Influencer Research blog (Lucy Hayes)

Influencer

Throughout this research blog I will be exploring how and why Silva Semerciyan’s plays, and other artist’s work can help inspire and influence my group to create our own interpretation of Silva’s play ‘Influencer’.

 

Playwright and research

About Silva Semerciyan

Silva Semerciyan is an American playwright who currently lives in the UK. She has acquired many awards for her work. For example, she won the 'William Saroyan prize for playwrighting' (Hern, N Books (no date)) after writing her very first play 'Another Man’s Son' (Hern, N Books (no date)) , which was eventually developed by the National Theatre. Some of her other plays include …

-        The Light Burns Blue (Tonic Theatre, 2015)

 I and the Village (Theatre503, 2015)

-          The Window (Bristol Old Vic, 2014)

-          The Tinderbox (Bristol Old Vic, 2014)

-          Gather Ye Rosebuds (Theatre503, 2013)

-          Flashes (Young Vic, 2012)

                                                                                                                                          (own screenshot taken by Lucy Hayes of [Rxtheatre]. (2011, November 29)) 

Other companies that her work has been presented by is the 'National Theatre Studios, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Nightingale Theatre, Adrienne Theatre, LA Theatre Company, and Golden Thread Productions' (Hern, N Books (no date)). Silva Semerciyan holds a 'MPhil (B) in Playwrighting' (Hern, N Books (no date)) from her time in attendance at University of Birmingham.

One of her other plays which I found particularly useful for understanding the play Influencer that we have been given the task to stage, was I and the Village – which was actually shortlisted for the 'Bruntwood Prize in 2011' (Hern, N Books (no date)).

 

Play and Subject Research

Silva Semerciyan’s play I and the Village is about a teenage girl who wants to be like Banksy in a conservative town that hates vandals.

According to Silva Semerciyan, the play follows the female protagonist leading up to the event where she goes into the church she’s grown up in with a gun. There is a prevalent focus throughout this play on gun shootings within the church institution with particular emphasis on the lone gun person and the idea that what if this was the girl next door. Semerciyan explores the concept of the ‘Decenter’ (Semerciyan, 0:42) which is the term she uses as a way of referring to the age-old occupation of the ‘lone cowboy’ or ‘lone gunman’ (Semerciyan, 0:46) within American society. It's this idea of the lone gunman that she seems to find interesting since it is considered to be a person who has much to say about society but could be considered part of the problem as to why that same society, they refer to is problematic. Silva Semerciyan describes this play as a synecdoche for the rest of America as there is a global awareness of the issues within American culture, especially surrounding gun violence, but there are problems with people holding themselves accountable.

 

Armenian Culture and attitudes towards women

I found this summary of I and the Village really insightful as it has many similarities with the play Influencer. For example, both the female protagonists have a desire to achieve something more than what their cultures see them fit for or deem acceptable. This encouraged me to research more into Armenian culture with particular focus on what it is like for women since the play Influencer explores representations of women and the impact of historical trauma on Armenian feminism.

After reading a document assessing gender roles within Armenian culture, I was able to make connection between the play Influencer and the challenges that Zada faces. Just like in I and the Village and Influencer, the two main protagonists are in pursuit of professions that they are passionate about but can’t easily achieve due to the social norms within their culture. In ‘a culture of strong son preferences and pervasive patriarchal norms, the use of abortion as the most common family planning technique all characterize the context gender and birth in Armenia’ (Bank, W. (2016)). It is the ideologies where housekeeping and caring for children is all a woman is fit for and the role of sex selection that sends subliminal messages to Armenian culture. Simply being allowed to choose the sex of your baby and it most likely being the choice of a son, unless more women are needed – in order to reproduce of course – the perception is created that even before birth, females are less than. These unfair ideologies cannot support women in the rest of their lives. Therefore, girls like Zada in the play Influencer have to fight such perceptions as they are given the power to influence ‘education decisions, women’s access to economic opportunities and the acceptability of women in leadership roles’ (Bank, W. (2016)).

Knowing how important the themes of female oppression and freedom is in Silva Semerciyan’s plays and learning about Armenian culture, it encouraged us to position these themes at the forefront of our play. 

 

Artistic Influences

In terms of research and as movement director, I looked primarily into physical theatre since I felt that this was an imperative part of storytelling for us.

