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Independent Project Portfolio:

An Adaptation of Antonin Artauds Jet of Blood

Candidate Name: Jezi Christia Mari C. Llamas

Candidate Number: 004812-0004

IB Theatre Arts HL

Word Count: 2890

INDEPENDENT PROJECT PORTFOLIO

I. Independent Research on Theatre of Cruelty ---------------------------- Page 1

II. Observation and Concept Development ------------------------------------Page 3-11

a. Choreography

i. Combination with Butoh

b. Set Design

III. Evaluation ------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 11-12

IV. Bibliography----------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 13

V. Appendices--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 14

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Jezi Christia Mari Llamas 004812-0004

1

The initial stage of this process proved to be one of the longest, yet least tasking part of

the entire planning process for the Independent Project Portfolio. Having only two higher level

students in the class, I was asked to work together with the other higher level student for this

particular project. We attempted to find a theatrical practice which interested us both, but would

be something different from the norms that would be expected of our usual repertoire as

actresses. Upon brainstorming, we were able to formulate certain ideas which allowed us to

combine two practices into a physical show. Having only recently finished learning about

Butoh1, we came across something that intrigued us both due to the strange, yet captivating

logical ties to the human senses, mainly pain and suffering through the use of movement and

sound. We chose to investigate further the practice of Theatre of Cruelty and sought to further

understand its practical application, background and practice. From this, a show was

conceptualized through the combination of the said theatrical practices.

Independent Research on Theatre of Cruelty

The research process began with the investigation of the origins of the said theatrical

practice. It was found that Theatre of Cruelty is a surrealist form of theatre, which sought to

communicate suffering and evil to its audience through the use of physical elements such as

sound, movement and language. This was all theorized in Antonin Artauds book, The Theatre

and its Double, wherein he had introduced the abstract conceptualization which had been the

mould of the overall value and function of Theatre of Cruelty2.

1 See Appendix C: Definition of Butoh

2 See Appendix A


2

Upon further reading, it became clear to me that Artaud had not intended to take a

sadistic approach to his work in order to manifest and communicate pain and suffering. Instead,

Artaud aimed to shatter the false realities of a perfect life through the use of austere and violent

imagery which commonly disturbs the mentality of an audience member. This had become the

stimulus of my Independent Project Portfolio, thereby creating a show around the said piece in

order to further dwell in the practical elements and applications of Artauds ideas. Before

relating the said ideas to the rest of the members who had helped in the completion of this

project, my partner and I needed to have a deep understanding of the Theatre practice, as well as

a thorough knowledge on at least one piece of writing from the said genre. To begin the

brainstorming process, my partner and I had both taken time to read through parts of Artauds

Theatre of Cruelty (First Manifesto), in order to further understand the elements involved in this

theatrical practice.

The reading of the manifesto had led us to discover that, in order to use this practice as a

stimulus for the project, we needed to find a way to portray the metaphysical world of a man,

which should thematically embody Artauds concept. For Antonin Artaud, physicality, or the

image which is portrayed through the aesthetics proves to be the most crucial part for his

theatrical practice. The images in itself must be more powerful than the words, mirroring life,

yet could elicit the desired emotional response from the audience (BBC, "Antonin Artaud and

Absurdist Theatre.").

There are also a few hidden gems when Artauds life is examined thoroughly. Artaud had

been plagued with a mental disorder at an early age, yet, this did not seem to pose a threat to his

work, as it was somewhat embellished by his so called madness. He had lost his ability to


3

process and observe situations on a normal level of consciousness; however, his awareness of

his disorder had allowed him to still develop written pieces in which the cognitive focus lay on

a detached and introspective stance towards life3 (Sass and Parnas, Schizophrenia,

Consciousness and the Self).

Figure 1: Symptoms of Schizophrenia upon contraction of the disease (Sass, "Schizophrenia,

Consciousness and the Self")

Observation and Concept Development

Upon being able to get a better standpoint on Artauds life, it was much easier to begin

dwelling into his literary pieces, as we were already knowledgeable in the ideas, as well as the

3 See Appendix B


4

reasons behind the ideas being portrayed in them. After perusing through the context which

detailed Artauds condition as a schizophrenic, we were able to develop a concept which

centred on the alternation of reality and imagination, which was a product of Artauds mental

illness. My partner and I had chosen to interpret the play Jet of Blood otherwise known by the

name Spurt of Blood.

