Solo performance

Description
This week we only focused on the solo performance. Through a two ppts, we were able to see the key requirements for the solo piece and a range of theatre theorists we can choose from to place their theory into practice.

Analysis
One interesting aspect of this IB task is that we place ourselves simultaneously in the shoes of the director, producer, designer and actor. From this, I learned that this task encapsulates what a theatre maker is all about; directing your performance while producing your design elements and finally making them come alive through your acting. However, one challenge we will face is to balance all four perspectives in a single performance while at the same time following an aspect of your selected theorist. As a solution, we must plan a schedule for each area to not consume our time in only one and leave the other ones behind. Although, balancing is important, we must take in consideration the aspect our theatre theorist focuses on. For instance, if I was to choose Uta Hagen, I would focus more on the acting part of theatre since besides she was an actress, she believes that the actor must bring his/her psychological problems, passions, fears and rages in the service of the character. Therefore, I learned that at the beginning of the product we shall manage to pay equal attention to all four areas but during the process, give an extra focus on the area your theatre theorist is an expert in. An interesting aspect of choosing Uta Hagen is that it instantly connected with my interest in psychology as I explained before in her beliefs for the actors, thus, it is important to select a theatre theorist that attracts you since the solo performance isn't just about learning the theorist's theory like in history courses but to literally perform it.

By watching the ppt of the theatre theorists, I learned that the solo performance gives us absolute liberty in selecting which theorist we wish to elaborate a further research in. From directors, producers, designers to actors, we had the ability to choose theorists that could help us excel in our strengths, work on our weaknesses or approach new aspects of theatre we have never heard before. For instance, we have never done miming in school and perhaps Etienne Decroux can introduce us to the fabulous world of corporal mime. Assuming I have chosen Etienne Decroux, it could push me further in my ability of corporal expression because literally in mime there is no voice at all, instead the audience will rely their attention in understanding the story behind my movements which would be interesting to explore so I can discover if I really have the ability of delivering a message only through movements and face expressions as mimes do. On the other side, I learned that the process of the solo performance isn't about choosing one theatre theorist and just going with it, but it's about investigating from the ones of your interest and finally acknowledging fully about your favorite one.Therefore, it is essential to have knowledge on the other theorists (despite you won't choose them) who have, in a sense, marked the era of theatre (e.g Stanislavsky or Beckett) whose theories have helped contemporary directors create their theatre pieces.We must recall what Mrs. Alicia said this entire week" theatre maker que se respeta, ha leido Waiting for Godot, sabe quien es Stanislavsky or Brecht". What I'm trying to illustrate with this example is that this IB product encourages to know who are our theatre ancestors to take in account different perspectives on theatre and finally, place only one theatre theorist's theory into practice through the solo performance.

Reflection
It is interesting how the only product which differences SL and HL are the options of liberty. This can be explained by the Research Project which gives us a limited list of theatre traditions we can choose from which most are from Asia and Europe while the Solo performance we can choose whichever theorist theory we want to put into practice. However, time is what scares me the most since we have to do all four perspectives into a single performance which lasts a maximum of 8 minutes. So what I have been questioning myself all week long is that how will we be able to place ourselves in the four perspectives completely while we need to focus more on our theorists aspect? I mean... besides learning the entire theory and then focusing on a specific aspect, will time help us or consume us for good?