NYTimes.com: First comes a layer of thick black grease, applied from the neck to just below the eyes. The lips are carefully painted red. Then a blindfold, then clinging black fabric wrapped around the head. At that point, Lisa Dwan is guided up steps to a wooden board, her arms pinioned through metal brackets on each side, her head fitted into a small opening and secured in place by thick straps that cover her ears. Unable to see, unable to hear, she takes a deep breath and opens her mouth.
7 comments:
This article serves as a reminder to the physical and mental strain that actors put themselves through in order to create an effective performance. As a director it is important to understand how demanding a piece of text is for the performers, so that you can be sensitive to it. It's easy to be demanding out of thoughtlessness; take the time for your actors to do what they need to do in order to portray the role effectively.
I wonder how she warms up, and how she handles putting herself in that frame of mind. I bet she needs plenty of physical therapy.
I personally love Samuel Beckett's plays and wish I could see this performance. It must be extraordinary to watch such a transformation.
I've actually done a lot of research about this play, and I find it to be absolutely fascinating and absolutely incomprehensible. The level of physical strain that is put on both the actor and the audience is formidable. I wish I could see it in person (disappointing because of how little it is performed!) just to experience some of the sheer effort that goes into making this performance a fully immersive experience.
Reading through this article, I found myself extremely bemused. It is so bizarre to me that someone would choose to put herself through what she herself describes as torture, night and night again, although at the same time it is of course incredibly impressive. I can't even imagine what it would be like to see Beckett's play as it is described -- though I expect it would certainly be a one of a kind experience -- not to mention how it would feel to be in Lisa Dwan's place. She sounds like quite an extraordinary individual, and I would love to be able to see some of her performances.
Hearing of any one person show, it always sounds like a huge mental and physical strain on the performer. That's a lot to put on a single person. But this performance seems to be taking it to an entirely different level and is like nothing else I've ever heard of. To me, in some ways it actually sounds more similar to a performance art piece rather than theatre despite it being a collection of Samuel Beckett plays. It's crazy that the way they choose to make this disembodied mouth is so torturous, but at the same time the extreme discomfort is part of the experience for the actor. It would be fascinating to see this performance, I can't imagine what it's like.
My favorite part of this article were the actress’ quotes, which gave really great insight into how demanding and exceptional this performance is. I am always amazed of actors’ ability to push their own body and mind beyond their limitations, to truly give their all to the audience when performing.
It seems to me that when an art that is also a craft is practiced to this level of focus and absolute commitment, the audience engagement must be electrical. I’m always fascinated by the relationship between performers and their audience, and I can only imagine how interesting it must be to attend a performance of this production.
I would have liked to hear more from the director about what it’s like to direct this production, and what their approach was as opposed to Lisa Dwan’s. This is obviously an immensely personal piece to perform, and I’d be interested to know how a director would adapt their process to accommodate that.
I am a huge fan of Beckett's work and theater of the absurd in general. I Iove how he deconstructs ideas and perspectives of the world into abstractions of simplistic elements and leaves it up to the audience to decipher them into their own complexes. In line with that I love the concept of seeing an entire piece acted out only through an actor's disembodied mouth.
While I feel for the physical and mental strain imposed on the actress, I think her motivation and persistence to overcome serve as a testament to skill and mental endurance that is used by all great artists to create unique and innovating work. her dedication and focus sounds absolutely astounding. the only improvement in the work that I can see in the work would potentially be a better rig for her to be positioned more comfortable when taking on such a demanding role.
Being a Beckett fan from Brooklyn I only wish I was in town to see this remarkable work for myself.
Having performed Beckett myself, I can understand the stresses of what it might do to you over time. Lisa Dwan most certainly takes it to the extreme, to perfect the pieces as best she can. Having read and seen a video of “Not I” her ability and willingness to restrain herself to allow the audience to take in the picture of what is happening brings a new level of respect to Beckett. She takes his pieces and does what most people wouldn’t do. To be able to clearly perform the pieces with that type of diction and clarity that defines the piece for what it is. After watching a short clip of her performing, it does make you a little mesmerized by how she is able to do it all with just her mouth. To be able to have that kind of performance in such a confined way eight feet up in the air, is a testimony to hard work and dedication.
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