Challenge #1

CHALLENGE: Translate Chagall’s painting “I and the Village” into a short theatrical performance.

“Translate” is perhaps exactly the right word. The goal is to take what is expressed in one language (painting) and translate it into ours (live theater).

You can use the painting to inform your narrative (if you choose to create one), but the focus is not on telling the story of the painting. Rather, we are looking to translate the experience of viewing the painting. What in the painting excites you, confuses you, surprises you, makes you wonder, makes you imagine? How does the painting move and guide your focus? How does style create the mood? What is the logic of the world in the painting?

Now, translate. How can you make a theatrical expression of the same mood, structure, style, or whatever quality in the painting gets your heart thumping? How do the adjectives that describe the painting morph when they describe live theater?

Creation time should be quick. Don’t dwell. Aim to spend maybe 8 hours total conceiving and creating. Creations should end up between 3 and 10 minutes long.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 08th, 2009 and is filed under Challenge #1, The Lab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.