Personalizing the Hagia Sophia

After discussion with my friend, theatre artist Amy Sass from the Berkeley based Ragged Wing Ensemble, it was clear that the next step would be getting the ensemble to personalize some of the issues that are present in the history of the Hagia Sophia.  I asked the group what they thought was sacred to me as a teacher.  They said the concept of Risk and Respect, which is the motto by which I run all my classes.  We came up collaboratively with a problem for me.  It went like this:  A new student came to class.  S/he is about to take a risk by performing something when I notice a few students snickering and pointing.   This is perfect as it really captures a conflict for me over what I deem as sacred.   Given this example we broke into groups of 5 and they created problem cards, like I did for them with the Hagia Sophia, except theirs were personal.   Then I randomly distributed  the cards and the students had to create movement sequences that showed the sacredness and the problem.
We didn't get to the performances of their work today, it will have to wait till next session (Monday).  Here are some of the cards that were created:

 

Videos of Movement Sequences using Architecture with a problem

Introducing a problem and Flocking

We started out with a warm-up, based on a viewpoints exercise called flocking.  Basically it tries to mimic, amongst an ensemble of actors, the seamless movement found in a flock of birds.  You can never tell which bird is initiating a direction change.  10 actors enter the stage space.  One of them leads via a movement and incorporating all the other viewpoints (particularly tempo change, duration, shape and levels) all the others follow, imitating the movements of the leader (the leader is moving through space, and the actors do not line up in a row behind but rather flock like birds, drafting on the lead bird--in this way it moves much like a peloton in bicycle racing).  At any point the leader stops and turns.  At that exact moment another actor takes control and initiates a movement.  The others follow.  Who initiates is the person that finds themselves, when the turn is executed, with no other actors in front of him/her.  Then, after a time, this actor stops and turns (45 degrees, or 90, 180 or 270, but never 360) and another actor takes over.  This continues and in time the group does indeed move as a flock.  From the audience perspective there is no clear indication as to how the lead is chosen.  For the actors on stage the time builds a real ensemble sense.  Plus it will serve later in actual rehearsals when we use flocking to create different sequences, based on what mood we want to create on stage.
After all participants went (we had only 35 today:  lots of illness and test taking) we introduced the major focus of today.  They were to return to their groups and review the movement sequences they created last week, using architecture to create a sense of sacredness for a particular place.  They then would come to me and get a card which introduced a problem that they had to incorporate into their movement sequence, essentially changing it.  These problems came from the history of the Hagia Sophia--earthquakes, take overs, riots, sackings, etc.  In this way their movements pieces would reflect the actual history of the building.  They would have 25 minutes only to make their alterations and then present them.  Each card had a photo of the Hagia Sophia on it as well.
Here are the cards I created for this exercise:

The year is 532 A.D.  The first Hagia Sophia is burned to the ground during a riot.  Your group must reshape your piece to reflect this information.

The year is 726 A.D.  Image worship is prohibited by the new emperor Leo III.  Some of the most beautiful mosaics that had portraits of saints were covered up and replaced with symbols like crosses. This is the beginning of the iconoclastic period. Your group must reshape your piece to reflect this information.

 The year is 1204 A.D.  Crusaders from Europe sack Constantinople.  The Hagia Sophia is looted and damaged.  Some of the most important artifacts and statues are taken away.  Your group must reshape your piece to reflect this information.

The year is 1344 A.D.  A serious earthquake damages the Hagia Sophia.  Your group must reshape your piece to reflect this information.

 The year is 1453 A.D. The city of Contstantinople falls to the Ottomans.  The Christian Church of Hagia Sophia is converted into a mosque and is now for Muslim worship.  Your group must reshape your piece to reflect this information. 

The year is 1750 A.D.   The mosaics of Hagia Sophia depicting Christian images are covered in whitewash by the Ottomans, reflecting Islamic beliefs regarding figurative art for religious purposes.

Your group must reshape your piece to reflect this information.

We then gathered to watch each other's work. 

