Trade Melbourne Fringe Documentation

Trade

Melbourne Fringe

Documentation and Reflection by Yuhan Ye

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Week 0

This week is about brainstorming the Trade theme based on my own understanding about the material available.

Here is my thoughts---crazy but interesting!

Trade --- money, product, brands...I happened to walk through the show window of the luxury brand Valentino at Chadstone Shopping Center. Back to July 2023--it is the Barbie Season--Barbie Pink is everywhere--so do on the Valentino dress, shoes, bags... I drift into deep thought. The pretty dress are priced high($5000) in this pretty boutique store under the brand. Staring the dress---the material and cut looks okay and even no difference with the affordable brands’ clothes---They are priced high because of the branding. They are priced high and operated well because of there is demand. Their target customers are willing to pay $5000 for the dress.

This brings me to the thoughts towards value. People tend to make a purchase based on their value. What’s their value? What if these amount of money go towards people in need? What if these amount of money go towards the environment protecting activities? There is no denying that it is their personal choice to spend their money and choose their own value. Linking back to the future production Trade --We might be able to challenge their value or bring them to have a think! I want to bring my value to the table and speak for that. Let’s make contributions to a better world with a genuine heart!

Week 1

Some thoughts before class: We could take this chance to make some positive impact to the world. We could bring the group of people with power and wealth to reflect on their value and water the seed in their mind of making positive impact to the world.

ATS3336 legends meet and greet on the Wednesday morning of week 1!

Activities:

Relaxing body exercise: relaxed body brings creative mind.
Introducing names and pronoun: choose your tone and sing it out--a fun way to connect
Relaxed walk , walk in purpose, run, walk with nose /knee/ belly/chest/hand: This brings me to connect the movement with a feeling I experienced when I move in different ways and this helps me with future character development.
Tell a story based on the item we received: Improvised story telling.
Develop a character based on what we received

Week 2

Start with introducing name ;relaxed body;walk/run, relaxed/with a purpose;with a body parts

The activities above is helpful for the next activity--I am assigned to walk as a short and posh character. I associate this character with the activity above---walking with nose.

Game-Cross zombie eg: 7 participants, 7"x” on the ground, 1 person outside the “x” and try to stand on the “x” while other 6 people on the “x” need to keep moving on another “x” . This is absolutely engaging, good small exercise and wake me up from the sleepy mind. A fun game also helps to bring us closer as a team!

Discussion about “value” :Each of us write down the words about “value”. After discussion we found something interesting: “Priceless vs Price” “Emotional bond” “Sentimental”

Discuss the production roles

Week 3

Reflection --Triangle of Sadness:

Limited resource under different value systems, dominated by different group of people
Human nature
Shift brings contrast , the contrast leaves me deep impression
Inspired by Triangle of Sadness, we could make some shift and contrast in our show Trade! Then I came up with an idea and recorded it in the notes. Here’s a description of the image: We could shift the world from a monetary system to a passion system to make the contrast effect. The currency of the monetary system is luxury cars/clothes/bags; status; power vs the currency of the passion system is singing, baking, guitar playing etc.The shift of the two different world/system could be created by (1)climate change/ disaster/earthquake/bush fire(The stage setting could be decorated with big blocks and as the earthquake happens, the blocks falls)

Week 3

(2) an experience of death( audiences lie on the hospital beds covered by a sheet and wake up in a new world

Week 4

Language and Trade:

When trade happens between people speaking in different languages, body language plays a big part in communication. It works perfectly in real life and it happens everyday.

Hospital idea x

Disaster √

Climate √ No trade in a dead planet

Week 4

Two fun theater games--fun brings people closer!

The left side game--Why are you late?!

Creative & Improvise

The right side game--Translate gibberish to the audience

It challenge us to improvise. As a translator, we could lead the show towards a comedy, a tragedy. It is a experience either on stage or as a member of the audience.

Activity

Explored the drama concept---speaking nothing and standing still with no facial expression is powerful!

Week 5

《又见平遥》 is tourism performing art directed by Wang Chaoge based on the historical and cultural connotation of the ancient city of Pingyao. 《又见平遥》 is an immersion tourism performing arts held in an indoor theater with a fixed performance theater, and the theater only performs 《又见平遥》. The tourism performing arts lasts 90 min, with 2–4 performances per day. During the 90 min, tourists walk around the theater while watching the tourism performing arts. The performers go into the crowd and even talk to the tourists, giving them the opportunity to become part of the tourism performing arts. 《又见平遥》 have the characteristics of tailor-made theaters, fluid performance forms, and echo local customs, history, and culture (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Xinyang Wu & Yuan Zhao (2023) An integrated model of five sense perceptions and memorable tourism experiences: mediating effects of positive emotion, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 28:8, 860-876, DOI: 10.1080/10941665.2023.2276473

