My initial solo performance idea is based on when I was a young teenager I was afraid of ending up working in an office job. There was and still is a negative stigma against office work with programs like The Office and films like Office space showing a life of monotony or one where your life is dictated by your boss, being integrated into the corporate machine which may have been the cause of my unwillingness. As university is about to end for me and working life will begin once again for me, office work could very well be a reality, so I thought it would be appropriate to address it. My performance depicts a man trapped behind a desk during an office party with 90’s disco music playing in the background. This will be a motif that structures the show. There will be transitions between the office party and the character’s imagination. It character and action will represent the anxieties I had against office life. I am currently working and experimenting with all manners of puppetry and physical movement to find style that suit and fit well with the idea behind the piece.

One example I found during research and development with Shane, Danny and  Casey was using the chin to create a face. I thought this could be a funny way to portray office stereotypes. Here is an example of an office bigot.

 

I will be continuing to post new chin sketches but please write your reactions to it and tell me whether it is effective.

I have been experimenting on the staging of this concept to see which best suits the material. As I have set it at an office party, I firstly looked at performing it in promenade, with the audience being apart of the party with food and drink, possibly even singing karaoke. This would be a problem as too much would be going on, detracting from the action. Also, it would make it really difficult to create the desired illusions with the puppetry. With this in mind, I have decided to perform it end on with an audience of 15 to 20. This would be more intimate and would give every audience member a good view of the action and the intricate puppetry. Also, by being end on I can add more lighting and multi-media.