Environmental (Re)Imagination

PLAYING UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY SACD

Environmental Environmental (Re) Imagination (Re) Imagination TIFFANY DANG

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Tiffany Dang | Master’s Thesis Candidate University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture and Community Development ARCH 5100-5200 | 5110-5210 Master Thesis Studio and Master Thesis Supplement Fall 2021 – Winter 2022 Studio Advisor: Wladek Fuchs 4 External Advisors: David Court, Lisa Landrum

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Experiencing the built space through site-specific theatrical performances 6

THE THE CAST CAST “Perform Unconscious” Cast

“Chironomia” Cast

Tiffany Dang Joseph Loria Master Thesis Candidates & Faculty Members

Erika Lindsay Meaghen Quinn Seth Illingworth-Rodriguez Joseph Silveria Natalie Wilson

“Stairwell Performance” Cast

“Playing with Architecture” Cast

Hanen Mohammad Alissa Jacobs Natalie Wilson Students of SACD

Danica Bogdanovic Shannon Clark Issa Daher Aya Elmokadam Tyler Hearn Austin Hill Thomas Potter Alana Alyssa Ramirez Kirk Welsh Natalie Wilson

“Everyday Choreography” Cast Students of SACD

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Featuring: Allegra Pitera Banksy Pitera

SPECIAL SPECIAL THANKS: THANKS: Wladek Fuchs Claudia Bernasconi Erika Lindsay Laura Foxman Lisa Landrum David Court Alan Devlin Mary Liz Valesano Enrique Ledesma Meaghen Quinn

... and to the students at the School of Architecture & Community Development at the University of Detroit Mercy...

We are all performers!

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ABSTRACT Theatre is everywhere. Each day, it is natural that we live socially by playing a role of ourselves on a theatre stage, which is the world.

But these daily interactions do not impose a new perspective on the environment. Performance lives within our spatial realities and allows for momentary experimentation through expression. These theatrical performances can also include small-scale interventions with limiting resources. How can ephemeral and theatrical “play” within our existing spaces be used as a method, to inform and reveal user experiences of the everyday environment? How do the practices of theatre performance and architectural design belong in the same discourse? Through the lens method and analyzing various theatrical performance precedents, exercises, installations and workshops, existing spaces can be learned by a regenerated outlook through theatrical performances. By “creating to know” and “learning by doing”, it experiments by engaging others with familiar places and reflecting on experiences. This challenges the conventional notions of formal performance spaces. Bridging the gap between the practice of architecture and theatrical performance, it is a study on how people perform and interact within the environment, but re-imagined.

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PROGRAMME PROGRAMME

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PROLOGUE Scene I: Thesis Statement Scene II: Concepts Summary 19

ACT I - Performing Scene I: Defining Scene II: Concepts Scene III: Underpinnings 31

ACT II - Environmental Theatre Scene I: Characteristics Scene II: Types Scene III: Leading Performers 45

INTERMISSION I - “Perform Unconscious” 55

ACT III - Method Scene I: Design + Spatial Lens Scene II: Social + Cultural Lens Scene III: Sensorial + Stimulus Lens

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ACT IV - Site Specific Theatre Scene I: Case Study Performances Scene II: Time + Movement Scene III: Space + Place 81

INTERMISSION II - “Everyday Choreography” 89

ACT V - Playing with Architecture Scene I: History Scene II: Play Scene III: Conclusion 119

ENCORE “Recording Performance” “Chironomia” 129 EPILOGUE 135 MAKING-OF 159 CURTAIN

(Reflection)

(Behind-the-Scenes)

CALL (Figures, References)

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Figure 0.1 13 A performance in the Exhibition Space

PROLOGUE.

INTRODUCTION Theatrical performance and architectural design are creative disciplines that focus on the user‘s needs whether that be functions or interactions.

It is experiential to their role within the world.

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“PLAY” “PLAY”

Figure 0.2 15 A play or the act of playing

Scene I - Thesis Statement

THESIS STATEMENT Theatre is everywhere. We naturally live socially everyday by playing a role of ourselves on a theatre stage, which is the world. But these daily interactions do not impose a new perspective of the environment. It is part of a routine, habit, and activity. Theatrical performance allows for experimentation. It is a fictional and once-lived event. This unique quality expresses our spaces in a different outlook. Through the unfamiliar use, of performances in spaces, it introduces new characteristics and ways that places could be interacted with.

Theatrical performance includes small scale interventions with limiting resources. Grotowski’s “Poor Theatre” explores utilizing what is already existing to create performances. In conventional theatre settings, it is common to design sets, costumes, props for each production. The approach of using found items and backdrops, highlights the relationship between the people and the existing space. The sense of environmental theatre is further amplified by having no distinctive boundaries within the space, which allows for further engagement. These are site-specific theatre performances, where found spaces are the backdrop. Brook’s “The Empty Space” analyzes theatre spaces as fluid and describes that any space could be a stage for performance.

“Architecture and theatre create the ambiguous threshold that frame play as life and life as play” (Read 6)

How can ephemeral and theatrical “play” within our existing spaces be used as a method to inform and reveal user experiences through the everyday environment?

How does the practice of theatre performance and architectural design belong in the same discourse?

Through various experimental performances and studies, existing spaces and environments can be understood from a different perspective through theatrical performances. It is suggested that people “make to know” and “learn by doing.” By creating, it experiments with engaging people with places. Through spatial performativity, performers are imitating how people act and behave. From these performances, it can be analyzed through the lens of design and spatial, social and cultural memory, and the senses and stimuli. This challenges the conventional notions of formal performance spaces and practices.

But it may be questioned as to why this approach of using theatrical performances within the built environment to evaluate spaces, is necessary in practice. The user experiences within spaces do not require to be examined by “playing.” However, the experience of the spectacle is a unique intensity that forgets reality and initiates visceral reactions. It gives purpose to experimentally “play.” The collective sense of physical gathering between the performers is a celebratory moment and ceremonial event. This further strengthens the relationship with our environments. Although theatre is subjective, performance shares relatability from its stories, emotions and sociability. Through the act of performing and intentional exploration, it can be used as a tool to design spaces based on the performer’s experiences and discoveries.

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“ALL THE World’s A STAGE AND PEOPLE are merely players.”

17 Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”

Scene II - Concepts Summary

CONCEPTS (summary) living as performance Daily interactions, activities and behaviors are acts of everyday performance. Each person plays a role in the most complicated show called, “Life.” It challenges the performer in the act of conscious and unconscious performance and public to private faces. familiarity vs familiarity This explores the knowns and unknowns of an environment and what is present and what could be uncovered through performance. design research tool The dynamics of performance and expressive qualities entailing theatre can inform the user experience. Through this active research method, the environment can be imagined by temporal and experimental performance and it be used as a design tool. gesture + movement It has been compared that choreographers work similarly to an architect compared to a director since choreographers and architects understand spaces spaitally and how people move within it. How the body organizes itself, the bodies of others, and the environment. existing elements Using existing spaces and objects amplifies performance. It is sustainable in a green lens and more accessible to the wider audience since it is not confined to the boundaries of a conventional theatre.

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Figure 1.

19 “We Know How to Order” Br Bryony yony Roberts + South Shore Drill Team

PERFORMING

ACT I.

The interaction between actors and the audience is fluid in theatrical performance. There is not a clear separation between these two entities. Where does performance begin and the architectural design end?

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ACT I Performing

DEFINITIONS The following terms will be frequently used throughout this programme: the·a·ter (noun) a live play, activity or presentation that demonstrates a dramatic quality. per·for·mance (noun) (1) formal: the representational act of staging and presenting that involves the interaction between the performers, audience, and the playing space (2) social: the representational act of staging and presenting that involves interaction between people and the environment within “everyday life” through familiar actions, improvisation, and movements. im·ag·i·na·tion (noun) the ability to produce creative ideas, concepts, and visions that are fictional and not present in real-life SACD - School of Architecture and Community Development UDM - University of Detroit Mercy DMTC - Detroit Mercy Theatre Company

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play (noun + verb) noun: a work of drama including dialogue and action between performers that is intended for a theatrical performance setting. verb: the act of interacting, exploring, and engaging within an activity for enjoyment

Figure 1.2 Environmental (Re)Imagination

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Figure 1.3 Theatre is a series of fleeting events

“The ‘performance we give in any encounter is, in one sense, skin-deep, an appearance’. But it is also the reality of how we behave” (Leach 9)

WHAT IS PERFORMANCE? Performance allows for experimentation because it is a fictional and a temporal event. It is make-believe, and it allows the exploration of narratives, situations, ideas, and solutions, that may be difficult, without real-life consequences, allowing people to revert back to present day living. For the spectacle, it allows for a collective sense of gathering to get lost in a story or emotion where the performance can feel strongly within the immersive environment. There is a collective and unique intensity in the spectacle that forgets reality.

The architectural space replaces the set design or backdrop and can be approached through an ephemeral “play.” Performance includes “social-playing” of everyday life (in addition to formal “play”). This explores the ambiguity of acting in the “play” performance and acting in the social world of living. Philosopher Erika Fischer-Lichte explains performative and performance representation to effective re-enhancements of the world (Leach 6).

WHY PERFORMANCE?

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Play touches the spirit and affects people at the present moment. It opens up personal choice, human connection, and active creativity.

Architecture is being redefined as a fluid and non-human in the environment of possibilities rather than a static container. Theatre “is like a child playing: understanding and fantasy merge, separate, contend, co-exist, and dreams penetrate fantasy which penetrate reality which penetrate dreams...” (Leach 194). Life is the performance of architecture holding people where it is both physical and narrative

Scene II - Concepts

Performance lives within our spatial realities and allows for momentary experimentation through expression. This thesis explores unconventional stages for theatrical performances, through found and adapted spaces where the existing space is the collaborator and the backdrop of the production.

How does ephemeral “play” inform the experience of the built environment through a design, sensorial and contextual lens?

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(Read 6). Architecture and performance are acts of imagination.

Living as Performance Daily interactions, activities and behaviors are acts of everyday performance. People play a role in the most complicated show called, “Life.” Each action has a certain time and place within its particular social order. It challenges the performer in the act of conscious and unconscious performance and the masks of private and public performance faces. Performing through the actions of everyday life engages people’s unawares of their environment or personality “and can invite them to see their own actions in an alternative story of ‘reality’” (Read 4). The mundane actions and behaviors are acts of performance. The Greek term “katharsis” is “the recognition of the presence of being in the tumultuous events of everyday life ” (Gomez 18). In the context of drama, this is often referring to the feeling of pity and fear. Through performance, it can purge emotions to cleanse the emotions that people experience (Leach 45).

The ordinariness and repetitive nature of performance share an immediate connection to present and past living (Howard 35). In a heuristic approach, architecture acts as a non-human actor. It is both a “player” and the set to the narrative in theatre social life.

In many ways, staging a performance is a ceremonial act and “as a means to reveal the experiential nature of lived space ” (Goche 73). In addition to event, public presentations are brought back to be represented to the Polis to be learned and participate by stories and images and also “reconsider their own Polis in relation to these” (Landrum 32).

Familiar vs. Unfamiliar

““it wakes up the sleeping form—to experience the room as if for the first time, to find surprising and new possibility in ourselves, our environment and our art” (Bogart and Landau 60)

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Due to living as performance, it reveals and brings new characters that were otherwise hidden due to familiarity. Exploring the knowns and unknowns of an environment. What is present and what could be uncovered. Site performances are the act of “the rewriting of space through a new occupation of site in tension with what precedes it.” (Pearson 374). It plays with memory, history and architecture.

Architecture and event are categorized as “unplanned events” since people and performers have their own opportunity to explore their choices and define their life (Read 1). Therefore, costumes are the second skin to the performer whereas architecture is the second skin to the user.

In addition, the paradox of acting is a strange concept because it deviates from “live” and “pretend” (Leach 109). The dissociation between people and the familiar or unfamiliar space through playing

At a

war

eho

use?

