Independent Project Portfolio: An Adaptation of Antonin Artauds Jet of Blood Candidate Name: Jezi Christia Mari C.

Llamas Candidate Number: 004812-0004 IB Theatre Arts HL Word Count: 2890

INDEPENDENT PROJECT PORTFOLIO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. II.

Independent Research on Theatre of Cruelty ---------------------------- Page 1 Observation and Concept Development ------------------------------------Page 3-11 a. Choreography i. Combination with Butoh

b. Set Design III. IV. V. Evaluation ------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 11-12 Bibliography----------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 13 Appendices--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 14

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The initial stage of this process proved to be one of the longest, yet least tasking part of the entire planning process for the Independent Project Portfolio. Having only two higher level students in the class, I was asked to work together with the other higher level student for this particular project. We attempted to find a theatrical practice which interested us both, but would be something different from the norms that would be expected of our usual repertoire as actresses. Upon brainstorming, we were able to formulate certain ideas which allowed us to combine two practices into a physical show. Having only recently finished learning about Butoh1, we came across something that intrigued us both due to the strange, yet captivating logical ties to the human senses, mainly pain and suffering through the use of movement and sound. We chose to investigate further the practice of Theatre of Cruelty and sought to further understand its practical application, background and practice. From this, a show was conceptualized through the combination of the said theatrical practices.
Independent Research on Theatre of Cruelty The research process began with the investigation of the origins of the said theatrical

practice. It was found that Theatre of Cruelty is a surrealist form of theatre, which sought to communicate suffering and evil to its audience through the use of physical elements such as sound, movement and language. This was all theorized in Antonin Artauds book, The Theatre and its Double, wherein he had introduced the abstract conceptualization which had been the mould of the overall value and function of Theatre of Cruelty2.

1 2

See Appendix C: Definition of Butoh See Appendix A

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Upon further reading, it became clear to me that Artaud had not intended to take a sadistic approach to his work in order to manifest and communicate pain and suffering. Instead, Artaud aimed to shatter the false realities of a perfect life through the use of austere and violent imagery which commonly disturbs the mentality of an audience member. This had become the stimulus of my Independent Project Portfolio, thereby creating a show around the said piece in order to further dwell in the practical elements and applications of Artauds ideas. Before relating the said ideas to the rest of the members who had helped in the completion of this project, my partner and I needed to have a deep understanding of the Theatre practice, as well as a thorough knowledge on at least one piece of writing from the said genre. To begin the brainstorming process, my partner and I had both taken time to read through parts of Artauds Theatre of Cruelty (First Manifesto), in order to further understand the elements involved in this theatrical practice. The reading of the manifesto had led us to discover that, in order to use this practice as a stimulus for the project, we needed to find a way to portray the metaphysical world of a man, which should thematically embody Artauds concept. For Antonin Artaud, physicality, or the image which is portrayed through the aesthetics proves to be the most crucial part for his theatrical practice. The images in itself must be more powerful than the words, mirroring life, yet could elicit the desired emotional response from the audience (BBC, "Antonin Artaud and Absurdist Theatre."). There are also a few hidden gems when Artauds life is examined thoroughly. Artaud had been plagued with a mental disorder at an early age, yet, this did not seem to pose a threat to his work, as it was somewhat embellished by his so called madness. He had lost his ability to

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process and observe situations on a normal level of consciousness; however, his awareness of his disorder had allowed him to still develop written pieces in which the cognitive focus lay on a detached and introspective stance towards life3 (Sass and Parnas, Schizophrenia, Consciousness and the Self).

Figure 1: Symptoms of Schizophrenia upon contraction of the disease (Sass, "Schizophrenia, Consciousness and the Self")

Observation and Concept Development Upon being able to get a better standpoint on Artauds life, it was much easier to begin dwelling into his literary pieces, as we were already knowledgeable in the ideas, as well as the

