A real role in rehearsals

Rehearsal (Act 1) is a public art element of a wider theatre project at the Wapping Wharf development in Bristol. The project, entitled A Thousand Seasons Past, involves Travelling Light Theatre Company and Bristol Old Vic Youth Theatre working together with Bristol Museums and Art Galleries to develop a play with local young people, focussing on the history of the site (which used to be home to Bristol New Gaol).

How the work gets interpreted, presented and performed will be down to the personalities and input of the members of the public involved on the day

Rehearsal (Act 1) will be a one-off event in which 15 members of the public are invited to actively contribute to the rehearsal. We will start with a premise for what the work might be but we won’t know how it will turn out until the end – how the work gets interpreted, presented and performed will be down to the personalities and input of the members of the public involved on the day. They can shape the characters and how they are perceived and make edits to my script and determine stage directions. The session will take place over three hours and everybody who comes will be invited to explore the roles that interest them – be that actor, dramaturg, technical support or choreography – with the full support of a professional team.

As an artist I am interested in the idea of rehearsal. According to the dictionary, rehearsal creates a space to test and improve the interaction between those participating. In rehearsal we do not present the conclusion of work but rather make a proposition to be further addressed: the rehearsal provides a space for experimentation in which everyone can contribute.

In much participatory theatre, engagement can be very one directional – the public are engaged in the work rather than the work being engaged by them – the public have things done to them through the work but do not necessarily do things to the work. Through this investigation into rehearsal I would like to explore how the public might take an active role in shaping the final work, moving beyond the option to select one’s own experience by being mobile, and to invite the public to contribute to the experience as a whole.

This work is an experiment to test a new way of working that can be built on. It would be fantastic to develop what we pilot into larger-scale productions involving the public in the future. In this sense Rehearsal (Act 1) will be a true rehearsal – not leading to a performance but to more rehearsals to come.

Emma Smith is an Associate Artist of Artsadmin and her studio is based at Wysing Arts Centre.
www.artsadmin.co.uk/artists/emma-smith

Rehearsal (Act 1) was commissioned by Ginkgo Projects.