Jet of Blood is a four act play written in four pages which features surrealist stage

directions as well as sparse and extensive dialogue. Being a generally small class, this play

proved to be ideal since there would be less trouble casting the characters. Some of the

members of the group had taken on two characters, which was not an issue, since the play

features different characters in almost every act of the pay. Initially, my partner and I had

begun to look at a few videos as inspiration for our plans. Jet of Blood would have been able to

showcase the chaotic mentality which Artaud possessed, as well as the psychotic scenarios

which contained exaggerated characterization, such as enlarged breasts for the character of the

midwife. The conception of the idea and plan for the show was greatly inspired by Artauds

mental state, as well as his developed doctrine which became Theatre of Cruelty, the main

theatre piece which was chosen to be interpreted.

During this process, we had attempted to merge or apply ideas from a different theatrical

practice. The practice we were most knowledgeable about at the time was the practice of Butoh,

since we had just finished the said unit in our study of theatre practices around the world. Butoh4

Both relay focus on the movements of the human body to convey emotion rather than using

words. Both also do not conform to the standards of reality and venture into a more surrealistic

and abstract view.

4 See Appendix C: Definition of Butoh


5

Figure 2: Image of a solo Butoh Performance

Photo source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/butoh/itto/goosayten_butoh_itto_walk.jpg

Figure 2: Image of a group Butoh Performance in unison

Photo Source: http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/276/433/276433895_640.jpg

The pictures above show Japanese men performing Butoh dances, which can either be

done solo or in a group. The white body paint which covers the entire body, as well as the face,


6

embodies the typical Butoh performer. Each element had its own meaning, adding its own

particular impact to the show.5

Choreography

After reviewing sections of both theatrical practices, my partner and I decided to split the

leadership roles amongst ourselves. I had taken on the role of the choreographer, which I knew

was going to be a challenge for me since it was the first time I have ever taken on such a role. In

coordination with the director, the choreographer is meant to work with dancers to interpret, as

well as transform rhythms into movements of the body. The choreographer must have a full

understanding of the concepts of the director, as the choreographer must be able to devise

movements which would play a part in the larger production with artistic intent and originality.

The dances created by the choreographer will add an organic element to the production concept,

which will embellish the story line and create a deeper, symbolic meaning to the movements

done by the actors and dancers (AACT, "Choreographer").

These being said, I had conceptualized dances for scenes that required them by

using the Butoh style. It was not difficult, as said earlier, since we had discussed the practice as

well as created personal performances using the theatrical practice. The actors were given

sufficient freedom to interpret the scenes through the dances; however, as a choreographer, I had

emphasized the use of basic butoh movements such as the butoh walk, orchestra conductor in the

skull, mouth like a black hole, smoke head and face like a mask. The latter are the basic butoh

movements which we had learned about in class. Certain scenes such as entrances and scenes

with heavy allegorical meanings, such as the eating of the eyes in the third scene seemed

5 See Appendix E: The elements of Butoh and the anti-dance


7

appropriate to have Butoh incorporated into them. I had aimed to use the distortion which Butoh

emphasizes in order to portray unrealistic scenarios which will further embody insanity and

schizophrenia through Artauds lack of ability to distinguish between reality and imagination.

During this time, I had conducted a couple of workshops as an attempt to review these skills, as

well as a chance to give the actors flexibility to choose which of the basics they will be using in

the dance.

In order to create a dance, I also needed to have a full understanding of the text. I had

studied the text many times and had looked at the allegorical and literal meaning of the

scenarios6.

The excerpt from the script details part of the many surrealist elements in the play. Many of

the stage directions, such as the body parts falling into an almost vacuum like dimension and the frog and

beetle coming to slowness are absurd and seem to be impossible to stage without having to use special

effects. This is an example of where Butoh may be used. The stage directions are not taken literally, but

the meaning is extracted from the strange plot twists. There are then interpreted through the use of

movements. In one particular scene, two characters: the Whore and the Young Man, are said to make love,

then, eat each others eyes in the middle of the act. Since the performance was to be done in a Christian

school, such scenes were not allowed to be shown to the students or within the premises. Because of this, I

had created a simple dance using basic Butoh elements, namely the use of the transformative back, in order

to portray the love scene, yet avoid making it vulgar.

