Friday con’t
10:30am
We walked and talked through the stages of the presentation. I gave names to the pieces just so I could refer to them easily. The names I used are not the official names of each piece nor were they agreed to by those who made the pieces. They are working names. We started on the site of “string history” (at which point two singers were placed [Chloe & Matthew] who had inadvertently/serendipitously come in with the same song). We talked through logistics on the site of that first piece including how the audience would be encouraged to hold hands and make a long line of people. Chloe wuld sing before the attempt to get the audience to hold hands and Matthew would sing as the audience walked by enroute to the second piece. The second piece “studio mud” took place in the studio, we discussed the wild garlic group leading the audience to the studio since they would afterwards be leading the audience down to their own site.
As we walked through the various locations for the presentation this helped jog our memories and set in our minds what was to be done in each location.
After the first piece those who were to take position along the path for the third piece traveled around the outside so as to be in place for the audience to walk past them on the path. The “wild garlic” group was set to lead the audience after “studio mud.”
We then walked through the trip down the path and where people would stand to do their solace material.
After “wild garlic” we walked back up the path to see where the “water circle” piece would take place and talked through the change in performers at the top of the path. also where the audience was to be placed for the “water circle”. Tom was asked to arrive wet at the tennis court to shout his “song” before running inside to change into dry clothes.
We then pictured the group of singers for the disused tennis court and the disused pool and the doorway of the abandoned school and who would sing from the roof as the audience left for the field. The performers made sure they knew how to get to their field positions. (We discussed what happens to the guitars. Alfie’s car?)
In the field I asked that Kalila and Katharina make sure that their text can be heard during performance. I asked that the group waving hankies from over the hill remember that distant movements need to be larger and slower to be seen well. I also asked that more of the handkerchief texts be read aloud by performers and to make sure your audience knows they are to hang the hankies.
It was decided the group would end at the higher path behind the audience and stand with solace hankies held high. Harriet sang her song and after the first verse turned to joined to group a fair distance behind her. You all started the first verse again and sang together. It was heart breaking.
[the rest of this entry finishes on main entry: Friday]
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