Absence and Presence

absence

• noun 1 the state of being away from a place or person. 2 (absence of) the non-existence or lack of.

— PHRASES absence makes the heart grow fonder proverb you feel more affection for those you love when parted from them.

leave2

• noun 1 (also leave of absence) time when one has permission to be absent from work or duty. 2 formal permission: seeking leave to appeal.

— PHRASES take one’s leave formal say goodbye. take leave to do formal venture or presume to do.

— ORIGIN Old English, related to LIEF and LOVE.

I now realise that the project aim is to interrogate the notion of absence. The dichotomy of high art and low art and the tension between the live and the recorded are relevant to the context not the content. The content centres around a series of dialectics; absence and presence, death and birth, divorce and marriage, debt and wealth, depression and happiness, disability and health. Themes are antithetical to demarcate the territory and harness the cynicism of the academic approach and optimism of Amateur Dramatics. Negative and Positive. The themes are personal and universal and lend structure to the performance and installation. Investigating Act of Communion as; wedding, friendship, fellowship, amateur dramatics group, MA group, coming together to make a performance or coming together to witness a performance.