For my performance I have decided on a personal Karen Finley/David Cale inspired piece about a topic that is an issue in todays society. I am to do a performance of Depressions and Suicide. Although not necessarily an autobiographical performance it will be a personal journey through my own experiences, facts and other peoples stories.
Looking deeper at the style of Karen Finley and David Cale’s Deep in a Dream of You (1993) and The History of Kisses (2011) I a, thinking of doing a verbatim style performance where speed, pitch and body language tell the stories of people I hope to interview. I know of a couple of people who have suffered or who are suffering depression at the moment and have had experiences myself with this illness as well as people who habve attempted suicide. I plan on keeping these people anonymous and will write their interview answers into my monologues.
Suicide is a fairly taboo subject within the theatre and conversation generally and I wish to make it more of a topic that can be talked about. Using facts and definitions from websites and self-help books I want to incorporate these into the piece without appearing to be lecturing or forcing my own view on to other people.
Understanding that what is being presented and performed on the stage is personal to the performer gives a piece an emotional bond with the audience and performer themselves. However, I do want the audience to feel uneasy and sad, and leave feeling a sense of focus and reflection.
As Noel Carroll said, “The solo is a means of presenting the self to others” (1979, 51) and that is what I intend to do, to present ‘me’ and ‘my’ experiences to my audience.
Like Amy Taubin’s work, I want there to be some form of relationship between the audience but as of yet, I am unsure of how or what this will be. Maybe it is just acknowledging them or somehow inviting them to be a part of the world. I have many ideas as to how the stage could be set and ways in which to involve the audience. They will follow soon on the blog.
Like Finley I am creating a topic that is about abuse. Maybe not sexual abuse but abuse of the self, creating a performance that makes the audience think, even after it has finished. Something personal and reflective.
Works Cited
Carroll, N. (1997) Amy Taubin: The Solo Self. The Drama Review: TDR. 23 (1) 51-58
Sherman, J, F. (2010) The Practice of Astonishment: Devising, Phenomenology, and Jacques Lecoq. Theatre Topics. 20 (2) 89-99