Sunday, April 27, 2008

What's presence? (AKA I need you for research)

Hey all you performers out there! I'm working on a small research paper and I'd love to have your input. If you have a minute or two, answer these questions and either leave them as a comment on this blog, or copy-paste them in an email to johanna.macdonald(at)gmail.com.

Voit myös vastaa suomeksi jos haluat! Ja pliis excuse my huono Finnish :)
Here we go...

1. Are you a performer? If so, what kind of performance do you do?
Oletko esiintyjä? Mitä sinä teet? (Tanssija, näyttelijä, live art taiteilija, jne.)


2. In terms of performance, do you talk about a performer's "presence," and if so, what does it mean to you?
Performanssin suhteen, puhutko esiintyjän "läsnäolosta"? Jos kyllä, mitä se tarkoittaa sinulle?


3. How would you describe your presence when you are performing?
Miten luonnehtisit oma läsnäolosi, kun esität?



4. How would you describe another's presence when you are watching them perform?
Miten luonnehtisit toisen läsnäolo, kun katsot esitystä?


5. Where does your concept of a performer's presence come from?
Mista synty sinun esiintyjän läsnäolon kasitys?



Kiitos, thanks for your help and I'll let you know how my BIG old project pans out.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Johanna, here goes!

1. Are you a performer? If so, what kind of performance do you do?

I was trained as a performer and performed from late 1990s to early 2000s. I now only teach and direct. The kind of work I make is usually referred to as Devised, Physical or Third Theatre.

2. In terms of performance, do you talk about a performer's "presence," and if so, what does it mean to you?

I do. To me it means the performer's ability to catch and hold my attention independent of the directing, the text, the story etc...

3. How would you describe your presence when you are performing?

When I did it, good performing felt like nothing. I mean it was sweaty and engaging, but 'on' just felt very quiet and even.

4. How would you describe another's presence when you are watching them perform?

Depends on the person. I'm certainly looking for a quality of clear physical engagement and the sense that what I'm watching has been impeccably designed and examined. Of course, some performances are quite engaging without being as tight as I personally would make them that still are very compelling.

5. Where does your concept of a performer's presence come from?

From Eugenio Barba, who taught my teacher Richard Fowler and from Chinese martial arts, where its called 'shi' or 'space power' or 'fullness'. Taijiquan teacher George Xu has written some informative things about this...

Sorry its short, hope it helps.

Daniel

happeningfish said...

Thanks, mroz! That's a great help. :)