What Are We Trying To Say?            

Convener(s): Laura Kriefman

Participants: Laura Kriefman, Alan Wyn Davies, Natalie Querol, martin, Inge

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

I don’t know: we started here, but it was an strange starting place; is the question just about how to strip everything bear and down to its essences.

Inge: It’s about saying ‘You Are Ok’ validating the audiences humainity. ‘Where they are- they are ok. That was her answer to the question and the reason why she creates work.

Are we safe as an audience? Are you invisible in an audience- does that undermine ‘you are ok’? Invisibility is a safe front.

Vocalising thoughts is a big step towards addressing them. Good theatre and good art has something to say.

Asking something- putting it on. Big thing.

IS the answer in the question? 

Is what we’re always asking the question: does the answer change/

Is it good art without asking that?

Is trying a negative word- now we were enjoying debating a very unpractical aspect.

Is the significance of trying the question?

You don’t have to know how to do it: just got to try.

Language: if English is your second language does the word trying have the same connitations.

It’s a clarification of ideas:

M: trying to say something- but can’t find the words, trying to relates to today. You’re trying to make a point.

Say –express.

Articulate to follow a concept. In theatre you’ve got to be doing something to follow it.

Is there a commercial rather than artistic imperitive?

Theatre is a communicative form. Just saying something isn’t enough- the audience needs to understand.

That’s the diference between hight arts ( modern art, visual arts) and classical art and theatre often. Communication versus expression. The difference between having to create the story yourself , or receiving a large percentage of the story.

IN theatre that can just be communicating an emotion or sex.

Getting somewhere practical: Communication starts in the brain, comes out of the body in some manner. Is received by audience and enters through their senses, then what they understand from that is the communication.

It’s the transference of the nexus of an idea to an audience.

Theatre is all about those live relationships. 

Some directors like to alienate and confuse their audiences- want to confus and contradict. Alienation can be used to create a deliberate confusion.

Why do we still lower the lights on the audience. ( because we can still gauge the validity of the transfer through energy and so on).

In theatre we are able to explore areas of grey- because unlike film we cannot insist on the audience only seeing exactly what we cut and edit and put infront of them. Becomes much more exciting exploration of questions because the audience will both make their own decisions and challenge everything and nothing against their worlds.

Unpacking the question;Are we trying to say anything?

M: Do we prefer seeing things when they’re trying to tell us something, or when they’re not

N: Prefer when they have something they are investigating and it’s not lost in ambiguity.

L: I’m excited when I see theatre asking questions, I’m angered when theatre tells me ‘the answers’ and what I should think.

Honour the audience’s intelligence.

Now we’re really turning it around:

N: Is this the answer you were expecting?

Yes – it’s the high filluting w**K and the integral question of how do we communicate and honour universal truths, so the fact that the discussion is waving both ways is interesting.

M: It could go anywhere.

N: Interpreted it as being about what we are doing here today: what are we trying to say at D and D?

If you had one thing you could say this weekend: what would it be?

• Play.
• We’ve a long way still to go in the proffessionilisation of our industry.
• Didn’t come with anything particular.
• To hear ideas to be inspired by.