Evolution Meets Stage Management

This week's blog prompt of connecting evolution to our art got me thinking. How, if in any way, can this biological phenomenon link up to stage management or anything similar. I turned to Google to look up a definition to get started.

"the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form."

Well then! That is something I can work with. You see, evolution is a process. It is all about how something developed from point A to point B. It is about how a simple and easy thing becomes a complicated being. Through changing, shaping, and molding the little 'thing' becomes a beautiful and phenomenal 'thing'. This is the basic idea of evolution and how it works. 

Evolution is very similar to the performing arts process. When starting to work on a production, you receive the script and begin to analyze what the playwright is trying to say. Exploration of the text becomes coherent through discussions and collaboration. Once the script is analyzed, rehearsals begin where the director molds and shapes the production. Ideas and thoughts of how actors will deliver their line, how they will walk, etc. is explored during that time. It is up to the stage manager to guide the director and actors in making certain everyone stays on schedule and everything happens when it needs to. It is also the stage manager's duty to record all movement on stage in order to be a fountain of answers as various people need information for a specific scene. 

Similarly, designers work with the director to come up with the environment in which the characters of the story live. All designers go through an evolution process as they come up with new ideas for how to portray a specific scene. While working with the director, set, costume, lighting, and sound designers are able to create the space for the production. It is because of the discussions of the text that makes the evolution process  thorough and complete. 

A stage manager is responsible for ensuring the evolution process of the production to be well maintained. The stage manager is part of the process from the early stages of preparation through the closing of the production. It is part of the stage manager's responsibility to maintain the the gradual development of the production especially from a simple to a complex production. 

McGregor's Theory

Although he prides himself on his choreography, Wayne McGregor is a scientist at heart. While McGregor teaches his movements to dancers at months at a time, he trust’s his dancers to remember the choreography so if need be, he could ask the dancers to reproduce the material at a moment’s notice. In other words, McGregor uses the human brain as a hard drive to store choreography. By using the human brain as a way to store information, McGregor experiments with ways to present material.

McGregor is so successful in his choreography because he uses the sciences and technology to enhance movement. It is fascinating how McGregor combines art and advanced technology to create artistic solution to choreographic problems. For example, six video cameras were set up around a dance studio to monitor the dancers. The experiment was to note how the dancers reacted to McGregor’s working method. The combined technology and artists mix together to create even more art. McGregor’s choreography brings scientists and experts in their own field to flourish in the arts.

Questioning Our Lives

What do the STEM subjects have anything to do with Art? The humanities teach us to have opinions and different viewpoints. We are taught to question and find different ways to approach an idea. In the scientific world, there is only one answer and only one way to get that answer. There aren’t any ways around it. However, there is one very important thing that branches over both the humanities and sciences: asking questions.

This week we discussed the importance of asking questions. How does one ask questions, what types of questions should one ask, etc… Through movies and personal anecdotes, we learned to ask affective questions.

In terms of the STEM subjects, questions are the basis for all matters. Without questions, no one would ever research new and exciting  subjects. For example, if Galileo didn't question the stars and planets, we wouldn't have explored astronomy.

Interestingly enough, in my Philosophy course, we are learning about the same concept: asking questions. We learned about the various ways of asking questions. Logic, thinking, and reasoning all play a vital role in questioning. By doing so, thoughtful questions are asked. 

In terms of my major, stage management, one has to think and question logically in order to communicate well. Questioning helps one understand another's point of view. Doing so, one can have a positive working relationship.