ACP378 Digital Portfolio

(BRAINSTORMING)

"We are exploring the phenomenon of polarisation"

ACTIVITY

REFLECTION

People listen to music for different aesthetic purposes including the genre, emotion, lyrics etc.

As a deviser, I admire the ongoing collaboration and innovative ideas sparked by brainstorming. Crucial to any devising process, brainstorming generates avenues of research which in turn result in experimentation on the floor. As seen in the above images, brainstorming assisted the ensemble in unpacking our highly complex theme. This dramaturgical strategy was thus effective in providing a solid understanding of polarisation which in turn enabled the ensemble to present polarity using dramatic representation.

WEEK 1 JOURNAL ENTRY

09 -15 / 03 / 20

Journal prompt: Write a few paragraphs about how the magnet image functions as a metaphor for polarisation:

The above still-image draws upon concepts relating to attraction and compulsion.
Comparable to negative and positive forces that make a magnetic state, a polarised public is likewise constructed with two opposite or contradictory tendencies, opinions or aspects (McCarty 2019, pg. 8). The magnetic image and polarisation are thus similar (but not identical) concepts. The red ‘N’ and blue ‘S’ correctly illustrate a dipolar magnetic field (opposite attract, like repel). The question then posed is this: Are contradictory opinions dipolar since those who disagree often remain locked in argument? I will keep this in mind when researching content for our devised piece. Social psychology research, however, proposes that people with similar opinions tend to form in league. Upon conversing with like-minded beings, individuals may even adopt more extreme attitudes than previously held prior to deliberation known as Group Polarisation (American Psychological Association). This aspect of polarisation therefore does not support the dipolar magnetic field in which ‘like’ poles repel.
I can additionally relate this discussion to Anne Bogart’s (2007, p.32) sentiment that a dense magnetic force exists between collaborative peers. I feel most ‘attracted’ to an ensemble that is engaged, enthusiastic and persistent. Will these attributes be put to the test on an online platform?

References
Bogart, A 2007, And then, you act: Making Art in an Unpredictable World, Routledge, retrieved 13 March 2020, ProQuest Ebook Central.
McCarty, N 2019, Polarization: What everyone needs to know, Oxford University Press, retrieved 13 March 2020, ProQuest Ebook Central.
Bibliography
American Psychological Association Online Dictionary
Lucas, J 2015, What is Magnetism? | Magnetic Fields & Magnetic Force, LiveScience, retrieved 13 March 2020, < https://www.livescience.com/38059-magnetism.html>.

(RESEARCH)

“Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story”

Cliff, C 2017, ‘Transmedia Storytelling Strategy’, PhD Film and Screen Media thesis, Queensland University of Technology, retrieved 21 April 2020, QUT eprints.

When applying transmedia storytelling to Us and Them, the ensemble should aim to propel our narrative through the photography in the virtual gallery, soundtrack, recorded film and live interaction.

“Blast Theory creates interactive art to explore social and political questions, placing audience members at the centre of our work”

Blast Theory 2020, Who We Are, Blast Theory, retrieved 29 March 2020, <https://www.blasttheory.co.uk/about-us/?from=header>.

Blast Theory’s innovative manipulation of technology for artistic purposes is stimulating. After viewing their website, I was inspired to interact with my virtual ‘kitchen’ with greater dramatic consideration.

EVERYTHING IS A REMIX!

I have noted this phrase as it is particularly true to Us and Them. Our performance is an edit of existing opinions re-combined to create something new. In fact, this devising process has led to a true realization of Kirby Ferguson’s “copy, transform, combine” (Creativity is a remix 2012) trope.
Devising with verbatim theatre means I have undoubtedly copied, transformed and combined opinions based upon the circumstances of making art in a crisis. I achieved so by remaining open to influence, applying my personal curiosity to the chosen material and bringing a point of view to the content (Bogart 2015).
“Creativity does not come from within; rather it originated from without and is the consequence of internalising outside influences”- Anne Bogart.

Bogart, A 2015, ‘Copy, Transform, Combine’, Anne Bogart’s Blog, weblog post, 8 December, retrieved 27 March 2020, <http://siti.org/content/copy-transform-combine>.
Creativity is a remix | Kirby Ferguson 2012, YouTube, TED, 11 August, retrieved 28 April 2020, <https://youtu.be/zd-dqUuvLk4>.

