ctpfinal2018

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Lingue Senza Frontiere - A Guide

 When I first auditioned to work with this company, there was little information on the roles and responsibilities, or even what to expect and bring. So, I have decided to make a post based off of my experience to help guide those who are considering working for this company.

 For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, Lingue Senza Frontiere (or LSF as I will call them from now on) are an Italian Educational Theatre Company that gets groups of actors to tour the north of Italy. The actors perform a variety of plays to a variety of schools as well as running workshops after shows. They also run summer camps. If you want to check them out, I’ll link their website but it is in Italian so you might wanna get google translate on it:- https://www.linguesenzafrontiere.com/

Tip 1:- Check your journey price and time frame  LSF offer 100 euros for your first travel over to Italy. They will not pay you for any other trips in and out of the country you may make during your contract with them. So look at how much it’s going to cost you to get from where you live to the Sanremo station in Italy, as that is where the company picks you up to take you to the accommodation. The nearest airport is Nice and there’s normally buses and trains that can take you from there. But also be aware of how long the journey will take. There may not be a direct flight from your local airport to the Nice airport, or your arrival time may not work out for getting a train to Sanremo. The company will want you to be at Sanremo station by 6pm European Time at the latest, since they close their office at 6pm and might not offer to collect you should you need to arrive later than that. But also think about your own health in the journey. You don’t want to be taking two planes, a train and a bus all in one day just so you don’t have to pay to sleep overnight somewhere. Consider what’s going to be the best route, work out the cost including luggage and if it comes to over 100 euros see if you can speak with LSF about covering the extra charges so you can meet their required arrival time.

Tip 2:- Don’t over pack  So you’re going to another country for possibly 8 months without returning home. You’re not sure what weather you could be facing, so you should probably bring a lot of stuff, right? Wrong. You’re only staying in Sanremo during your rehearsal period so when you go off to act you need to fit your suitcase, as well as the suitcases of the other actors and all of the props and costumes for the shows into a Peugeot car, maybe a small Peugeot van at best. You won’t have time to wear your beautiful summer clothes or fashionable winter jeans. Pack black trousers, leggings and jeans. You have to wear black for the shows, so make sure you have a few pairs in case any get damaged during performances. It does get cold at winter and we all heard how hot Europe was this summer so yeah make sure you have a variety, just a variety of black, with a few bits for weekends and potential evening meals out. Maybe pack one of them thingies for checking the weight of your case for your journey back. There are launderettes at both flats, both of which don’t require washing powder. And as someone who uses non-bio washing powder, I never had an issue with itchy clothes.

Tip 3:- Take a rucksack and a microwaveable food box  Speaking of keeping things light, take a rucksack. After you move from Sanremo, you settle in a flat in Capriate San Gervasio where you’ll spend most of your weekends. You can leave your suitcase there. Most of your accommodation during the week will be in hotels, flats and airbnb’s. Not all of them will have lifts. Not all of them will have cooking facilities. Trust me, you don’t want to be lugging an entire suitcase into a hotel you are staying in for one night. Take a rucksack with a weeks worth of essential clothes and toiletries. Make yourself some pasta for lunch and store it for the car journey.

Tip 4:- Bring an Italian adaptor  Yeah, that title’s right. Not a European adaptor, an Italian adaptor. One with three, thin prongs rather than the two fat ones European adaptors have. Both company accommodations only use Italian adaptors and most flats also use the same plug system. Here’s one for reference:- https://www.amazon.co.uk/ADAPTOO-ADV-12-ADAPTOR-UK-ITALY/dp/B002YKNTUM/ref=asc_df_B002YKNTUM/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=311075391090&hvpos=1o8&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13891911048839537870&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006679&hvtargid=pla-562449714173&psc=1

Tip 5:- Learn some basic Italian  LSF will tell you that you don’t need to know Italian to do your job. They’re lying. Not only does most of the accommodation not understand basic English (which, let’s face it some little town that never gets tourists aren’t going to bother learning a language they’ll never use in day-to-day life) but sometimes the teachers who had requested the performance didn’t understand English. Part of the job is calling accommodation to confirm the time you will arrive, and calling the teachers to confirm what they’ve paid for. So here’s a bit of Italian that will save your skin:- Ciao, siamo LSF. Abbiamo una prenotazione/ un spettacolo con te domani. Posso parlare Inglese? This means:- Hello, we are LSF. We have a reservation/ a show with you tomorrow. Can I speak English? A good way to learn is through Duolingo, though you’re bound to pick up things the longer you’re in the country and practising the language.

Tip 6:- Learn the scripts and songs before you arrive  You have two weeks to block out and rehearse like, 5 plays as well as learn how to run the workshops and practice driving. You don’t want to shove learning lines and songs on top of that too. Though be prepared for the company to add in audience interaction into the script.

