Makers Diary: Deal with it Woman!

Well Olu gave me the same advice as Liz....thought he might.
I can see that this is gonna be a fighting struggle all the way...why does it always have to be that way...what I would not give just for once for things to go my way...................I will go now before I go right off on one and start ranting like a mad woman...stand tall, puff out your chest and just say...deal with it woman.

Makers Diary: Lump It!

I e-mailed David Buss to arrange an appointment to see the space in 'Dance' mode and discuss my needs.

I also got an e-mail from Liz today in response to my rant yesterday...basically her advice is deal with it and that I don't have a choice, which is true but does not make me any happier about the situation......these things are not part of the creative process at all....they are part of all the other stuff and are one of things that hinders the creative process..ahh! diva-rish scream and I flounce away with a pout!

I wonder what Olu will say?

Makers Diary: More bloody problems

LOADS happened today but some how have not really managed to move forward..I am pulling my hair out.

Okay goodness first...Joe Harris has agreed to do my sound production...yeah...I am so pleased he is the best man for the job. I told him my ideas and gave him the examples of Glorybox by Portishead only more abstract...he knows what I mean..always just seems to get what I am getting at, can’t wait to get stuff coming through on that front......that’s it for the good news though....

Badness....
Sharon asked me to hold off still on doing a casting call...which is frustrating and she is waiting for confirmation from Olu before she can go ahead and book staff for the events....So I will get on to chasing up that as well....i e-mailed Sharon to ask if the uni have any links with external venues that i could take advantage of...waiting back on that front.
I sent an e-mail to Liz and Olu outlining my concerns and asking for some advice...went something like this:

‘Okay this is where I am at with my PARiP project at the moment and I am in quite a pickle to be honest!!

I have been offered dates and a performance space in June (9th & 10th), however, there are several difficulties:

The dates that I have been offered are smack bang in the middle of the undergraduate assessments, which in itself is not a problem but it means that there are lots of restrictions placed upon how I can use the space. (see the e-mail that I have pasted in below). I am not able to move or change the lighting and layout of the space. This means that creatively my hands will be tied, which makes things awkward for me in being able to achieve some of the things that I need to achieve in the performance.

Because of the timing, it also means that I will have to pay for a casual technician, which is a cost that I had not factored into this set of performances. ( I am still waiting to find out what the exact cost will be) The timing also means that I will not be able to even start trying to recruit performers until the end of April (a process which in my experience usually takes a couple of weeks) because the students are on their Easter break. This means that i will have a very small amount of time to actually work on the production itself, which is just not going to be long enough to produce a piece of theatre to a high enough standard. Also all the students will be involved in assessments at this time and may not be in a position to participate or commit. The hectic undergrad assessment schedule also poses rehearsal space issues.

I am not really sure what to do! I would like to be able to accept the dates but I am very concerned that I will not be able to deliver in the short time scale (if it wasn't for the holidays it would not be an issue really) Also I am committed now to giving a paper about my PaR in June.
If I do not take the dates it means that I will have to push back my VIVA (which I don't really want to do) but it means I will have the time and facilities to develop my work in a more satisfactory way. I need to produce a quality piece of participatory theatre in order for my PhD to achieve its aims.

I really need your advice before I can make a decision about how to move forward. I need to let Sharon know ASAP because of the technician being booked ect. Let me know what you think.’

I am feeling very stressed about all of this and I don't mean to be a pain, I just want to get things sorted and move forward in the most appropriate way.
I guess now I just need to wait and see what they say.....

Makers Diary: Industrious Me

Ok...I have worked through what I've got so far and e-mailed David with a detailed outline of what my requirements are, it went a little something like this:

My theatre piece is going to devised and as I have not yet got my performers (holding off on this until I get confirmation of the staffing), most of the details of the project are still very much up in the air. (until I can begin my process of devising).

