The past two weeks have seen Refract’s performers heavily experimenting with our primary stimuli, images. Our company’s decision to devise our own performance makes such experimentation vital as this will help influence and shape the content and framework of our show. Addressing our aim to ‘reframe stories that consider notions of identity and communication’ (Refract, 2015), Laura, Refract’s director, has been presenting us with various iconic images and set us the task of focusing on one person in an image. Next we have composed alternative, personal stories about them. These workshops reflect the elementary process of devising and how it ‘enables a group of performers to be physically and practically creative in the sharing and shaping of an original product…’ (Oddey, 1996, 1). We, as performers, have an active role in the development of our piece and will collaborate with our director in devising ways of reframing iconic images into original narratives.
One image which has remained in use is Banksy’s A Girl With a Balloon. This well known graffiti image is often considered to depict a political narrative. The quote next to the image, ‘there is always hope’, triggered our ideas for a ‘refracted’, personal story. An alternative connotation could be that the girl is holding onto the balloon because her happiness and emotional stability depends on it. It metaphorically symbolises hope. The way Laura translated this idea into a possible scene was through movement. As a group, we worked to physically represent the girls situation. To show how our bodies collectively represented the girl, enabling an audience to distinguish the image we were ‘reframing’, we stayed close together, moving as one. Laura devised a narrative involving extremely windy conditions, making it difficult to keep hold of the balloon. The balloon was repeatedly taken from us and we were directed to run and catch it before it blew away. What became evident was how successfully global images can transcend into personal, emotive stories. This has motivated us to continue devising more ‘refracted’ narratives.
Works Cited:
Girl With a Balloon by Banksy (2015) [photograph] Available from: http://www.stencilrevolution.com/banksy-art-prints/girl-with-a-balloon/ [Accessed 10 March 2015].
Lancashire, A. (2015).
Oddey, A. (1996) Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook. London: Routledge.
Refract Theatre Company (2015) Manifesto. [online] Available from https://refracttheatrecompany.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/our-manifesto [Accessed 10 March 2015].