'A Director Prepares' : #2 Violence

By Asta

~Reflecting back on essay 2: Violence, by Anne Bogart

In theatre, if violence is the act of destroying all other options, of choosing one path and one path only, then limiting oneself of other possibilities seems completely un-art-like. But no.

The violence of decisiveness, as Bogart puts it, pushes one to move beyond improvisation to create something repeatable, something that fits. From what I understand, violence is not about restricting prospects but about disciplining them. It's to mold them into shape and make them real and tangible so that an idea isn't just a thought that can theoretically be put in action, but can in fact have a mind, body and soul of it's own.

You need a framework within which to exercise your freedom. Otherwise the freedom is unproductive, irrelevant, and leading to no where. Perhaps to some people a framework translates to being boxed in or stuck and such people might think this is a form of cruelty, of violence.

It is necessary violence.

"An audience experiences the actor testing his or her limits; expressing beyond the ordinary despite the limitations". ("Violence" 46)

As Bogart uses the examples of painter Chuck Close and cellist Yo Yo Ma and how they actively sought out limitations, it's clear that discomfort and risk create something completely new, bold, and different by challenging what both the artist and the audience thought to be possible.

"When in doubt, I look for the courage, in that moment, to take a leap: articulate a thing, even if I'm not sure it is right or even appropriate". ("Violence" 48)

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Distortion

Distortion is something that is there in music, visual arts, theatre, dance, film, everything. It is what raises questions and undefines things, ultimately creating violence.

"Undefining means removing the comfortable assumptions about an object, a person, words, sentences or narrative by putting it all back in question. What is instantly definable is often instantly forgettable". ("Violence" 53)

How do you distort? This chapter made me understand that you need to commit and firmly make choice after choice even if you're not ready to, so that everything has a purpose and nothing is left invisible. Having to make choices like that seems pretty violent to me. Usually in daily life we don't pay attention to every tiny detail around us but to strip away "comfortable assumptions" is to understand that everything on stage has an impact and the audience can notice everything. That way you can shape your own story without any obvious and unintended associations being made.

When those assumptions are filtered out, there's distortion.

Because how can a carefully calculated and deliberate space be perfectly comfortable?

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“Violence.” A director prepares: seven essays on art and theatre, by Anne Bogart, Routledge, 2001.