Social_Theatre

Now that the Wednesday Workshops are in full swing- ticking along every week with just enough participants to make it possible- I can be in the lucky position now to sit back and begin analysing what is happening. By setting up these workshops in the UK I am essentially embarking upon my own independent research project into what happens when you test out a deeply Brazilian set of performance techniques in London. This cultural submersion was something I hoped would offer me some profound insights into not only makes Tá Na Rua a reputable Brazilian theatre company worthy of import, but also whether when stripped down from their avert Brazilian-ness Tá Na Rua can offer a sound, usable and original set of acting techniques that are worthy of a place amongst other international greats such as Stanslavsky, Brecht, and even their once friend and neighbour- Boal. In a research project such as this, I am finding that it is by exploring the problems we encounter in the practice that we make discoveries into the theory. Perhaps the term problem is too harsh a word for this instance- not so much a problem, more an area of slight confusion- which occurred when I was trying to figure out how to promote these workshops. The issue arose when I was having difficulty promoting the workshops to both the Drama students of Goldsmiths University and the dance students of the Laban Centre- without the hastle of producing two sets of flyers. After hearing me moan on about this complex problem my DJ Alex asked me a question that got me thinking ‘Emma, are you trying to teach actors to become dancers' Or dancers to become actors'’ Alex is not the only one confused by what exactly it is I am trying to create with this group- it seems every time I speak about this theatre company to an English-man/woman they look back confused and question me about whether it is not in fact a dance troupe' Certainly when I try and explain exactly what goes on in the workshops the group seems to hold a much greater resemblance to a company of dancers rather than actors. We work to music using a DJ, we create the aesthetic performance not through dialogue but through movement, and because what we create is directed by music- the scenes inevitably occur through dance. Funnily enough the whole time I workshopped with Tá Na Rua in Brazil I never questioned the legitimacy of the term ‘ator’ when it was used by Amir as he sat in a plastic chair explaining to the group the methodology of his work whilst we lay strewn across the floor after what was essentially an intensive 3 hour dance off. Though I lay dripping with sweat, having just attempted the samba, the salsa, the tango, some afro, a touch of ballet, contemporary jazz and a side of funk all before lunch- I felt every bit a Tá Na Rua ‘ator’ not dancer. I was an ‘ator’, because by performing these techniques I was not leaning the steps to the samba, or how to perform a good pirouette but rather how to act without direction on impulse, in an environment that offered complete freedom of physical expression without the hindrance of words or dialogue. Once you develop this ability then the theatre really starts to take shape. Scenes are created by the Tá Na Rua actors not merely by the dancing but by how they create the entire mise-en-scene. The costumes and props when used must have relevance, levels should be explored, colours must be co-ordinated, movement sequenced, facial expressions appropriate. Tá Na Rua is ‘teatro sem arquitetura (theatre without architecture), dramaturgia sem literature (drama without literature), actor sem papel (actor without paper). Actors are not simply enjoying a chance to dance to their hearts content but rather discovering how to work together as a collective in order to mutually and spontaneously direct a piece of theatre. When this is achieved the overall effect of the performance is outstanding- an entire society can be created before your eyes wherein you can witness characters, places, romance, death, class-divisions- you name it, anything can be made possible! Creating scenes with this level of complexity is something which is I am all to ready to admit still along way off for my group. Tá Na Rua actors can take months, even years before they have mastered these techniques- but I know it is possible and from what I have so far seen I know there is hope! The difficulty arises when perhaps due to my inability to briefly sum up what exactly these techniques are and who can do them- we get stuck in a situation wherein people question whether they are learning to become a dancer or an actor. This problem I feel is particularly resonant in the UK because I believe that we have a strong tendency to place actors and dancers in two different categories. I know you could argue that they cross over within the field of musical theatre wherein people become trained up into being all singing, all dancing all acting geniuses but even so enter any drama school and you will see that dancing and acting remain taught in separate places- by separate tutors- and are generally considered separate (not that I have been to one- I’m just going from what I saw on Fame!). The notion of spending time dancing in order to learn how to become a better actor seems perhaps a bit silly- although I would like to call it radical! In Brazil this notion that you are either an actor or a dancer unless you work with musical theatre is not quite so apparent. The fact that people generally learn to dance from an early age (any Brazilian kid can samba me right off the floor) means that dance can hold a much stronger role in performance, reflective of the fact it is such an integral part of Brazilian culture. Certainly in work I have done with other Brazilian theatre companies- such as the Centro do Teatro do Oprimido Rio. There was never an eyebrow raised when the CTO jokers decided to integrate dancing into drama rehearsals. I have worked with Theatre of the Oppressed techniques in both London and Rio and the strongest difference I felt was that in Rio I was expected not only to act but also to sing and to dance. This is particularly true in their current practice which follows theories in Boals last book ‘Estetica do Oprimido’- a work which though written at the end of Boal’s carreer is seen (by the CTO) to lay the essential framework to all Theatre of the Oppressed techniques. The Estetica do Oprimido believes that ‘ser humana ser artista’ -to be human is to be an artist. In order to clarify the significance of this statement I must refer back to work I have done in the UK with Theatre of the Oppressed techniques, wherein the Boalian goals of liberating the oppressed in society by developing their critical senses and encouraging debate was always achieved through acting techniques. In Rio by following the Estectica do Oprimido- the oppressed are taught how to develop their ‘pensimento sensivel’ sensitive thinking and ‘pensimento simbolico’ symbolic thinking by experimenting with a range of different art forms- so the Boalian actor becomes artist by working with music, dance, fine art, poetry/literature as well as acting techniques. As the theatre is an art form