The last two days of the intensive were dedicated to putting the material created into some kind of logical structure/order to present at the sharing, as well as editing bits of text and movement. This involved the creation of transitions and other snippets of new material to accompany certain solos and sections.
Interesting additions included a slow motion trio disco dancing to the audience whilst kicking and pushing each other out of the way, adding the prop of a brown paper bag to Paris’ solo (as if she is hyper-ventilating) and adding disco runs on and off the stage in Violet’s solo. Paris and her mother duet was also changed so that it takes place off stage, with the audience only being able to hear the conversation. My performers and myself also discussed what text should be left in, particularly in regard to Paris’ solo which gives a lot away about her character.
Talking to the dancers at the end of the 6th day of the intensive it became clear that all felt their characters had really become defined and different through the process. There was no particular preference raised about the choice to start with the characters and find the material from them, as opposed to allowing the characters to evolve from the material. However, the performers did comment that sometimes they felt restricted by their character when creating material. These two different approaches are something I wish to investigate further in my future work.
I am aware that some of the characters are a parody at this stage, and that there is a lot of text in the material so far. Therefore, the questions I want to ask the audience at the sharing include:
Does a male performer work?
Do the characters work and are they believable?
What sections work/don’t work, and what would you like to see developed further?
Silversmith Dance Theatre 