TOWARDS AN UNPROFFESSIONAL THEATRE MANIFESSTO

The Unprofessional Theatre is neither amateur nor professional; it is other, an alternative.

The Unprofessional Theatre is idealistic in two foundational ways: in the pursuit of a fresh, revitalised sensation of liveness; and in making participation in cultural activities more accessible.

The Unprofessional Theatre is a pursuit of a raw sensation of liveness, an exhilaration for the performer that is shared with the audience. The pursuit of unrestrained liveness can be undertaken in any way; the Unprofessional Theatre proposes a disavowal of the tropes of the professional theatre to achieve this.

The Unprofessional Theatre exists in an acknowledged situation of saturation. It exists, in part, to allow people to participate in cultural activities who have limited resources (time/money etc.), and to embrace that situation rather than allow it to carry shame or embarrassment. It embraces these conditions and the actual capacity of people who also work full time jobs to respond creatively to identify new possibilities for performance, to open new avenues and see what could happen.

The Unprofessional Theatre seeks to pursue the sensation of liveness in the moment of performance by maintaining a perpetual work in progress, evading fantasies of completion. It advocates improvisation, working things out as you go, adapting in the moment of performance, making it up as you go along. It recognises the necessity of rehearsal to some extent to calm the performers anxieties and not make them uncomfortable; in order to maintain the innocence of the unprepared performance, the Unprofessional Theatre encourages minimal rehearsal, to prevent things becoming overwrought and overthought, and to maintain the liveness of the moment of performance.

The Unprofessional Theatre recognises the need for the presence of the script with minimally rehearsed performances. This presence undermines the inherent illusion of prepared performance that the actor is inhabiting a character, through memorising their words and movements. The undermining of the traditional notion of character allows the interpretation of character in the moment of performance to be mutable, to shift and change and grow, and allows a simultaneous heightened performance of the self for the performer, as their attention and execution is divided between themselves and the character they are portraying.

The Unprofessional Theatre advocates for a blurring of roles as part of its call for improvisation, between writer, director, technician, performer etc. The essential ad-hoc nature of the Unprofessional Theatre calls for an openness to turn ones’ hand to whatever is necessary, recognising the integral ensemble and collective nature of staged performance: that it is not about anyone individually (although obviously everyone will have their opportunity to shine) – that it is about everyone collectively making something happen from nothing and not very much.

The Unprofessional Theatre aims for a shallow character through the prioritisation of the sensation of liveness for performer and audience. The shallow character is one that is unbelievable, unreliable, unrealistic. Through the shallow character, The Unprofessional Theatre seeks to locate a greater empathy with the audience, as the sensation of performing will become more of a presence in the performance, making that attempt more relatable for an audience member; as opposed to being seduced by the illusion of another character onstage.

The Unprofessional Theatre prioritises enthusiasm over knowledge/prior experience or outcome.

The Unprofessional Theatre is slapdash, ad hoc and improvised.

The Unprofessional Theatre recognises the ecstatic liveness of making decisions.

The Unprofessional Theatre does not shy away from conventionally recognised norms of quality and achievement, it simply does not prioritise them over fun and accessibility.

The Unprofessional Theatre embraces mistake as a part of human existence, does not seek to penalise or eradicate this from its sphere of activity. It does not attempt to extensively distinguish its activity from the general sphere of activity of life; the main distinction being the presence of stage, script and audience.

The Unprofessional Theatre is answerable to its own, unplanned, standards and measures. (TBC)



OVERT operations, 2018