At y our hom e?

At th e

Figure 1.4 Performance is everywhere

par k?

On you r str eet?

At th e

bea ch?

At a rest aura nt?

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“blurs the psychic boundaries” and further displaces their position from their comfort and personal security (Birch and Tomkins 54).

Desensitized from the familiar, performance allows the person to recognize patterns and habits that have been previously dictated by absolute authority, which allows freedom of artistic expression (Bogart and Landau 20).

Design Research Tool

“a designer should design with their feet as well as with their hands.”

(Edward Gordan Craig)

The users of a space are analogous to the performers of a play. The dynamics of performance and expressive qualities that entail theatre informs the user experience. Through this active research method, the environment can be imagined by temporal and experimental performance and used as a design tool. When completing research, the architect does site analysis similar to directors who makes notes about what is needed to support the story. Design should emphasize the physical exploration of a space and not just an aesthetic and visual understanding. Therefore, it can be “sculpted” for the users (Howard 88). Using intentional exploration looks for ways to “animate space and use all the geometric possibilities” (88). From an urbanism context, architects use their skills in observation and experimentation to design the performance of real people and real buildings in the city. This opens up the possibilities of reviving the performing arts as well as playing a role in the revitalization of cities which is attractive to architectural practitioners, politicians, and public policy makers (Birch and Tompkins 30). “When the skin of a city Is broken, its veins are revealed, and theatre-makers, always opportunists, leap in to fill the gap” (Howard 7).

Gesture and Movement

“Movements, gestures, poses, facial expressions – all are non-fixed features of spatial communications which the spectator rightly reads more carefully than anything else.”

(Leach 15)

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Through active and physical movement and gestural acts of the performer is how the method is used. Like architectural moments through space programming. As users enter a space, they may circulate the room a certain way. In theatre, it is a series of fleeting events with a beginning, middle, and end with characters and dialogues. Users move “through a series of expanding and contracting dynamic spaces that are themselves the narrative” (Howard 8). It has been compared that choreographers work similarly to an architect compared to a director since choreographers and architects understand spaces spatially and how people move within it. How the body organizes itself, the bodies of others, and the environment.

An architect’s perceptions of the spatial environment “considers the flow of people through a space, and placing, manipulating and moving audiences as part of the scenic invention” (117). For instance, dance theorist and choreographer Rudolph Laban explores

personal space through movement. The performer acts within their ‘kinesphere’ or imaginary bubble. This relates to the “3D cross” through which performer relates their space around themselves (Leach 128). Here, architectural spaces are not simply static objects in the environment but are environments defined by human activity.

This can be demonstrated by simple gestures and movements like walking, crawling, nodding, waving, leaping, and waving. The body is an instrument of performance. Therefore, they are acts from the actual body but through the representative and fictional body of performing (105). These theatrical experiences eventually lead to the discovery of the “sacred presence” (Gomez 19).

Existing Elements Sometimes working with a sense of “nothingness”, maybe simple a table or chair, can be practical and poetic. (Howard 98). Using furniture, the performer can “sit” a certain way depending on the angles and positions of the chairs. For example, changing the heights of the tables and chairs can allow the performer to adapt their body a certain way. Furniture becomes extra performers. Performers who execute simple actions effectively can be more telling than expensive effects. By removing excess make-up, costume, and set design like lighting, sound effects, and eliminating the separation of the performance stage and the audience space, theatre can exist. However, theatre cannot exist without the spectator and the performer (Growtowski 19). Here, there is a “minimalism” approach to productions where using elements like existing spaces and objects is effective.

In addition, using what is already available is more sustainable in a green lens. The environmental impact of building physical, to-scale sets to be used only during a show’s short run is a negative and wasteful process. Traditional sets require a substantial amount of material and it is costly. When possible, traditional sets are reused in other productions or recycled in a facility. However, this is difficult since some elements are fire-coated and cannot be recycled (Behind Designs). Also, it is more accessible to a wider audience, including those that do not have a vast interest in theatre, since performance is not confined to boundaries of conventional theatre such as building and budget.

“The acceptance of poverty in theatre, stripped of all that is not essential to it, revealed to us not only the backbone of the medium, but also the deep riches which lie in the very nature of the artform.”

(Grotowski 21).

Figure 1.5 SITE SITE

AUDIENCE

LOCATION

AUDIENCE

LOCATION

PERFORMERS

PERFORMERS

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Figure 1.6 Com-media dell’Arte performance

UNDERPINNINGS

Figure 1.7 Greek dithyrambic chorus relief

In other instances, early history includes the Com-media dell’Arte or the Italian Comedy. This was an early Italian trope of nomadic actors who performed and traveled throughout Europe during the 1550s.

During this time, performing platforms became less specific to the site and they began utilizing multi-purpose stage sets that were portable.

Performances occurred anywhere but most commonly on the street where the scenery represented many different locations known as the “Palais à volonté” (Pelletier 138). Throughout these plays, the actors performed stereotyped characters called “stock characters” each with distinctive character traits like greed or gullibility (Wilson and Goldfarb 163). There was no script, so characters improvised based on given scenarios to act upon.

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Non-conventional theatre stages are not an entirely new concept.

Within the humanistic culture, architecture frames events closely to rituals (Gomez 16). The nature of non-stages has been around since the origin of theatre in the West. During 6 BCE in Greece, rituals activities were common practices. One theory is that The Greek god Dionysus was popular among Greece and during those times they would sing songs called “dithyrambs” in honor and praise of Dionysus. Eventually they began to acting out the characters or songs and those actors were called “Thespis”. These rituals were not performed on stages but in areas such as the dining areas where patrons come and gather. Eventually, they began using props like masks and architectural elements.

Scene III - Underpinnings

In Medieval Theatre, many places were set in public urban spaces like courtyards and streets. These were derived from places of worship that blend the relationship between space and ritual through theatrical performance and liturgical drama (Pelletier 133). For instance, Miracle plays have themes of important historical events such as the Crusade battles during the 13th-century. The three distinct locations were a palace, a tavern and the prison (136). However, in the 14-century Miracles plays were mostly devoted to the Catholic faith such as the Miracles of the Virgin Mary, and various other narratives (136). Mystery plays come from liturgical drama within the church, then relocated into the city after the 14th century. They took place in the urban context and create temporary events and moments that can be removed within the monotony of everyday life, an escape from reality (133). A variation of the Miracle plays, Morality plays started to appear in many European countries as more urban spaces became prevalent in staging performances. This genre presented more allegorical themes with an ethical purpose such as human temptations and sins (136). These plays were staged outdoor on temporary scaffolding and bleachers. Some were also staged on movable carts called “pageants” that traveled through the street of England (137).

The practice of site-specific theatre began to pick up in the 60s and 70s due to the increased interest in other similar practices such as site-specific performance art. It was seen as a radical and new idea that was not seen by the mainstream public (Wilson and Goldfarb 286). There were many types of classifications in performance art.

A popular one at the time was expressing the body as an object.

Another classification were performances created for specific locations like city parks and subway stations (286).

Figure 1.8 Many medieval plays were set in outdoor plazas and courtyard

The transformation of theatre turned the city into a “highly choreographed event” (Pelletier 138).

Figure 1.9 “Double Lunar Dogs” by performance artist Joan Jonas

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Figure 2.1 31 “Versailles” apartment performance by This is Not your Theatre Company

ENVIRONMENTAL THEATRE

ACT II.

The defining boundaries between living performance and living reality, performer and spectator are blurred. The environment and architecture supports performance by providing context to the story.

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ACT II Environmental Theatre

Location: Chicago, IL

Audience: Chicagoans, tourist, visitors

Figure 2.2 Performance elements

Performers: South Shore Drill Team comprised of youth from Chicago’s South Side

Site: Mies van der Rohe’s Federal Center.

INTRODUCTION Performing in spaces that are not traditionally theatre spaces challenges the ideas and notions of what constitutes a stage. The stage does not need to be a platform within the confinements of an auditorium. The stage can be located anywhere. The concept of everyday performances emphasizes that the stages are the environments that are regularly There are different elements and characteristics that should be considered in site-specific performance.

This is where “the site itself (becomes) an active component in the creation of performative meaning, rather than a neutral space of exposition or scenic backdrop for dramatic action.” (Pearson 8).

Performance can enhance the surrounding architecture and viceversa. It can study user interplay within these spaces. Therefore “..the space will offer new ways for the spectators and performers to come together and, therefore, will question how we behave in specific places.” (Leach 178).

Site-specific performances also rely for their conception and interpretation of its superimposed narratives as well as the interpenetration of architectural narratives in the historical and contemporary contexts. There are two basic orders: what is already existing on the site, including fixtures and fittings and what is added to the site, including performance and scenography (Pearson and Shanks 23). Site-specific theatre will be further examined on page 35.

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Scene I - Characteristics

the audience Invited/ Exclusive

Controlled event. The site is undisclosed to the public. The production is by invitation only.

Public event. The production can be accessed to the public by admission

Public and pedestrian event. The production can be accessed to the public by admission or by attending unexpectdely

The performance changes locations 1-2 times

The performance changes locations a multiple of times.

Includes car plays.

Accidental/ Bystander

the environment Mobile/Dynamic

Fixed The performance occurs only at a single location and does not change

the site Unchanged

Transformed The site does not change and does not have distinct audience and performance areas

The site has some altered elements and but still keeps some existing elements

The site is altered to mimic theatre spaces with identifiable audience and performance areas

The performance is played exactly as it is published and is performed in many conventional theatres.

The performance takes previously published plays and alters it to a specific site for the production

The performance is written specifically with the site in mind. It would not work in other locations

the text Previously Published

Site-specific

Figure 2.3 Site-Specific theatre continuum

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Figure 2.4 Pool Play 2.0 performance New York, USA

Figure 2.5 Environmental Theater Diagram

THE TYPES In environmental theatre, it attempts to eliminate the distinction between the audience and the performance space by emphasizing multiple focuses for audience viewership, rather than a single focus (Wilson and Goldfarb 283). It is an immersive and interactive cooperative experience. The term environmental theatre was coined

by Richard Schechner. Schechner was influenced by the works of many avant-garde theatre directors including Vsevolod Meyerhold, Antonin Artaud and Jerzy Grotowski. Environmental theatre blurs between fiction and reality by “oscillating between observers and participants as they move around the space” (Birch and Tompkins 58). The following are a few types that will be reviewed: -

Site-specific Theatre Promenade Theatre Found Space Theatre Devised Theatre Happenings

“A play inside a theatre is nearly always viewed within a temporary or ephemeral frame. The use of a non-theatre space suggests the empowering of the artist and the development of a wider audience... without the obvious cultural trappings of auditorium or studio theatre” (Persighetti).

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Scene II - Types

Figure 2.6 “A Streetcar Named Despair” streetcar performance Charleston, WV, USA Figure 2.7 “The Quarry” river performance Websterville, VM, USA Figure 2.8 “Apocalipse 1,11” prison performance São Paulo, Brazil Figure 2.9 “A Spot on the Hill” cemetery performance Jonesborough, TN, USA

Site-Specific Theatre As the name implies, site-specific theatre is a performance that takes place in an unconventional space and uses elements of the existing space into the production. These spaces are non-theatres and were not originally intended to become a performance stage. Sites for stages can be anywhere, ranging from the relaxing pool to unsettling prisons. “Pool Play 2.0” is a performance set inside the pool within a fitness center. Here, the show explores America’s relationship between pools and water through dance numbers and activities (This Is Not Your Theatre Company). The audience members wear plastic ponchos to keep their clothes dry. As they sit on the ledge of the pool, they dangle their feet into the cool water, and recieve the occasional splash. The audience is included in the performance by interacting with the water and the performers. The sensorial experience of the environment is greater emphasized in the show. Without the water focal point, the experience would not feel the same. Within the industry, there are theatre groups called “site-specific companies” where they tour different locations and create productions for spaces (Wilson and Goldfarb 60).