They created very interesting and meaningful scenes.  I videotaped them and will post them in tomorrows post.  The first one struck me the most.  It was the group that had been doing their work on our outdoor amphitheatre.  They had really used the entire space in their initial work.  The problem that they had been presented with was the one which talked of the whitewashing of some of the mosaics in the 1700’s.  Their piece had such power that everyone gasped as they moved to their final image, where a student, who was in a pose of religious posturing (looking like a cross) stood motionless and with a great formal flourish and solemnity others moved to him and placed a sweatshirt over him, covering him up completely.  A very powerful, and symbolic depiction of the problem.  Others were also powerful and the period ended, just in time for all the performances to be viewed.

We learned a little about the Hagia Sophia in this session and perhaps more importantly the students internalized the way in which history had an impact on rituals and traditions.  I felt that some of the work was complete enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if they found their way into our final performance.    I plan on using these pieces to stimulate our final training on Wednesday, where we further our work with Augosto Boal’s image work.

Devising using Architecture Photos

Here are some photos from yesterday's work:

We were in the auditorium (on stage, in audience area, and in balcony) an outdoor seating area, an outdoor ramp, and a small theatre studio.

Architecture Performed

Today was a busy day:  each group presented the pieces that they worked on Monday.  The ensemble nature of the group is crucial during presentations because as any of you that have worked with middle school students there are always absences for one reason or another.  So to start of we had all the groups stand apart and then had all the people that weren't here on monday stand in the middle.  And groups just grabbed whoever they wanted until all were gone, absorbed into a group.  This was key because some groups had members that helped create the work on Monday that weren't there today.  You need to create a system to allow this ebb and flow to deal with this age group.  Then they spent 1/2 hour in their different locations preparing their movement sequences that responded to the architecture of the that space and imbued it with what we have decided to call "the sense of the sacred, because some student told me there was no such word as sacredness.  Don't know if that's true or not, but when she suggested this phrase the rest liked it so we went with it. 
After a half hour we performed. Each group got to decide where the audience sat to view their piece. It was amazing to witness their creations.  Each group was so different and each really incorporated the specifics of their environment into their pieces.  After each presentation the audience told what struck them and what impressions they had.  This is a critical and difficult process in devising work, for it is impossible to remember or to take down in note form every thing people say.  I have tried recording their ideas on a digital recorder but I found it cumbersome.  Instead, I do two things.  One, is I do try and take notes of things that students say that strike my ear.  The other is I tell the students I can't hold on to everything and that if something really strikes them it is up to them to take note of it.  If we had more time I would have everyone write something, but in a 90 minute session, just getting the devising and the performances done is enough. And this is middle school and not everyone wants to write--they love to move and talk after a full day of school.   I will probably add Tuesdays/Thursdays in a few weeks to allow for kids interested in  writing to meet.  More on that later.
Here are some things we noted from these performances:  A lot of the groups had something or someone that was hidden in their movements (the group that created in the auditorium seats had concealed themselves behind seats in a fascinating use of the architecture) and this struck quite a few of the students.  They also saw that the thing that was sacred was often stolen or coveted by others; that there was a sense of mystery to the rituals and movements created; that there was someone or  group that needed to guard the sacred place and protect it; and finally that once you leave a sacred place you can never return.
These are timeless themes for sure that grew out of their work.  I am excited about them and where we will go next.   I will post some photos of their work in the next few days and I will let you know my plan for the next session in the next entry.

Architecture

The goal of today’s work was to introduce the Viewpoint of Architecture.  This, I felt, would be key for the ensemble to understand, and work with, since our project eventually would be influenced, both directly and indirectly, by a building:  The Hagia Sophia.

Quite simply the Viewpoint of Architecture is about  the physical environment in which you are working and how it affects movement.  In working on Architecture as a Viewpoint, we learn to dance with the space, to be in dialogue with the room, to let movement evolve out of our surroundings.  We are talking about walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, windows, types of fabric and material in the space, the sources of light, the color of the space and objects in it---even the sound created by the architecture (do the floors creak, is there gravel under our feet?.....).  Everything about the space is incorporated into, and influences, our movements.