which can use a range of different art forms in it’s stenography what occurred was that the group performing would also be whom had designed and made the scenery, costumes, written the dialogue and music, they were also the musicians and the singers, the dancers as well as the actors. When working with groups from the CTO Rio this method worked very effectively, made easier perhaps given that the cultural environment is one which as we discussed last- does not separate professional and unprofessional in the same way we do in the UK. However- keeping to the thoughts spinning around my head this week- I feel it serves to demonstrate how in Brazil there is much greater cross-over in the various art forms, each one being depended upon the other and the notion of being an artist- is not necessarily someone who lives their life chained to a single art form but it can be someone how chooses to live creatively, and is therefore open to exploring all artistic avenues. Place this back into a Tá Na Rua context and we begin to understand why the Tá Na Rua actors must learn to get out of the mindset that as an actor they are only there to act. To be able to produce performance spontaneously, without pre-direction they must learn to do more than act. It is taking on a Brazilian mentality that as an actor you are also an artist, who can therefore be a musician, a dancer, a stenographer because you have mastered the ability to create. This method of producing performance by developing your ‘artistic’ skills is something which can perhaps be related to the work of Growtowski and principles the better actor. (Although this is something that I will only feel comfortable exploring in greater depth once I have read more into Growtowski) At any rate it is certainly something which I believe should be developed in artistic practice over here which is why I feel so strongly about running Tá Na Deptford workshops in the UK, because I feel it offers performers a training method which can be incredibly useful. So how is my group so far dealing with this sudden juxtaposition of various forms' How are they finding turning up to a workshop run by a ‘South East Street Theatre Company’ and then offered no guidance with regards to how they should act; left instead to listen to the music and from this start to dance. Well part of the success so far is that the group has comprised not of professional actors but has been predominantly dance students. I was encouraged to strongly promote this to the Laban dance school after the first ever workshop I ran- in a rehearsal studio in Islington felt somewhat flat, given that the trained actors in attendance tended not to have the confidence, ability or stamina to perform well to music. By filling a room with dancers- particularly Laban dancers who are famous for their unconventionality, has meant that sessions have taken off well because the participants have a good ability to physically create with the music. Their fitness levels means they can continue for long enough to produce a variety of different scenes, and their dance training means they can achieve fantastic shapes and sequences with their bodies. What has impressed me about the dancers that have been in attendance at the workshops so far has also been their ability to create wild, often abstract personas using the costumes and props provided. The more experimental the participants are willing to be with the costumes, the greater the aesthetic impact- which gives the group a fantastic selling point for hiring out to alternative club-nights in London. To test run this theory we took the group to a night happening at an underground club in London to perform at a costume party called ‘DIY with D&C’. With more and more London clubs wanting to offer something a bit ‘different’ to their punters- I think putting Tá Na Deptford out there as a club night performance troupe is a good way to go. The alternative night scene around London town is exactly the kind of environment where Tá Na Deptford can flourish. It offers for the group a space to go wild with the costumes, pump up the music and release inhibitions. At such nights it is not just accepted for people to be a bit theatrical, a bit wacky, a bit controversial- it is encouraged- the perfect conditions to break out Tá Na Deptford. And our pop-up workshop and our final performance with band Dimbleby and Capper went down a storm! We offered people not only something wild, beautiful and skilled to watch passively but by contributing the general artistic ambiance of the place- I feel we helped people attending the night to feel they were in an environment wherein they are able let go of some of their own inhibitions as well. Because of this I think promoters will love us. Because of this I think we have a selling point in London. However, does going down this route of club-night performers mean we are loosing the direction, changing the method, ignoring the philosophy of Tá Na Rua- taking it from it’s social theatre roots and turning it into some kind of ponsy avant-guarde dance troupe- which can only be enjoyed by the cool kids in London town' I don’t think so. Yes we are changing Tá Na Rua- we are adapting it to an entirely new cultural context- and experimenting with it down new paths wherein it might be able to flourish. We are still at the start of our journey and the goal at the moment is quite simply to find out how Tá Na Deptford can survive in this city. How it can attract people to it. How it can actually create performance And finally how it can make money- because I can’t keep funding this out my back pocket- even a Deptford dealer like myself must learn to draw the line somewhere. It is not our fault that UK actors which have come into contact with Tá Na Deptford have tended to falter at because of its lack of structure, its insistence on physical performance, its lack of script. Let us appreciate that the dancers we have attracted have so far embraced this opportunity to let go, dress up, and act on impulse and that they seem keen to take things further. However the future of this is not a dance troupe- it is a performance group that can create theatre which impacts our society. And for this we need more than dancers- we need dancers that can act. By this I mean dancers that can create characters and work as a collective to build scenes- that place the protagonist against the antagonist, that expose the truths of societies, that take us on an emotional journey, that offer us essentially pure theatre! So come forth all you dancers, since you appear physically and mentally able to work impulsively to music and step up to the challenge of becoming a Ta Na Deptford actor! So far analysing how the Tá Na Deptford actors have taken to this challenge has been particularly interesting in view of the fact that each week we have so far been switching between using two different groups. Out of sheer coincidence each week we have enjoyed either a selection of Goldsmiths or Laban students. What makes this interesting is that the Goldsmiths students are those from the drama course- and have therefore tend to be budding actors, whilst the Laban students are dancers.