Week 5

It tells the story of Zhao Yishuo, the owner of the escort agency in the late Qing Dynasty, leading the escort to go to Tsarist Russia to rescue the blood of the Wang family, interpreting different stories in the theater and conveying the spirit of diversity. 《又见平遥》 fully mobilized the five senses of tourists and then generated corresponding positive emotions. Therefore, this study takes 《又见平遥》 as an example to conduct in-depth research. Visual perception is the most impactful, direct, and impressive sensation in tourism experience. The visual perception of tourists in 《又见平遥》 mainly lies in the perception of form, color, dimension, lighting, transparency, design, image, and style in the theater, and visual perception basically builds the theater. Audition perception is second only to visual perception as an important factor in tourism activities, and the differentiation of audition perception will lead to different feelings of tourists from person to person. The audition perception of 《又见平遥》 mainly comes from the narration, dialog of actors and music, which brings visitors a refreshing experience while mobilizing their emotions through sound, tone, rhythm and melody. Touch perception can give visitors a fresh feeling in an unusual environment and enhance the interaction between visitors and the tourism environment. The actor's tapping on tourists’ shoulders in 《又见平遥》 surprised the tourists and made them integrate more deeply into the theater environment. As a chemical sensory organ, smell perception brings tourists a unique experience. The stimulation of various smells helps tourists identify and experience the destination. In 《又见平遥》, tourists’ smell perception basically originates from the smell emitted from a specific place in the theater, including the smell of wine and aromatherapy. Tasting food is an essential tourist demand in the tourist process, stimulating the taste perception of tourists. In 《又见平遥》, tourists are able to taste the red dates distributed by the actors, as well as some of the food from the tasting stalls.

Week 5

You Jian Pingyao is an immersion tourism performing arts held in an indoor theater with a fixed performance theater. The performers go into the crowd and even talk to the tourists, giving them the opportunity to become part of the tourism performing arts.

I recalled the 《又见平遥》experience I had around 7 years ago when are brain storming the how we could set up the space and in what kind of format. I get so excited and shared the thoughts on class and to make the idea more visualized and better communicated, I did further research below.

The experiment《又见平遥》Transition inspiration(video took by the audience)

Week 5

Culture exploration related to《又见平遥》
English subtitle
3 episodes
At the end of each video introduces value and trade

Week 5

The entire show (video taken by the audience 7 years ago

Key scenes of the show(better video quality)

Week 5

Some ideas:

This show gives us a cultural perspective about trade and value.

The sound and lighting design , storytelling, immersive stage decoration,interactive engagement with the audience are so touching.

Room turns dark and a beam of light on stage focuses on our actors performing the story behind an object and the value attached to that supported by dialogues, music, dancing…

We/They could trade memory!? The currency could be memory?! The audiences start to trade then the actors bring them into a story and lead them to participate in the story/memory…

The valuable item is broken, fade to black, and then a performance begins across the stage almost in contrast to the shock of the break. (Interactive ‘show’ component)

Could be multiple separate ‘performances’ spread about the empty space in the aftermath of the break, and the fade to black. Not all parts are experienced by the audience members (re-watchable/uniqueness of experiences).

Week 6

Team Apron:will be seen more

Andre

Cyrus

Daniel

Team Language:

Andre English

Yuhan Chinese

Develop a external market

Team Survey:

Charlie

Ebony

Maya

By next week;)

Week 6

Audience up to 60 people

20%box office=15 people

1on1 experience

Ego massage…guitar…compliments…

Ebony: Quote about value repeat throughout the show

Penelope: May not be worded could be felt

Source logo line..Chinese saying about trade and value

Yuhan

International trade

People speak different language

When words can't express the meaning, body language tells

Trust and mystery box

Smashed collection of objects

Food? x Food handling rule

Week 7

Further detailed timeline of the show:

WELCOME & INTRO: 2-3 minutes.

SURVEYS & DIVISION AUDIENCE VS TRADERS: 8-10 minutes

FREE DISCUSSION:TRADERS have task of discussing value of items on table: 3 minutes

INCITING INCIDENT: Delivered via envelope 15 MINUTE MARK approx

TRADING OPENS: DURATION = 30 minutes

FIRST ACT TURNING POINT: AT 20 MINUTE MARK (?)

MID POINT: 30 MINUTE MARK

SECOND ACT TURNING POINT: AT 40 MINUTE MARK (?) Delivered via envelope?

CONCLUSION: APOCALYPSE AT 55 MINUTE MARK (?)

RESOLUTION: AT 59-60 MINUTE MARK (Get out now!)

Week 7

Week 8

Write a story for the plate

Week 8

The Libya floods in 2023 made me feel heart broken...Disaster, Desert, Flood, missing people, climate change......Human, develop and suddenly the planet could not bare anymore, people, house, car, money, history......

This feeling resonates with my idea of bringing our audience to really think about their value and the world.

This theme is so touching...