How We Collaborate

How We Collaborate is a project that allows artists to investigate ways we (can) collaborate when we make performance work together; perhaps there are strategies, new approaches and lessons we can learn from each other. Two artists make a piece in response to the previous link in the chain. Residence provides artists with a weeks worth of space (at The Milk Bar) to make their work and a space to perform/share the results, as well as a space for a discussion event around their experiences. The discussion is accompanied (/facilitated by!) tea and cake. This is an informal open event, if you would like to join us for the next “HOW WE COLLABORATE” please email lnjcassidy@gmail.com

The Rules:

1. 2 People (New Or Existing Collaboration) Make A New Piece Or Pieces

2. Find A Strategy For Collaboration

3. The Piece Or Pieces Must Respond To The Previous Piece

4. Show The New Piece In One Month’s Time With Accompanying Cake, Tea And Discussion

5. You May Benefit From Optional Consultation With The Previous Collaboration

The Back-story: Initially Lucy and Martha wanted to push at and explore the way they make work together. They decided to spend a week making two pieces in response to the piece of work they were developing together. But rather than just “muck in” they wanted to be specific and thoughtful about how they could make the best of their collaboration (rather than compromise and come to an (un)happy medium). They decided to approach the week with a specific rules set about how the work would be made, and titled the method “in conversation’. They invited Residence members and a few other artists to join them.

HOW WE COLLABORATE: ONE

Sunday 13th December 2009 at 3pm

Collaborating Pair: Lucy Cassidy and Martha King

Attendees: Saini, Duncan, Annelies, Jess, Jo, Mel, Tanuja, Gemma, James, John, Tim, Alice, Elaine. Derek and Ed

Method of Collaboration: In Conversation (1. Present and talk about ‘your’ piece to the other, listen to their feedback and have a conversation about the work and its development (repeat for your partner’s piece) 2. Work alone on the piece for a set amount of time. 3. Come back together and repeat stage one). An audiotape of the conversation we had about collaboration will soon be available here. Images of Lucy and Martha’s performances will be posted here soon.

HOW WE COLLABORATE: TWO

Monday 25th January 2010 at 7pm

Collaborating Pair: Jessie and Annelies Puddy

(update pending)

Attendees:

Method of Collaboration:

Comments/Thoughts on the week’s work:

Documentation:

HOW WE COLLABORATE: THREE

(update pending)

HOW WE COLLABORATE: FOUR
Monday 17 May 2010 at 4. pm
Collaborating pair: Folake Shoga and Steve Robins
Attendees: Jo Bannon, Lucy Cassidy, Saini Manninen, Tom Marshman, Jacky
Puzey, Mel Shearsmith.

Method of collaboration:
Folake: ‘We discussed how to proceed by email. Steve said that one of the striking things for him in Mel and Jo’s performance (How We Collaborate Three) had been the use of the old record player: the evocative nature of the sound it made irrespective of its function of playing music. This was I think the way in for both of us, leading to discussions of objects (things) and the connotations awoken by their use; and about how different qualities of objects are involved in producing memory.’
Steve: ‘Sound as texture made its way finally into the performance but it wasn’t in the process something that we concentrated upon much, odd then that it made such a central intervention!’
 

Folake: ‘We also discussed whether to develop a cut-and-dried methodology for the project.’
Steve: ‘We aimed to interrogate objects through various means, sometimes as a discussion, sometimes though writing, sometimes physically. We varied our tasks and processes to avoid becoming trapped in circular conversations. We came to a shared misunderstanding about objects and their value, by this I mean that we acknowledge the tricky nature of the object, its passing from use to fetish and from fetish to talisman. We thought about families and the retention of memories in objects and their breakage when all who had used an object passed on.'

Folake: ‘We did both suggest some tasks and exercises for both to perform.’
 
Folake: ‘We both have very different backgrounds, training and experience: we kept the structure of working together deliberately loose, and negotiation between us was continuous’.
Steve: ‘Just to clarify, loose is not the same as “woolly” if there was drifting in our process it was a conscious one, not to get tricked into an easy summation through performance; I was adamant that we shouldn’t fix our ideas too early.'
Folake: ‘However I would say there was not really a methodology apart from using and aspiring towards conversation i.e. an informal give-and-take; and, paradoxically, aspiring towards action rather than words. Since we converse together easily and with pleasure I personally felt a need to be reticent in order not to be led too much by words and the conscious mind.’
 

Folake: ‘We started with a mutual task: to each go separately to a junk shop and choose an object and make up a back story for it. We then met four times exchanging a mixture of exercises, conversation and small dramatic actions. The fourth meeting was longer and more structured and resulted in the piece we presented for How We Collaborate.’
Steve: ‘To me the performance wasn’t so much a culmination of our conversations as a tangent that one can take but one that can only be taken after chatting for a while about something else! It pleases me to see that the sense of conversation is preserved here in our writing. To me collaborating IS a conversation just one framed in a particular way – I guess you stop collaborating once you haven’t got anything left to “say”. There is still a lot for me and Fol.’

Photographs by Saini Manninen and Mel Shearsmith

HOW WE COLLABORATE: FIVE

Monday 19 July 2010 at 6 pm

Collaborating pair: Saini Manninen and Helka Manninen

Attendees: Lucy Cassidy, Jo Bannon, Jessie Percival, Hannah Sullivan, Winnie Love, Rod Harris, Tom Marshman, Liz Clarke, Luke Travers, James Dixon, Folake Shoga, Steve Robins

She likes fruit. She eats watermelon. She eats breakfast and salad and chocolate. She chews gum amd presses her lips together so hard she gets an ulcer inside her mouth. She rolls her tongue. She has a scar from when she fell from high above and her teeth went through her lower lip. I'm remembering you.

We are Helka and Saini. We live on the opposite sides of the world. We wanted to work together across continents and time zones. Our collaboration method consisted of having meetings on Skype during weekends and working on our own and using email during the week. The piece as well as our working method was informed by the fact that we are sisters. We aim to continue working together and make a simultaneous performance on two continents.

From How We Collaborate: Five

From How We Collaborate: Five

From How We Collaborate: Five

From How We Collaborate: Five

From How We Collaborate: Five

From How We Collaborate: Five

From How We Collaborate: Five

From How We Collaborate: Five