There are, however, a few things that I know I will need and can tell you about:

1. Audience Seating.
My work will be participatory and because of this the seating arrangements for the audience is crucial to the project. I do not need the traditional formal seating arrangements...the audience will be occupying the same space as the performers, there needs to be no auditorium as such or usual audience/performer divide. I was hoping that I would be able to arrange a horse shoe style arrangement facing BS with a gap for the performers to enter. The performance space will be in the middle of the horse shoe. (and needs to be a good size to enable the performers plenty of space to do their thing.)

2. Sound.
I will need to use the PA set up in order to play soundscape and there will also be a portable HIFI system in the performance space. There is the possibility that I may use two dynamic cordless microphones a well. (I have two of my own and I am not sure yet if I will use them in performance or not)

3. Lighting.
I have not yet put together a lighting plan and due to the restrictions I think that it will be best if I plan that around what will be set up already and available to me.

4. Set & Props.
I will not be using any set. The only props that I can anticipate using at the moment are a whole lot of red shoes and 3 small wooden blocks that the performers will stand on. I might also have a small costume rail.

5. Documentation.
I need to record the entire proceedings as well as gather phenomenological experiences after the performance. I will have a broadcast quality digital camera on a fixed tripod recording the entire theatre piece. (It should not need any cables or external electrics). I also need to set up a booth that will have a small digital handy cam and an audio recording device separate from the performance space, so that the audience can go in and record their views/experiences/ comments about the work. (this may need a power source.)

Is it possible to have a copy of the lighting set up details and the stage layout details so that I can work around what will be there? I need to actually go and have a look at the Perf Gym, as I have never used it before. (or know where it is for that matter!)

I also wanted to ask how I go about booking space to rehearse in?

What colour is the flooring? I wanted to inscribe on the floor in white chalk, so I was hoping that it is black. Chalk should wipe off easily but if this is a problem, I can try and find a way around it. (Inscribing the perf space is part of my thesis).

He did e-mail me back and suggest that we should meet up to discuss all my requirements, so I will organise a time and date that will suit us both.

I also had an e-mail from Sharon today saying that the space will be coming with limitations...story of my bloody life that is...it went something like this:

Hi Joanna
This is for the perf gym. However, due to the pressure of assessments there will be some limitations attached. Please see David’s email below. Due to the time constraints it would also mean that if you do decide to draw in chalk in the perf gym you would need to ensure all this is cleaned off before you leave on Sunday, or you could talk to David about some possible ways around this i.e. using a temporary floor covering etc. I would recommend that you contact David Buss ASAP to talk through the tech and other ramifications. I will endeavour to book a duty manager to manage the front of house aspects in the meantime.

‘Hi Sharon,

Just to confirm our discussion, I have no problem with this booking in principle however Joanna should be aware that the space will be in 'Dance mode' This means that the side panels will be out with wing flats in place and side lighting booms. These along with much of the rig will have been focused for the following Dance assessments. Time constraints will not allow us to change this.

We will endeavour to book a casual technician for the weekend but the cost of this will have to be borne by the project.’

I am NOT a happy bunny and I am going to need to have a think about this...I may even e-mail Liz and Olu...never know...GRRRR

Makers Diary: Hero Liz...

Ok I was miffed before but now I am even more annoyed because I just typed loads of stuff and it got lost when I tried to bloody post it..AHHHH
Ok I guess I will have to type it all again.

I got an e-mail yesterday telling me that the uni would only be able to offer me performance space during the summer...this would have meant that there would be no staff or students around, making it hard to get performers let alone an audience...not at all happy with this situation I sent an irate e-mail to Liz and Olu telling them my concerns.
Well today i get an e-mail offering me some new and more suitable dates. This was all down to Liz...who obviously waved her hefty magic wand and made it all ok for me..thanks Liz..eternally grateful.

The dates and space are provisional and I have been asked not to go ahead and advertise for performers until I have had confirmation that there will be staff available to cover duty manager and techie, as the usual staff are not ava. I will also have to pay for it I think.

