage in what’s called ‘flocking’, a collective experience where improvisation and expression on internal imagery is explored. The voice comes into it as an extension of the physical expression of the internal image. This prelude leads on to the first step in the process of Alchemy.
Nigredo
Spiritual death
This is the second formal ‘scene’, but the first stage in the pathway to the philosopher’s stone. Nigredo (or blackness) means decomposition. All of the alchemical ingredients need to be cooked extensively to create black matter. Nigredo is this process. Performers begin in a Hive (which is an extension and development of a FSPA exercise). They walk calmly, from the centre and then the ‘blackness’ and decomposition begins. They find themselves in the process of going from calmness, to agony and to ecstasy as they imagine flesh-eating ants devouring their internal organs. When they have been through that process, they Pretzel (an improvised vocal and physical interweaving), which forms part of their physical decomposition. A mask of decay is expressed, and every part of their face is pulled in all different directions to go beyond the normal, conventional expression of that emotion. The decay of voice and body builds.
The music in this scene is Mt Barrow to Africa. This piece of music is used in the training when we explore the slow walks (movement and voice), which is also called the Hokohtai (dissapearence walk in Butoh).
Interlude
The ‘Song of Earth’ is heard again. The performers rise and fall, and perform a series of Sequencing (a series of moves, sometimes contradictory from one another) which sees them using their bodies and voices during challenging circumstances. This leads to a sequence of rising and falling: an exercise for physical and vocal control. The performer reaches for an internal image and expresses this image, and their passionate want for it, through the voice.
Albedo
Purification
Albedo, the second stage of alchemy sees the removal of the inflated ego from the psyche. The colour Albedo represents is white. This is the Latinicised meaning of whiteness. After the horrifying decomposition of Nigredo, this process is the washing away the impurities. The method we have used is a variation of The Kite exercise, which is called Tracks. To understand positioning of the participants of the exercise, staging terminology will be used. For example, if a person is in the centre of the space, they will be Centre Stage (CS), and if the other participant is in front of them to the right, they will be Stage Right (SR). Essentially there is the centre performer and two walkers. The two walkers are just as important performers and the person in the centre, as they too tell a very important story. A person (or people) stands in the middle of the performance space, one is situated Down Stage Right (DSR) facing Down Stage Left (DSL), the other behind the performer who is CS, standing Up Stage Left (USL) facing Up Stage Right (USR). After a few moments, the person who is USL progresses to move slowly to USR. They too have bent knees and move from the centre, with gravity very low to the ground. As they move, they gesture an inner story. It is not pre-conceived, but improvised. The movements should come from the centre of the body, not instigated by the hands or arms. As they move in a straight line towards USR, the person in the centre responds to their movements, gestures and energy through the body and face only. Here, the three performers begin speaking whatever comes to mind using full articulated voice, and as the scene progresses, the ‘ego’ disappears and impulse begins. The sound and word blur to create not a preverbal or verbal dialogue, but a posverbal form of communication. The scene progresses from there. This action represents the decay of the ego.
The three actors in the middle spoke improvised words on full voice without any emotional or intellectual context. As the scene progressed, their words transformed and morphed to connect with the physical actions of the others who were 'tracking'.
The music used here is Marakoopa Cave Suite I, II and III.
Interlude
‘The Voice of Earth’ is used, which is a slightly similar sound-scape to ‘The Song of Earth’, with different frequencies. In this interlude, performers fall and rise one at a time, beginning on a full physical action, progressing to just lying on the floor and extending a small part of their bodies. in response to the sounds heard. They also vocalise in response to their physical actions and their internal/external imagery.
Citrinitas
Awakening
This process is the one that transforms silver into gold, and is sometimes referred to as yellowness. In alchemic philosophy, Citrinitas represented the dawning of the solar light from the inner depths of the individual so that the actual reflective solar or lunar light is not necessary. A Sound Circle is explored to represent this alchemic stage. A performer, who sits and moves in various ‘crisis’ positions low to the ground, is in the middle of a circle created by other performers. In this case, the other performers stay wherever they landed in the previous scene. The performer may ‘sequence’ as well, meaning move into various other positions on impulse. Sound is explored by performers outside the circle as well as the performer in the centre. By the end of this process, the individual generates their own light from the centre of their bodies, which transforms them into a wise older person. The person conducting vocalises the consonants of the word Citrinitas (c – t – r – n – t - s) while the others express the vowel sounds (i – i – i – a).
The music used in this scene is Geology, which is used in the ‘Reaching’ exercises amongst others. The beat is used to give the performer a framework to work with when rising and falling.
Interlude
‘The Voice of Earth’ is used again. A slow walk and Flocking is used to shift from the last element to the next.
Rubedo
Wholeness
This comes from the Latin word meaning redness. This is the fourth major stage in the alchemic process and the achievement of enlightened consciousness and the complete fusion of spirit and matter. This is the stage where the individual discovers their own true nature. The performers engage in a slow walk from left to right, 'swipe' when the pass another person, and move to a collective consciousness through Pretzeling, which moves on to a greater holistic connectedness through Flocking. This represents both the individual wholeness and group cohesion. When they 'swipe', they sing "ru", the next swipe "bi" and the next swipe "do".
The music in this scene is Mt Barrow to Africa.
Post-show
‘The Song of Earth’ is played, and the performers dissipate. They engage in 'Geology' exercise twice, before coming together at the end.
In conclusion, the VTL provide an alternative way of physio-vocal training. It’s not just restricted to performers, but anyone who wants to gain full potential of their physio-vocal instrument. If anything, we show that sound, vocables and preverbal expressions are profound means of communication which are not practiced in everyday life, but can be explored, shared and experienced in a theatrical arena like this.
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