Solo Project- Research for Solo Part 1

I am in the early stages of developing my solo project and I am at the moment researching various performance art and different performers work. I felt another important aspect of my research for my solo is to gain a greater insight into what my grandmother was like as a woman. The best sources for finding out this information is my dad and my aunt . I feel they can paint a greater picture of who my grandmother was as a mother and as a person. The best way I felt I could gain insight into my grandmothers character was by writing down particular questions for my dad and aunt which dealt with  specific aspects of my grandmothers personality and life.

Questions for my dad and my auntie 

I wrote a set of eight questions for my dad and for my aunt.  The questions I selected for my dad dealt with the time that surrounded my grandmothers illness and death. The questions were largely factual and related to the build up of her death from hepatitis . I felt that specifically for myself I needed to know the cold hard facts about the way in which she died to see if there is specifically I want to draw on in my piece. The answers I received from my dad made me reflect that his  answers have given me a broader sense of the suddenness of her demise . The answers made me reflect and realise that I am not certain I want to focus in my solo on her death because I do not want the performance to be a sombre memorial to her. The subject of her death has made me realise I want my solo performance to be about the relationship we could have had with one another and if my perception of her is entirely a construct of my imagination.

The questions I selected for my aunt were very different from the ones I had chosen for my dad. This was partly because I felt more comfortable discussing the events leading up to my grandma's death with my dad because he is more comfortable with discussing the subject. The subject of my grandmothers death is a subject I feel I cannot bring up with my auntie because I feel I have a different relationship with her than to my dad. The questions were quite feminine and asked specific things about her character for example (what films did she like, what was her favourite colour) The answers that my auntie gave were  important for me to understand the kind of woman my grandma was and this simply because my auntie shared a mother/daughter relationship with her. The answers my auntie gave helped me to construct a real life interpretation of my grandmother and see her as a living and breathing person.

The answers and honestly the insight I gained about my grandmother's personality form my conversation with my auntie I feel will be a great starting point if I decide to revolve the piece around me turning myself into my grandmother. There is still further research I need to do and I feel I want to play around and examine other routes for my solo before I settle on one.