What can the cat really teach us? And who do we do theatre for?

Convener(s): Alice (not present)

Participants: Ken Turner, Judith, Rod, Roddy, Natalie, Oeyvind and others. 

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

From the off the group agreed that the Bausch area was suitably soporific and made us feel feline and receptive.

Cats draw the eye and attention so how can we be more like cats on stage.

Cats don’t care to pleeeease, they are indifferent.

Cats are the guardians of the underworld

Do we endow them with more than they are due?

Cats don’t talk

Cats are more interesting than any actors no matter how good

Cats are acutely aware of space and sound. They are all senses.

Cats are selfish

Cats are coquettish

THE CAT IS THE LAW OF 4 PAWS!

Cats use you for their needs and leave you when they are done

Cats are proprietorial

Cats see thing we don’t. They operate on a different sensory level

Cats are inherently elegant

Cats are interested in what they are interested in.  They prioritise differently

Do cats endgame? Is endgaming counter-creative?

Is a group of cats (20-30) as interesting as one

Being an animal is risky

Should we find our own animal nature?

Cats are entirely present

The cat is amoral

The opposite of cat is dog (dogs love to please)

It is free of social constructs

The dynamic of the opposites is real

Maybe we should learn feline carelessness

Cats are killers

Cats are ruthless cold pragmatists

NON-SENTIMENTAL

Direct eye contact will scare them?

Cats appear proud, dignified and honest

Do cats only do it for themselves

We are doing theatre for those who would take pleasure from it

Cats have no 4^th wall

The cat teaches that being present in the theatre might be enough

What are cats’ intentions?

Cats are economic with their energy

INSTINCT

Is a cat a clown, a blank sheet that makes the audience work

Cats do the necessities and play. That is all

Do cats experiment on humans?

Cats have no cultural intentions.  Instinct attracts cultire corrects

Why not rats?

A cat’s attraction is culturally specific. Aaaah. (Why not kick it?) But the metaphor might be seen as universal. (mystery?)

Domesticity v. wildness – different levels of unpredictability and danger

The cat as a bridge to our own wildness/instinct

When applying for funding might it not be good to suggest that one is cute but possibly dangerous.

DO IT LIKE A CAT         FILM IT            

MAKE IT NON ABSTRACT