Director's ontology



My favourite creative activity from the Zen Zen Zo internship program was coming up with my ontology as a director. After producing and directing six shows, what do I know to be true about the way I work? What do I find most interesting about my approach to theatre making? The process was revealing and the result, a solidification of the tiny burst of joy that informs my art.




I started by jotting down a few words about how I work and where I glean inspiration from and came up with something small that felt right. Like so small you can hold it in the palm of your hand… Realisations flowed thick and fast:




1. The process of making mirrored my approach to theatre making and the intimacy of my work: I used what I had on hand, materials surrounding me from a recent house move to make something. I had a scalpel and fine art paper (somewhere amongst all the boxes!) but a box cutter, a broken pair of scissors, packing tape, a band aid, bubble wrap and ripped butchers paper from recently unpacked plates had to suffice. One person at a time only could access the ontology and they had to hold it in their hands, an intimate physical contact, and spend time with it. It was site-specific and low-cost. Also something fragile, to be handled with care :D




2. I learned about the art I do want to make. Large scale, flashy and amazing spectacular productions with big ticket prices don’t appeal to me… instead, intimate, small scale, independent theatre works, theatre with some kind of a social activism leaning is more my style.




3. Because I’m driven by direct personal experience and intuition (ie. I create the work I want to see), there’s a naïveté, an ignorance about how I make art that would benefit me to be more cognisant of. This naïveté extends to understanding audience members for independent theatre - what are they looking for when they go to see a show? I’m still not clear on that exactly…


4. I don’t know much about the history of theatre or how to position my work in contemporary theatre conversations (but I can learn!). Through reading about theatre, listening to interviews with directors, talking to performing artists, and by seeing more shows locally (both large productions and independent theatre works) in theatres and fringe festivals, I'll grow as an artist.




5. I learned the art I make asks something of people, perhaps more than many can give. Accessing my ontology required folks to bend down, pull the box out from under a seat, read and follow the instructions, open the box, unwrap bubble wrap, open the envelope, lift tabs, unfold paper and more. It took time. It asked people to slow down, to become quiet and attentive. That’s what I want when I engage with any kind of art: to be invited to step outside of familiar comfort zones, to do something different and not everyone’s looking for that in art. Some (possibly most?) want to be entertained, to be wowed, blown away by some spectacular feat of acrobatics, lighting and sound, for a spectacle to catch and hold their attention. And there’s nothing wrong with that.




6. This process gave much insight and a powerful sense of compassion for people (myself included at times) who may be looking to entertainment to lighten the stress of life for a little while. I understand the world a little better now and my struggles make more sense. I can inhabit the space my work takes up proudly and gracefully (rather than battling harsh realities or condemning the masses as ignorant fools). And I can also ask myself, “Okay, so if it’s true that my work asks something of people, how can I make engaging in it a little easier, a little gentler, a little more obvious to find?




7. I also learned that some folks experienced joy in the discovery of my ontology - they found it delightful and playful, that a task that asks something of a participant can be fun and stimulating and tap into natural curiosity. I’d love to work more with this natural inclination in the future.





This initiative is supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), a partnership between Queensland Government, through Arts Queensland, and Sunshine Coast Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.