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SOME TIMES
Director: J Neve Harrington
Venue: Sadlers Wells
Company: J Neve Harrington
Photos: Genevieve Reeves
"SOME TIMES considers the different ways in which time organises experiences, referencing the climate crisis, the digital space, geological movements and distinctly human time scales. The production offers possibilities for how we might hold space together, across generations, at this moment in time."
This was the first major dance show I have been apart of. In rehearsals, we worked on sections of the show separately, all of which denote a certain passage of time. Or at least an idea of each, translated into live performance which is invariably of the moment. The photosynthesis section became of early interest to me. We played with the idea of light and it's relation to time; how plants move towards the light.
I played with the idea that the light could follow the performers around the space, like the sun. In rehearsals I was asked to walk around the space and 'be the sun' or the source of light. Choreography was based on the movement and change of light. So, how to make light move like the sun...
Being in the round, and seeking to make this an immersive experience I looked at ways to enhance the space with the physicality of lighting.
The Flag design was apart of bringing this space together. Blurring the line between performer and audience member. They swing with the movement of air in the space and each have a symbol on them, representing a section of the show. I started drawing these at an early stage as I wanted lighting to be quite present in the space along with the flags. I started to draw rough beam shapes as well to get a feel for it. I soon realised that low trapezes would work well in the design not only for a practical reason of getting x light into an in the round format, but also as an aspect of the space design. Later I realised that is is how is should light the photosynthesis moments. The lights on the trapezes could fade in and out on a row denoting a sun moving around the sky.
This was the first project where I really started to draw. It helped me think in a 3D space and not just on paper. I also needed to rely more heavily of storyboarding as the work was in constant flux. It is a method that I now use in all my practice This show has heavily influenced the way I now work. The level of collaboration was very high, the fact that light chose direction for movement and the other way around, really fascinated me. The process has made me think about how light can have so much more power with interacted with, as a physical entity.
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