Site-specific theatre “embodies the presence of the audience is a component of the scenography, collapses distance and physical boundaries. There is no fixed stage edge; the line between the fictional space and the real is fluid and unstable. The audience becomes ‘dislocated’ in a sense of not knowing their proper place, position, or relationship...” (Birch and Tompkins 54).

Figure 2.10 Found Space Diagram

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Figure 2.11 “C-o-n-t-a-c-t” Performance in Ottawa, ON, Canada

Figure 2.12 Promenade Theatre Diagram

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Promenade Theatre: In French, “promenade” means to walk. Therefore, this theatre type is a performance that requires the active participation and movement of the audience to follow the performers through various locations and spaces. In promenade theatre, it contrasts with the conventions of traditional theatre as does not have fixed seating. Instead, moving from one location to the another offers a variety of scenes for the production. This performance allows the audience to “invade” the spaces of the performance creating an intimate and “real-life” narrative to enfold (Wilson and Goldfarb 60).

In “C-o-n-t-a-c-t,” the audience follows the performers throughout the city of Ottawa, while wearing headphones to listen to the internal dialogue of the performers. Before the show, the audience members have to download an application to listen to the performance. This production was introduced in response to the Covid-19 social distancing and indoor gathering restrictions. The audience can appreciate the performance at the distance they feel most comfortable and it does not compromise the audio aspect that some productions may have difficulty dealing with sound clarity. This also has the flexibility to view the show from varying viewpoints and explore different locations through the familarity of the city and unfamiliarity of the city from performing.

Found Space Theatre: Sometimes referred to as adapted spaces, found space theatre performances are where the playing space is improvised and converted into a usable and suitable space for the production. (Wilson and Goldfarb 60). Due to the unprecedented events of Covid-19, many theatres faced closures due to close-proximately gatherings and the theatre industry has stopped operating in its usual stages.

To find solutions, “Time-slot theatre” is an approach to small socially distanced audiences with shorter performances and re-staged as a form as a marathon. Performances are also re-imagined in a digital format using Zoom conference meetings as the stage. By converting theatre spaces into amenities such as pop-up vaccination sites and spaces of refuge in a state of crisis, theatre still has found creative ways of adapting spaces that allow for entertainment but in a safe approach (Bloomberg CityLab 15).

An example of a performance in a found space is the Michigan Opera Theatre (figure 2.13). As a response to theatre closures, they began to introduce performances in their parking garages to adhere to social distancing restrictions. Performances range from operas, plays, and concerts (Barone). A fashion show took place at the Michigan Theatre (The Michigan Building) parking garage, which used to be a theatre is a space in the 70s, but its current primary function is to park cars (figure 2.14). Performance has returned as if it has never left.

Figure 2.13 The “Rhinemaidens” accompanied by a musical arrangement Figure 2.14 Daniel Lee’s Bottega Veneta Runway Show Spring 2022

Figure 2.15 Found Space Diagram

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Image

Figure 2.16 “The Site” installation performance by Chloe Lamford

Devised Theatre:

“This is an experiment, the audience exists.” (Lamford)

“The Site” is an installation project by stage designer Chloe Lamford.

This installation was created as a performance space where the creative team must work collaboratively based on the confinements and set “guidelines” of the space. The design came first before the script and direction, which is the reverse common process in production. They had to take into consideration of materials, the box light source, and the most apparent element: blue. The guidelines of the project were to make a space first and then write after. Each writer responds to the space in their unique and personal style. The blue box is stripped down and set for interpretation. Experimental performance in this space can be investigated through choreography, movement, and exploration. It is a tool for “play-making”, a process of architectural imagination (Lamford).

Figure 2.17 Devised Theatre Diagram

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In the context of theatre, to devise means to plan or carefully craft a production with numerous ideas, thoughts and concepts combined.

Devised theatre is a performance process where there is no preexisting script to follow and requires improvisation and creative collaboration between the actors, playwrights, directors, etc. This allows for cohesive and inventive ideas.

Happenings: Happenings are non-literary, intentional theatrical events where the script is replaced with a scenario that offers an opportunity to be performed (Wilson and Goldfarb 282). These were popular improvisations during the 60s and 70s and are usually performed at spaces like parks, storefronts, galleries, etc. Common types of happenings include flash or dance mobs in public spaces. Within these happenings, the performers usually “blend in” with the crowd, so the people who are not involved in the performance are not aware of it. There is an element of surprise when people realize that these performers are part of the act, or playing a role, in the spectacle. Performers engaged with the pedestrian (the audience) through stylistic movements and found props within the site. Elements that would identify time and place are removed and the senses like sight, sound, and smell are accentuated (Wilson and Goldfarb 283).

Happenings are extensions to everyday life trying to break the 4th wall between reality, performance, and the audience. It demonstrates that there is no clear division between “normal” pedestrians and the performers. Performing is among us.

Figure 2.18 “Ballroom Crosswalk” performance on the crosswalk

Figure 2.19 Happenings Diagram

“Ballroom Crosswalk” was performed at an intersection by the comedic performance art group called Improv Everywhere. Their goal is to create disturbances in public places that encourage a sense of chaos and joy. Their missions involve a small group of performers to the act to everyday people participating in their experiments.

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Figure 2.20 “The Lion King” performance in Detroit, MI, USA

Figure 2.21 Conventional Theatre Diagram

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Conventional Theatre: Although not an environmental theatre type, the conventional theatre is a performance where there is a clear distinction between the audience and performer, seen commonly in auditorium settings. This is also referred to as the traditional theatre type since it is most commonly referred to when thinking about the concept of theatre.

Typical stage types includes the proscenium stage, the thrust stage, and the arena stage. In comparison to conventional theatre spaces, sitespecific performance showcases more interrogative and responsive terms through investigating spatial than hierarchical relationships (Birch and Tompkins 23). Site-specific performances demonstrate an understanding of the existing environment by drawing inspiration from the site and its users and relying on people’s participation.

The auditorium is a social gathering space with a specifically assigned seat that is simultaneously public and private. Historically, the audience may be divided into different social groups. For example, the box seats are for the wealthy and a dress circle for large ball gowns. In contemporary times, this division is not as overt but ticket prices reflect the seat of purchase. Other factors that may affect the initial experience of the auditorium space is whether the curtain is up or down, what is presented on the stage, the shape of the playing space, the darkness/lightness, large/small, full/empty, what information the programme provides etc. (Leach)

Baz Kershaw states that performances outside of conventional venues offer the “opportunity to resist socio-political and theatrical disciplinary systems” that the division of performance pocess such as cost, sightlines, and authority (Birch and Tompkins 6). The act of gathering for collective performance is paradoxical to the separation of social groups. To an extent, theatre venues are exclusionary but outside theatre venues can be more exploratory and flexible as it is able to reach a wider, more diverse audiences and environments (7).

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Leading Performers Erving Goffman “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” “We are all just actors trying to control and manage our public image, we act based on how others might see us”

The concept of performing through everyday living and life comes from the dramaturgical perspective of theatre. It emphasizes that everybody has a role that they conform to in life as well as the social interactions that people present themselves to others, the viewers.

Here “each person’s social life was a series of performances.”

The stage of “life” and the impression of others such as physical appearance or gestures also plays a role in the presentation of self and personal identity.

Figure 2.22 Erving Goffman

Jerzy Grotowski “Towards a Poor Theatre” “By gradually eliminating whatever proved superfluous, we found that theatre can exist without make-up, without autonomic costume and scenography, without a separate performance area (stage), without lighting and sound effects, etc.”

This concept explores utilizing what is already existing to create performances. In conventional theatre settings, it is common to have elaborately set designs and props made for each production. The approach of using items and backdrops that are already at hand highlights the relationship between the performers and the audience.

Grotowski concludes that a heavily ornamentated stage set would overpower the performance and narrative.

Peter Brook “The Empty Space” Figure 2.23 Jerzy Grotowski

“I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all is for an act of theatre to be engaged.”

Theatre spaces are fluid. Any space can be considered a stage.

The chapter “The Deadly Theatre” recognizes the dying practice of theatre due to commercial approaches. “The Holy Theatre” examines theatre through a sensorial and unrevealed approach. “The Rough Theatre” informs a strong connection between the performer and the audience. “The Immediate Theatre” demonstrates the importance for the audience to participate in the action of the performance.

Figure 2.24 Peter Brook

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Scene III - Leading Performers

Richard Sennett “The Fall of a Public Man” “Authority is itself inherently an act of imagination.”

Sennett explores the concept of theatre being a performance of public urban life in which people interact through an economic, political and historical perspective within the environment. The role of “man” introduces how public and private life has been blurred and no longer exists as a separate entity. Therefore, the role struggles to act in the public realm. Sennett examines how interaction with our environments is lacking when facing the public experience.

Richard Schechner “Performance Studies” “...there is no historically or culturally fixable limit to what is or is not “performance.” ...The underlying notion is that any action that is framed, enacted, presented, highlighted, or displayed is a performance.”

Figure 2.25 Richard Sennett

Schechner coined the term “environmental theatre” describing sitespecific theatre which demonstrates how this type of theatre has no distinction between the performers and spectators. Schechner developed the 6 axions for environmental theatre that describes how the entire buildings and room can become transformed into the stage or set to the performance. As a spectator, there is no single focus allowing for flexibility and choice of viewership and creating personal experiences.

Anne Bogart “The Viewpoints Book” with Tina Landau “Viewpoints helps us trust in letting something occur onstage, rather than making it occur. The source for action and invention comes to us from others and from the physical world around us.”

Figure 2.26 Richard Schechner

The nature of Viewpoints has always been in practice, but it is just now articulated into a set of names and directions. Viewpoints invite the performer to train through “real” physical, verbal and imaginative situations with fluidity and observation. For Bogart, the Viewpoints applies all of their interests in painting, architecture, music, and film into the practice of theatre. For Tina Landau, the Viewpoints helped design movement for performance that are viscerally dynamic between collaborators and performers.

Figure 2.27 Anne Bogart 44

Figure IN1.1 45 Joe L reacts warmly to the virtual silhouette in “Perform Unconscious”

INSTALLATION

INT I.

Installations are similar to performance and scenic design as they are all shortlived events. By manipulating the existing environment, the spectator must perform with illusion and imagination.

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INTERMISSION I Perform Unconscious collaboration with Joseph Loria

Figure IN1.2 Madison reacts nervously to the virtual silhouette

See BTS: C for process work

Figure IN1.3 Performance is located in “The Hot Box”

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Through the application of live experimentation and digital projection, “Perform Unconscious” explores the concept of performance through daily interactions from the concepts of sociologist Erving Goffman. It focused on demonstrating that people do not have to be considered conventional performers to be a performer of everyday life. This installation allowed putting the participants on the “stage” and reacting through improvisational performance. The secondary layer in this installation includes the concept outside participants who observed the act from a distance and did not directly “play” with the installation. The outside participants were the audience of the installation itself. This sketch problem was filmed and photodocumented to collect the participants’ behaviors and reactions during the installation.

The installation was set up in the Hot Box room at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture and Community Development. A set was arranged to resemble a typical living room. The participants took a seat in front of the TV monitor, which was simultaneously recording them. They can also see the recorded feedback of themselves on the screen. There, a digital projection was played as the backdrop. The projection featured a shadow figure that tries to interact with the participant by expressing various short-lived emotions such as laughter, anger, and celebration. The participant majority were students who interacted with the installation.

Through exploring this installation, it was found that the participants’

Figure IN1.4 Plan and section design

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Figure IN1.5 Joe S reacts intriguingly to the virtual silhouette

(installation video)

reactions were a sense of surprise and discomfort. When interacting in a new and unfamiliar environment, they do not know what to do or act. When there is no preconceived instruction, they are forced to “improvise” the situation. The gestures and behaviours were indicative to each perfomer’s personality. One approach was to copy the actions of the projected character. In addition, the layer of the camera also filming themselves, watching themselves, made the participant awkward, or confused while others were confident. It gave the sense that there is no boundary between the participant and the audience which provided the “immersive theatre” environment.

