Yesterday, the very first showing of our work as a trio was shown to Andrew Quick from 'Imitating The Dog' Theatre Company (http://www.imitatingthedog.co.uk/). In a way, this spurred me on to make a bit of an account of what we're actually doing behind closed doors and let anyone who has a mild curiousity into the workings of a fledgling theatre company to have a read, as well as it being a bit of a reference to me and the others. It won't be fluid; It won't be coherent; but it will be thoughts. If that's important at all.
We began last week by discussing film and the way that we all seem to live through it a bit vicariously. Then we seem to grab bits and pieces of films we like, quoting here and there in conversation. It's a bit odd really, because after we watch films, we seem to wander out in to the world and have fictional characters living through us, every time we steal their lines. So here have we started? Well, we've taken bits of films which we'd all recognise when we see them on screen - a bit here and a bit there, and spliced them. A voiceover from one film, the soundtrack from another, the actions from another. And we're currently playing with throwing them all together to see how the familiar can be represented in what seems an oddly unfamiliar way. Everything which could ever be said has (most likely) already been said. All we can do is rehash it in a way which seems to be new and original. That's the thought we're playing with, anyway.
Andrew described the writing we had used as 'beautiful'. On confession that it wasn't actually OUR writing, he furthered that it did seem familiar, in a way he couldn't put his finger on. I suppose that's what we were aiming for really. To provoke this uncertainty, even when the material isn't particularly new. This performance won't see the light of day for another 9 months, so the likelyhood of ANY of what we've done so far reaching anyones eyes is quite small. But the journey is half the battle, as I've found out a few times, the hard way. When faced with having to make an entire show in 3 weeks after having nothing after 6 months. It all falls in to place if you go round the houses - picking up bits and pieces from every place you visit.
Also, it's quite exciting to be able to rehearse in the new LICA Building at Lancaster University. It's pretty fantastic. Huge spaces complete with sprung floors, pre-set lighting rigs, projectors/screens. It's a nice place to rehearse. And we're the first people to sully it with our presence.
We began last week by discussing film and the way that we all seem to live through it a bit vicariously. Then we seem to grab bits and pieces of films we like, quoting here and there in conversation. It's a bit odd really, because after we watch films, we seem to wander out in to the world and have fictional characters living through us, every time we steal their lines. So here have we started? Well, we've taken bits of films which we'd all recognise when we see them on screen - a bit here and a bit there, and spliced them. A voiceover from one film, the soundtrack from another, the actions from another. And we're currently playing with throwing them all together to see how the familiar can be represented in what seems an oddly unfamiliar way. Everything which could ever be said has (most likely) already been said. All we can do is rehash it in a way which seems to be new and original. That's the thought we're playing with, anyway.
Andrew described the writing we had used as 'beautiful'. On confession that it wasn't actually OUR writing, he furthered that it did seem familiar, in a way he couldn't put his finger on. I suppose that's what we were aiming for really. To provoke this uncertainty, even when the material isn't particularly new. This performance won't see the light of day for another 9 months, so the likelyhood of ANY of what we've done so far reaching anyones eyes is quite small. But the journey is half the battle, as I've found out a few times, the hard way. When faced with having to make an entire show in 3 weeks after having nothing after 6 months. It all falls in to place if you go round the houses - picking up bits and pieces from every place you visit.
Also, it's quite exciting to be able to rehearse in the new LICA Building at Lancaster University. It's pretty fantastic. Huge spaces complete with sprung floors, pre-set lighting rigs, projectors/screens. It's a nice place to rehearse. And we're the first people to sully it with our presence.
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