Dec 13, 20176 min read

Journey to 'SURGE'

SURGE is a show about how the audience sees me and how they view what is it in front of them. Stereotypes are often almost immediately placed on people and those classed as ‘Other’ due to their race, class, religion, sexuality etc. in the UK causing prejudice and discrimination. This piece is about changing the audience’s perception, stripping of what they may think they know to be true and reminding them of humanity and the potential they have as humans to change perceptions. The piece holds space for self reflection for the audience, so they too are reminded of when they too felt like ‘Other’ and what they can do to now grow our society from a place where it feels like we can never re-start humanity again.

PLANTING THE SEED

CARTOGRAPHY

The first steps to mapping and discovering what this piece will be about ... stretching from hair politics to Tupac to the Black Lives Matter Campaign

This is the beginning of building the foundations to the piece. This is where I begin thinking about laying the premise of an idea. Stemming from a basis of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination in my own lived experience, hearing from other's lived experience and from what we are shown and told within the media. 'If today “everyday” themes and “everyday” experiences are acceptable subjects for a theatre of dance oriented towards reality, then this is so only because dance in the Twenties took the first steps in this direction by including “everyday” movements in its choreography.’ (Climenhaga, 2013 p.19-20) I wanted to use the mundanity of the every against the actualities of everyday in the life of the 'Other.'

5-10 MINUTES TO MOVE ME

With police brutality as a reoccurring theme as an issue in not only the media but in the array of ideas within my cartography, I decided to create a one to one experience where the audience member stands alone against a wall and comes face to face with the sounds of a real situation of police brutality in America. Sandra Bland (February 7, 1987- July 13, 2015) was arrested during a traffic stop on July 10th 2015. The exchange escalated, resulting in Bland's arrest and charge for assaulting a police officer. The arrest was partially recorded by the police dashcam and by a bystander's cell phone. After authorities reviewed the dashcam footage, the officer was placed on administrative leave for failing to follow proper traffic stop procedures. Bland was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested.

SPOKEN WORD BEGINNINGS

I’ve been having a hard time breathing

My lungs are struggling to hold strong

Because as I wake up in the morning and reach for my phone

I engage with my daily ritual of despair

The same ritual I know you are doing elsewhere

You who classes me as they

Although we both have blood which runs through our veins

I’ve been having a hard time breathing

Trying to keep up with your race

To avoid seeing the tension in your face

because my presence is out of place,

I’m afraid

I’m afraid that you can’t see me,

Yet somehow you know me,

You know me and people like me

I’ve been having a hard time breathing

On my own

Holding all this weight

The baggage not yet claimed

The baggage for which I am to blame

The weight has become scarily heavy

You can’t see me,

You can see me

But you can’t see me,

When you see me you see they

And when you see they you see an ‘us against them’.

You seem to think we are all the same

Because of what the media claims,

Because violence and terror must run through all of our veins

Because I know you’re suspicious

Of me

Of they

I understand that you don’t act this way because you are you but because I am me

Because you are you, I am they

I am trapped

Stuck here in your contradictions

One rule for you and another for me, they

Cornered by your discrimination

I’m having a hard time breathing because

I can’t prove to you that we’re in the same race

Because you are literally on me,

Crushing my lungs, my neck,

Dragging me down limb by limb with no authority

I’m defenceless

Alone

I know I won’t make it home

I’m having a hard time breathing because

I’ve seen this scene before

This is the part where you pin me to the floor

Where protecting life matters no more

Where all morality has been flung out of the door

I’ve been having a hard time breathing,

I was wondering if you were too

SCRATCH

The choreography created became about the build up to questioning the audience's flight or fight response. Pushing them to ask themselves how long would it take before they took matters into their own hands. I discovered that ‘although the choreography may be neutral by nature, it is always expressed in a way that is seen and felt as polar’ (Callery, 2001 p.14) So the simplicity of the task at hand (trying to find freedom from being tied in rope) becomes a much bigger and more difficult task in the length of time it takes to discover the different properties and breaking points of the rope. Showing the audience my inability to become free begins to build a relationship of willingness for success. The watching the lengthy attempt becomes intriguing and climactic.

Feedback I received was that audience members felt a genuine want to get out of their seat to help me, however weren't sure whether I could or if I wanted them to. This was very interesting to me as it echoes a silent voice in society when people become passive in trying to help a situation that they truly believe in. The fight or flight response plays a big part within this reaction

STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST

After the scratch I decided to take a step back and absorb shows around to help inspire my own creation. Click the Images to see what I went to see.

THE BALLET BOYS

This helped to begin cementing the form of the work. The idea of using choreography and a movement template to tell a story.

GOATS

This production showed that for the audience to

RACE CARDS

This installation reminded me of what I am passionate about and interested in.

I also enjoyed the form of questions which completely throw the change of thought. 'Finding transitions which push things in a different direction, when a fresh idea takes over and moves things on, is the key to creating fluidity.' (

WILD BORE

WORKSHOP WITH STACEY MAKISHI

Working with the release of the most honest and deep thoughts from the subconscious mind Stacey Makishi was able to

This begins the journey to what

WORKSHOP WITH SHEILA GEHLANI

^ THE PRIVILEGE LINE UP ^

As Edward Said said '

Thinking about the idea of the 'Other' and how 'Other' I would place myself in a line of people, 'The Privilege line up' really exercises the idea of what we we think when we see or know about other people and where we would place them according to our own privilege. It raises questions of what privilege is based on within the minds of people whether that aligns with the corporate job version of privilege, down to privilege according to appearance.

Creating objects relevant to our shows/agendas as artists, using a piece of paper which could shape our form

CREATING A SCRIPT

I wanted each section of text to have ‘a clear through line and audience journey, often an example of the way in which a devised performance begins to find its shape and settles into a structure.’ (Mermikides, 2010 p.30) Each section of script should make sense in it's own right, however I believe leading the audience on many journey's of text

THE PLANT

THIS IS ABOUT GROWTH

THIS ABOUT YOU

THIS IS ABOUT ME

I THINK OF MYSELF AS A TREE

ALL OF US AS TREES

SWAYING IN THE WIND

LEAVES FLICKERING

WE'RE ALL GAZING

SEARCHING FOR THE SAME LIGHT

THIS IS ABOUT US

THIS IS YOU

THIS IS ME

SOUND AND AUDIO

^^^ CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SHOW SCRIPT ^^^

CHOREOGRAPHY MAPS

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

‘When everything comes from the actors, what happens in performance is determined by what happens in rehearsal; and accidental discoveries are part of that’ (Callery, 2001 p164).

THE ARRIVAL OF THE SURGE

SURGE - Can you see me? What do I look like? Who am I? Who are you? Where are we? Are you searching for the light too? Do you remember being born? Are you lost? Are you scared? Can you hear my voice?

Here we have the second scratch performance of SURGE. SURGE invites an audience to see the world through my eyes for a brief moment, while still being able to have a period of self reflection. Speaking on the issue of the 'Other' and identities in our society. The