Final Personal Reflection

My immediate reflections post performances are the following:

1. Did I successfully create a design led piece? My aim from the start of this project was to make a piece purely from experimentation and play with fabrics, to produce a design led show. I believe this is what went well as I focused hard on sticking to this aim of constant play and pushing my experimentation wherever possible. Without this exploration between both myself, Katy, and my performers of the fabric, we would not have had the overall outcome. Overall, I am very happy that this show did come from repeated play and that I stood by this intention even when it became stressful not having an outcome like some of my peers.

2. How happy am I with the costumes specifically? I am glad I decided to go with yellow for the hats and I enjoyed the process of learning to pattern draft using a head block. If I were to go back, perhaps I could fit them even better to each performers individual head if I had more time. The bodysuits worked well after tailoring them to each performer, although at some points I think they could have benefitted from being lined throughout in order to be smoother at the surface. Lastly, the tubes which begin as the set and then become the costume were the most important part of the piece. I am glad that I changed the design after the first tech run in order to have the tubes all looking similar in shape. I wonder if I could make the fabric even more stretched out to create more impactful sculptures? This is something I intend to come back to.

3. Technical reflections (Light, Sound and Bars) These were the areas I knew least about and I think there are various things I could do differently for a better overall effect. The lighting for instance could be changed to have a more installation effect, if it were for an event or gallery. Also, I would have liked more shadows in areas to give more shapes overall. The sound I ended with I am pleased with, as I liked the abstract way to it with the narrative, and I am thankful for the feedback from my peers and tutors in order to change it to this from Moby originally. Lastly, the bars that flew down the tubes - I think there were lots of ways I could have used these, and I think it worked how we ended up using them for creating a narrative. However, I would have liked to try have them fly down over the performers, as a garment type of costume. If I could have more time in the space I would have liked to experiment with this idea, but for this show I am happy with the way the bars created a story that we performed alongside to.

4. Movement - The choreography came largely from the play and experimentation, with my coming to the first rehearsals with a very rough idea of what to do and letting my performers explore. I am glad we went with this playful and organic approach as it links to the concept and is the whole narrative of exploring this world. It was helpful getting Katy and Mathew in during the early stages for their opinions since they come from a movement background, and were great in giving tips for using space for instance or creating levels. Overall, I am pleased with the movement as it was led by the fabric and the design, which was my intention.

CSM ALIVE

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