I have been asked to get in touch directly with David Buss to discuss my requirements and what facilities are available at the venue for me that weekend. I think I will get on to that later and pen an e-mail detailing my needs. I will start to put together all of my casting call stuff so that it is all ready to go as soon as I get the nod from Sharon or David.

I have been offered the Performance Gym on the 9th & 10th June...I will have to remember to ask David for details of the space, as I have not used it before.

I am very impressed with Liz, as I was told there was nothing available and she has managed to get them to free up the schedule...yeah...right more work to be getting on with now.

Makers Diary: Costumes a meeting

Today I had a meeting with Lorraine to discuss the possibilities of costumes:
We decided on two patterns and discussed the possibilities of different fabrics.

We also talked about the options of underwear...I thought that red would be best..obviously we also need to get underwear that they will be able to move easily in and that won't be too revealing.

Still not sure about the bras...both the dresses are strapless..so I will need to have a good think about what will work best aesthetically and practically too.
I guess it will all depend on the size of the girls and that sort of things...which is so frustrating as I am no closer to getting it cast.

Lorraine has already started collecting lots of different types of red shoes...stiletto heels, kitten heels, Indian pumps...all around sizes 6/7 as this is the most likely size for the girls.

We are also still unsure what to do with HIM costume wise, it is a decision I need to make and again I will have to give it more thought.

Reflective Practitioner: Director…Are you sure?

It seems odd to have a director in this type of performance making process, considering all of the aspects about devising that I was considering the other day; so why have a director and what is their role in this type of process?

The director is usually the first collaborator to encounter and approach the dramatic text with the intention of realising it into a performative entity. They are the first and most powerful ally of the playwright and the dramatic text, in many ways their role and function is similar to that of the playwright, so is their lack of presence in the actual live event of performance. The director, although, ‘largely a twentieth century phenomenon’[1], has been a figure and an ally to the playwright from when, ‘Aeschylus supervised the presentation of his tragedies at the Athenian Festivals of the fifth century BC’[2], to Gemma Bodinetz directing, Kia Corthrons’s, Breath, Boom[3] at the Royal Court in 2000. The director has a colourful and interesting history; however, the role and function of the director in relation to the dramatic text has mostly been ‘the co-ordination of expressive means based on interpretation of the play-text.’[4] Regardless of the various devices and strategies employed by the director in their realisation and interpretation of the play-text, a fidelity and commitment to its function remain central to their (the directors) artistic interventions.

The director’s intentions will indeed inflect any dramatic text that they undertake and a truthful or correct mounting of a dramatic text, with regards to the playwright’s original intentions is, I would suggest impossible; however, it is not the commitment and fidelity to reproduce a correct playing of the text that I refer to. More so I am asserting that the director’s fidelity is to communicating the presentational truth via illusion and representation; it is in this way that the director is faithful to the playwright and the dramatic text in turn. The various creative decisions that director makes in realising the dramatic text from page to stage are all underpinned by a need and desire to communicate the truth of the text, the meaning or message buried beneath the surface story. The director is responsible for how life will be given to the text to make it a performative entity rather than a literary one. It is the role and function of the director to decide the activity of the actors and designate how they will strive ‘tirelessly to suspend and subvert our knowledge’[5] of their presence in a visceral sense; the director will instruct or suggest ways in which the illusion will be manifest for the audience. As with the playwright, the director does not have an actual physical presence on the stage, their absence is essential in the building of the illusion but the directors presence is felt in the same way that the playwrights presence is: ghostly and spectral. Their presence is felt in the presentational truth that haunts the performance and we are aware as audience, to some extent the director’s part in the construction of the representation.[6]