See Appendix B

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reasons behind the ideas being portrayed in them. After perusing through the context which detailed Artauds condition as a schizophrenic, we were able to develop a concept which centred on the alternation of reality and imagination, which was a product of Artauds mental illness. My partner and I had chosen to interpret the play Jet of Blood otherwise known by the name Spurt of Blood. Jet of Blood is a four act play written in four pages which features surrealist stage directions as well as sparse and extensive dialogue. Being a generally small class, this play proved to be ideal since there would be less trouble casting the characters. Some of the members of the group had taken on two characters, which was not an issue, since the play features different characters in almost every act of the pay. Initially, my partner and I had begun to look at a few videos as inspiration for our plans. Jet of Blood would have been able to showcase the chaotic mentality which Artaud possessed, as well as the psychotic scenarios which contained exaggerated characterization, such as enlarged breasts for the character of the midwife. The conception of the idea and plan for the show was greatly inspired by Artauds mental state, as well as his developed doctrine which became Theatre of Cruelty, the main theatre piece which was chosen to be interpreted. During this process, we had attempted to merge or apply ideas from a different theatrical practice. The practice we were most knowledgeable about at the time was the practice of Butoh, since we had just finished the said unit in our study of theatre practices around the world. Butoh4 Both relay focus on the movements of the human body to convey emotion rather than using words. Both also do not conform to the standards of reality and venture into a more surrealistic and abstract view.
4

See Appendix C: Definition of Butoh

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Figure 2: Image of a solo Butoh Performance

Photo source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/butoh/itto/goosayten_butoh_itto_walk.jpg

Figure 2: Image of a group Butoh Performance in unison

Photo Source: http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/276/433/276433895_640.jpg

The pictures above show Japanese men performing Butoh dances, which can either be done solo or in a group. The white body paint which covers the entire body, as well as the face,

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embodies the typical Butoh performer. Each element had its own meaning, adding its own particular impact to the show.5 Choreography After reviewing sections of both theatrical practices, my partner and I decided to split the leadership roles amongst ourselves. I had taken on the role of the choreographer, which I knew was going to be a challenge for me since it was the first time I have ever taken on such a role. In coordination with the director, the choreographer is meant to work with dancers to interpret, as well as transform rhythms into movements of the body. The choreographer must have a full understanding of the concepts of the director, as the choreographer must be able to devise movements which would play a part in the larger production with artistic intent and originality. The dances created by the choreographer will add an organic element to the production concept, which will embellish the story line and create a deeper, symbolic meaning to the movements done by the actors and dancers (AACT, "Choreographer"). These being said, I had conceptualized dances for scenes that required them by using the Butoh style. It was not difficult, as said earlier, since we had discussed the practice as well as created personal performances using the theatrical practice. The actors were given sufficient freedom to interpret the scenes through the dances; however, as a choreographer, I had emphasized the use of basic butoh movements such as the butoh walk, orchestra conductor in the skull, mouth like a black hole, smoke head and face like a mask. The latter are the basic butoh movements which we had learned about in class. Certain scenes such as entrances and scenes with heavy allegorical meanings, such as the eating of the eyes in the third scene seemed

See Appendix E: The elements of Butoh and the anti-dance

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appropriate to have Butoh incorporated into them. I had aimed to use the distortion which Butoh emphasizes in order to portray unrealistic scenarios which will further embody insanity and schizophrenia through Artauds lack of ability to distinguish between reality and imagination. During this time, I had conducted a couple of workshops as an attempt to review these skills, as well as a chance to give the actors flexibility to choose which of the basics they will be using in the dance. In order to create a dance, I also needed to have a full understanding of the text. I had studied the text many times and had looked at the allegorical and literal meaning of the scenarios6.

The excerpt from the script details part of the many surrealist elements in the play. Many of the stage directions, such as the body parts falling into an almost vacuum like dimension and the frog and beetle coming to slowness are absurd and seem to be impossible to stage without having to use special effects. This is an example of where Butoh may be used. The stage directions are not taken literally, but the meaning is extracted from the strange plot twists. There are then interpreted through the use of movements. In one particular scene, two characters: the Whore and the Young Man, are said to make love, then, eat each others eyes in the middle of the act. Since the performance was to be done in a Christian school, such scenes were not allowed to be shown to the students or within the premises. Because of this, I had created a simple dance using basic Butoh elements, namely the use of the transformative back, in order to portray the love scene, yet avoid making it vulgar.

