The Next Stage, 2003
AIMS OF THE NEXT STAGE
- To work towards the completion of a first draft of a new drama by a blind writer, Maria Oshodi, working title ‘The Apprehension Equation’. This explores concepts of the dynamic relationship between the blind sight distinction and its affect on perception and site. Taking stories and themes from the lives of certain real life and fictional blind figures, the story explores three characters who inhabit contrasting plots that reflect different relationships with ‘not seeing’, so unfolding the main question/theme of the piece.
- To develop liberating physical performance styles for and by blind performers, i.e. performers who do not use any degree of sight as a primary way to negotiate space. For example, using styles of movement, which are derived from blind peoples, own natural ways of negotiating the world like tension states in Physical theatre, clown, and non-naturalistic methods that enable ease of movement across space.
- To Access this to a visually impaired audience through live methods, such as molding the written material through production so it holds clues for a blind audience about action on stage. This is a cultural esthetic we aim to develop in access terms, which reflects the fractured way in which blind people have to naturally gather from their environments, fragments of a picture, piecing it together by constant editing and working backwards with delayed exposition. This is so the work will not be dependent on technical intervention to provide the access for the blind audience, as is usually the case with the conventional and expensive use of audio description in theatres.
- To also attempt to make the work theatrically interesting for a sighted audience.
- To realise the above in a half hour/45 minute work in progress performance, and present this to an invited blind and sighted audience with performing arts backgrounds. The specific purpose of this is to receive feedback on their experience of our work in terms of content, theatricality and accessibility, and analyse their response in regard to future production development.
GENERAL COMMENTS
“Really useful feedback sessions. The wide ranging comments/feelings about how things worked or did not for the audience showed what a complicated business it is trying to please all of the people all of the time.” Indira Sengupta
“Very very exciting piece of work. I think the idea of creatively incorporating description in a prosaic way within the writing is a real innovation. I loved the breadth of staging and theatrical languages. The idea of taking 3 little known historical figures and putting their story into one whole like this is very inspiring – Can’t wait for the end piece.” Colin Hambrook
“It is very exciting to know that we people with a visual impairment are being thought of in the world of the arts. look forward to your future productions and Good Luck! for all your future endeavours, the next and the next and the next …. stage!” Sunethra Goonewardene
“A stimulating night. I felt like a witness to some brilliant experiments in theatre.” Rachel Vaughan
“This was one of the most exciting and revelatory evenings I have ever spent in a theatre. It was wonderful to see blind performers moving and communicating so confidently and the knowledge that it was all their own work gave a liberating strength to everything they did. I’ve always said the trouble with audio description is that it’s done by sighted people as I find it hugely frustrating to have a sighted voice battering me with information I don’t want to know – and then telling me what I do want to know at the wrong time. And so I was delighted to discover that minimal description freed my imagination and proved to be entirely sufficient – I even thought some of it superfluous. And, above all, it wasn’t being forced on me from outside.” Lila Hamilton.
“Most enjoyable, creative, thought provoking evening. Thanks. Excellent to know the views of so many blind and partially sighted participants.” Jessica Higgs.
“Thanks for a brilliantly creative evening.” Kate Portal
“Fantastic writing – wonderful exploration of style – unexpected in its freshness.” Charlotte Cunningham.
“The evening was excellent and, it was a good idea but, while it was great to include everyone in what was essentially a focus group you will rightly do what you feel is artistically right. In short, if necessary go on upsetting people and, in this PC “dumbing down” culture, make the buggers work!” Richard Majewski
“This was such an exciting evening. The only performances I had seen by blind people before have been one disastrous evening at the “Venturers” and the production of Zeros and Nils at Sadler’s Wells. Neither of these experiences prepared me for what I saw here. This is a very talented group of people, serious actors with considerable talent. All too often I have attended work that is heralded as “experimental” and found immature and inexperienced young people indulging in work that is more indulgent than experimental. Not here. I think that this event presented the most exciting experience in disability arts for well over a decade.” Ian Jentle.
“I really enjoyed Thursday’s presentation at Jackson’s Lane. I found it both entertaining and inspiring and thought the structure of the evening was a great model for evaluation. Have you been documenting the process of action research you’re undertaking? As a piece of theatre research this is very exciting. Talking of which, the whole evening emphasised the movement of shifting aesthetics that we were attempting to discuss/highlight at our conference. It’s very exciting.” Owen Smith
“I did feel that this was a genuinely interesting attempt to merge physical theatre with in built audio description, dialogue and the use of sound and space. I much preferred the first section on Nazis and the French resistance to the other two, because I felt that for a mainstream audience it offered the best way Into issues surrounding visual impairment and to understanding the role of AD and sound in theatre. I think that you need to think about who the target audience of this work is going to be. My impression last night was that the vast majority of people present were theatre professionals steeped in theatre techniques, and this enabled them to understand a lot of what was going on. There were various points at which I felt somewhat lost by the use of physical theatre, and I do feel that as a regular theatre goer I might be more typical of the average play watcher who doesn’t actually know a lot about theatrical techniques. I’d suggest you hold another road testing session with regular theatre goers who don’t work in theatre and don’t know that much about theatrical techniques, as this might give a better idea of the commercial possibilities of the work and whether it can hold the attention of an average audience for any length of time. I thought that as a way of exploring issues around AD and physical theatre last night was fantastic. I did genuinely enjoy it. James Lewis.