Secrets from the Borne Settee

Secrets from the Borne Settee is a devised work presented by the University of Regina Theatre Department. The show will be streaming live on March 23, 2019.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

You can watch the interviews with cast and crew of Secrets from the Borne Settee on Youtube here: https://t.co/5jGYpOvBfb
#bornesettee

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

@GVPTATheatre @WesternGoldThea Congratulations Tanja! Great news!

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

We will be posting the pre-show interview with sound on the YouTube channel soon. Sorry for the small glitch at the beginning of the stream. https://t.co/powmIAm2NU

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

If anyone has more feedback, send it our way. We will still be watching the twitter account for a while. Thank you to all the people that came to watch the show and joined us online for this big experiment.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

Thank you Carla for all your great questions and kind words. The actors are heading off to celebrate. So we are signing off for tonight.

[Carla Harris (they/she) @CdnShieldCarla]

@thebornesettee @hugosolisgarcia I would be terrified to do what they just did bravo #bornesettee!

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

I had people to help me with the live stream, but gave direction. As far as where the camera was on stage, that was negotiated through rehearsals. It was up to me. Kathryn gave a few notes. Things changed a bit when we had the camera and screen on stage the week before.

[Carla Harris (they/she) @CdnShieldCarla]

@thebornesettee For Thomas, did you decide where each scene was shot from & what was on livestream? Some of the angled (probably mobile?) shots were really effective, especially character closeups. How did yoy plan which camera was being projected live on the stage & which’d be livebroadcast?

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

An audience member said negotiating the cameras intimacy and the live action was an interesting experience. One person said it was a bit like watching a play in the round, even though it was not. Some people wanted to see more intimate moments from the camera.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

Another audience member said that there was enough repetition in themes and imagery that it gave a sense of coherence to the play.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

We got a lot of feedback that most people enjoyed that there was no spoon feeding. Lack of narrative was enjoyable and it put you in the moment. You were constantly engaged trying to fill in the things you wanted to know.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

@CdnShieldCarla @hugosolisgarcia Actors loved how the live music kept them engaged from moment-to-moment, they liked how it was very organic and fluid. Just tonight there were some nerves because they were streaming live!

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

The music was composed by @hugosolisgarcia, and performed with some improvisation. Hugo was involved with the process when he was here in Regina as an artist in residence in January, and then collaborated remotely. We filmed run throughs for him to base his work off of.

[Carla Harris (they/she) @CdnShieldCarla]

@thebornesettee That is amazing! In composing for a play like this, are all the pieces improvised or did you design the sound intentionally? I am curious if the process was writing together with the students or after their dialogue was designed?

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

From the talkbacks, one person said the lighting was fantastic and it became a character in the story

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

From Kelsey, it was nerve wracking in a sense because you didn't know how the audience would react. Some audiences were more receptive than others. It was fun when they were engaged.

[Hugo solis @hugosolisgarcia]

@thebornesettee I got the films, then I did the music knowing the approximate duration. Then I did 3 moments for each music. The beginning, the loop, and the end. The loop can reapeat as much as needed. Then I play on top of that live music.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

From Mike, that was my most fun scene because there was freedom to do what I wanted and it wasn't set in stone. From Jiness, I didn't know how they were going to receive it. It was fun to make the audience laugh, and challenging making them then feel uncomfortable.

[Carla Harris (they/she) @CdnShieldCarla]

@thebornesettee I’m super curious for the actors, do you like the risk or find it stressful to write & execute scenes that are open for audience participation/responses? #bornesettee

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

One person said they were continually reengaged in the show as it changed from moment to moment with no expectation of a narrative. They enjoyed the not knowing.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

We have had some really great feedback from our audiences in the theatre over the last two nights during our talkback sessions. Here are a few of the things that stood out for the actors.

[Hugo solis @hugosolisgarcia]

@thebornesettee @CdnShieldCarla By the way, the music was composed but the duration can change according to the length of each scene. That gives some freedom to the actors. There are some music layers that are repeating with some intros and endings. It was set it up with the Ableton Live software.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

No for the hands, he was there for the fog rehearsal, and designed the music to underscore that scene. It was called seeking.

[Carla Harris (they/she) @CdnShieldCarla]

@thebornesettee @hugosolisgarcia Also, was the scrip written before the music was designed, and if so were the artistic scenes like the opening hands in light added to fit with the music? Sorry I’m a playwright trying to work with a fluid score & I’m obsessed with how nicely that flowed together.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

Hugo was in rehearsals during the creation process. When he returned to Mexico, he received filmed versions of the moments we worked on and responded with music and sound for us to use. The music he provided was very sensitive to each moment, and enhanced it.

[Carla Harris (they/she) @CdnShieldCarla]

@thebornesettee @hugosolisgarcia Also, was the scrip written before the music was designed, and if so were the artistic scenes like the opening hands in light added to fit with the music? Sorry I’m a playwright trying to work with a fluid score & I’m obsessed with how nicely that flowed together.

[Secrets from the Borne Settee @thebornesettee]

No @CdnShieldCarla they did not have the music in the beginning because we were still in the devising process. We started to work with the music in tech. @hugosolisgarcia was very sensitive to the play and the scenes, so the music integrated very well.

[Carla Harris (they/she) @CdnShieldCarla]

@thebornesettee @hugosolisgarcia Incredible. I loved the sound, @hugosolisgarcia! So did the actors have/need opportunity to rehearse with the musician during that residency or were the music transitions live only for performance? I am curious how the actors felt working with live music?