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| Kenneth T. Williams |
We
had a saying in photojournalism – zoom with your feet. Get close to the
action, don’t rely on fancy shmancy telephoto lenses to get the shots
you needed. This could be risky. You could get hurt or killed. But look
at the images from photojournalists that have had the most impact on
you. I bet that most of them are close ups of faces. (Steve McCurry's
"the Afghan girl" comes to mind http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/original-story-text.)
No matter what the subject matter is – war famine, sports,
elections – the eyes of another person will tell us everything we need
to know about the story. Celebration or anguish, the eyes give us away. A
photo, however, lets us maintain eye contact without feeling
embarrassed. We’d never look at another person that way, especially if
they were right in front of us.
As a photojournalist, I
willingly walked into the middle of conflict to get the images that told
the story. As a playwright, this is what I’m asking my audience to do
by inviting them into an elevator to witness conflict. What’s the
implied agreement between audience and actor when they’re this
physically close?
It’s my feeling that the audience’s proximity
to the action makes them integral to the action. It’s no longer the
lucky – or unlucky, depending on how you feel about it – few who get
pulled on stage when the play demands participation from the audience.
Some performers get up close and personal but there’s still an implied
barrier because of the set up of stage and seating. In an elevator,
everyone’s a player when the entire space is used for performance.
What
we don’t know is how the audience will react. Of course, we never truly
know this. We know how we want them to react in a conventional theatre
space. I don’t know what I want this time. I’m aiming for “holy shit, I
can’t believe these crazy people are in the same elevator as me!” I’ve
got the audience trapped for just a few minutes, I want to have some fun
with them.
And if those aren't challenges, I've decided to
adapt a story from the Old Testament so that it will not look out of
place in an elevator. Because, you know, why the hell not.
Catherine Banks – Commissioned by Mulgrave Road Theatre
Meg Coles – Commissioned by Artistic Fraud
Ryan Griffiths – Commissioned by Eastern Front Theatre
Melissa Mullen and Rob Maclean – Commissioned by Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre
Brad Fraser – Commissioned by Shadow Theatre
Rick Chafe – Commissioned by The Canadian Centre for Theatre Creation
Jason Chinn – Commissioned by Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre
Kendra Fanconi – Commissioned by Magnetic North Theatre Festival
Greg MacArthur – Commissioned by Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre
Melissa Thingelstad – Commissioned by Workshop West Theatre
Jordi Mand – Commissioned by Nightswimming Theatre
Donia Mounsef - Commissioned by L’Unithéâtre
David van Belle / Eric Rose – Commissioned by Ghost River Theatre
Peter Boychuk – Commissioned by Rumble Productions
Ken Williams – Commissioned by Persephone Theatre
-On very short plays in very small spaces
In
early February (seems like last week) we workshopped three
elevator plays by Greg MacArthur, Jason Chinn and Melissa Thingelstad
and presented workshop productions at Workshop West’s Canoe Festival
thanks to the support of Workshop West Theatre.
We
dubbed this part of the process fro the NATIONAL ELEVATOR PROJECT the
“incubator phase”. It was an opportunity to test both the aesthetics and
practicalities of making theatre in elevators and share what we’ve
learned with the network of theatre artists from across the country who are part of the project.
In
addition to the three plays that were part of the February phase of the
project, we have had the opportunity to workshop early drafts of a few
additional pieces as I travel across the country on other business. In
February I workshopped Catherine Banks' play “The Tip of Things” in
Halifax. We also workshopped Ken William’s play "The Righteous Woman" in early May.
I found the process of developing, rehearsing and performing all three plays both fascinating and surprising -things I always hope theatre will be. I've attached some of my thoughts on plays in Elevators here... as a resource as you embark on your own writing and development processes.
