Taketh me out...again.

A bit of a tumbleweed has blown across our blog but Standby HQ has been anything but quiet recently! We received an early Christmas present with the news that we'd been selected for the Open Stages showcase on the 18th of March 2012. Naturally, we were all delighted and couldn't wait to get creative again, even though a lot of hard work would inevitably be involved.

Given a ten minute slot to fill, we had to make a decision about which section of the play would represent our work and values the best. Puck's dating game show, Taketh Me Out, was the most obvious choice for us all, providing what we hope will be a fun, lively and engaging insight into what we're all about. Decision made, it was now time for my part to come first. As co-writer of Lovers and Madmen, I had the daunting task of shaking off the excess of the festive season and getting down to revisiting the script...but I won't bore you with the details or spoil the surprise for March. I will, however, share some thoughts on the three things I valued most during the editing process.

1. Distance.

It's important to have distance from what you're writing, any and every 'how to' textbook will emphasise this point repeatedly. Luckily for me, there was a sizeable gap between our final performance last July and the call to dust off the script.

Distance gives the cringes time to subside and the objective voice to overtake. If every writer edited the second they'd typed the last word then frankly nothing would ever survive beyond their computer screen. For a theatre performance, distance also gives you the time to reflect and discuss what worked and more importantly what didn't work the first time round, taking into consideration what new challenges you will have to face. Instead of throwing the script out of the window (always check they're locked) I found myself welcoming the opportunity to look at it with refreshed eyes, supported by the wise and encouraging feedback of my fellow Standbyers.

Also, if a line isn't working, chill. It's okay to walk away from it and come back after a bucket of tea and an episode or 6 of The Office. It isn't going anywhere, trust me.

2. Faith.

Okay, that's a little deep (try 'positive attitude' for a less pithy but equally accurate term), but a little dose of faith really doesn't go wrong. Faith shuts up that critical voice that stops you from getting things done and it reminds you of everything you've achieved so far, pushing you to work harder. Remember why you started writing in the first place and believe that you can try your best to improve. Sadly, faith alone won't get those words on the page, but we all love a challenge, right?

3. Enjoyment.

Perhaps the most important point of all. Writing isn't scary and there are no right or wrong answers. Honestly, it can and should be fun, especially when you're making theatre. Half of the joy lies in throwing yourself back into it and seeing where your thoughts take you. It's only a play.

And because I'm a sucker for threads tying together, my final thought is this: Theatre is a collaborative process. And repeat. Once I finished the edit, I knew that my script was going into capable, open-minded and frankly gorgeous hands. Work hard at your contribution and have fun with it, but recognise when it is your turn to take a step back and create that distance again. I have a huge amount of faith in the crazy and wonderful people of Standby as they work on the story and bring it to life in ways I hadn't even imagined. I can't wait to see what they've achieved in March.

So, the cast and crew are deep in rehearsals now, but stay tuned for more from us soon!

ps. Forgive me for the title, I couldn't resist!

The Journey of my Journey

Wow this is hard. Why did I think taking an audience for a walk in the park would be such a walk in the park? I am realising that creating an imersive audience experience with just an mp3 player is a tough challenge.

At first I tried to be clever. I tried to tackle big themes of life and death, love and loss. Imagine an mp3 tour which lectures you about the human condition while you saunter down a leafy path - pretentious or what.

After days of soul searching, historical research and reading I made a crucial breakthrough. This performance is not about me. It's not about my journey or ideas. It's all about you, the 'audience' or participant. So instead of telling I am asking. Guiding my traveler along their own path, with their own unique response to the place in which they find themselves. To help them to do this I will use music and simple questions interspersed with instructions, allowing each journey a different route, emotional response and outcome.

So now the practicalities of timing and clarity come into play. Each part of the journey has to be timed and each instruction must be easy to follow. The real test will be when I let my participants loose. Let's just hope no one gets lost!

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Follow me...

