Robert Wilson
15th March 2010
Audition for ‘The life and death of Marina Abramovic’ – produced by the Manchester Interatioal Festival.
Berliner ensemble 12 -3 pm
We come in.
There is a long table at one end of the room where Bob, his associate director and the producer are seated. There are 7 audtionees, and 7 chairs laid in a line with their backs to this table. We are asked to sit on these chairs.
Bob comes around the front, into the middle of the rehearsal room. He stands in front of us and starts to tell us the story of his evolution as a practionner, from studying business, architecture and art and then moving into the New York scene of the 70’s where Raunscheberg painted a goat and called it art. The Whitney held a seminal exhibition (anti-illusion: porcedures/materials 1969) and from their he decided that he was interested in illusion and in the frame given by the procenium arch, unlike Merce Cunimgham’s use of the 360 degree presentation. He spoke very slowly, methodically and considered, and looked straight over our heads as he spoke. Occasionally but pointedly giving one of us eye contact – I felt I was being examined or considered throughout this whole process.
Then we were asked to stand at a white line up the other end of the rehersal room, in a line.
He asked us to look straight ahead and imagine there is a beam of light coming out from our body into infinity. And another beam of light coming out of our back and going into infinity. The light at your back was the most important. He told us Martha Graham used to tell her dancers they were on a railway track that streched out in front of them into infinity and behind them into infinity. I think he was looking at our presence or radiance.
Then he asked us to take 3 minutes to walk 1 meter. I asked to take off my shoes as I wasnt able to get a firm grip or plant for my body for the excercise. I was allowed and all of my fellow auditionees took theirs off too. He claped and we begin. I am in the slow motion walk mode, I havent done it in a while and my planted foot is woobling a bit, Im out of shape (!) but am right in the moment and concentrating, I love this feeling. He claps to finish. I think Ive taken three steps.
We are asked to sit down again, he comes around in front of us and tells more stories, slowly and again occassionally making eye contact with some of us. He tells us the hardest thing to do on stage is stand, second hardest is to walk. He tells us that Western Theatre is ‘bounded’ by the word and following a script will only lead to an illustration of it. He’s just back from Taipei where he has been working with a traditional chinese dancer who has been trained since the age of 2. He talks about giving a masterclass in Julliard and none of the kids could stand on stage. He talks about working with a Deaf kid who heard through his body, im very excited by the description, Ive never heard it told like that.
He walks to the back of the room, tells us he is going to make a movement, we’re to watch it and repeat it when he is done.
He stands his back to us arms folded, heal of the right foot slightly raised. He stays there for maybe ten beats. Swiftly raises his right hand up and over and his body follows. He is now turned around but with his head facing to the side. His right hand, palm outstreched faces down. Slowly, over about twenty beats, he raises his left hand from his side, and points the index finger, clenching the other fingers. Holds it. Then skakes the outstreched pointing fist, slowly, but with menace. In a fast motion he spreads all the fingers outstreched on the left hand, holds it, palm facing out front. He slowly brings the left hand down while rasing the right hand towards his face. The right hand, fingers outstreched, reaches the top of his chest. Three beats. He clenches this fist, in a sharp movement. (like the ISL(Irish Sign Language) sign for ‘bitch’) holds the fist for three beats. Then releases it, opening up the fingers. Moves both hands so as the palms are facing each other, right hand up at chest height and left hand near the hip. Swiftly he spins on his right foot and turns back around.
We get up and repeat. There is not enough room for all 7 of us to do this comfortably so 4 make it first,. I can sit and observe the first 4. Us 3 then make it in the second run. I totally love this excercise, the beautiful control of the body and the concentration.
He gets up again and makes another, less complicated action- he stand, arms by his side looking out, the face is neutral but concentrated, his heal of his left foot is slightly raised (simple) he flexes the right hand at the wrist so as the palm is facing the ground (the ISL sign for little boy) slowly. He flexes the left hand in the same way (ISL: two little boys) I can’t remember the rest but know that I flexed both my hands at the same time when I did it.
Were asked to sit down again and he comes around and tells us more stories. He was directing the opera singer Jesse Norman in a song cycle in Paris on 9/11. The next day Jesse called him to say she had been crying all night and couldnt go on that day. He said she must. She called him back about 4 that afternoon and said she would go on. In the middle of a song during the concert she broke down. The pianist stopped playing. Jesse stood crying for about ten minutes on stage, composed herself, tapped the piano and began again. He is telling us this very slowly and methodically and looks like he too could cry. He tells us about reading something Arthur Miller once wrote about theatre, the best thing he ever wrote, he tells us as an aside, about attending a play with Marlin Brando in it where at the opening of the play Brando simply walks down stage and stares out at the auditorium for about three minutes. The audience were electrified.
Standing on the line again we all had to simply say our names. In different orders and different speeds, it sounded very beautiful when we said it in a line and rythum. A simple excercise but potent one.
I told him about my parents being Deaf and that my first language is Sign Language. He gets up in front of us again and talks about the Deaf kid ‘hearing’ through his body.
The audtion ends and we all feel like we have attended a masterclass.
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