Category Archives: My inspirations

Laurie Anderson

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Laurie Anderson is proving to be a very influential practitioner. Her use of short stories, music and technology has landed her right in the center of my research. After changing my mind numerous times, I have decided to perform an autobiographical piece based on the impact my family and relationship have on my career aspirations. Whilst researching her performance techniques I stumbled across an interview where Laurie herself summed up my performance in one simply sentence:

When asked, what does love feel like? Laurie replied ‘freedom and stillness. Lack of striving. Contentment’ (Greenstreet, 2015)

This phrase captures exactly the struggle that I want to portray. How the things you love most can sometimes be the things that can, physically and mentally, hold you back.

Anderson’s performances are often packed full of out of this world technological spectacles, dancers in eye-catching costumes and striking sets. Although I can appreciate how successful this theatrical construction was, I feel that it could sometimes overpower her social commentary and underlying stories. John O’Mahony commented that in more recent productions, Anderson’s work has become more reserved and focuses on the social commentaries and the music itself as opposed to the spectacle. Dirtday! (2012) ‘has little of her trademark back-projected hi-tec wizardry. [Suggesting that] those things get in the way of the music’ (O’Mahony, 2009). Although I shall take influence from Anderson’s earlier musical performances, I wish to stage my performance more simply like her later work so there are little distractions to the story.

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^ Original eccentric staging                                ^ More recent relaxed staging.

It is easy to get swept up in the musical spectacle, and overlook her extraordinary storytelling ability. ‘What people really love about Laurie Anderson are the stories she tells, and the way she tells them’ (McDaid, 2008). Many of her performances are social commentaries on current social situations, however the way she tells them, with her soft lullaby-like vocals, captures the audience and draws them into the story more. The way she speaks is beautifully poetic. The language she uses paints a picture that captures the audience through its abstract metaphors, using ironicaly beautiful words to describe a not-so-beautiful topic. This is something that I want to incorporate into the spoken part of my piece. Providing the audience with not only a physical picture of my situation, but a chance to create their own picture in their imaginations through the use of language.

Storytelling ability aside, it is undeniable that Laurie Anderson is most famous for her music. What makes her work stand out from other musical performance art is her avant-garde approach to music and sound. For example, The Afternoon of Automotive Transmission (1972), which was a symphony of car horns held in a park. The making of music from everyday objects is something I really like of Anderson’s work. In my performance I want to be tied down by three materials (chains, rope, wire, etc.) from which I will create sounds. These sounds will then be layered on top of one another to create a musical track. One idea is to be restrained by wire, which I would then play with a violin bow.

Like Anderson, I really enjoy minimalism in terms of music and I want to focus on avant-garde music as opposed to the standard structured song. Walt Whitman once rightly stated that ‘simplicity is the glory of expression’ (Whitman and Reynolds, 2005, 12). I want to use the loop system to create minimalistic sounds that then can be placed onto of one another to create a complex score of metaphorical music.

Work cited 

Greenstreet, R. (2015) Q&A: Laurie Anderson. [online] London: The Guardian. Available from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/16/laurie-anderson-interview [Accessed 20 February 2016].

McDaid, C. (2008) Storytime with knobs on. [online] London: The Guardian. Available from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/may/04/popandrock3 [Accessed 19 February 2016].

O’Mahony, J. (2008) Adults are idiots. [online] London: The Guardian. Available from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/apr/07/electronicmusic.art [Accessed 20 February 2016].

Whitman, W., Reynolds, D, S. (2005) Leaves of Grass. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Music and storytelling

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Music has been an aspect that has cropped up many times within my research. I like the idea of multimedia and music technology along with storytelling. So the practitioner that automatically arose for me was Laurie Anderson.  She is an American experimental performance artist and musician born in 1947 in Illinois. She originally trained as a sculpture but then expanded into music, art, theatre and film. Her work has been described as avant-garde and has proved to be very popular, as her most famous song O Superman (1981) made it to number 2 in the UK music charts.

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Anderson’s blend of music, art, technology and theatre is something that I really admire. Performances such as Duets on ice (1974) saw this artistic combination come to light. She would stand on two blocks of ice on ice-skates playing a violin. She wouldn’t stop playing until the ice had melted naturally. I don’t wish to necessarily do anything quite this avant-garde, however it did make me consider the effects that music and theatre can have when combined.

This then led my research to performance artists whose genres overlaps between musician and actor, and whose work is less avant-garde. Two people that struck my attention are Tim Minchin and Flight of the Conchords. Both of these artists use song to enhance the storytelling of the performance with a lighthearted comedic edge. I don’t want to go down the route of standup by any means, but these artists have given me understanding of how to combine humour, song and theatre into one performance.

What I found also interesting is that, although extremely different, both Flight of the Conchords and Laurie Anderson commonly speak-sing they work, or move from song to spoken work effortlessly. I think this adds fluidity to the piece, eradicating the divide between song and speech. This could be something I explore in a later date.

Below are videos of all three performance artists.

(Andreas Valentin, 2011)

(Best of Tim Minchin, 2011)

(Ella Elise, 2006)

Work Cited

Andreas Valentin (2011) Laurie Anderson Duet on Ice. [online video] Available from http://youtu.be/2SGRvhseH6I [Accessed 17 February 2016].

Best of Tim Minchin (2011) Tim Minchin – If I Didn’t Have You – Full uncut version. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn6gV2sdl38 [Accessed 17 February 2016].

