The six viewpoints - Mary Overlie

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Part 1:

Definition

By Mary Overli - All art functions through the arrangement of informationt specific logic systems. The six viewpoints can be seen and written about from the perspective of acting, directing, choreography dancing. It presents a new structural approach to theater through a ew arrangementof logic. These are linked to an era of rethinking art.

History and Perspective

The six viewpoints presents, through practical experiental practises, a different understanding of communication and approach to dialogue. It releases the existing materials of theater formerly organized into various rigid hierarchical orders, into a fluid state for re-examination. It defines and makes practicable a new perspective art that came into being in late 1950's a developed through 60's and 70's at a time of minamilism and deconstrcution in art.

Essentially the new movement was about taking things apart to access more information. Indeed, the new artist was thought of an observer, developing an enitrely different set of skills where they couldread space with their bodies, dissect time from various perspectives e.c.t

As the audiences joined the artist in being observers, the process became a democracy, encouraging equality.

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Viewpoints

Viewpoints is designed to help artists develop their own aesthetic perceptions by isolating six basic theatrical materials, so that each can be explored.

For example: The artist is asked to simply stand in a bare room and discover the languages of space, shape, time , emotion, movement and story . The goal of this work is to arrive at a dialogue with the six materials - the materials must be given equal value (as there is no hierarchy)

The idea of deconstruction and minimalism is fundamental to the six view points and leads to finding new perceptions of reality to bring to an audience.

Ultimately the work is the physical embodiment of a new philosophical step - postmodernism . Rather than focusing on judgement and establishment of certainty, postmodernism emphasizes equality of information.

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Viewpoints language

The six viewpoint are: SPACE, SHAPE (DESIGN). TIME, EMOTION, STORY and MOVEMENT.

All these languages are connected, interdependent and supportive of the story in this relationship.

Seperating theatre into these six languages replaces the former hierarchy - centering on story and emotion. Suggesting that all six are infact equal. This equal placement is referred to as "the Horizontal".

Working from the horizontal, the actor is free to construct the performance through a focus on spacial interaction or physical movement e.c.t. Once the horizontal is established in practise the work leads into - the matrix. The matrix is constructed into a subtle intersection of the six languages and the actor enters it by being able to change whichever language the actor is speaking.

The actor can, through the six viewpoints develop a dialogue onstage that weaves into space and time and then switches to emotion fore travelling to the next moment. Hopefully the actors develop their own skil lwith the six languages and create and expanded personal communication process. This is called the Oriognal Anarchist - allows actors to enter a dialogue with what pre exists in a specific role.

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The following are a brief description if a few Viewpoints practises.

Locating the Horizontal: Learn how to clearly deconstruct and differentiate between space, shape, time, emotion, movement and story.

Entering the Horizontal: Learning how to enter into each of these perceptual languages n order to gain direct experiential knowledge

Working withou Knowing: Learning how to recognize and interact with structure in the moment.

Shaping Choices: Learning how to use multiple forces.

Formulating Logic: Learning how to construct from the Horizontal

Realism vs Abstraction: Learning how to work critically.

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Locating the Horizontal

It is necessary to learn how to deconstructheatre to achieve the horizontal. In this step , the six materials or languages can be freed from the solid-state structure of theater.

Deconstructing Space: Deconstruct space simply by walking into a room and observing. Through this physical activity, the artist as observer, participant begins to discover spatial angles that connect one another e.g. door to door. The patterns, dimensions and tail become a expanding creative palette.

The primary practise for this is called "Work and Stop". Actors simply alternative by walking and stopping on stafe. AVOID the temptation to add body shapes, timing or working with other languages. Make observations such as "I am three feet away from X"

Deconstructing Shape: Shape can be deconstructed by simply observing the body as it creates design. Through this process familiarity is developed with symmetry and assymetry curved and straight lines.

The basic practise of isolating a shape is called SHAPE 1-1. This should be practised solo and with a partner. The actor moves their body into position then stopstries to see the form and mvoe again. In a duet, they respond to each others form. This is about acting through the sheer design of their bodies: constant activity is not needed onstage.

Deconstructing Time: This encompasses rhythm, duration, tempo, speed and impulse. To locate time , it is imperative to study it outside formal system. In theatre time is not coded, and can only be acessed with total surrender.

The first practise employs anew focus on the practise of Walk and Stop. The actor focuses simply on the legnth of timeanding, walking.In Viewpoinyts as there is no idea of entertainment, timing is turned into a territory where is can exist independently and communicate on its own terms.

