Doc Mode Activity 2 - Participatory; Documentarian Statement

Film can be found at: http://youtu.be/yKQx_frTZaI

  

I have loved and been involved with theatre all my life.  I find something powerful in its very existence; in its ability to move and persuade, to generate thought and discussion.  But so often, we are concentrated solely on the performance aspect of the theatre.  While as a theatre teacher, I try to focus both on process and product, I find that I spend the least time on the audition itself, anticipating when I might be done with casting and free to move on to what I deem the meat of the process; the rehearsal.

For the past three years, I have put on an alumni show during the summer as a fundraiser for my program.  This year, I wasn’t going to be able to do it because of grad school and other obligations.  However, I decided to have some former students come back and direct a production for me this summer, working with their peers and some newly graduated students.  Being removed from the audition and casting process this time – I felt it would be advantageous for them to do this on their own – I thought it would be interesting to interview the individuals involved and get their insight into the audition process. 

Nichols suggests that in the participatory mode, “documentary filmmakers live among others and speak about or represent what they experience.” (Nichols, 181)  These are all people with whom I am very close.  My presence there, as primarily an interviewer, gave me new insight from both an outsider and insider perspective.   I found that this was an interesting position for me to be in.  I have been the director for all of these social actors in numerous theatrical settings, but this time, the decision wasn’t in my hands, and they could open up and really talk to me, because nothing that they said to me would affect the outcome of their casting.

From a filmmaker standpoint, I realize there is quite a bit upon which I need to improve.  While I attempted to get the light in their eyes and the rule of thirds, I neglected to displace focus in the background and often had my subjects too close to walls and other distracting objects.  Also, I found it difficult to limit the amount of footage I included, as I tended to ask questions that required long answers.  I found I didn’t need to include my asking the questions, for the most part, because the subjects reflexively included them in their answers. 

I think that what Nichols notes rings true in my editing: “The filmmakers voice emerges as it weaves together in a distinctive way, contributing voices and the material brought in to support what they say.” (Nichols, 190)  I have lots of footage from the auditions and interviews, but chose to only use what I thought supported my overall cursory examination of the audition process and the comments with which I agree.  I chose to include some footage from their past performances, to further highlight what they were saying and how they put their ideas into action.  Overall, this short film attempts to highlight what it is to be on both sides of the table in trying to create a theatrical production.