TATA 01 Report

TATA01 by TAAT

TATA 01 THEATRE AS ARCHITECTURE TRAINING ACADEMY

25th + 26th January 2014

Bureau Europa, Mosa Fabriek, Maastricht (NL)

WWW.TAAT-PROJECTS.COM 2014

WWW.TAAT-PROJECTS.COM 201402/14

CONTENT

1.INTRODUCTION

2.REPORT ATAT PECHA KUCHA WORK VISUALISATIONS LECTURE FRANK DEN OUDSTEN PERFORMANCE NICK STEUR

3. CONCEPT

4. RESEARCH THEME

5. OVERVIEW TEAMWORK

6. COLOPHON

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ARCHITECTSAlex Kunnen (A)Bart Lens (B)Remy Kroese (C)Wytske van der Veen (D)Ana Berenguer (E)Breg Horemans (F)

“We have different realities but we meet

in imagination.”

(TATA participant Ana Berenguer)

THEATRE MAKERSDaniel Sikora (G)Esther van de Pas (H)Linda Savelkouls (I)Nina Willems (J)Michiel Cox (K)Sarah Tulp (L)Marvin Beekhuijzen (M)Jose Schuringa (N)Gert-Jan Stam (O)

SPECIAL GUESTSFrank den Oudsten (P)Lidy Six (Q)Nick Steur

(A)(B)

(O)

(E)

(C)(F)(G)(M)(L)

(C) (P) (Q)

(H)

(J)(N)

(K)

1.INTRODUCTION

On Saturday 25th and Sunday the 26th of January TAAT hosted the very first TATA workshop in Maastricht (NL). Together with a select group of theatre makers and architects we explored the relationship between the sense of space and the sense of time. During the two intense days of the workshop, we all got to know about each other’s work, we had many talks and discussions about the experience of time but most importantly the participants jumped into creating a series of temporary performan-ces/constructions that opened up a huge potential of ideas.

This first Theater As Architecture Academy was a meeting and an ex-change of creative minds, where the world of theatre and the world of architecture found each other, challenged each other and produced an inspiring variety of highly artistic ‘narrative spaces’. This document is an impression of that process.

Lidy Six leads Benoît Vanraes to one of the designed routes through the building

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(A)

2.REPORT

ATATWe started Saturday morning with walking the ATAT-route we had de-signed for the Theater aan het Vrijthof building. In complete silence, with Breg leading and the rest following one after the other, we went through all the heights and depths of the building. Going through the architecture of the theatre in a long line of people created a heightened awareness of the different small, big, dark, bright, functional and beautiful spaces. At the same time it was clearly a performance in itself and therefor set the tone for the entire weekend.

PECHA KUCHAWe left the theatre in silence and walked through the historic city center of Maastricht to Bureau Europa, where we continued the program with an inspiring Pecha Kucha extravaganza. In a ruthless continuum of 360 images and 94 minutes each participant shared his life and work with the others. Needless to say that the lunch break came at a convenient mo-ment.

Discovering the diversity of spaces in the Theater

aan het Vrijthof on an extensive ATAT route,

especially designed for the workshopweekend

Wytske van der Veen’s installation in abandoned upper floors of the Maas-tricht trainstation

Bart Lens talking about the perception of space and time in his designs

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TOOLSOur next location was the old Mosa factory, an old industrial building that was once used by the Royal Mosa Company for the design and produc-tion of ceramic tiles. After a short introduction the group was divided into five groups, each consisting of at least one theatre maker and one archi-tect. They had two hours, a 130 meter piece of string and a role of tape in a matching color to create a walking route on which the sense of time was shaped by the sense of space.

VISUALIZATIONSAt the end of the two hours we went back to Bureau Europa where the teams worked on drawings visualizing their routes. The TAAT team then served a homemade dinner. Candles, provided by Bureau Europa artistic director Saskia van Stein who had joined us for this meal, added a great deal to the informal and intimate atmosphere of the occasion.

Who is viewer, and who is spectator? José

Schuringa and Sarah Tulp encountering the

‘SplitScreen project’ by Wytske van der Veen and

Michiel Cox

Remy Kroese and Nina Willems working out their ideas of time and memory of the old factory

Hands on means: let’s get started. Daniel Sikora, Bart Lens and Linda Savelkouls started experi-menting with the elements of the space

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LECTURE FRANK DEN OUDSTENThe evening was reserved for an interactive lecture by writer-designer-teacher-performer Frank den Oudsten. This part of the program was open to the general public, which quickly filled up the room. With a dazzling combination of images, philosophy, performance, improvisation, stories, associations and interaction with the audience Frank presented his ideas about how the ‘narrative order of things’ could be or should be conceived by ‘slow design’ and a wider concept of ‘sceno-graphy’. Drinks and discussion afterwards lasted well until the last drops of wine and the last drops of energy of the last ones standing.

PERFORMANCE NICK STEURThe next day started with walking/doing each other’s routes. This was introduced by Lidy Six, who we had invited to connect the different routes. Lidy made us blindfold ourselves before she took us one by one to a starting point of one of the different routes. Then, with perfect timing, Nick Steur showed up to do his improvisation/performance with the group. For the second part of the day we again moved to Bureau Europa where we used the visualizations to discuss the different routes.

In 10 x 10 x narrative space, Frank den Oudsten improvised about ten themes se-lected by the TAAT-team and the audience

Nick preparing his improvised perfomance

together with and ‘in between’ the workshop

participants

3.CONCEPT: OPEN SOURCE DESIGN

To establish an artistic process that is based on sharing and exchanging ideas and knowledge, input as well as feedback, TAAT is working according to the principle of Open Source.

