RTI @ the Gulbenkian
Wednesday 24th July
Today was the day of RTI’s theatre workshops @ the Gulbenkian Theatre, with Wide-Eyed theatre. What an inspiring day!
Our schedule was:
10.00 Arrival, coffee and networking
10.30 Introduction and warm-up, with Wide Eyed and Katie of RTI
11.00 Script writing, with Nick Beat
12.30 Lunch
13.15 Responding to stimulus: the exhibition with Vicki of Wide Eyed
14.30 Break
14.45 Using masks, with Emma of Wide Eyed
16.00 Reflection and next steps, with Vicki from Wide Eyed
16.30 Home time!
After an introduction from Vicki about Wide Eyed Theatre and myself about RTI’s history and the ideas behind it, we played some drama games before getting started on the workshops.
The first workshop, Nick’s script writing session, was brilliantly received. We were asked to write down the things that our respective conditions tell us, then write what we would like to say back to our condition (lots to say here from all!) before combining the ideas from these first two exercises into a script. We each wrote a dualogue between ourselves and our condition, personifying the condition into a character. Our conditions became black knights, black dogs, bitchy drag queens, rowdy children and heavy ghosts. It was a draining exercise, but brought out some brilliant discussion of the parallels between ‘invisible’ conditions. As we were in the ‘safe space’ of the Gulbenkian auditorium, everyone felt free to share their thoughts and personal experiences. It was mentioned at the end of the day by a participant that he had learnt a lot about other ‘invisible’ conditions that he had never heard of, which is one of RTI’s main objectives – Brilliant to hear!
Some of the scripts written can be read here.
The conditions represented by the participants in the workshop included:
Lupus, Narcolepsy, Depression, Anxiety, M.E. and Lyme disease.
After a sociable lunch, we had our second workshop run by Vicki of Wide Eyed. This workshop was based around a number of artworks that now feature in the exhibition that I had brought over from the gallery specially. The pieces were by artists with Diabetes, CFS/Lyme disease and M.E. In groups we each wrote questions on post-its to inspire the other groups to think differently about the artwork. The post-its were passed around and we used them to inspire us to think differently about the artwork we were looking at, allowing us to explore the ‘invisible’ aspects associated with chronic illness.
I noted that a couple of members of the group found these first two exercises particularly emotional. The chance to discuss the reality about chronic illness (including its stresses, pains, upsetting moments, difficulties, confusions and limitations) in a ‘safe’ environment is a highly valuable and inspiring opportunity – but it must be remembered that a gentle approach and sensitivity must be maintained throughout. Not all people with chronic conditions are used to talking about them. From speaking to more and more people with chronic conditions, it seems there are two camps of people: those who talk and those who don’t. For those who don’t normally talk about their condition with friends, family and employers, it can be daunting and raw at first when hearing about other people’s experiences and when able to talk openly. That said, I think the opportunity to share personal experiences will always be emotional when done with real honesty; and the most dominant of my considerations when forming RTI was to keep honesty about chronic illness at the forefront of all RTI doings.
Here are the questions we came up with to provoke thoughts about the artwork:
Today was the day of RTI’s theatre workshops @ the Gulbenkian Theatre, with Wide-Eyed theatre. What an inspiring day!
Our schedule was:
10.00 Arrival, coffee and networking
10.30 Introduction and warm-up, with Wide Eyed and Katie of RTI
11.00 Script writing, with Nick Beat
12.30 Lunch
13.15 Responding to stimulus: the exhibition with Vicki of Wide Eyed
14.30 Break
14.45 Using masks, with Emma of Wide Eyed
16.00 Reflection and next steps, with Vicki from Wide Eyed
16.30 Home time!
After an introduction from Vicki about Wide Eyed Theatre and myself about RTI’s history and the ideas behind it, we played some drama games before getting started on the workshops.
The first workshop, Nick’s script writing session, was brilliantly received. We were asked to write down the things that our respective conditions tell us, then write what we would like to say back to our condition (lots to say here from all!) before combining the ideas from these first two exercises into a script. We each wrote a dualogue between ourselves and our condition, personifying the condition into a character. Our conditions became black knights, black dogs, bitchy drag queens, rowdy children and heavy ghosts. It was a draining exercise, but brought out some brilliant discussion of the parallels between ‘invisible’ conditions. As we were in the ‘safe space’ of the Gulbenkian auditorium, everyone felt free to share their thoughts and personal experiences. It was mentioned at the end of the day by a participant that he had learnt a lot about other ‘invisible’ conditions that he had never heard of, which is one of RTI’s main objectives – Brilliant to hear!
Some of the scripts written can be read here.
The conditions represented by the participants in the workshop included:
Lupus, Narcolepsy, Depression, Anxiety, M.E. and Lyme disease.
After a sociable lunch, we had our second workshop run by Vicki of Wide Eyed. This workshop was based around a number of artworks that now feature in the exhibition that I had brought over from the gallery specially. The pieces were by artists with Diabetes, CFS/Lyme disease and M.E. In groups we each wrote questions on post-its to inspire the other groups to think differently about the artwork. The post-its were passed around and we used them to inspire us to think differently about the artwork we were looking at, allowing us to explore the ‘invisible’ aspects associated with chronic illness.
I noted that a couple of members of the group found these first two exercises particularly emotional. The chance to discuss the reality about chronic illness (including its stresses, pains, upsetting moments, difficulties, confusions and limitations) in a ‘safe’ environment is a highly valuable and inspiring opportunity – but it must be remembered that a gentle approach and sensitivity must be maintained throughout. Not all people with chronic conditions are used to talking about them. From speaking to more and more people with chronic conditions, it seems there are two camps of people: those who talk and those who don’t. For those who don’t normally talk about their condition with friends, family and employers, it can be daunting and raw at first when hearing about other people’s experiences and when able to talk openly. That said, I think the opportunity to share personal experiences will always be emotional when done with real honesty; and the most dominant of my considerations when forming RTI was to keep honesty about chronic illness at the forefront of all RTI doings.
