The host#4

Abstract

The performance is an ongoing solo performance that explores the borders between characters and their external and internal worlds. A host guides the audience through the performance introducing them to various characters and their worlds. A bride groom stands at the front of the church, an integrator attempts to squeeze out a password from a man bound to a chair, a cheerleader relentlessly practices her routine, an emaciated women is tied to a tree and a door waits to be opened. The external and internal world of the performer comes under close scrutiny as the host of the show attempts to pull the fragmented show together with no actors or scenery and only one chair. The performance exposes the borders of the characters rigid worlds and the transformation and energy that ensues when those world collide and elide. The performance explores the borders of the personal and autobiographical with the professional role of a Drama therapist and facilitator. The performer facilitates and guides an autobiographical performance that is informed by the research methodology known as Heuristic Inquiry. Using the characteristics of intuition and illumination the performer draws on personal material to deepen ones understanding of a Drama therapist and the importance of play in the therapeutic process. The borders between the story of the performer and the audience’s story are drawn closer together as the performance draws on mythological and existential themes. The performance approach breaks down the 4th wall, guiding the audience into a shared world and existence with the staged characters. The performance plays with the imagination and the borders between the seen and unseen and the energy that is created when separate worlds elide. Directed by Katy Tozer.