We can take our time
Written by Vera Katsimparou, participant in CUBE’s Residency
This residency was a pivotal and defining point for me as an artist and for my entire artistic journey. I’m an upcoming actress who’s used to a certain way of working in every show I’ve done. However, when in this residency I had to work with artists from different countries and from a completely different artistic backgrounds from mine, I discovered things, ways and techniques that I’ve never imagined that they would suit me or that I would work with them. This was a huge challenge for me and for the other artists too. It was an amazing artistic journey with all these people and the organization that helped us a lot through our residency.
We experienced Thessaloniki focusing on the existence of water in every corner of the city. From the sea to the fountains and the hidden places in the whole area where there could be water. All this contrast of the fast rhythms of a city and the simultaneous existence of water gave us inspiration to create a performance that combines all of these. Through this program we understood the importance of water but also of all nature and the reasons for which, especially in a city with a large population, these natural elements are polluted by us, humans. We explored these very carefully and then combined our artistic strengths to create a show that showcases them.
As a group of women, who we are all feminists for many reasons, we connected even more among ourselves and approached the topic of ecofeminism through the female eye and perception in the society we live in.
Through this program I also managed to see my country (because I am from Greece and live in Athens) with different eyes. Exploring and meticulously observing every corner of the city, I discovered beauties and points that I had not noticed until now. In this way I managed to appreciate my home country even more. In this program i was speaking only English to the point that i forgot that we were in a Greek city and people there speak Greek. I kind of forgot that this is my hometown and my place. With the rest of the participants and the communication with them, I also felt like a tourist in my own country. This is how I released myself from my identity and discovered even more things about myself, about others and about the environment around me.
We worked all together as a collective group without a director or an instructor. This gave us the ability to hear the other person even more and try to adjust to their ideas. I love it when people can create something as a collective group, by discussion, understanding and interaction. This was something that I haven’t tried before and I really enjoyed it. This is the way that all the performances should be made because you hear ideas that you haven’t heard before and develop the way you think even more. In art and especially in theater we say that creating a team and developing the team spirit among the actors is the most important thing. However, I think that you understand better the necessity of the team when you work in such a way, in a collective way. Furthermore, we did a performance based on our body, without talking. This gave us the opportunity to put our emotions to our body. I found this very difficult because when I want to express myself I use my voice and verbal language. In this way I realized that sometimes you can express yourself better without speaking.
Moreover the instructors of this program told us many time to take our time and not rush to prepare a presentation. Let’s take our time to do all the necessary research, in order to find the ways to approach the issues. We discovered what this whole program meant for us, we took the time to think about it and then we showed and proposed our ideas. In a world where everything is in a hurry, it is rare to hear someone tell you this. In this way I felt free in all my artistic intervention. Finally, I also learned that beautiful artistic achievements come from artists who took their time to thoroughly research all the elements that they need for their artistic results.
The quotes from this residency in Thessaloniki that represents me , were something that a Greek Female director told us, when she saw our work in progress:
«Don’t describe…Be»
«Being here,now!»
«Be there and your body will understand what to do!»
«Be, open!»
