Contradictions: Getting Out of the Box

Whatever you do, if you go through a difficult stage before reaching the easy ones you will find that the sweetness is well worth the bitter trouble.

Mei Lanfang, Autobiography

For the performer, the ability to get ‘out of the box’ is extremely important. Practitioners struggle to cross their own limitations, overcome unnecessary habits and identify appropriate steps towards the creation of a performance score. We sense limits, but we can’t define them easily on our own, and as a result, we don’t know how to confront them. The relation between an idea and its realisation is full of contradictory processes. Our ego holds us back, feelings of shame or humiliation can dominate the performer’s mission to present the world from diverse perspectives. Many exercises developed in Studio Matejka were inspired by the recognition of ‘contradictions’ in theatre practice. These exercises are developed further by multiple combinations and create a base for original and individual variations.