Asking For Your Support January 22, 2011

I’m here as an artist asking for your support. Last year I received my very first London commission which made me as giddy as a schoolgirl. It was from a Lovely company run by Lovely folk called, Box Of Tricks. The script has been written and the casting wheels put into motion. I will be shouting about this nearer the time with regards to dates, places .etc., but right now I have something important to discuss. As any of you will know the arts took a beating when it came to the cuts from the new government. Seeing as, ‘we’re all in this together‘ I thought I’d ask you for help. This isn’t just for me, it isn’t just for Box Of Tricks, but it’s for the arts in general. Y’see people think that the arts don’t touch them and question why they should even consider thinking about art. Art isn’t just paintings or some shonky expressive dance group – it’s that and much more.

 

 

I’m an avid believer that art exists in education more than people realise. Sure we have TIE (Theatre In Education), but we also have science videos which have been crafted and acted and filmed and created for a class, scripts that have been written and printed and cast in schools, c’mon the very act of being a teacher is a form of art. It gives people a voice, something to nurture and gain confidence and skills. We learn to speak through watching others, playing with objects that help us understand colour, feelings, emotions, all the senses.

 

 

The visceral act of writing is a performance that everyone learns in primary school. Some could say I’m being overly poetic about it, but think back to when you learnt to write. The act of wielding a pen and drawing these strange hieroglyphics and everyone being so proud of you. Everything does not boil down to an exam paper and a chewed biro. Being creative is not limited to tools such as a paintbrush, crashing two symbols together or cradling Hamlet’s skull. The essence of being creative is crafting a thought, processing it and acting upon it. Everything is creative that we say, do and feel.

 

(for the first Ken Robinson TED talk click here)

 

 

 

 

Now of course I’m coming to this particular point as a playwright. But I’m sure that all of you reading this will have attended, say, a music concert at some point in your life. Whether it be to see your favourite band or because your child was picked to play the lead recorder part in the end of year play. Everyone having this opportunity is something that we should cherish and utilise. We shouldn’t sneer at something that we think doesn’t directly refer to us.

I optionally chose to work in a profession where there is very little money, but a tonne of reward. And one of those rewards is getting to see your work performed by professional actors for an audience. For Box Of Tricks to put on their work they rely on fundraising, which is of course something that is common knowledge and I don’t need to explain. For this particular production of Word:Play 4, Box Of Tricks are using the website WeFund to gather donations. What WeFund does is allow you to promote your cause and achieve a target sum. What this entails is the idea that people can pledge their money and it will only be taken off the donator once the end result has been achieved. If the end result isn’t achieved, no one’s money is donated. Box Of Tricks need just £500 in total to create a fantastic show that is promoting 6 new playwrights in one of London’s renowned venues, The Arcola. It’s not a lot of money in comparison to other London productions, but it’s money that unfortunately isn’t there right now.

 

 

I’m asking you to pledge whatever you have spare. This could be one pound, two pounds, possibly even five pounds. Anything, anything you can spare. If you’re feeling extra generous there are certain privileges you can garner from the more larger donations (which are detailed on the WeFund Word:Play4 page). I always bang on about collaboration and like I’ve said before, it’s not limited to people within a rehearsal room. To create theatre you have to have an audience, your audience are your co-conspirators. It’s a nice flourish that the new writing night is called, ‘Revolution’. Be part of the process and show your support, and let others know what they can do.

 

Theatre503 Lab Round-Up January 15, 2011

The last few days I’ve had the opportunity to not only feel the burn of on-peak increased rail fares, but to have one of my plays workshopped. Melissa Dunne led a stella cast at Theatre503 to discuss, develop and explore the play, “I Still Get Excited When I See A Ladybird“.

The cast discuss what order the monologues could go in.

(We were having to run the workshop around an existing set, so although set in a stationery shop the photographs will feature heavily a double bed)

I felt many things over the workshop days. To be honest I’d not delved into this particular script since roughly around this time last year. I’d become so distanced from it, that I’d forgotten characteristics of the monologues – essentially I had fallen out of love with the whole notion of the script. And this wasn’t because I was displeased with the outcome or because I saw no merit in the work (I still think this is some of the best work that I’ve challenged myself with), it was because nothing had been done with it. I’d written it, sent it to places and competitions and got a whole lot of rejection. This is part and parcel of any creative routine, actually it’s part of any routine in any industry.

