1. A huge communal theme within Porto was that of waiting. Each individual character was ’stuck in limbo’, as such, for their own individual reasons which we see unfold during the entirety of the performance. There is no clear escape for these characters out of Porto therefore they are forced to sit and wait. The first individual movements within the ensemble communicate to the audience a sense of eccentricity and independence within the group, but as the ensembles movements become synchronised the audience begin to see the frustration and the anxiety of which having to wait in Porto brings upon these characters. One of the main reasons for why these characters are left in Porto is one to do with their baggage. Everyone carried some sort of emotional baggage with them through Porto. What this baggage stands for is dependant on each character alone but the fact that they all have it binds together this community. The opening ensemble screams chaos and confusion towards an audience through the sharp repetitive movements layered by music with an unsteady tempo. We see the transition between complete pandemonium and tranquillity as the performance progresses. The reprise of the first ensemble reminds the audience of a sense of similarity as the piece had mainly focused on the individual narratives up until this point. The chairs new positions were chosen purely by the characters in Porto alone therefore the audience can clearly see which relationships had been made or broken, which still gives the community a sense of individuality but the repetitive nature of the movements in this ensemble brings the focus back to that of waiting. Curiosity seems to be apart of everyone’s characteristics within Porto, this becomes apparent during the entrance of Nicola’s character, it is also shown again through the unveiling of Nicola’s character at the end of the piece where the community become curious of what Nicola’s character is, once again.
2. After spending weeks transforming the ‘empty space’ into that of Porto the rehearsal room became Porto’s home. When moving into the Arena it was almost like entering that ’empty space’ once again, which in effect helped in the opening of Porto when each character walks into the ’unknown’ space, as it became more realistic and organic. The space around the periphery seemed somewhat more confined at moments, especially up stage left opposite the stairs. ‘[…] actors might be severely restricted in time and training space’ (Zarrilli, P. 1995: 92) As a whole the periphery was a much larger area than that of the rehearsal room, which worked to both an advantage and a disadvantage to the piece. People had rehearsed their periphery movements in a tight, cramped space for weeks, so when having to expand this it had the potential to confuse a variety of cast members. In the first two runs the periphery became very cramped by the stairs towards the end of the piece due to people not using space efficiently. Not only did the cast now have to concentrate on ‘filling the space’ and listening to their bodies to tell them where they should be, but also to become even more aware of ‘the space’. Objects such as lanterns invaded the performance space so people had to adapt some of their movements to accommodate for these small inconveniences. New objects such as stairs, bars and pillars also became apart of Porto, giving more flexibility to the space. These objects in particular helped the performers to develop their characters further in terms of movement, and experimentation. ‘Commanding the stage demands a control of the space. […] the actor has to read the space. But in order to do this s/he has first to really ‘see’ it, to create parallels of attention so that the whole space becomes their field of vision.’ (Callery, D. 2001: 79) A major weakness within the ensemble was that of ‘visibility awareness’. It seemed difficult for everyone to grasp the concept of not taking their movements beyond a certain point due to not being visible by the audience. This took up a substantial amount of time, and the bad organisation of chairs was due to bad communication within the ensemble, but collectively the technical aspects and the newly refined characters came together to once again transform the ‘empty space’ into Porto’s realm.
3.The RSVP method was most definitely a continuous process through out the whole of Porto’s journey. Entering an entire new space allows this process to continue by allowing one’s character to explore itself further and discover new things about itself that may not have been initially realised. Adding new technical aspects, such as the waiting in neutral at the beginning instead of leaving the stage, and various different stage directions to the score at such a late stage, allows the validation process to be on going. This is necessary for a piece to reach its true potential. For my character this continuous method of RSVP helped her to develop. After the rehearsals and the first show my character became more possessive towards Gavin and interacted with Sarah a lot more in the periphery. I found myself and Gavin using more ‘extra daily movements’ rather than just pedestrian. As me and Gavin completely improvised our movements in the periphery it varied every show, keeping them organic and lead purely by impulse. ‘Sometimes the chemistry of performers and how they play together enables them to work purely from play’ (Callery D. 2001: 169) Having an audience present meant my character was mentally focused as well as physically, this allowed me to listen to by body more rather than getting provoked by the music. ‘by tuning into the body, performers are able to find the exact and authentic response to the situation. Then they follow it onto unfettered action, enabling real dramatic truth to manifest itself’ (Marshall, L. 2002: 33) Over the entirety of the 3 shows the emotional level of the whole ensemble escalated to reach its peak on the very last show. This was partly because having an audience present to decode a performance makes it complete therefore it becomes more intense and focused. The first performance was almost lacking in energy and was a little static around the periphery where as the second performance was much more energetic and involved. After completing the show with an audience it allowed the characters to get more involved with what Porto actually was, and what it actually meant for each individual. After being there once, one gets more emotionally attached to the space. By the third show the frustration of ones character just waiting in Porto was really communicated successfully due to the fact that people had already been in Porto and had experienced that frustration and that emotion so many times before that those emotions and tears were real. For me personally this was definitely the situation. Having those raw emotions and those real characters dealing with real life every day issues in today’s society communicates a sense of realism to an audience, which briefly reflects the works of Jasmin Vardimon, ‘Jasmin’s characters are real people who, although usually somehow on the edges of society, represent aspects of what it is to be a human being right now’. Each character is an extension of oneself therefore it is real and alive, this is what made the last show extremely emotional, intense and controlled.
Bibliography
Callery, D. (2001); Through The Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre.
London: Neil Hern Books Ltd.
Marshall, L. (2002); The Body Speaks: Performance and Expression. Revised Ed.
London: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Zarrilli, P. (1995); Acting (re)considered: Theories and Practices.
London: Routledge.
Other sources
Jasmin Vardimon Website. Accessed: 14/05/09http://www.jasminvardimon.com/testimonials.html
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