Time
I think we can all agree that in most cases longer development/rehearsal processes yield richer more credible work. I
think most professional theatre artists would happily opt for more time
to develop their work than there are often funds to pay for. So
one of our initial questions going into the Incubator Phase of the
National Elevator Project was: “How long will we need to develop and
rehearse these works?” It would be easy to say: “Oh each play is only five
minutes, we can knock it off in an afternoon.” And we considered
that —though not for very long. And in truth it might have proved to be true if we
where producing a series of skits. But we have arranged for the
commission of 16 plays by serious
Canadian playwrights about life altering events, conflicts, and discoveries. These are plays about moments of transformation. The minutes in our lives that change us inexorably. And
what we’ve found is that each work has demanded a development /rehearsal
process that was somewhat more significant than we had anticipated.
One
of the qualities of Theatre Yes’s ‘off-site’ work (and so this project)
is that the productions are grounded in strong text, which is
painstakingly rehearsed and explored. Sometimes I’ve seen ‘site-specific’
work where the texts and theatrical execution take a back seat to the novelty of the space that is the starring act. Sometimes it seems that excitement about location can become the
focus of ‘site-specific’ work. Theatre Yes is interested in great texts as the foundation of
fully realized theatrical events which find life in unconventional spaces. Theatre spaces where the audience is in close proximity to the performers allow
us to explore the potential of the theatrical reality that when we see a
play, any play, we are in the same physical room as the actors.
Back to the National Elevator Project (and time)... We’ve
found that each short play lives inside of a unique and fully
envisioned world created by the playwright. As such each play requires
more workshop, table work and rehearsal time than we had anticipated. In
almost every case we found the four-hours of rehearsal time wasn’t
enough to thoroughly investigate the text. Further,
we found that in every case we were short on rehearsal/tech time scheduled 4 hours and were rushing to be ready for an audiences to arrive.
Actors
found that they wanted to be extra secure in what they were doing
because the quarters are so close. In an elevator every detail becomes magnified in the
small space so specifics are more important than ever. And we all know
that that just takes time.
"An elevator will take whatever you're doing and amplify it (a lot). Maybe that's obvious - it took me by surprise anyway. The intimacy of the space makes every detail discernible."
~ Jason Chinn, playwright
In
every case we needed to test the work in an elevator to figure out how
the movement through the building and in the space would work. Ie where
do the actors come from? Are they discovered on the elevator? How does
the audience enter? If the elevator stops at a particular floor who calls
it when? How are entrances of performers and technical elements cued (we
used cell phones and text messages to communicate with volunteers on various floors ).
At
the end of the “Incubator Phase” the lesson was: Even a very short play is still a
complete work and as such it takes discussion and investigation to find
ones way into the world of the play. The time it takes to do this is
partially, but not critically, related to the length of a play. As we
move forward we are planning for more workshop time, more rehearsal time
and more on-site time (tech time).
Space
"Yes it's site-specific theatre - but oh-so-much-more. There's something dangerous that's happening here - close quarters, intimate and wholly theatrical. These aren't just plays transferred into an elevator, these artists are working to re-define the theatrical space and in doing so are bending time"
~ Dave Horak, MacEwan Theatre Arts Instructor/ Edmonton Actors Theatre Artistic Director
I’ve heard tell of musings that the National Elevator Project might be perceived as “gimmicky”. I suppose this would be because the central notion, writing for and performing in non-theatre
spaces, is not everyone’s cup of tea. Tripe, caviar, poutine and lima
beans all have fans and detractors. Like almost everyone else in pro
theatre, we’re interested in engaging audiences in our work. I love
everything about traditional theatres. Really. Everything. I love
walking into the building, working in the building, I love the first
moment I sit down in the seats, the programs, a proscenium stage, the
sound, lights and the magic they can create. (I’ve also come to love the
smell of latex paint.) I could go on... Most times when I go to the
theatre, I know exactly what my experience will be in bold strokes. I’ll come in. Sit in
a seat (which I hope is comfortable). I watch actors from a distance. I
leave and share my thoughts/feeling about the experience with others.
It is comfortable and familiar and dear to me.
BUT I’m also
interested in the unfamiliar. I’m interested in exploring what theatre
can be if it is to exist as a credible and serious art form in nooks and
crannies of our communities, in public spaces, in our everyday lives.
