Porto contained other issues like characters wanting something from someone else. For example, my character was always striving for David's attention, and also Edward's later on in the piece. A character such as Lauren appeared to want kindness or love from other characters, yet always wanted what others had. She always approached people to take something from them, like David’s bible and my pearls. Sarah Evans’ character wanted Gavin to be with her. Daniel was causing people misery and their sadness became his entertainment.
I think the biggest theme is the sense of the community in Porto. The ensemble work, like the start and the end reveals an intense mutual feeling amongst this group of people. Vincent Dance Theatre claim to “make devised work as an ensemble and place great emphasis on the personal contribution [and] individual physicality…” (Vincent Dance Theatre http://www.vincentdt.com/artistic-policy.html 2009) and we have done the same. The characters in Porto cannot escape the community and are trapped in the same movements. As much as we have this sense of community, there was also the theme of people not fitting in such as Nicole, Sarah Pierpoint and Natalie. Many people felt it was part of their character not to interact with anyone.
However, the shared experiences we have as an ensemble did tie the community together. The first ensemble work we did was a series of movements being performed at the same time. This shared experience shows how we are all stuck in our ways, and we as performers can feel that energy, tying us together. Nicola’s entrance onto the stage was another shared experience, creating the same feelings with all of us. The scene where we approach Blake is another part of Porto where we all worked together and reacted similarly. Another example would be the end of the performance, where everyone apart from Nicola gets to leave the space, and this very intense feeling presides over the community.
2. I could not wait to get into the theatre space. I felt prepared and eager to leave our studio. Somebody warned me “do not get too excited”, and they were right. We had some complications in the Arena, but it was to be expected. The thing that affected me the most was the periphery appeared to be smaller. Many of the interactions I had created were cut but it is understandable-we all knew we would create work that would not reach the performance. Phillip Zarrilli agrees that in a smaller space “actors might be severely restricted in time and training space, only machine movements…might be practiced.” (Zarrilli, P: 1995, p.92)
We had other problems such as technical rehearsals, and many people found it tedious going over the same thing more than once. I do not count this as a weakness though; technical rehearsals are there for us and to make our performance go as planned! This also meant that there were obstacles such as lanterns in the Arena which were easy to move by accident, but it just took a bit of precision and getting used to.
Moving into the Arena meant that we had to clear finer details such as who moved furniture for the next scene. I think this irritated many people because it is such a simple task. Yet the thing to remember is that there are 40 people performing in one space, and this means that things cannot always go to plan. This also meant that some instructions were missed or not followed properly, and this is a weakness on our parts. If 40 cast members remained quiet and listened, then this would not have been a problem.
With all this aside, the Arena was bigger in depth. This provided us with more freedom as we were provided with stairs, bars, and pillars-lots of things that we could build our interactions on. My interactions for instance changed a lot once we got into the arena-I became a lot more adventurous and took more risks, although I felt slightly limited with space. However, when I read that Motionhouse Dance Theatre Company are “constantly experimenting with the performance environment and creating dance in unusual contexts - for parks, beaches, shopping centres and stately homes alongside more traditional venues.” (Motionhouse Dance Theatre http://www.motionhouse.co.uk/about.htm 2009]
The lights, the setting and the music all put together gave Porto so much more meaning for many people. I feel some people began to take Porto more serious when it dawns on you that you are about to give a public performance. We are being given the opportunity to do what other actors do and perform in a real theatre. I also think that this gave many cast members more focus, especially on warm ups. Being provided with the trust to perform our material to real audience members feels like a huge privilege.
3. Over the three shows in the Arena, Porto continued to grow and develop. The emotional intensity seemed to amplify once we had an audience. We had the added issue that we were never going to get to visit Porto ever again, so we all put our all into the performances. The second and third show contained many tears backstage waiting to run on for the last time. Porto has been a huge part of everyone’s lives over the last year, a place we go to every week, our place. Because of this, the performance continued to grow and change. During the last 3 shows, the energy became bigger, as did our emotional input.
My character especially, began to grow more than ever this last week. This was not my intention, but it happened. My characters needs and thoughts began to morph into something much more confident, and found myself needing somebody more than trying to be alone. This only happened over the last 3 shows, and the Validation phase was still happening all the time. DV8 Physical Theatre Company describes that:
“Not all decisions that are made in making a piece have completely thought-through reasoning behind them. Intuition and personal preferences come into it too. Then there's the interplay of ideas and meaning between all the people involved, including the audience. It's an exploration that continues even after the show is made.” (DV8 Physical Theatre http://www.dv8.co.uk/faqs/faqs.html#one 2009)
My exploration consisted of growing into a character that wanted to interact more, and wanted attention right until the end. The fear of taking my past with me dissolved, and I began to look towards my characters future.
The first show, where I felt the impulse to hug Edward became the most intense part of my character. During the exercise where we were asked to visit our most intense section in Porto, being left by David and finding Edward was that. As I turned around, having being left alone, I saw Edward being left by Roxanne, completely grief stricken and it was like looking in the mirror. We saw each other at the same time and just ran at each other. This then became the cue for the music to come on, so it just felt extremely right, and I had experienced this part of Porto that I never would have seen. My character felt so sad to be left and so alone, and then this person who had worn a mask for the whole performance, felt the same and needed me too.
I also built interactions a lot with Lauren, when we had never interacted up until the rehearsal before the Arena. Only in the 3 shows, did Lauren become a huge part of my character, and it fell into place perfectly. All these things were missing, and I never knew all along. Porto was teaching me things right up until the end, and is still teaching me. Ultima Vez explain that Wim Vandekeybus starts from “the conviction that life is very complex and chaotic and that in spite of our efforts to make sense of it, it remains a place beyond our understanding, over which we have no control.” (Ultima Vez http://www.ultimavez.com/ 2009)
In my first letter describing my character, I came to the realisation that my character was accidentally reflecting my own life. The answer I have been given from Porto shows me that I should never worry about fresh starts, and taking baggage along with me is okay too. An experience I will never forget.
Bibliography
DV8 Physical Theatre (2008) [online]. London: [Home Page] [cited 11th May 2009].
Motionhouse Dance Theatre (2008). Warwickshire: [Home Page] [cited 11th May 2009].
Ultima Vez Company (2008) [Home Page] [cited 11th May 2009]. < http://www.ultimavez.com/>
Vincent Dance Theatre (2008) [online]. Sheffield: [Home Page] [cited 11th May 2009].
Zarrilli, P (1995): Acting (re)considered: Theories and Practices: London: Routledge.
Gina Dobrovic, Assessment 4
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