For us Open Source Design is based on opening up the crea-tive process to:- Specialists and non-specialists- The exchange and sharing of information- Dialogue - Co-creation

This implies a working method that exposes the vulnerability of the artistic process by repeatedly showing work that is still in development, unfinished and raw. TAAT uses these moments of exposure to make a connection with both the local commu-nity in which a HALL33 sub-project is presented and a global network of artists, designers and basically anybody who is interested in topics related to the cutting-edge of theatre and architecture.

Relation self/other de-fined by visual connec-

tions in architecture

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4. RESEARCH THEME: SENSE OF TIME

A fundamental challenge for HALL33 is how to intensify the experience of time within the parallel sequence of spaces. We ask ourselves questions like: Which spatial elements or spe-cific qualities of a space clearly influence your experience of time? How does a sequence of spaces determine your sense of time? Can architecture get you in a state of high concentra-tion or even meditation?

In TATA01 we started looking for the relationship between the experience of time and the experience of a space from the dif-ferent points of view of our participants. If we consider theatre to be a temporal art and architecture a spatial practice the question arises how they both relate to the concept of time. But we were even more interested in what both disciplines could learn from each other’s way of dealing with time.

As we are interested in practical solutions rather than theoreti-cal debate we invited the participants to approach the topic in a spontaneous, hands-on, pragmatic fashion and just jump in. Which they wholeheartedly did! You can read about the stun-ning results on the following pages.

Remy and Nina con-structing the memory of

the factory

Gert-Jan experiencing the route of the pink team

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5. OVERVIEW TEAMWORK

PINK TEAM: Marvin Beekhuijzen, Sarah Tulp, Alex Kunnen

// Starting point: the experience of time is determined by a ‘visual balance’.

/ Act: how do we look at things? And how are we being looked at? What you can see will be blocked. What you cannot see will be interrupted.

/ Ideas: flexible walls (rubber, foam,…)Sequence of identical spaces.Holes in the wall.

/ Time: the unknown or the non-determined influences the sense of time.

/ Lessons: the importance of ‘what’s around the corner?’Awareness of architecture as an important aspect of perfor-mance.

Team PINK working out their way through there

web like space

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GREY TEAM: José Schuringa, Ana Berenguer

// Starting point: the barred window: one feels trapped in a prison, the other one enjoys the view.

/ Act: A pattern to go to some point.Objects as obstacles in a pattern. Not knowing if it is allowed to touch something or not.

/ Ideas: hopscotch. Moving the kitchen without being in it. Loose string.

/ Time: the combination of expectation and surprise deter-mines your sense of time.

/ Lessons: you grow into a space. You can make an alive space.

José and Ana drawing schemes of there way of thinking and of the final

installation

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Marvin and Daniel ‘pull-ing some strings’. Hilari-ous moments when some strange fruit pops up

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BROWN TEAM: Linda Savelkouls, Daniel Sikora, Bart Lens, Esther van de Pas

// Starting point: is it possible to walk blindfolded around a pole for exactly 60 seconds?

/ Act: listening-doing-listening-doing-…The cadence of the material.

/ Ideas: squeaking floors. Crack in the wall as trigger.

/ Time: the sense of time is altered by directing your attention to something else: feet, feeling, sound,…

/ Lessons: as we couldn’t understand what the other was saying, simply doing became our language. Surprised by the playfulness of sound. I need to experience it to be able to relate to it. (Theatre) I need rehab from always having to justify everything. (Architecture)

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The existing rythm of these concrete blocks was one of the starting

points in the installation

A miniature Labyrinth derived from the per-petuum mobile around a factory chimney (see right picture)

Bart, Daniel and Linda discussing the focus points in there installation

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YELLOW TEAM: Nina Willems, Remy Kroese

// Starting point: a space only hints on its past, the rest you need to fill in for yourself.

/ Act: reconstructing what could have been. Patterns and signs on the floor are the memory of the building.

/ Ideas: the Japanese concept of ‘ma’. Locked door/ the past: feeling unfulfilled. Height.

/ Time: reconstructing a sense of time by connecting the lay-ers of past, present and future.

/ Lessons: common ground: being open to what a space used to be and what it could be. The mental route is more important than the physical route.

Constructing a ‘volume’ of pallets that were onze

there

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WHITE TEAM: Michiel Cox, Wytske van der Veen

// Starting point: the relationship to the building as ‘enforcer’ or ‘catalyst’ of the location.

/ Act: all we did was tell you where to look. Split screens. Dif-ference between standing and sitting. Sitting is the pause-position.

/ Ideas: from my perspective I can see what the other does to the space. Important to create expectation and to not know what will happen next.

/ Time: relationship to the other person determines the dura-tion.

/ Lessons: how little you need. Finding private space in a big space. Manipulation of focus.

Split screen. The position on the grid of the building lets the viewer experi-ence symmetry and dif-ferent ‘layers’ of viewing.

A simple sheet of instruc-tions and spatial posi-tions was all Wytske and Michiel needed to make an intelligent performa-tive route.

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7. COLOPHON

PARTNERS HALL01

SoAPBureau EuropaTheater aan het VrijthofC/OTAKTC-Mine

CONTACT & INFO

Gert-Jan Stam [email protected] Horemans [email protected]ît Vanraes [email protected]

WEBSITE

www.taat-projects.comwww.facebook.com/taatprojects

PRESS

http://www.archdaily.com/279191/khor-i-theatre-pavilion-taat/http://www.dezeen.com/2012/10/02/khor-i-temporary-theatre-by-taat/

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Our partners,Saskia van Stein for facilitating the workshop at Bureau EuropaBenoit, José and Ana for their production support,The Maastricht Salvation Army for providing two essential electric hotplates,Frank, Nick and all the workshop participants for their wonderful contributions!

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COMING UP

HALL01MAASTRICHT 14-23 MARCH 2014DURING TEFAF FESTIVAL