Reflecting on the research developing content

As discussed in the previous post the research phase was an ongoing process more important at the beginning of the overall process gradually becoming less and less but always present. Initially the research involved discussing the brief and what it meant to each of us. We also discussed each of our own transitions from secondary school to tertiary education. What we discovered was that each of our stories was so individually different and a commonality emerged for each of us that there was a lack of emphasis placed on the options aside from university after high school i.e. travel, work, tafe and so on. This became a bit of a cental tenet for the developing piece. Wanting to show that there are options before and during tertiary study and that these options a not binding either. We then undertook a brainstorming session based around questions that I developed in response to my understanding of the essence of the brief. They were (click on the link to view mind map):

• What issues do students face transitioning?
• What are these issues?
• When and why do they stop being issues?
• Is there anything funny about these issues?

Separate to this we each also carried out our own individual research which involved finding a body of literature from the web, journals, news articles and books. Another useful method which presented a lot of data was talking to students who had just started university or were currently in year 12. Both groups had presented information from different angles that were great to take on. The year 12s presented information on where they are now and the worries that have about the process their going through and the unknown on the other side. While the 1^st year tertiary students presented the challenges that they were experiencing currently as they transitioned into tertiary study. The other point which needs consideration is that the entire group has recently (in the last five to three years) gone through this same transition. Another element specific to our own experiences concerns actually working in schools with students who are going through this over the past couple of years and seeing, hearing and experiencing (in a way) what they are going through.

We undertook some image work from stimulus words or phrases using the cop-in-head technique (Boal, 1992). These images didn’t end up being used directly but they did a few times create discussion and action that inspired us to build a scene or develop one further. The image below:

The image was based on the notion of making friends. Using the cop in the head technique these phrases came up from left to right:

1. Bastards
2. You have really nice hands
3. What was your name again – get away from me
4. Sorry what year are you in?

This didn’t correlate directly into a scene but we decided to include a scene on making friends and the idea that it can be difficult (at first) was established alongside not knowing what to say or who to approach and when. The early devising we actually started off using ‘you have really nice hands’, which I’m glad to say has evolved to something more appropriate (not really the word I’m looking for).

What I can say is that everything that was undertaken has had some influence on the outcome of the content and that generally anything focused on the project cannot really be considered a waste of time. Dijk (2006) argues that the more waste products an ensemble creates should result in a higher quality piece. The most influential source and method of research was discussion with people about their experiences. These discussions became the foundation for many of the scenes that are included in the performance. This is because it provided both facts and experiences of the transition period. The other methods influenced or contributed minimally, they were not worthless and I will continue to use them all in future practice.