BLOG- Week Two (05/10/09)

At the start of the session we broke into groups and spoke about the articles we were asked to read i.e. “What, At the End of This Century, Is the Situation of Puppets & Performing Objects”, “The Radicality of the Puppet Theatre” and “The Foot”, all by Peter Schumann.

After the discussions, everyone was given one slide of The Foot to copy onto a piece of paper, copying the words and pictures. These were then put into order on the table and most members of the group ‘auditioned’ to be the narrator using the line “Ladies and Gentlemen- The Foot!” and gauging their success on the rest of the group’s applause.

The Foot was then re-enacted. The pieces of paper were held up in the middle of the performance space with the narrator in front and males and females on either side respectively. The pieces of paper were held up and discarded with reference to what the narrator said. The style was call and response and very rough and not rehearsed in keeping with Bread and Puppet style performance.

Everyone then sat in a circle and small groups told the rest of the group their ideas for the upcoming performance:

Group 1- expenses scandal with Jacqui Smith etc
Group 2- Lisbon Treaty
Group 3- BNP/FNP Party. B+P stock character useful i.e. peasants, black and white evil. Klu Klux Klan re-union. Racism, white supremisis, Nick Griffin (criminal record). Hope not hate.
Group 4- Eating disorders, obesity, media spin, advertisements, London fashion week
Group 5- Nuclear bombs, radiation

A silent, anonymous vote was then cast and it the top decided on was the BNP because of its capacity for satire and the depth of the topic.

By Jo Hutchings and Nat Horne

Indigenous Communities and Puppetry: A Talk and a Workshop by Sandy McKendrick

Students in Bread and Puppet Theater CTM are invited to register for a FREE talk and puppet workshop delivererd by visiting Australian practitioner Sandy McKendrick on 29 October. Details are at www.rhul.ac.uk/Drama/News-and-Events/mcKendrick.htm

BLOG – Week One (31/09/09)

First half of the session was spent doing group bonding exercises.

1. NAME GAME – each person said their name and performed an action which said something about them. This was then repeated by the rest of the group. Each time a new name was said the whole group repeated it and the action, and then also repeated the previous names and actions that had been said. In a group of about 40 this was a long process but proved effective!

2. BOMB/SHIELD GAME – one member of the group was made the ‘bomb’. Each member of the group then picked someone else in the group to be their ‘shield’. The aim was to always to have your shield standing between you and the ‘bomb’. Whoever was left without a shield between them and the ‘bomb’ was out. As the group got smaller this game got more difficult and more violent!

3. MUSIC MACHINE – the aim of this game was for the group to create a machine using just themselves. Someone came up with an idea for a machine and they had to create the first piece of it; one at a time the rest of the group then joined the shape until there was a ‘machine’. A) CHITTY BANG BANG EXPERIMENTAL MACHINE B) EVERLASTING BUBBLEGUM MACHINE C) TREE-FELLING MACHINE D) MACHINE THAT EMITS BANKERS/LAWYERS – as this game went on we had to start experimenting more with levels, and with using our bodies and with the sounds we made. By the time we made the last machine we had started working a lot more effectively as a group and were much more thoughtful in the way we created our ‘machines’.

4. SONG GAME – this game was similar to Music Machine as it also involved really working together as a group, starting off in smaller groups we each had to pick a note or a phrase of music, which fitted together with the others in the group to make a song. Gradually the smaller groups had to join together, fitting the different tunes into each other until we had made a complete song comprising all our notes and phrases. For this game we all had to be really focussed with our listening, and be really aware of what everyone else was doing, so that the song was harmonious. We did this game 3 different times, and by the third time it was noticeable that everyone was a lot more concentrated and really aware of each other. Generally one person started and then everyone joined in in turn, sometimes in little groups, not just using their voices, but also using clapping/clicking/stamping feet etc.

After our practical games session we began work on analysing the Bread and Puppet Theatre, since they are to be the inspiration and drive behind our forthcoming theatre piece this term.

