the monkey manifesto: adventure

primary source designing

An idea posited, a venue explored.
In a discussion regarding the Bauhaus School/Movement the other day, an interesting idea came up. The Bauhaus was begun in Germany in 1919 by Walter Groppius and lasted until 1933 when the Nazi Party gained power. The Bauhaus was responsible for numerous and various design innovations. From the Bauhaus came the idea that “form follows function.” Much of modern furniture is a direct result of the Bauhaus. To this day, we are surrounded by many incarnations of the work pioneered by the Bauhaus.

one of the more interesting experiments preformed by Oskar Schlemmer at the Bauhaus was the creation of dance from costume, or, in other words, performance art from design. Costumes were designed and constructed; then the constructed costumes were explored to discover what type of human movement was allowed. Dances were choreographed based on the movement allowances of the costumes. Music was then composed to complement or contrast the dance which completed the dance. Performance dance pieces were thus, in effect, created backwards.

What if theatre was created like this? It would be an interesting collaboration. Essentially it could be collaboration without collaboration. The three design elements (Costume, Set, Lighting) could be created without conference between the designers. Or it could be created with full cooperation between the designers. Each approach might yield a different result. Once the designs are complete and constructed, actors are cast. Once actors are cast, a playwright comes in and creates a play based on the completed designs and the cast of actors.

I would be interested in experimenting with such a project on a preliminarily small scale. I think it would be an worthwhile experiment. Summer begins in a month, any interested parties?