This was a collaborative performance that I was a part of creating in my second year about what was witnessed on a secular pilgrimage to Auschwitz, combined with the themes and words of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. We used our reflections from our trip, and from what we witnessed to create the material for the performance. We were not attempting to recreate what we saw, only to create what we witnessed. It was intended to be a performance that could not be recreated because it was only to be witnessed from what we had witnessed. 90 minutes of episodic fragments forming together to make a collaboration, our understanding of how Auschwitz made us feel and respond to the world around us.
From this process I learned that when creating my own theatre, I prefer to work collaboratively, to be able to bounce ideas around and play with ideas, something that I find difficult when I am on my own as I feel that I cannot gain my own perspective. Being able to step back and look at something as a bigger picture is so valuable to a creation process.
The rehearsal and creation process were a way for me to be able to understand the different ways that people work together and how to compromise. These are skills that I feel will be able to be put into place in teaching. When something does not go to plan and you have to swiftly adapt to the situation it means that you can be versatile and able to think on your feet. Additionally, learning to listen to everyone’s ideas and know when a good time is to input your own is something that I learnt during this creation process. Before this project I had not worked with such a large group of people when we had such independence and control over the performance. I had worked collaboratively in smaller groups, but this was a different experience. A group of people with such a variance of personalities meant that there were occasional clashes and resistance to progress of the project.
Overall, the performance was a journey, literally and figuratively, one that gave me a greater perspective on people, and how we respond to events, situations and relationships.
