Browsing by Author "Mills, Liz"

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    Female bodies as text : disobedient representations of the witch
    (2001) Berk, Anita; Mills, Liz
    This paper is an exploration and explication of the ideas and theories that served to fire the journey of my thesis production, Hex, from conception through to performance. As a Masters student in Theatre-making with a leaning towards performance, my particular area of focus is the physical: female bodies as text. To delineate this further, I concentrate on disobedient representations of the witch: what are these; what do they mean and effect in our world and within women themselves? Since as Theatre-maker I variously switched mode from director (in the initial conceptual stages) to designer, writer and actor within the process, this written explication will similarly switch perspective as I weave through the issues at hand in the creation of Hex. I begin the paper with an introduction to the figure of the witch. A selection of examples of stage and screen portrayals of witches is given. I then describe the salient features of the witch's journey as represented from past to present, in order to shed light on the choice of witch characters which eventually formed the collage of Hex. This is followed by an exploration of the goddess I witch dichotomy, with specific reference to the presence or absence of her physical form as theatrically manifested in Hex. I delineate, define and exemplify the concepts of obedience and disobedience in witch representations. This leads to an in-depth look at the physiognomic I gestural language of the witch's body in performance, noting in particular its relation to a male gaze. The third and final section of the paper centres on the marginalisation of various witch figures. This serves to explicate the presence and meaning of certain key figures that appeared in various forms in Hex, such as the absent crone-wise-woman, and the happy childless mother. I conclude with a statement of my personal position in relation to the topic that inspired the explorative journey of Hex. The purpose of Hex was to imaginatively crack open the realm of the witch for the audience. For it is out of such pinholes that truth has a tendency to loom out, in her infinite number of gorgeous and appalling forms that, together, dance the jig of Life.
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    Female vocality in theatre : sounding, hearing, and structures of feeling re-framed
    (2009) Singer, Jacqueline; Mills, Liz
    This study proceeds from the belief that the female voice is silent or is seemingly absent in theatre and explores the possibility of the presence of a female vocality. The term 'female vocality' is used to refer to multiple aspects of the voice(s) of women in theatre; as performers, as playwrights and as theatre makers. It refers to both the sound of the voice and the structural elements of performance and text. The term is also intentionally used to uncover the uniqueness of the female voice and of that which is specific to women and arguably less defined by logocentric or patriarchal structures. A further distinction is made with the use of the term, in a more symbolic and generic sense, to denote the public and political voice of women. It is not only the sound of the voice that is examined but also how that sound is received or heard. The voices of women have not necessarily been absent or silent but 'seemingly absent' because the receiver was not actively present, or possibly, the listener chose not to hear. Part One: By searching the silences for the sound of the female voice, it is not only the voice that is uncovered, but features of identity and subjectivity. It traces the path of a trajectory of feminist critical theory in the late twentieth century that impacted profoundly on theatre practice and this notion of silence or absence of the female voice. In theI980's, Sue-Ellen Case (1988) suggested that feminist critics adopt the term a 'new poetics' to describe their attempts to embrace new forms of language and dramatic structure in feminist theatre. This new form defines the re-positioning of woman as subject and calls for a re-construction of language and text to reflect the female voice more accurately. It also explores the work of performance artists and the influence of the writing of post-structuralist Helene Cixous in their attempts to foreground themselves as subject and the body as text. Part Two: By appropriating Raymond Williams' term 'structures of feeling' I posit a re-framing of a feminine theatrical aesthetic that expresses the lived experience of women. I am drawn to the use of the term because of its implicit understanding of the qualities of particular types of experience that are intangible or 'unspeakable' which is similar to the elusive qualities inherent in the description of female vocality. To articulate these qualities more lucidly I refer to Kristeva's 'semiotic' and Barthes 'grain of the voice.' Part Three: I examine how the voice is at times not heard and how this aspect of selective hearing can be developed by the listener or audience. Related to this is how in the development of western thought and philosophy the voice has been separated from the speaker and relegated to insignificance. Italian feminist philosopher Adriana Cavarero terms this 'the de-vocalization of logos' (2005: 33) which is useful in understanding how women's voices have seemingly been ignored. I review my own practice and the challenges it presented in uncovering alternative theatrical means to foreground female vocality. I search for possible ways of re -considering the use of language and in this regard, I refer to playwrights Caryl Churchill and Sarah Kane and their respective innovative use of dramatic and dialogic structure which deconstructed the more traditional (patriarchal) forms. Aspects of the post-dramatic theatre are considered in an endeavour to propose structural and dramaturgical devices that may create new vocal landscapes which would enhance the potential of the multi-faceted aspects of female vocality in an attempt to define a 'new poetics' for the twenty-first century. By mapping the possibilities inherent in female vocality for theatre the findings reveal that there are rich resources available. These concepts and examples can be used and crafted towards creating a dynamic feminine theatrical aesthetic where the voices of women can be experienced and heard.
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    Generative dramaturgy : a strategy for refocusing directorial intent in the translation phase of play development
    (2008) Kirch, Michael A; Mills, Liz
    This explication focuses on the director working collaboratively in the ensemble towards generating new material inspired by the play text in the staging of the play. The strategy employed to achieve this efect is referred to as a generative dramaturgy. The aim is to foster co-ownership in the actors of teh ensemble by developing their natural and instinctive responses during the translation phase. I specifically look at the South Africa theatre context which neither works in a culturally homogenous environment nor performs to a culturally homogenous audience, and where multicultural theatre is a familiar theatre practice.
