Eva lua tie P LETA - Die de rik Kre ike
As Ma a s tricht in the P LETA P roje ct Odys s e y, we got the a s s ignme nt to ma ke our ve rs ion of the
unde rworld. The world of de a d pe ople , da rkne s s , a ns we rs or no a ns we rs a nd whe re s a crifice s a re
ma de . Re la ting tha t to the world’s re fuge e s itua tion is s ome thing we did not focus on. We could
s e e the s imila ritie s , a nd e ve ntua lly the pe rforma nce ge ne ra te d it’s own conte nt, but I think it would
ha ve be e n unfortuna te to focus only on the s imila rity with re fuge e s . We focus e d on the te chnology
pa rt. I think nowa da ys we a t le a s t will ha ve he a rd, a nd we might know conce pts like Oddys e y,
Unde rworld, Re fuge e s . But wha t a re the y a ctua lly? How do we ima gine the m to be ?
I think the a te r ma ke rs ha ve a highly de ve lope d ima gina tion a nd e a s ily ca n put thos e conce pts into
vis ua liza tion. We , mos t of the time , wa nt to ma ke a nice ima ge . We e ve n s ome time s wa nt to ma ke
our own ve rs ions of thos e conce pts . I think that’s wha t we did. We s ta rte d with re a ding the pa rt of
the Odys s e y, the n put the s ome wha t ‘holy’ book of Home rus a wa y, a nd s ta rte d to ma ke s ma ll
pe rforma nce s . With the re a d s tory in the ba ck of our minds . At the Tone e la ca de mie we a re quite
us e d to us ing te chnologie s s uch a s be a me rs , s ounds ca pe s , e tc. whe n cre a ting pe rforma nce s . S o
you come to vis ua liza tion of your ide a s . Quickly s a id: You ca n us e a be a me r for the vis ua l pa rt a nd
ma king s ounds ca pe for the a uditive pa rt. It’s e a s ily s a id but ha rd to do. You wa nt to be
me sme rize d, or s urpris e d, blown a wa y or de e ply a gita te d. We a s ke d ours e lve s que s tions s uch a s :
Wha t doe s work? Whe n doe s it come a live ? Whe n doe s the ima gina tion of the a udie nce ge t
a ctiva te d? And a fte r thos e quick bra ins torms a bout the pe rforma nce s we ca me ba ck to re la ting
things to the Odys s e y. It works you both wa ys . Conte nt re ge ne ra te s form of things a nd form
re ge ne ra te s conte nt.
S ince te chnology is be coming a bigge r pa rt of today’s s ocie ty, it influe nce s the a te r a s we ll. We
re a lly focus e d on the contra s t of re a lity a nd virtua l re a lity. What’s re a l, a nd what’s te chnology? We
build up a n unde rwa te r filming s e t a t the Filmfa brie k, home to P e te r Mis otte n. The re we filme d a ll
the pa rts which we re la te r to be e the de a d bodie s . We us e d a t this s e t a ls o gre e n s cre e n a nd 3Ds ca nning. Thos e a re s uch difficult tools , we us e d the file s a s much to our a bility. We a ls o ha d a
little re s e a rch in the progra m Ble ndr. How could we ma ke a ve rs ion of our unde rworld through
thos e me dia ?
Us ing thos e me dia (for ins ta nce , we brought 9 be a me rs to Ams te rda m) wa s re a lly a n othe r wa y of
working the n tha t I wa s us e d to do. S ince you a re ha nde ling filming ma te ria ls a nd controlling
be a me rs , there’s more time into e diting tha n into re he a rs ing or improvising a s ce ne a s a n a ve ra ge
a ctor s hould do. You ne e d to e dit the filming s ce ne , look wha t it doe s , a nd the n a djus t it, look a t it
a ga in, a nd on a nd on. You s trive for pe rfe ction be ca us e one mis ta ke will s ha tte r the ma gic of s uch
te chnologica l pe rforma nce . But whe n it a ll come s toge the r, like it did in the Tolhuis tuin, you fe e l like
the room ta ke s control of you a nd come s a live . It wa s re a lly nice working on s uch a highlyte chnologica l pe rforma nce be ca us e I ca n tra ns fe r the things I le a rne d a bout te chnology in a
pe rforma nce to us ing it in my own work.
The re wasn’t much conta ct with the othe r s tude nts during the Odys s e y. We we re working
inde pe nde ntly on our pe rforma nce s a nd didn’t ha ve much time me e ting e a ch othe r or for e xa mple
ge t to know e a ch othe rs the a te r e s the tics . We did a run through the da y be fore the pre mie re a nd I
wa s re a lly s urpris e d of the things the othe r s chools ma de . I ma ybe e xpe cte d to ha ve it a little more
ove rla y be ca us e now the contra s t wa s pre tty high. It ma de pe ople like the pie ce of s chool X a nd
ha te d the pe rforma nce of s chool Y. It would be nice to mix qua lity a nd re a lly cre a te on pie ce
toge the r. But the re wasn’t e nough time for tha t maybe…