And frankly since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed plays in all kinds of
places: gardens, cars, interesting abandoned buildings, hotel rooms,
parking garages and so forth. I’m lucky and grateful that I’ve been able to explore
this at Theatre Yes. And I hope that this investigation will engage
audiences in the possibilities of serious theatre performed in surprising spaces
they might not have thought possible.
The corner stone of
the NATIONAL ELEVATOR PROJECT is that the plays are written
specifically to be performed in elevators. Confined spaces that move.
The playwrights are to control the length of the elevator ride from within the play. That is
they are to design the play in such a way that it will be five minutes
in length.
Each writer who has
submitted an early bird draft has addressed this in a different way. In
each case, we have tested either in workshop or workshop production how
the work ‘plays’ in an actually moving elevator. We have found this to
be en essential part of each workshop process because it is where the
technicalities of sculpting an experience in the space can be
investigated.
What we have found
is that action seems to need to slow down in an elevator because of the
close proximity of the audience. A scene that an audience can absorb
easily from 20 feet needs to play with deliberate space inserted in such
a confined space so that the audience can take in all the information.
It is easy for people to miss things. They might be looking at the
person to their right while the person on the left has an important
reaction. If we are not careful of that the audience will miss something. Performances need to be very specifically sculpted if the goal is
for the audience to all leave with the same general information/experience. We've found that the audiences focus needs to be guided with considerable attention
paid to where people will look and why. If the decision is that we want
each audience member to understand the event differently when
they leave (I’m thinking Sleep No More) this might be less important.
But it is still a consideration. Close quarters mean a different rhythm and energy is required.
"At the end of the piece, many audience members said they would like to ride again, since it felt like it went so fast and they felt they couldn't absorb it all in one ride"
~ Holly Cinnamon, Actor
The smaller the
space the more of a challenge it is to control the focus. Every actor
gesture becomes magnified. It is a bit like an extreme close up in film.
This means that clarifying each moment is essential. Melissa
Thingelstad’s piece had a large movement component. (Think modern dance in an elevator with the audience interspersed with the performers.) Melissa's piece needed to be
sculpted for the space in a way we had not anticipated before we got into an elevator to work it. Because the movement was happening around the audience in very, very close quarters it required us to invent a unique aesthetic
approach to deliver the story.
Larger elevators are easier to “play”. Where the audience has more distance from the performers the issues of following narrative are not as significant.
Elevators won’t move until called. Neither
of us had thought much about it until this project. This means that
deciding when the button is pushed becomes an important tool in controlling
the length of the ride. We will be obtaining permission to use elevators
where we can ensure that there will be no calls during the performance.
(Other than the ones we make.) This is an important tool for
controlling the length of the ride. Old elevators
can take forever to go one floor. Newer ones can take seconds to go 15
floors. “When is the button pushed?” Can be a more useful question than
how long does it take for the elevator to travel.
Most elevators have
keys. Every key does a different thing. In most cases it allows you to
manually keep the door open until you want to close it. We’ll be getting
keys for any elevators we use. The idea is that we can make the
elevator do what we want it to. Of course that will vary somewhat from elevator to elevator.
Older elevators
have more options for manual control. We worked in a great elevator
courtesy of Edmonton’s Harcourt House Gallery, that had a manual stop
feature and in which we could turn the light off. Yes! We did take advantage of that elevator for the workshop...
Of
course we don’t have unlimited resources for obtaining elevators;
but we are wily about getting what we want and we’ll do our best to find elevators that lift (so to speak) each play.
From the point of view of writing, controlling the length of the ride most likely means that some scenes
may take place outside of the elevator. If there is a specific ambience for the elevator of a building you are looking for be sure to let us know via the stage directions.
"I think it's important to be specific in terms of the kind of elevator you want to work in in terms of size, length of ride, etc. [...] take into account the space not just on the elevator but also the atmosphere outside and around the elevator. What will the audience's experience be just before and after."
