The soundtrack was rewritten to include an audio cue (pencil sharpened manually) and a video projection of a drawing being created by one, two, and four people was edited to add to the presentation. Our goal was to let the audience follow along with the action of drawing, as the drawing during the performance took place directly on the floor, making it hard for the spectators to see from their seats.
This time, I had 4 more participants, and had given them written instructions before the evening started to prepare them. A few of the participants could not make it out to the event, so I picked a few volunteers directly from the crowd. This part was a definite success.
Once again, I placed the papers and participants, gave them each an accessory to match a drawer with a dancer, and let them have fun. The drawers only had one paper to fill out, contrary to the previous performance. Once this one was done, it was hung up on a board with magnets, where all the drawers took a few seconds to add lines to connect all papers visually. Then, they returned to their dancing partners and started to draw on them (again, with the marker cap on), dancing to keep up with their partners' pace. Then, the dancers and drawers exchanged roles, as those who drew became live models and the dancers' bodies became the markers with which they drew their partners. The lights faded with the soundtrack, and the performance was over.
This is what worked out:
- met new people interested in continuing this project
- the participants as well as the spectators were very entertained
- the video projection and nuances in the soundtrack added to the entirety of the performance
- there was a more concrete interaction between the participants
- adding the reversing of roles (the last part) was a great idea in pushing the project even further
Here's what didn't work out:
- I had very high expectations. I thought this was meant to be the final product, but it was only a second draft
- audio and visual (form the projection) cues were not obvious enough for the participants
- the stage was too crowded
- each part of the performance was still too long
- the markers and papers used were different than the last time: the paper absorbed too much ink (instead of the ink gliding on the paper, it was brought to a halt by being absorbed too quickly), and the markers were not as efficient in creating marks of various widths. This made the drawings look much less gestural than the ones created during the previous performance
To improve for next time:
- have less people on the stage. 6 was perfect.
- set up cues embedded in the performance. For instance, the first to finish their drawing should bring it directly to the board; others should follow. Also, when those drawing realize they are out of ideas, then the transition into the next part should be the passing over of the marker to the drawers' partners, as if to say "now it's your turn to be the one drawing".
- ideally, papers should be set up on a sort of pedestal so that the spectators can see what is being drawn during the performance, and also so that microphones can be placed underneath the drawing surfaces to catch the sound of the markers scratching on the paper.
- take away written instructions, or details of the performance. The participants are more stressed when they know they have to follow specific directions; they don't enjoy participating as much as they should.
See the gallery for photos of the event
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