Time is also studied through practises of repetition, so the actor will appreciate variation, patterns and impulse. This all builds a simple awareness and articulation of timing

Deconstructing Emotion: Viewpoints find emotion in waht it calls a "the dog sniff dog world" - presence and the reading of presence by ourselves and others. Emotions need to be seperated from their traditional partner - story.

This requires actors to sit and let themselves be observed by legnth, with no focus or activity to distract them. The basis of the language of emotion is our ability to interact in the present from a natural flow of being. This is called Presence work - actors sit on chairs, allowing their thoughts, breathing,movements, feelings, and even physical sensationsof bio feedback to remain active active in their awareness. In this practise, the actor is only the reader.

This is the " dog sniff dog" world. Humans function through the rapid and subtle sensing of presence

Another Practise is called scripted movement - this reveals emotion from an entirely differentperspective and language. It explores emotions by placing the focus etirely outside the realm of the actor. This practise is entered by setting a detailed blockingthat includes small gestures,spatial blocking, timing and visual focus. The actor must create this structureand commit it to memory before the second part of the practise can be added. next a scene is selected, the performers memorize their lines and begin to work the scene to study how the blocking and other parts of the physical script can be justified into the context of the written script. The actors begin to see a holw language of emotional content that is based on the juxtaposition between the set physical script nd the text script.

This means that they consider the possibility that the emtional content of the words may be revealed to a much greater extent if they don follow the meaning of the words with their bodies.

Deconstructing Movement: Most people cannot conceive of movement existing without seeing it mopve through space and time, but in fact movement has nothing to do with form or space. Movement is comprimised of gravity, fulcrum, balance,pendulum action, kinetic response . The exercise involves standing in a room, allowing the actor to discover movement by moving from pure sensation in the body.

Deconstructing Story: Viewpoint exercises isolate story as a discrete material by looking at a narrative as flexible logic. Viewed from viewpoints , storyis simply nothing more than an arrangement of information. One practise is called The Running story.

In the running story, the story should be held with the lightest grasp, so that at the lightest trmble the story can change into something totally different e.g.An actor may start out as an insect, creeping along the floor. Then arch his back, turning into a bridge. In a group practise, the stories of other actors must be transferred into the individuals story.

Another practise, actors are placed into a story created from three unrelated texts by one justification. This justification allows the actor to observe the story as an observer/participant.

Another practise, is starting the story in the middle.

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Entering the Horizontal

Now, having the ability to seperate the materials, the actor steps into the structure of the work. Entering the horizontal means working in space, time, shape, movement, emotion and story.

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Working without knowing

This means that the outcome is not predicted, yet a product emerges.

The actors work to become skilled observers using memory recall and repetition, while acting as full participants, refusing to predict or guide the end result. This sis the heart of Viewpoints - the actors learn to identify strucutral possibilities, products and events while remaining horizontal, no hierarchical equality with the materials. This is the beginning of the Matrix.

The most important skill developed at this stage of work is the ability to change lenses while engaged in action. Eventually the actor enters the matrix in multilayered,complex shifts from one material to another.

The use of Walk and Stop + The Japanese garden (Shape language) builds complexity. The actors Walk, stop, stand, sit or lie down Their bodies become living temples in a determined spatial arrangement. This allows actors to observe form, recall events, and enter into a dialogue with space and simple shapes of standing, sitting and lying down.

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Shaping Choices

This is mind- expanding work. Actors now fluent in the six languagesmake independent choices that come together in one character. They make choices of diversity in a non-hierarchical world.

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Formulating logic/stories

Working with the story is always the last language. This is because it the hardest.

They must explore the nature of structure, and make individual choices about what they want to communicate and find a discipline to hold true to that structure.

The actor about must think about what they are going to say and how they will say it.

Most of this work should be developed through "presence work" - the actor comes to understand that he can communicate to the audience erything that is trapiring simply by being present.

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Realism vs Abstraction

Debates over the issues of abstract and realistic art ome up in any Viewpoints study. Actors are faced with the question "What is real and what is not?"

The distinction between Realism and Abstraction is aesthetic choice. In applying this work of the horizontal is up to the artists to make the choice between the two styles

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Viewpoints in physical training

Viewpoint theory uses a fusion of different physical techniques

Contact improvisation: Gives the actor 360 degree spatial conditioning and builds collaborative ensemble skills through the interdependent cditions of the study.

Jean Hamiltons floor barre: Trains the actor to articulate tin both disatole and proximal paths of movement. Barre work stregnthens the body, and gives the actor a greater sense of stability and balance.

Bonnie Bainbridge-Body mind centering: Highly aerobic study of the body systems which stimulates brain development e.g. the muscle systems

Allan Wayne work: Joint support work and stregnthening the fine muscles