SENIOR YEAR

In my Capstone experience, I wanted to explore a philosophical idea through performance and through the devised process. The idea that fascinated me was the difference between perception and reality and what that difference looked like in people’s everyday lives.

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I did a lot of research into the science behind perception, the science of sensory input and processing. I also learned about storytelling and devised performance techniques. The main difference between scripted and devised theatre is that in traditional, scripted theatre the lines are written and what will be shown on stage is more-or-less known beforehand. In devised theatre, what will eventually be performed is unknown in the beginning. At first, I started with only an idea of the concept I wanted to present and a basic story structure. I then worked with the actors to move through the piece and see what makes sense to do. The piece was nonverbal and movement-based, which is why moving through the piece in order to compose it was essential. Also, a key goal of this piece was to discover new insights from the devising process. In this stage, everyone’s contribution was important.

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The end story ended up being three people perceiving an everyday object differently. In this case, it was a broom. The first character used the broom to swat predators away. The second character used the broom as a friend. The third viewed the broom as a religious object. The conflict occurred when the characters viewed each other using the object differently. The three characters try to reconcile but are unable to, as the cognitive dissonance they experience is too great. In the end, the story ends when a fourth character enters the stage and uses the broom, as it is intended, to sweep dust off the stage.

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How to conclude our story was where there were the most issues, and subsequently, the most insight gained. As a group, we realized that conflicts about perception often don’t end with everyone in agreement. In fact, they are rarely resolved at all. We wanted a natural end to the piece that gave it a conclusive feel without a true conclusion or harmony being reached by the characters. And it was the process of figuring this out that gave us new knowledge about what the perception/reality gap can mean, physically, emotionally, and neurologically. This knowledge was not inherently cognitive but somatic; we had it in our bodies from having experienced it as such.

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This experience not only helped me gain knowledge in a topic of interest, but also helped me to improve my skills in managing people and managing time. I learned so much about how to develop the creative side of people and help them be their best so that they can contribute their unique insights to the project. I also learned how to design the project to aid the end goal; for example, I deliberately dedicated the warmups each day to exercising certain creative, perceptive, and somatic muscles that would be needed in the piece – they were not just random warm ups. Additionally, I improved my ability to set priorities and tasks to accomplish a goal in certain time frame, and I figured out how to adjust the tasks according to the set priorities as things went wrong and time was lost.

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Overall, this was an amazing experience. I hope to do something like this again in my life because it was such a soul-satisfying experience. If I could tell anyone anything about pursuing a capstone; first, I would tell them to take the plunge and do it, and second, I would tell them to chase something that they are passionate about. Having a project that makes you energized and excited is the best feeling in the world. Capstones should not be chosen out of obligation. Rather, by spending time on what makes you happy to be alive, you have a lot of fun while you complete an amazing project.