Week one - group dynamics

Week one had a interesting mix of provocation and experiences - I hope all the other weeks created a good dynamic as we four experienced Deb, Mickie and Nat. It seems that the dialogue and building of the week collaboratively between provocs. is essential at this level - I saw this working effectively when I poked my head into sessions withing the second two weeks. The success of the lab is dependent on these relationships between practices - and art forms and I would aim to pursue good provocateur dynamics as we were all meeting each other for the first time too. I was up first - my sessions aimed at creating a playful space that was demonstarting the challenges around group dynamics, the concept of the site as mass audience/ random happenings/ collisions and to create a space that allowed the artists to find a common ground - art form aside. The overall day while performance outcomes were invited was more about experiencing the process of each exercise or challenge. The Union jack which is used as a devising tool for physical theatre (contact improvisation) created a space for improvisation and impulse. The lines marked by tape created a sense of purpose - walking on lines - when coming to someone you had to laugh, cry or dance. This created specific parameters for interaction and 'character' collisions. This is not an easy exercise - but threw the artists into a playful spontaneous arena to discover each other. There were wonderful moments created here and adding music and headphones adding another layer to the pictures and interactions created. The next exercise was an intro to mime....shhhhh. This was a warm up towards devising with bodies - and transforming bodies into objects. The building of the mini narratives in 15 minutes is a chance also to discover how they each work inside a group dynamic - of making something in a short time frame. How do you negotiate ideas, how do you move forward and how to actively create without too much intellectualising ... The afternoon was an extension of the day - inspired by a Augusto Boal exercise towards devising. A silent walk for approximately 1 hour to simply walk with each other and explore the town. To have a shared experience in silence. Then to try to express in any way possible those experiences through a devising stage back in the space. Watching the artists negotiate this challenge was extremely entertaining for us and as Karl said 'it was the performance'. This was very challenging for the two groups and perhaps frustrating for some. It was certainly about the journey....and how they saw each other and offrered themselves in this exercise. The week built from this point well and I felt that at the end of this first week was the time to get into cross art form- dialogue across forms and approaches to art making. ....at Splendour as we huddled outside the Tackle Shack for the handover - this meant we had led a group to a point and then it could change directions dramatically. This is both positive and potentially negative in my opinion. Perhaps its too random, too provoked, less guided. The itches were great - some wonderful ideas and strong sense of who the artists are. Does the cross art from collaboration happen in the next "" months - I hope so! I look forward to the next phase of development and happy to offer feedback....

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