‘Obsessions’ is a piece of physical theatre, largely encompassing the medium of dance (Tempah, 2011). The overall theme, as its name suggests, concerns obsession and how people can be affected by it in their day to day lives. The piece incorporates many dance and dramatic techniques. There are several sequences and motifs which are repeated, and a variety of obsessions are depicted. Influences for the piece include Martha Graham and Jerzy Grotowski.
‘Obsessions’ encompasses both ensemble and individual elements. The piece is shaped around a day, starting with waking up and ending in the same fashion.
The dance begins with the dancers standing in a close group, centre stage, moving in unison. Very soon they spread out around the performance space and free dance individually, before starting to move in unison again, though still in their scattered positions. The contemporary dance used in this section, in particular the arm movements, is reminiscent of Martha Graham. As Terry Teachout (1998) believed, “her fierce choreography sometimes amazed and sometimes horrified, but in it she embodied modern dance — arrogantly and spectacularly.” The influence of Martha Graham can be seen at various points throughout the rest of the piece. After around a minute and a half, the dancers stand in a row and become still with heads bowed. Then the piece moves on to its next element.
The performers then mime waking up, in a scene where they are looking into a mirror, washing their faces and brushing their teeth. All of these actions are depicted through unified, rhythmic movements. Four of the dancers then move behind the fifth dancer and surround her with their hands, touching her. This is a motif that is repeated several times throughout the performance, and seems to symbolise the moment when obsession is taking hold in each scenario. Once the dancers have completed this motif they move outwards around the performance space and, in cannon, move to the floor. All five of them then dance an impulse cat stretch. They begin from a relaxed lying down position, face down. They then use their hands to push upwards, slowly stretching their spines backwards. It is worth noting that this is a well-known Grotowski move. The cat movement is rather like the Sun Salutation move in yoga, but, as Grotowski described, “with a ‘change of current,’ as instead of going inward, the focus is on how the cat impulsively reacts to its environment” (Place, 2011).
Following the morning routine sequence is piece where four dancers lay on the floor while one walks around them, as if stepping carefully on pavement slabs, saying: ‘Don’t stop on the cracks, you might break your mothers back.’ After a few repetitions the dancers on the floor join in with the chant. Then they begin to drum their hands on the floor in time with the words, making it sound rather like a tribal ritual. It becomes faster and more fraught, both he chanting and the dancer who is walking over the ‘cracks’. This increase in rhythm shows how an obsession can, very quickly, grow out of control. What is more, avoiding stepping on cracks in paving slabs is very common and is something most of us has heard of. However, this dance demonstrates how some people can become obsessed with it. Also, the use of the term ‘…break your mother’s back’ is effective in demonstrating how serious this obsession can be, despite its light-hearted appearance. The suggestion that someone’s mother’s back will be broken if they step on the cracks is actually extremely dark.
Next, is the portrayal of a ‘control freak.’ One of the dancers moves the others into positions and places them where she wants them, in the centre of the space. However, they continue to move out of their positions, making the first dancer increasingly anxious. She shouts at the unruly group: ‘what are you doing?’ She repositions them a second time, to her satisfaction. However, they move again. She eventually loses her temper and storms off. Most people can relate to this sequence in some way. The majority of people know someone who is controlling, to some degree.
Following the control freak section, the stage quietens. A girl stands alone, centre stage. Gradually people start entering and it appears that they are at a bus stop or similar. The people start to crowd the girl, and she wants to be away from them. She demonstrates this through body language and facial expression. The other dancers start to cough and sneeze over her, making her more and more uncomfortable. This girl has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The other four dancers repeat the motif from earlier in the piece, by standing behind her and running their hands over her. Following this, the four dancers join hands, encircling the girl, who is standing in the centre. The circle is oppressive, and the girl on the inside pushes at the constraints. She manages to break their grasp and escape from the circle. All five of them then spend some time dancing in unison, facing the audience. After a few minutes the girl stops dancing with the others and, instead, works her way around them, pushing each of them over. When they start to crawl back towards her, she ‘sweeps’ them out of the way, as if holding a large invisible broom. The four dancers on the floor react to each sweep that is made towards them, crumpling and retreating backwards across the performance space.
This whole sequence depicts a person who is trapped by her obsession, and her gradual break away from it. Being trapped within the arms of the circle represents the time when her obsession affects her most severely. Following that she appears to fall back into the obsession. In other words, it takes her several attempts to rid herself of the obsession, but she gradually gains control over it. This section of the dance is designed to be the most powerful as it is the climax for the overall piece. There is a great deal of emotion shown through this sequence of movements. Whereas some of the other obsessions are fairly light-hearted, this particular one descends quickly into disturbance.
In the final minute of the dance, the dancers repeat the mirror sequence from the beginning. This represents the on-going cycle of obsession from day to day.
This piece of physical theatre uses many detailed mimes of every day movements. For example, the scene and the bus stop shows people walking, and looking for the bus. Another example is the twice repeated sequence of teeth brushing and face washing, in front of an imaginary mirror. These mimes are designed to be effective and clear in their intentions. An example is when one of the dancers mimes walking a dog, and reaches down to stroke it. Details such as these ensure the piece is broad and accessible as physical theatre.
All five of the dancers wear casual, unassuming clothing. Some wear stage blacks and some wear clothes that can be danced in comfortably. There are no specific costumes involved in this piece of physical theatre. Moreover, as with the costume, the performance space is similarly simplistic. The dancers do not use any props or set. Everything is minimalistic, from the set to the costumes, to the depictions. Each section of the dance only lasts for as long as is necessary to convey its individual theme sufficiently. The decision was made based on inspiration from the Horla Company, who also use very minimalist props and set.
‘Obsessions’ was influenced by the subject of its name, including various mental illnesses. The subjects vary in their degree of seriousness, ranging from OCD to crack-avoidance, regarding walking on paving slabs. Furthermore, the choreography of the piece was inspired by practitioners such as Graham and Grotowski. This dance is designed to blend these ideas together into an accessible and understandable piece of theatre.
References
Place, J. (2011) Grotowski Part Three. Acting Magic. Retrieved from
http://www.actingintuitive.com/articles/AM.4.2.07.htm
Teachout, T. (1998). Martha Graham. Time. Retrieved from
http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham.html
Tempah, T. (2011). Physical Theatre: Obsessions. YouTube. Retrieved fromThe Horla Company. Retrieved from http://www.horla.co.uk/
