For anyone not familiar with it, Image Theatre involves creating a still image as a group of a problem that exists within a community. The image is agreed upon democratically; that is, anyone in the group can suggest changes until everyone agrees that this is what the problem looks like. This is called the "real" image. Then, the participants create and "ideal image," which is what the arrangement would look like if that problem was solved. They then build an "image of the possible transition," allowing them to imagine how to get from the real, problematic situation to the ideal one.
The students in this class decided upon a problem they all share: that there are never enough hours in the day to finish everything they need to get done. The images ended up being somewhat abstract physicalizations of what the stress of that problem looks and feels like, and what it would feel like if it got better. That is, the image wasn't of an actual instance in which this problem manifests in the world; it was more of a sculpture of the feeling and the whole problem itself.
Below are the "real" image and the "ideal" image, and a short video of the transition. Because we didn't have much time, the students animated the movement from one point to the next.
This is the "real" image of the problem of having too much to do with not enough time.
Here is the "ideal" image, which to me suggests that one solution to the problem would be each person supporting the other, sharing responsibility for the work that needs to get done.
This was done hastily because we ran out of time (ha! Appropriate to the topic ...), but this is a short video of the students animating the transition from the problem to the solution.
I really enjoy Image Theatre and think it is very useful in creating inspiration for a piece.
ReplyDeleteWhat you don't see from the pictures and video is the process of creating the problem-image. Once we had our problem, one performer took the stage and posed in a manner thay they felt depicts the problem of "not enough time." Then another performer added on to that, then another, and so on and so forth. There were also some of us that were "editors," who would look at the image as it was being created and ask to change it, or sculpt it to find a better way to highlight the problem. Then those editors would join the image, or switch roles with a performer already in the image. This back and forth, this give and take is perfect for our goals of this class. It not only strengthens our sense of the community that we are creating in our own class, but it will be useful when we incorporate actual members of the Sports Fan Community into the fold. It is an extremely democratic and collaborative form of work, and only when we had the consent of the entire class did we freeze the image in time with a picture. The same happened for the "ideal-image."
I think of the animated transition as a transformation; what is the process by which one changes when coming from the problem and finding a solution, or ideal? How does the movement of the body reflect that? For me, the real benefit of these exercises is that not only does it benefit our ensemble work (including the work to be done with the Sports Fan Community), but the images created and movements discovered can be put directly into the show we are creating. Part of what we (actors/students/community members) are being taught is that the process of creating can be equally as rewarding, if not more than rewarding, as the product is. I think I am beginning to learn that!