“Intimate” June 17, 2011

Myself and the delectable director Melissa Dunne have been scurrying away on all sorts of projects over at Papercut Theatre. But our most prominent baby is that of “Intimate“. It had its first outing in its entirety at the ICA Lab last Sunday.

 

Intimate

“It’s a play, we promise, but it’s just for you, I haven’t thought about you for years…”

 

 

The piece is a one-on-one experience where you’re fed one narrative through headphones and trace another on the performer’s body. It was an idea that Melissa had wanted to do for a long while and culminated in her telling me the idea as much as she had and then me pinning some narratives onto the page (and the body). It’s been an interesting piece to work on, because it’s so different. And what’s even more interesting (and perhaps frustrating) is that because it’s a one-on-one experience, everyone who has crafted the piece isn’t in the room for the performance. Which means we’re sitting outside eager to hear what the participant thinks. It’s odd to know that we created it and are willingly handing over to the performer and the audience member, but that’s what we wanted to create. An experience which doesn’t have two-way mirrors or cameras impinging on the atmosphere. But I’d love to be a fly on the wall for sure.

 

 

We cajoled some actors that we both like and have worked with before (Natasha James and Nigel Mattison) and nailed the recording thanks to the wonder of Jon McLeod. Then we had our wonderful and brilliant performer Jessica Sian who was essentially in a room alone with the audience member for the entire time. She was the central piece of the puzzle and we’re glad to say it worked.

 

 

All three of us at Papercut were looking for feedback in different guises. Melissa wanted to know if we’d created a credible and moving experience where it had a properly rounded pay-off – breaking down that audience/performer barrier. Jon wanted to know if it had been recorded okay and that the levels matched the intimacy of the piece. I wanted to know if I’d written something moving enough to universally capture and sweep up the audience member as the individual whilst talking about something that’s everyday. At only four pages long the piece had to be succinct and hit the right spots.

 

 

The responses were brilliant. We had a few technical glitches but that’s the point of Research and Development, to make the mistakes when you can and not when you definitely don’t need them. From the selection of people we had appointed 15min slots to we had the natural divide of gender, but we also incorporated people who don’t often go to the theatre. For me this was important. It seemed pointless to garner feedback just from people who have their foot in the industry already because we want this to be open to a broader audience. We want “Intimate” to appeal to an audience who might not have thought about putting themselves forward for a one-on-one, we want people who want to take part in a multimedia performance and actually get the pay-off they deserve. And we got it.

 

One of our participants blogged about his experience, click here to read

 

At Papercut HQ we have a few different thoughts on how we can better this piece or even make it larger. Our aim is to have it shown on different platforms via festivals, art nights and the like. Whilst this was still a work-in-progress on that Sunday (a culmination of all or efforts) it feels very much ready to be shown to an eager and willing audience.

 

 

The White Room – Industry ICA Lab May 30, 2011

I know, I know. It’s been a crazily long time since I’ve done one of these. A massive wild delay. I can only apologise profusely. I’ve been busy (I know that’s my usual excuse) but there have been deadlines for this, that and the other and plays to see and other jobs to do and meetings to have.

 

I digress.

 

I held another ICA Lab for my two-hander script, “The White Room”. But this time I did things a little differently. I invited an audience and essentially held an ‘open house’ reading for this script. The idea was that anyone who attended could either approach me for the script, or for me as a writer, or for the actors involved. So it was a good event for all of us to prepare for. We had headshot/bio pages for all the actors involved (same as the last time – the brilliant Susan Stanley and Joseph Wilkins with a new addition of Joanne Ferguson reading stage directions). And then after we had the bar hired privately to have drinks in (of which I provided) and generally chat.

 

 

 

And to be honest, I was so busy preparing for the day making sure that people were in the right place and giving people directions, that I didn’t really take it all in until I had to leave my own reading early to go set the drinks up. But I got a great response. I met people that I’d only had email contact with, I invited old collaboration partners and I also invited people who I had never contacted before. But do you know what? It worked. People turned up, it got people talking. It looked professional and smooth and it got my name out there.