I see my role as the director in this project as that of facilitator, producer and co-ordinator rather than as author and interpreter. Although we will indeed be working with text, I will not be looking to use them in the way that I have suggested is often the case above. I will be using the texts as spaces for exploration, as found objects (as I suggested yesterday in my blog entry). It is my responsibility to create the situation in which the exploration and devising process can take place. I have undertaken devising in both small and large groups and there is always the issue of editing and final decisions; there needs to be an overriding schema for the project and this needs to be marshalled by someone, in this case that is the director. I also have the added concern of keeping on task for my research aims, as well as my creative aims and this also needs to be coordinated and kept on track. There needs to a person who takes ultimate responsibility for the project and for this project it will be me; mainly because I am the person who will be initiating the project and so it should fall to me to keep that impetus going and in check. There also needs to be a responsibility for house keeping issues, as well as creative issues; space has to be booked, preparation for sessions has to be done and this will fall to me.

The figure of the director though, is not uncommon to devising most of the professional and successful devising groups have one: see Wooster Group, Forced Entertainment, PunchDrunk and Welfare State International, to name but a few.
[1]Mario M. Delgado & Paul Heritage (Eds). In Contact With The Gods?: Directors Talk Theatre, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996. Pg viiii
[2] Edward Braun. The Director and the Stage: From Naturalism to Grotowski, London: Methuen Drama, 1982. Pg 7
[3] Kia Corthron, Breath, Boom, London: Methuen, 2002
[4] Edward Braun. The Director and the Stage: From Naturalism to Grotowski, London: Methuen Drama, 1982. Pg 8
[5] John Freeman. ‘Performatised Secrets, Performatised Selves’ in Contemporary Theatre Review, Vol. 14(4), 2004. Pg 54
[6] This awareness is evident in the strength of the director commercially and their ability to pull in audiences to see their. Some people will say that they have ‘seen’ Wilson’s Woyzeck or Lepage’s A Mid Summer Nights Dream, they did not indeed write these texts but their part in the mounting of such texts are to some extent visible and carry weight with the audience.

Reflective Practitioner: why text?

The director usually works with the cast to realise and present the text according to the director’s artistic vision. Although I am the author of the text and will be the director, I am not interested in my intentions alone. I am more concerned with exploring the texts as site or found objects in which the performers and I can carve our own path. The Wooster Group, famously use this approach to received texts, using them as found objects and interrogating them in relation to other texts and resources. Willem DaFoe discusses how this approach works for him in performance; ‘I’m saying the text, but I am always wondering what my relationship to the text is. Me, personally, not the character- ‘cause I don’t know about the character. If someone asked me about John proctor the character, I wouldn’t be able to tell him a thing’.

Although the texts that we will be using could fall into the understanding of being modern or contemporary dramatic texts, we will not be approaching them in the usual way. I think I am going to have to go away and do some more research on this.

Makers Diary: Woman Text

This is the second text that I have written...I intend to write and prepare 4 or 5 texts for the audience to choose from.

Oh I also discovered yesterday that an old friend from uni is in a progressive electronica pop band...so I was going to ask her if I could perhaps use some of their music for the musical chairs...I will of course sort out all of the copyright/performance rights and ethical aspects of doing this. http://www.myspace.com/randomwomanmusic

Woman 1: Standing there before him, eyes wide, so vulnerable and broken.
Tears making their blue grey mascara trickle across her high flushed cheeks; gracing the edge of her lips and then absorbing into her collar.
Her, she, gasping, rasping in a whisper she extends her hand towards him and pleads.

Man: "Don't go" she begged as I threw my eyes to the floor avoiding her watery gaze. I couldn't answer, couldn't look at her, she; the swelling dark welt spreading around her left eye.

Woman 2: Don't go
Look at me
(She extends her hand to touch his but can't reach.)
Please.

Woman 1: Her hand still extended, she stood rooted to the floor, shaking, her body shuddering, frail and needing; racked with silent weeping. Her eyes boring into the top of his head, willing him to her.

Man: I couldn't move, keeping my eyes on my shifting naked, bloody feet. Shards of green glass and thin maroon liquid adorning the floor in a crystal carpet of rubble. But still I can't face her, she, that malignant swelling flesh around her wide, wet eye.

