Workshop: Considering Time


Our lives are ruled by time’s inevitable, relentless passage.  Always we have less of it than we had a moment ago. How do we move through time?  How does time move through us? What is its effect on the actions and body of the artist?  What is its impact on the audience?  How might we more consciously use time as an element in performance?

Nothing exists outside of time. Time operates on multiple scales simultaneously, and is revealed through different manifestations.  Everything around us has a life of its own, sometimes considerably shorter than ours and sometimes much longer.

The presence of time becomes apparent through material and physical processes.   What happens when we allow processes to unfold in the time that they need?  What occurs when we impose different timeframes on them? Is it possible to control time?

This workshop examines the significance of time in live performance. We will explore a variety of ways in which we can use time as an active element in our work. Working with time, against time and through time, we will investigate how actions, sites, objects and ourselves are impacted and altered.  Serving as witnesses to each other’s work, we will also delve into the effects that playing with time has not only on ourselves as performers but on viewers as well.

We ask audiences to spend their time with us.  What allows them to feel that it was worth giving a portion of their lives to the experience of the work?  It is important to know why you want the presence of a witness when you perform, and what you want from them.  What do you offer in return?

A significant component of the workshop will be private reflection and writing, as well as group discussions on questions related to the topic of time, not just in the context of creating performances but in our everyday lives as well.  We cannot separate our performance art from our daily life.  Our lives continue to proceed even as our performances unfold through time.