Planning

Throughout the weeks we have been working on gaining material that will help supply content to our performance, to help stimulate our audience. Knowing that we wanted to represent horse throughout our performance we were led to Eadweard Muybridge ‘instrumental in the development of instantaneous photography’ ((Muybridge, E. (2010). Introducing Eadweard Muybridge. Available: http://www.eadweardmuybridge.co.uk/muybridge_image_and_context/introducing_muybridge/. Last accessed 5th May 2013)), and his photographic capture off a moving horse to create the first motion video. This inspired us, as it felt like the horse in the motion video was a representation of what we wanted to represent. As it is running without cause, as it has no rider, relating to the grandstand and its missing cause. It was also appealing to us that the horse was in black and white, which was a symbol of a memory, which we liked the idea of using as a Grandstand memory. This was to show how the Grandstand was once proud to stand tall as a host to these proud, strong animals. The horses still remain but blocked of by a road and iron bars. As if the Grandstand has lost its purpose, and is completely alone.

We then came to the task of looking at Mike Pearson questions on ‘outline stances, attitudes and presuppositions’ ((Pearson, M. (2010) Site-Specific Performance. Palgrave Macmillan: London.p.22)), the questions that stood out to me were:

‘Am I a stranger or an inhabitant?’ ((Pearson, M. (2010) Site-Specific Performance. Palgrave Macmillan: London.p.22))

The site of the Grandstand was once a place of celebration and community, so is it an inhabitant? Or have the years of drifting memories has left it alone and forgotten, a stranger to itself.

‘Do I pass unnoticed or do I stick out?’ ((Pearson, M. (2010) Site-Specific Performance. Palgrave Macmillan: London.p.22))

The ‘Grand’ stand once stood tall in a busy environment, but is now shadowed in iron bars as a roadside building unused.

These questions offered an insight of the site itself and it gave me an idea. The idea was the Grandstand itself stood out but was unnoticed by Lincolns population, as it had no purpose, it then made me wondered how we could represent this in our performance? The idea of camouflage then became an interest to our group.

Our group then looked into the idea of how to represent the horse in the Grandstand and the theme of loss, through something vocal, this led us to a poem by Ric S.Bastasa called, The Horse That I Am Riding:

‘’then finally, the horse that i am riding,
the black one with long hair and
long feet, flying without wings,
speed nearing the speed of light,
has taken the lead, and the rest follow
tirelessly still,
i do not look back,
i do not beat the horse with a stick
i keep on riding making the horse
feel confident that i am still
supporting its cause, to be first,
to be famous

and then my horse wins,
the owner gets the real buck,
and i the jockey,
merely receives a little name
and a little commission.

the horse gets nothing. ‘’

((Bastasa, R . (2010). The Horse That I Am Riding. Available: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-horse-that-i-am-riding/. Last accessed 5th May 2013.))

We then tested this poem out in the Grandstand against a wall; we said the poem in cannon as if we were in a race. Then at the same time we would all end and at the same time all say, “the horse get nothing” ((Bastasa, R . (2010). The Horse That I Am Riding. Available: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-horse-that-i-am-riding/. Last accessed 5th May 2013.)). This was so we displayed the most important line of the poem was the last and it displayed a truth not normally shown to people, as they just look past this and see the jockey as the winner. This was a representation of the Grandstand now, it gets ‘nothing’ after a life time of purpose its now is a ‘nothing’ space. We want to show that it has lost everything to become a ‘nothing’ in plain sight.

Now all we had to do was to look how we could combine all these elements and progress them to make a site specific performance.

Works Cited

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