Something about my panel’s discussions this week connecting Culture Clash and Drew Hayden Taylor, especially in regards to their humor, reminded me of Fragments. And I had the thought last night, with Sophie and Amelia, and then it flew away. But for those who saw Fragments, didn’t it make you understand the human condition so deeply through such a simple, light staging and physical ease? I was laughing my head off and being relieved of the mundane pangs, and every day difficulties of life. My Fragments response paper 1st paragraph, and the rest is in the google docs link:
Fragments:
Simple Splices of Life
Peter Brook’s Fragments immaculately offered: simplicity is the answer when delivering a message to a theatre audience. We’ve talked about the power of art, especially in live theatre, specifying that the enlightening experience has everything to do with the audience’s perception and presence during the event. Two of the actors Hayley Carmichael and Yoshi Oida spoke to this in the talk back on Sunday March 27th at the Paramount Theatre. Yoshi prioritizes his “being naked” on stage and “taking off his costume” in order to just be himself, so he can be available to the invisible connection that will happen between him and the audience. I completely sensed this during the performance. Not to mention, I’m a believer in this invisible connection, as an actor and theatre artist I aim for it. Apparently Peter Brook’s rehearsal guidance to “simple action” contributed to this attitude of Yoshi’s. And Hayley admitted that a short rehearsal process and frequent traveling forced her to allow her performance to be different every night, unique to the energy in the theatre and audience. Moreover, I think Peter Brook’s directing aesthetics are evident in his inspirations and amalgamations in Fragments in the first place! I have so much respect for what Peter Brook dares to do. Clearly, he’s had a lot of experience experimenting, but I so deeply wish that more theatre artists could see how simple—but specific and strong—choices are as penetrating a theatrical experience as highly technical spectacle…Perhaps this wish comes from such a deep place in me because it’s what I desire to achieve. This is how imprinting Fragments was on me.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jbUKHTlrnJUaCme_sbJQnxPea9cn3YeYZ2u9jja5qls/edit?hl=en#