Woman 1: she stepped forward, only a little, tentative, rocking into movement. The crystal green glass sheen crunching under her weight, pressing into her soles releasing scarlet bubbles onto her milky skin. She touched his hand, a brush with her fingers but she didn't take hold.

Man: I drew away, her cold delicate long fingers churning my stomach.
I swung my body clumsily to the side, retching, heaving and I vomited. Once, twice; my puke spreading out amongst the glass blood and shallow maroon lake.

Woman 2: Please baby, I…

Woman 1: She dropped to her knees and waited, wretched, lost and broken, yowling her pain to the vaulted ceiling; her floral print dress stretched tight across her bump, her unborn flesh. She laid her hands flat, palms to the floor as she wept.

Man: I wiped my mouth on my sleeve, took a shallow breath, bile burning in my nostrils. I stood upright and put my back to her, she, my lover, mother to be and that, that black puffy wet eye. I began to make for the door, slowly, lumbering, so heavy and sore.

Woman 1: As he moved to the door, she leapt up, lunged at his back, holding him to her, to her body, to her bump.

Man: I was stuck

Woman 1: she held him to her, clinging, her limbs wrapped about his sore, bleeding body, her head resting, no nestling in his damp sweaty hair.

Woman 2: Don't go! don't leave me.
Oh god, don't leave us.

Woman 1: She flailed and clung as he wrenched at her limbs.
She flailed and clung, her, she, his lover, mother to be.
Her, she, his lover, mother to be.

Makers Diary: 21 Text

I have written this text as one of the possible selections for the audience in their game of musical chairs...it's called 21...not sure if I will use it yet.
Woman 1: 1,2,3

Man: 4,5,6

Woman 2: 7,8,9

Woman 1: 10,11,12

Man: 13,14,15

Woman 1: 16, 17

Woman 2: 18

Man: 19,20

Woman 1: 21. Shit!

Woman 2: will you?
are you?
which will it be?

Woman 1: I never could say no, well not when it mattered.

Woman 2: will you?
Is she?
which will it be?

Woman 1: So I slipped off my pumps…..
One at a time
Let them drop, wriggling my bare toes on the coarse wet wood, cool under the pink soles of my feet.
I hadn't been serious
Not when I took a man-sized swig of Kiwi 20/20, let it scorch down my throat, fuelling my bravado, voiced in giggles.
I hadn't been serious
Not when I triumphantly announced 21, apathetically tossed them dare with a shrug.
(Pause)
Woman 2: I don't believe you
do you think she will?
She always does

Woman 1: I never could say no, well not when it mattered.
I could feel their eyes on my feet willing my nakedness to travel past my knees and infect the rest of me.
I could almost/

Woman 2: See
Smell
Sense

Woman 1: Their breath catching
Shallow
Eyes wide, on the brink of faith.

Man: Not him though
Breath streaming out of his nose like a stallion
Only still, calm, his faith steadfast, She could sense it.
Eyes like polished chocolate, never left hers.

Woman 1: I never could say no, well not when it mattered.
My denim mini and cropped, faded Tee, folded neatly in a pile on the coarse wood boards.
My flaming hearts, red and black cotton, Goth pants and matching bra, like a twisted knotty whipped topping.

Man: Behind him their scuffed and raggy school shoes, toes to her.
Fidgeting, fumbling, secretly towards him
Towards her.
He could feel them pulling tight around him in a gaggle.
He with his polished chocolate eyes, never left hers.

Woman 1: As I turned my back and curled my toes to grip the unfinished wood, on the end, raw and splintered,
I never could say no, well not when it mattered.
My skin puckered into millions of tiny pimples as the wind slipped around me.

