Observing with Actors

Zanni

A  joint experimentation with Actor and Performer Trainer, Chiara D’Anna. We were interested in the idea of a performance, isolated, without context.

We worked in an empty black studio lit in a way to further demarcate isolated space. I filmed primarily exploring composition and the aesthetics of the performer in relation to the object she chose to work with, allowing my attention to travel, while the D'anna improvised with the vocabulary of the commedia dell’arte character, Zanni.

The result was an unrehearsed, improvised sequence that documents not just the performer but the relationship between performer and observer. This is an early example of a method of body-first design experimentation within a creative space which I would later define as 'design encounters'.

What Happened to the Tyrant Video Segment

Video created for the performance, What Happened to the Tyrant, performed at Camdens Peoples Theatre (CPT).