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POST 26. Final Reflective Thoughts.

As we come to the end of the Professional directions Module I am delighted that the idea and aims of Last Kid Picked Theatre are now going to continue as a project beyond the module. Myself and five fellow students are now organising the Nest Festival that will take place at Alphabetti Theatre on June the 12th and 13th. It was I that instigated the idea of the festival and proposed it to the Director of Alphabetti Ali Prichard. Since having a meeting with Ali we have been busy looking into ways of gathering funds for the festival. We will soon submit a small bid to the Arts Council England, start a Crowd Funder campaign and plan to contact local Arts Charity Sunday for Sammy. Yesterday, I felt we had a very successful meeting with Northumbria University Business advisor Graeme Batty. I pushed the meeting towards the idea, that if we we’re to become a successful company, community outreach work would have to be a big part of our remit. This is an idea that really takes us back to the core principles of Last Kid Picked Theatre. Graeme became much more animated when this was put to him and remarked that this would be the best way to secure funding and sustain the company. I told him of my lengthy experience as a facilitator and we also chatted about the need for drama in schools, as many have now dropped it from their curriculum. Towards the end of the meeting Graeme told us we were actually the first group from our department, in recent years, who had realised that community engagement would be a vital part of our work if we were to succeed. From here we will now meet as a group and thoroughly discuss what the potential nature of this work will be and where our individual skill sets can be used to best effect in achieving our aims. After this we will return to Graeme with a more solid proposal. This had been both a challenging and rewarding module that has now crystallised into an idea that our aims are achievable in a real world setting. As a director on the project I have had to learn patience and present myself in a responsible way to get the best work from my collaborators. I had completed a module in Directing previous to this project, but I’m really glad I read up on the discipline again. Much of my new research was put to the test as we created the two pieces of work. I’ve also learnt I have a real love for actors. They bring much to the table. Having the opportunity to work with a highly experienced actor on the Reflections play was also really informative to me as a writer. I became a much tighter editor of my own work once I had the opportunity to hear it played out. The project has also taught me that things will change during the creative process and the work you end up with, can at times, be radically altered from initial starting points. I feel that’s healthy part of collaboration. Not everything I set out to achieve was realised. However, where we have ended up in perhaps an even better place than I was first aiming for.    

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POST 25. Last Kid Picked Theatre Co. Mission Statement and Background.

LAST KID PICKED MISSION STATEMENT.

MISSION STATEMENT. 

Last Kid Picked Theatre Co. is a fledgling theatre company that aims to bring invigorating socio political theatre and commentary to both the stage and local community groups. Although not exclusive our main body of work will focus on the marginalised, the disenfranchised, vulnerable and minority groups. 

BACKGROUND. 

Project director John Scott is an experienced workshop facilitator, writer and emerging performer and director for the stage. He also has 20 years’ experience of working in the UK comedy industry. When he won the Take the Mic competition at the Edinburgh Festival, which came with a prize of £12'000, he became the recipient of the biggest cash prize ever awarded to a comedian in this area. As a stand-up performer he has worked alongside and done warm up for such names as Stewart Lee, Frankie Boyle, Jerry Sadowitz, Tom Stade, Reginald D. Hunter and many more. 

John took up a degree in drama and script writing at Northumbria university in 2016. 

The first show to be presented under the name of Last Kid Picked Theatre was when he did a sold out three day run at Alphabetti Theatre of his solo stand up show Delusions. Delusions is a biographical show focusing on Johns lifelong experiences with Bipolar 1 disorder. 

You can read a review of the show here. 

  http://narcmagazine.com/comedy-review-john-scott-delusions-alphabetti-theatre-newcastle-21-03-18/

John also writes the Mind Palaver blog on mental health with qualified GP Ellie (pseudonym). You can find a link to it here.

https://mindpalaver.com/

The blog is on a temporary hiatus as Ellie recovers from a current bout of poor health.

As well performing, writing and directing John is an experienced workshop facilitator. Over the years he has worked with Live Theatre Youth Theatre, Live Theatre Writers, HMPS, Recovery Collage Mental Health Services, Sunderland University and Alphabetti Theatre.

Following successful performances of the two shows featured in this blog, From Snowflake to Avalanche and Reflections will be performed at a brand new festival of work at Alphabetti Theatre this coming June.

N.E.S.T. Festival was proposed and initially founded by John. Now he is currently developing its programme with the newly founded Transmitter Theatre Co. Transmitter Theatre are a group  composed of John and five fellow students that grew from Northumbria Universities LAUNCH and PLATFORMS festivals.

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POST 24. Onwards to Nest Festival and the formation of a Theatre Company.