In addition to the reactions that emerged, the use of simple staging to represent a set informed effectiveness. Jerzy Grotowski challenged that the performance should be stripped down from extravagant costumes, make-up, set design etc. Rather, it should rely on simple elements for production for the audience-performer relationship to be established stronger. The focus is on the content of the production.

However, it should still be kept in mind that theatrical performances should still be able to create an atmosphere for the performance.

(projection video)

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Figure IN1.6 Theatrical poster for “Perform Unconscious”

PERF RM

UNCONSCIOUS COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU! OCTOBER 20, 2021

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Figure IN1.7 Meet the cast members!

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Figure IN. 8 Featuring Joe W

Figure IN. 9 53 Featuring Andrew

Figure # Meet the cast members!

Figure IN1.10 Featuring Joe L.

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Figure 3.1 55 Joe L documents “Playing with Architecture” (Hi Joe)

METHOD

ACT III.

By characterizing the method into 3 lenses, the performance can be examined phenomenologically and qualitatively, and historically.

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ACT III Method DESIGN + SPATIAL LENS One of the lenses to analyze the performance environment through the design lens. A similar process to scenic or stage design, this can be accomplished by using the principles of design and elements of art as a method to categorize the varying visual elements of the space. Each element and principle is demonstrated through the context of architectural design. They have certain purposes to work together in conveying the overall vision or composition of the design. It can be symbolic, idealistic, and aesthetically appealing. To additionally add to the artistic lens, spatiality expresses the physical qualities and characteristics of the space.

Depending on the principle, it can communicate an underlying message about the narrative in the show. For instance, lines have different meanings depending on the type. The horizontal line demonstrates a sense of grounding, stability, and distance. Within the environments this represents the horizon of the sky. It can also express a calming effect. An example of the horizontal line found in architecture are flat rooflines. The vertical line, on the other hand, signifies a sense of growth and height. It works perpendicular to the horizontal line and sets the idea of lacking stability. In contrast, the diagonal line conveys a sense of movement. And similar to diagonal lines, curvy lines can suggest comfort and familiarity.

“Not only can the artist be inspired and motivated by the lines of a text, but so can a writer be inspired by the quality of a line or intensity of a colour.”

(Howard 66)

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Another use of the design principles can be understood by the use of color. To focus on color, it is divided into warm, cool, and neutrals.

Warm colors such as red, orange, and yellow express a sense of high energy and vibrancy. They are associated with sunsets, fire, and autumn. When warm colors are used in a design, it denotes attention. In contrast, cool colors are blue, green, and violet. These express a sense of calm and relaxation. They are associated with earthy elements like the water, the sky, and the natural environment.

When cool colors are used in the design, it denotes a subdue sense of power compared to warm colors. Neutral colors are black, white and gray. These are usually referred to as tones and are used to show sleekness and minimalism. Simply, colors have a deeper psychological meaning when words are not enough to express them.

It creates a holistic environment. “With the addition of colour, image and words, space becomes charged with life and action, engaging through direct address and dialogue with an audience” (Howard 9).

Composition with the use of color is important in the performance as it draws the spectator’s eyes to the focal points of each scene, captivating the audience’s attention. Objects and elements that are placed on stage must have a relationship with one another and towards the space itself. Composition and color express hidden meanings. The stage is not static and with each scene change, a

Scene I - Design + Spatial Lens

weather light/dark light/ t/dark t/

costume sound/music

direction

furniture/props furniture/ e//props

Figure 3.2 Performance elements and characteristics spatial diagram

new visual image through combinations of color and composition allows for dynamics. The design should create unity between the performers and objects on stage as well as project a “series of poetic statements that capture the essence of truth and reality and offer both recognition and surprise” (52). Using color can summarize the overall emotional life of the play. Experimenting with various colors combinations and visual arrangements to produce the theme of the characters of the story.

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pattern

contrast

emphasis

balance

scale

rhythm

harmony

unity

variety

Figure 3.3 Principles of design in an architectural context

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space

line

shape

form

color

value

Figure 3.4 Elements of art in an architectural context

texture

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Image

Figure 3.5 Seasonal changes and time

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SOCIAL + CULTURAL LENS The second method to analyze the performance environment is through the social and cultural lens. Within this lens, the space can be communicated from a personable level. Each audience member reviews their own past experiences and relates them to their present life. For instance, some people rely on intuition or their “gut feeling” while others use precedent experiences to make decisions. In addition, personal and public performance depends on the social and cultural context of a site. This is where “social relations, which are concrete abstractions, have no real existence save in and through space. Their underpinning is spatial” (Lefebvre 404). Therefore, as performers in daily life, they conform to authority and expectations of how they should act in a particular space. For instance, In academic settings like a school, the expectation is to act studious and quiet. However, in a social setting like a bar or party, it is expected to act the opposite.

In the US, there tends to be a more individualistic culture where they value personal space and individualism, whereas, in Japan, it tends to be a more collective culture where they value mutual alliances and interdependence (Takano). Therefore, the culture is different in the way people perform and behave in their everyday lives. Conformity through social norms is also performing as it acts outside of a person’s usual self to adhere to societal expectations.

Scene II - Social + Cultural Lens

Space & Time An actor might say something with a different intonation for a creative direction. Other times, if the performance is a touring type group, they may change the dialogue to reflect the context of the new location they are performing at. If the performance were on the street, there could be external factors such as unexpected interruptions in the performance by a “heckler.” Therefore, no two performances are alike. It allows the opportunity to explore planned and unplanned situations and events. The concepts of space and time are further examined in ACT IV.

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Figure 3.6 Historical Detroit and present Detroit

History + Memory

The landscape seems attractive on the surface level but underneath has a lot of political undertones. Simulation, haunting, interpretation for ‘those who remember’ (Tompkins 72)

Performance allows personal identity and memory to be re-surfaced and re-exposed through experiencing. Like many creative expression forms, performing and embodying performance can feel strongly intuitive. It is where “narratives form and fragment, proliferate and disperse, revealing the interpretation of the people, place, culture, and history” (94). Topics that are difficult to have conversations about can be introduced by the process of devising as a “vehicle to catalyse consensus around the specific conditions of this rural and economically marginalized community, challenge stereotypes valorize its historic culture, encourage its inhabitants to repurpose its accumulated knowledge, and apply it to a strategy for a sustainable future.” (84). When gathering with others that have experienced

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Spaces are time capsules. They can have remnants of the past of what the space was like before and how individuals used it. For instance, the aged style of architecture, old street and business signs that are not present anymore. People tend to reminisce about the past. The past affects our current selves by defining who we are at the current moment. Similar to the practice of architectural design, “a scenographer maps the site through myth, memory personal narrative, and material detail, thereby framing a specific place within a local and building context” (Tompkins 94). In a sense, the traditional set design for a performance resembling existing locations represents the idealized version and romantically perfect version of memory since it is all fake.

similar memories it can be difficult if the collective memory is a traumatic bodily experience. However “the collective memory of repeated human celebration specific to this place” (Goche 74). These celebratory and ceremonial moments can create new memories and change the discourse of the collective memory into a positive outlook which honours the history.

The discourse of history museums and dramatic performances can the examined in the approach that the museums stage their artifacts, painting, and memorabilia to create a certain distance between the visitor and those objects. Similar to the distance between the spectator and audience “museographical dramaturgy” expects those staged objects to interact and perform (Ernst 33).

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Figure 3.7 Eerie and terrorizing tone

Emotion & Mood Performance space is indicative of our feelings towards it and within. This can impact the audience’s reaction to the performance by heightening the narrative of the production. These views and concepts overlap lenses. For instance, emotion and mood can be communicated from a somber gray space (the design lens) and communicated through a tragic event that happened in the space prior (the social and cultural lens). Therefore, these intertwining lenses express a holistic experience within the space, where performance reveals the total environment. Through performing, “our lived world is rich in sensations and emotions that arise from our bodily actions and engagements in the world” (Gomez 15).

Mood and emotion are also told through the movements and gestures of the performers. Since “the body never lies,” it expresses social cues that are not spoken out loud (Quinn). If a person says something, but their body language displays the opposite emotion, this interaction can suggest that the person is lying or demonstrating undisclosed emotions and information.

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Emotions and moods display personal empathy and relatability.

Heighten experiential emotion and feeling Erin Hurley describes “an organism’s autonomic reaction to an environmental change; this reaction is a subjective experience, meaning that only the person whose blood is rushing to his or her extremities can feel it.” (Hurley 17).

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SENSORIAL + STIMULI LENS: Another lens that play can be analyzed is through the senses and stimuli. This includes sound, sight, smell, and touch. Two less common senses that have an effective impact on performance include proprioception (body awareness) and vestibular (balance and movement). These explore the phenomenology of the user through favorable to unfavorable conditions within the environment.

The total experience of the performance includes external factors outside of the acting. For instance, if there are any seats, what do they feel like? Are they uncomfortable or comfortable? What about a busy street performance? The smell of the gasoline, the hot sun, the sounds of the cars honking?

The senses and stimuli can evoke the first impressions of the play.

If the environment of the performance space is uninviting and unappealing, this will affect the total experience of the performance.

Performances in uncontrolled spaces, such as public environments, where these external factors face difficulty because of limitations.

For instance, the lighting and audio. However, the poor (or lack of) components encourages re-evaulation and problem-solving on how to improve existing conditions. Much like architectural design, these factors inform the performance by first observing the site. This includes an analysis of the different times of day and what is best suited for the context of the show. Or integrating more conventional techniques such as mobile lights and a portable sound system. The senses resonate with people since it is the bases of how people live.

Incorporating the element of the senses is as simple as an everyday activity. In Concierto Barroco, the story involves two chefs who are narrators. Authentic cooks make real food during the performance and the audience can smell the food, engaging with their senses.

In the end fo the show, they are offered food by the actors to taste it. The spectators are invited to live their own reality for a couple of hours and participate in the storytelling. They are the “active scenographic ingredient.” (Howard 120)

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Figure 3.8 Sensorial and stimuli continuum

Scene III - Sensorial + Stimuli Lens

comfortable

distracting

pleasing

disturbing

aromatic

odorous

soft

abrasive

aware

unaware

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stationary

active

Figure 4.1 69 Dancers in “Imitation of Lives”

SITE-SPECIFIC THEATRE

ACT IV.

To perform at a site means that the existing condition must be taken into consideration. The architecture is the non-human performer that supports the act of playing.

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ACT IV Site-Specific Theatre

Figure 4.2 Family living in the Unitè 1986

Figure 4.3 “Kim’s Convenience” play by Ins Choi is an example of domestic drama

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DOMESTIC DRAMA PERFORMANCE The domestic drama genre in theatre deals mainly with the simple problems of home life, usually about family, of middle and lowerclass rather than extravagant events like in other genres like Greek Dramas (Wilson and Goldfarb 178). It plays between comedic and serious relationships between characters. Topics for domestic drama include parents, partners, growing up and getting old. These storylines are relatable to the audience as family and home life are identifiable to anyone. The stage creates a habitat for the performer and it is their living space.

“The Delivery Box” from “Performing the Modernist Dwelling: The Unité d’Habitation of Marseille” is a look at domestic living in a theatrical sense. In the apartment building designed by Corbusier, the occupants perform everyday life acts like cooking and delivery.

Historically, modern architecture shows building without people, overlooking that these buildings are made for people (Bonnemaision 61). Therefore, It aims to explore mise-en-scène of how performance is meaningful to the design from self-conscious performance, modernists aesthetics and ergonomics through the “art of living” (67).

Scene I - Case Study Performances

THEATRICAL ARCHITECTURE The High Line is a public walkway through the New York landscape.