Here are the questions we came up with to provoke thoughts about the artwork:
· Look at it upside down – Is the response the same?
· Can you show your response without words? · Can you look deeper into the image? Find a hidden meaning? · Does it remind you of someone? · Can you imagine who created this image? · What colour do you think it should be? · What do you think the inspiration behind this piece was? · Can you add to the picture? · Can you represent the images the picture inspires in you? · How does another person react whilst looking at the picture? · What emotions do you feel when looking at the picture? · Only look at one image for 10 secs. Give your immediate responses to it without looking at it again. · Create a physical representation of the image. · Create a soundscape from one of the images. · Find a way of recording your reaction to a picture. · Imagine the image as part of a story board. Create the next image in the series. |
Such questions, when used as activities, are an excellent way of finding or developing a connection with artwork, especially of a more challenging subject matter. Make a note of some of these and use them next time you go to an art gallery! It is a particularly good activity to do if you are with children.
The final workshop was run by Emma, also of Wide Eyed, and took poetry as its stimulus. Emma read us the poem Giovanni:
Giovanni
He walked down to the river and bent over the water
And saw his face contorted by his painted smile.
He leaned over the river and touched the water.
Waves broke his image, spoilt his coloured smile.
He wiped off the years, he wiped away his life,
He wiped off the greasepaint and he wiped away the colours
And he wiped away the years with tears.
He wiped away the long nights and the trumpets and the drums
He wiped away the circuses, he wiped away the music
And he did not recognise
The image that stared up at his wise old sad hurt eyes,
With its wise old sad hurt eye.
We used physical theatre in groups to explore and develop from Giovanni’s loss and emotion. Though this activity was less personal than the other sessions, the format holds great potential.
It was discussed among the participants during the feedback session at the end of the day that this format could be used with other stimulus in future workshops.
Other feedback showed that all participants enjoyed the workshops and gained something from them. Discussion was easy and uninhibited, which was brilliant to be a part of and a credit to all involved, both workshop leaders and participants. Thanks to all!
A desire was vocalised to spend more time writing scripts and sharing/performing them. Using artwork as stimulus for ideas, discussion and physical theatre was also mentioned as a high point of the day. These workshops could definitely be developed and repeated for further R&D on chronic illness in a theatre environment, as well as to benefit more participants.
The biggest buzz for me being a part of this workshop day was seeing a group of people, all with chronic conditions that potentially make them susceptible to feeling isolated and misunderstood, together in one room sharing their stories as freely as if they were sharing a bag of sweets. I think it is fair to say, we all found great interest in hearing the similarities between our conditions, despite these conditions being medically very different.
Some other interesting comments that were made about chronic illness included:
· Chronic illness can be exacerbated by city life.
· A duvet day is a blessing.
· Being forced to slow down by a chronic illness can actually make you appreciate and enjoy your time more.
· People with chronic illness come across a lot of conflict.
· Daily anxiety is a common occurrence for chronic illness sufferers.
· Knowing how to deal with chronic illness, work and employers can be very challenging – When do you tell employers and how much do you say about your conditions?
· Cute dogs are a brilliant form of therapy (particularly Cockapoos called Fealin).
The final workshop was run by Emma, also of Wide Eyed, and took poetry as its stimulus. Emma read us the poem Giovanni:
Giovanni
He walked down to the river and bent over the water
And saw his face contorted by his painted smile.
He leaned over the river and touched the water.
Waves broke his image, spoilt his coloured smile.
He wiped off the years, he wiped away his life,
He wiped off the greasepaint and he wiped away the colours
And he wiped away the years with tears.
He wiped away the long nights and the trumpets and the drums
He wiped away the circuses, he wiped away the music
And he did not recognise
The image that stared up at his wise old sad hurt eyes,
With its wise old sad hurt eye.
We used physical theatre in groups to explore and develop from Giovanni’s loss and emotion. Though this activity was less personal than the other sessions, the format holds great potential.
It was discussed among the participants during the feedback session at the end of the day that this format could be used with other stimulus in future workshops.
Other feedback showed that all participants enjoyed the workshops and gained something from them. Discussion was easy and uninhibited, which was brilliant to be a part of and a credit to all involved, both workshop leaders and participants. Thanks to all!
A desire was vocalised to spend more time writing scripts and sharing/performing them. Using artwork as stimulus for ideas, discussion and physical theatre was also mentioned as a high point of the day. These workshops could definitely be developed and repeated for further R&D on chronic illness in a theatre environment, as well as to benefit more participants.
The biggest buzz for me being a part of this workshop day was seeing a group of people, all with chronic conditions that potentially make them susceptible to feeling isolated and misunderstood, together in one room sharing their stories as freely as if they were sharing a bag of sweets. I think it is fair to say, we all found great interest in hearing the similarities between our conditions, despite these conditions being medically very different.
Some other interesting comments that were made about chronic illness included:
· Chronic illness can be exacerbated by city life.
· A duvet day is a blessing.
· Being forced to slow down by a chronic illness can actually make you appreciate and enjoy your time more.
· People with chronic illness come across a lot of conflict.
· Daily anxiety is a common occurrence for chronic illness sufferers.
· Knowing how to deal with chronic illness, work and employers can be very challenging – When do you tell employers and how much do you say about your conditions?
· Cute dogs are a brilliant form of therapy (particularly Cockapoos called Fealin).