SITI Day 4
Suzuki with Akiko
We've covered the 4 basic positions, 3 sitting statues, and Stomping Shakuhachi. These are the foundation that you build and expand on. We are starting to add in text and really focusing on breath ow.
Viewpoints with J.Ed
Working with Spatial awareness, Tempo, Kinesthetic response.
3 up 4 Down
Collaboration with Brad and Megan
This was the coolest thing I've experienced in a while. We (20 of us) are charged with the task of recreating a painting from several different tiles. We are given jobs (Stakeholders- Presenter, Funder, Board Members, Executive Directors, Artistic Directors, and Arists) that will all work to make this piece of art. However, no one knows what this piece of art looks like. As an artist I can only paint my little patch and hope it matches up with everyone else's. We are making a 4' by 5' mural from an 8" by 10" copy cut up into smaller squares. It has to be on time ( 1 hour) on budget (everything costs money- from the paper ($1,000) to the paint ($2,000), the ability to see the bigger picture for 10 seconds ($3,000) to buying 15 more minutes($30,000)) and it has to exceed the stakeholders expectations. We artists aren't allowed to move closer to other tables to match up tiles- unless we pay. No additional supplies- unless we pay. No changing the picture. We can't leave the table with our picture-unless we pay. The stakeholders can come and go as they please. Executive leaders have to turn in a financial report at the end of every quarter (15 min) We start with $400,000 and fundraising can be done. This is a for-profit model so you want to come in way under budget. Go!
Immediately mass confusion insued- No one communicated with each other. Hierarchies were put in place without notifications. I was an artist so I simply went about my task without much concern with what was going on around me, because I didn't know what was going on around me. Every once in a while my artistic director would come over to give some words of encouragement or ideas that were floating around the room, but it was mainly general chaos. Before we came to the halfway point and our break the Executive directors paid so that all the tiles could leave the table to see how they were fitting together. Now mind you we still didn't know what the picture was and here we are trying to figure out which corners matched. Again, no one was in charge and general hysteria reigned supreme.
We took a break to talk about the experience so far. The executive directors were worrying about the budget, apparently they hadn't been paying attention to it. The stakeholders were worried about the project not being on schedule, and we artists still didn't have a clue what was going on we were just doing our thing. Everyone needed to see the bigger picture. We all needed to know our role in the completion of the task. Work is always going to begin before you say go. Change that and define when you start, otherwise people will just blindly go about the tasks that they know well. I worked quickly, and because of that I would finish 5-10 minutes ahead of my other artists and just sit there because a structure wasn't set up to utilize my speed, or another persons eyes, or another persons sense of color.
We started back ready to jump in, but the executive directors wanted to have a meeting with the "company". When did we become a company? We're just a bunch of individuals now, We were all really worried about the time being used on the meeting. More communication doesn't mean better communication, better communication doesn't mean more. Ellen Lauren (our stakeholder) came in to help giving us a different color orange to better match the original color we were trying to recreate by blending. However she only gave it to us before she got pulled away for something. We had no idea that she never told anyone that she made the decision without telling anyone else. We scrambled in the last 5 minutes t repaint all the orange on the painting to match my one tile. We also found out that there was white within the last 5 minutes, and I had been screaming for white since the beginning. Again it devolved into mass confusion at the end with everyone talking and running around with their heads cut off. But we made it ( with 15 minutes extra bought) and a few creative licenses with the picture. We also came in under budget and made a $66,000 profit. The most of the other groups who also participated.
But, we pulled it together at the last minute and Brad and Megan were taking bets we would never make it. The point had been made. Isn't that how theatre operates most of the time? Nobody is communicating well enough. The actors are doing there thing unaware of what is going on around them. The stakeholders are unaware of what the artists are doing and therefore don't mind coming in to mess with things willy-nilly? Nobody is talking to anybody intelligently? Yet it all comes together at the end?
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Composition went much better in direct response to what we had just experienced.
Take care of each other. Here's hoping for a better future.