It has several seating areas so spectators can stop and rest, relax, and enjoy the view. When users are experiencing the meandering path the adjacent buildings perform a “show” within the building windows through fictitious performance art or genuine acts of living. The nearby apartments are occupied and people can react however they want. They can believe it is reality or simply perceptual imagination. The High Line is an interactive experience with the environment in a dramatic sense. Residents who live next to The High Line have the option to close their blinds for privacy or leave them open for performance. The nearby residents are performers and pedestrians on the walkway are the audience and vice-versa.

Similar to The High Line, Sou Fujimoto’s transparent House NA explores looking and being seen. In addition, it has elements of domestic theatre and being able to see living within the architecture. It is a performance from its transparency from the street and surrounding buildings. Other dwellers and pedestrians can see into the house.

Domestic theatre is seeing people living their ordinary lives within their space. It resembles a traditional stage set by its modularity, platforms, no internal walls, doll house-like form is connected by a flight of stairs. Here, people live realistic and everyday lives.

Figure 4.4 The High Line, New York

Figure 4.5 House NA by Sou Fujimoto

“Our intimate lives and secrets are revealed in what we discard” (Howard 45) 72

Image

Figure 4.6 Performance photos from “Corpo Estraneo”

CORPO ESTRANEO (2016) Site-Specific Dance Performance Creators: Bryony Roberts Studio, Melissa Lohman Location: Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome, Italy Dancers: Chiara Casciani, Maria Elena Curzi, Silvia Franci, Lucrezia Micheli, Chiara Pacioni Percussion- Angela Naccari

“(Performance art is) a way to get at the kind of lived experience that people have in space that’s specific and embodied.

And it’s about their own kind of life story and how they come to an architectural space and understand it” (Bryony Roberts)

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This performance explores the varying dimensions between performance art, urbanism, and history. The bodies interact with the patterned designs on the ground and the Italian landscape by occupying the piazza. This piazza was designed by Michelangelo but implemented by Mussolini. The dancers trace and de-trace the spiral design using rods with fluid movements by centralizing and decentralizing elements of the space such as the pattern, the monuments and the architecture. Through a loose geographically mapped approach, they position their roles by measuring and extending their bodies to themselves, to others, and the environment.

The dancers play with power, constraints, and disruption while taking ownership of their surroundings.

Design + Spatial The patterned ground is symmetrical at a radial point and is surrounded by tall forms

The various straight and diagonal lines portrays movement and concentration

The dancers orange costume contrasts with the existing site and stand outs out in the environment

Social + Cultural In the 16th century, Michelangelo redesigned the space which as later completed by PM Mussolini.

The plaza represents a center of local power that points towards the Vatican.

The women dancers played roles as “architects, warriors, and muses.” These traits are destereotyping the social norm.

Sensorial + Stimuli During the warm Summer in Rome, the audience takes a seat that surrounds the masonry plaza, a popular monument.

The dancers hold long white rods that act as an extension to their bodies.

Choreography is paired with a simple percussion that creates a steady rhythm The court is spacious for the performers and audience allowing plentiful space for movement and viewership from a distance 74

Figure 4.7 The Glass House exterior by Philip Johnson

IMITATION OF LIVES (2017)

“It isn’t a stage. Or, if it is a stage, we are all on it at the same time.”

(Jimmy Roberts)

Creator: Jimmy Roberts Co-curated:Cole Akers (The Glass House), Charles Aubin (Performa) Location: The Glass House in New Canaan, CT, USA Choreographer: Melissa Lohman Perfromers: NIC Kay, Jimmy Robert, and Quenton Stuckey Painting: Loos / De Bruycker marble (2017) by Lucy McKenzie Costume design: Carmen Secareanu, Regina M. Rizzo Voice coach: Emily Kron

“...it’s fragile because it’s meant to be a glass house. Once you’re experiencing it and you’re walking through it, it’s very present. It’s very much a delimited space... Despite the utter visibility, there’s a sense of paradoxical intimacy about it.”

(Jimmy Roberts)

This performance transcends the areas between architecture, performance, and race. Set in an iconic architectural house by Philip Johnson, its structure is made of mostly glass and steel allowing for transparency and reflections within the design and narrative. The story depicts the relationship between each performer’s archetypes and the architecture through visibility, vulnerability and exposure in a social-political context. It questions the absence of the ”wall” and how it impacts relationships with the body. Observing the exterior means also observing the interior. The performers play with the reflections on the glazing and explore the act between looking and being seen.

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Site-Specific Dance Performance

Design + Spatial The primary use of glass from the window and table as the backdrop conveys exposure and vulnerability of being seen. The architecture used is “mirroring” prop where the performer interacts with the built environment.

There is contrast in color between the monochromatic performers and the warm interior of the home + exterior landscape backdrop The building materials and construction tells and emphasizes the storytelling.

Social + Cultural

Figure 4.8 Performance photos from “Imitation of Lives.”

The story is inspired by black representation and gender in the context of aesthetics and politics.

An iconic house, it references the architect’s romantic relationship with another singer.

Described as a collage, it includes many cultural references including artwork, literature, and music.

Explores black bodies performing within an , historic museum home (an institutional site) and with the audiences gaze

Sensorial + Stimuli The distorted voice coming from the speaker adds to the eerie and mysterious tone.

The sound of the performers voices projects throughout and the acoustic sof the house emphasizes their singing voices.

Participants in interact with different materials including wood, stone, steel, glass.

With the audience and performers together in the space, it does not feel confined or restricted.

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TIME + MOVEMENT Performance is an ephemeral being. It can transform the city by reordering perceptions of how time and space are usually understood through the illusion of the real and imaginative (Borys 98).

Performance is also not a finished product because it is living and constantly shifted its place. In connection, ephemeral architecture takes advantage of its incompleteness in order to create fabricated places and moments (Clung 99). Although buildings are non-humans, when you cast “buildings as players” they are living, breathing, and constantly changing within the environment by their users (Read 2). In reference to Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of “situation” of how freedom is the meaning of performing choice and rhythm from habitual activities within a building. In terms of time and movement, this is where a building’s structure stays the same, always being remade by the users and how they use the space.

“Our individual perception of space and time are intimately linked and cannot be treated as separate entities. Movement inherently occupies both space and time, as does music, visual arts and architecture, particularly when related to the perception of an individual.”

(Harris)

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The experience of performance would change given a variety of locations, but the production itself is constant. If a touring company did shows in different cities does the experience change given a new site context? To illustrate this a musician playing in their hometown or a team playing home; is a more gratifying experience than playing elsewhere. Or what would the audience experience be like if they are on the beach with their feet in the sand compared to standing on concrete? The layering expresses how space and times shift as the performance takes place within the environment, with the pedestrians wandering in and out at different times. Architecture as performance allows the concentration of people in the physical space for a short or long period of time (Read). The stage of everyday life is occupied then emptied then occupied again in everchanging patterns created by the movement of actors through the scene (Howard 100). Regarding the spatial discourse of time, action and movement, architect Bernard Tschumi explains that “there is no place without event” (6) Therefore when there is event of people, there is performance,

Figure 4.9 Same story, different locations

Scene II - Time + Movement

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SPACE AND PLACE In scenic and set design, space is about translating and adapting ideas of the playwright and director by creating suitable spaces that links to a dramatic time. In architecture, space is about translating and adapting by creating the suitablr space that links to user function and experience. In the act of living, it is both concepts.

Place can recontextualize performance and how people “perceive and experience space and place (Birch and Tompkins 1). It understands the space differently using a new perspective. It takes the dramatic moment into spaces that are not normally places of theatrical quality. From there, space can be interpreted through the understanding of “social, political, gender, and economic factors” that express its “form and function” (5). This includes for instance, factors like gender norms, social classes, and political ideologies. It demonstrates identity and cultivates a sense of “place difference” by improving productivity as a place (30). “the performance and place are invested in one another” (Kaye 5).

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Similar to the concept of time and movement, space and place is elastic and mobile. It is always in progress and constantly changing creating discontinuities which forces re-assessments of place (5).

Space is correspondingly changed by the performers themselves through interpretation and emotion (Howard 15). Philosopher Micheal de Certeau examines “proper” place where elements such as people can individuality redefine that environment (36). Other theorists who study place and space with or against time: Edward Casey, Micheal Foucault, David Harvey, Henri Lefebvre, and Doreen Massey (Birch and Tompkins 1).

Scene III - Space + Place

SITE

SPACE PLACE

Figure 4.10 Site, Space, Place

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Figure IN2.1 81 Performers in “Everyday Choreography”

EXERCISE

INT II.

Performances in spaces that are not performance spaces contrasts its contextual function with theatre. Performing makes mundane activities a theatrical show.

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INTERMISSION II Everyday Choreography

Image

Figure IN2.2 Stairwell Performance at the School of Architecture

Figure IN2.3 Performance is located in the stairwell

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BACKGROUND “Everyday Choreography” is a study of common movement which is an important aspect when it comes to the user experience within a space or environment. The following performance activity was organized at the Loranger Architecture building at the University of Detroit Mercy School. It was conducted among students and faculty who are regularly present in the building. The performance site was the south staircase near the main entrance of the building.

This staircase was chosen as opposed to the north stairs because it is located near the main entrance and the office, which garner the most pedestrian traffic before classes begin. The staircase was chosen for this exercise because there is a paradoxical experience between the mundane action and the sense of dynamic architecture.

It is everyday life and motion that people use the stairs for circulation.

The footwork sequence of lifting your leg and then down again in an orderly performance and the user’s sightline changes as they make their way up or down. How can this everyday experience be realized in a theatrical sense through the movement of people?

The three performers are dressed in their ordinary clothes and peers of the students. The pedestrians were unknowingly participating in the show by acting as the choreographer. Here, a “follow the leader” enactment was expressed by the performers by mimicking the participants’ actions as they are moving through the stairwell.

How do these participants use the stairwell? Do they take their time on the stairs by stepping slowly or do they rush through quickly?

PERFORMERS

3 SEC ON DF LO OR

Master’s Studios

2

1st Yr Studios

MA

IN

FLO

OR

1 PARTICIPANT AKA THE CHOREOGRAPHER BA

SEM

EN

T

Figure IN2.4 Diagram depicting the instructions of the performance

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Figures IN2.5 Three performers copy the gestures of stairs users

How do these participants use the stairwell? Do they take their time on the stairs by stepping slowly or do they rush through quickly? Will people multitask by using their phone? Will they stop in their tracks?

Do people engage with the handrail?

Discoveries Through this exercise, the presence of sound was discovered, and it was otherwise not considered beforehand. This investigates further into the sensorial aspect of the method. Since there is openness to the stairwell, the rhythmic sound of footsteps could be heard even through the hallways. Also, the metal construction of the stairs further amplified people’s footsteps. Here, an analysis of speed and sound frequency was studied. As expected, those who were distracted on their phones had a decelerated speed and were quieter. On the other end, people who accelerated their speeds were a lot louder with their steps.

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Another discovery was the unconsciousness of performing in our daily lives. Originally, this performance was kept secretive as possible to keep reactions and behaviors candid to the activity. However, since there were participants who realized this was an experiment, people adjusted to their normal way of using the stairs to appease to the activity. For instance, one of the participants normally skipped steps on the stairs, but they did not during the duration of the experiment, since the performers would struggle. In other words, they were unintentional performing to the environment.

Figures IN2.6 Diagrams showing 3 different speeds and the sounds frequencies by plotting footsteps 86

Figures IN2.7 Three performers copy the gestures of stairs users

Learned and Reflection From this experience, several important points were realized.

Time being a large factor in the outcome. Since this performance was on a Friday a day after a snowstorm, there was not as much traffic circulation by the students as anticipated. In addition, the demographics of the participants regarding location needs to be considered. Since first-year studios and master’s studios are located on the second floor, the second, third, and fourth-year students were excluded mainly excluded. As well as some of the studios being online, some students are not present. For the final workshop, it must be considered when selecting demographic to be specific. Likewise, the chosen site of the performance plays a huge role. What if it was in the hallway? There are many different opportunities to explore.