Woman 2: will she?
Whisper
Hold your breath

Woman 1: I closed my eyes, lifted my heels, rocking my naked pink, puckered body towards nothing,
Teasing them, it, him, myself
And let them root again.
(Pause)
1,2

Man: 3,4,5

Woman 2: 6

Woman 1: 7,8,9

Man: 10,11

Woman 2: 12

Woman 1: 13,14

Man: 15,16,17

Woman 2: 18, 19,20

Woman 1: 21! Shit.
(Pause)
I never could say no, not when it mattered.
(Pause)
So I jumped.

Man: Cold
Biting
Wet
Silence
Disappear
His chocolate, polished eyes, never left hers
Bubbles
Wet
Cold
Silence
Silence
Silence
Wet
Disappear

Woman 1: I never could say no, well not when it mattered.

Woman 2: Will you?
are you?
which will it be?

Woman 1: I surfaced

Man: His polished, chocolate eyes, never left hers…hers.
Gulping
Gasping
Sharp air
Bursting through the green, green surface
Her naked pink toes propelling her up, up
His polished chocolate eyes never left hers….hers.

Woman 2: closer
Whisper
don't breath
Will she?
are you?
don't breath.

Woman 1: I never could say no, well not when it mattered
His polished chocolate eyes on me, steadfast stallion in his faith.

Man: Pulled up tight around him in a gaggle
jaws slack, mouths wide and gaping

Woman 1: I surfaced like a bobbing Holy Mary mother of God
A naked pink beacon
The flesh incarnate
Dripping wet defender of his faith
Him, you, you.

Man: Gaping, slack
Not him though, his polished chocolate eyes on her, hers
Drinking her up, setting fire to her intestines
Flames, licking and tickling her lust.

Woman 1: I never could say no, well not when it mattered.
I climbed up refusing their outstretched fingers, that green, green liquid fleeing my flesh as I hauled up and onto the coarse, wet wood.

Man: His polished chocolate eyes on her, hers.

Woman 1: 1,2,3

Woman 2: will she?

Woman 1: 4,5,6

Man: his polished, chocolate eyes on her, hers.

PARiP: Makers Diary

http://www.sewdirect.com/acatalog/info_222.html

http://www.sewdirect.com/acatalog/V_Day_Dresses.html

These are the links to some dressmaking patterns that I have found which might be suitable for the costumes for HER and SHE.

I have also e-mailed Lorraine, my costume designer with my sketches and ideas, so I am hoping to hear her thoughts soon.

Makers Diary: Costumes

I have started to sketch out some of the production design details.....I have started with the design of the red performance gowns for HER and SHE.....I can't seem to get them to scan into here, so if you go into my pics on my profile, you will find them on the second page, they are titled as above.

I still have not heard back from Joe yet about the soundscape nor have I heard back from anyone at the uni with regards to perf space. I am now very concerned and I am not sure how I will be able to get the work to 2 external, public venues....considering it is proving this hard just to get it off the ground within my own faculty.

Reflective Practitioner Diary: deeper frustrations

The new problems that have arisen with trying to get a space, not only affects my work creatively but throws up some issue academically as well:
I have been accepted and committed to giving a presentation in June at Royal Holloway on PaR and documentation.....if I can't get my project off the ground ASAP then I am in danger of not being able to write that conf paper.
I am really annoyed with this situation, as it should never have come to this. If I had not had the problems with my team last year this would have been sorted? I first raised the need to get this into motion back in Sept and then again more persistently in October but because of the problems with basically having had no supervision for the first year of my study I am now stuck in this situation.

All of this bureaucracy is getting in the way of my research activity! the university is supposed to support and assist me in my research not hinder me. other PhD students have a lot more contact with their teams and have had a great deal more support from their faculties. I feel alienated from the faculty and do not feel that I am a part of it at all.

My experience at the moment is one of frustration and anger; I am working really hard to keep things moving in the right direction but with each baby step forward I feel like I take two backwards! I don’t think my needs are excessive or unreasonable. I just need a performance space for two nights, it should not be difficult for a performance faculty to afford this to one of their full time bursary PhD students.

I know that I am ranting but it is really starting to get me down and affecting how I feel about the project.

