The Smile Off Your Face

Artistic inquiry

How do you shape an encounter that is carefully composed and still responsive to the person inside it?

Each encounter had to be precisely structured, but the person moving through it was different every time.

We could control timing, space and performer actions. We could not control what the visitor brought into the room or how they would respond.

That meant the performers needed precision without becoming rigid.

Process

I directed and produced the Canadian production, with Ruthie Luff as Associate Producer.

The visitor’s responses are part of the performance. Directing means giving performers a precise sequence while leaving them able to notice and respond to the person with them.

Producing it meant making that same structure work within a festival: one visitor at a time, tightly timed encounters and a physical journey through the installation.

Greeting each person

What stayed with me most was the power of greeting every audience member face to face. That individual welcome changes the experience. Hospitality is part of the performance: how you greet someone, how you listen and the care you bring to their time with you.

Meeting each person who comes to the work asks something of you, too. You have to listen, including when what they bring is difficult to hear.

I keep thinking about that welcome in other work: how we greet someone and let them know we’re paying attention.

Recognition

Credits

Originally created by

Ontroerend Goed

Canadian premiere

Re:Current Theatre

Director

Brian Postalian

Producer

Brian Postalian

Associate Producer

Ruthie Luff

Performed by

Shira Leuchter, Jajube Mandiela, Andrew Pimento, Benjamin Wardle

Scenography

Claire Hill

SummerWorks Performance Festival · Artscape Youngplace · August 3–13, 2017