You can read about the Nest Festival and hear me chat about it in the third VLOG I posted here. This was an idea I approached Alphabetti Theatre with. It will be a showcase of all three pathways work from the current third years of Northumbria University. 

You can also read further details on this in my FINAL REFLECTIVE POST. 

Below is a copy of the reply I received from Ali Pritchard the theatre Director and founder. 

 And below here are a couple of early promo images for the festival itself. 

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POST 23. INTERVIEW WITH MATT JAMIE & ARABELLA ARNOT OF CORACLE THEATRE.  

Please find here the second interview I conducted as part of my research into local theatre companies. Matt is an experienced director and producer creating work in the North East. Arabella is an actor and writer. I was lucky to catch their play Overdue  in the image above. I was highly impressed with the performance, the relatable writing and excellent stage production when I saw it. They both have some strong advice for those coming into the world of theatre making.    

You can find a link to their website below. 

http://www.mattjamie.co.uk/coracle/about_us.html

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POST 23. Facilitation.

If Last Kid Picked becomes a fully realised project an essential part of its work will be facilitation within the local community. I am a firm believer that artists at whatever level of success should take their experience and experiences back to the community that inspired them. You can read some information on my experience as a facilitator in the Mission Statement and Background post at the start/end of this blog (depending on how you view it)

I have also been trained in facilitation at Northumbria University by Dr Matt Hargrave. Prior to me taking up my degree Matt was actually a participant in one of my workshops for adults at Live Theatre. These workshops are around building and performing a short set of stand up comedy.  I find it quite exciting to report that we will both soon work together creating a new workshop for local mental health charity The Recovery College. Matt is a highly experienced drama facilitator and much of what he taught me can now be found in a recent workshop I have been running with Live Theatre Youth Theatre. You can find a link to the event below. 

 https://www.live.org.uk/whats-on/standing

Below is a breakdown of the first of 6 workshop plans I conducted with the youth theatre at Live. 

WORKSHOP 1. YOUTH THEATRE 2019.

1. WARM UP AND INTRODUCTIONS.

NAMES CIRCLE.

1.  Tell group your name and a same initial of something you like. (I’m John I like Joining In.)

2. Go around again and add a physical action.

3. Now go around a final time with each person adding who came before them until the final person (me) has to do the entire group.

STAND UP EXPLORES WHO WE ARE. QUICK DISCUSSION.

Tell us about your name, does it have a history, are you named after, does your name have another meaning. Do you have a nickname, what does it mean, how did it come about?

SOME PHYSICAL WARM UP.

Group circle and keeping a (soft) ball in the air. Every time we drop it we applaud and cheer so no sense of failing. Try to get to a count of 3…see if we can get all the way to ten or twenty.

Ten Second Objects (Let’s get our imaginations going)

Split into small groups (hopefully of 4) Call out the name of an object and all the groups have to make the shape of that object out of their own bodies, joining together in different ways while you count down slowly from ten to zero. Usually every group will find a different way of forming the object. Examples could be: a car, a fried breakfast, a clock, a washing machine, a fire.

  LETS TALK ABOUT STAND UP COMEDY or COMEDY IN GENERAL- Group discussion.

Who and what do you like in comedy. Go around group.

Do you watch comedy, have you seen it live, what do you watch on T.V.

Why do we laugh?

What don’t you like in comedy?

Is it possible to tell a joke that doesn’t have a target or a victim?

FIRST GROUP WRITING EXERCISE.

A big misconception about stand up is that we are constantly poking fun at things. Not so. What we mainly do is question the way of things. But above all we CELEBRATE the absurdity of life.

Questioning the world and yourself is at the heart of stand-up comedy.

Note to group. Nothing we create in these first few weeks has to be funny. We are building the foundations of how to get ideas started.

Split into two or three small groups. Make a list of what you LOVE. 10 is great 20 is awesome.

Now go back and make a list of things you don’t like that wind you up or just generally hate.  

EMPATHY. (A big part of stand up)

I’ll now read out some of our findings to the group and ask them to position themselves in the room according to how much they agree with what we have. Left of the room strongly agree. Right of the room strongly disagree. Middle of the room neither here nor there. And covering all varying degrees in-between.

 FINISH WITH A MORE THOROUGH GROUP DISCUSION OF OUR LISTS. (Laughter may start here. Point out to group they’ve already begun making comedy)  

 GROUP EXERCISE 2. NARRATIVE GAME. THE TRUTH (And faking it)

Comedy is all about the truth. If you can fake that you’ve got it made. Comedians are born exaggerators and fibbers. Let’s see if we can tap into that!

