WITHDRAWING THE PERFORMER by Charlotta Ruth, Jasmin Schaitl

WITHDRAWING THE PERFORMER WITHDRAWING THE PERFORMER is conceptualized and conducted collaboratively by Charlotta Ruth (SE/AT) and Jasmin Schaitl (AT). The starting point are two artistic practices based on methods of mindfulness and game/play; Performances for the Mind and Choreographic Clues. These two individual perspectives on participation emerge from the project leaders’ ongoing artistic research and merge in their common artistic curiosity in the facilitator role and facilitating the creation of immaterial material. Accompanied by neuroscientist and performer Imani Rameses (US/AT) the research asks: How does immaterial material perform within participatory situations? What role does participatory setting play and how does participation differ if situations are communicated as a workshop, a treatment, a practice or a performance? How can neuroscience support how immaterial and participatory art practices are developed and described? What relation exists beyond involvement and how can a participant become the situation rather than being part of a situation? What has to occur in the mind and body for this to happen? Through practice and dialogue conducted with experts in the fields of contemplative sciences, sound art, choreography, game art and somatics, the research explores how input from participants (e.g. memory, thought, emotion) can be placed at the centre of a flexible yet framed performance situation. WITHDRAWING THE PERFORMER was realised in collaboration with the Angewandte Performance Laboratory 2021-2022. In the course of the project, a lecture was given at the Center for Didactics of Art and Interdisciplinary Education, and a public series was realised at Kunsthalle, Wien & Angewandte Performance Lab. Collaborating expert practitioners and dialogue partners are: Philipp Ehmann (AT), Nikolaus Gansterer (AT), Mariella Greil (AT), Dennis Johnson (US/AT), Anne Juren (FR/AT), Krõõt Juurak (EE/AT), Imani Rameses (US/AT), Christian Schröder (AT), Lucie Strecker (DE/AT).

The Kick-Off was organisied as a participatory think & practice tank at Angewandte Performance Laboratory. Our in-house project dialogue partners Mariella Greil, Nikolaus Gansterer, Lucie Strecker and our collaborator Imani Rameses were invited to open up and sharpen certain aspects of the research, think about our research questions and together with the kick-off visitors search for vocabulary that would help us literally kick off the research.

What relation exists beyond involvement and how can a participant become the performance rather than being part of a performance? What has to occur in mind and body for this to happen?

VOCABULARY

- retreat

- extimacy

- watching-observing-

- Wit(h)nessing

- performer centric vs audience centric

- two component glue

- (framing) pre-existing knowledge

- (framing) pre-existing expectation

- "holding" as presence: in the sense of holding the space or holding the frame for a setting or event, and the role of the person who is holding is.

- care

- (midwifing)