Robert Paterno
MFA Acting 2010
So it's been over week since the last blog entry. Working under the conceit that people are actually reading these things, I will attempt to recap the events since last Saturday.
So the festival ended last Sunday, and it was amazing. I actually went to see two of the shows again, Stille Nacht and Turak. I just couldn't get over the integration of so many performance elements into these shows with such specificity and without ever sacrificing the story. I was sad to have the shows end, but so excited to start the workshops.
Our first day we had a lecture with a French theatre professor, Daniel Hannivel who really enlightened us a great deal about theatrical life in France, and in Europe in general. Morgan covered much of it with detail in her recent blog, so I'll save us all the anguish and hit the high points for me. The focus on developing the creative actor versus the interpretive actor, which seems to be our SOP in the U.S., is quite exciting. Our training is just not as focused on creating new work. Les Subsistance is a theatrical lab whose mission is to nurture and develop new works. They have a 2 million Euro budget, of which 70% is artistic!!! Mon Dieu! And all of the arts schools are government supported, either federal or local. That's a double-edged sword, but it's fantastic that the arts are such a high priority. And the thought he left us with, about how we must always reinvent, is certainly something to always keep in our hearts and mind and artists. If we're not creating and finding new ways to tell stories, then what ARE we doing?
Our next two days were spent learning acrobatics with this incredible physical performer, Xavier Kim. It was like the movement work we do at SMU with Bill and Sarah to the Nth power. We waked on walls, did improv and contact dance, and just had a great, physically-exhausting time. Xavier is a physical freak, and really got us excited about movement and how to make it part of our personal aesthetic. It also reminded me that I still have a long way to go to re-habituate myself. The same issues that plague me in Dallas have followed me to Lyon, and it was reflected in my acrobatic work. I felt more comfortable in the work because of what Sarah and Bill have taught us. I'm pretty sure my issue is more one of confidence than physical ineptitude. This reality is both liberating and humbling. It means that I need to get outta my head and into whatever space I'm occupying and do the work. I plan to really bust my derriere in weapons hour and during the summer at Great River to really start to live in and utilize my instrument with less fear and more proficiency.
I'm out of time for tonight. On tomorrow's show: The magical puppetry of Turak; A jarring Metro incident; and the musical stylings of Weezer. Thanks folks; you've been great. Drive safe.
Seacrest. out.