Site Specific Research and Discussion

What is site specific performance?
 

-Site specific can often relate to immersive and promenade theatre, which allows the audience to stand amongst the actors and be in the show themselves. It means that the actors will interpret the audience and the audience can take part in what is happening in the script. This can make the audience get out of their comfort zone and become part of the piece. When I have watched site specific performances such as ‘Antigone’, it allowed me to feel what the characters were reacting to and visualize the piece in a more abstract and original way.

-Location- I think that a site specific performance is a performance in an unusual location, other than a stereotypical theatre stage. A lot of site specific performances are performed outside, in a location that best suits their script. For example, when I did ‘Into The Woods’ we performed in the woods. This would have allowed the audience to visualize more about what the script is about and what we as actors were trying to represent. I think that the location allows the audience to feel more involved with the piece and feel a part of it as oppose to watching it.

-Suited to the script- I think that the site specific location should be related to the script and theme of the piece because otherwise the storyline wouldn’t be clear. For example, if the performance was set mainly on a beach, then a good location would be an actual beach. This will allow both the actors and audience to feel the atmosphere of the piece as well as watch what is happening. I also think that it gives the actors another opportunity to interpret their surroundings into the piece and it allows them to get into character more.

-Realistic- all these points put together allow the piece to become more realistic, to be in the atmosphere as opposed to imagining it like you would when watching it or taking part in a stage production. I think that it helps the actors develop their characters, and the audience to understand more about the piece.

History on Site Specific Performances

-Common countries that use site specific performances are:

•       UK
•       Canada
•       USA
•       Austria

-Performances have had a variety of different locations used by different companies across the globe. The performance spaces vary from hotels, open air theatres, forest/woods, beaches etc. These all relate to what the show is about.

-Site specific performance spaces can often become mistaken for ordinary spaces. For example, I previously thought that any space can be site specific, even a theatre, but that is not the case. A theatre isn’t site specific because it is a common performance space whereas if a company were to perform a show such as ‘Into The Woods’ in a forest or woods, this would make it site specific.

The Natural Theatre Company

-Perform in over 80 countries and are located in Bath. A lot of their performances take place at The Roman Bath museum which can bring historical performances such as Jane Austen to life.

The Natural Theatre Company's performance of Jane Austen performed at the Roma Bath Museum.

-The company specialize in comedy, and visual comedy which means that they use costume and props to create a funny piece and to emphasize the comedy within the characters. Something that I found interesting on their website was ‘Flowerpots’, which was a series of photos of people with flower pots on their heads in casual situations, like sitting on a bench, or waiting for a bus. This was found on the website, and with little information and just the photos, I think that this could be a piece of promenade theatre or immersive theatre created to cause confusion with the public.

             

I think that The Natural Theatre company are unique because they create abstract scenes and characters from everyday scenarios, such as ‘Flower Pots’ or the other way round. I think that their use of visual comedy using props and costume make them stand out to any audience, and having them perform in public or unexpectedly (flash mobs) it allows them to take the audience out of their comfort zone and become part of their piece.

All information and photos of Natural Theatre Company's productions are from their website- http://naturaltheatre.co.uk/about-us/


My Presentation on The Natural Theatre Company:

The presentation on The Artichoke:

I found the company 'The Artichoke' interesting, because I learnt that they are a well established British theatre company, who are well known to travel around the country to different locations, to suit their performances. I understand that they are well known, as the presentation stated that one of their performances, 'The Sultan's Elephant' in 2006, had attracted 1 million audience members. I learnt from this presentation that they relate their locations to the main setting of their scripts, for example they have used cliffs in Sussex, cornwall, and the Isle of man as locations, and I am assuming that this would have been effective for scripts based near beaches, as those three locations are near the beach or are known for their beaches. The Artichoke Theatre Company believe that art shouldn't just be in art galleries, and therefore have referred to their performances as 'art'. To protest their opinion that the performing arts should be viewed and respected like art in museums and galleries, they have specialised in site-specific performances in places like beaches (as previously mentioned) and also streets and countrysides. 

Will Dorner

Will Dorner is a choreographer who expresses movements around the stimulus of bodies in urban spaces, which I felt was an abstract and humorous project due to it's random locations and the performer's abilities to remain focused as if what they are doing is normal. The project requires dancer's to create still images to fit into different spaces and lead the audience to watch them in cities around the world. This draws a lot of attention towards their performances, as it created a contrast to the environment of a normal pedestrian street by adding abstract movements and characters. This specific performance is called 'intriguing trail' and involves 20 dancers.