Tip 7:- Make sure to read the contract in detail before signing  The company will try to guilt you into doing more for the company, such as working over the weekend to learn new workshop styles. They will state that it is in the contract for you to do these things. Whilst this is kind of true, sometimes the company will try to spring things on you last minute such as last minute bookings. Make sure to communicate your concerns with the company about any issues that may rise with their expectations from you in the role.

Tip 8:- Have a phone plan that provides lots of data  The company provides a WiFi router for the Capriate flat, but it only has 30G of data per month for the 10 people who are living in the flat. That’s 3G of data per month per person. Plus the SatNav the company provides tends to take you down narrow roads and dead ends so it is always good to make sure you can use your own google maps to look for a safer route. 

Tip 9:- Look after the company car and your locations  The company will provide you with a car to get from place to place, as well as funds for petrol and emergency funds for washing costumes, cleaning facilities for flats etc. The company base your potential bonus at the end of the contract on the maintenance of the car and the flats. If you receive a speeding ticket, it is taken off of your bonus. Even if you weren’t the one driving, as the company states that everyone in the group is responsible for the car regardless of if they drive or not. If you do damage the car, make sure to contact the company immediately to ask them what to do. Little scratches and bumps are inevitable but communication is key when making sure you are covered for any damage caused. The same with the flats. If you do not recycle your waste correctly, the flat could be fined. If the flat is unclean or the toilets and drains become blocked, the company may need to pay for these fixing and thus your bonus deducting for said fixes.

Tip 10:- Make the most of your free time  Be aware of how long it will take you to journey from one accommodation to the next. Ask the accommodation owners when the earliest and latest times are to arrive. Look at how many shows you will be performing and take time to enjoy your surroundings. If you are performing near to Verona and you have 3 hours free before you need to leave, take some time to go and sight-see. Italy is a beautiful country and there’s lots to experience. So enjoy the time you have out there. Treat yourself to a Michelin star restaurant. Stuff your face at an all-you-can-eat Chinese. Experience the towns people pay hundreds of pounds to visit for a weekend and you get to see simply by performing to a school nearby. Visit the neighbour at the Capriate flat and learn to play a card game in Italian.

 In conclusion, working for LSF was an experience I was proud to obtain. Sure, sometimes the other actors drove me a little crazy. But that is inevitable when you’re basically spending 24/7 with the same people. Sharing rooms and sometimes even beds wasn’t exactly what I expected but it wasn’t too bad. Most stuff you learn as you go, growing stronger with each new challenge the role brings your way. You’ll learn how to be smart with both the company’s money and your own money. You’ll learn when and where the best place to wash and dry your clothes is. You’ll learn to balance your work relationship with your friendships with your fellow actors, and when sometimes you just need a few minutes to yourself. You’ll learn to balance the company’s duties amongst the group and work together to bring joy to the children you perform to.

 If you have any more questions about what to expect, don’t be afraid to ask the company, or even ask me.

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23.03.18 - Fourth Showing

Here, we showed Kevin everything we had been working on so far in a linear context, moulding the material we had into a journey of a structured piece. Once done, Kevin gave us the following feedback:

Development of lighting

People being ignored

Playing with being on and offstage

Filters - specific colours

Establish something - weather - sunny day?

Change tables for deck chairs?

Playing with being in and out of the light

Lazy afternoon

Holding onto something - dragging something?

Awareness of obscurity of movements.

Tweet of a bird - tweet of twitter?

A conversation between two worlds

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21.03.18/ 22.03.18 - Lighting Rehearsals

In these two rehearsals, we began to elongate the journey from the side of the room to the table, using lights to bring forth a sense of needing the sunglasses. We also began to push the connections between what the performers were doing and what they were going to do, setting up the Snapchat movements conspicuously before fully establishing the movement. A lot of time was spent programming the slow fade of the lights as well as choreographing the movements from one place to another. We also spent time choreographing a dance to a remixed iphone ringtone for Alex to perform during the showing.

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16.03.18 - Third Showing

In the third showing of our piece, we presented the developed material consisting of Katy, Emmanuel, Alex and Leila on tables, attempting to connect through the Snapchat movements.  Once we had shown what we had so far, Kevin gave us the following feedback:

Stringing together all the sections

Need an idea of the arc and flow of things

Tables are good - sunglasses also good

Music is odd

‘Anyone awake’ is odd - doesn’t relate to the space (room 0-24)

Follow path of phrases - all stuff to be repeated and overlapped

Movement of the conversation.

