School of the Art’s fall major theatrical production explores love and power through a reimagining of Greco-Roman mythology
From Nov. 8 to 17, 2024, the school of the arts presented Woven Hearts, this year’s fall major theatrical production, in the Lyons Family Studio in L.R. Wilson Hall. Divided into two acts, the original production incorporated a series of Greco-Roman mythological figures and stories, drawing from Ovid's poem Metamorphoses.
Woven Hearts was produced by students taking the course iARTS 3MP6 – Devised Theatre Production. Through this course, students get hands on experience with production aspects like set and lighting design, costume and makeup design and choreography. These students also serve in key roles such as stage managers, script supervisors and assistant directors.
The central set piece for Woven Hearts was a loom that stretched from floor to ceiling and across the width of the theatre, splitting the stage in half. The Lyons Family Studio is arranged so that the audience sits on opposite sides of the stage, facing into the centre of the room.
Throughout the show, the actors interacted with the threads of the loom in various ways, pulling them aside to walk through the loom, leaning against them and entangling themselves between them. Different textiles were also woven into the loom to create imagery for certain scenes.
Peter Cockett, a SOTA associate professor who directs the fall major each year, discussed his selected source material.
“I wanted to do something about love, so we turned to a classical source, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, that has all these stories about love. And when we went to that source we discovered that it also had a lot to say about power and it actually was really political in our times, especially around issues of consent around this very patriarchal world of Ovid’s poem,” said Cockett.
Cockett emphasized that the fall major goes beyond just retelling old stories.
“I don’t think they’re important because they’re classical . . . but they’re here. They’re constantly being told and retold. They’re being idolized and idealized. So I think taking them on and seeing what they’re really about and changing them, that feels important still,” said Cockett. “But I think the most important thing is what the audience is responding to, which is this notion of centering love and the potential for a kind of altruistic social love that humans are capable of.”
But I think the most important thing is what the audience are responding to, which is this notion of centering love and the potential for a kind of altruistic social love that humans are capable of.
Peter Cockett, Director and Writer
Woven Hearts
In the spring 2024 term, Cockett taught THTRFLM 3PR3 – Text-based Devising: Research and Development, which is where the devising process for the fall major began. Cockett explained that the process involved studying Metamorphoses before writing and designing the entire production around the themes and stories from the text.
Mikey Gough, a fourth-year theatre and film studies student, described his experience working with Metamorphoses.
“There’s this instinct to have a lot of wonder surrounding the Greek myths, have a lot of positive associations. There was a lot of excitement . . . and when we were really kind of getting into the meat of them, I feel like we were running into these issues . . . it feels like they’re so harmful at times. And I think that friction, that incongruence with the wonder we had surrounding the stories and our problems with them is almost where we found our thesis,” said Gough.
Throughout the devising process, Gough and his peers asked questions like: “What about these stories are we not liking? What do we want to leave behind? And why? And what are these kind of new interpretations which we somehow or we suddenly find super beautiful?” said Gough.
Gough shared that he had heard positive reactions from others who watched the production.
“People in my age group, other students . . . have found it really moving. They’ve really enjoyed the upward arc of the show, which I would say there is . . . and I’ve heard a lot of people saying that the dose of hope it brings in our unprecedented times is really refreshing and important to see,” said Gough.
I've heard a lot of people saying that the dose of hope it brings in our unprecedented times is really refreshing and important to see.
Mikey Gough,fourth-year theatre and film studies student
Woven Hearts Actor
The annual SOTA fall major is a testament to the artistic talent of McMaster’s student body. Each production is creatively designed to convey an important message to its audience. Cockett shared that next year's production will focus on prison abolition, with a research-based devising process set to begin in January 2025.
Jemma Wolfe
Senior ANDY Editor
Are artists getting framed? Do you feel framed by society? Framed, this year’s Fall Major production by McMaster’s School of the Arts, premieres this week to much anticipation.
Framed was conceptualized by upper-year Theatre & Film Studies students who wanted to address the way in which artists are perceived and often framed by our present society. The director, professor Peter Cockett, explains, “Framed is about artists, the way they are perceived in our society, the difficulties they face and their ability to reframe our world.”
The play subtly interrogates public attitudes towards the importance of art in its many forms. Six different artists (a ballerina, a sculptor, a street artist, a singer and two digital designers) are mysteriously drawn to the Alternate Dimension coffee shop. There, an unusual barista, with otherworldly insight into the plights of the artists he encounters, magically compels his customers to confront their artistic pasts and come to terms with the circumstances that made them give up on what they loved.
