SPACE II

This is somewhat overdue, almost two weeks to be precise. As I mentioned in my previous post logistics and practicalities have, at this stage, a tendency to take over. But I have managed to steal a few hours to give you an update on our developments.

On Monday 1^st February we had a much awaited visit to the Senate Building. This was the first time we were properly able to explore the space and spend a significant amount of time in it. Our aim: to find our specific relationship with the building, and how we would situate i am small THE WORLD IS BIG within it. We were accompanied by Laura Hobbs (4^th year dramaturge student) and Sebastian Grau (MA student in European Theatre History). They had requested to see us in action because they will be writing about our creative process and the project in their respective dissertations. In the end their role was not merely passive and they helped us quite a bit, not just moving furniture about and figuring how to draw a crude plan of the space, but by asking questions that pushed us towards clarity. But I digress….

The two main practical issues we set to resolve were the audience’s route through the building and the layout for the ‘production line’ in the upstairs room. I will attempt to discuss the intricacies of the audience’s route first. i am small THE WORLD IS BIG will take the shape of a journey where the audience will be led though different rooms and areas: through the automated sliding doors and into the foyer, up the stairs to a welcome desk, into the main chamber and out again, down in the lift, into a small waiting area, into the vox-pop ‘booth’, and back out through the foyer into the wider world. The journey follows a logical, almost intuitive route through the building. Interestingly, it describes the outline of a spiral, first inwards towards the centre (where the large world map will be remade), and then outwards towards the world itself. This is strictly speaking not a one-at-a-time experience because for the most part, the audience will pass through communal areas (foyer, stairs, chamber, and waiting room). However, in line with the project’s concerns, we did want to offer some space where the audience members will stand as an individual: alone or in the company of a single performer. We therefore decided that the journey down in the lift will be taken by one person at a time, and designed the vox-pop ‘booth’ as a one-to-one performance exchange. The lift, to us, is a crucial moment. Even though the ride only lasts 10 seconds we hope this time spent alone will serve as a direct stimulus for personal reflection. This emphasis on the individual is also reflected in the way in which people will be led through the building. For Schengen Smile we used instructive posters and other similar devices that very clearly shepherded the audience: you must go here, you must wait here, you most not enter here, you must proceed here… For i am small THE WORLD IS BIG we wanted to use a less authoritative attitude, as we did not feel this would suit the project’s ethos and sentiment. We therefore have to strike a delicate balance between letting people know where to go and what route to follow, and maintaining a friendly and warm tone.

The layout of the production line, on the other hand, is set and secured. One the one hand is is always easier to work on the layout of one particular room (in this case the upstairs Senate chamber), rather than a whole route through a building. On the other hand, this is, at the end of the day, the project’s main thrust so it is not surprising that we were able to achieve a great level of clarity so quickly. When we first settled on the idea of setting up a ‘production line’ we instantly decided that the layout should be circular rather than in rows. Our aim was to quote, reference, or allude to industrial sweatshops rather than actually recreating one. Due to the project’s concerns the circle presented itself as the best and most logical option. Coming together, community, making a joint effort. Circle, circle, circle. On a more practical level, this option was the best one to fir the octagonal chamber where the ‘production line’ will be placed. But one question remained, how would be the circle organised? Since this ‘production line’ is made up of several stages and there are several workstations we would have to find logic to its layout. At the same time we were interested in the possibility of also quoting, referencing, and alluding to international conferences/summits. How would this be done? The answer came with a picture.

The above photograph was taken during the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in September 2009. The layout suited out ‘production line’ perfectly:

- an outer circle of independent tables (for the cutting, the shredding, the sewing machines, and a workstation for the audience to directly contribute towards the map-making)

- an inner circle of chairs where collaborators will stitch their personal fragments by hand

- a central area where other collaborators will stitch together these disparate fragments, creating a large re-shaped world map on the floor.

We then simply decided where each of the various stages of the process and workstations would be placed. Our final decision was shaped by the building. On the one hand we followed its symmetry and alignment. On the other hand, following a spatial narrative, we placed the cutting-table nearer the door used by the audience to enter the space and the shredding-table on the far end. This layout will allow the audience to come into the circle following a spiral route (into the room, along the outside of the circle, and then into it). The route will be emphasised by the movement of collaborators coming and going on their shifts.

And so this is it. The stage is set.

Pablo