Makers Diary: More frustration

Ok today I had still not heard back about venues, so i have re-emailed sharon Armstrong and my Supervisory team about performance dates and venues.
I got a reply back from Sharon which has thrown up quite a few problems for me creatively and academically:

There are no spaces available until all of the staff and students have left for the summer, this means that I ma going to struggle to get performers and an audience. So I am not quite sure about how to move forward now from here.
I have e-mailed my team to get their advice on how to move forward from this point and Sharon is also exploring alternative possibilities. I am extremely miffed about this, as I have been trying to get this PaR off the ground since Oct last year. I currently feel as thought the university is not really supporting me as they should be.

I will keep refining the production designs and create aspects of the project while I am waiting to hear back from the relevant parties.

Reflective Practitioner: Devising and approach to the making process

Devising has been an approach to making theatre that I have been aware of and had an interest in since college. I wanted to really exercise the idea of devising and look at various approaches that others have taken to that way of making work. Gill Lamden suggests that we might understand devising as ‘a group of people working and rehearsing over a period of time to create a performance text’. I am not convinced that this is a sound enough explanation of the task that I am going to be undertaking, as it it also describes practices that are used in performance art and live art practices, thus not exclusive to making theatre. For me devising is a really vague term and can be applied in many various contexts. With such an illusive and slippery term, I am going to have to really work hard to define and explicate the processes that I adopt in order to make this work.

I am not convinced that I am going to be at liberty to work in such an unrestrained manner; time and resources I think are going to push me to have to fix a lot more than I would like to, however, due to the creatorly participatory nature of the work, there will inevitably elements that will remain open to devising and improvisation. As I mentioned earlier today, I hope that the process will be devising in the way that Lamden suggests, when she says, ‘devising is a form for devisors to explore something that matters, and say it in their own language, using their own words. In performance they are given a hearing. The level at which they communicate their message is in their control’. It is not only the performers that I hope will inhabit this role but the audience as well. It will be important to disclose early on in the work the issues and topics that we want to interrogate and then hand it over to the audience, giving them a chance to exercise those issues and concepts, expressing themselves in their own language.

I am not interested in communicating a message to the audience or the performers but instead, in looking for ways in which to create moments in a particular space and time which the audience and performer can explore the themes and issues that we set down from the start. Even though I will be starting out with some text and some ideas, I am hoping that these will only be starting points, serve as prompts rather than as material to be interpreted.

It’s interesting because most of my hopes for the process and the approach to making also apply to my aspirations of the role of the audience. For both the performers and the audience, ‘it’s about ownership, compromise, developing and exploring feelings, ideas, and philosophies. It’s about spontaneity, excitement and originality. It’s about the dynamics and chemistry of this group of people, at this moment in time’.

The performers are going to need to be brave and fearless, taking on this type of performance is such a huge risk and a real challenge; it is going to be important that I get confident and strong performers.

Makers Diary: Frustration

I am getting so fed up on having to wait around all the time for other people, I know that collaboration is embedded in the act of making theatre and that it is part of the ontology of theatre in both production and reception but it does get deeply frustrating.
I always seem to have this problem whenever I attempt to mount a piece of work...I am constantly held back or let down by those around me.
I am going to start to do some of the production design.

This type of collaborative devised process is time consuming and really does require a particular attitude and approach from those involved. It is the sum of its parts and the people who are involved are what shape and make up the process and out come. I am worried that if I do not get the right group of people together, that I will end up having to devise and fix more of the project by myself than I would like to. This process should really be undertaken over at least a 6 month period in order to allow the dynamic to be built and a collective sensibility and aesthetic to emerge organically. I do not have that sort of time and I still have no idea really who my devising group will be made up of. I think for this reason I am going to have to think carefully about my approach. I will just have to wait and see what happens. I know what I would like to happen and ideally how I would like to approach the project but I am concerned that this will end up being deeply compromised by circumstances. I will just have to work really hard to try and keep on track, ensuring the integrity of the creative and research values of the project. I am going to have a little think about what my approach should be made up of and the ways in which I might be able to achieve that.