Again split into small groups (may even do this in pairs) One person in each sub-group needs to remember a true story that happened to them. It might be some­ thing involving a minor misdemeanour which they committed as a child. They tell that story to their sub-group so that each listener can adopt it as his or her own - and tell it as if it were their own story. Then everyone comes together and one team is invited into a stage area. Everyone in that team - in turn - tells the story as if it happened to them personally. Of course only one person is telling the truth. And it’s the task of the audience to find who the truth-teller is.

(I may or may not extend on this depending on time)

Extension:

The facilitator can ask the audience if they would like to ask any of the story-tellers questions about their story, about events or characters in it. Variation: The group divides into two sub-groups. One half is a group of detectives. The other is a group of friends, one of whom has committed a theft, for example from a shop. The friends all learn the true story. Then they each take a chair and go to a different part of the room where they sit down. The detectives have to investigate by moving round and questioning the suspects. Each suspect claims they stole the item. In other words, they all ‘confess’. Afterwards, the detectives go into a huddle and decide who they think is the guilty party.

  GROUP EXERCISE 3.

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS…An introduction to being an excellent fool.

We all act the fool at times. It’s fun. Being a fool with friends produces laughter and empathy. Asking daft questions about things and being deliberately daft can lead to you being the most popular person in the room. Yes you’re a fool….BUT YOU’RE THE FOOL IN CHARGE!

First discuss these ideas as a group. Then pick one each to perform/explain to the rest of us. THESE DO NOT HAVE TO BE FUNNY. THIS IS ABOUT SPARKING OUR IMAGINATION.

1. Things not to say in class or to a teacher.

2. The worst way you can explain you are from outer space.

3. The wrong way to tell a small child a pet has died.

4. A very bad description of a very famous film or T.V. show.

5. The wrong way to explain you are from outer space.

6. Explain flower arranging or knitting or the rules to a sport…but like a Dalek.

7. Badly explain different colours to somebody who can only see in black and white.

8. Things not to say to your new girlfriend, boyfriend’s parents (Note you will be performing in front of children so please keep all suggestions CLEAN!)

9. You are a superhero with rubbish super powers. Tell us about them.

10. You are the world’s worst poet. Write us a quick short poem.

 SECTION 3. LET’S PERFORM.

I’ll request a microphone and stand to be set up. Estelle will perform some of her stand up for us. I may do a wee bit. I will have asked the group to bring a short quick joke and a longer joke that they can copy from the internet or have heard before or seen a comedian do. (THIS IS NOT HOW WE WILL DEVELOP MATERIAL. I just want folk to feel comfy when first getting up.) Then each in turn will.

1. Introduce themselves and go back to telling us about their name.

2. Tell us a quick joke.

3. Tell us a longer joke.

 WIND UP AND PERHAPS SUGGEST SOME IDEAS TO WORK ON FOR NEXT SESSION.  

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POST 22. Reflections Full Script.

Please find below a link to the latest version of the Reflections Script (AKA Breaking The Chain) 

Although this is not a completed version of the full length play (Two final scenes are still to be developed) This will give the reader a view of where things go from the short version of the play that was performed at LAUNCH festival. 

It would be my hope that in the near future Reflections will be a fully realised production by Last Kid Picked Theatre. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15cxvaznK6ne9g17lGiajb0hTs4ArjvPelDCnISp_dbY/edit

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Here we have some thoughts on the piece From Snowflake to Avalanche. Also mentioned is the mini theatre Festival (N.E.S.T. Festival) that myself and five fellow students are now developing for Alphabetti Theatre. This festival will take place on June 12 and 13th and is partly a realisation of what I was hoping to achieve after the Professional Direvtions module was complete. On a personal note I’m delighted with this development . So far I have been working alongside a highly motivated team and am confident of a successful outcome.  

PS Special appearance by my cat Delilah in the background here. 

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POST 20.   Gary Kitching. Interview. 

Gary Kitching is a North East based actor, writer, performer, tutor and dramaturg in the performing arts.  Alongside Steve Byron he recently co-wrote and performed in the hit play Bacon Knees and Sausage Fingers. The play won an originality of form award and played to a near sell out three week run at Alphabetti Theatre. 

Here I interview him about his extensive knowledge in the world of theatre. These interviews are as part of further research into what local theatre makers think makes good theatre and advice on how to start and run a small theatre company.

You can find a link to Gary’s website here. 

 http://www.garykitching.com/ 

Further information on Bacon Knees and Sausage Fingers can be found via the link below. 

 https://www.alphabettitheatre.co.uk/20-about-us/previous-productions/99-bacon-knees-and-sausage-fingers

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POST 19. Ethics and Consent. Snowflake to Avalanche.

 Prior to putting forward the performance of Snowflake to Avalanche it was felt beneficial to complete consent forms for all involved. Below is a copy.  

 PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET

 To be completed by the project leader and supplied to the participant.  