London Bubble-

I found this company interesting as they specialise in presenting their performances to a wide range of audiences. An example of this is how they perform to the elderly for some of their performances, a then to young children and specialise in teaching them through visual arts allowing them to learn about different aspects of developing such as speech, writing and confidence levels in socialising. I think that the ability to create performances that suit a range of audiences would take time and planning, as they devise them themselves as well. They are a community based company, and therefore only perform around London which is where they are based. 

What do the companies have in common?

The majority of the companies travel around either the country or the world to search for suitable locations to suit their scripts and performance style (with exceptions for London Bubble who are community based). I think that this will allow them to promote their companies to different ranges of audiences, for example, there are different towns and cities specifically in England that are dedicated to elderly, youth, upper class, middle class, lower class, etc. Therefore I think that by choosing locations that suit their performances purely for the narrative and storyline will automatically attract a range of audience members across the country because of the different locations and classes. This also links to 'London Bubble' as they specialise in performing to a wide range of audiences around the community. I think that the companies are all strong in devising abstract pieces, and I think that this is partially because of the locations used, which are clearly seen as 'different' to a modern audience who are used to associating performances with the classic proscenium staging, therefore the performances look more abstract and artistic. I think that all of the companies are interactive with the audience. London Bubble interact with their audiences by talking to them and using visual art to take them on a journey and allow them to use their imaginations. I think that The Natural Theatre Company use their common promenade performances to interact with the audience, as the audience are immersed into their performance space, therefore the actors have to work around the audience, and use them as proxemics. Will Dorner uses interaction with the audience to lead members of the public to their still images to present their project based on the stimulus of bodies in urban spaces. Finally, The Artichoke interact with their audience by reacting to what is happening around them. For example in the presentation about The Artichoke Company I learnt that a young boy who was a member of the immersive performance was distracting the actor by pulling his arm, but the actor responded to this distraction by interpreting it into his performance, which created humour and made the audience more involved in the performance.

What is Different?

I think that Will Dorner is different from the other companies, as they are a dance based performance company and therefore their performances are more abstract and confusing for audience members because of the absence of dialogue. However, the locations used are streets and spaces that are not obvious to spot, whereas companies such as The Artichoke and The Natural Theatre Company use more visible locations and make the audience more aware of when and where their performances are taking place. I think that The Natural Theatre Company's costume stands out amongst the other companies, due to the fact that they are abstract in a lot of performances and do not represent specific characters, but objects. For example their project 'Flowerpots' shows an example of the abstract costumes which will draw the attention of the public, allowing the public to interact with the actors and making the performance immersive. I think that London Bubble communicate and interact with their audience more, as they are known for teaching children as well as giving entertainment. I think that this is different, because the other companies interact with their audiences by speaking to them, and often using promenade theatre, whereas London Bubble talk to their audience and get them involved and make them more likely enjoy the performance.

Which Company are you Most Drawn to and Why?

I am most drawn to Will Dorner's company, because the abstract and random movements create a comedic effect on the performance, and make them more enjoyable to watch. I also think that their casual costumes allow the actors to blend in with their surroundings more which creates a sense of realism, which distracts you from pedestrian life and you become engaged with the performance. I feel that the movements carried out by the performance and the still images created are impressive to view, and therefore makes the performance even more enjoyable to watch.

What is most surprising about the work you have discovered through research?

I was surprised to research the attraction of audience members for the companies, as I wasn't aware myself of a lot of site specific performances or how common it is to be carried out by so many companies. I thought that it was impressive how The Artichoke Company had once attracted as many as 1 million audience members, which changed my view on site specific as it allowed me to understand how popular it is. I have also learnt that site specific can be immersive and promenade theatre as well, as before this research I assumed that site specific performances were set locations with an audience that have been notified prior to the performance about the date time and location, which is in fact often the case, however it is common for site specific performances to come as a shock to the public and are often unexpected. I was shocked to learn that a lot of companies have sponsors from charities to fund their performances, as I would have assumed that they fund it through ticket sales, however because of the fact that a lot of companies perform promenade and surprise, random, performances makes me understand that they could loose profit from the free performances, but buying costumes and props for it.