A CAST event at Sawtooth ARI, 160 Cimitiere St, Launceston,
6pm Thursday 22 September, 2011
"Iteration:Again is a series of thirteen public art commissions by twenty-two Australian and international artists taking place across Tasmania, September 18 – October 15, 2011. Produced by CAST and David Cross, in conjunction with seven associate curators, Iteration:Again will present a compelling array of temporary artworks in largely unexpected places throughout Hobart, Launceston and beyond.
CAST presents an evening of Iteration:Again discussions at Sawtooth ARI. Participants include: Iteration:Again Curatorial Director, David Cross, Wellington, NZ; Our Day WIll Come curator Fiona Lee, Hobart; Two Houses artist, Voice Theatre Lab’s Rob Lewis, Launceston; and I Live With Birds curator Fernando do Campo."
Discussions regarding our involvement in the project began months ago, and it was quite a challenge for us as a company because this was going to be our first site specific, outdoor performance.
Voice Theatre Lab have been researching methods of vocal and physical synthesis since 2006, and since then have produced 7 productions. Our main focus is combining various non-conventional Eastern performance practices with Western contexts. Two Houses is a good example of how we have used these concepts – combining very strong Butoh training and performance aesthetics with a very Western text as a base: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
The performance has many layers, and I will briefly speak about my experience as conceptual and performance director, and performer. There are 2 main aspects of Two Houses: the performance, and the recorded soundscape.
The show
The narrative aspects of the production(s) itself inexplicitly follow Romeo and Juliet, not in a logical sense, but more of a figurative, conceptual sense. There are 5 overall iterations of Two Houses. The first 4 cover some key elements and emotions: 1) Conflict and Anger; 2) Unity and Love; 3) Betrayal and Jealousy; 4) Death and Sadness. The 5th and final iteration sees all these come together as one performance.
The performers are attached by red elastic to Henty House and Macquarie House, in Civic Square, Launceston. Two ‘Romeo’s’ are together at Henty House and the two ‘Juliet’s’ are at the opposite end at Macquarie House. The elastic is red, which simbolises the blood ties to each house; the conflict being present in the tension felt within their bodies (and voices) the further each character moves away from their houses. Each iteration (which is each performance) shows different actions that relate to the element and emotion.
The body
The physical aspects are inspired by Butoh dance – being connected to the ground, idea of emptiness, and expression of internal imagery which is determined by the blood ties to the houses, emotions, inner conflict and physicality of the other performer (in the form of Pretzeling).
The voice
The vocal elements are also an important aspect of the iterations. Each week sees a different way of using the voice, including breath, per-verbal expressions and postverbal expressions (where the word has been intentionally fragmented).
The soundscape
2 speakers have been mounted in the windows of Macquarie House. After each performance, the sounds build. Each week sees a different part of the Romeo and Juliet text. Using a piece of text: Conflict and Anger is represented by breath, Unity and Love is expressed through vowels alone, Betrayal and Jealousy through consonants and Death and Sadness through preverbal expressions of chosen text.
The experience
As a performer, you are immersed in the immediate environment. In a sense, nothing matters – you feel sweat, mucus, saliva – but you cannot stop and wipe it away or adjust your costume. Nothing matters but just that given moment. You feel the breeze, see litter fly past and even perhaps allow the spectators to walk in front of you or sense their gaze at the corner of your eye. You must, however, only concentrate on your intention – on your iteration. The space is always there with each performance, but with slight changes in the environment – the space and the happenings in and around it are the iterations itself. In a sense, the space between these two buildings – and all that occur between them (performance, pedestrians, vehicles and the sound), are all part of the process and experience.
With David Cross, Curator, at the discussion event