See Appendix C

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Figure: Photo of Butoh Love Scene There was no nudity involved, but the actions in themselves were sensual, yet at the same time, fit the overall concept of the distorted reality. Butoh is meant to showcase exactly that. The movements that I had also incorporated really involved distorting the facial expressions, as well as the form of the body through bending at an unusual angle. This not only allowed the dance to be a form of Butoh, but had also allowed me to extract an unusual reaction from the audience, since they would be watching something unconventional, and possibly disturbing. This particular physicality involved in the production had allowed for a better interpretation of the work of Artaud, which, again, showcased qualities which emphasized his schizophrenic qualities, working from a perspective of a writer who had been betrayed by his external physical reality. Creating the choreography from pre-set Butoh movements made the process slightly less challenging, as each movement can already be subject to numerous meanings, which can be interpreted by the audience. The difficulty lied between the coherence of the dance and the entirety of the show, as well as the visual satisfaction that could be garnered from it. It was slightly exhausting, as Butoh requires the use of the entire body, as well as some knowledge in isolation of body parts. The physical aspect of the 8

Jezi Christia Mari Llamas 004812-0004 choreography was tiring, but being the one to execute is was as well. It was also difficult to get the timing of the dance to be in sync with the music. Several rehearsals needed to be done for the same dance, as the actors needed to learn how to develop a sense of timing, without relying on the cues of the sound director. The actors also needed to learn to gain awareness of the performance space, as initially, the actors would cram in one side of the stage, leaving most of the performance space empty. Once the actors were able to learn how to work with the given choreography, which eventually became cohesive, the fluidity of the show improved tremendously, as there were less awkward transitions between the dances and the scenes, as well as less crowding on a particular area of the stage.

Set Design Another production element that I was asked to accomplish, was the set design. Since we are a generally small class, the tasks were divided in a sense that each of us had one or two tasks to fulfil. Like choreography, I had never done set design; however, it did not prove to me much of a challenge because my partner and I had discussed on using only two tables as makeshift beds and a projector playing behind the scenes. As much as possible, we tried to keep the focus on the action happening onstage. Sometimes, when there is too much embellishments on the stage, it can prove to be a distraction from the actual action happening on the stage. Since Theatre of Cruelty is meant to evoke grim emotions from the audience, we needed to make sure that the audience was not going to be distracted so that we can actually get a reaction from them. In order In order to have these solicited emotions, the audience must be able to understand the boundaries of the actions that are occurring in the scenes. Artaud had also explained that there is no set in the practice of Theatre of Cruelty (Artaud). Both my partner and I had focused on the movements and the actions in order to create the mood of the

Jezi Christia Mari Llamas 004812-0004 scenes as well as effectively portray Artauds production key points and the elements of the production concept that we had come up with. The minimalist set had caused a couple of problems during the rehearsals, as we had attempted to have the show in the Multipurpose Hall of our school where there was a large stage and stage lights. We originally agreed to have the show on a big stage in order to accommodate a larger crowd. The minimalist set, however, did not work with the blocking and choreography in the scenes. The stage was far too large and there was a vast amount of empty space onstage that could not be utilized. As a result, we had moved the performance back to the classroom, where we had sufficient materials and just the right amount of space.

Figure 3: Pictures of the Set Design with the two makeshift beds as the sole props onstage

In order to show the disordered thought process which Artaud had, we had also decided to use projected images and video clips at the back of the blank theatrical space, in order to create a further dreamlike trance which the audience could truly immerse themselves in. The images and clips all showed 10

Jezi Christia Mari Llamas 004812-0004 atypical themes which may seem vulgar or unrelated to the scenarios. By subjecting the audience to these unusual and disturbing images, we had mandatorily subjected the audience to realities which, voluntarily, they would have preferred to defer, as after the show, many had commented on the uneasy feeling the show had given them, which was exactly what we wanted to elicit from the audience. It was interesting to see how harsh realities which caused fear and disturbance could be elicited from the mere projection of images on a background, showing how even simple elements on a stage can add power to the overall audience impact of the show.