 

I’ve got some good leads to follow up from this reading and time will tell if they’ll work out. But it doesn’t really matter. The fact is I decided to organise this the week before the first bank holiday (so essentially ultimate office down time), but it spurred me on AND it got people talking about me and my work. If I can arrange this smack bang BEFORE a double straddling of bank holidays in a room where we still had debris left over from a wedding before, and still have an engaged audience of industry folks… Imagine what I could do if I properly planned it ahead of time. It was hugely beneficial to do it because it made me realise how relatively easy it is to be proactive about these things. I now have made contact with several literary departments who can now put a name to a face and who know my work a bit better, because they’ve seen it on its feet.

 

So the following people came along for the reading, all of which I’m very grateful for:

 

Melissa Dunne (director)
Sarah Brocklehurst (producer)
Abigail Graham (director)
Maja Milatovic-Ovadia (director)
Cass Sigsgaard (producer)
Tess Morris (screenwriter)
Janice Okah (playwright)
Shenagh Govan (actor)
Paul Vates (actor)
Kathleen Martinelli (from Soho Theatre)
Bettina Fleischer (actor)
Matt Denison (support – Casarotto)
Rachel Davies (support)
Mel Cook (director)

 

 

CIRCUS March 30, 2010

Once again I’ve been busy. But productive. Any fellow writer who knows me will remember me banging on about ICA Labs and about how fantastic they are to airing work and pushing projects forward. The idea is simple – a private room in the plush ICA to read out your work with actors. That’s pretty much it to be honest, but like most things that at first seem simple they’re layered with hurdles and delights.

 

I had my Lab on Sunday and decided to work on the children’s TV programme I have banging around not doing much. I’d had an earlier draft of episode one read before but since then the theme of the project had changed. As well as writing in whatever spare time I have I’m always juggling three jobs (two out of three are interesting, fair turn out I say). So when I had some time in lieu to take from the boring job I toyed around with the idea of doing a Lab but then at that time all the projects I had at my finger tips were past having readthroughs and had been sent off to the relevant people OR were in rehearsal. So I turn my attention to CIRCUS and decide to write a second episode to see if it has legs. And then in true Katie-style I had several events and writing projects happening up until a week before I needed to send the scripts out. Oh and there was casting as well.

 

 

And in between that among deadlines for other such things I had a birthday which went something like this…

 

 

I always get ridiculously busy around my birthday to the point where I either forget it or end up doing something work related on the day. I have to write it on my own calendar.

 

Cut to a week when I’d planned to write the thing and I was struggling. I didn’t have time to indulge in a series outline or even attempt a bible. I was writing blindly and anyone following my Facebook statuses would have gathered that at times I was struggling. And procrastinating as usual. But jeez I love the pressure. By the end of Thursday night I had a first draft that then got posted/emailed/given to all the cast involved and then I had to wait till the following Sunday to see if it was worth investing time and energy into the programme.

 

Being a kid’s programme I had to cast kids. And going on recommendations from Rosemarie Partridge at Theatrix (where I’m their writer in residence) I had before me a bunch of eager and fully-trained kids. Fantastic. Meeting them to hand out scripts on the Saturday put my mind at rest, I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I could have the intended characters played as close as possible to their ages. A win/win situation. And even more brilliant was the fact that most of the children involved had only finished a production two days before and still all turned up on time and read beautifully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was clear as we all read through the two episodes was that my fear of episode two being too dark was nothing to worry about. The general consensus was that people wanted to see more of this which ultimately means going back through episode one and re-threading the dark elements. Not only has this satisfied and reassured me but it’s a massive weight off my shoulders. I wanted to write a children’s programme that wasn’t all sweetness and light. I wanted it to portray an adult world through children’s eyes. We have death, peril and a rights of passage occurring but never are they expressed in a patronising light. They’re meant to be a celebration of how outlooks can differ; it’s the kids that express these things and I wanted that to remain true. It’s one big allegory for life and growing up in a world that’s not the same as every one else’s. But never is anything kooky for kookys sake. Their arena is true to their life but they still experience the embarrassment, the wonder, the pain and the laughter of growing up. It’s a magical environment and one that I’ve had immense fun writing. And never once have I felt like I’m pandering to keeping things simple because ‘the kids will be watching’. It’s had me thinking back to the Q&A session that I went along to at the Royal Court where Steven Andrews talked to us about things to remember. And the one that keeps sticking in my head is this:

 

“Remember to keep it child centred AND child driven. If problems arising in the script are solved by the adults no one’s going to keep watching… It’s called Children’s TV for a reason, stick to it.”