~ Greg MacArthur, playwright
Action
Elevator
plays are intense. We found that there were audience members who were
so taken aback by the intensity of the experience of being that close to
the actors that they reported they “couldn’t
hear” what was being said and were unable to follow the story. This is
to say at times they were over stimulated and couldn’t absorb the play. Some audience members
could not/would not look at the actors though they were listening
intently. Now, this might be an effect we see in some moments of some
plays… or not. It can be a bit off putting to actors, but it is likely unavoidable. We like intense experiences at
Theatre Yes and I’m not fussed by this type of reaction. It is a
phenomenon that can be used to sculpt the overall experience we are
creating for the audience. When do we want audiences to be pushed to not being able to look or listen? What would the
function of this reaction be? How could we use it to the greatest possible effect? How do we
coax people into comfort when that is important for the story?
"It was great, compact fun and the audience seemed suitably uncomfortable..."
~ Greg MacArthur, playwright
Another reality of
elevator plays is that the audience does not know what the rules for
watching the play are. It is an experience that is unlike any theatrical
experience they have had. There are no seats. There is no stage. They don’t know what to do.
We’ve found that
audiences confronted with events that they don’t know the rules of are
very cautious. They take few risks and explore spaces very, very tentatively. The
idea that they have to make an unguided choice is not a part of most
theatre experiences. We’ve found they’ve been respectful to a fault of
the performers and the performance. They want to be told what to do.
"... My character felt like the spokesperson for the audience."
~ Laura Raboud, Actor
So in elevators
audiences don’t know where to go or what to do unless they have clear
clues, in other words are told how to respond. They worry: “Do I push
the button?” “When the door opens do I go in?” “If I push one button,
(say to open the door to start the play) “do I press another to go up?”
“Do I talk back?” “Should I respond to an actor if they ask me a question and I'm less than a foot away?" and on…
In Greg MacArthur’s
play two characters in hazmat suits load audience members onto an
elevator while having a banal conversation about the technicalities of
their jobs. As the audience is loaded on the elevator they are talked
about, but never addressed. As they travel upwards it becomes clear to
them that they are human cargo, considered non-human for some reason
only the characters know. As the play progresses the audience gradually comes to know that they are being
exported as human livestock. MacArthur’s play places them in a role that is very clear. They come
to understand with increasing horror that they are considered to be
subhuman and that they are to do what they are told.
It will be important for each play to make a contract with the audience. To let them know what the rules are. The
audience is present and so very much a part of each performance. The
work seems strongest when we don’t ignore the proximity of the audience
but rather embrace it as an essential reality of each piece.
Audiences
were amazed at how full each experience was even in workshop
production. They had intense and unique experiences, which they felt,
were quite unforgettable. Some commented that 5 minutes was all I could
take in such a small space. They were also amazed at how complete each
theatrical journey could be in such a short time.
It’s all pretty fascinating. We are pumped. Looking forward to your questions and comments.
• Elevator plays are about life altering events, conflicts, and discoveries that take us to the heights of joy and plunge us to the depths of despair in mere moments. They are about moments of transformation. The minutes in our lives that change us inexorably.
• Elevator plays are a maximum of 5 minutes in length.
• The elevator must be essential to the play. The text must need an elevator in order to be performed. It must rely on it. It should not be a piece that can be performed in another venue.
• The audience enters the elevator with the actors.
• The presence of the audience and their hyper-close proximity to the performers needs to be a vital component of the text. The play needs to create a contract with the audience which helps them to understand how to respond to the action of the play in performance.
• Each play has three actors in it. You may use supernumeraries (extras).
• The performers must control the length of the elevator ride as part of the action of the play. Elevator rides are mostly shorter than 5 minutes. In order for the play to be 5 minutes in length the actors will need to control the elevator’s use. You can count on us to have elevator keys.
• The action may take place inside and outside the elevator. Scenes can happen on various floors up or down from the starting place.
• There will be no technicians aboard the elevator. Technical requirements need to be minimal and must be executed by the actors inside the action of the play.
