PART II: THE STORY OF ELIZA SCOTT x FORCE MAJEURE
This story is Part II of a three-part story series celebrating the creativity, tenacity and artistic courage of some of the artists we work with.
Eliza came to the company first and foremost to do a Masterclass in 2020, as is often my first point of contact with an artist.
I am drawn to those who have a strong practice of their own and visible artistic rigour.
Eliza is one of those artists.
"I was drawn to working with Force Majeure as a company that focuses on bringing together multiple art forms and because it's a process based company," Eliza shares.
During the masterclass I was able to witness Eliza's unique performance style, incorporating voice and song as part of their form.
I was keen to see more.
Later that year, Eliza applied for INCITE Intensive, our longer, more rigorous professional development program. It is where you see people unpack their practice - and then collapse - and then rebuild themselves.
In our sharing at the end of the Intensive, I was so taken with the growth, focus and courageousness Eliza was communicating with their body.
It was captivating.
I invited Eliza to participate in the intensive again.
"I value companies that put development at the forefront of performance-making, and Force Majeure offers just this," Eliza says. "I wanted to expand my artistic process, collaborate with their array of incredible artists, and create new work."
Looking back at the photos from the Intensives you can already see the shape of Eugene starting to take place, years before the work ever had a name.
The inevitability of the body and its stories...
Eliza began developing Eugene with Griffin Theatre Company as part of the Incubator Fellowship. I had been mentoring Eliza through this process, and then in 2022 an opportunity arose for Force Majeure to produce a work at NIDA with the graduating production students.
I knew that with Force Majeure backing and supporting such a focused artist and a presentation opportunity with NIDA, we could bring Eugene to the stage.
Eliza and I spent the next 12 months developing the work.
We did development after development, incorporating live performance, video installations, and sound.
"The Force Majeure rehearsal room gives a voice to each artist that is present. There is deep exploration, play and rigour. I value the focus on physical exploration, improvisation and harnessing these to tell the story that needs to be told," Eliza shares about their time in the room.
Two years later, in November 2022, Eliza premiered Eugene; an unexpected melding of poetic language, drag, embodied movement and meme culture and an exploration of self-discovery through a non-binary lens.
You can read more about Eugene here, now available for tour.
Eliza's story is just one chapter in Force Majeure's commitment to developing and supporting artists to create visceral, thought-provoking theatre.
Thank you for being a part of that story by supporting our company and our artists. We can't do it without you.
Powerful performance begins with an artist. It continues with you.
Be a force for artists.
Today you'll find Eliza at RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, continuing their training and earning their Masters degree.
We can't wait to work with Eliza again and share Eugene with more audiences.
Danielle Micich
Artistic Director
Force Majeure
Catch up on…Part I: The Story of Ghenoa Gela x Force Majeure
Coming soon... Part III: The Story of Margaret Harvey x Force Majeure