Laboratory on Feedback in Artistic Processes 3

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them to sit with us in a circle on the dance floor. Over the years
we have established some guidelines for these talks. Rather than
getting into a defensive or explanatory way of talking, we practice
listening and taking in the voices of our guests without judging or
censoring them in the moment. To begin, we often ask the participants
to describe in as much detail as possible, a moment that
made an impression on them or raised a question. Our experience
is that out of this attentive atmosphere, participants are able to
share elaborate and personal statements – voices that contribute
to our further process.
We often finish the OPEN STUDIO with an opportunity to give
written feedback on postcards prompted by a concrete question
concerning the further development of certain aspects of the work
such as music, costumes, roles or stage setting. This gives space
for voices that do not feel comfortable talking in front of a group.
We often explicitly use the cards in our subsequent rehearsals as
sets for scores and further reflections.
Impact
My process of making work has changed through these regular
encounters with audiences. What happens is that the surface, the
membrane of the work expands. Instead of only sharing a work
at the moment of performance, the work is already alive during
the process, constantly changing, not yet in a fixed and directed
state. As a regular, long term accompaniment to the creative process,
feedback from guests of the OPEN STUDIOS affects the work
gradually and sometimes imperceptibly. The osmotic combination
of showing, speaking and listening in the OPEN STUDIOS, becomes
a repeatable and collective gesture of generous sharing.
This opens up possibilities for public intimacy and vulnerability,
in which the roles of observer and performer are set in motion.
The OPEN STUDIOS practice feedback as a component of the
process of transformation and communication that is inherent to