Monthly Archives: April 2016

Forming a script

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Over the last few weeks I felt as though my concept had really started to develop. I began to form a clear structure; therefore I felt that I was in a position to start writing a script. I found this part of the process to be my favourite. I have loved seeing all the straggled ideas being strung together by this script. It was beginning to look like an actual show!

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Performer & Audience Relationship

Sean Bruno and Luke Dixon’s book Creating Solo Performance (2015) has proven to be extremely beneficial throughout the creation process. Therefore, I decided to refer back to their writings for the script creating process. Before I write anything, Bruno and Dixon suggest that I decide my relationship with my audience, as this would alter the whole atmosphere and presentation of the performance and script. They comment that ‘the relationship between a solo performer and their audience is very different from that between an audience and any other form of performance’ (Bruno and Dixon, 2015, 38). ‘A solo show creates a dialogue with the audience’ (ibid, 39), therefore my relationship with them has to be acknowledged straight away. They state many types of relationships that a solo performer could hold with their audience, such as entertaining, seductive, relaxed, educative, intimate etcetera. I decided to choose a combination of a few relationships. I chose inclusive (as I am inviting them into my ‘cocoon’/ life), relaxed (as that is the overall feel of my cocoon, very chilled out) and entertaining (as I will be creating music for them). When choosing these, I thought back to performer and musician Adam Page. His solo shows were light-hearted and entertaining, and his dialogue reflected this. He opened his 2013 Edinburgh Fringe performance by asking everybody how they were doing, and to give a loud ‘whoop’ if they were from Scotland. This allowed the audience to immediately grasp the casual fun relationship that he was trying to achieve.

(Adam Page, 2013)

Much like Adam Page, the opening section of staging and dialogue will help me certify these relationships with my audience. Hopefully the relaxed environment from within the staging area, the jazz, the incense, the pj’s etcetera, will portray this visually. Verbally, I will speak very casually to them, as though my opening dialogue is just a selection of passing comments. For example, my opening line is “nice isn’t it” – referring to the atmosphere and staging, and “good read too” – referring to The Stage magazine that I will be reading with a cup of tea in my hand.

Starting at the end

I was originally aiming to write the script in a chronological structure, beginning, middle, and then the end. However, I found that writing the beginning and end before the middle was extremely useful. Anthony Herron stated that the beginning of the play is the problem/ need, the end is the self-revelation, and the bits in between are the characters journey to achieve this self-revelation (Herron, 2005, 21). He states that the writer ‘must first know the character’s personality and attributes along with his destination, then plot out how to get him there’ (ibid), suggesting that the writer ‘start at the end […], and then go back to the beginning and fill in the steps between’ (ibid). Following Herron’s advice, I finished writing the script before I made any music or wrote the dialogue about my relationships. I felt that knowing exactly what my final motivations were for the performance, effected what I wanted to musically create in the middle section. I originally wanted to create an upbeat happy song to represent my happy relationships. However, when I wrote the ending, I found myself being drawn towards a more reflective, mature outlook on my relationships, with also a hint of sadness for leaving them. This has now altered the type of music I want to create, now wanting a smoother rhythm, with a softer ‘loving’ tune, with a more sentimental and calm feel about it.

Work Cited

Bruno, S., Dixon, L. (2015) Creating Solo Performance. Oxfordshire: Routledge.

Herron, A. (2005) Scriptwriting and Structure. Lincoln: iUniverse.

Adam Page (2013) ADAM PAGE at the Edinburgh Fringe FULL SHOW. [online video] Available from http://youtu.be/ivZQFIGwX4E [Accessed 30 April 2016].

With a little bit of luck

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On Thursday 21st April I watched With a little bit of luck (2016), a Paines Plough production, written by Sabrina Mahfouz. Not only was the show a treat to watch, but it was also extremely influential for my own solo performance. Through spoken word, song, and poetry, it told the story of a 19 year girl, Nadia, who’s passion for UK garage music takes her into a spiral of bad decisions.

