SCHOOL OF DISOBEDIENCE
creating
a solo
Production Lessons
LESSON 2/2
LESSON 2/2
Congratulations.
You have completed the first production lesson.
You entered the studio.
You stayed with your materials.
You worked through boredom, doubt, repetition, and the desire to change direction too quickly.
You generated movement.
Now we begin composing.
This is the second and final production lesson.
In the previous lesson, you transformed your answers into physical material. In this lesson, you will arrange that material into form: this is composition.
Composition begins when you make choices.
What remains?
What disappears?
What comes first?
What changes because of what came before?
Which material needs time?
Which material has already said enough?
This is a demanding moment.
During research, everything can remain possible. During composition, possibilities have to become decisions. At this stage, you do not need more ideas. Now your task is to listen to what has already appeared.
Your task is not to invent the structure. Your task is to discover the structure that your materials are already asking for.
Before entering the studio
Return to your previous studio session.
Read your notes once.
Look at the instructions you gave yourself.
Then choose three or four materials that you want to meet again.
You do not need to use everything you created.
Leaving something out does not mean it was useless.
It helped you arrive here.
Prepare the studio session
Set aside approximately one uninterrupted hour.
Ideally work in the same space as before.
Prepare everything before beginning:
Build the performance three different ways
Choose three or four materials from your previous studio session.
Use the same materials in all three versions.
Do not add anything new.
Each version should last approximately 10 minutes.
Version A — Random order
Write each material on a separate piece of paper.
Mix them.
Draw them one by one.
Perform the materials in the order you selected.
Do not change the order, even if it feels strange.
Let the transitions happen through the body.
Version B — Begin with the strongest material
Begin with the material that currently feels most alive, developed, or physically clear.
Allow it to lead you toward the other materials.
Do not plan the entire order in advance.
Follow what the first material seems to ask for.
Version C — Begin with what you least understand
Begin with the material that remains the most unfamiliar, unresolved, or difficult to grasp.
Stay with it.
Do not try to make it immediately clear.
Let this unknown material open the performance and influence everything that follows.
You have now built the same performance three different ways. Choose the version that contains the strongest journey. This becomes the basis of your performance.
Build the final version
Repeat your chosen version.
Make simple changes.
Shorten what has already said enough.
Give more time to what is still transforming.
Remove anything you included only because you worked hard on it.
A material does not deserve to remain because it took time to create. It remains because the performance needs it.
Do not fill every second. A pause can be part of the composition.
Stillness can be material.
The audience does not need constant activity. They need to feel where their attention is being guided.
Trust the transitions
Many beginning artists focus on scenes.
Experienced artists often focus on transitions.
Do not worry too much about creating beautiful moments.
Pay attention to how one moment becomes another.
How does the shaking rhythm become stillness?
How does the object leave your hands?
How does one world slowly become another?
Sometimes the transition is the choreography.
Documentation
Repeat and please record your chosen version following these guidelines:
Submission
Please send your work via email within 7 days.
Do not send the video via WeTransfer.
Instead, upload it to:
I look forward to seeing the first form your materials have become.
You have completed the first production lesson.
You entered the studio.
You stayed with your materials.
You worked through boredom, doubt, repetition, and the desire to change direction too quickly.
You generated movement.
Now we begin composing.
This is the second and final production lesson.
In the previous lesson, you transformed your answers into physical material. In this lesson, you will arrange that material into form: this is composition.
Composition begins when you make choices.
What remains?
What disappears?
What comes first?
What changes because of what came before?
Which material needs time?
Which material has already said enough?
This is a demanding moment.
During research, everything can remain possible. During composition, possibilities have to become decisions. At this stage, you do not need more ideas. Now your task is to listen to what has already appeared.
Your task is not to invent the structure. Your task is to discover the structure that your materials are already asking for.
Before entering the studio
Return to your previous studio session.
Read your notes once.
Look at the instructions you gave yourself.
Then choose three or four materials that you want to meet again.
You do not need to use everything you created.
Leaving something out does not mean it was useless.
It helped you arrive here.
Prepare the studio session
Set aside approximately one uninterrupted hour.
Ideally work in the same space as before.
Prepare everything before beginning:
- the objects you need
- your clothes or costume elements
- music, if you use it
- water
- a timer
- a camera, if you want to document the versions
Build the performance three different ways
Choose three or four materials from your previous studio session.
Use the same materials in all three versions.
Do not add anything new.
Each version should last approximately 10 minutes.
Version A — Random order
Write each material on a separate piece of paper.
Mix them.
Draw them one by one.
Perform the materials in the order you selected.
Do not change the order, even if it feels strange.
Let the transitions happen through the body.
Version B — Begin with the strongest material
Begin with the material that currently feels most alive, developed, or physically clear.
Allow it to lead you toward the other materials.
Do not plan the entire order in advance.
Follow what the first material seems to ask for.
Version C — Begin with what you least understand
Begin with the material that remains the most unfamiliar, unresolved, or difficult to grasp.
Stay with it.
Do not try to make it immediately clear.
Let this unknown material open the performance and influence everything that follows.
You have now built the same performance three different ways. Choose the version that contains the strongest journey. This becomes the basis of your performance.
Build the final version
Repeat your chosen version.
Make simple changes.
Shorten what has already said enough.
Give more time to what is still transforming.
Remove anything you included only because you worked hard on it.
A material does not deserve to remain because it took time to create. It remains because the performance needs it.
Do not fill every second. A pause can be part of the composition.
Stillness can be material.
The audience does not need constant activity. They need to feel where their attention is being guided.
Trust the transitions
Many beginning artists focus on scenes.
Experienced artists often focus on transitions.
Do not worry too much about creating beautiful moments.
Pay attention to how one moment becomes another.
How does the shaking rhythm become stillness?
How does the object leave your hands?
How does one world slowly become another?
Sometimes the transition is the choreography.
Documentation
Repeat and please record your chosen version following these guidelines:
- Duration: 10 minutes
- One continuous take
- No editing
- Film in landscape (horizontal) format
- Make sure both image and sound are clear enough to watch comfortably.
Submission
Please send your work via email within 7 days.
Do not send the video via WeTransfer.
Instead, upload it to:
- Google Drive (make sure viewing permissions are enabled), or
- YouTube (public or unlisted).
I look forward to seeing the first form your materials have become.