We've covered the 4 basic positions, 3 sitting statues, and Stomping Shakuhachi. These are the foundation that you build and expand on. We are starting to add in text and really focusing on breath ow.
Viewpoints with J.Ed
Working with Spatial awareness, Tempo, Kinesthetic response.
3 up 4 Down
Collaboration with Brad and Megan
This was the coolest thing I've experienced in a while. We (20 of us) are charged with the task of recreating a painting from several different tiles. We are given jobs (Stakeholders- Presenter, Funder, Board Members, Executive Directors, Artistic Directors, and Arists) that will all work to make this piece of art. However, no one knows what this piece of art looks like. As an artist I can only paint my little patch and hope it matches up with everyone else's. We are making a 4' by 5' mural from an 8" by 10" copy cut up into smaller squares. It has to be on time ( 1 hour) on budget (everything costs money- from the paper ($1,000) to the paint ($2,000), the ability to see the bigger picture for 10 seconds ($3,000) to buying 15 more minutes($30,000)) and it has to exceed the stakeholders expectations. We artists aren't allowed to move closer to other tables to match up tiles- unless we pay. No additional supplies- unless we pay. No changing the picture. We can't leave the table with our picture-unless we pay. The stakeholders can come and go as they please. Executive leaders have to turn in a financial report at the end of every quarter (15 min) We start with $400,000 and fundraising can be done. This is a for-profit model so you want to come in way under budget. Go!
Immediately mass confusion insued- No one communicated with each other. Hierarchies were put in place without notifications. I was an artist so I simply went about my task without much concern with what was going on around me, because I didn't know what was going on around me. Every once in a while my artistic director would come over to give some words of encouragement or ideas that were floating around the room, but it was mainly general chaos. Before we came to the halfway point and our break the Executive directors paid so that all the tiles could leave the table to see how they were fitting together. Now mind you we still didn't know what the picture was and here we are trying to figure out which corners matched. Again, no one was in charge and general hysteria reigned supreme.
We took a break to talk about the experience so far. The executive directors were worrying about the budget, apparently they hadn't been paying attention to it. The stakeholders were worried about the project not being on schedule, and we artists still didn't have a clue what was going on we were just doing our thing. Everyone needed to see the bigger picture. We all needed to know our role in the completion of the task. Work is always going to begin before you say go. Change that and define when you start, otherwise people will just blindly go about the tasks that they know well. I worked quickly, and because of that I would finish 5-10 minutes ahead of my other artists and just sit there because a structure wasn't set up to utilize my speed, or another persons eyes, or another persons sense of color.
We started back ready to jump in, but the executive directors wanted to have a meeting with the "company". When did we become a company? We're just a bunch of individuals now, We were all really worried about the time being used on the meeting. More communication doesn't mean better communication, better communication doesn't mean more. Ellen Lauren (our stakeholder) came in to help giving us a different color orange to better match the original color we were trying to recreate by blending. However she only gave it to us before she got pulled away for something. We had no idea that she never told anyone that she made the decision without telling anyone else. We scrambled in the last 5 minutes t repaint all the orange on the painting to match my one tile. We also found out that there was white within the last 5 minutes, and I had been screaming for white since the beginning. Again it devolved into mass confusion at the end with everyone talking and running around with their heads cut off. But we made it ( with 15 minutes extra bought) and a few creative licenses with the picture. We also came in under budget and made a $66,000 profit. The most of the other groups who also participated.
But, we pulled it together at the last minute and Brad and Megan were taking bets we would never make it. The point had been made. Isn't that how theatre operates most of the time? Nobody is communicating well enough. The actors are doing there thing unaware of what is going on around them. The stakeholders are unaware of what the artists are doing and therefore don't mind coming in to mess with things willy-nilly? Nobody is talking to anybody intelligently? Yet it all comes together at the end?
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Composition went much better in direct response to what we had just experienced.
Take care of each other. Here's hoping for a better future.
posted by The Necessary Theatre at 6:46 AM
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