Scenography Toolbox

The original aim was to create a performance that uses scenography and performer practices to translate cinematic devices such as zooms, fast forwards, slow motion etc. from the screen to the stage. Through studio practice the company identified various scenographic ‘tools’ that were reoccurring in the rehearsal room: clowning, spectacle vs mundane, the commodity of the female ballet dancer, labour as performance, precision, the seen vs the unseen, reveal and duration. The company was excited by this and adapted the work to become a 10-hour durational performance about backstage labour.

What did you do for 10 hours?

The performance existed of a main sequence which lasted 45-55 minutes, and repeated ten times. At the end of each sequence the performers would have a short ‘break’ onstage wherein they would have lunch, check the time, “smoke”, fix their wardrobe or simply sit and wait while still on display for the audience. Each round was unique in presentation and atmosphere, facilitated by changes in music, costume, audience response and the performers’ fluctuating levels of energy. Between sequences, there were surprise scenes including a spoof of Pink Panther and an homage to Marilyn Monroe singing happy birthday to President Kennedy. The performers had rehearsed various versions of the main sequence and the surprise scenes, but the full 10-hour version was performed for the first time on the day of the performance. The show ran exactly from 11am to 9pm.

Audience

The energy in the theatre was joyful and suspenseful, with audience members urging themselves to stay longer than they had planned to see what the performers would do next. Most audience members saw roughly three hours of the performance. One audience member remained in the theatre for the entire duration. Afterwards he expressed that his reason for staying was to test his own endurance as an audience member, emphasising how durational work is an experience that is shared between the performers and the audience.