| It’s not a stretch to imagine theatre as the older sister of film – the trailblazing firstborn feeling a pang of jealousy every time she watches the limelight burn on the younger, prettier one. But even if the old girl’s well over two millennia old, theatre’s proving she’s still able to learn a few new tricks.
For the last six years, German video artists Torge Moller and Momme Hinrichs have been making a career out of integrating video onstage. Rather than forcing film into stage productions, their company, fettFilm, tries to use projection as an essential element of the show. It’s a technique that local theatre company Theatre Junction is hoping to incorporate into their own shows, hosting a series of workshops that will culminate in two cabarets where audiences can watch the workshops’ 16 participants show off their newfound skills.
However, even if theatre and film have found common ground, Moller and Hinrichs are careful to point out that their combination is anything but simple.
"We try to treat the video like an actor or a performer, too," says Hinrichs. "It’s not like a movie running in a background, it’s playing with the video in the frame of the stage. It’s not like an MTV clip, it’s more a particular kind of art."
Certainly, Moller doesn’t mince words when describing the profound effect of visual elements. After all, as visual creatures there’s nothing more disruptive to an audience than a sudden image.
"The worst thing would be if you play a porn movie on an aria of an opera – you will kill the acting immediately," says Moller. "You have to find a fragile balance between the acting and the use of media."
fettFilm’s video work has included a variety of projection and video projects, with their first Canadian production tentatively slated with Toronto Dance Theatre in 2008. In a previous German production, an identical image of the set was projected over the set itself, allowing Moller and Hinrichs to create the optical illusion of a blurred but still concrete object. The two were also able to create a scene where rehearsed actors appeared to paint a set with the aid of a pre-recorded video projection that applied painting marks.
In fact, multimedia is increasingly blurring the lines between performance and film. But though his own company is deeply invested in seeing the two resolve their differences, Moller offers a final word of caution on bringing these two feuding siblings together.
"If you leave it and it’s still good you had better leave it," he says.
fettFilm will be taking place on January 12 and 13 at The Studio, located upstairs at The GRAND. |
Copyright ©2007 FFWD. All rights reserved.