Figures IN2.8 Posters displayed on the top and bottom levels of the stairs

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Figure IN2.9 Theatrical poster for “Everyday Choreography”

Figure

88

Figure 5.1 89 Still from “Playing with Architecture” - Performers become creative

WORKSHOP

ACT V.

It is suggested that people “make to know” and “learn by doing.” By creating and exploring, it experiments with engaging people with places.

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ACT V Playing with Architecture

Figure 5.2 “She Looks Marvelous” play at “The Studio Theatre” in the Architecture building (1985)

See BTS:G for additonal historical context

Figure 5.3 Named The Peter Pierce, it currently holds faculty offices and a conference room

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HISTORY OF THEATRE AT UDM ARCH Today, it is an unknown fact that the School of Architecture and Community Development at UDM has a history relating to theatre.

There is already a foundation that the discipline of architecture and theatre co-exists with each other. Before the renovation of the Peter Pierce Room, which is currently a conference and meeting space, it used to be small theatre venue seating between 100-150 in the room on the second floor of the Architecture building. Located in the same department, architecture students were able to easily access shows and performances between their busy lives in studio.

Throughout the University Theatre Company’s presence, in 1972 a consortium agreement was made with Marygrove College and the theatre company has moved into various buildings and locations including “The Theatre” on Marygrove’s Campus and “Theatre 100” at Shiple Hall, which is the student dorms building. (Also, It is important to note that the University was still under the name “University of Detroit”). Eventually starting in 1984, for its 14th season, the theatre company moved into the Architecture building. Appropriately named to as “The Studio Theatre,” in 1988 (sometimes “New Studio”) The Studio was later dedicated and renamed to Earl D.A. Smith, who was a prominent figure within the school and in the Detroit theatre community. This intimate and unique performance space was wellreceived as it encouraged communication between the performers and the audience. Today, there are still memory traces of the old venue. The remnants of the raked seats are seen by the markings

Scene I - History

Figure 5.4 Studio Theatre upgraded from folding chairs to comfortable seating during renovations for the Earl D.A Smith Theatre

Figure 5.5 Theatre students rehearsing in the exhibition space

on the wall and the evidence of where the walls and door openings used to be located is seen on the floors of the space. Interestingly, the choice to leave and expose the old markings was an intentional design move as it does not forgets its past state and history at the school.

In more recent times, the exhibition space is used as a rehearsal studio, an events space, and a theatre space for students in the theatre program and the Detroit Mercy Theatre Company (DMTC).

At 2,300 sqft, it seats a 150 capacity and provides flexible seating arrangements including traditional proscenium, thrust, and in-theround allowing for “close-to the-action” experiences. Here, elaborate set designs adorned with materials, such as tulle, were displayed and dramatic productions were housed in the (sleepy) School of Architecture.

Figure 5.6 Door opening and wall remnants to The Studio Theatre seen present day

Figure 5.7 Raked seating markings at The Studio Theatre seen present day

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Figure 5.8 Farewell party for Polish exchange students Figure 5.9 Release of Dichotomy Figure 5.10 Tape the Dean fundraiser Figure 5.11 Architecture lecture series reception Figure 5.12 Architecture students participating in critiques Figure 5.13 Architecture students working on their laptops

Figure 5.14 Installation for thesis project by architecture student Figure 5.15 American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) party

Figure 5.16 Performance is located in “The Pit” 93

stage stairs

seating

The Pit

stage stairs stairs

seating

stairs

Common conventional stage

The Performance Site The site for the performance workshop was located at a student lounge area of the Architecture school, known as “The Pit.” Located in the heart of the school and adjacent to the Exhibition space, it is a multi-use area that functions as a socializing, meeting, and working space. In the past, there have been several events including parties, tape the dean, and student projects. Frequently, The Pit has been an extension of the exhibition space and used as a secondary social space.

From a student’s perspective, The Pit is one of the only areas at the school where students tend to “hangout” outside of their normal studios. Other times, it is a space where students would spend time to get some of their work done, but, this sometimes leads to getting distracted by friends who are also there to get their work. The Pit was renovated during the early 2000s in support of the school’s total renovation. However, before The Pit was renovated into a student lounge, it used to be a faculty meeting area. Similar to the Peter Pierce space, The Pit also has memory traces of what used to be there before the renovations including old markings of where the walls and doors used to be.

In addition to its unique location and functions, The Pit behaves and resembles a conventional theatre stage without it being intentionally designed to be one. For instance, in front of the tin wall would be the “stage,” the purple cushions act as seats and the elevated benches act as the mezzanine. The space is then connected by a set of stairs on each side of the playing space similar to common stage designs. In a theatrical world within an academic context, The Pit demonstrates qualities of a performance space, especially during critiques presentations when the presenter knows that they are being watched by their peers, professors, and jurors.

Figure 5.17 Space programming comparison

Figure 5.18 “The Pit” sign

Figure 5.19 Memory traces of the previously existing faculty meeting area

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Figure 5.20 Still from”Playing with Architecture”

Shape Time Space Story Figure 5.21 Hierarchical theatre structure

Story

Space

Time

The performance workshop is inspired by the exercises of Anne Bogart and Tina Landau called “Viewpoints” from “The Viewpoint Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition.” The Viewpoints were originally created by theatre practitioner and educator Mary Overlie. Described in the book, Viewpoints is a non-hierarchical dance composition technique for performance that emphasizes on thinking, observation, gesture, and movement within space. This is different from other typical acting exercises that focus on the idea of getting into the spirit or character within a story. The original viewpoints are the following 6 including Space, Shape, Time, Emotion, Movement, and Story (the acronym “SSTEMS”). The adapted version by Bogart and Landau adds to the original viewpoints including 9 physical and 5 vocal viewpoints. For the following study, 3 viewpoints will be explored: shape, architecture, and events. Events is not one of the original viewpoints, however, these elements will be studied in the context of architectural design and spatial experience of memory.

Shape

Figure 5.22 Non-hierarchical theatre structure

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The Viewpoints

The workshop consists of an approximately 1-hour session during studio hours. Architecture students in varying levels of study were “casted” including 1 first-year student, 2 second-year students, 2 thirdyear students, 2 fourth-year students, 2 master’s students and one faculty member. Most of the students selected came from internal suggestions based on personality other students were chosen based on their initial interest in the topic.

Scene II - Play

PLAY To start the workshop, a short discussion based on background questions was held. Performers shared personal experiences within the space. Through this conversation, they had shared that they would sometimes spend time in The Pit, but not often. Usually, it is used as an area to socialize rather than an area to do work. Some of the memories they have shared included having critiques in this space and how intimating it was for them as freshman to present in a open and public hallway. Others shared their opinions on the spatial arrangement being an unproductive space for critiques. For instance, the narrow shape of the space makes it difficult for clear sightlines.

Their opinions of the space based on the design and construction was overall neutral.

After the discussion session, the stretching and meditation exercise begins. These initial warm-up exercises intend to not only loosen and relax the participants but to open and engage the idea of interacting as a collective group, and the idea of being comfortable moving their bodies. After PLAY, the end of the workshop includes the last discussion based on their experiences after the performance

“Viewpoints helps us trust in letting something occur onstage, rather than making it occur. The source for action and invention comes to us from others and from the physical world around us.”

(Bogart and Landau 19).

See BTS: B for additional images of the performance

Experiences Pre-performance Questions: 1. Do you use The Pit and how often?

2. What kind of activities, memories, events do you remember or do in The Pit? 3. What do you think of the design or construction of the pit? The materials, colors, textures?

4. What do you like or don’t like about it? Sounds are distracting?

Comfort?

Experiences Post-performance Questions: 1. What did you learn from this experience, and do you “see” the pit from a different perspective?

2. Did performing at the architecture school, specifically in The Pit, change or impact how you performed the activity?

3. Through this performance, was there anything that you noticed or stood out to you from of the pit that you did not notice before?

Like the design or construction?

4. From a sensorial standpoint, what did you notice?

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Stretching Exercise:

Reach Up for the roof, look up.

Reach Down for the floor, look down.

Reach the wall, place your full palm on the wall Run to the other wall touch it, run back.

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MEDITATION Exercise:

Find a place to sit Scan the space with your eyes.

Close your eyes.

Relax.

Breathe in-and-out. (x3) Become aware of all that you sense through smell, sound, energy, feeling.

Open your eyes.

Scan the space again.

This is now our stage.

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Another day, another studio...

Figure 5.23 Usual scene of The Pit at SACD

99

I should probably get back to working...

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THE JOURNEY

Figure 5.24 Shape diagram

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Exercise 1 - shape viewpoint 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Freely circulate the pit: Up, down, left, right The shape is your body Consider the relationship between your body, other bodies within the space as you circulate Pause Repeat the exercise, but take another path Repeat the exercise, but speed it up Stop and assembly for discussion. What did you notice?

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THE DESIGN

Figure 5.25 Architecture diagram

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Exercise 2 - architecture viewpoint 1.

2.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Freely explore the site Respond to the site: Let the architecture respond to your movement. Walk along the wall. Climb the ledge. Lean on the wall Stop and assemble for discussion. What did you notice?

Respond to the site: Let the color respond to your movement. Touch the brown columns. Move with yellow chairs. Seat test the purple cushions.

How do you interact with these colors?

Stop and assemble for discussion What did you notice?

Respond to the site: Let the light respond to your movement. Where is the light? Is it bright or dark? Move in or out of it. Make shadows.

Stop and assemble for discussion What did you notice?

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THE MEMORY

Figure 5.26 Event diagram

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Exercise 3 - EVENT viewpoint 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

The 1st performer to volunteer.

Find a space in the pit you are drawn to.

Relive a memory of a moment at the site by acting it out, by talking, moving, gesturing.

The next 2 performer to volunteer, to act along with the 1st performer.

Repeat for the rest.

Everyone assembles for discussion What did you notice?

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Figure 5.27 107 Still from “Playing with Architecture”

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CONCLUSION

Design + Spatial Warm lights are used in the hallway while cool lights are closer to The Pit. The use of mainly warm colors: yellow, brown, orange (Yellow = Energized) The violet colour stands out The differing spacing between the column structure.

The performers discovered textures they have not realized before such as the diamond plate texture under the benches, or the use of Velcro under the violet cushions.

Bad sightliness (especially for critiques) because of the narrow space.

An intimate and small space .It is a “multi-use space that does not know what it wants to be.”

Social + Cultural The Pit is mainly used as a social and working space.

However, the pit is realized to be more of a social space rather than a working space.

There are memories of first year critiques which were intimidating especially since it is located next to the main hallway where everyone can see.

Learning about the past function of the space, the performers mentioned they would not respond to the site differently because it did not involve them, and they did not experience the past function.

The workshop allowed performers to do things they usually do not do such a climbing the railings. These behaviors would seem “weird” on a regular day.

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Working as a group and completing the same performance is easier to do a collective rather than as an individual.

Sensorial + Stimuli The glass wall feels warm while the brick wall feels cool to the touch.

Hard to listen to conversation since the people in the main hallway are sometimes loud.

Performers climbed the walls, squeezed into small spaces (under the table, between the railing), jumped thorough space (between the columns) , (attempted) to climb the column, used the rolling chairs like a scooter Feels comfortable spending time in the space since it is elevated downwards and away from the main hallway. (Eg. conversation pits) Overall, the design of the space is somewhat “pleasing” from the use of color, but it could benefit from improvement (Eg. lighting conditions)

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Figure 5.28 Reach for the ceiling, look up

Figure 5.29 111 Reach the wall. Place your full palm on the glass.

Figure 5.30 Reenacting a first-year memory, climbing the column. (First one to reach the top gets $20.)

112

Figure 5.31 Up, down. Left, right. Under, over. Backwards, forwards.

