Original works by pioneering Performance Practices MA students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) will premiere on a dedicated YouTube channel today.
Student Aundre Goddard performing at Outlines Festival 2019
With coronavirus ending physical shows, postgraduate students have shown great resilience in re-contextualising their works for film as part of their Outlines Festival 2020, including previously recorded pieces, new work created during lockdown and highlights from their time on the course.
Their works explore rich and diverse themes such as fragile masculinity, sexual politics and identity, the male gaze, consumer culture, happiness and pleasure, and the commodification of the female body.
The YouTube channel officially launches at 5.45pm today (Thursday 1 October) with the premiere of a five-minute edit of an hour-long live ensemble performance – B4 History we Danced - which was directed by professional artist Will Dickie.
Two of the 19 students who worked intensively with Will Dickie are DMU Drama graduates Alison Exley and Katie Cruickshank.
Alison on stage at Festival de Liege (Belgium) as part of her second-year Drama degree
Alison said: “Although Will was there to direct us, it was very much a collaborative effort. He helped us to shape our ideas and to become better performers.”
The 22-year-old from South Africa, whose family relocated to Derbyshire when she was 10, puts spoken word at the centre of her work.
“B4 History we Danced is one of those pieces that makes the audience want to move with you. It was really fun to experience and encouraging to see while we were performing,” she said.
“Even though the pandemic has prevented us from putting on an end-of-year performance, this YouTube channel is a welcome alternative.
The tax on sanitary products was the focus of Alison's final-year performance
“In my opinion, the digital environment is where theatre is going. If you can create performance work for an online audience, and even do it live, it encourages more people to be a part of the arts. That’s why I really think digital is a good way to go.”
22-year-old Katie from Nottingham performed her work as a soundscape circle, during which the audience was encouraged to drum on the ground while she moved around in the middle.
She said: “It’s challenging but rewarding as an individual, finding ways to perform within a group. My piece switched from moments of softness and calm to moments of shouting and screaming.”
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Katie
Building on elements of dance, drama and performing arts, DMU’s MA enables students to develop both their creative and research skills while exploring their chosen area of specialism, opening up a range of career possibilities.
“The great thing about the course is that it’s very current – you get to challenge things that are happening here and now, creating a topical performance around it. Other MAs like it are more rigid in their structure and don’t allow for such flexibility,” said Alison.
For her dissertation, Katie is exploring controlling relationships, the effects of which have been amplified for many people across the country due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
She said: “What made me stay on at DMU to study this MA was that it allows you to explore whatever you want to. As long as you follow the marking criteria of each module, you have the freedom to pursue any theoretical stance and performance that you want.”
Posted on Thursday 1 October 2020