 Project Title: ___Last Kid Picked. Theatre Co. Snowflake to Avalanche________________________________________________________

 Project Leader(s):__John Scott. Rhian Jade Alan.______________________________________________________

 The project is being undertaken by the student(s) named above as part of their BA(Hons) Drama degree at Northumbria University, specifically module PA6001 Professional Directions.  

 You are being invited to take part in this project.  Participation is voluntary.  Please read this information sheet carefully before deciding whether to take part.  

 What is the purpose of the project?

 o form the first building blocks of a theatre company. The show Snowflake to Avalanche is devised to give voice to the concerns of young adults in a satirical/postmodern style of presentation.  

 Why have I been invited to participate?

 You are an actor/performer from my year

  What will happen if I decide to take part?

 You will devise and write questions, answers to those questions, turns of phrase for back projection and selected images for back projection. You will be fully involved in the methodology and final outcomes of the project. You will perform a live piece of theatre at the Launch festival.

 What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of taking part?

 ADVANTAGES:                     future employment, group experience exposure to local theatre makers.

 DISADVANTAGES:               Potential concern over self-selected content.

 Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential and anonymous?

 No. You will perform on a public platform.

 What categories of my personal data (if any) will be collected and processed? (e.g. personal details such as name, age, gender, contact details; participants words/opinions; images/video/sound recording)

 Your own words and selection of phrases and images will be used in the final show.

 How will my personal data be used?  

 It will not.

 The legal basis for processing the personal data required for the purposes of this project is that the project is being conducted in the public interest.  Personal data will only be used for this project and only processed by the student(s) leading this project. No automated decision-making will apply.  

 How will my data be stored, and how long will it be stored for?

 N/A

 What are my rights as a participant in this study?

 You have a right of access to a copy of the information comprised in their personal data (to do so individuals should submit a Subject Access Request).  You also have a right in certain circumstances to have inaccurate personal data rectified.  If you are dissatisfied with the University’s processing of personal data, they have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

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POST 18. Devising From Snowflake to Avalanche.

On from Snowflake to Avalanche I acted as a deviser, co-writer and dramaturg. Where it differed from Reflections is that I hoped to explore Postdramatic methods of making as opposed to the more traditional. The basic methodology of the show was taken from a previous project that focused on vulnerability. I proposed to the group we would devise provocative questions, written responses to these questions and use back projections of images and turns of phrase that related to the world we would create. Early in the devising process Rhian, who directed much of the work, suggested the performance should take on the format of a game or panel show. I thought this was a strong framing devise and asked if the group wished to inject a comedy element, to which all were fairly enthusiastic. From here it was decided I would play the part of a game show host putting the provocative questions to the panel. The thrust of these questions would revolve around prejudices or social constraints and issues that previous generations have now imposed and impacted on today’s young adults. As a writer I came up with the idea of giving the panel satirical names. These were Zero Hours Contract, I’m Depressed, I’m Offended by That and Whinging Lesbian. I’d like to note here that the final name in this list was chosen by Rhian who is a member of the LGBT community. All chosen names were intended to reflect prejudices you can find commonly aimed at their generation. It was interesting in the rehearsal process that we initially improvised much of the dialogue that ended up in the finished work. Whilst playing the character of this unpleasant, antagonistic host, I noticed in rehearsal, that at times my fellow performers were getting genuinely annoyed at some of the condescending lines I was throwing at them. Rather than break character and address this I decided to push this situation further. In the end I feel this helped create some righteously (and correctly) indignant responses from the panel, which is where we were hoping to push the piece towards. Each of the cast played a character that was an exaggeration of the title they had been given. This led me to consider how to correctly describe the work. Initially I was referring to it as verbatim theatre. Drama Online describes Verbatim Theatre as this…

“Verbatim theatre is a form of documentary theatre which is based on the spoken words of real people. In its strictest form, verbatim theatre-makers use real people’s words exclusively, and take this testimony from recorded interviews. However, the form is more malleable than this, and writers have frequently combined interview material with invented scenes, or used reported and remembered speech rather than recorded testimony. There is an overlap between verbatim theatre and documentary theatre, and other kinds of fact-based drama, such as testimonial theatre (in which an individual works with a writer to tell their own story) and tribunal theatre (edited from court transcripts). In the United Kingdom, the term ‘verbatim’ specifically relates to the use of spoken testimony, whereas ‘documentary’ encompasses other found sources, such as newspaper articles, diaries and letters. However, in America ‘verbatim’ is not used, with ‘documentary’ being the preferred term. When looking for verbatim play texts, the reader will often find them conflated with other documentary forms.”