The idea of keeping our set, props, and costume minimal was a carefully considered creative decision because we wanted to use physical theatre intertwined with naturalism to give our performances moments of truth mixed and visual engagement.

Main influences:

Katie Mitchel influenced us artistically because of her focus on extreme naturalism and Multimedia. This appealed to us because we wanted the acting in our piece to be as realistic as possible whilst using forms of technology to introduce the social media aspect of the play.

Complicite - The main reason why Complicite became an artistic influence for us as a group was because of their previous work with technology and how ‘the company’s philosophy was to engage with the possibilities of the physical movement and theatrical imagination as the main ingredients for its work’ (Salihbegovic, F (2020) pp.5) . I understand that Complicite is mainly known for physical images being used to highlight their performance style but as a group we were really drawn to how they had previously used small light sources as a main source of lighting. Complicite's use of media provoked the idea that ‘Technology became, so to say, another main actor, a necessary partner within a complex interplay of other theatrical means and devices’ (Salihbegovic, F (2020) pp.5) which really fit our approach to devising Influencer since technology became so vital. 

Influences from other productions:

Sally Cookson's Production of Jane Eyre 

- inspired us because of physical theatre intertwined with naturalism.

             (Jane Eyre. Manuel Harlan Photography) 

         

 

                                                                                        

One moment from the production Jane Eyre that inspired me was the use of the motif of running throughout the performance. This was because I was struck by the atmosphere it created as I felt that it broke up the story to make it easier as an audience member to digest and engage with. The use of scenes that involved larger amount of dialogue followed by visual storytelling through movement alone gave the performance space to breathe. I liked how the motif of running was used as a transition ‘from place to place’ (National Theatre, 2:32) and to reflect ‘Jane’s inner state’ (National Theatre, 2:33). From this, I thought it would be quite effective to incorporate this idea of running into our performance since Zada has the hobby of free running but to also reflect Zada’s mental state. As a result of this, Lauren who plays the role of Zada will exit and enter a lot of scenes by running onto stage from the wings. For example, there is one scene where Zada is having a heated discussion with her sister about her choice to pursue a profession within the church institution and exits by going on a free run. This was a creative decision we made with the intentions for it to be a subtle motif throughout the performance because Zada uses her hobby of running as an escape from the expectations that stifle her within the Armenian culture.

Another moment from Jane Eyre by Sally Cookson that we were inspired by and then further implemented some techniques from was when Jane Eyre endured the harsh regime at Lowood where she experienced ‘the freezing cold, the lack of food, the malnourishment, the cruel abuse and the Christian evangelical indoctrination of the children’ (National Theatre, 1:20). It wasn’t necessarily a specific type of movement that we used within our performance but instead the approach Sally Cookson took was what we implemented. Sally Cookson mentioned that these were ‘something that I wanted to see through movement’. (National Theatre, 1:25) which made us realise that some scenarios like where Zada gets abused online by her followers can be more effective when performed in a more abstract/metaphorical way.

 

We noted that it would be very challenging to effectively portray how the relentless bullying on social media affects Zada if we approached it from a more literal perspective. So, we decided on creating a movement sequence where we only used our phones to light the stage whilst circling Zada at centre stage as a way of creating distance between the online realm and reality. We made a point of never making physical contact with Zada during this sequence to further this idea of what is reality and what is a reference to social media. We experimented with pace of movement around Zada to create an atmosphere of distress in order to mimic Zada being bullied.

(Image taken from our group rehearsals)

Part of Sally Cookson’s approach to making theatre that we felt worked well for us was how ‘a lot of scenes emerged through improvising, playing, and trying out lots of different versions’ (Guardian, 2020). Our process for devising movement sequences started this way and through trial and error. We also found that this approach worked best since all members of the cast could contribute ideas, especially since we all had ranging abilities of physical  agility.

 

Love song by Abi Morgan – adapted by Frantic Assembly

We took inspiration from this production in particular because of the way Frantic Assembly designed and choreographed moments of physical theatre.