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Immersive theatre

The ‘fist-pumping euphoria […] [and] diamond-clear language’ (Pringle, 2015) transported us, the audience, into a hypnotic trance-like place, where music and energy surged through your body, leaving it virtually impossible to not dance along. It was set in the Platform, with alcoholic drinks served from the bar, and dance music playing as soon as you stepped foot through the door. It felt more like a festival gig rather than a theatrical performance. One review commented that it offered ‘an ambient trip to the recent past […]. The mingling of live music, retro call backs and creative scripting are a fun, immersive combination’ (Fountain, 2016). I really liked how it immersed the audience into the themes of the performance from the outset, even from before the performance had started.

George Home-Cook stated that immersive theatre ‘claims to break down […] the audience/stage divide, and to invite the audience to actively participate in the theatrical event. Immersive theatre thus not only promises, but trades on it’s ability to provide a particular […] all-encompassing, multi-sensory, participatory experience’ (Home-Cook, 2015, 132). This made me think about my own performance and how I could create this intimacy and immediacy into my work. Was there any way of starting the performance (via the atmosphere) before I spoke a word? I thought back to my emphasis on my cocoons and their slow paced, homely feel.

Influenced by the works of Sabrina Mahfouz, I have decided to transform the far half of studio two into one giant stylised cocoon. The audience will walk through the door to be greeted by a dimly lit studio two. The far section will be curtained off and the audience will enter this section through a small parting in the curtains. This is my cocoon. Within this section the staging will be just as before, with the projector, music equipment and family memorabilia. I wish to create more of a relaxing atmosphere when the audience arrives to represent the comfort and relaxed way of life of my cocoons. The audience will be sat on beanbags, there will be smooth jazz playing in the background and incense sticks burning. I will be sat on stage in my pjs, having a cup of tea and reading a copy of The Stage Magazine. There is not one morning in my house that my mum and dad won’t have incense burning and jazz playing in the background; therefore I wanted to recreate this for the audience. Continuing on this idea of comfort, I will perform my entire performance in my pjs. The pjs show how I haven’t got dressed and ready to face the day, and how I’m still in my comfort zone. This draws parallels with my current situation, as I feel I have yet to get ready and face the real world, and how I’m still attached to my home relationships. When the performance is coming to an end, and I am creating music, the lights will gain brightness and by the end of the performance the audience will exit the cocoon to a brightly lit studio to, symbolising the brightly lit future now they have exited the comforting cocoons.

Speech underscored by music

What I also took from this performance was the use of music throughout the entire show. There was not one moment that was not accompanied by live musical underscoring. This stood out for me as I wanted to also underscore the last section of dialogue with the music I had made. This also reminded me of my earlier research on Laurie Anderson. Much of her work consists of spoken words underscored constantly by electronic music. For example, her most famous track Oh Superman! (1982). This unusual track seemed to hit a chord with the public at the time and rocketed to number one. The success of Laurie Anderson and With a little bit of luck, therefore, suggests that underscoring can be an effective theatrical tool. Both performances show me ways of playing with the volume and timing of the underscoring track in order to effectively interweave it into the pace of the dialogue. This is something I will be playing around with more over the next week.

Work Cited 

Fountain, T. (2016) With a little bit of luck. [online] TV Bomb. Available from http://www.tvbomb.co.uk/2016/04/with-a-little-bit-of-luck/ [Accessed 26 April 2016].

Home-Cook, G. (2015) Theatre and Aural Attention: Stretching Ourselves. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mahfouz, S. (2016) With a little bit of luck. [performance] Stef O’Driscoll (dir.) Lincoln: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, 21 April.

Pringle, S. (2015) Latitude 2015. [online] London: The Stage. Available from https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2015/latitude-2015/ [Accessed 26 April 2016].