Makers Diary: To website or not to Website.....Hmm

No more replies yet today but it is still early I guess.

I have been learning how to build a website and I was thinking that it might perhaps be a really good idea to actually create one specifically for this project and put it live on the web. The reason I have been wondering about this is because I thought it might be a useful way of publicising the actual shows themselves and making the research even more accessible, performative and interactive. I could gather audience experiences and comments via the website.

It would also be better if I had more control over the blog process...it would mean better access all round. It will depend on cost and most of all my skills.

Makers Diary: The Nightingale Theatre

I have had a reply back from the Nightingale theatre in Brighton....they don't hire the space out..all the work shown there is curated. This is a real shame as their theatre space is perfect to be honest. Oh well I will keep waiting to hear back from the other venues.
Some possibilities have also come up via SCUDD which I will review today and see what opportunities are available there for external performances.

Makers Diary: Questions

I was thinking that 3 questions is perhaps too much...maybe the females should have a question each and the male work as a toll rather than for generating the situations. He almost becomes like a prop for the audience to use in order to tell their stories with the women. This will mean creating two scenes rather than 3.
Before we put the scenes together for the second time..maybe we could find a way of the audience choosing a small section that we have pre-pared to juxtapose with the material that they have created.

We would create and rehearse several options for them to choose from...I think the way that it is chosen should be a game or task....needs to be rule or task driven like the rest of the material.
Carlos used a similar technique to put together QX-Evolution...he used a dice to select from a series of pre-prepared options incl the lighting and everything.

I was thinking that maybe the audience could do something performative to choose...like play a game of musical chairs...each of them is given a number before they start...the winners number will be the section that we perform. (so obviously the pre-prepared sections will be assigned numbers that match the audience) We wont have 15 pieces pre-pared that would be a lot of work in the time frame that we have...maybe we could have 3/4 options and then the number is given out to more than one audience member...this way each piece has better odds but it is till random....I think that this will be exciting.

I am going to write some texts that could serve as starting points for devising the pre-prepared element of the performance. I am feeling really excited now but the frustration of having to rely on others to be able to move forward is tough...I know other people have their lives, jobs etc but it is so difficult in the making process at this stage at how much is reliant upon others to get things moving. This is something that has always been difficult for me...I expect others to have the same level of enthusiasm and commitment to the project as me and that is not always the case...and this is inevitable...it is something I have to work hard at....being patient with others...after all it is my project, my passion not theirs...I completely understand but still I find it hard. I am just itching to get my hands on performers and start to make the work.

Makers Diary: Chesil Street Theatre

Have had a reply from Chesil street theatre and to be honest it is a little bit expensive. It would cost £150 per show at least...I am also not convinced that it would be the best or most suitable venue. I will wait to hear back from the others before I consider my options. I still can't get hold of Joe for the sound so I may have to perhaps have a look on myspace and see if I can source someone who likes to make soundscapes.....we will have to see.

I am going to start drawing up some staging plans and designing costumes etc soon. I am thinking of red film noir-esque dresses, hair make-up to get out of...It will set up a lot of expectations for the audience and then hopefully undo them by taking it off before they start.....

Makers Diary: Performance Space

I have e-mailed the following venues to find out about the possibility of renting the space for the public performances:
Chesil Street
Hanger Farm Arts
The Nightingale
Tower Arts
The Nuffield
The Barbican Plymouth
So far I have not had a reply from anyone. I have had a reply from Sharon Armstrong needing more info, so I have replied back with the info requested. I have also had a reply from Rob Conkie...he is happy to arrange a time for me to speak to the students as soon as I have dates and venues confirmed. I will get the in house confirmed before I start the voltunteer gathering but once this is confirmed I will go ahead and meet with the students rather than waiting for the external ones as well...because this is not looking too promising.