The Whisper Tree is going to Wales June 27, 2012
It was always going to Wales, but I had always assumed that it was a way off. And now it’s imminent, poking it’s head round the corner like that of a naughty child. Rehearsals have been going great and we’re soon to head down to Pembroke to wander around the wood that it’s set in. None of the actors and director, nor myself, have seen the wood area so it’s going to be a interesting week in the lead up to the first performance as we all acclimatise to the natural surroundings and play around with the setup. The photographs of the area look incredibly pretty and I’m hoping that the weather holds out for all the performances. I can deal with no sunshine, but at least let there be no rain.
There are two significant moments of weirdness (and elation) as a playwright at the beginning of a project. The first is calling something a ‘finished script’ and the other is hearing it out loud for the first time. What’s been unique about this experience as a playwright for Travelling Show is that the cast have helped form the story visually for me during the writing process. I had written some snippets of scenes to be used for the audition process and some of those remain in the finished show and others don’t. But from hearing the definitive actors read the characters out at such an early stage of the development period, it meant I could really have their voices in my head when I wrote the actual show. Sometimes it’s nice to know who you are writing for when it comes to different projects and it’s been great knowing the abilities of all the actors involved and writing a part just for them especially when you’re writing them as children.
I’m not sure when I’ll get to blog about it again because it’s so soon, but guaranteed I’ll do a round-up after the run. I look forward to all the shows that I’m involved in… But I’ve never had to travel with one to take it to an intended audience. I suppose Travelling Show are living up to their name and I’m extremely happy to be coming along. If there’s one thing for sure, it’s that I’m excited to see everything in action especially because it means a little holiday with a group of lovely people.
Playwright and Director Sitting Up A Tree… June 24, 2012
A while back busy-as-you-like theatre director and roundabout great gal Natalie Ibu ran a symposium at the most recent HighTide Festival. The topic of the day was the playwright and director relationship and what can go right, what can go wrong and more importantly the things we can do to avoid the bad and locate the good within these situations. Natalie emailed playwrights and directors she knew and collated them into one document and I was happy to be involved. It makes for interesting reading and I thought I’d share it with you via the PDF link below. All the playwrights and directors quoted draw from personal experiences but also flag up areas that they’ve been fortunate enough to avoid (myself included). Natalie’s provocation was a really healthy area to delve into, I thought, and going by the responses she collated I wasn’t the only one. More info from the day can be found here.
Children’s Play, ‘The Whisper Tree’ June 18, 2012
I’ve been tinkering away on a commission for theatre company, Travelling Show, which is an interactive promenade performance written for a set location which is that of a small wood in Wales. What a mouthful. I’ve enjoyed this project. I like the challenge of having restrictions set in place and this was definitely one of the high end situations I’ve been presented with. Three actors, less than 40 minutes, in a wood, interactive, promenade, promote people coming to the forest regularly, informative, to include Welsh myths and legends. All ticked.
We’re about to go into rehearsals soon in London and then transfer down to Wales where rehearsals will take place in the wood it’s to be performed in. The production is part of the Pembroke Festival this July which runs from 12th till the 15th. What makes this project exciting, for me at least, is that this will be some of the children’s first experience of theatre. I try to think back to my first taste of theatre and all I can really remember is playing a green bottle in my primary school’s productions of a Disney medley and then secondary school drama trips (Forced Entertainment, DV8, Trevor Nunn’s Hamlet – my drama department were brilliant). I know that my very first musical was Starlight Express and it’s stuck with me for some of the insane things it tried to achieve. I digress, this will be exciting for me to watch the audience as much as the brilliant actors involved. The breakdown of the festival days are here. I have a feeling that all the tickets are sold out, but there’s no harm in trying. And if you’re down there please give me a shout, it would be nice to meet some local folks.
So the play… It’s about a young boy called Rory who is the new boy at school and isn’t quite fitting in. After school he decides he’s going to go into the wood and find The Whisper Tree which is the wisest and tallest tree. It’s going to tell him everything there is to know about everything so then everyone will have to be his friend. Tilly is a classmate who is forever trying to be his friend but her efforts go unnoticed and she doesn’t believe that there’s a Whisper Tree at all. So they venture into the wood to find The Whisper Tree and along the way they meet Ianto who doesn’t realise he’s woken up in a forest, the Wolf who’s hungry and scared of his own shadow and the Old Woman who comes to the forest to collect her thoughts like pebbles and knit jumpers for the birds who don’t fly south. A play about understanding what it means to grow up and separating what you really want from what you really need.
Most of the folks involved are people that I’ve worked with before and it’s great to be working with them again. First up is director Nadia Papachronopoulou and it’s a real treat to be working on something larger and more prominent this time round. Nadia’s been extremely busy recently juggling several plays on at the same time so it’ll be great to get in the rehearsal room with her and see her work her magic. Next up we have Matthew Schmolle playing Rory, who was stupendously great in my play, ‘I Still Get Excited When I See A Ladybird‘ last August at Theatre503 with Papercut Theatre. Also Charlotte Worthing will be playing Tilly and she was superbly brilliant in my play for Box Of Tricks, ‘Let Them Eat Cake!‘ which was performed at the Arcola in 2011. Last but by no means least is a new actor for me, but I’ve seen him in action in the REDFest recently and he’s ace – Matthew Houlihan will be playing Ianto, Wolf and the Old Woman.
Travelling Show is the brainchild of Artistic Director and Designer Vicki Stevenson. “Our work is interactive and inspired by audiences. We love telling stories, and finding the right tools for each show – we don’t specialise in one kind of medium just like we don’t only make work for one audience. Each production is formed with expert collaborators, whether that’s in puppetry, film or dance. This means that our work can be extremely varied while still holding onto our key premise -theatre is for audiences and artists with the best stuff coming from a strong relationship between the two.“
Come and ‘like’ them on Facebook to keep up-to-date with all their productions: Travelling Show on Facebook innit
What Do You Aim To Achieve By Writing Your Play? June 10, 2012
This is just my response boiled down. I never aim to write a boring play (true not to everyone’s taste) but if it’s what I want to write and explore, then it’s what I want to write and explore.
Whiteboard Wisdom/Reminder June 3, 2012
Something so simple, but I’m prone to forgetting. Writing is written to be read. Someone’s taken the time to spill their head/heart/gut on the page. Give those words the credit they deserve, it’s not a race.
