A FUNeral in Aalborg - Fantasies of pets and kings

On the 12th of june we finished our workshop at  New Communities in Theatre Nordkraft in Aalborg.  We are thankful and amazed by the level of commitment and generosity that we experienced. Both from the humans in "Hamlets lost carkey's and the plague of fantasies" and the staff and crew at Nordkraft Theatre.
The three days of practical work and theory on the Theatre machine also benefitted us in further expanding the text, scope and possibillities of the Theatre Machine. We thank you for the gift of the "master switch"  and the unwritten rules discovered in the intellectual space on how we talk about the "fable" of events in the creative space.
We also thank Jakob Miriam and Mikkel  from Nordkraft and STATENS SCENEKUNSTSKOLE- Efteruddannelsen  for programming us. We are grateful.
The workshop focused on using the theatre machine practically as a means of dismantling and deactivating the accepted fantasy and projected fantasies on classic text and as a tool to explore the written and unwritten rules of given situations. We started with Ophelia's karaoke competition. We ended with a FUNeral.

Jón and Jón

Hamlet´s lost car key`s and the plague of fantasies in Aarhus Denmark

The workshop is part of New Communities and The Nordic Performing Arts Days 2014

The workshop is three days practical work and theory on the Theatre machine.
The theatre machine is a general theory on collective work in performing arts. It is the result of  our work in the open collective Mindgroup.

The Workshop focuses on using the theatre machine practically as a means of dismantling and deactivating the accepted fantasy and projected fantasies on classic text and as a tool to explore the written and unwritten rules of any situation.

further info at http://www.teaterskolen-efteruddannelsen

Mindgroup will also premier a new show ZOMBIE 2:EX GRATIA

Machines, devices and the Rumsfeld principle

We held a workshop/seminar at the Nordic performing arts DAYS in Reykjavik. The workshop was a two day intensive with practical work as well as theory.

Slavoj Zizek on unknown knowns

Theatre machine /Express Scandinavia/ workshop on Nordic performance art Days 2012

From Wikipedia
"Unknown knowns are the things that we know, but are unaware of knowing. The coining of the term is attributed to Slovenian Philosopher Slavoj Žižek and it refers to the unconscious beliefs and prejudices that determine how we perceive reality and intervene in it. It is the Freudian unconscious, the “knowledge which doesn’t know itself,” as Jacques Lacan said.[1] "
See the whole entry at Wikipedia

Zizek on Toilets( and unknown knowns)

Donald Rumsfeld on known knowns

Here is a wikipedia entry on the subject

Hamlet´s lost car key`s and the plague of fantasies

Hamlet´s lost car key`s and the plague of fantasies is a seminar and  practical workshop on the Theatremachine. The Workshop focuses on using the theatre machine practically as a means of dismantling and deactivating the accepted fantasy and projected fantasies on classic text and as a tool to explore the written and unwritten rules of any situation.

Workshops and seminars

We are available for workshops and seminars on the theatre machine. For more information or inquiries on scope and availability please contact us here.

The three laws of the Theatre machine

Workshop "White rabbit" Iceland Academy of the Arts (IAA)

1. The rules of the creative space in any given theatre machine may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 

2. A human must obey the rules of the creative space, except where such rules would conflict with the First Law.

3. A human can change the rules the creative space and its theatre devices as long as such a change does not conflict with the First or Second Laws


The three laws are there to ensure that the humans do not come to harm. It is the responsibility of the humans to keep and enforce the laws. 
The rules of the creative space in any given machine are both written and unwritten. To be precise they are both explicit and implicit, a written rule/explicit rule can potentially contain a promise of an unwritten rule /implicit rule.  It is therefore imperative that the humans in the machine take responsibility for each other’s safety.  The third law allows humans to change the rules of the creative space for that purpose.

The creative space

Seminar/workshop Iceland Academy of the Arts (IAA)

The theatre machine uses humans to perform some activity in the creative space.

The creative space has rules that require humans to perform or assist in performing any type of acts in a chain of events in order to explore the given question or challenge.

A theatre device is any device in the creative space that uses humans to perform some activity or can be used by humans to perform some activity.

There is no author in the creative space. There is a common challenge/subject that is addressed in the creative space.

Give each run or execution in the creative space a title. 

The purpose of the creative space is not to generate dialogue. The creative space is just a tool that can only define how we speak about the challenge/subject. 

It is very important to view the execution or exploration in the creative space  as  an instrument of creation and discovery; the aim is not to make an improvised performance/happening. 

In the creative space text is a theatre device as is a set, a chair, a table, gun or a game.

If the creative space is complex, it will need someone to run maintenance.

Make, break and misunderstand the rules but always above all obey the three laws of the theatre machine.

