Inka is not a purely physical theatre performance and we do use a script which drives the story and the character’s motivations within the piece. When Marus (our Script Writer and Director) completed the script, myself and Felicity could begin to choreograph for sections involving characters and adapt the pieces we had already started to work on to fit with the atmosphere of each scene. We also wanted all performers on stage at all times, and so in the scenes when actors have no lines we choreographed movement using props in the background to add to the action down stage. This is where we also had to collaborate with Samantha (our props manager). Once she had designed the boxes I wanted to choreograph something that would utilise them throughout the entire performance.
During my research throughout the development process I came across the physical theatre performance, Elements (2017), directed by Ezra Le Bank and Rebecca Nakano (see trailer below). The ways in which the performers used props in this performance influence our choreography. What particularly stood out was how their eye line concentrated on what was in their hands, and how this gave purpose to props within the scene amongst the physical theatre and movement. This is when we chose to have slow and fluid movements using our boxes at the back of the investors opening scene (see photograph below). We also wanted to incorporated the boxes in other ways and so we played with the idea of using them as a table and chairs for a scene between Mia and Isaac (see photograph of myself and Felicity choreographing this scene below, and Charlie and Esther rehearsing the movement).
Ezra LeBank (2017) Elements Trailer- Physical Theatre. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NnmH1MUniY [accessed 23 March 2018].
Bleeding Edge Theatre Company (2018) Inka [Rehearsal- Investor Speech] Lincoln 23 March 2018.
Bleeding Edge Theatre Company (2018) Inka [Choreographing Hand Movement] Lincoln 23 March 2018.
Bleeding Edge Theatre Company (2018) Inka [Rehearsal Hand Movement] Lincoln 13 May 2018.
Elements also inspired me to not be afraid of stillness. In the scene between the two sisters (Isobel and Imogen), using the boxes as though they were packing up their family home, we choreographed a sequence in slow motion where myself (Isobel) and Molly (Imogen) would suspend the movement and be still (see images). I felt that this change in pace was a strong contrast with the extravagant movement in the opening section.
Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts (2018) Inka [image] Available from https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232@N02/albums/72157696328261174 [accessed 25 May 2018].
Using the boxes throughout the whole show tied together each scene; we could use them appropriately for each section of the play. We originally had the idea to create an upright bed using the boxes and a sheet, and the sisters would wake up in their family home. However, through rehearsals this kind of physical theatre did not feel appropriate for our piece. As Kathleen Irwin argues, physical theatre is “about taking risks, aesthetically and physically” (2005, 42). Part of taking risks is learning to deal with failure. Thomas Richards argues that Theatre Practitioner Grotowski believed: “Failures are essential” (1995, 3). Only when a performer has accomplished a task to their best ability, should they then analyse mistakes. Irwin and Grotowski’s methods guided my rehearsal approach and allowed me to accept that failure will be an inevitable part of the experience. Physical actions can be interpreted differently to how a performer may imagine them to look in their heads. It is crucial that movement supports what a performer is trying to communicate, and that the type of movement myself and Felicity created was in–keeping with our company’s style. A lot of ideas that we tried out were not in the final performance however, we would fully commit to an idea until we felt we should move away from it or adapt the movement slightly. From these failures we created movement that was more appropriate for our performance. We used the sheet within the family scene and we wanted it to portray the youthfulness of the sisters. We found by wafting the sheet in the air it created a moving aesthetic on the stage and we could use it playfully (see photographs) as children would, without having to act as eight/nine-year-olds in our contemporary performance.
Bleeding Edge Theatre Company (2018) Inka [Rehearsal Family Movement with Sheet] Lincoln 13 May 2018.
Another vital collaboration for the performance was between myself, Felicity and Will (our Composer). It was important that Will was aware of the message we wanted to convey through our movement and it was also essential that myself and Felicity created movement that would enhance the music. The two elements had to complement each other. We did not want to choreograph dance; the movement did not have to be in time with the music, and we did not want the performers to always move with the rhythm. However, the music must drive the performers and help to influence the fluidity of the choreography. I would listen to the music before rehearsals and see how each moment made me feel. We wanted the music to help create an ambience for the audience and this is where our physical and facial expression became an important role when choreographing. Below is an image of Charlie (Isaac) in rehearsals and the audio in which we chose to choreograph this movement to. The track creates a haunting atmosphere and so we tried to complement this with repeated hand movements, followed with an ensemble piece involving lifting Isaac as though he is trying to ‘run away’ (see video below).
Bleeding Edge Theatre Company (2018) Inka [Rehearsal Isaac Speech Movement] Lincoln 13 May 2018.
Charlie Monologue Audio
Bleeding Edge Theatre Company (2018) Inka [Rehearsal Isaac Lift] Lincoln 13 May 2018.
For the memory sections within Inka, Will composed the music and then myself and Felicity would listen to what he had made. The music was calming and magical and gave the effect that we were no longer in the ‘real world’. For the parent’s memory we wanted to choreograph something loving and happy (see photograph below). Using levels, we had Will (Andrew) and Samantha (Grace) sit together looking out to the stars in the sky (which we later chose to mirror with Inka and Isaac). We also repeated the hand movement from the opening to symbolise scientists preparing to create Inka. I feel that this movement portrays the love and naivety of the young parents, and the power and control in which they had at the time over technology.
Bleeding Edge Theatre Company (2018) Inka [Rehearsal Parent’s Memory] Lincoln 13 May 2018.
Inka- Creators Audio
Works Cited:
Ezra LeBank (2017) Elements Trailer- Physical Theatre. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NnmH1MUniY [accessed 23 March 2018].
Irwin, K. (2005) Challenging Bodies: Very Physical Theatre. Canadian Theatre Review, 1(122) 41-44.
Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts (2018) Inka [image] Available from https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232@N02/albums/72157696328261174 [accessed 25 May 2018].
Richards T. (1995) At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions. London and New York: Routledge.