My Process
I believe in a theatre of possibilities.
This manifests itself in my work, in how I have pushed physical performance boundaries, and in the way I have situated my craft at the intersection of colliding forms, texts, and cultures. I believe that new things are possible when art reaches beyond its prescribed borders, to meld with other forms and generate new impulses, new possibilities.
Physics, clown, commedia, teaching and directing form intersecting circles in my work. They are the source of my curiosity.
Before I was at Juilliard, I studied Physics. The sciences have theories, hypotheses and proofs. As I create, I choose to live in the hypothesis, in the problems where theories are tested—and discoveries happen. In this place, even accidents or mistakes can be discoveries. Decisions and choices lead to further discoveries of “what else can we find” vs. an end result.
My process is in constant flux, and I resist my own impulse to identify it—naming it immediately puts it in a box. I need to be affected by everything at all times, and I have to balance this with a corresponding action.
When I create, I don’t just use my acquired skills and technique, but everything that I am as a human—my history, my life, my strengths, my weaknesses, what I have witnessed, all that I am. I choose to allow all of me to be present, whether in the classroom or on the stage.
Theatre, by design, is a very intense act of generosity.
I am also very interested in the invention of experiments as doorways to collaboration.
As industries and fields shift in different ways, I believe training also needs to shift—but perhaps to go deeper, to give the performers a strong set of values as foundations.
Artists and teachers today must recognize the immediate urgency towards dialogue that will lead to a deeper understanding of our existence as human beings.
— Orlando Pabotoy