When you combine our approach to text being combined with back projections that often featured current news stories or concerns we seem to have leant slightly towards notions of Documentary theatre. However, there still remained some room for improvisation in the final performance (Which did occur on the night). With that in mind I came up with the term Hyper-Verbatim. This was to reflect the notion that some dialogue would be so exact as to be happening in the moment. There is probably room for a thesis when discussing these notions.   The presence of some Brechtian methodology was quite deliberate. The first of these being myself holding up an Applause sign to provoke the audience into reaction. Where we put a spin on this was in that I would approach the audience with an aggressive look when seeking their applause. I think this heightened the theatricality of the devise and shifted things into a less natural position. Sticking with methods of Brecht, the group came up with the idea of breaking out of character at the end of the work and addressing each other as ‘ourselves’ whilst still being a part of the overall work. Both of these methods worked to strong effect in how we connected to and manipulated the audience. The method of becoming ourselves brought out a strong contrast to the stereotypical characters we were playing and reinforced the idea that the audience were witnessing a performance that wasn’t grounded in reality, despite taking inspiration from real world concerns.   I was really pleased with the final show we arrived at. It was a genuine group effort with strong ideas coming from all involved. The piece will soon be performed again. I have now stepped back from the writing and Rhian will now act as chief script editor and writer for when we next present. In short, I feel the work achieved what it set out to do by giving voice to the concerns of young adults as we find them today.              

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POST 17. Notes on writing the play Reflections.

I remember when being interviewed, for my place on the script writing pathway, that I consciously said either to myself or to my tutor that I probably wouldn’t be focusing my writing on comedy or politics. The reason being I’d focused on this as a writer of stand up for several recent years.   Three years later that appears to have been incorrect. Both comedy and politics feature heavily in the work I’ve produced as a writer, performer and director. The difference being it now takes place in a dramatic dialogical context as opposed to solo monologue and performance. I’d like to consider the Reflections piece of theatre first. This is a traditional, two hander piece of drama that examines domestic violence, trauma, impact on victim and perpetrator and our current trends of public trial by social media. Little of this probably sounds like a rich vein for comedy. Yet on the day of performance the piece produced many big laughs while I hope sensitively dealing with the subject matter. The journey to writing such a piece of theatre has been inspired by several key moments. I first started to consider notions that the patriarchy impacts as heavily on men as it does on women after seeing a piece of feminist theatre by Rashdash Theatre Company. The general thrust of the work, which was at times abstract in its presentation, was the notion that a proper dialogue or language had not yet been developed in discussing how the patriarchy impacts on men and how this relates and impacts on how men are portrayed in modern drama. The piece effectively proposed the notion that male characters are often portrayed in a binary good bad, hero villain stereotypical way. It also opened up a debate as to whether a wider dialogue or perspective was required. Today we have an International Men’s Day. Much of the awareness it attempts to raise is around the fact that men are victims of many of the same things that affect women, often at the hands of other men. These are newer dialogues that are now entering the discussion. If pushed I would argue passionately that Reflections is a feminist piece of theatre that opens up to a wider examination of how these issues impact on us as a whole.     In my early attempts at script I would often write characters in a very binary manner. This person is on the left and therefore good, this other is on the right and therefore bad. I’m glad my writing tutor soon steered me away from writing character in this simplistic fashion. In his book How Plays Work, David Edgar tells us, “Good theatre neither says this is for me or this is not for me, it simply says this is how things are.” I actually think this idea is what separates theatre from mediums such as film and television.  Those other mediums always strive for resolution, where theatre at its best, is an examination of the human condition with warts and all. It is a condition that can rarely be resolved by a simple happy ending, or easily broken down to binary status like hero and villain. Another key moment in the inspiration for writing of this piece came after a heated argument about John Lennon on social media. Elements of this argument later fed into some of the writing of the script and are referenced directly. It was Lennon’s birthday and a friend had posted a piece describing Lennon as “Wife beating scum” It is now well documented that Lennon did indeed resort to domestic violence in his relationships. What is interesting about these facts is it was Lennon himself who was the first to put this information into the public arena. For me, this immediately complicates the issue. As my debate, on whether Lennon should be judged in his entirety because of these incidents grew on a public arena, many others joined in. Strangely the majority of argument (much of it coming from women) came down on the side of Lennon and that context, time period and social construct must also be considered in the situation.   Since writing the longer version of the play (A short version was presented for this project) I’ve woven into the writing notions of violence being a more prevalent society ill than we find it today. We used to have state sanctioned violence against our own children, where they could be beaten in schools. I remember a time when it was police policy that if an issue of disturbance was between a husband and wife then it was best not to intervene. These facts, quite rightly, seem almost barbaric today. The point of the play is that these issues of violence took place in a different time period and in a society hard to recognise by today's standards. It should also be noted, that the perpetrator, just like society is changed. As did society, they evolved and improved. None of these notions in any way make these issues alright or easily brushed aside. The point of the piece is that people had to live through them, and I examine in the drama how this is impacting on them today. There is no resolution, just a meditation on how people come to terms with difficult situations. I’m reluctant to discuss it, but I feel it’s apparent; there is also a slightly biographical element to the piece. Tackling these issues has not been an easy task on a personal level. Yet as I get towards the end of the larger script it seems to have been cathartic and has helped me address some issues that on any other day I’d rather have remained hidden. Just as the characters do in the play. Writing the piece has made me acutely aware of how as a society we are currently deeply mired in notions of good and bad, hero and villain. We have become a knee jerk culture that rarely looks toward context, rehabilitation or pathways towards resolution.   As I round up I’d like to go back to the notion of injecting humour into a piece that deals with such dark subject matters. On a base level, it’s just part of a skill set that I have as a writer. On a deeper level it’s a coping strategy. The more prevalent truth is I also use it as a political tool. It softens the blows and I firmly believe it can be a powerful tool for turning a bad situation into a bearable one. That’s really humours job at the end of the day and it should be embraced in its ability to achieve this. I have a favourite line from the TV show Dr Who. In an episode his assistant remarks that the Doctor seems to be using jokes to distract them from their fate. To this the Dr replies, “But of course. What else are jokes for?” I’m quite passionate about the notion that humour can be used and found in our darker recesses. However, I would hope I always give due consideration as to when and when not to use it.  The play is called Reflections for several reasons. One, a central character forms a relationship with their own reflection. Two, the characters spend a lot of time reflecting on the past, and three (and for me this is the most pertinent point) each character is a reflective image of behaviours from their past. Both good and bad.                

