The overall growth this week has allowed this show to really start to come to life. Akin to Marya's posts, the work every member of this team has put into creating Vanishing Point is apparent, stimulating, and exciting. At the start of this week, we were joined by the writers, Rob Hartmann and Liv Cummins. Their presence in the rehearsal room was both a form of motivation and comfort. Hearing the story of the germination of some dialogue and musical moments enriched the progress of this show's growth in terms of depth and understanding. Interestingly, during this week an idea stuck me. I discovered this show's connection to Freud's theories of the subconscious construct in relationship to the formation of an identity. We have three historical women who share common characteristics and a shared experience of "vanishing". Amelia functions like the ego, whereas Agatha and Aimee function like the superego and id, respectively. This is interesting because in the formation of identity, the superego and the id are said to be in conflict over the ego. Whether this "conflict" is apparent in the show is debatable, however, in Vanishing Point, all three women emerge in a transformation of identity. In order to achieve an authentic identity, a balance must occur between the forces of the id and superego. When Amelia successfully vanishes, this balance is obtained. Ultimately, these thoughts lead to a discussion about who is the character behind Vanishing Point's subconscious. As we continue to explore in the rehearsal process, I am interested about this question. I look forward to this next week of rehearsals and hope that we continue on our path of admirable accomplishment.
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Hello all ... Rob here ... reading these entries with great interest from afar. Blogger is telling me I must break my comment up into shorter entries, so this will be one of three, I think.
ReplyDeleteRegarding id/ego/superego. That's a fascinating idea. One of the elements that has made writing this show so interesting is the way that the three women fall into so many different trinities (they are so perfect as a trio ... beginning with their six-letter "A" names ... this is what drew Scott to put them together in the first place.) In older versions of the show, we sometimes made more overt references to their trinities ... body/mind/soul ... also different elemental trinities. Amelia disappeared in the air, Agatha disappeared on the road [earth], Aimee disappeared in the water. Character-wise, they seem to me to be Aimee=fire, Agatha=air, Amelia=earth, which is interesting then that fire is quenched by water, while earth & air trade places (things are upside down, perhaps ... the sky and earth are not in their usual place.) The very first opening number was called "Out on a Wing and a Prayer Without A Clue" ... the tone of the show was much jokier then ... the trinity idea was referenced very specifically (body, soul and mind, etc.) Later in the development of the show, a number called "Sun, Wind, Sand" was present in the show, at the moment when they discovered themselves in "The Vanishing Point" (the concept that the first act was a literal re-playing of their stories was not yet present -- it was still a theatrical conceit which represented "reality" versus actual re-playing.)
Regarding the ego ... one system of thought which has greatly influenced our development of character is the Enneagram, which has some relationship to the ego-superego-id (although it has more to do with the development of one's ego in relationship to the world.) There are many sources on the web which explain the concept of the Enneagram -- the short version is that the Enneagram posits that their are nine basic personality types, all of which are driven by a different basic energy and thus relate to the world differently. Those nine types are grouped into three divisions: heart-centered, mind-centered, gut-centered. In our renditions of the character, Agatha is of course mind centered, Amelia is heart-centered, and Aimee is gut-centered. I first was introduced to the Enneagram concept by Patty Nieman, the actress who played Agatha in the Minneapolis workshop where Liv joined the creative team. The types are given numbers (each number also has a name, although the names can differ.) Agatha was clearly what they call a "Type 5": the Observer, sometimes called The Scholar. Amelia, in our conception of her, was "Type 3": the Achiever. [Interestingly, some Enneagram sites type the real-life Amelia as a 5.] At the time, we were sorting out Aimee's character ... we found that she fit most clearly "Type 8": the "Boss"/the Leader. Looking at what drives that type enabled us to pare away moments where we had written her inconsistently. This type leads from her gut ... she has to "fight you to find out who you are." Although it's not necessary that directors or actors read about the Enneagram concept in order to understand the characters (we hope the writing speaks for itself), those who know about the Enneagram can see specific clues and references to the idea (all of the Enneagram analysis comes from human behavior -- it's a rich source for writers when trying to understand people who are different than oneself.) [continued]
ReplyDeleteOne of the basic ideas of the Enneagram is that your most essential drive is the thing that is both your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. "The one thing that makes you, breaks you, too." This appealed to us as a more nuanced view of human psychology, versus what I call the "Oprah" or "Dr. Phil" approach, which would label these three women as having some "problem" that they had to "solve." ("Agatha just needs self-esteem!") What the Enneagram theory posits is that, as humans, we must all strive for balance. We should aim to discover what our gift is, and harness it for the betterment of ourselves and the world -- and not let it get out of balance and destroy us. Amelia's "vanity" (pursuit of fame/acknowledgement by the world) led her to do incredible things -- only when it became unbalanced did it potentially destroy her. Aimee is a brilliant leader ... when she is out of balance, she becomes paranoid, dictatorial, impulsive. Agatha emotional remove (she is more comfortable fantasizing about her romance with Archie at a distance, versus engaging with people in the moment) allows her to develop wonderful stories ... but leads to greater and greater emotional estrangement from the world. According to the enneagram theory, when one progresses up the ladder of personal development, the ego does indeed vanish. So the idea that the show as a whole is ultimately about the "vanishing ego" is, to me, very personally satisfying. It's all about achieving a zen-like balance ...
ReplyDeleteOur journey as writers on this show seems to have been mostly about channeling ... we have had to "disappear" ourselves and let the women speak (while at the same time, trying to hone our craft so it appears to be invisible ...) Many of the musical moments I am proudest of literally felt as though they were channeled through me, versus being crafted or created. It's rewarding to see that the show allows for all the other artists involved -- actors, directors, designers, dramaturgs and so on -- to really find their own individual expression within this trio of characters. --Rob 10/1/2010