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The following article, Many many words on working with The Satori Group in their Open Training, by Steven Gomez, originally appeared in the Gomezticator on Aug. 2nd, 2010.
So, Satori… this group was born out of 11 students from the University of Cincinnati and Williams College who wanted to collaborate and produce organic theatre. They produced some shows in the Queen City before deciding to migrate a couple years ago and picking Seattle out of several candidate cities. From an interview with Adam Standley (who BTW is a very cool guy in person) in this article:
We often got together and were like, ‘Well, there’s so much wrong with the current regional theatre system, and so much right work that could be done,’ that we all kind of agreed that now was a good time for young people to be making theatre because it seems in desperate need of an evolution. So we all said, we’re going to do the ensemble thing, but we’re going to do it right. We toured four cities: Portland, Austin, Chicago, and Seattle. And we decided on Seattle, and all eleven of us moved out here, none of us having any roots here at all.
Moving here cold turkey? I can relate to that.
Since moving here, they’ve produced some interesting work. They advertised a free open training session on August 1 and I attended along with a couple dozen others.
The scenario is a familiar one, a scenario I saw for 2-3 hours a day 3-5 days a week for a year plus at UNLV while training in theatre. We get on the floor in a studio (in this case, Satori’s Loft in Pioneer Square) in our socks and we work on movement technique. What that ‘technique’ is depends on who’s running the show. In Satori’s case, we did so using variations of Suzuki training, a post-methodology that utilizes trained basics to start, then works towards creative and collaborative exercises that in time produce creativity that the troupe turns into theatre.
Not knowing what specifics I’m at liberty to share and not share, I’m compelled to remain vague. Adrienne directed the morning movement session and Caitlin directed the collaborative afternoon session. We first focused on standing in place and defining our center, as many methods do, in defining a strong and balanced lower body with a tension-free but balanced upper body and our feet firmly in balanced contact with the ground. Defining this physical base is crucial to doing the six exercises we spent about two hours doing, and if that seems like forever note that the exercises were in many cases lengthy and elaborate and we did stop to discuss matters between exercises.
Some exercises focused on constant movement from your center, while some emphasized stops and starts, with total balance throughout so that the stops were indeed total stops, with you in total control and able to move any direction from that stop if need be. One exercise did invite creative movement using a prop. One exercise had us moving in tandem arm in arm as a group, leading everyone to work towards a common pace and direction. Every exercise was set to music and many worked with the rhythm of the music to emphasize body control through timing.
We finished with a long, somewhat random medley of the given exercises that continued over 30 minutes and had us moving all over the space, forcing us to stay alert and be ready to adjust at a moment’s notice, while staying in control of ourselves through these challenging exercises the entire time.
We broke for lunch, came back and focused on improvisational word association, where someone says something and you say something based on what that inspires. Somewhat similar to Meisner work, it does unlike Meisner compel you to go into your head, sometimes drawing from experience and memories, before you respond. But the responses are expected instantly, again forcing you to think on your feet (literally too: all this was done while standing) and quickly. On paper it looks like it’d get boring quickly but many of the responses produced some interesting topics that led to more interesting responses, and a few stories as the exercises allowed for more elaboration.
Such improvisation work is certainly more personal and involving than standard Meisner work. That’s not to say standard Meisner work isn’t productive: As I’ve mentioned before it certainly adds a lot of value, and in fact Satori’s work utilizes a lot of Meisnerian principles. But in Meisner someone’s red shirt and angry face can only spark so much creative interest, while someone uttering a word that compels a childhood memory that compels someone else’s explanation behind their favorite TV show which compels someone’s experience at the supermarket last week is much more interesting, and generates creativity from everyone. It’s a microcosm of Satori’s internal collaborative process, and we could all see how that process can generate material in a moment, let alone over time, that ultimately becomes the shows they’ve produced and will produce.
We ended with a lengthy and physically demanding group exercise (probably the most physically demanding of all, or maybe we were just beat after 6 hours of work) where we all moved in unison, the leader evolving naturally from the movements rather than being delegated. From there we bid goodbye and, needing a meal and a nap, I quietly ducked out after a quick word with Anthony Darnell about the work we did and their forthcoming whizARTbang! show this Saturday.
I slept about 11 hours thanks to a big meal and a tiredness we often refer to as good-tired, the feeling of exhaustion from a worthwhile exercise. I’m looking forward to the next session, which apparently will happen at some point in the next month or so.
The Satori Group celebrates the two-year anniversary of their Seattle residency with the World Premiere of Making of a Monster at the 2010 Northwest New Works Festival at On The Boards. Monster is our fourth ensemble-generated piece and second original composition in Seattle.
Making of a Monster
Created by The Satori Group
Directed by Adam Standley
Written by Jessica Hatlo
June 11th - 13th, 2010
Video from On the BoardsA boy and a girl: notice the slight feline quality of her cheekbone, his lean body, and their feral smiles. Between classes they peer over schoolbooks and sneak shameful glances. But when an older man chases this nymphet her metamorphosis is exposed. This is the mishandled sexuality of children: a multi-media Manga (comic) for the stage.
Featuring Adrienne Clark as Harper, Gabrielle Schutz as Cool Girl #1, Nathan Sorseth as Coach, Adam Standley as Monty, Ray Tagavilla as Dennis/Jason, and Lindsey Valitchka as Cool Girl #2.
Asst. Director Adrienne Clark; Stage Manager Amanda Stoddard; Production Manager/Costume Design Greta Wilson; Scenic/Kuroko Design Anthony Darnell; Video Design Andrew Lazarow; Visual Artist John Airwin; Sound Design Alex Matthews; Lighting Design Monty Taylor; Dramaturge Caitlin Sullivan, Spike Friedman, and Davey Young; Anthropomorphic Design Shannon Waits, Cara Romanik, Signe Predmore, and Rebecca Shepherd.
From “Artifacts of Consequence” by Ashlin Halfnight, presented by The Satori Group. November 2009, Seattle, WA.Video by Owen Martel.
Directed by Andrew Lazarow. Starring Adrienne Clark as Ari, Lindsey Valitchka as Minna, Alex Matthews as Dallas, and Spike Friedman as Theo. Featuring Greta Wilson, Nathan Sorseth, Quinn Franzen, and Lauren Hester as The Actors.
Produced by Anthony Darnell and Caitlin Sullivan.
Dramaturgy by Caitlin Sullivan, Scenic Design by Deanna L. Zibello, Tech Director Ed Cook, Production Manager Anthony Darnell, Props by Clare Strasser, Lighting by Monty Taylor, Sound by Julian Mesri, Costumes by Anthony Darnell, Stage Manager Shannon Waits, and Assistant Stage Manager Cara Romanik.
Artifacts of Consequence premiered in New York City in 2009, co-produced by Electric Pear Productions and PL115, and directed by Kristjan Thor.
