Fragments Ensemble..... Training

First days are by their very nature difficult. The beginning has always fascinated me both in theatre and indeed life and I have often wondered why, in many ways my fascination with beginnings is to do with the fact that beginnings are loaded with hope and also inevitably coupled by a certain degree of nervousness and it could be fair to say a sense of fear. Its this strange brew of feelings that give beginnings their weight and we tend to look back on them from far into the future and recall them in great detail.
Yesterdays session was the culmination of an idea that I have been 'talking into a reality' for quite a long time, in total for at least a year now. My super objective for fragments was always to create a working hub of artists that are multi disciplinary and who share a common ethos.
My main problem with our production work thus far has been one of time, there simply was never enough and the demands that were put on the actors during THE BAY rehearsals were beyond cognition, and I must add that the results were extremely positive but there was always a little voice in my head saying 'these people deserve more'. So eventually I started to listen to the voices in my head and began to question what is it I really want. When you start to ask this question you quickly get into the realm of priorities and when you include something you also must be aware of what you are excluding. So eventually I made some hard choices,not so much about who I invited, for that Is a far longer story, but about what way did I want the work that we are going to develop. The truth is that we have have only had one days training with the new group but already there are patterns emerging that are not only vibrant but unique. In many ways I am interested in developing a common language, and it can only emerge through work, I am not one to impose concepts onto the work but I suppose in this modern age people are afraid of applying a philosophy to their work.

I have been extremely lucky in the past months as I have been exposed to an incredible diversity of theatre from around the globe. The three weeks I spent at The Dublin International Theatre Festival could only be described as a creative shake up, I began to really question not only what I do but more crucially why I do it and this is not a simple process, like all learning, it is difficult and at times painful. But from this searching, small fragments of meaning emerge, and from these fragments potentially bright and new ways of making new work can grow. What emerged from the work I saw in Dublin was that the values of ensemble playing was not simply that the productions appeared more rounded and polished it was the sense that the actors truly belonged to something that is bigger than themselves. In a time where actors appear to the most dispensable of all, there has to be a place beyond drama school where actors can truly experiment and risk and indeed fail. The work of Lev Dodin and The Maly is not only of the highest standards but there is an enormous respect for the work at hand and indeed an almost sacred quest for truthful performances. When you have the honour of witnessing such craftsmanship,something deep rotted takes place it is almost as if a light shines deep into your heart and you begin to imagine a vision of the future.Ensembles like ours do not exist in England and Ireland apart from one or two notable examples and this is primarily due to funding but I think it is more to do with the cultural and philosophical differences between countries that were once under Communist rule and that of the western Capitalistic society. In the West there has always been an emphasis on the individual and it is no coincidence that some of the finest Ensembles in Europe come from the former Eastern block, perhaps it is due to the socio-economic conditions that pervailed but I am certain that ensemble practice is the most efficient means of creating theatre.

We have taken our first steps together and there is a new life emerging that I am certain will have the potential to not only grow but to flourish.