Introduction – Our beginning
We was interested in the idea of giving the Grandstand its voice back. Inspired by this we created a performance that was presented in silence. The idea of its voice was presented in post it notes, as we held in our hand by over our mouths. We did this in front of a projection, as it displayed and image of the Lincoln Handicap at the Grandstand in its glory days. We then dropped the notes to show emotions being discarded from the Grandstand, showing it losing it voice. We wanted to show ‘a vocabulary which provides better metaphors’ ((Pearson, M. (2010) Site-Specific Performance. Palgrave Macmillan: London)). The words we included on the post it notes had binary opposites on them relating to the grandstand, for instance, winning/losing. The audience feedback then made ideas spark in our progress. This was due to an audience member suggesting that the falling post it notes were like ‘betting slips,’ we were intrigued.
My group ending up being made up of myself, Rachel, Emma, Eloise and Charlie. We came to the basis that we wanted to create a piece that would be representation of the Grandstand. The themes of betting and houses became strong, and the overall theme of loss. We wanted the idea of ‘loss’ to relate to the Grandstand itself, through it losing its use and becoming almost derelict.
We then started to look into the idea of horses and their struggles as an animal. This was because we felt that it was an area that was overlooked by other groups, as the Grandstand was built for horseracing, which became more and more interesting to our group. We looked at the struggles of the horse, when it loses its race, and the nothing that it is given in return for its efforts.
Our group has come to the conclusion that we want to base our performance around the idea of betting, racing, and the horse. This would then come together to represent ‘loss.’
Works Cited