As a creator I find it crucial to lead the performers into finding the aspects of the piece and their characters, which they can relate to, throughout the creative process. Those personal links and individual details will form the base for the connection, each of the performers will establish within the piece.
Discovering those final details allows the performer to truly become the character he is asked to create.
I began the choreographic process by introducing the topic of nomophobia to my performers. It was very important for me not to reveal too much information at this stage as I wanted to allow them to play with their own ideas surrounding the topic first. Often during the research and development phase of creation we find that our ideas grow in a different direction to what we have planned depending on the performers we work with. Sometimes we find new ideas or solutions that can take the piece in a different direction. Having been given too much information can limit the creative process by not allowing any room for such artistic discoveries to happen.
First, through various physical tasks, I aimed to take performers on a journey back to the time where the mobile phones were not the central point of our everyday life.
I asked them to imagine certain aspects of their lives prior to having a mobile phone allowing these memories and feelings to dictate their physicality.
Think of the time when there was no mobile phones.
What do you remember being different and how?
How did you spend your free time?
How did you communicate with other people?
What were the social interactions like?
Was there anything different about public places to what it is now?
I then set improvisational tasks based on their thoughts about mobile phones now.
My observations of the above tasks brought me to very interesting conclusions. Physicality of each performer was much bigger, more free and open when stimulated by the memories of life without a mobile phone. Their actions and movement quality became much more restricted, sharp and content when based on their relationship with a phone now.
Building up on that, they each had to think of 3-4 features of their mobile phones they were most dependent on and create a gesture representing each of these aspects. For example, the most important feature for Richard was texting as it allows him to stay in touch with his family at all times throughout the day. Therefore gesture symbolizing it was based on the hand action of imitating him texting. With each performer creating 3-4 gestures we build the motive movement vocabulary for each character individually as well as the piece as a whole. Based on those movements as well as the states of mind in which they find themselves when restricted access to those features they each created a solo material that served as a base for their characters. The final stage was for me to define the dynamics and details of the choreography they generated in order to establish a personal style of movement of the piece as a whole.
Through manipulating generated material by changing the quality, speed or levels we have developed a unison choreography so it derived from what we have already created.
What is your relationship with a mobile phone now?
How much are you dependent on it?
It is just a useful device?
How much time do you spend on your phone now?
Do you feel that your mobile phone dictates your social interactions?
How would lack of having a mobile phone affect your life now?
My observations of the above tasks brought me to very interesting conclusions. Physicality of each performer was much bigger, more free and open when stimulated by the memories of life without a mobile phone. Their actions and movement quality became much more restricted, sharp and content when based on their relationship with a phone now.
Building up on that, they each had to think of 3-4 features of their mobile phones they were most dependent on and create a gesture representing each of these aspects. For example, the most important feature for Richard was texting as it allows him to stay in touch with his family at all times throughout the day. Therefore gesture symbolizing it was based on the hand action of imitating him texting. With each performer creating 3-4 gestures we build the motive movement vocabulary for each character individually as well as the piece as a whole. Based on those movements as well as the states of mind in which they find themselves when restricted access to those features they each created a solo material that served as a base for their characters. The final stage was for me to define the dynamics and details of the choreography they generated in order to establish a personal style of movement of the piece as a whole.
Through manipulating generated material by changing the quality, speed or levels we have developed a unison choreography so it derived from what we have already created.
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