Figure 5.32 113 Exploring. Let the architecture respond to your movement. What does the railing make you want to do?

Figure 5.33 Let the light respond to your movement. Observe the light.

114

Figure 5.34 Circulate the space. Find a different path. Speed up. Your body is a shape.

Figure 5.35 115 Sitting on the memory bench.

“Let the environment move you.”

“Clear your mind and observe your surroundings.”

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Figure 5.36 Our daily environments as stage sets for theatrical exploration

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CONCLUSION The performers realized and discovered architectural elements in their surroundings that they did not realize before; From these exercises, some discoveries that were uncovered were as small as the varying lighting qualities to the differing column spacing. The most notable discovery concluded that this informal, multi-use Pit space is made for socializing, having fun, and entertaining rather than to function as a quiet working space. The architecture students performed as designers, not as actors or dancers, however when participating in a new and unique activity at the school, they did not hesitate to “be creative.” To aid the designers as performers, the workshop used vocabulary and language that they would understand like “circulate.” The abstractness of performing was a challenge in the beginning, but as time progressed and as designers, conceptual ideas are no new concept.

This performance amplified and revealed its hidden existing conditions that were unfamiliar through intentional exploration.

“Getting to know the space” allowed people to act and behave in a way that they do not usually because of the academic social setting of the school. For instance, rolling on the chairs or jumping through the columns. Since permission was given to “be creative” it allowed the performers to break the social norms. Other times, it would seem strange to play pretend. During the workshop, the performers reacted freely. Through the unconscious of performing but the conscious of reacting, there is a purpose for experimental

Scene III - Conclusion

and improvised moments. Therefore, these interactions are justified.

When would there ever be a moment to thoughtfully explore the place with conscious and unconscious gesture? By feeling the wall with our hands or looking up at the ceiling, noticing its construction?

The spaces that are regularly used have become de-sensitized to the students and faculty, and the architecture is lacking consideration.

People, the set, and the story create an event that opens shared imagination and shared choice for interpretation.

“If director and architect embrace their multivalent ethical roles within a community, both aim for more than simple enactment or fulfillment of a functional ‘need.’ Both have the power to craft situation that invite flashes of real understanding to ignite between people, do that they may act thoughtfully in their own lives.” ( Read 1)

When mentioned about the history of the site being an old-faculty meeting room before renovations, they suggested that they would not have performed differently because that history did not involve them. Therefore, space and memory are personal and individualized and the collective memory depends on the user and time. Therefore, performance is personal by experience.

Using this method or evaluation and the practice of performing, by informs the understanding of the space from a different perspective and becomes a tool for potentially space re-designs through the user experience of performance. It established possible circulation paths from exercise 1. It discovered material and spatial arrangement in exercise 2. It celebrated a lively memory of the place through performing 3. From these bodily actions, components found specifically at this site were through this site-specific performance.

Moving forward, this model can be implemented outside of architects and designers and into other various environments and diverse people. Since the exercises are designed for non-conventional performers, it is more accessible and anyone can participate. What if this was used in a church setting with its patrons? How would the space be elevated and learned differently through its unique architectural features and regular members? What about the office?

How can this relationship between workers within their environment be experimented? By adjusting elements such as specific language or vocabulary to fit the typology of the performers, it can enchance the comfort of performing.

In conclusion, bridging the gap between the practice of architecture and theatrical performance brings excitement and allure to the monotony of life. It is a study on spatial creativity and the co-existence of life. It is a study on how people perform and interact within the environment, but re-imagined by performing.

Figure 5.37 Austin explores the tin wall during “Playing with Architecture.”

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Figure EN.1 119 Conversations and hand gestures

ENCORE.

DOCUMENTARIES Bravo! Brava! The following chapter reveals supporting content through video performance that further explores the act of performing in the context of daily life.

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CURTAIN CALL Chironomia

Figure EN.2 Describing the art of hand gestures from an actor’s point-of-view.

121

Chironomia is defined as the art of hand gestures or gesticulation.

From the base of our palms to the tips of fingers, it is the hands that extend out to an audience. In combination with voice, it is an expressive way of portraying ourselves through bodily presentation.

As the common expression states: we talk with our hands. As people, we naturally live everyday socially like on a theatre stage, playing a role or representation of ourselves. It is where these social interactions where we start to “act” by delivering lines and improvising favorable impressions in front of others. Here it is questioned, “Why do we use our hands to perform?” This short film explores the performative side of using our hands to communicate with others. Through various gestures, movements, and moments, the presentation of self through identity is defined by our lives being a stage.

Figure EN.3 Theatrical Poster for ‘Chironmonia

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123

Figures EN.4 124 Examples of using gesticulation

CURTAIN CALL Everyday Choreography

Figures EN.5 Portraits of architecture students posing for the stop-motion video See BTS: F for process work

125

Performing is impermanent by nature since it is a short-lived event.

It interprets our bodily movements through different everyday places. With the participation of students and faculty at the School of Architecture and Community Development, this stop-motion video expresses life’s actions and the dynamics of still-images through various poses stitched together to create a performance. The stylized choreography is inspired by an architect’s daily routine. Through daily activities such as eating, commuting, working, presenting, and socializing, everyone is a performer. The audio is a recording of the door code at the school. As people participate together to create a performance that unites, there is also individuality through how each performer interpreted their poses. In a sense, the familiarity of a routine seems constant, however, it is the opposite. It demonstrates self-awareness that changes our performance as we adjust to life’s obstacles. The backdrop to the performance are many spaces at the School of Architecture. The variety of spaces showcases how performing can occur anywhere and at anytime.

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127

128

Figure P.1 129 An afternoon in the architecture studio.

EPILOGUE.

REFLECTION After numerous theatrical performances and informative investigations, the show has finally come to an end. This chapter expresses some conclusions and closing thoughts by the author.

130

“Architecture is a social act and the material theater of human activity.”

131 Spiro Kostof, A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals

EPILOGUE

As the performance comes to an end, here are a few closing words...

This thesis has not only challenged me mentally but also physically.

On the path of self-discovery, identity crises, and confidence-building moments, I put myself out of my comfort zone in the name of research and understanding. I played myself as a “conventional performer,” although I do not consider myself to be one. But this posed an interesting investigation as a “non-performer” studying topics of theatre and performances through this perspective, and through an architectural designer’s lens.

“All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn’t are not easy to specify.”

(Erving Goffman)

However, as an everyday performer of the complicated show, we call “life,” I would say yes, I am one. You are a performer too. We all are.

As Meaghen Quinn explains, we perform “based on what society has taught you and the social constructs in performing gender, and performing culture, and performing religion.”

At the time of writing, the world is 3 years into the Covid-19 pandemic. From what we have learned from the pandemic, there is an importance to the act of gathering together in a physical space.

Whether it is enjoying a theatre show as a collective or coming back to the office, the visceral energy of bouncing off of each other is more genuine when gathering within the physical realm. There is a need to truly re-evaluate the spaces we live, work, entertain, relax etc. as we go back to performing “normally.”

Theatre performance (like that was previously mentioned), allows for that experimentation to be imagined and to be become a reality.

That reality is how this model of design by performance can be eventually used as a design research tool to re-imagine and then re-create the spaces that we use in our day-to-day lives. The users of the space are the performers.

I hope you found this thesis as playful and fun as I had creating it and I hope it has sparked the “performers” in all of us.

Thank you, Tiffany

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133

END SCENE.

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Figure A.8 135 Benchmark III - Faculty, students, and jurors participate in promenade theatre

MAKING-OF.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES (BTS) Appendix. The following chapter includes additional scenes that did not make it to the show’s main run as well as showcasing the performance context and processes.

136

BTS: A

Figure A. 1 Benchmark I - Performing on table platform

Figure A. 2 137 Benchmark III - Performing with projections

Figure A. 3 138 Benchmark II - Performing with lights

BTS: A

Figure A. 4 Benchmark IV - Performing in The Pit

Figure A. 5 139 Projecting video on the glass

Figure A. 6 140 Benchmark IV - Performing as the audience watches

BTS: A

141

Figure A. 7 142 Benchmark IV gallery

BTS: B

Figure B. 1 Cast portrait of “Playing with Architecture”

Figure B. 2 143 Welcomes and introductions

Figure B. 3 144 Having a discussion about The Pit in The Pit

BTS: C

Figure C.1 Joe L testing out the virtual concept

Figure C.2 145 Recording the silhouette

Figure C.3 146 Reacting to the recording feedback (hi)

BTS: D

Figure D.1 147 Virtual interview with Meaghen

Figure D.2 148 Performers wait during a quiet afternoon before studio

BTS: E

Figure E.1 Benchmark performance sketches

BTS: F

Figure F.1 Dance notation poses for “Everyday Choreography” stop-motion

BTS: F

BTS: F

BTS: G

Figure G.1 Newspaper clipping about the seats (1987)

Figure G.2 “Wild Honey” play in the Studio Theatre (1988)

Figure G.3 Plays by the U of D theater company (1984)

159 The second floor hallway at the SACD

CURTAIN CALL.

FIGURES & REFERENCES

160

FIGURES FIGURES PROLOGUE

0.1 Performance in the Exhibition Space Photo credit: Author 0.2 Play or the act of playing Image created: Author

ACT I

1.1 “We Know How to Order” Photo credit: Andrew Bruah Retrieved at: https://www.bryonyroberts.com/#/we-knowhow-to-order/ 1.2 Environmental (Re)Imagination Image created: Author 1.3 Theatre is a series of fleeting events Image created: Author 1.4 Performance is everywhere Image created: Author 1.5 Performance at the site Image created: Author 1.6 Com-media dell’Arte performance Image credit: Unknown Retrieved at: http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/ commedia.html 1.7 Greek dithyrambic chorus relief Photo credit: Bibi Saint-Pol Retrieved at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dithyramb 1.8 Many medieval plays were set in outdoor plazas and courtyards Photo credits: Unknown Retrieved at: http://www.literatura.hu/szinhaz/ kozepkori_szinhaz.html 1.9 “Double Lunar Dogs” by performance artist Joan Jonas Photo credits: David Crossley Retrieved at: https://www.anothermag.com/fashionbeauty/10718/the-81-year-old-woman-who-pioneeredcontemporary-performance-art

ACT II

2.1 “Versailles” apartment performance by This is Not your Theatre Company Photo credit: Maria Baranova-Suzuki Retrieved at: https://www.thisisnotatheatrecompany. com/versailles 2.2 Performance elements Image created: Author Photo credit: Andrew Bruah Retrieved at: https://www.bryonyroberts.com/#/we-knowhow-to-order/ 2.3 Site-Specific theatre continuum Image created: Author

Image based on: Models for Site-Specific Theatre by

161 David Wohl

Retrieved at: https://www.setc.org/publicationsresources/southern-theatre/site-specific-theatre/ 2.4 Pool Play 2.0 performance New York, USA Photo credit: Julieta Cervantes Retrieved at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/ theater/review-in-pool-play-2-0-the-audience-iswelcome-to-make-a-splash.html 2.5 Environmental Theater Diagram Image created: Author 2.6 “A Streetcar Named Despair” streetcar performance Charleston, WV, USA Photo credit: David Wohl Retrieved at: https://www.setc.org/publicationsresources/southern-theatre/site-specific-theatre/ 2.7 “The Quarry” river performance Websterville, VM, USA Photo credit: Julia Barstow Retrieved at: https://thequarryproject2022.com/2019 2.8 “Apocalipse 1,11” prison performance São Paulo, Brazil Photo credit: Edu Marin Retrieved at: https://www.jstor.org stable/10.1086/676547?seq=2 2.9 “A Spot on the Hill” cemetery performance Jonesborough, TN, USA Photo credit: Charlie Mauk Retrieved at: https://howlround.com/theatre-withouttheatre 2.10 Found Space Diagram Image created: Author 2.11 “C-o-n-t-a-c-t” Performance in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Photo credit: Pamela Raith Retrieved at: https://www.whatsonstage.com/ manchester-theatre/news/immersive-digital-show-c-on-t-a-c-t_52602.html 2.12 Promenade Theatre Diagram Image created: Author 2.13 The “Rhinemaidens” accompanied by a musical arrangement Photo credit: Brittany Greeson Retrieved at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/ arts/music/twilight-gods-detroit-opera.html 2.14 Daniel Lee’s Bottega Veneta Runway Show Spring 2022 Photo credit: Rose Hohl Retrieved at: https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/ bottega- veneta-spring-2022-show-detroitatmosphere-celebrities 2.15 Found Space Diagram Image created: Author 2.16 “The Site” installation performance by Chloe Lamford Photo credit: Unknown Retrieved at: http://chloelamford.com/the-site/ h8g475q7u277hnfhcgc372z5m4oafi 2.17 Found Space Diagram Image created: Author 2.18 “Ballroom Crosswalk” performance on the crosswalk