(Lovesong. The Geraint Lewis Photography Archives) 

 One moment from the production that caught my eye as movement director was when the younger version of the couple engaged in an intimate moment in their kitchen. I could appreciate how challenging it is to stage a physically intimate scene since you want to do the text justice by portraying the exact intensity that is written in the play but with subtlety. I found that Frantic Assembly created such a dignified intensity between the couple through the use of a series of fluid movements. It was this fluidity that inspired me when staging what we call our tango scene. In Influencer, this is the scene where it is mentioned how Zada's online presence is causing tension in the family. Therefore, our reasoning for adding elements of fluid movement and dance was to increase the chaos of the scene to mimic this said tension. 

One specific feature of Frantic Assembly's movement sequence in the kitchen that inspired me was how both characters never really lose physical contact with each other. I used this idea when creating our tango dance sequence as a way of making each move smooth, fluid and connected to the next move. This was especially effective in determining what styles of movement would be best for particular scenes. For example, the use of more fluid movements to create tension (during our tango sequence) compared to more structured and harsh movements to create a more threatening atmosphere (during the scene where Zada is being bullied online).

Negative Space by Reckless Sleepers 

 

                                               (NUMBER 9.................. Reviewing The Arts UK-wide: THEATRE REVIEW: Negative Space - New Adelphi Theatre, Salford. (number9reviews.blogspot.com)) 

 The production Negative Space by Reckless Sleepers gave our group some food for thought. Personally, I was inspired by their use of space and how their creative decisions of how to use the space was very imaginative. I enjoyed the elements of their production that you didn't necessarily see coming. For example, I found it particularly effective when the actors would enter and exit the space by climbing through gaps in the walls and openings in the ground. Due to the concept of this play being fairly unique and unconventional, it would pose to be quite a challenge using their style of work within our performance. However, we could use their technical ways of movement during any social media scenes in the play Influencer because I think their work would lend itself well to creating an alternate reality. I will now always try to think more outside the box when devising a play, as this style of unconventional technical theatre engages the audience because of its fascinating and interesting visuals.

 

 

Bibliography:

 Aghajanian, A.D. (2011) “Roots and routes: Road from home to America, Middle East and diaspora, about being Armenian genocide female survivor,” International Education Studies, 4(3). Available at: https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v4n3p66.

 

Bank, W. (2016) Armenia Country Gender Assessment, 2016, Open Knowledge Repository. World Bank, Washington, DC. Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/26267 (Accessed: April 27, 2023).

Hern, N Books (no date) 'Silva Semerciyan'. Available at: https://www.nickhernbooks.co.uk/silva-semerciyan (Accessed: April 26, 2023). 

 Jane Eyre. Manuel Harlan Photograpghy. Available at: Jane Eyre - Manuel Harlan PhotographyManuel Harlan Photography . Accessed on: 3 May 2023)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (2015) Directed by Sally Cookson. Available at: Drama Online - Jane Eyre (oclc.org) Accessed on: April 25 2023

Lovesong. The Geraint Lewis Photography Archives. Available at: LOVESONG | THE GERAINT LEWIS PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVE (photoshelter.com). Accessed on: 3 May 2023

Lovesong by Abi Morgan (2020) Directed by Frantic Assembly. Available at: Lovesong | Digital Theatre+ (oclc.org) Accessed on: April 29 2023

National Theatre (2016) Movement | Jane Eyre | National Theatre at home. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_CgP6eLF1A&t=120s (Accessed: 29 April. 2023)

Negative Space image. NUMBER 9.................. Reviewing The Arts UK-wide: THEATRE REVIEW: Negative Space - New Adelphi Theatre, Salford. (number9reviews.blogspot.com) Accessed on: 3 May 2023

Negative Space by Reckless Sleepers (2021) Directed by Mole Wetherell. Available at: Negative Space | Digital Theatre+ (oclc.org) Accessed on: 2 May 2023

 

 [Rxtheatre]. (2011, November 29). I and the Village by Silva Semerciyan [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Y_US0liuQ

 

Salihbegovic, F (2020) ‘Body, Space & Technology’ The Ecounter with the Real: What Can Complicite’s Theatre Performance The Encounter Teach Us about the Future of VR Narratives? Volume. 19.

 

The Guardian. (2020) 'wow, I'd love to be someone like that!' Sally Cookson on our passion for Jane Eyre Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/apr/07/sally-cooksaron-jane-eyre-national-theatre-at-home-bronte  (Accessed: April 30, 2023).

 

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