In class we split into groups of 5 and began to discuss articles written by Baz Kershaw (The Routledge Reader in Politics and Performance) and James Roose-Evans (Experimental Theatre), which were assigned for us to read before class. In our groups we began to draw comparisons between Kershaw’s political analysis of radical theatre as cultural intervention and Peter Schumann’s Bread and Puppet Theatre. After discussing our ideas we re-grouped as a class and shared our thoughts to the other groups. Topics of discussion included the use of humour (that had almost sinister undertones), themes, the collective mentality of B&P, the relationship between the actors and the audience, the use of diverse theatrical techniques and space.

Next we divided up into our Seminar Groups to discuss the areas in Contemporary Theatre we would be specializing in and teaching the rest of the class in the coming weeks. Areas of production included; sacred harp and music, choreography, puppet and mask making, script and dramaturgy and space and design.

For next week we have been asked to recycle some cardboard and bring it to class (Everything in our performance needs to be used from recycled, cost free materials!!!) and research a social/political topic we would like to base our performance on.

Today’s class has been fascinating. As a group, the games we played during the first half of the class helped us gain a sense of community and collaboration. Bread and Puppet is a company that extends past the conventions of the modern theatre, I think, during the next few months we will be faced with multiple challenges that will strengthen our work ethic, open our minds and push us physically. Can’t wait for us to pick a topic for our group and get the ball rolling! J

-Yazmin Vigus and Miranda Marvin

Welcome

Welcome to the blog for the Contemporary Theatremaking option on Bread and Puppet Theater for 2009.

This space is an opportunity for us to document the process of the project we are undertaking together. Documentation is a key concern for contemporary practitioners and scholars and part of your study during this course will involve reflecting upon the documentation of the company and developing documentation of your own work.


Each week group members will be allocated to the process of documentation - although you are all invited to post reports and comments. If you are unsure how to do any of these things, you can email me (matthew.cohen@rhul.ac.uk) and we'll try to talk you through it. You will receive feedback on your documentation work.

By the end of the course we hope that this blog will be a rich account of the ideas and images we have explored during the term which should prove very useful to you as you write your reflective essays.

Readings and viewings

This course has a course pack containing readings on Bread and Puppet that you are required to purchase from the departmental office. You will also be expected to view a number of videos.


Before the first class please view a generous selection (at least 30 minutes) of Bread and Puppet videos on youtube (http://www.youtube.com) as well as do the assigned readings in the course pack (only about 12 pages).

You are also encouraged to view Biting the Hand that Leads Us, an online video about theatre companies (primarily American) that use performance for political impact, including a three minute excerpt from the documentary Bread and Puppet Theatre: A Song for Nicaragua. See http://www.archive.org/details/ddtv_17_biting_the_hand_that_leads_us. The Bread and Puppet segment is at 47.42 -50.55.

GOOD LUCK!

You all worked hard throughout the term. So good luck on Monday.The main thing is to enjoy it and to have a good time in the process. And always remember that what you have learned (and still learning) is the main objective.
I'll be looking forward to it.

BREAK A LEG!

Nesreen

Last Making Session

We had our final making session today (Friday 07/12/07). We spent the day trying to finish off all the props/flags/signs/masks etc... for the performance on Monday. All in all I think we've pretty much got everything done now. It would have helped if there had been a few more people to help out, but we managed pretty well with under 10 people. Although at times the whole making process has been very demanding, our session today was really fun. It was very relaxed and productive and overall highly enjoyable. It has probably been the most 'bread and puppet' style session of the creative process and we have managed to make use of free materials and re-use whatever we could find. I believe we have truly lived up to the cheap art ethic, that bread and puppet embraces so fully. With our first dress rehearsal tomorrow and our last rehearsal before Monday, I think we're well prepared. I have added some photos from today's making session below.

CTM Showings' Running Order - December 10, 2007

Morning
10 am Studio Theatre – Tara Arts
10.30 am Sutherland House to Boilerhouse – Shunt
11. 00 Boilerhouse – Bread and Puppet

Afternoon – all in Boilerhouse
2pm Forced Entertainment
2.30 Improbable
3.00 Trestle