The MAU Performances
- 'not a dance company, not a theatre' - though it is all about 'theatre' - not in the fake/acting sense but in the creation of a particular feeling and atmosphere
- 'a kind of opera...'
- a 'provacation'. The projects in general are to make people think - how to think about your own existence, not a commentary/criticism/expression. Not a story telling exercise.
- Theatre is about finding a different reality.
- dance is rather a means to make the audience aware of truth
- the performances are not designed for you to enjoy but rather to make you stop and think, 'be', exist, interrupt your thoughts to be 'still'
- MAU is about asking the question: how do you respond to the world around you?
- not about functionalism or serving the arts
- it is up to the audience to decide what it is they are seeing/watching
- often no language or a language that is not common (eg. ancient Greek) - 'language is a barrier'
- the dancers are there to mark the space, shift the space
- "MAU is a community, not a dance company"
- Role of the MAU community
- making relationships with other people from different places, having a sense of empathy rather than tolerance
- individual identity includes where you are from (spatially, relating to the land) rather than what you do etc
The Body
- the body, for MAU, is a body of ceremony, a body that serves the space
- theatre should NOT be about the person performing per see. No divas.
- therefore, it is not prepared like that of a dancer or an actor
- 'being' not doing
Specific Performances
- 'Le Savali' - wrestling with power (whether you have it or not), religion sometimes = power
- made for Berlin' interviewed gypsies and migrants rather than 'everyday' Berliners
- rehersals were done in a cemetary
- stage included a large sloping wall to perform on
- 'Stones in Her Mouth' - new project not yet completed
- what they (Maori women) want from the environment; nature is amplified
- slow movement, making the workshop women more aware of the environment around them and the sounds they make
- 'Prometheus' - Greek story of Prometheus (see first post), based on the 1968 opera score by Carl Orff, using Aeschylus' original Greek Prometheia.
- Venue for this was huge - an old Power Station: 170m long (used the whole space), with a glass floor measuring around 60-70m long = the long stage
- approx 1000 people in the audience
- walls were around 6m high in the performance area
The Space
The poetics...
The building or space will:- facilitate an awareness of nature/our existence/silence
- allow silence, contemplation of our existence
- facilitate relationships between many people
- be a place which allows you ask 'why am I here?' - like a church
- have the same qualities of a church that makes you slow down
- be in reverence of the universe, a spiritual feeling
- at one with your ancestors
- have a sense of beauty, and the poetic
- a powerful space
- able to be very dark - when dark, your other senses are sensitised and more aware (hearing, smell, touch).
- a space in which people are encouraged for find a new reality - a 'no memory' kind of space.
- Va - in the state of being aware...transported into another reality.
- surprise people that it's in South Auckland - be a statement of confidence -"I Am"
Perhaps the first thing you feel is 'space' (in the dark)
From this black space, something is created (in the beginning there was darkness)
In the theatre, always trying to create a space where Tagaloa would be.
The practicalities...
The space (centre) will:- be a place of meetings & ceremonies
- allow different activities which people feel comfortable doing within that space:
- weddings, ceremonies, carving, learning/education, theatre, temple-like activities
- follow the concepts of a marae - not the phyisical concepts as such, but the way the marae exists as a series of relationships, time, rather than an object in space to look at: it is a 'place' (see Pallasmaa's definition of place)
- give you clues about how to behave within it
- as on the marae, the relationships between buildings is important
- the emphasis is on greeting and welcoming onto the marae, cues on 'how to be' with each other
- be a 'big' space that could allow eg. the funeral of a Tongan or Samoan king to take place there
- be authentic
- have a performance area that can give a sense of a large space, cosmos, sparse, with lots of black space/voids possible
- When the stage is very dark, it is important to have silence.
- Voice is used to cut through this space, to signify this space, give the space dimensions (you hear the echos and subconsciously recognise this). ((Is is possible to manipulate this feeling?))
- The stage should be large enough (or seem so) that your concentration is on the total landscape of the stage rather than just focusing on the performer. Many of their performances are outdoors so the sky and landscape is part of this.
- When outdoors, it is good to have something to focus on, a focal point.
"I used to dance in secret, alone, but now I want to work in amongst the community - not in secret anymore."
So, from this...
Investigate ways to create 'atmosphere', to create or reflect certain values, architecture that allows you to reflect, be quiet/loud/happy/reflective/aware/ and 'be'Mutability
Authentic
Sustainable, close to nature - ecological in a quiet way
A place that has a presence, calm & serene but also confronting
- Light, sound, acoustics
- Thick walls, tall spaces
- Light from above
- 'Journey' from the entrance to the final destination to allow casting off of normal everyday concerns before you arrive at the final place
- Trees, landscaping
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