The first Robert Wilson production I saw was 'Woyzeck' at the Barbican, London in 2005. I probably would've overlooked it had the music not been composed by Tom Waits, and I've been hooked on his work ever since. He's known in theatre and opera for his architectural designs, musical collaborations and the abstract movement and stillness from the performers - so much so that seeing one of his productions is like viewing a series of moving images, and it's always a surreal experience.
:For about the last decade, Wilson has been creating a video series of Voom Portraits, or Living Pictures, where the actor is framed as if in a photo, but filmed so that the picture is 'living'. There is good documentary on youtube that explains it better than I can here.
There are hundreds of examples, and this one of my favourites:
There are hundreds of examples, and this one of my favourites:
As part of my final project at LISPA, I decided to conduct an experiment into Intoxication and how costume provokes the actor. The end result was a montage of Living Portraits featuring the other students on my course, which was projected during a movement sequence towards the end of the performance piece. Each participant was invited to my filming booth, set up in the corner of our rehearsal studio, given a shot of bourbon to smell or drink, and made-over as a Tom Waits character or theme. I didn't plan how I was going to transform each person, I relied on my instinct, after having a good look at the subject before me, and the costumes, props and make up I had available. After they had been appropriately costumed, I asked them to allow the way they now appeared to provoke them for 30 seconds in front of the camera. I cannot forget how willing and generous they all were, especially as most of them ended up looking quite deranged! I asked their permission to include the video here - if you listen with the sound on you'll be able to hear rehearsals going on the background, but for the authentic experience it's best to play 'In Shades' from the Tom Waits album Heartattack and Vine alongside the video.
Since the last blog post I've amounted 6 pieces of writing and 8 visual segments for the solo piece, and I have starting points for 3 more pieces of writing. I have no idea how they will fit together or come across yet, and there's still time...
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