            To introduce this Viewpoint I took the group of 40 students  who were with us today outside to the loading dock in the back of our theatre.  There was an unusual working environment…a ramp, a loading dock about 3 feet above ground, gravel and concrete ground, metal hand rails, large metal posts supporting a ceiling above the loading dock, two doors leading into the theatre, and stairs as well.  All of us stood and looked at the space.  And then we began Viewpoints.  The students have been working with this training method and language for three weeks but I still reminded them of the Viewpoints we have worked with so far: spatial awareness, tempo, levels, kinesthetic response and duration. (See previous blog entries to get an introduction to Viewpoints training—or check out the book: The Viewpoints Book, by Anne Bogart and Tinal Landau). One person went up first, and then another, and another, until half the group was performing while the other watched.  They climbed poles, slid down banisters, danced with the stairs, did sit ups on, and jumped up onto, the loading dock, while still paying attention to the other Viewpoints.  It was energizing and interesting work.  They enjoyed being in another space and it was clear to them how much the Architecture affected their movement.

            Then we all moved to the auditorium itself:  our first time in this space that would eventually be where we performed our finished product.   And we did the same exercise here.  Half were in seats and the other half on the stage, using the Architecture of the new space, to move with and to.  Then we switched it around, and half the group sat on the stage (which now became audience) and the other half used the seats and aisles for their Viewpoints.   They were liberated and excited about turning the normal use of the space on its head.  This all took about 30 minutes.  For the final hour the students were broken randomly into groups of 5 or 6 (again using our cover the space activity described earlier).  They had an hour to do the following assignment that was written for them:

______________________________________________________________________

Hagia Sophia

Devising Exercise

Your group will choose a space for this:  we can use the auditorium / the exits in the auditorium/the wings of the stage/the little theatre/the loading dock area/the hallway between the little theatre and the auditorium, and the outside amphitheatre area.

Rules though:  No running, and eating and drinking in designated areas only.  You need to represent the theatre ensemble well.

Your group needs to create a movement sequence (no text, no words) that shows clearly that your chosen space is sacred.  We are working with the space you choose, not objects or people, unless the objects are part of that particular space.  Your piece must include, but isn’t limited to the following:

1. Evidence of the following viewpoints:  Tempo, Levels, Duration, Architecture,             Kinesthetic Response, and Spatial Awareness.  Architecture is particularly important as each of us is in a different place.

2. At least one moment of stillness (10 seconds).  It can come anywhere in the                         performance.           

3. Your piece must last at least 60 seconds, but no more than 4 minutes.  Time it.

4. You have today, and today only to create (about 50 minutes)…We will present them and link them on Wednesday. 

These are important sequences as they will be the basis from which we will begin creating our play.

______________________________________________________________________

            And then they set to work.  One group asked if they could use the balcony of our theatre, normally an off limit area for our students.  I had an aide who works with one my developmentally disabled students so I was able to send her up there to make certain no one fell off.  The others were spread around: one was outside on the loading dock, one in our normal studio called the little theatre, another on the stage in our auditorium, another using the seating area of the auditorium and another in a large outdoor seating area we call the amphitheatre, that is used mostly as a meeting spot for PE classes.  I circulated around and watched as the students worked.  Most needed very little encouragement.  The only group having difficulty was the one at the Amphitheatre.  They were caught in  conversation and didn’t know where begin.  I suggested they just use the viewpoints to get started:  to get out of their heads and into their bodies.  This was enough, for as they began moving I kept side coaching: “vary the tempo, think of levels, pay attention to the floor beneath you.  You’re outside, what do you see in the distance….etc…”  Within 2 minutes of this,  one of them began running up and down the steps and the others followed with a kinesthetic response and soon they gathered, talking about their ideas which were bubbling.  I was no longer needed. 

            The hour went by quickly.  Most finished but no one had stopped working so our plan is to spend about 10 -25 minutes at the beginning of our next session to review and practice, and then to present.  I plan on getting a video and photographic record of the work and to use it for our next steps. Hopefully I’ll figure out a way to link or place on this blog. At this stage of the process I am still wondering when the Hagia Sophia itself comes into our process.  Hopefully, it will be clear to me at the right time.  I have to trust the early stages of the devising process and continue with training and somewhat abstract ideas.