Set design

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As stated before, I am clearly no artist, nor do I have the neatest of handwriting. However, below is my (very basic) drawing of my set design accompanied by some notes. I have altered my previous set design – the T.V’s and chains – for practicality and simplicity, and also because they were no longer relevant. I have also decided to perform my piece in a smaller, more intimate setting so I can grab objects from each section with ease, and without traipsing up and down the performance space. This is the far section of studio 2. I have also embraced the idea of the butterfly, I have introduced a projected video of the metamorphosis process that will be constantly visible throughout the performance, creating an underlying theme of transformation.

    set 1

The butterfly effect & metamorphosis

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The Butterfly Effect

Whilst trying to explain to a friend what my performance is about, I found myself talking about ‘leaps of faith’ and how one small decision can effect your whole life. For example, in my case, if I choose to say ‘yes’ to opportunities that take me further afield, there may be success that could alter my life completely. This made me think back to a film I had watched, Eric Bress and Mackye Gruber’s thriller The Butterfly Effect (2004). I did some research on the actual butterfly effect theory and it seemed to link very nicely to my show. This age-old paradox suggests that even the smallest of incidents, such as a butterfly flapping its wings, can significantly alter the outcome. It can ultimately create a domino effect. All this because ‘you took the risk to flap your wings one more time’ (Russell, 2011, xxiii). Victoria Howard and Allan Jay Friedman’s book The Butterfly Effect: How To Become Who You Already Are (2011) encourages courage and wisdom in the decisions we make, suggesting that we should ‘remove the would haves and could haves from our vocabulary’ (Howard and Friedman, 2011, 21). They stress how important it is to ‘remember that you have absolutely no limitations, other than the limitations you impose upon yourself’ (ibid, 73). They state that the butterfly effect can encourage people to break free and emerge from their cocoons of content, and regain control of their own destiny. This made me consider the metamorphosis process of a butterfly.

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Metamorphosis 

Friedman and Howard also use the butterfly effect draw parallels to the metamorphosis process of a butterfly. They comment that ‘we are a metaphorical example of that creature that must go through the transformational process of shedding it’s skin (our clutter) just like a caterpillar does, in order to see the light and evolve into that beautiful butterfly it already is’ (ibid, 66). This notion of becoming the person you already are really resonates with me. I like the idea that we are all these amazing people who are just waiting to take that leap of faith in order to become the people we desire to be. I can also understand how we have an undeniable need to express ourselves, spread our wings of creativity, and fly headfirst into all the possibilities life offers us. Making one small decision could provide the opportunity to expose your true selves, ‘be the best you can be and to follow your dreams’ (ibid). Friedman and Howard state something that I found quite inspirational. They state ‘that way you can fulfill your purpose-driven destiny to be a model for other butterflies, like yourself, to emulate’ (ibid, 73). I know it is a lot to ask of a performance, but I would love to create something that may inspire others take that leap from their norm.

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Link to my performance 

The butterfly effect and metamorphosis link very well into my current state of mind, and thus my performance. I am at a position in my life where every single decision I make could influence the outcome of my life. I can’t let any of them pass by because I will live a life of “should haves” and “could haves”, and always wonder “what if”. I see my relationships with my family and boyfriend like the butterflies cocoon. They are a vital part of my life, as I cannot develop to my fullest potential without them. They provide a safe haven where life is kind and simple and, in a way, provide a place where I am blissfully ignorant and protected from the outside world. However in order for me to become this developed butterfly, I need to break free from these comforting cocoons. However reluctant I may be to leave these cocoons, I understand that it is necessary for my development in life, or fear I may stay a cocoon forever.

Work Cited

Bress, E., Gruber, M. (dir.) (2004) The Butterfly Effect. [film] New Line Cinema.

Howard, V., Friedman, A. J. (2011) The Butterfly Effect: How To Become Who You Already Are. Bloomington: Author House.

Russell, R. G. (2011) The Butterfly Effect of Grace: Simple words, Simple acts, Simply amazing. Untied States of America: Xulon Press.