Sunday 24 July 2011

First steps

On the 12th of May 2011, Bob Theatre Festival was running a Scratch Night contest at Chora Theatre in Athens. The format was for 8 newly-formed groups to present a 15-minute long fraction of an idea they had for a performance, after which the audience would vote for their favourite which would appear as a full performance in the next year's Bob Theatre Festival.
After 2 years of collaboration, research and producing material, text and images it felt like the right time for my Ophelia to make an appearance. And she did; and even though it was only for 15 minutes and during troubled times, I am nevertheless proud for her first steps that were long overdue.
And the result?
The practical result was that "Οφέλια Unplugged" (the title for my 15-minute presentation) was voted 6th out of 8.
But beyond that it was very interesting to experience the reaction of the audience, which was not what I had imagined. But then again you can never anticipate that?
For me the result was to pause and revisit, rethink and re-evaluate.
How can you give freedom to the audience and then having to take it away?
What is the line between happiness and despair and in what way do you cross it?
How can you discover the life in a pure-formatted text?
All these are questions that I need to answer anew or find the strength to support my already-formed answers.

Those were the first steps. Now the aim is to walk the distance.

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