Ella Elise (2006) Flight of the Chonchords – Albi (racist dragon). [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jVAHAuiS4 [Accessed 17 March 2016].

Anna Deavere Smith

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Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright and professor, best known for her one-woman plays that examined the social issues behind current events. Smith was born September 1958 in Baltimore, and was raised in a racially segregated middle-class section of Baltimore. Many of her works are about racial issues, so her upbringing proved to be highly influential for her plays to come.

Smith had an undeniable talent for imitation and this therefore became the focus of her performances. Her breakthrough work was Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities (1992). She crafted the play from her own in-depth interviews with members of the Brooklyn community, and performed all 29 roles, moving seamlessly from one character to the next.

(PBS, 2012)

(TED, 2007)

Smith would walk up to people on the street and in return for them giving them an hour of their time, she would offer them a chance to see themselves perform. Her work focused a lot around communities. Smith herself stated, ‘I realise this approach could serve to mirror a community that was interested in looking at itself […] particularly communities where people were having difficulty saying things to one an other or felt silenced’ (Clines, 1992). I really like this idea of holding a mirror up to a community, showing them what is going on around them. This would be something that I would like to explore further if I decide to take my performance down a more political route, which is something that I am interested in.

Researching the work of Anna Deavere Smith raised a few questions for when producing my own show.

Why are we listening?

What are we listening for?

What do we want to see?

What is it that draws us to a form of theatre in which the actor introduces people to us that we’re asked to imagine?

We are clearly aware of the theatrical façade so how is this form of theatre so effective?

Is there something in the very act of taking on the ‘other’ in a way that is not possible in the ‘real world’?

I cannot begin to produce a solid and justifiable answer to these questions, but perhaps its something to the structure of her performances. She doesn’t completely embody the character is a visual sense. The language and the actual telling of the testimony takes priority to the visual believability.

Within an interview, Smith stated ‘I see myself as not a typical theatre person, but a person who uses the theatre as a place to meet people and explore ideas’ (Arboleda, 2010). This notion of exploring real people, is something that I would possibly like to consider. I also like the way she incorporates a political stance on her work. Its not a demanding political message but its evident enough to potentially make a difference.

Work Cited

Arboleda, Y. (2010) Let Me Down Easy. [online] The Huffington Post. Available from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yazmany-arboleda/emlet-me-down-easyem_b_400996.html. Accessed 7 February 2016.

Clines, F. (1992) At work with: Anna Deavere Smith; The 29 Voices of One Woman In Search of Crown Heights. [online] New York: The New York Times. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/10/garden/work-with-anna-deavere-smith-29-voices-one-woman-search-crown-heights.html?pagewanted=all. Accessed 7 February 2016.

PBS (2012) Great Performances | Anna Deavere Smith talks about “Let me down easy” | PBS. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmA0zM-S1sE [Accessed 6 February 2016].

Smith, A. D. (1992) Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities. [performance] New York: The Public Theatre. 1 May.

TED (2007) Anna Deavere Smith: Four American Characters. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR8SwPmCFd4 [Accessed 6 February 2016].

Oh No! by Jamie Wood

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On Thursday 4th February I witnessed the most bizarre yet enjoyable solo performance. John Wood’s show Oh No! (2015) was a homage to Yoko Ono and John Lennon. I don’t think I’ve had so much fun during a show before! When I arrived in the auditorium I was greeted by Jamie dressed in a robe with wind chimes hanging from each finger and his ears. Straight away I knew I was going to love it. Greeting people as they arrived was something I really liked. I felt it really welcomed the audience and puts them at ease, breaking that ‘audience vs performer’ divide. If I decide to do a lighthearted theme then this is something that I would really like to incorporate.

There was a lot of audience interaction, a lot to the extent of an audience member taking all their clothes off and sitting in what looked like a duvet cover with Jamie. I think this alone symbolises just how well Jamie managed to make the audience feel comfortable. Within her review, Lyn Gardner commented that ‘by the end, Wood has got the entire audience making music and probably doubled the amount of happiness floating around’ (Gardner, 2015). I think making an audience feel comfortable is something that all performances should strive for. The audience go out of their way and sometimes part with their hard earned cash to watch a performance, so making them feel welcome and comfortable should be top priority. I really admire him for being able to do this, and again, this is something that I want to incorporate into my final piece.

After enjoying Oh No! so much, I researched into Jamie Wood’s past solo performances and stumbled upon his show Beating McEnroe. This performance ‘was seen from a perspective of a six year old watching the 1980 Wimbledon final’ (Vile, 2015). I really like the idea of maybe performing a well known situation from a unexpected point of view. Perhaps even from several points of views. Something for me to keep in mind and potentially explore further.

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Jamie Wood’s Oh No! (2015) has turned out to be an unexpected influence in my devising process thus far. It’s shown me another side to solo performing that I hadn’t considered.

Work cited

Gardner, L. (2015) Oh No! at Edinburgh festival review – The Yoko Ono route to enlightenment. [online] Available at http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/aug/14/o-no-edinburgh-festival-review-yoko-ono-assembly-roxy-jamie-wood. Accessed 7 February 2016.

Vile, G. (2015) O No, It’s Dramaturgy: Jamie Wood @ Edfringe 2015. [online] Available at http://vilearts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/o-no-its-dramaturgy-jamie-wood-edfringe.html. Accessed 8 February 2016.

Woods, J. 2016, Oh No! [performance] Lincoln: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre. 4 February 2016.