Forced Entertainment & Complicite

These two companies are companies in the UK which are experimental artists. They are currently performing as the most diverse and exciting experimental theatre companies.

Forced entertainment seek to question theatre as an art form, inspiring audiences by making and remaking theatre to speak about the times we live in. 

         Tomorrow's parties 

The piece we went to see was on a makeshift fairground stage, wreathed in coloured lights, to which two performers from the company battled about what tomorrow might bring. Exploring utopian and dystopian visions, science fiction scenerios, political nightmares and absurd fantasises. The two sometimes were collaborative, sometimes competive, contradict and invent. I think the company wanted to take the audience into a state of imagination and dreams. For me I feel that this engaged the audience to take a journey through all different emotions. It forced you to imagine and explore but also battle with the feelings of frustration and anger. I do like the concept of a journey for the audience but I don't want the emotions to take over the concept or message of the piece. With Tomorrow's Parties it got to the point where your emotions were much stronger and therefore paid little attention to what the performers started to say. Although, I do want the content just like Tomorrow's Parties to offer excitement and creative new ideas. 

            COMPLICITE  

The company is based in London and use extreme movement to represent their work. Their productions often involve dazzling use of technology, such as projection and cameras, as well as lyrical and philosophical contemplation of serious themes. 

The company's lineup changes frequently, though McBurney continues to be the artistic director. Complicite is currently more active as an international touring company than within the UK. 

Their main principles of work are "seeing what is most alive, integrating text, music, image and action to create surprising, disruptive theatre." 

       MEASURE FOR MEASURE 

Measure for measure is a play written by William Shakespeare. It was (and continues to be) classified as a comedy, but it's mood defies those expectations. The play deals with the issues of mercy, justice, and truth and their relationship to pride and humility. I think, like Complicite, we should work with a text and develop it into a piece. Using a structure of a story as a stimulus means that you can make the piece have a journey that follows a path underneath the experimental subtexts behind it. 

Introduction

Let the experimental term begin...

This term for me will challenge me as a performer. I don't know how I will see experiemental theatre by the end of the term. However, I want to explore and understand a new creative process. I think this term will allow me to mentally and physically push myself in performance creatively. 

The practioners and modern day directors of the genre we will be looking at are Antonin Artaud (Creator of Theatre of Cruelty); Samuel Beckett; Bertold Brecht (Creator of Epic Theatre); Peter Brook and Jerzy Grotowski (Creator of Poor Theatre). From these practioners and directors I feel as though we'll understand experimental theatre from these interpretations on the art. I think these ideas and concepts we can use to explore in our final piece. Personally, I feel as though having a grand understanding and solid grounding of the genre will give our piece direction. 

From the last two terms I have learnt what works well for me as a performer and what doesn't. I want to achieve my best this term and make sure I make use of everything that we do, so I achieve the best performance I can possibly offer. I want to leave this term knowing I can leave Brit and perform my own experimental piece. My log book will consist of research, ideas, rehearsal process, pictures and a personal journey from my perspective engaging with experimental as a theatre form as an actor. 

Experimental Theatre

Experimental as a whole form, is a general term for various movements in Western theatre that began in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particular and, in general, the dominant ways of writing and producing plays. The term now has shifted over time as the mainstream theatre world has adopted many forms that were once considered radical. It is used more or less interchangeably with the term avant-grade theatre. Experimental theatre is what it is, namely trying something new. 

For my research I have found, like site specific, experimental theatre can be performed anywhere and anyhow. There are no rules with experimental theatre. The thing I like about experimental theatre is that it breaks the fourth wall with the audience and character relationship. 

Personnally I want to ensure our performance piece pushes the boundaries in the audience relationship to the performers. Also I want to try and create an audience experience that they're not used to. I want the audience to feel uncomfortable and shocked. I think we should use sound scapes to put the audience in an imagative state. "Experimental theatre", this term should mean we play on the senses more than ever, further than our previous performances. The senses can be used to make the audience feel isolated, insecure, confident and empowered we should play around with taking the audiences power away and making them have too much.