• No blackouts.
• No emergency stops.
• Elements that will require re-set before the play begins are allowed. Example: The elevator is full of balloons that are popped during each performance.
• The elevator can be used as a metaphor. Example: The people in the elevator could be a blood clot moving towards someone’s brain.
• We will be seeking exclusive use of each elevator.
• The plays will be performed in two cycles of 8 plays. The first cycle will be in October in Edmonton. The second cycle will be performed as part of Workshop West’s Canoe Festival in 2014.
• For the Edmonton productions the plays will be available for viewing simultaneously for two hours each performance evening. Audiences will meet at a central location where they will be given a map and directions to each elevator. From there they will make their way from elevator to elevator. Audiences will be free to view each work in whatever order they wish.
Theatre Yes believes that very intimate performance environments create intense, arousing, personalized experiences with a high degree of interactivity which give recorded and digital media a ‘run for their money’.
In
elevators we ascend towards the sky and plummet to the earth in mere
seconds while jammed into tight spaces with people we don’t know. So,
also, our lives are shaped and changed by transactions and collisions
with strangers who are transformed into friends and sometimes become
family. The life altering events, conflicts, and discoveries that take
us to the heights of joy and plunge us to the depths of despair can
happen in mere moments. Theatre Yes’s NATIONAL ELEVATOR PROJECT will
challenge audiences to witness themselves and each other in the midst of
transformation through the prismatic lens of 16-newly commissioned
Canadian plays.
The circumstance of riding an elevator will be essential to the construction of each play. These works will be built to capitalize on the restrictions and opportunities an elevator creates. The plays will use the uneasiness which people feel sharing confined public spaces to open up unique
theatre experiences that will expand the boundaries of what audiences
understand theatre to be. Audiences will share the same space with
performers and so will become part of each performance. The works will
explore the impact of very-short-form narrative while developing themes
of transformation, using elevators as both location and metaphor for
those dizzying moments in our lives where we are changed. The plays will
be crafted and performed in such a way as to make room for audiences’
authentic responses to the work, removing the safety net of traditional
theatre, inviting them to enter into hyper-intimate and one-of-a-kind,
performance experiences.
Contemporary
culture connects AND isolates us, the digital/virtual realm so
dominates our lives that we cannot help but experience real-time,
real-world artistic events differently. Live theatre struggles to
compete with the enticingly close, personal and instantly gratifying
array of digitized entertainment that stimulates and challenges us
intellectually, changing the vary nature of our thinking.
The
NATIONAL ELEVATOR PROJECT will immerse audiences in short-form
narratives occurring in moving site-specific locations. Elevators are
laden with challenges, for many of us, because they force us to confront
hard-wired, hidden fears. Our heart rates climb as we step inside an
elevator whether we want them to or not. It is a confined space. We have
to stand closer to people than we would like. We literally become
heavier and lighter during the ride, invoking involuntary sensations of
falling as we are propelled vertically, at lightening speed, on thin cables, which if they broke (and we’ve all thought about it) would mean certain death. We experience primal fight or flight instincts in elevators and this project capitalizes on these physiologically loaded environments to create one-of-a-kind experiences for audiences. For the duration of each play (5 minutes MAX) there will be nowhere for audiences to hide, the boundaries
and safety nets of screen and stage will be taken away. This is theatre
that capitalizes and magnifies one of the fundamental realities of live
theatre: the performers are in the same room with the audience. And in
this case it’s a very small room. Via the NATIONAL ELEVATOR PROJECT we
hope to viscerally engage audiences’ with an intensity that affirms the
power of live theater over recorded / online media.
NATIONAL ELEVATOR PROJECT is creating real-time, real-space connections between artists and audiences underscoring the potency of communion and connection in a culture that increasingly separates us physically from one another.
ELEVATORS I (EIGHT PLAYS)
October 17th - 27th, 2013
ELEVATORS II (EIGHT PLAYS)
January 21st - February 1st, 2014
Presented at Workshop West's Canoe Festival http://www.workshopwest.org
