A top surgeon accused of a serious crime. Conviction would mean planned operations will not go ahead – and the evidence is far from conclusive.
One of the first tasks we were set as a collaborative was to witness Fanshen’s performance of The Justice Syndicate. The performance placed the audience in the role of a jury – attempting to decide if a surgeon was guilty of an alleged sexual assault. Upon reflection, this performance introduced me to three elements of collaboration, all different in their execution, both in performance and process. At sporadic intervals, the performance invited a dialogue between the jury (the audience) about the evidence which was presented to us. The conversations would last for three minutes before the performance ushered us forwards to more evidence. Introducing a collaborative element between audience members was not something I would have considered before the performance. I relished the opportunity to discuss and debate with my fellow jurors. The conversations evolved as the performance continued to reveal new elements to the jurors, thus, stimulating fresh debate. This type of collaboration allowed the performance to have elements which would constantly change. Contextualising this in a touring production creates countless ways these sections could materialise. New jurors equates to new dialogue. This informed my work as it showed that successful collaboration can constantly create new options, if the correct structures are in place.
Moreover, another aspect it introduced me to was the collaboration between audience and technology. The evidence was presented to the audience through an individual iPad. This introduced an element of intimacy to the performance, an intimacy which I experience on my own accord. I deemed this to be effective as it gave me a unique experience, an experience which felt separate to the other juror’s experience. I worked in collaboration with my technology as it guided me through the performance. This intimate experience was something which informed my early ideas for the performance. I enjoyed the uniqueness which this experience afforded me and wished to capture this in a dramaturgical framework for our performance.
Finally, towards the latter third of the performance a question was posed to the jury: vote to eliminate one member of the audience. To label this a ‘spanner in the works’ would be an understatement as the entire dynamic of the performance and the atmosphere in the room changed. As a jury we were given one minute to make our decision. The vote was cast. The jury elected not to eliminate a member. This moment created such palpable tension in the air which was unparalled to anything which came before this moment. It allowed me to consider the power which was bestowed upon myself as an audience member and how this could potentially be used in the performance we would create. Furthermore, it supports a previous statement about the constant possibilities audience interaction creates. What would have happened if we had elected to remove a member? It is these questions I still consider, months after the performance. Obviously there is the risk of audience centric envolvemnet where elements of sabotage could occur, but more on that in the future.
The Justice Syndicate, Fanshen, 2018.
A week later we were offered the opportunity to have an afternoon workshop with Rachel Biscoe, artistic director of Fanshen. The workshop focused on exploring ways of collaborating with the audience as a way of making material and frameworks.
One aspect which cropped up in conversation was that of the saboteur in an audience and their impact. We compared an audience saboteur to that of racist uncle at a family meal. Unfortunately, welcome, but watched over feverishly in case they say/do anything unwelcome. Rachel described techniques to use to remedy this. Including actors in the audience or ways of cutting the fragments short to avoid them spiralling out of hand. It made me understand that if interactivity was to become part of the work, all angles must be covered to protect the integrity of the performance.
To create material, in the short time we had with Rachel, she introduced dice as a method of making. One die has sides focusing on elements of senses (touch, sight, hearing) and the other had the audience’s role (audience as actor, audience as technician.) The game was to roll the dice and create a narrative framework in order to make the performance work. Ideas ranged as far as blindfolding the audience and having the performance in braille to having them blind taste food at a dinner party. These ideas may seem outlandish but they allowed us to create frameworks quickly and then allowed ourselves as artists to flourish in this scenario.
The key learning elements of the performance and workshop was how to collaborate not only with a company, but with an audience and technology. It allowed us to create strategies to both create and maintain this form. The workshop culminated with a fragment of material being created. The fragment consisted of a blindfolded audience member sat on a chair with a song played in their ears. Their hands were held to create an intimate bond between audience and performer. Lego was then handed to them, allowing them to manipulate and create structures to their own whim. This felt a successful culmination of the workshop as it created boundaries for the performer and audience to successfully collaborate. Upon reflection, music acted as a stimulant for both parties (performer and audience). From this fragment, the use of music as a way of making stuck myself as a way to respond to something exsiting a create something with it’s own ontology.
A simple score:
The audience member sits on a chair.
They are given headphones and a blindfold
The soft sound or Re:Stacks by Bon iver plays
They manipulate the lego to create their own shape
The performance concludes.
‘There’s a black crow sitting across from me
His wiry legs are crossed
He’s dangling my keys, he even fakes a toss
Whatever could it be
That has brought me to this loss?
On your back with your racks as he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and he stacks your load
In the back with the racks and you’re unstacking your load’ (Vernon, 2007)
Bibliography:
Vernon, J. Re:stacks. (2007) Self-release.