Director Dunne watches them rearrange the monologues.

So when the opportunity came up to explore aspects of the scripts and format I jumped at the chance. The text is presented to the cast and director with the freedom to present it in any way in any order. This is something that is extremely intricate and there are purposeful meta-narratives evident in the text, but there are also thematic devices running throughout all 7 monologues. This is something that we somehow managed to explore in the short space of time we had and this is due to the cracking speed and insight the actors all brought to the table.

Claire (Manager) and George's (Deputy) relationship is explored.

Without getting too slushy about it all (and that’s a blatant pre-emptive signifier that I will), it was extremely humbling and exciting. I’m the quiet type of writer in rehearsals to sit at the back and listen to what the others have to say… Then offer up my own insight, but never to impinge on the process or make slight of what the actors have said. I believe strongly in collaboration and thinks it’s an important strand that we shouldn’t forget. And I don’t mean purely in the sense of once the script is written you then hand it to a director and actors and the job’s done. I mean the process of before, during and after.

Judith (Weekend Sales Assistant) and Chloe (Full-Time Sales Assistant)

It’s still a thrill to see these characters that you write come to life and be embodied on stage. It’s even more thrilling to lose sight of the character that you wrote entwined in the words on the page and be surprised by what you’re seeing on the stage. This is where it’s important to trust your co-conspirators. A surprise doesn’t necessarily mean a detrimental action that jolts you from what you once thought something was going to be. The surprise is that you realise something is working and someone else is exploring it in the same way as you, but it feels fresh and thorough. I had no idea what to expect from this workshop but after the three days of rediscovering these characters I felt in awe of not only the hard work and time that the actors had given up to go on this journey with me, but at the strength of my own writing. This is not me being egotistical, it’s me being honest. The last year or so I can bravely say that my writing is so much better than it used to be. This is partially down to giving myself the time to dedicate to writing, but also in part to the people I have met and been inspired by. I’ve blogged about this before I’m sure, or it’s definitely something that I’ve spoken about, but in allowing yourself to be artistically free in your chosen subject you have a richer dialect with your audience. I wouldn’t say I’m a genre led writer and I definitely wouldn’t say I’m the writer that draws on their own life all the time (I’m young, live in a village and lack real emotion, go figure). What I mean is that by not panicking about my family thinking everything I write is a result of some disturbed childhood or fellow creatives thinking everything is representative of what I think, I have allowed myself to strengthen my writing because I want to.

Will (Supervisor) and Claire (Manager)

There’s a difference in accepting notes and feedback and actually applying it when it matters. There’s debate and discussion and there’s being easily led and trying to please other people. A thick skin is needed but you also have to stay true to your own intentions and not be led by other people trying to convince you that they are right about your work.

Stuart (Part-time Sales Assistant) and Chloe (Full-Time Sales Assistant)

I didn’t intend this post to be so verbose, apologies. But what I’m trying to say is that the past three days have been so beneficial to me regardless of what stage the script is at. The script is finished and has been for a long time. But by taking it to the next stage by having a director lead a group of actors in exploring their characters it just goes to show that the expectancy of a script is surprising and fruitful. By building on that conversation you become enlightened about aspects of your characters that you didn’t realise, but also about your writing. You’re a part of the process and you feed into it regardless of how much you’re presence is felt in the rehearsal room or how true to your life the script is.

Chloe (Full-Time Sales Assistant) with George (Deputy Manager)

This script is still circling festivals/competitions/blah so as usual it’s a waiting game. But it was such a great experience to hear my work being put to the test by high calibre actors. The depth of their understanding and facets they brought to the surface of their characters stunningly amazed me and I’m thankful for the collaboration process for highlighting that. Many thanks to:

Jonathan Christie

Melissa Dunne

Jayne Edwards

Nigel Mattison

Tim O’Hara

Zimmy Ryan

Jessica Sîan