Intellectual space

Workshop Mindgroup RCT (Reykjavik City Theatre)

The intellectual space should be separated from the creative space.

The intellectual space is the where the humans reach common consensus on rules and titles for the creative space and the machine or suggest Theatre devices for the creative space. 
After each run/exploration in the creative space the humans use the intellectual space to.

Manifest interpretation on an individual level.

Manifest understanding on an individual level.

Common consensus on understanding or interpretation of any given run/exploration/execution in the creative space should not be the aim of the intellectual space.  By not reaching a common consensus in the intellectual space the subject/question/challenge remains “charged”.

The word “charged“ should be understood as not giving the humans the task to manifest mutual understanding, interpretation or a consensus on a narrative except through execution in the creative space.

If the humans feel that any of the three laws of the machine have been broken that needs to be addressed in the intellectual space.

The storeroom

Workshop "You are here" Mindgroup

The storeroom is both a physical space and a psychological space. It is the realm of the 4 knowns  nd physical objects. It is anything you bring into the creative space or intellectual space. It can be a lecture on line-dancing or Christian clowning, a photo, a song etc. or any theatre device  that you bring to be used in the creative space. 

The storeroom is personal and mutual. It is what you decide to give the humans as material.  Gifts should be received with gratitude. It is important to remember that any personal experience that is manifested in the creative space or the intellectual space becomes material in the storeroom.  All material and devices in the storeroom are open-source.

Neutral space

Workshop "White Rabbit" IAA

The exploration and execution in the creative space and the  intellectual space of the machine demands a space where the humans can communicate, share and exist without it becoming material for the storeroom  and used in the creative space or intellectual space.

 The neutral space is necessary so that the humans can communicate in a space where there is no “charge”, to be understood in context with exploration and execution in the creative space of the machine or the intellectual space.

The Theatre Machine can be exhausting and confusing it is therefore important to have a space witch is “neutral” in context with exploration and execution in the creative space of the machine or the intellectual space.

That does not mean that the neutral space is not a space of emotion or discussion.

Titles and rules

Workshop/seminar Icelandic Academy of the Arts (IAA)

A theatre machine should have a title and each exploration or execution in the creative space should have a title. 
The title is a tool to embody the challenge or question that is to be explored or executed. 

Every title has within it a promise of a set of explicit and implicit “truths” or knowns. These can then help to “charge” or “load” the creative space and its devices and imply a certain type of acts in a chain of events in order to explore the given question or challenge.

The creative space should also have a set of written explicit rules that should always comply with the three laws.  The written rules are what drive the execution or exploration in the creative space.

All theatre devices also have a set of explicit and implicit “truths” or knowns. They also have a set of written or unwritten rules.


Theatre devices also may have within them a certain “charge” or a promise/possibility of a chain of events.  A gun or a chocolate cake is an example of such a “charged” theatre device.

The 4 Knowns

Workshop "White rabbit" IAA

The Theatre machine should use its spaces, intellectual, creative and the storeroom to discover the 4 knowns of any given question/challenge.

1.There are known knowns; there are things we know we know.
2. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.
3. But there are also the unknown unknowns, the things we don't know we don't know.
4. And finally. Unknown knowns- things we don´t know that we know.

The 4 Knowns operate in the realm of  private and public space. They are the conscious and unconscious “truths” in our existence.
They also belong to the realm of uncertainty and chance. They occupy all spaces of the Theatre machine and can be explored in the creative and intellectual space. They exist in our storeroom and neutral space.

The observer effect

Workshop "You are here" Mindgroup

In physics, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on the phenomenon being observed. 
The act of observing or documenting the creative space will affect the execution of the rules and therefore the exploration of any given question or challenge. 

To minimize this effect some kind of “filter” or “buffer” needs to be in place between the observer and what is being observed. For example a capture device that also projects live what it captures.  

So be aware of the effect the human observation of exploration and execution in the creative space will have on the  of exploration and execution in the creative space.

Screens

To explore a given question or to exicute a chain of events in the creative space it is nearly always  useful to use screens. A screen is a master signifier that allows the other humans in the creative space to project their given fantasies on your screen. Each screen comes also with their own written and unwritten rules and a promise of a chain of events or a chain of inactions.  Screens have there own set of knowns and unknowns.  A screen can be completely manufactured in the intellectual space or borrowed from the storeroom.  It can be manifested by using a theatrical device like a piece of costume or by simply visibly signifying for example a name of a historical person, job title or fictional character on your person before you enter the creative space to explore or to execute.  The projection on your given screen is the observers fantasy not your own. This opens the fantasies up for exploration within the creative space without the aim of coming  to a consensus.

Spheres and spaces of the Theatre Machine