People will fight over that which is sacred

It is only our third training and ensemble day and we are moving quickly.  We are close to 50 kids now, and the new ones are integrated very easily into the process.  It is clear to me that the creation of the ensemble process and training, which I started 5 years ago, has really taken hold.  I've been teaching theatre at this school for 15 years, but never has a group mind taken over like it has this year.  There are 25 8th graders, who were with the ensemble last year, and I watch them take the lead through example, in everything from our warm ups, to discussions.  There really is a culture of ensemble that we have built here. And it is passed down from student to student.   If nothing else, this makes the year already feel like a success.
  Today I wanted to introduce another training technique:  image work.  Again we are working in the non verbal realm, which I find esssential for creating larger themed works.  Too much talk early and we end up with a play about gossiping or bullying or teen suicide, topics, in my opinion,  better served by after school tv specials. Image work and viewpoints allows the subconscious to rise to the surface, in ways which makes for much more interesting possibilities.   The first step in image work (much of it taken from Augosto Boal and Michael Rohd) is complete the image.  First step is to get all the participants to sit in a large circle.  The middle of the circle is the play space.  Two participants go in the middle and shake hands.   I shout "freeze".  I ask the spectators what they see:  What is going on in this image.  There are no wrong answers just interpretations.  And many are brought out (old friends, meeting after a long absence, a shady dealing in a back alley, etc...were offered today).  Then one of the frozen people is told to sit down and then someone else in the group comes up and creates a new image by placing themselves in a position in relation to the already frozen person.  They can be touching, or they can be separate.  Thus a new image is created; new relationships and new stories.  and thus it continues.   Someone comes up, taps one of the participants and then takes over.  It's a constant creation of different images.  There is even opportunity to teach ensemble technique in how students get to take over.  With 50 students it is possible that chaos will rein, so teachers often call on raised hands.  I prefer to demonstrate that one of the viewpoints we used is spatial awareness  and we have to be aware of who is up, who isn't and non verbally respond to what is going on.  I am always impressed by how well they share the space and the time.  After everyone understood the basics, we broke into teams of two and spread out over the room.  They start of frozen in a shaking hands position, one participant unfreezes, looks at their frozen partner, and takes a new position.  This keeps repeating so it's a constant flow:  both frozen; one unfreezes, looks adds back in; both frozen for two or three seconds; the other unfreezes and so on.  It is all done in silence.    Watching 25 pairs in silence was a performance piece in itself.  We had a fire alarm during the beginning of this, so we went outside and did it on the basketball courts and other afterschool classes watched in awe at the silent movements.  Our first performance..
After that (and we will return to image work each day, and you will see how important this early training is when we get to actual devising work) we went back to our ideas of sacredness.  This time we broke into groups of 5 and everyone had to create a movement sequence out of the concept that was generated our first day:  "People will fight for that which they call sacred."  Again, the parameters were set.  There had to be these elements:  No Text, One moment of synchronistic or unified movement by everyone except one person, attention to level changes, and one change in tempo.
They had 10 minutes to prepare (again, new groups chosen via the cover the space modeled outlined earlier)...always working with different people is an essential element toward building and maintaining ensemble.  Then we performed.  Some discoveries the students made from this work.
• Ending is same as beginning
• There is covering up and taking over of sacred images by one group over another
• Level changes always seem to be down (falling) rather than up
•  A sense of betrayal was common in most pieces
•  It was never clear who was good and who was evil.

 The last one really resonates for me.  So nice to hear in a world that is often filled with the conception of right and wrong/good and evil/dichotomies.  I look forward to diving into this in later sessions.  This could never arise through just talk.  It came from their bodies, their movements.  I see a play emerging.

It is clear to me, after looking at their thoughts and what they are creating, that they intuitively understand some of the complex relationships that exist within the history and present of the Hagia Sophia, and that when we incorporate some of that reality into our work, it will be grounded in their own experiences.  Glad to have a few days before our next session, to continue looking at images of the Hagia Sophia and reading resources, so I can formulate questions to provoke the ensemble even further.  Next entry I will list some of the resources I am using.  
 

a few photos of the Hagia Sophia