Beginnings: I have under taken a number of creative processes exploring
beginning. I am going to discuss two artistic projects that involved thinking about beginnings. Then maybe you can see if
there is anything to learn from these practice-based examples that can be
applied to the experience of your beginning the new term.
Working as an artist-in-school: during some
project supporting arts in school curriculum I work with other artists. After
the projects, we had a de-brief discussion. We talked about how our projects
went in the schools we were in. The main point that seemed to come out of the
discussion was that we all experienced more than one beginning.
There was the official date we first went
to the school – the official beginning.
There was the moment when people in the
school started to get on board, get used to us being there – the energetic
beginning.
Then there was also the point when things
started to shift or change or be made – the effective beginning.
There could be more, maybe think of kinds
of beginnings you have experienced. Please
describe them in the comments below. All three beginnings I describe above
were important. They all supported the others happening. From this example
applied to BAPP I think the important point is there is a start date September 17th
2018. Because it is Distance Education not much might feel like it happened.
Not much might change – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t notice its begun
don’t wait for the energetic beginning to happen because you need to start engaging
with the course (start) in order to get to the energetic beginning. Even if you’re
not in the flow yet you still have to start doing something it will flow into
the energetic beginning. The effective beginning might happen in
September or it might happen in two years time!! Again, you can’t wait for it
to happen before you ‘start’ doing anything.
I learnt from the arts-in-schools
experiences that You have to start to start.
Another time I thought about beginnings was
a workshop with Oliy Cart who make work for young audiences – like I do. We
were talking about how you draw an audience into the start of a show. We were particularly
thinking about how with young audiences this might be an unknown experience. It
could be the first time san audience member had experienced a show. Obviously,
how it begins is dependent on the content of the show. But think for a moment
about the kinds of beginnings of shows you have been in or seen. How would you categorise
them?
For instance: One of my current shows for
young people the performers are ‘asleep’ on the stage so that the young audience
can come in and look a round and look at the performers. This is to try to have
the beginning as un intimidating as possible.
In another work (Passing 1: I right my own story) I have done (not for young audiences)
the performance start with half the cast taking their shoes off like they had
just come home after a night out.
I could say that in the first description (my
current children’s show beginning) is about getting everything laid out –
knowing all the bits involved. Applied to this course maybe it would be about
looking at all the dates for things, the handbooks & the blogs having a
look round them like sleeping giants you have not yet engaged with but having a
look to understand what they might be.
The second piece (with the shoes) began
with an ending. You could apply that kind of beginning to the course by
thinking about what you are building on. To start this course by thinking about
what you have done, what you want to build on what good and bad things come
with you as baggage. What do you want to take off and what do you want to leave
on as you start this new episode?
Have a think about the beginnings of shows
you have done again and see what they could tell you about beginnings in
general. Share these as posts on your
blogs (please put links to the post in the comments below). It would be great
to hear them because we would read about the kind of shows you’ve been in or
the kind of shows you’ve seen/that have influenced you. But it would also be
great to hear what they meant to you or what you learnt from the experience.
Adesola
Photo 1: Joe Culleton
Photo 2: Scott Lipiec