Photo credit: Arin Sang-urai Retrieved at: https://improveverywhere.com/2015/09/08/ ballroom-crosswalk/ 2.19 Happenings Diagram Image created: Author 2.20 “The Lion King” performance in Detroit, MI. USA Photo credit: Sarah Lemp Retrieved at: https://www.allthingswithpurpose.com/ broadway-in-detroit-disneys-the-lion-king/ 2.21 Conventional Theatre Diagram Image created: Author 2.22 Erving Goffman Image created: Author Photo credit: Unknown Retrieved at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erving_Goffman 2.23 Jerzy Grotowski Image created: Author Photo credit: Unknown Retrieved at:https://www.theworkcenter.org/about/ at:https://www.theworkcenter.org/about/briefhistory 2.24 Peter Brook Image created: Author Photo credit: MAXPPP Retrieved at: https://playbill.com/person/peter-brookvault-0000019498 2.25 Richard Sennett Image created: Author Photo credit: Unknown Retrieved at: https://www.fmsh.fr/fr/chercheur/richardsennett 2.26 Richard Schechner Image created: Author Photo credit: Unknown Retrieved at: https://literariness.org/2018/07/22/ performance-studies/ 2.27 Anne Bogart Image created: Author Photo credit: Craig Schwartz Retrieved at: https://littlevillagemag.com/five-questions-withdirector-anne-bogart/

INT I

IN1.1 Joe L reacts warmly to the virtual silhouette in “Perform Unconscious” Photo credit: Author IN1.2 Madison reacts nervously to the virtual silhouette Photo credit: Author IN1.3 Madison reacts nervously to the virtual silhouette Image created: Author Retrieved: SACD IN1.4 Plan and section design Image created: Author & Joe Loria

IN1.5 Joe S reacts intriguingly to the virtual silhouette Photo credit: Author IN1.6 Theatrical poster for “Perform Unconscious” Image created: Joe Loria IN1.7 Meet the cast members!

Photo credit: Author & Joe Loria IN1.8 Featuring Joe W Photo credit: Author IN1.9 Featuring Andrew Photo credit: Author IN1.10 Featuring Joe L Photo credit: Instagram @detmercy_sacd

ACT III

3.1 Joe L documents “Playing with Architecture” Photo credit: Joe Loria 3.2 Performance elements and characteristics spatial diagram Image created: Author 3.3 Principles of design in an architectural context Image created: Author 3.4 Elements of art in an architectural context Image created: Author 3.5 Seasonal changes and time Image created: Author 3.6 Historical Detroit and present Detroit Image created: Author 3.7 Eerie and terrorizing tone Image created: Author 3.8 Sensorial and stimuli continuum Image created: Author

ACT IV

4.1 Dancers in “Imitation of Lives” Photo credit: Paula Court Retrieved at: https://www.metropolism.com/nl/ reviews/33626_performa_17 4.2 Family living in the Unitè 1986 Photo credit: Yves Jeanmougin Retrieved at: “Performing the Moderist Dwelling: The Unité d’Habitation of Marseille.” Architecture as a Performing Art 4.3 “Kim’s Convenience” play by Ins Choi is an example of domestic drama Photo credit: Kristian Jones Retrieved at: https://applause-meter.com/2013/09/07/ kims-convenience-review/ 4.4 The High Line, New York Photo credit: Joshua Bright Retrieved at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/ realestate/the-high-line-a-place-to-see-and-be-seen. html 4.5 House NA by Sou Fujimoto 162

Photo credit: Iwan Bann Photograpghy Retrieved at: https://archello.com/es/project/house-na 4.5 House NA by Sou Fujimoto Photo credit: Iwan Bann Photograpghy Retrieved at: https://archello.com/es/project/house-na 4.6 Performance photos from “Corpo Estraneo” Photo credit: Claudia Pajewski, Antonio Convista, and Javier Galindo Retrieved at: https://www.bryonyroberts.com/corpoestraneo/ 4.7 The Glass House exterior by Philip Johnson Photo credit: Blaine Brownell Retrieved at: https://www.architectmagazine.com/ technology/getting-inside-philip-johnsons-head-at-theglass-house_o 4.8 Performance photos from “Imitation of Lives.”

Photo credit: Unknown Retrieved at: https://frenchculture.org/events/6537-jimmyrobert-performa-17 4.9 Same story, different locations Image created: Author 4.10 Site, Space, Place Image created: Author

INT 2

IN2.1 Performers in “Everyday Choreography” Photo credit: Author IN2.2 Stairwell Performance at the School of Architecture Photo credit: Author IN2.3 Performance is located in the stairwell Image created: Author Retrieved at: SACD IN2.4 Diagram depicting the instructions of the performance Image created: Author IN2.5 Three performers copy the gestures of stairs users Photo credit: Author IN2.6 Diagrams showing 3 different speeds and the sounds frequencies by plotting footsteps Image created: Author IN2.7 Three performers copy the gestures of stairs users Photo credit: Author IN2.8 Posters displayed on the top and bottom levels of the stairs Image created: Author IN2.9 Theatrical poster for “Everyday Choreography” Image created: Author

ACT V

5.1 Still from “Playing with Architecture” - Performers become creative Photo credit: Author & Joe Loria 163

5.2 “She Looks Marvelous” play at “The Studio Theatre” in the Architecture building (1985) Photo credit: Varsity News Retrieved at: https://libraries.udmercy. edu/archives/ special-collections/index. php?collectionSet=all&collectionCode=varsity_news_ vn&record_id=101&page=1&item_id=3303 5.3 Named The Peter Pierce, it currently holds faculty offices and a conference room Photo credit: Author 5.4 Studio Theatre upgraded from folding chairs to comfortable seating during renovations for the Earl D.A Smith Theatre Photo credit: Varsity News Retrieved at: https://libraries.udmercy.edu/archives/ special-collections/index. php?collectionSet=all&collectionCode=varsity_news_ vn&record_id=102&item_id=3336 5.5 Theatre students rehearsing in the exhibition space Photo credit: Instagram @detmercytheatre 5.6 Door opening and wall remnants to The Studio Theatre seen present day Photo credit: Author 5.7 Raked seating markings at The Studio Theatre seen present day Photo credit: Author 5.8 Farewell party for Polish exchange students Photo credit: Instagram @detmercy_sacd 5.9 Release of Dichotomy Photo credit: Instagram @dichotomy-udm 5.10 Tape the Dean fundraiser Photo credit: Instagram @nomas_udm 5.11 Architecture lecture series reception Photo credit: Instagram @nomas_udm 5.12 Architecture students participating in critiques Photo credit: Unknown 5.13 Architecture students working on their laptops Photo credit: Author 5.14 Installation for thesis project by architecture student Photo credit: Varsity News Retrieved at: https://libraries.udmercy. edu/archives/ special- collections/index. php?collectionSet=all&collectionCode=varsity_news_ vn&record_id=68&item_id=2559 5.15 Installation for thesis project by architecture student Photo credit: Varsity News Retrieved at: https://libraries.udmercy.edu/archives/ special-collections/index. php?collectionSet=all&collectionCode=varsity_news_ vn&record_id=99&item_id=3239 5.16 Performance is located in “The Pit” Image created: Author Retrieved at: SACD 5.17 Space programming comparison

Image created: Author Photo credit: Author & MCA Chicago Retrieved at: https://mcachicago.org/Rentals/Theater 5.18 “The Pit” sign at the Warren Loranger Architecture Building Photo credit: Author 5.19 Memory traces of the previously existing faculty meeting area Photo credit: Author 5.20 Still from”Playing with Architecture” Photo credit: Author 5.21 Hierarchical theatre structure Image created: Author 5.22 Non-hierarchical theatre structure Image created: Author 5.23 Usual scene of The Pit at SACD Image created: Author 5.24 Shape diagram Image created: Author 5.25 Architecture diagram Image created: Author 5.26 Event diagram Image created: Author 5.27 Still from “Playing with Architecture” Image created: Author 5.28 Reach for the ceiling, look up Image created: Author 5.29 Reach the wall. Place your full palm on the glass.

Image created: Author 5.30 Reenacting a first-year memory, climbing the column.

Image created: Author 5.31 Up, down. Left, right. Under, over. Backwards, forwards.

Image created: Author 5.32 Exploring. Let the architecture respond to your movement.

Image created: Author 5.33 Let the light respond to your movement. Observe the light.

Image created: Author 5.34 Circulate the space. Find a different path. Speed up.

Your body is a shape.

Image created: Author 5.35 Sitting on the memory bench.

Image created: Author 5.36 Our daily environments as stage sets for theatrical exploration Image created: Author 5.37 Austin explores the tin wall during “Playing with Architecture.”

Image created: Author

ENCORE

EN.1 Conversations and hand gestures Image created: Author EN.2 Describing the art of hand gestures from an actor’s point-of-view.

Image created: Author EN.3 Theatrical Poster for ‘Chironmonia Image created: Author EN.4 Examples of using gesticulation Image created: Author EN.5 Portraits of architecture students posing for the stopmotion video Image created: Author

BEHIND-THE-SCENES

A.1 Benchmark I - Performing on table platform Photo credit: Wladek Fuchs A.2 Benchmark III - Performing with projections Photo credit: Author A.3 Benchmark II - Performing with lights Photo credit: Mitchell Maxwell A.4 Benchmark IV - Performing in The Pit Photo credit: Natalie Wilson A.5 Projecting video on the glass Photo credit: Author A.6 Benchmark IV - Performing as the audience watches Photo credit: Enrique Ledesma A.7 Benchmark IV gallery Photo credit: Author B.1 Cast portrait of “Playing with Architecture” Photo credit: Joe Loria B.2 Welcomes and introductions Photo credit: Joe Loria B.3 Having a discussion about The Pit in The Pit Photo credit: Joe Loria C.1 Joe L testing out the virtual concept Photo credit: Author C.2 Recording the silhouette Photo credit: Author C.3 Reacting to the recording feedback Photo credit: Author D.1 Virtual interview with Meaghen Photo credit: Author D.1 Performers waiting during a quiet afternoon before studio Photo credit: Author E.1 Benchmark performance sketches Image created: Author F.1 Dance notation poses for “Everyday Choreography” stop motion Image created: Author G.1 Newspaper clipping about the seats (1987)

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Photo credit: Varsity News Retrieved at: https://libraries.udmercy.edu/ archives/special-collections/index. php?collectionSet=all&collectionCode=varsity_ news_vn&record_id=102&item_id=3336 G.2 “Wild Honey” play in the Studio Theatre (1988) Photo credit: Varsity News Retrieved at: https://libraries.udmercy.edu/ archives/special-collections/index. php?collectionSet=all&collectionCode=varsity_news_ vn&record_id=64&item_id=2476 G.3 Plays by the U of D theater company (1984) Photo credit: University of Detroit Tower Retrieved at: https://libraries.udmercy.edu/ archives/special-collections/index. php?collectionSet=all&collectionCode=tower_ tyb&record_id=65&page=1

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