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SCENES OF THE IMAGINATION (2004)
Team
Location: Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York
Performance: Sunday 11 July 2004
The numbers five and seven are very significant in the Japanese culture. From the outset of this production we wanted Japanese and Experimental theatre to be our main influences and consequently we structured the production with two alternating strands; five of which act out the story of Shakespeare's Twelth Night and seven which use abstract movement and music. Scene seven is an interactive interval!
Programme
Twelth Night
This comedy is enacted in scenes 2, 4, 6, 9 and 11. The story is of two twins, a brother and sister, who, as a result of a shipwreck, find themselves separated but both in the same country. The sister, Viola, disguises herself
as a man in order to survive in the unknown city of Illyria. She finds herself working for the Duke Orsino as a messenger wooing the Lady Olivia. Quickly her disguise becomes a problem as she finds herself in love with the Duke and
in turn, Olivia falls in love with Cesario (Viola in disguise).
To make matters more complicated, Sebastian (Viola's twin brother) then arrives on the scene with his travelling companion, Antonio, and is repeatedly mistaken for Cesario. Whilst he is confused by the response he is receiving from previously unknown people he seems
to accept them, throwing himself wholeheartedly into a fight with Olivia's servant and then accenting to Olivia's sudden proposal of marriage.
Finally we see the story unravel as Olivia meets with the Duke and Cesario. When Cesario does not respond to reference to her as 'husband' then all seven characters gradually meet together
and the scenario is explained.
In keeping with the influence of Japanese theatre during this strand of the production we have introduced miés to the performance. This is when characters on stage freeze with exaggerated facial expressions.
Also the characters have been dressed (within limitations!) in traditional Japanese and 'eastern' costumes with the faces painted in the style of Kabuki performers
with white faces and black marking out the eyes and mouth. This style of face painting makes the miés even more expressive.
Abstract Scenes
Our two influences have offered us a great deal of continuity as well as contrasts in movement. Both Japanese and Experimental theatre emphasise controlled movement. In the case of Experimental Theatre, particularly Samuel Beckett's Quad, the movement is fast and precise, whereas the traditions of Japanese puppetry, Bunraku,
have led us to a far more graceful and gentle approach. Both of these are explored in the performance.
We have been particularly inspired by Kabuki, a form of Japanese theatre, which is visually spectacular and a highly disciplined art form and the ritualistic elements of the ancient Noh Theatre. I have already mentioned the miés which take place in Twelth Night. These also emerge in the abstract scenes.
In our performance we have used stylised movement so that the audience is encouraged to look beyond the individuals in order to perceive the beauty and grace of the group formations.
An interactive installation piece will be created during the interval as members of the audience trigger sounds selected from different points in the soundtrack.
The Music
The soundtrack to the performance incorporates recorded improvisations on piano and Shakuhachi (a traditional Japanese flute) with marimba, harpsichord and synthesiser, to give a variety of contrasting textures to the music. In order to reflect Japanese culture, pentatonic scales have been used for most of the recordings. Electro-acoustic techniques have also been used to process
many of the sounds into abstract textures. This genre developed alongside experimental music in the 1950s and 60s, and thus retains close links with Experimental theatre.
An interactive installation piece will be created during the interval as members of the audience trigger sounds selected from different points in the soundtrack.
Flying Ducks Youth Theatre said a special thank you to:
Press & Publicity
Helen Bell for creating such beautiful posters and programme covers, Kevin O' Callaghan for printing them and Emily Downing for publicising the production.
Music
Joe Browning for allowing us to record him playing his shakuhachi.
Tom Haigh for creating all of the pre-recorded music used in the show, for managing to figure out how to make the sound equipment kindly loaned by Amicus work.
Set & Props
Tom Deakin, Mark Outhwaite and Toby Wardman without whom there would be no chessboard.
Pextons, Bishopthorpe Road and B&Q, Monks Cross for their kind of donations.
Peter Allan, Jo Hammond and Louise's mum for their outstanding crane-folding stamina.
Rehearsals & Performances
Jill Cissons and Emma Tatnall for their coaching of the Shakespeare scenes;
Steve and Jill Outhwaite for all their support and their amazing ability to find solutions to the seemingly most impossible of problems;
To everyone working both backstage and Front of House.
Eileen Cass and everyone at Flying Ducks Youth Theatre for all of the time and effort they have put into this production.
Everyone at the university who has helped make this show possible.
Vanbrugh College for their kind donations.
Bruce Cole for his support and guidance along the way;
All at Audio Visual and Matt Neighbour for their technical expertise, but most of all for their patience with those of us limited, or indeed no understanding of things technical; Chao-chih Huang for recording the performance.
Penelope Walcott and the Box Office for printing the tickets;
Vicky Cumberland, Catherine Duncan and Helen Gillie for putting up with all our questions and making the organisation relatively painless.
To all who have provided supplies of tea, coffee and chocolate at crucial moments - you know who you are!
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