Under is both a new play as well as an exercise in discovering new ways of storytelling with minimal words. Written by theatre practitioner Lee Shyh Jih, Under will undergo six months of workshopping, from April to September 2017. The aim of this period is not to produce a stage-able work, but to explore and experiment with way of storytelling using as few spoken words as possible. Alongside his collaborator Elysa Wendi and a team of performers, the group will come together in workshop sessions to explore the many possibilities of delivering the texts of Under.
The first part of the development process is an actor-centric workshop for the exploration of the many ways a body can deliver the same texts.
The new script, Under, has been written with the objective of minimizing/optimizing spoken words used in a naturalistic narrative. The proposed workshop phase is for like-minded actors to come together and explore as many possibilities as they can/dare imagine, in delivering the texts of Under.
Structure: 12-16 hours of workshop sessions (at Centre 42) per month for each actor. There will also be a 5-10 min daily routine exercise required throughout the 6-month duration. Actors will need to document their daily exercise.
Exploration process: Facilitators will provide ideas for explorations and instructions for daily exercise. Actors are encouraged to initiate ideas for explorations. Actors are encouraged to decide for themselves what they plan to explore within the span of 6 months, using the texts of Under.
Under was developed under Centre 42's Basement Workshop (now known as the Creation Residency). Read about Basement Workshop here.
