Return to the Overcoat
Q: How do you feel about returning to play in the Overcoat with Theatre du Pif after a two year gap. Do you sense any difference in your performance after two years of study in Paris/London?
H: It's fun to return to (yet another) rerun of the same play, because it gives me a point of comparison. In rehearsal, the thing that struck me the most was how large a range one has to interpret each line... how each line can be flexed and thrown in many different ways to convey different nuances of emotion. I don’t think I was aware of this range two years ago.
I also have a much deeper respect for the construction of the play. It's a really well constructed piece, and now I can appreciate it in a way that I wasn't completely aware of before. And because half of the cast is new, this time around I am aware of the different possibilities.
I did find myself itching in the earlier rehearsals to give my opinion about this and that to Bonni. I guess after two years of training you learn to be quite opinionated and think that you know a lot about "what makes a play work." In fact, in Lecoq if you don't speak up then you'll never get to create the piece you want because everything is group directed. However, here I am hired in a different relationship, and I need to respect the boundaries of this relationship. Because it is not so helpful sometimes for a director to get so many opinions from all directions; and I really trust Bonni's theatre sense. It may just be that she is thinking of something else at that particular moment; or that she wants to bring out a different quality. So my role is to work on my performance, and I give comments on the scenes that I'm involved in.
Right before rehearsals started I watched another production of Theatre du Pif's, "Nocturne Vista," based on the writings of Franz Kafka. I was struck by particular moments or particular gestures in that performance: Kar Fei's entry as the Boss, Sean's transformation into the cockcroach; Bonni's swallowing gesture as a vulture. Those sudden moments of clarity: when an actor's presence leaps across the gap and sears a mark in you as an audience member. And I was much inspired by that. I thought, that's what I need to practice as a performer.
And as I rehearse, I realise that it has very much to do with the sincerity of performance. As I am in so many scenes, there are no "good nights" or "bad nights" really any more; because every night there will be a scene, or even a line, that surprises me. And so it's become a matter of keeping myself open to be surprised. Because there are so many ways in which a line can be true. If a scene needs to be a bluish colour there are the possibilities in the palette from ultramarine to slate blue-grey. Mmm – how fun.
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The Overcoat - Theatre du Pif
17-20 Jan, 2007: Fringe Club (HK) 8pm
8 -10 Feb, 2007: Drama Centre Black Box (Singapore), 8pm
17-20 Jan, 2007: Fringe Club (HK) 8pm
8 -10 Feb, 2007: Drama Centre Black Box (Singapore), 8pm
> check out www.burntmango.org/current for more of Hofan's current projects
Friday, January 19, 2007
| 1 comments
1 Comments:
(in reply to a comment by burdski)
>>I did find myself itching in the earlier rehearsals to give my opinion about this and that
>>it's become a matter of keeping myself open
Does time, experience and knowledge affect how open you are to possibilities and being in a 'learning' frame of mind? Do you think learning comes more naturally when you're younger?
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Dear Grace-
How wonderful to hear from you.
Yes, I definitely think there is a difference in the way we learn when we have existing bodies of knowledge. The most obvious example is in language: I am sure that I assimilated English+ Chinese (from a young age) differently from the way I learnt French (in year 7-10 as a compulsory subject) to the way I learnt Polish (aged 22, consciously figuring out the best way to learn a language). Can we say more naturally? Possibly.. as in more unconsciously.
Now as for whether experiences affect how open we are… I'd like to think of experiences like a state of mind; just like optimism, cynicism, joy, etc are states of minds. And I'd like to think that while experiences can usher us in a certain direction, I'd also like to believe the capacity for us to be conscious about how things affect us, and that we have a choice about whether we want to keep ourselves curious and open, or be shut down by something.
What actually is even more fascinating to me, however, is the way we process different bodies of knowledge over time. Let me give an example.
As you may know, in 2002 I went to Poland to study with a Polish choreographer, Jacek Luminski. I spent a year and a half in total learning his technique. Since graduation, however, I've had two occasions to take class with him again: once in 2004, when I went to visit his dance festival; and three days ago, when he gave class in HK.
The time in 2004 was very interesting, because it seemed that a year away from the class had somehow given me a quantum leap in his movement. It was as if I had somehow digested his movement over time and cleared out all the fluff.. especially unnecessary tensions in the body. I was amazed at how quickly I'd still remember his sequences, and how I really had the ability to chunk his movements together.
And now, this year in 2007, it was something else entirely. It was like encountering his movement again afresh… which meant, of course, that my mind couldn't remember the sequences as quickly as I used to; but also I think the way I approach movement these days is very different. First of all I don't feel like I need to prove anything to him any more, which means that I can take the time to take as much as I need from his sequence. I am sure my body is much more relaxed as a result. Second – and I think partly this has to do with the tai chi I am currently learning – I am much more interested in making sure I taste the movement.
And so it is fascinating to me how bodies of knowledge ebb and flow; how, for example, there was a moment in Paris when I temporarily lost the ability to articulate Cantonese syllables; or how new bodies of knowledge can shed insight on the old; and vice versa.
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