Yoshi Oida speaks of a famous Japanese saying in his book, The Invisible Actor. He quotes: “It is better to spend three years looking for a good teacher than to occupy the same period of time doing exercises with someone inferior”. One could be forgiven for feeling bemused by the possibility that it might take three years to find such a mentor, particularly when the definition of ‘good teaching’ in our Australian political landscape is frequently reduced to a series of ticks in boxes. Oida however, speaks in a far more composite way about the intricacies of learning that are worthy of consideration in this equation. For him, the acquisition of skill is nothing more than a language for conceptual understanding, and never the sole purpose of study. He believes that in the hands of a ‘good teacher’, one has the opportunity to transcend technique and experience freedom. The sense of autonomy that Oida speaks of so necessitously is a rare gift that extends beyond the style or technique one sets out to ‘learn’, so that the consequence of instruction becomes a profound and far-reaching investigation with the self. In an artistic landscape where life and art invariably share a shameless duplicity, it makes sense that at least one theatre-maker in Australia has devoted a significant proportion of her life to the exploration of this premise in the training of young actors.

Tanya Gerstle, Lecturer in Acting at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), launches her new performance group OpticNerve into the Melbourne theatre scene next week at fortyfivedownstairs. The group will perform two works in their season, both of which have been adapted and directed by Gerstle, and performed in recent times at VCA. Yes, based on the film by Sally Potter, is a story of cross-cultural lovers, whose desire collides with politics and faith. It explores the disposability of the human experience and interrogates the audience with the primal uncertainties of who to include, who to exclude and how to measure the difference. Five kinds of Silence is based on a radio play by Shelagh Stephanson and tells the disturbing tale of the destructive cycle of silence and abuse - of ordinary people surviving extraordinary circumstances. Gerstle describes the launch as an opportunity for the work to “come out and play”, a way to bridge the training laboratory with the profession. For some this might seem a dangerous task, however Gerstle’s veracious spirit and sensitivity to the interconnectedness of every artistic experience means that her roles as educator and theatre-maker are inextricably linked.

Gerstle’s artistic journey began as an actor where she worked in both Australia and Europe. She describes herself during this period as being a “highly politicised, precocious thinker”. As a young feminist actor, she became committed to the theatre because she believed it was the most effective vehicle for making a political statement. In this formative period of her artistic life Gerstle was busy with experimentation, seeking out a vast array of processes that varied in their intellectual, physical, esoteric, avant-garde and conventional forms. As she honed her preferences for particular encounters, she transitioned into theatre-making and eventually teaching, eager to find a process that might give other actors the experiences she valued.

Gerstle describes her lecturing period at VCA as a kind of incubation, a laboratory, where her process has evolved from creative collaborations with students and her colleagues, such as the former Head of Drama Lindy Davies. In this time she has directed over twenty productions, including Top Girls by Caryl Churchill and Fefu & her Friends by Maria Irene Fornes. Gerstle is inherently attracted to controversy and paradox. She is concerned with the theatrical experience, the live event, where the audience is asked to participate, and where images are “burnt into their retinas”. Both plays in the upcoming season are products of this theatrical aesthetic and her theatre-making process.

Gerstle’s approach to theatre making came from a desire to work with actors and text in a way that was not reductive or behavioural. She has developed a training mechanism known as ‘pulse’ that allows an ensemble of improvising performers to jam together, responding to external sources and internal impulse. Within this there is an emphasis on the creation of imagery that is lyrical, poetic and metaphorical. The training challenges the performer to act on impulse with total conviction and to make ‘decisions’ in action. Gerstle has been known to describe the improvisational element of her training as the act of dancing on the edge of failure, in anticipation of a miracle. The actors use this tool in rehearsal to physically explore the text in an abstract way. They relate to the text and create a physical landscape that is expressionistic. The final product is an experience for the audience where they are listening to a coherent and literal narrative, but are seeing an altered world through the action of the actors; in other words, the physical track becomes the subtext for the text.

In addition to this process Gerstle is interested in working with text that comes from artistic mediums other than theatre. Five kinds of Silence, which was first explored in 2004, is a radio play. The challenge was to take text that was deeply evocative with a beautiful dramatic structure and see if something that had no intended physical embodiment could be transported to the stage. Similarly, the text for Yes was adapted from the film script which was prescriptive in its action for the camera; this too was replaced in rehearsal with physical explorations generated by the actors in process. In this way, Gerstle trustingly deposits the pure text into the creative minds of her actors, allowing them to create a physical terrain that moves beyond the original form.

Gerstle is consumed with the idea of creative partnerships. Her rehearsal space is a collaborative milieu where ideas and provocations are fervently flung about with just the right balance of sacredness and irreverence. There is zealousness in the way Gerstle nurtures these relationships with her actors. She is demanding of life and of experience, which means she is always operating from a place of curiosity and investigation in her own practice rather than of judgment. Gerstle’s devotion to dialoguing means that there is a fluency and transparency in her interactions. The atmosphere of possibility this creates in space is electric.

Her vision for OpticNerve is that it will become a home for artists who are hungry to continue working with her process after they leave VCA. Gerstle is similarly excited about creating a forum for people outside the community who are keen to explore the process. She hopes that OpticNerve will be a hub of research and enquiry that will celebrate with an ensemble united in their desire for exploration of material that is dynamic and transformative.

As a developing artist there is something deeply rousing about watching this ‘good teacher’ take public leaps of faith, exposing her creative spirit. Gerstle’s actions leave us with no choice but to reciprocate her generosity and risk big ourselves, a gesture that is destined to be a potent influence on our theatrical landscape for years to come.

(As an actor studying at the VCA, I have been lucky enough to experience the artistic independence that Gerstle provokes in her artists. When the opportunity arose to write this feature, I initially felt reluctant to approach it. Ethnographically speaking, would an ‘insider's’ description of an artist and their process be as interesting or as useful as an ‘outsider's’ account, given that traces of subjectivism would be practically unavoidable? In many ways, that question is up to you as the reader. It is my opinion that as a community we do not spend enough time dialoguing about process. The ‘hidden’ nature of the rehearsal and the secrecy that often shrouds a performer’s practice means that we limit our opportunity to grow as artists and as a community.)

(Photograph: Jeff Busby 2004)

YES, OpticNerve Performance Group

Location: fortyfivedownstairs

Dates: Thur 29 May, 2008 - Sun 8 June, 2008

Times: Tues - Sat @ 8pm,Sat & Sun @ 5pm

FIVE KINDS OF SILENCE, OpticNerve Performance Group

Location: fortyfivedownstairs

Dates: Thur 26 June, 2008 - Sun 6 July, 2008

Times: Tues - Sat @ 8pm, Sat & Sun @ 5pm

Ticket Price: $25 (Full) $20 (Concession) Bookings: (03) 9662 9966