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08.03.18/ 15.03.18 - Development Rehearsal

On these two rehearsals, the group relayed what they had developed to Alex, who had been absent in the previous rehearsal. Once Alex was caught up, we began to try and piece together all the material we had so far. We had the four performers play with moving their tables around, conforming their movements into a synchronised act. We then played with linking together the section of Snapchat-esk movements with the mundane sparatic talk of a chat, blending the two into a story that could be broken away from. This opportunity to break from the conformity of the social world helped to bring back the awkward dancing we had from our first showing, Alex taking off the sunglasses to get away from the shaped world. Additionally, we brought back our notes from watching Black Mirror by holding a rage workshop to bring forth true emotion rather than a forced ideology.

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07.08.18 - Movement Rehearsal

In this rehearsal, we worked the rules of the snapchat into a movement section, which is listed below:-

Clap, In, Open, Swipe.

Grab Right, Drag Left.

Turn, Push.

OK, Teapot, Sleep, Peace.

We then had four performers; Katy, Emmanuel, Joey and Leila play around with this game, changing the rules when a person was close to or far from another. After playing around with these rules for a while, we decided we needed to develop this game further, giving the material more meaning.

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02.03.18 - Second Showing

In our second showing, the group used the rules we had created to present a fifteen minute piece that addressed the subtext of Snapchat. Once we had shown what we had so far, Kevin gave us the following feedback:

Interrogation of authenticity is important

Relationship to the space (room 0-24)

Casualness is good

In social media not the real

Impact on real/ theatre space

Like Snapchat not Snapchat itself

Connecting with each other

Dystopia - struggle to connect because of reliance on social media

Always looking out

Idea of filters are nice.

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01.03.18 - Snapchat History Rehearsal

In this rehearsal, we looked at the various stages and updates Snapchat has taken during its seven years as an app. By looking at what was introduced during each update and creating a rule related to each update, we were able to progress our material into something meaningful. Below is the list of rules we finalised for our showing:-

1. Launch - Picture and text.

2. Amendment 1 - Small recorded footage.

3. Amendment 2 - Hidden documentation.

4. Amendment 3 - Public day and public documentation.

5. Amendment 4 - Ability to refine.

6. Amendment 5 - BFFs and day documentation.

7. Amendment 6 - Location.

8. Amendment 7 - Pixelated self.

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28.02.18 - Research Rehearsal

In this rehearsal, we began to research various sections from the various prospects we initiated within the previous rehearsal. I had done some research on how the brain was affected by social media, such as how likes increased the level of dopamine in the brain. However, when presenting my research to the group, we soon dismissed this research. We decided to watch an episode of Black Mirror together, taking notes on elements we noticed that we felt we could use in the process of creating our piece. Below are a list of my notes:-

People advisor

Fake presentation

Only talking about what is shown

Rating is everything

Doctors for ratings

Play the numbers game

Poetic fuck you

Individuality of a laugh

Circle of friends activity

Description with intersections

Upon comparing our notes from watching the episode, we began to play around with the history of Snapchat and how we as performers as connected to each other.

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27.02.18 - Planning a Programme

We began to think about how our piece may be titled and how we may describe it. The group closed their eyes, imagining their ideal beginning to the piece. After two minutes, we began to note down how we imagined the beginning of our piece, choosing five key words from the notes. Once we had our ideal beginning noted down, we began to think of a title, tag line, copy, colour, shape, and usable material. Below is my ideal beginning and other criteria:-

Beginning:- Monotone *vibration* - Katy + Manny back to back. Joey' s speech - in clips - *distorted?* One Snapchat - *overlapping* into millions. Dancing - normal to *erratic* - *conformity* in the individual.

Title:- Snap

Tag Line:- Captured moments, captured lives.

Copy:- Life is a collection of experiences. Each collection has it's own individual order and/of importance. Memories can be reshaped. Recordings of events cannot. But what if we could? The collective realness of the recording is fixed, yet the viewing of the recording is subjective to the individual. This piece explores six performers individuality as shown through the collective material presentation.

Colour: Yellow

Shape: Star

Usable material: Taped lines, scores.

After everyone had completed creating our ideal piece, we shared our ideas with each other, commenting on what we liked from each version. Below is a list of beginning prospects we wanted to explore within our material:

Performers scattered.

Vibrating noise

Isolated space

Snapchat compilation

Apocalyptic

Six performers in a diagonal - water

Futuristic - big brother feel

Spinny chairs - just perform to one person

Stuff underneath the chairs

Synchronizing and conforming

Chain events

Spotlight - car light parkans

Performers with weapons

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16.02.18 - First Showing

In our first showing, Katy and Emmanuel sat back to back while Joey read a small piece of text. Music then began to play as the two stood, each dancing in their own light as other members of the group joined them. Once we had shown what we had so far, our lecturer, Kevin Egan, gave us the following feedback:

Lines.

