Why a Laboratory?
What’s behind Infinite Spark’s LIRIOPE LABORATORY
There are four main reasons why we’re so interested in creating a theater laboratory space here in Rochester!
Process-centered: The work we make is developmental in nature, so we love working in a more open format of time, space, and collaboration. Traditional rehearsal periods have always felt cramped, due to the kind of work we make—so why not let things unfold more organically? Then, once things have had the space they need to develop, we’ll present them to our audiences.
Organic approach to embodied techniques: Lab-work prioritizes practical experiment and play, in the conception, development, and rehearsal of theater. This makes room for intuition and instinct, which creates a fresh, fluid environment for gaining experience in embodied skills like physical characterization, dynamic stagecraft, ensemble coordination, embodied imagination, creative intuition, etc. Most theater processes start out with an organizing idea or a guiding concept (“the way I want to do the show”), but then only has a traditional rehearsal-period to apply these ideas (using whatever techniques are required to successfully get the ideas across).
Lab creates an environment where all of the ideas and concepts that one has for a project can be tried and tested, until you’re satisfied. Work that would normally have to be crammed into a ‘average-length’ rehearsal process can open up, breathe, and find itself, before rehearsal even begins. In this way, one can find the style, form, and techniques that will serve the given piece, free from the pressure of production deadlines. Ideas and inspirations are put into motion from the ground up; everyone marinates on the puzzles and problems of each process; and then, in an organic back-and-forth, principles, approaches, and techniques are brought in to support what is actually emerging in space.
Open-ended, Participant-Centered: In our opinion, no other format is as holistic and inherently non-competitive as Lab work. The long-form nature of Lab-work frees participants from the common pressure to ‘get it right before the curtain goes up’, a pressure which can cut off many layers of exploration and reduce creative freedom. Instead, because everyone in the room is exploring (and following the work instead of the clock), folks are enabled to develop and apply techniques at their own pace. There’s room for everyone’s differences, different ideas, and different strengths; and there’s space, time, and flexibility to breathe into your craft for the joy of it—for its own sake—not because anyone’s trying to be ‘better’ than anyone else.
Collaboration: This is perhaps the most meaningful reason for Lab work. We believe there is nothing more generative, playful, community-building, and creatively enriching than working in a collaborative environment. In Lab, participants play together through the embodied and challenging puzzles that are unique to each theatrical expression. And, even when one person is leading a collaborative process, everyone in the room has a voice, and everyone’s instincts and abilities contribute to the overall process. Taking this route gives each piece, and each collaborator, the benefit of the collective’s insights and perspectives. In the end, we believe this process intensifies both the uniqueness, and the felt resonance of each expression when it comes time to present.
What a way to work and play! Who knows what creative and communal riches will emerge!
And Lastly: We want Liriope Laboratory to be a creative resource and opportunity for the whole theater community here in Rochester. So why not invite those who want to work with us, to take part? We’re passionate about inviting you to A) join our work as a way of developing the embodied side of your creative practice, as well as to B) make your own work, mentored by and in collaboration with us, using the embodied tools that we’ve developed over many years.
Those are the basics. To learn more, and to get involved, click HERE and HERE!