Figure 4: Photo of the Actual Projection of disturbing images during the show Evaluation The process of creating the performance for Jet of Blood had been a long and challenging process. Since I am only one out of two higher level students, I had helped out with the planning process of the production. There had been a detailed schedule on how the scenes were to be divided, as well as days that were strictly allotted for workshop days, wherein I had conducted classes to review the Butoh skills of the other actors. As a choreographer, I personally had no difficulty in choreographing the Butoh dances as most of the dancing involved personal interpretation of the actors. As a set designer though, it was difficult to 11

Jezi Christia Mari Llamas 004812-0004 have to adjust to the different stages, as initially, we were supposed to have the show in the Multipurpose Hall despite having all our practices in the classroom. I was pleased though that we were able to overcome these challenges by making a unified decision as a class, instead of having to make decisions alone. Many of the spectators had expressed their discomfort after the show, as well as the lack of understanding of the scenes. Artauds style of writing was extremely unusual for those who had watched. Many of them had walked out of the theatre in shock or even disturbed. Despite the grim reactions, I was extremely pleased that we were able to evoke the said reactions from the audience, as this was exactly our objective. Just as the First Manifesto had indicated, Theatre of Cruelty was meant to simple evoke a response from the audience that was not usually tangible in everyday life. We also saw that the audience was able to see the schizophrenic side of Artauds work, showcasing the disorientation of certain elements in order to create the holistic show. Since we were able to do just that, I would say that we were able to produce a successful show that illustrates the essentials of the Theatre of Cruelty in conjunction with another theatrical practice, Butoh. We took advantage of the different production elements and the extreme physical intensity required of Butoh portrayed by various actions in order to create a cohesive show, predominantly inspired by Antonin Artauds brainchild and madness.

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Works Cited "Choreographer (Job Description)." AACT: Choreographer (Job Description). N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. <http://www.aact.org/people/choreographer.html>. "Antonin Artaud and Absurdist Theatre." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A6560714>. Artaud, Antonin, and Victor Corti. The Theatre and Its Double. Richmond, [England: Oneworld Classics, 2010. Print. Sass, Louis A., and Josef Parnass. "Schizophrenia, Consciousness and the Self." Introduction. Schizophreni, Conciousness and the Self. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Oxford Journals. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. <http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/3/427.full.pdf>. Teatro De La Psychomachia. "Danse Perdue: About." Danse Perdue: About. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. <http://danseperdue.org/about/WhatIsButoh.html>.

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Appendix [A]: "Without an element of cruelty at the root of every spectacle, the theatre is not possible. In our present state of degeneration it is through the skin

that metaphysics must be made to re-enter our minds." (Artaud, Theatre of Cruelty: First Manifesto) [B]: Analysing Schizophrenia and the effect on Artauds work Artaud was simply convinced that being ill, as well as those who are inflicted with any sort of disorder similar to his, have a better understanding of life, as they have a different set of experiences which healthy people will not be able to comprehend due to the fact that they do not experience the same things (Sass and Parnas, "Schizophrenia, Consciousness and the Self"). Artaud was able to bask in his mental disorder, since he did not view this to be a sickness, but as an enlightened state of being (Sass and

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Parnas).

[C]: Butoh is a Japanese style of modern dance which springs from devastation and

misery. It features the distortion of the body and the emphasis of unconventional beauty through exaggerated facial expressions. It is often considered intimate, yet to a majority, grotesque and strange.

[D]: [Silence. There is a noise as if an immense wheel were turning and moving the air. A
hurricane separates them. At the same time, two Stars are seen colliding and from them fall a series of legs of living flesh with feet, hands, scalps, masks, colonnades, porticos, temples, 15

Jezi Christia Mari Llamas 004812-0004 alembics, falling more and more slowly, as if falling in a vacuum: then three scorpions one after another and finally a frog and a beetle which come to rest with desperate slowness, nauseating slowness] YOUNG MAN: [Crying with all his strength] The sky has gone mad. [He looks at the sky] Let's hurry away from here. [He pushes the Young Girl before him] [Enter a medieval Knight in gigantic armor, followed by a Wet-Nurse holding her breasts in her hands and puffing because her breasts are swollen] (Artaud, Jet of Blood)

[E]: The white color emphasizes the lines and shapes which our bodies create as it is bent and moulded by the dance. Butoh is so unconventional that it is almost considered to be an anti-dance, as it ceases to follow the rhythm and beat of the music used. It attempts to transform the preconceived ideas of the mind and body, as well as bring greater attention to the interaction of humans with the world (Teatro De La Psychomachia, "Danse Perdue: About.").

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