Physical Theatre Performance from GHFT

In a traditional theater model, the meaning of a play is transmitted primarily through the spoken text. Some of our work draws on Physical Theatre techniques and pushes back against this structure. The company was originally formed by students of Jacques Lecoq, we draw on his techniques to produce works that range from non-verbal to multilingual, using rhythm, dynamics, and architecture to carve visual stories in space.

Hover over the pics below to learn more about each performance project, and click on the photo for further info. Scroll down to read more about our theories in making Physical Theatre.

The Orchid Flotilla features a woman living alone on a floating island of plastic, sometime in a distant future. The culture that disposed of the plastic is long gone, but the human trait of ingenuity persists in this woman who adapts 20th century garbage to sustain herself. Themes of biomimicry run throughout, as the woman’s life parallels the life cycle of the orchid in both natural and supernatural ways.

Climate Connections/ Walkabout Refugee Puppets is an ongoing project by Glass Half Full Theatre to create walkabout performances featuring climate refugee stories. Representing people from all over the globe whose lives have been affected by climate change, these puppet characters interact with people on the street to create instant, private theatrical moments in order to broaden participants understanding of the human impacts of Climate Change.

Drawdown at The Global Arena demostrates solutions for climate change as WWE-style wrestlers battle one another for limited funding and support. Cheer for your favorite: “Alternative Energy,” “Carbon Capture,” “Mad Cow,” “Rubberman,” and “The Resourcerer.” Can they overlook their differences and band together to defeat their arch nemesis, Mz. Extinction?

Polly Mermaid: Apocalypse Wow: When rogue particle physicist Dr. Deborah Degudere tries to “solve” Earth’s garbage disposal problem by zapping plastic into outer space, she accidently zaps Polly Mermaid, a mutant mermaid from a future time of sentient plastic, into her lab. Deborah and Polly save each other (and all of humanity) from themselves in this adult sci-fi eco-fable.

The Missionary Position: Pleasure Journeys for the Intrepid Lady Explorer is a Queer and Feminist comedic lecture series packed with physical comedy. Amelia Weatherbeaten and Eleanor Dangerbottom are Victorian-era Lady Explorers and Spokeswomen for Hartman’s Hygienic Towelettes for Ladies, the first commercially available menstrual products for women. They travel around the world at the turn of the 19th century, hocking their products and lecturing hilariously on topics of interest to the Society of Learned Ladies, Where Ladies Share Knowledge with Ladies. Part Sideshow, part Geographical Salon, these ladies offer a seat at their table but you won’t stay in it for long.

Humans process language in a codified way. A series of sounds in a certain order make up a word, a series of words in a certain order make up a sentence. A series of stances make up a line or a monologue, and that means we, the audience, process the information linearly.

When you get most of your information through language, the experience lands just after the line. The audience processes the words they just heard, and then the penny drops, the connections are made, and the playwright’s meaning is transmitted. Audiences are trained to expect this; awards are given to playwrights who create verbal zingers that do this.

In contrast to this structure, in our approach to physical theater, our goal is for audiences to have a more simultaneous (rather than a primarily linear) experience of the story. We work to build a visual experience of the story, with some dialog in there for good measure to keep the linear part of the story on track. Our intention is for the audience to think, I’ve never seen this before, but I recognize it. It is familiar to me. Then we might ask you to put those images together in a new way.

We can’t show you anything new. But we can offer a new angle to look at it from.