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    Identity and difference without opposition : constructing and exposing strategic subjectivities for social comic comment
    (2008) Price, Alicia MV; Mills, Liz; Weare, Christopher
    This explication is an investigation into comedy as a medium for constructing strategic subjectivities and the potential holds for diffusing experiences of difference in contemporary South African contexts. Our culture is on that encounters difference and often experiences these moments as threatening. Comedy creates the opportunity for engagement with other subjective experiences, however, this potential is in my opinion, mostly wasted and performances tend instead to support the dominant social discourse. By examining the nature of subjectivity and identity within a postmodern, technologically connected culture, the active agency of the audience is kindled by the performer. The strategies of this encounter are discussed in relation to Lawrence Mintz's theories of the licensed spokesperson and the negative exemplar.
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    Meaningful mouthpieces : the deconstruction of texts for theatrical (re)presentation
    (2001) Gehring, Heike; Mills, Liz
    The focus of this research is the translation of deconstruction theory into theatre practice. This is proposed as a way of challenging notions of truth and myths perceived as truth. In dealing with this challenge, notions of post-linearity were applied to text. The application of post-linearity resulted in a theatre collage reminiscent of collage as visual art form . The translation of deconstruction theory into theatre practice was explored by creating and directing a play entitled Trivial Pursuit with senior performance students from the Drama Department of the University of Cape Town. The play premiered at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in Grahamstown on 29 June 2001, followed by a short season at the Arena Theatre of the UCT Drama Department. The following written submission is divided into two parts. The first is an exploration of the theory and creative method that was applied in the process of creating and directing Trivial Pursuit. The second contains the theatrical form of Trivial Pursuit.
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    Mise-en-Scene as (pre)text; an insistence on a negotiated space for the creating of new theatre works
    (2007) Newton, Larissa Ann; Mills, Liz
    The purpose of this exploration is to reflect on the activity of writing for performance, with the focus specifically on the generation of the dramatic text, and to further the notion of mise en scene as prescribed by Pavis. (Pavis, 1983: 25) This is in relation to the making of a new South African play entitled Reach, written by myself, Lara Foot Newton and directed by Clare Stopford. The exploration looks at a model of theatre making where the writer is present during the rehearsal phase. I propose that there is a pre-mise en scene, which exists as pre(text) for the dramatic and performance texts. This pre - mise en scene pre-figures or alludes to the possible "object of knowledge u (Pavis, 1983 : 25) before its manifestation. This pre - mise en scene is the first encounter with the negotiated space of writing for theatre ; of writing the dramatic text ; of a first writing of the performance. The exploration is divided into three parts: Part 1. Mise en scene as ( pre)text. A network of associations which are negotiated into the dramatic text. With reference to Pavis ((Pavis, 1983 : 25) and Brook (Brook, 1993 : 52) Part 2 : Mise en scene as (p r e)text and the dramatic text. The co-dependent relationship which exists between mise en scene as (pre)text and the writing of the dramatic text within a negotiated space. With reference to Harold Pinter, in his Nobel prize lecture in 2005 entitled Art, Truth and Politics where he describes how sound, light and dialogue collude to give birth to character in relation to his two plays The Homecoming and Old Times ) Part 3 : Mise en scene as (pre)text, the dramatic text and the performance text. The relationship which exists between mise en scene as (pre)text and the dramatic text, and mise en scene in relation to possible meaning and interpretation within the performance text. With reference to the notion of dramaturgy (Meyrick, 2006 : 281) and to workshopped plays by director Barney Simon.
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    Theatre Voice: Practice, Performance and Cultural Identity
    (Taylor & Francis, 2009) Mills, Liz
    The theme of the Dramatic Learning Spaces Conference - Performing Identities - at which the ideas in this article were first presented, fed my pre-occupation with the lived realities of voice practice in the multi-lingual South African context. The idea of performing identity spoke particularly to a pre-occupation with what might be described as the embedded politics of voice practice in a western theatre tradition. In a previous paper presented at the same conference series, I was concerned with the power relations of languages and accents and how these impact on voice work (Mills 2006).
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    Vocal schizophrenia or conscious flexibility? : owning the voice in the South African context
    (2009) Araujo, Darron; Mills, Liz
    This thesis questions how and why certain South African performers habitually and unconsciously shift accent in the performance context. I refer to this vocal action as habitual, unconscious accent-based speech adaptation. This examination is made considering that contemporary voice training at the Drama Department of the University of Cape Town (UCT), where the author locates, does not designate any accent as a criterion for performance. Whilst I do not contend habitual, unconscious accent-based speech adaptation to be language-specific this research is English-based. Habitual, unconscious accent-based speech adaptation highlights three primary concerns: the first I term an 'ossification' of sound producing vocal inflexibility; the second is potential class-based exclusion from the performance context; and the third concern is a need for critical awareness in training and performance, evidenced by the preceding concerns. Despite accent-based speech adaptation paradoxically demonstrating the voice's flexibility, when accent-based speech adaptation happens unconsciously and habitually the real flexibility of the voice is negated producing detachment from the performer's own vocal identity or 'vocal schizophrenia' (Rodenburg, 2001: 81).