The types of artists’ lives explored in this production were thoughtfully chosen. Cockett explains, “We chose kinds of artists that allowed us to explore different aspects of our central idea. The street artist, for example, allowed us to explore the issue of legitimacy in the art world. Who defines what is art and what is not?”
This production plays on the many meanings of the word “framed.” “The frame has a double meaning in our show. Our artists have been framed by social expectation, and thus the frame is a restrictive presence that limits possibilities. But frames can be moved, and one of the principle values of art for me is its ability to re-frame experience and allow us to see the world in fresh perspective,” explained Cockett. One of the most striking aspects of Framed’s set design is the clever ways that it plays with frames and layers of perception.
Framed is the result of the combined effort of three different classes: the summer term’s Performance Research and Planning, Performance and Community Outreach and Major Production Workshop. These classes gave students a realistic experience of what the realities of creating and staging a play really are.
Cockett was eager to sing the praises of his student cast and crew. “I asked this cast to engage with a complex topic and I have been impressed with the maturity of their response and their commitment to the creative process.”
The first image I saw when I walked into the dress rehearsal was the whole cast and crew standing in a circle together, holding each other’s hands. This pre-show ritual is representative of the relationship between the creative team members that devised the show. Devising, as a theatre process, is all about unity, cooperation and the fusion of collective ideas. There is little hierarchy, and everyone involved, from actors to designers, share the responsibility of inventing the premise, formulating dialogue, building sets, etc.
The benefits of devising processes, as Cockett explains, are that it “brings a multiplicity of perspectives to bear on the issue you are dealing with. It also encourages active engagement from all participants and a sense of collective responsibility within the creative process.”
Framed is a thought-provoking production that both entertains and challenges audiences. Viewers cannot help but consider the power and potential of art to reframe our world, and what is lost when passionate artists lose hope.
Framed is playing on Nov. 11, 12, and 16-19 in Robinson Memorial Theatre (CNH 103) at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at COMPASS and at the door.
Jemma Wolfe
Senior ANDY Editor
Are artists getting framed? Do you feel framed by society? Framed, this year’s Fall Major production by McMaster’s School of the Arts, premieres this week to much anticipation.
Framed was conceptualized by upper-year Theatre & Film Studies students who wanted to address the way in which artists are perceived and often framed by our present society. The director, professor Peter Cockett, explains, “Framed is about artists, the way they are perceived in our society, the difficulties they face and their ability to reframe our world.”
The play subtly interrogates public attitudes towards the importance of art in its many forms. Six different artists (a ballerina, a sculptor, a street artist, a singer and two digital designers) are mysteriously drawn to the Alternate Dimension coffee shop. There, an unusual barista, with otherworldly insight into the plights of the artists he encounters, magically compels his customers to confront their artistic pasts and come to terms with the circumstances that made them give up on what they loved.
The types of artists’ lives explored in this production were thoughtfully chosen. Cockett explains, “We chose kinds of artists that allowed us to explore different aspects of our central idea. The street artist, for example, allowed us to explore the issue of legitimacy in the art world. Who defines what is art and what is not?”
This production plays on the many meanings of the word “framed.” “The frame has a double meaning in our show. Our artists have been framed by social expectation, and thus the frame is a restrictive presence that limits possibilities. But frames can be moved, and one of the principle values of art for me is its ability to re-frame experience and allow us to see the world in fresh perspective,” explained Cockett. One of the most striking aspects of Framed’s set design is the clever ways that it plays with frames and layers of perception.
Framed is the result of the combined effort of three different classes: the summer term’s Performance Research and Planning, Performance and Community Outreach and Major Production Workshop. These classes gave students a realistic experience of what the realities of creating and staging a play really are.
Cockett was eager to sing the praises of his student cast and crew. “I asked this cast to engage with a complex topic and I have been impressed with the maturity of their response and their commitment to the creative process.”
The first image I saw when I walked into the dress rehearsal was the whole cast and crew standing in a circle together, holding each other’s hands. This pre-show ritual is representative of the relationship between the creative team members that devised the show. Devising, as a theatre process, is all about unity, cooperation and the fusion of collective ideas. There is little hierarchy, and everyone involved, from actors to designers, share the responsibility of inventing the premise, formulating dialogue, building sets, etc.
The benefits of devising processes, as Cockett explains, are that it “brings a multiplicity of perspectives to bear on the issue you are dealing with. It also encourages active engagement from all participants and a sense of collective responsibility within the creative process.”
Framed is a thought-provoking production that both entertains and challenges audiences. Viewers cannot help but consider the power and potential of art to reframe our world, and what is lost when passionate artists lose hope.
Framed is playing on Nov. 11, 12, and 16-19 in Robinson Memorial Theatre (CNH 103) at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at COMPASS and at the door.