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POST 16. Notes on directing, writing and Script work.

As things developed and it became apparent I was going to be performing on both pieces I went to work on my scripts. A lot of the inspiration and methodology I use when working on a script comes from Theatre maker and Director Mike Alfreds and his book on text Different Every Night.  I break all dialogue into beats and units, I look at scenes for waves and crescendos of energy and at other times I use my own technique of using colour coding as a form of direction.  The images above are from the Reflections and Snowflake scripts. You can see there are lots of little notes for self directing. Occasionally I even use symbols associated with sheet music (which I can read) to note a lift in energy or the raising or lowering in the delivery of a line of dialogue  Even prior to studying drama, I’ve always been this thorough when studying dialogue. In my professional career as a comedian what I am going to be saying on stage is gone over meticulously in a search for nuance in delivery.  I’m a big believer in continuing to work on script even when the show is up and running. If you can bring wide variety to a performance then you will bring greater energy.   

I’m always really encouraged when I see a performers script that is covered in notes. I firmly believe the more you break a script down the more you will find in it, even if it’s your own writing. 

When working on Reflections with a professional actress it gave me a huge insight into what was and wasn’t working in the dialogue and led to some big edits and changes in text. 

For the Snowflakes script I used a colour coding system for basic direction. This script wasn’t broken down with such attention as there was an improvisational element to the final show. Therefore I required a more basic system to drive what we were heading towards. 

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POST 15. VLOG. SOME THOUGHTS ON THE COMPLETED REFLECTIONS PERFORMANCE. WRITING AND DIRECTING. 

Please find here the link to take you to another video blog. This time sharing some thoughts on the Reflections short play that I wrote and directed for the LAUNCH festival. 

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POST 14. THE SPECIALS BREAKING POINT. USED AS INTRODUCTORY MUSIC ON FROM SNOWFLAKE TO AVALANCHE. 

The Specials are a band who were prominent in the late 1970′s to the early 80's. Much of their music took on a socio-political nature with particular focus on race and protest against racism.   As we were in the process of making Snowflake to Avalanche they released a new LP. Their first in almost 40 years. On listening to it I was struck by how much of what they used to tackle in their work was still relevant, perhaps even more so, today. 

As our piece took the form of myself (older generation)  putting antagonistic questions to the current (younger) generation I proposed this piece of music as an intro to the group, as by it’s very nature it had a cross generational feel to it. The lyrics seemed to fit perfectly in regards to what our work was aiming for. Much of the dialogue the younger cast had created had a direct resemblance to what these older artists were singing about. The group reacted to the song very positively, some even commented it was “perfect” On a personal note I was delighted to find something from my generation that was reflecting the same concerns as my younger collaborators. 

Of note is the fact that “Breaking Point” was a term used by UKIP in a possibly bigoted advertisement that encourages  departure from the EU. One of our cast members did make that connection.  Departure from the EU was among one of the more focused topics that came up in the cast created script. I’ve included an image below. 

SYNTHESIS. 