6 See Appendix C


8

Figure: Photo of Butoh Love Scene

There was no nudity involved, but the actions in themselves were sensual, yet at the same

time, fit the overall concept of the distorted reality. Butoh is meant to showcase exactly that. The

movements that I had also incorporated really involved distorting the facial expressions, as well as the

form of the body through bending at an unusual angle. This not only allowed the dance to be a form of

Butoh, but had also allowed me to extract an unusual reaction from the audience, since they would be

watching something unconventional, and possibly disturbing. This particular physicality involved in the

production had allowed for a better interpretation of the work of Artaud, which, again, showcased qualities

which emphasized his schizophrenic qualities, working from a perspective of a writer who had been

betrayed by his external physical reality.

Creating the choreography from pre-set Butoh movements made the process slightly less

challenging, as each movement can already be subject to numerous meanings, which can be interpreted by

the audience. The difficulty lied between the coherence of the dance and the entirety of the show, as well

as the visual satisfaction that could be garnered from it. It was slightly exhausting, as Butoh requires the

use of the entire body, as well as some knowledge in isolation of body parts. The physical aspect of the


9

choreography was tiring, but being the one to execute is was as well. It was also difficult to get the timing

of the dance to be in sync with the music. Several rehearsals needed to be done for the same dance, as the

actors needed to learn how to develop a sense of timing, without relying on the cues of the sound director.

The actors also needed to learn to gain awareness of the performance space, as initially, the actors would

cram in one side of the stage, leaving most of the performance space empty. Once the actors were able to

learn how to work with the given choreography, which eventually became cohesive, the fluidity of the

show improved tremendously, as there were less awkward transitions between the dances and the scenes,

as well as less crowding on a particular area of the stage.

Set Design

Another production element that I was asked to accomplish, was the set design. Since we are a

generally small class, the tasks were divided in a sense that each of us had one or two tasks to fulfil. Like

choreography, I had never done set design; however, it did not prove to me much of a challenge because

my partner and I had discussed on using only two tables as makeshift beds and a projector playing behind

the scenes. As much as possible, we tried to keep the focus on the action happening onstage. Sometimes,

when there is too much embellishments on the stage, it can prove to be a distraction from the actual action

happening on the stage. Since Theatre of Cruelty is meant to evoke grim emotions from the audience, we

needed to make sure that the audience was not going to be distracted so that we can actually get a reaction

from them. In order In order to have these solicited emotions, the audience must be able to understand the

boundaries of the actions that are occurring in the scenes.

Artaud had also explained that there is no set in the practice of Theatre of Cruelty (Artaud).

Both my partner and I had focused on the movements and the actions in order to create the mood of the


10

scenes as well as effectively portray Artauds production key points and the elements of the production

concept that we had come up with.

The minimalist set had caused a couple of problems during the rehearsals, as we had

attempted to have the show in the Multipurpose Hall of our school where there was a large stage and stage

lights. We originally agreed to have the show on a big stage in order to accommodate a larger crowd. The

minimalist set, however, did not work with the blocking and choreography in the scenes. The stage was far

too large and there was a vast amount of empty space onstage that could not be utilized. As a result, we

had moved the performance back to the classroom, where we had sufficient materials and just the right

amount of space.

Figure 3: Pictures of the Set Design with the two makeshift beds as the sole props onstage

In order to show the disordered thought process which Artaud had, we had also decided to

use projected images and video clips at the back of the blank theatrical space, in order to create a further

dreamlike trance which the audience could truly immerse themselves in. The images and clips all showed


11

atypical themes which may seem vulgar or unrelated to the scenarios. By subjecting the audience to these

unusual and disturbing images, we had mandatorily subjected the audience to realities which, voluntarily,

they would have preferred to defer, as after the show, many had commented on the uneasy feeling the

show had given them, which was exactly what we wanted to elicit from the audience. It was interesting to

see how harsh realities which caused fear and disturbance could be elicited from the mere projection of

images on a background, showing how even simple elements on a stage can add power to the overall

audience impact of the show.

Figure 4: Photo of the Actual Projection of disturbing images during the show

Evaluation

The process of creating the performance for Jet of Blood had been a long and challenging

process. Since I am only one out of two higher level students, I had helped out with the planning process

of the production. There had been a detailed schedule on how the scenes were to be divided, as well as

days that were strictly allotted for workshop days, wherein I had conducted classes to review the Butoh

skills of the other actors.

