For our work-in-progress session, we performed a live experiment. Primarily, this was to gage the reaction and reception from the audience, allowing us to alter and change variations within our experiment as was needed. So this experience would be as close to our final piece as possible, and to give an authentic feel to both us as performers and the audience, we drew straws the day before to see who would take which position; the Feeder, or the Gainer. (I use the term Gainer here loosely. We are not eating to gain weight, or for either party to receive sexual pleasure from the act of feeding or being fed. In our experiment, I use the term simply to define the two separate roles).

Once we had drawn straws, and roles were decided, we were able to decide on costume. Our intention of dressing differently was to see which pairing of the Feeder and Gainer went well together; looked more aesthetically pleasing, and whether or not these costumes affected how the audience viewed the piece.

(Experiment in progress: Images by Jakins, Kirsty and Lauren Watson, 22.11.13)

Typically, the Feeder/Gainer relationship is sexual, and although as a group we do not have that sexual attraction or arousal by the concept, we still chose to represented the sexual side of the fetish to see the reactions of our audience. “Theatre is, and has always been, a place which exhibits what a human body is, what it does, what it is capable of” (Sheperd 2006, p. 1), and our experiments embody this idea of the theatre. This experiment is primarily about us exploring our own limitations and relationship towards food, and in doing so our “live performance often does involve the senses in ways that transgress the boundaries of the visually iconic and of the linguistically and musically sonic” (Banes and Lepecki 2007, p. 3). During our short experiment, the Gainers repeatedly gagged, and struggled with the food presented to them. These reactions transgressed those boundaries, not only expected of a performance, but also blurred those of  the private/personal. To gag or be sick is usually a very personal act, and usually brought on by illness. So to show this reaction in public, and from being self-induced by consumption created an entirely new atmosphere and piece for the audience. And because “audience members bring their whole bodies with them into the auditorium, not just their eyes “Ridout 2009, p. 18). their actions and reactions to our physical reactions will be as vital to the experiment as the participants themselves.

(Experiment in progress: Image by Lauren Watson, 22.11.13)

This experiment and our final piece will “reveal histories – they propose practices, privilege materials, mirror social conditions, and implement techniques” (Banes and Lepecki 2007, p. 2). As a UK size 12, weighing 10st 8lb, I am very conscious about my size and weight, more than often feeling uncomfortable in my own skin due to ‘ideals’ on how I should look, and our experiment is causing all of us to look at ourselves and our relation to food in a different light. Our performance shines a light on the often taboo area of ‘Feederism’, a social condition which isn’t highlighted or publicly talked about, and is only really addressed through documentaries. Although we aren’t Feeders and Gainers, we are openly exploring our own boundaries with food. According to Richard Schechner, “performances that insist on sharing experiences with partakers and participants; works that try to evoke both terror and celebration. Such performances are often very personal even as they are no longer private” (2007, p. 25), and our experiment does just this. A marvel at the food we create, and if not a terror in the audience, a horror at what we are attempting to complete.

Works Cited
Banes, Sally, Andre Lepecki (2007) ‘Introduction’ in The Senses in Performance, ed. Sally Banes and Andre Lepecki, Oxon: Routledge, pp. 1-7.
Ridout, Nicholas (2009) Theatre & Ethics, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Schechner, Richard (2007) ‘Rasaesthetics’ in The Senses in Performance, ed. Sally Banes and Andre Lepecki, Oxon: Routledge, pp. 10-28.
Sheperd, Simon (2006) Theatre, Body and Pleasure, New York: Routledge.