In using randomly chosen images and phrases as back projection on this project I hoped to create some accidental synthesis, where image and dialogue would meet or clash.  I think the choice of this piece of music also created a form of synthesis, between generations and on subject matter, that complimented the piece as a whole. I’ve included the song lyrics below. 

I'm here at breaking point, mind and body tired Those plans for happiness have all expired The sales pitch from door to door Says feed the rich and hang the poor Twinkle twinkle, little star Point me to the nearest bar I’ll drown my sorrows with the rest Do your worst, I'll do my best Here I am, at breaking point I'm here at breaking point, the pen has dropped Progress would be wonderful if only it would stop The internet is free to surf, measures intellect by girth Here come another email, there goes another shemale Social media is a trend that will send us all around the bend Heavy is the load of a creature ill-disposed Of a man who finds the end before the start It breaks your heart Stand with me at breaking point as riots hit the streets Another toppled government will make the day complete There goes another border, here comes a new world order It’s time to call it quits before the future hits With the help of God and a few marines We'll blow this place to smithereens Here we are, at breaking point Heavy is the load of a creature ill-disposed Of a man who finds the end before the start It breaks your heart La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la With the help of God and a few marines We'll blow this place to smithereens Here we are With the help of God and a few marines We'll blow this place to smithereens Here we are With the help of God and a few marines We'll blow this place to smithereens Here we are, at breaking point

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POST 13. SOME FINAL NOTES ON DIRECTING. 

Here are some more notes I took when going in to direct the cast of either project. Although, I was only acting as co-director on the Snowflake project. I found much of what I read to be highly valuable once we were into the making process. I met some difficult challenges ( Which I will discuss in future posts) and the study of basic directing techniques really helped me meet with these issues in a reasoned manner. In all I was happy with how I conducted myself as a director and fully took on the responsibility I had to my fellow performers and cast. It ended as a rewarding experience, and my confidence was greatly increased in this area of work. I would hope to take on the challenge again in the future.  

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Post 12. Final script submission Snowflake to Avalanche.

Here we have the final piece of script from Holly Readshaw who would play the part of a quiz show panelist named “Zero Hours Contract” in the finished work. Again we were now fully realising the aims of the piece, which was to provide a theatrical platform in which young adults could express (often in a comedic fashion) their concerns about the prejudices and social constraints imposed on them by prior generations.  

Is there any hope?

Well that depends. One chooses to live in hope of achieving their dreams. We spent our childhoods being told we can be anything but when we decide what that thing is we’re told “yeah anything but that.” I mean who knew that so many previous generations based their parenting around Meatloaf’s “I would do anything for love”? Is that what lullabies people sing these days? “You can be anything you want but you can’t be that”. My point is, how are we supposed to achieve our dreams if they get smashed back down? I have met so many wonderful and intelligent people who I hope will do great things but only if we support each other to achieve those things. So yes, there is hope but only if we help it flourish.

 You are totally and utterly worthless. So why do you get so upset when we call you snowflakes?

If my generation are so totally and utterly worthless, why did you put us on this earth? Imagine what the world would be like right now without young people. There’s this overarching assumption that we are good with technology. I am the exception to that rule however, without my so called youthful knowledge, I can guarantee that my dad would have snapped the laptop in half out of frustration by now. Not to mention the effect it would have on popular culture! Like, Daniel Radcliffe is considered to be part of the millennial generation but I don’t see anyone telling Harry Potter that he’s useless and worthless. I mean he defeated the biggest threat the wizarding world ever had so I’m pretty sure he’s one of the good guys. As for the snowflake thing, that’s just annoying. You want to know why? Because you’re ruining one of the best things about winter! I just want to enjoy the snow in peace without giving human attributes to the damn weather!

 You’ve had everything handed to you on a plate. So come on… why the long face?

“Why the long face?” I’m not a horse you know. Dear me you seem to have so many names for us – millennial, snowflakes and now horses? Why don’t you just call me by my name? It’s Holly by the way. Anyway, I’m just finding it hard to comprehend how university students have had everything handed to them on a plate, have you seen the entry requirements these days? The only thing I’ve had handed to be on a plate within the last 3 years is my Sunday dinner! And even then I made the Yorkshire puddings! And don’t even get me started on store – bought Yorkshire puddings! Aunt Bessie can go to hell!

 There is no future, there is no future, there is no future. Discuss.

Ladies and gentlemen, I apparently this man has found the way to stop time itself. Of course there is a future! Time goes on, time will always go on, whether we like it or not. Now the real question is, is the future worth living in? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting any Heaven’s Gate solutions, but what’s the point in a future that’s miserable? If you believe there is no future then there is something you need to change. Work towards something better. Turn off the lights when you leave the room, have a shower instead of a bath, compliment someone, buy from a local business. There is so much we can do to build a future we want to live in.