As a choreographer, I personally had no difficulty in choreographing the Butoh dances as most of

the dancing involved personal interpretation of the actors. As a set designer though, it was difficult to


12

have to adjust to the different stages, as initially, we were supposed to have the show in the Multipurpose

Hall despite having all our practices in the classroom. I was pleased though that we were able to

overcome these challenges by making a unified decision as a class, instead of having to make decisions

alone.

Many of the spectators had expressed their discomfort after the show, as well as the lack of

understanding of the scenes. Artauds style of writing was extremely unusual for those who had watched.

Many of them had walked out of the theatre in shock or even disturbed. Despite the grim reactions, I was

extremely pleased that we were able to evoke the said reactions from the audience, as this was exactly our

objective. Just as the First Manifesto had indicated, Theatre of Cruelty was meant to simple evoke a

response from the audience that was not usually tangible in everyday life. We also saw that the audience

was able to see the schizophrenic side of Artauds work, showcasing the disorientation of certain elements

in order to create the holistic show. Since we were able to do just that, I would say that we were able to

produce a successful show that illustrates the essentials of the Theatre of Cruelty in conjunction with

another theatrical practice, Butoh. We took advantage of the different production elements and the

extreme physical intensity required of Butoh portrayed by various actions in order to create a cohesive

show, predominantly inspired by Antonin Artauds brainchild and madness.


13

Works Cited

"Choreographer (Job Description)." AACT: Choreographer (Job Description). N.p., n.d. Web. 02

Dec. 2013. .

"Antonin Artaud and Absurdist Theatre." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.

.

Artaud, Antonin, and Victor Corti. The Theatre and Its Double. Richmond, [England: Oneworld

Classics, 2010. Print.

Sass, Louis A., and Josef Parnass. "Schizophrenia, Consciousness and the Self." Introduction.

Schizophreni, Conciousness and the Self. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Oxford Journals. Web. 1

Dec. 2013. .

Teatro De La Psychomachia. "Danse Perdue: About." Danse Perdue: About. N.p., n.d. Web. 02

Dec. 2013. .


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Appendix

[A]: "Without an element of cruelty at the root of every spectacle, the theatre is not

possible. In our present state of degeneration it is through the skin

that metaphysics must be made to re-enter our minds." (Artaud, Theatre of Cruelty:

First Manifesto)

[B]: Analysing Schizophrenia and the effect on Artauds work

Artaud was simply convinced that being ill, as well as those who are inflicted

with any sort of disorder similar to his, have a better understanding of life, as they have

a different set of experiences which healthy people will not be able to comprehend due

to the fact that they do not experience the same things (Sass and Parnas, "Schizophrenia,

Consciousness and the Self"). Artaud was able to bask in his mental disorder, since he

did not view this to be a sickness, but as an enlightened state of being (Sass and


15

Parnas).

[C]: Butoh is a Japanese style of modern dance which springs from devastation and

misery. It features the distortion of the body and the emphasis of unconventional beauty

through exaggerated facial expressions. It is often considered intimate, yet to a majority,

grotesque and strange.

[D]: [Silence. There is a noise as if an immense wheel were turning and moving the air. A

hurricane separates them. At the same time, two Stars are seen colliding and from them fall a

series of legs of living flesh with feet, hands, scalps, masks, colonnades, porticos, temples,


16

alembics, falling more and more slowly, as if falling in a vacuum: then three scorpions one after

another and finally a frog and a beetle which come to rest with desperate slowness, nauseating

slowness]

YOUNG MAN: [Crying with all his strength] The sky has gone mad.

[He looks at the sky] Let's hurry away from here.

[He pushes the Young Girl before him]

[Enter a medieval Knight in gigantic armor, followed by a Wet-Nurse holding her breasts

in her hands and puffing because her breasts are swollen] (Artaud, Jet of Blood)

[E]: The white color emphasizes the lines and shapes which our bodies create as it is

bent and moulded by the dance. Butoh is so unconventional that it is almost considered

to be an anti-dance, as it ceases to follow the rhythm and beat of the music used. It

attempts to transform the preconceived ideas of the mind and body, as well as bring

greater attention to the interaction of humans with the world (Teatro De La

Psychomachia, "Danse Perdue: About.").

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