 

Utterly true. And that’s something that I do think is prevalent in my script at this present time. But it’s something that I can explore more now I know that there’s something to this idea. The feedback garnered from all the actors involved was thrilling to say the least and it was even more exciting that the children who were reading for me were throwing me some superb ideas and insights. It truly was a great moment especially as I don’t usually write for children. It goes to show that sometimes writing something you’re not fully inclined to do can make you realise that writing is all about telling a good story no matter what restraints you’re up against or used to. And it’s not all reliant on magic.

 

A big hearty thanks to the following:

Cariad Lloyd
Michael Bird
Ishani Canisius
Conor Gray
Michael Keir
Amber Townsend
Rupert Baker
Stanley Walton
Melissa Woodbridge
Neil Fox
Hannah Thomson

It Wasn’t You, It Was Me. March 19, 2010

I’ve gone done it again and left you in the lurch. My sincerest apologies. Here, have a photograph of me looking shifty to try and rectify this problem (I’m wearing a trilby Ma McCullough bought me randomly and there is a pile of scripts behind me, they feature later):

 

 

I’ve been quiet of late on both Twitter and Facebook (the latter not so much recently, it has featured high in my procrastination fund) because I have been bizzle. Extremelyoso. That’s not a real word but I just wrote it so it fits neatly in my head as being 100% real.

 

What have you been up to Katie? I hear you cry. Well, I hear some of you mumble. Because I’ve just practically eaten a whole bag of sweets to myself the following will become a blur of words and facts and memories that seem like yesterday but were last month:

 

* I got invited to see a rehearsal performance of Philip Ridley’s new play ‘Moonfleece’
* I saw ‘Off The Endz’ at the Royal Court
* I watched one of my bosses shave his locks off (not slang for bollocks I promise, I would have stepped in if that were to happen before my eyes, even if under the influence of sugar)
* I saw ‘Peter and Vandy’ at Theatre503 and took part in the invitation to do their writers’ response (but didn’t get picked).

 

And in between all of that I’ve had a whole load of shitty rejections but teetering the balance I’ve had some fucking amazing segments of news. I’m not going to discuss neither of those parties just yet. Oh I’m a big sloth like tease.

 

Like I say this will be a brief ‘hallo’ just to prove I’m still here and doing stuff.

 

I’ve been plugging away at episode two of the children’s TV programme idea I had for the CBBC competition a while back. Encouraged by my other boss and after having it professionally read and given full blown feedback on it I thought I’d do something about it. And the reason I had (some small limited) time on my hands was because “I Still Get Excited When I See A Ladybird” is in the ether and floating around through hands and slush piles and panels. Exciting? Uh huh. So I signed up for a Lab at the ICA and then had the space of a week (whilst weaving in and out of my other jobs and rehearsals) to write episode two. It was hard to begin with because I was being a dunce. I didn’t have time to plan what was going to happen over the entire series so I ended up just writing blindly to create a second episode.

 

Nothing sexier than a full whiteboard

 

The results aren’t too bad but I’m not sure if it’s an episode two. The reading’s soon and I’ve been rushing around not only finishing the thing but casting and arranging chaperoning children up to London on a Sunday. I feel like I’ve sacrificed a whole forest today after printing out 22 scripts. Gah.

 

 

When I’ve more time I shall be teasing my next idea from my head on to this blog. I’m sure you wait with baited breath. I can smell it, please brush vigorously next time.

 

In the mean time you may remember me discussing song lyrics and using them as an exercise to create a monologue. Well I had my lesson with my student a few weeks ago and we read her efforts back to her and they were brilliant. A fellow friend and reader of this here blog has sent their work in so I shall now unveil it. If anyone else has done it please feel free to let me know and I’ll pop them up here. Without further a do…

 

Elbow – My Very Best (by Stanley Walton)

 

Well isn’t that just one of the scattiest blog entries you’ve ever read. I have a certain charm for these things.