(BUILDING,IMPROVISING,TESTING)

Scene: Climate Change
Location: school
Situation: parent/teacher interview
Verbatim: Greta Speech, television interviews

REFLECTION

One of the rare exercises presented in the theatre space, our polarised debate focused on climate change. On what I assume would have been a scene edited by trial and error, the crucial dramaturgical strategy of this exercise was feedback. We were directed to repeat the scene by surfacing our own personal experiences in order to guide the deliverance of our verbatim text. This direction established my approach to characterisation for the rest of the devising process.

WEEK 2 JOURNAL ENTRY

16 -22 / 03 / 20

Journal Prompt: How viable is the internet as a space for theatrical performance?

Creative processes are, by nature, structured explorations of the unknown (Magnat 2005). However, does the existence of the internet-based theatre Company New Paradise Laboratories appeal that the unknown could be in cyberspace? Evidently. Thinking vertically, the internet is not what I would term a practical space for theatrical performance. Thinking laterally, that does not rule out the internet as a successful space for said performing. For example, according to Performing Arts Scholar Tobin Nellhaus (2007), the replication of social interaction that is apparent in online role-playing (players create characters and improvise scenes within a digital world) is a viable form of theatrical performance. Although I agree with theatre professor Beth Watkin’s (2016) standpoint that creative exploration should be physically performative in practice through improvisation, the paradox is: theatre is created by an ensemble within the circumstances of production and the conditions of the world as they exist and change throughout the rehearsal process (Zimmerman 2005). Our performance space is now online. Succeeding class discussion, it is viable because we can frame and curate far more material, edit multiple scenes to occur in synchronous time and have access to a wide-reaching and more permanent audience.

References
Magnat, V 2005, ‘Devising Utopia, or Asking for the Moon’, Theatre Topics, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 73-86, doi: 10.1353/tt.2005.0013
Nellhaus T 2017, ‘Online Role-playing Games and the Definition of Theatre’, New Theatre Quartely, vol.33, no.4, pp.345-59, Cambridge University Press.
Watkins, B 2016, ‘Working from Scratch: The Pedagogic Value of Undergraduate Devising’, Theatre Topics, vol. 26, no. 2, pp.169-80, Project Muse.
Zimmerman, M 2005, ‘The Archaeology of Performance’, Theatre Topics, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 25-35, doi:10.1353/tt.2005.0018
Bibliography
Pan, J 2012, ‘Internet-Based Theatre Company Lives Between Cyberspace and the Stage’, Mashable Australia, 25 March, p. 1, retrieved 20 March 2020, <https://mashable.com/2012/03/24/new-paradise-laboratories/?fbclid=IwAR2COnMFoVGonEY2gHcDcsJlLfQrOCLFR4N-9bgIrEoKOl7GFYxF9ckhOEE>.

WEEK 3 JOURNAL ENTRY

30 - 05 / 04 / 20

Journal prompt: How will you adapt your production role for the online space?

Fortunately, our initial marketing campaign pre-envisioned online platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, Deakin News, etc.) as strategies to promote our devised piece. We must, however, adjust our marketing to the requirements of self-quarantine and hence adapt to the increase in social media consumption (Aghadjanian 2020, p.1). One advantage of operating online is the ability to promote via interactive hype. In addition, we are conscious that social media tools are extensions of our everyday social interactions (Rossignol & Wilson 2015, p. 89). As an alternative to simple print, our adjusted (and improved) master plan thus consists of producing a tabloid-friendly program and designing posters with hyperlinks to soundscapes and short scenes. Understanding that we are marketing a feature-length film, we additionally plan to echo the film industry by posting weekly video ‘teasers’ of our progress across social media platforms.

References
Rossignol, K & Wilson, C 2015, Freelancing in the Creative Industries, Oxford University Press, retrieved 16 March 2020, ProQuest Ebook Central.

Aghadjanian, N 2020, ‘Social Media Consumption Grows Amid Coronavirus’, A.list Daily, 17 March, p. 1, retrieved 1 April 2020,< https://www.alistdaily.com/social/coronavirus-social-media-increase/>

(BUILDING,SHAPING,TESTING)

The ensemble’s aesthetic choice to incorporate still images was a particularly effective response to the external circumstances of the performance; a world paused by isolation. Our devising process thus corresponded to Mary Zimmerman’s (2005) principle that theatre ought to be devised as a result of the contextual conditions. In addition to symbolising polarity, our black and white colour scheme assisted the dramatic purpose to convey a bleak world.

Zimmerman, M 2005, ‘The Archaeology of Performance’, Theatre Topics, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 25-35, doi:10.1353/tt.2005.0018