Responses

Bonjour suspect culturettes,

Lots of very good ideas here and worth underlining.

Kelly's idea of having people dispersed across the stage but having a conversation as if they're next to each other is excellent. Just the sort of thing to pursue. Annie's suggestion is good too. You might find it hard to get hold of the tall table and chairs but there would be nothing wrong with using some chairs as long as the group could source them and don't call on the technical staff for assistance (it's a very busy point of term).

I like Ania's suggestion for fairly harsh white light on the character. It seems to suit the starkness of the scenes and the playing style you're developing. I think Nia's suggestions that you work more on gestures and also think about lip-synching to the video material is good. (Sam, I wondered if you thought there could be more 'interview' material, maybe even just silent, just shots of performers looking into the camera, in the final migration dance. Just a thought.)

The rucksack is a good idea, and visually very clear. I would gently suggest, though, that no one gets too hung up on character and through-line. Of the shows we've seen, Timeless is an exception in its focus on individual character. Most other shows break character up and that feels to me at least the spirit of the show you've been putting together. The emphasis should be less on internal character work and more on an externalising performance skill: claiming the audience's attention, creating a sense of situation, relationship, action, attitude in your tone of voice, stance. The 'scenes' are very very short so you have to do this quickly and economically. It's not about producing rich, nuanced character, but understanding your place within the rhythm of the whole show - which is where the complexity and nuance will be found.

Kim, Radiohead seems to me a good steer for the music. Particularly Kid A which is more 'experimental' and less obviously songlike. Things without audible/obvious lyrics are good, because then they don't interfere with the performers' words. Nick Powell's music for Suspect Culture is usually fairly 'ambient' in style, sometimes digitally broken down and treated, interspersed with found sound. I've suggested the Charlie Rich song for the final sequence partly because it worked so nicely in the random accident of trying it in the class, but also it recalls the effect in Lament of having all that dirtied-down very urban digital sound which is then replaced by the 'warmth' and 'humanity' of the solo piano playing. It's a kind of rediscovery of emotional and, well, soul for those final moments.

My last thought is that you should keep open to the thought that the lines could be switched around. There are possible other connections between the different situations that could be emphasised nicely through some smart casting decisions. Watching what I saw on Monday, I wondered about the logic of having someone speak in two different languages within a single 'scene'. It may be okay, but it's potentially puzzling.

I think a slinky workshop would be a valuable use of half an hour.

Dan Rebellato