Geometry?

Lines of thought?

Where does a line start?

Dreams aren't linear reality is.

Accumulation of the line.

How does a line move?

Queuing and waiting.

Changing of the music.

Placement.

Small details.

Black Mirror relation to dancing.

Responding to what we have.

5 projections?

Wheeling around flats.

How the brain works.

Idea of Isolation.

Dream theory.

Research of dancing.

Taking an aspect of the piece and research.

Drawing back on the points of interest.

Double standards?

Discussing the feedback, the group decided to look into the influence of Black Mirror to develop our material.

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Rehearsal - 15/02/18

In preparation for this rehearsal, we decided to recap what we had created so far to Kim, as she had been absent at the previous rehearsal. Once Kim was updated, we began to warm our bodies up in order to get both our physical and mental state in a stable position to work and create.

Upon revisiting our initial material, we found the connection between performers to be rather flat, thus bringing the group to put this material to the back of our minds and focus on building something new. In order to do this, we played various sound tracks, having two performers back to back in the centre of the stage. These performers, Katy and Emmanuel, began sat on the floor, rising themselves up to stand by using the other’s body weight as support. This exercise built a strong sense of teamwork between the performers, allowing themselves to be more open as they progressed into the next section of the piece.

When lighting the two performers, we noticed a split between the sections of the stage that were lit, prompting us to develop upon this split. We began to create a sense of isolation between Emmanuel and Katy, blurring this isolation through contact, lighting and dance. We began to see the material as a representation of an average day of the performers, yet began to lose this sense of isolation as more performers were added. Joey provided the group with a piece of text to accompany the piece, reading it onstage before Emmanuel and Katy stood.

Once we felt like we had a solid piece of material, we began to run through what we had, building upon it as we rehearsed. We decided to look further into where this material could take us and explore the relationships between the performers in future meetings.

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First Rehearsal - 14/02/18

In preparation for this rehearsal, each member of the group was told to find a soundtrack to play. We started by listening to each soundtrack and writing our thoughts, feelings and ideas that came from the soundtrack, after which we would share these collections.

We started with Alex’s chosen track, the collective observations as below;

                 * Repetative yet progressive.                  * Peace.                  * Image of piano fingers.                  * Fine dining entertainment.                  * Motionless.                  * Moving Art.                  * Growing.                  * This is smooth jazz - radio feel.                  * Beach/sand.                  * Waiting room.                  * Homeless - finding somewhere to sleep.                  * Time.

Next was Emmanuel’s track, once again observations below;

                * Greatest Showman.                 * Rocky.                 * Trumpet pattern from Smells like Teen Spirit.                 * Anticipation.                 * Parade feel.                 * Triumph/victory.                 * Kingdom.                 * Querky drumming.                 * Marching.                 * Endurance.

After that we went onto Joey’s track, which induced these reflections;

                * End.                 * Youth.                 * Ballet.                 * High pitch juxtaposition.                 * Progression of life.                 * Innocence/purity.                 * Musix box with mirrors?                 * Building onto pre-existing stuff?                 * Kids playing.

Leila’s track was the next in line, bringing a new gathered understanding;

                * Breaking down a time lapse.                 * Traffic Scene.                 * Conflict.                 * Apologies.                 * Beach.                 * Memories.                 * Rewinding - Stuck in the loop of memories.                 * Rebellious turn.

The preliminary track to be played was Katy’s, which had quite a strong reading;

                * New beginnings.                 * Taking challenges.                 * Musical finale.                 * Uplifting.                 * Reflection.                 * Comfort.                 * Seize the day.

Finally, Georgia played her track, which was interestingly an edited voice audio as a tune;

                * Epic.                 * Techno.                 * Trippy.                 * Arcade game.                 * Run rabbit run?                 * Bubble gum.                 * Cosplay.                 * Waking to mario.                 * Loss of control.

After listening to all of the tracks, we began to compare the similarities within our observations of each track and how we can use this as an approach to creating our piece. The main focus among the group was a sense of time and new beginnings. We decided to take a single phrase from our observations and create a movement or action. Once presented, we spent time playing around with the relation between the movements and actions. We explored links between performers and actions, playing around with soundtracks to add meaning. However, this approach did not bring forward much potential material, so we decided to play the one word story game. In this, we had four performers in the space think of a word then speak it at random times. This practice was about bringing forward performers individual stories through a collective nature, as we enjoyed the idea of individuality and conformity. This practise resulted in a simultaneously meaningless and meaningful conversation between performers. To build upon this connection, we began to give specific people tasks to complete during their conversation, leading to a progression of conflicting individualities. We decided to continue this way of creating material in our future rehearsals.