During our collaboration with the Romanian association of artists known as O2G, Per Bogstad Gulliksen managed the workshops in the Viewpoints method for actors. This was our main contribution to the Perifeeria project. To support the online workshops we also produced a course compendium for all participants.
Per received his education from both the Arts Educational School in London and KHIO in Oslo. His credits include work at the National Theatre of Norway. Per has an extensive and varied background from big stage musicals to independent theatre productions.
Viewpoints Method
This technique focuses on ways to approach dramatic composition. The Viewpoints themselves were originally conceived by choreographer Mary Overlie, who had been strongly influenced by the Judson Church Group (including such innovators in dance and music as Robert Dunn, David Gordon, Yvonne Rainier, Meredith Monk, and John Cage). Originally, Overlie had only created six viewpoints (Space, Shape, Time, Emotion, Movement, and Story). But upon meeting Mary Overlie at New York University in 1979, Anne Bogart (and later Tina Landau) were inspired to expand these six Viewpoints dancers and choreographers into nine viewpoints for actors and theatre practitioners.
The Viewpoints adapted by Bogart and Landau are Spatial Relationship, Kinesthetic Response, Shape, Gesture, Repetition, Architecture, Tempo, Duration, and Topography. There are also Vocal Viewpoints: Pitch, Dynamic, Acceleration/Deceleration, Silence, and Timbre.
We spesifically created the topic structure for the online format. The topic structure were designed in a given order so that the students could gain a deeper knowledge of Viewpoints as a creative tool for new ways to work as an actor and as a tool to create dramatic composition
P B Gulliksen
The following topics were decided on for the first series of lectures:
Day 1) Lecture on the History and Development of Viewpoints
Day 2) Physical Viewpoints within Viewpoints of Time
Day 3) Physical Viewpoints within Viewpoints of Space
Day 4) How to begin – Introduction to the Individual Viewpoints
Day 5) Viewpoints Working with Music
The following topics were decided on for the second series of
lectures:
Day 1) Lecture on Composition
Day 2) Composition towards making Original Work
Day 3) How to Discuss Composition Work in a Group
Day 4) Composition and Related Arts
Day 5) Viewpoints in Unexpected Places
We would like thank all the participants and the people at O2G for making this collaboration a success. Our activities were implemented during June of 2021.
Morten Bruun 