  Why aren’t you famous yet? Come on we’re not paying good tax payers money for you lot to fanny about playing drama.

I’m not famous yet because I am 20 years old and I haven’t finished my degree and it is really hard to get into the acting industry. Also, it’s not all about fame you know. Some of us want to be scriptwriters, teachers, maybe even therapists! What you’re paying “good tax payers money” is for people like me to be inspired and follow their dreams and make a career out of it. Just because you haven’t heard of us, doesn’t mean we’re not working so incredibly hard to make that 9 grand a year worth it.

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POST 11. SNOWFLAKE FURTHER SCRIPT.

In this post I’m popping up some of the final pieces of script as they came in for the Final performance of Snowflake to Avalanche. By this point I could see clearly that we had achieved what we were aiming for( in text at least.) Characters were beginning to emerge in the performance This writing is by Carl Laidlaw who went under the character name of “I’m Depressed” 

1) You’re 50’000 pounds in Student debt and will never own a house, have a decent job or be able to afford the simple things such as having a life. Do you

A: Slowly sink into depression and give up all hope.

B: Get smashed and pretend you’re a Unicorn.

C: Realise this is all the fault of Baby Boomers, take to the streets and have a revolution.

1a) Whilst I imagine everyone in this situation would love to revolt against the baby boomers, unfortunately like me they’re probably already a combination of a and b. Already in a deep depression about how we’ll end up spending half our life working in a Tesco just to afford to make ends meet and afford basic living with no hope of buying a house or no hope of doing a job we love. Until then like we’ll all happily spend our student loan getting pished and pretending we’re unicorns before facing the reality that my parents call “The Real World”

2) Why the feck are you so depressed. Can’t you just man up and pull yourself together.

2a) Well a combination of things, Personal problems, Still single, pretty poor, tonnes of student debt, living in a country that’s falling apart with the likes of Brexit, no hope of buying a house. Doing a drama degree of all degrees so definitely no hope of a job I’d love. Honestly in today’s world how can you fucking not be depressed? There’s little to no hope for the future and Man Up? The suicide rate in men is three time higher than women so I guess I might just man up and jump off a bridge like the rest of the men.

3) Why aren’t you famous yet? Come on we’re not paying good tax payers money for you lot to fanny about playing at drama.

3a) well I haven’t yet been off my face on drugs and made a sex tape with some random rapper,  and I don’t have a six pack, money, or the attitude of an exploiting bastard to be famous on youtube.  In all honesty it’s a really competitive industry, lots of people want to go play pretend for a living and I’m on of potentially millions. Having parents who can fund you almost like a sponsor gives the rich mummy and daddys boys and girls an advantage in most places, especially drama schools. However I also still haven’t finished my degree so I’m sure as soon as I graduate I’ll be the famous prat on your tv or  performing live in a theatre near you  and your “god tax payers money” won’t have gone to waste. Hah ;)

4) You are totally and utterly worthless. So why do you get so upset when we call you snowflakes?

4a) Well I must be worth something if my parents kept me around cause god knows I didn’t ask to be here. In terms of my generation being worthless we aren’t. We contribute to society in ways that the older generations don’t. I mean we all seem to be our parents tech support so if that’s not valuable I don’t know what is.  As a generation we’ve been put onto a planet that’s a fucking mess, with governments that are fucking messes. It’s not an easy place to live and we’re trying to make it a better, enjoyable, and sustainable place to live. It’s easy for the older generation to sit on their high horse about how they own a house and think the problems we as a generation have are nothing. But they could last a day in our shoes. We don’t have that hope of having a nice house, an enjoyable job, and plenty time to go on holidays. We have zero hours contracts, tonnes of student debt for trying to do better. We try to be worth something but it will never be enough. As for being  snowflake? It’s such a shit term to say we get offended by everything. As I said we’re trying to make the world a better place and trying to get rid of homophobia, racism, and sexism is A GOOD THING! Just cause it was okay “back in the day” doesn’t mean we want to put up with your shit. We’re here for longer so go fuck yourselves.

5) The European Union has collapsed. Britain has been taken over by the Alt right and your friends are being rounded up and put into camps. Do you…

A: Join in and become a commandant.

B: Flee the country, get smashed and pretend you’re a unicorn?

C: Join the resistance. It will probably lead to certain death but you’ve heard you get free meals.

5a) Well in all honesty I ‘m a suicidal and depressed snowflake, so shooting up the people that screwed me over sounds like a good bit of stress relief, plus free food? Count me in! I mean how much worse could it be than it is now? And if I get bored, fuck it I’ll flee to Canada, I hear they have their shit together with health care and a government that isn’t as retarded as most. Plus they really like donuts and they’re a friendly bunch of people.