We've set ourselves quite a challenge here at Standby Theatre. Site-specific theatre. Oh yes, nothing like throwing ourselves at the theatrical deep end. But we love a challenge, and that's exactly what it will be. Our first production, 'Lovers and Madmen' was a tremendous amount of fun. We played with some of Shakepeare's best loved characters in a new, fun context, and despite cramming it in alongside our full time jobs, we achieved a lot in a few short months.

But we can't rest on our successes. We all agreed that we want to take it that stumble further and create something totally new that compliments the many talented people in the group. If someone wants to play the spoons or sing a Haiku, let them! It's all about letting our creativity blossom and shine.

After exploring an amazing derelictish space, we sadly realised that the floor resembling jelly really wasn't going to be conducive with a safe, lively theatre experience. Thinking hats firmly back in place, Lotty and I explored Holy Trinity Churchyard and the paths leading towards it. We may have looked crackers scribbling down names from Victorian Gravestones and hiding in dens of trees, but we realised that something as simple as an everyday pathway could be used to great dramatic purpose. Throw in an mp3 player, some carefully crafted directions and a few unsuspecting audience members and bam! That's theatre, right? Well, kind of.

The prickle with the term 'site-specific' is that it is often bandied about without any real thought- a 'trendy' term that will entice a younger audience away from twitter for a few hours. But here at Standby we want to create a site-specific piece in the purest sense- a play born from a direct response to a place. The place informs the action, not the other way round.

So, that sounds like fun, but how to we start? To ease ourselves into what is quite a daunting task, we're developing some simple directions. I'm currently asking myself odd questions such as 'What is the abstract emotion for this place?' and 'What visual images develop from the weather of this environment?' in order to create something. Who knows if this piece will be used as anything more than valuable practice but what the process will hopefully demonstrate is that the audience will be taken on a unique journey, using mixed media but keeping it simple, allowing the heart of the place and its inhabitants to tell the story. For a writer, this is the most exciting stage of the process, facing a brand new project that is inscribed with a huge sense of freedom. People respond to environments in a variety of ways, and it's my job to explore one interpretation of that.

Practically, we are also giving ourselves more time to develop this piece, but we hope to see it all coming together beautifully very soon.

Now, back to the pen and paper (I like my traditional methods.) I'm determined to get the name Eustace in there somewhere...

A Little Adventure... Exploring Promenade and Site Specific Performance.

Before we start planning our next project we want to play! We need to have fun and experiment so we can discover new ways of working together. 
So, a group of us have begun to create a promenade adventure for the rest of the team. We have mp3 players, a phone box, a church yard and our imaginations... We will post our results and even put the mp3 files online so you can experience the journey for yourself. 

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Newsflash!

Things have been quiet in Standby HQ for the last couple of months, but it all looks set to heat up again soon! We've worked out a plan for our next project: a site-specific piece, devised by the company and based in a building in Stratford.

It's going to be a unique challenge - some of us have never really devised before, and some have never worked in promenade - but we can't wait to start. There's also the thorny issue of using that term 'site-specific'.

Here at Standby, we don't think it's enough to take a play set in 'a park' and stage it in the Swan Gardens. We don't want to look at a script set in 'a cinema', and place it in the local Picture House.

We want to start with a space and work up. Take a building with its own layout, its own history, and create some theatre which can't be performed anywhere else.

Wish us luck!

Lovers and Madmen

Our RSC Open Stages performance 'Lovers and Madmen' is done and dusted!

You can see the results as part of an Interview with Ian Wainwright on the RSC Website - just click here

Plus you can also check out our photo gallery, courtesy of the lovely and talented Emily Showell!

Busy, busy, busy!

As you may be able to tell from the lack of blog posts over the last few weeks, we here at Standby have been rushed off our feet getting everything ready - and so far, we're on track!

The actors are off-script, and have really started getting into their roles. So far, so good, and everyone had really started rising to the challenge of getting those lines properly down, working out how to fight without concussing anyone (Ben's bruises are a sight to behold, and we fear that we will not be able to say that 'no actors were harmed in the making of this production'!), and the most pressing challenge of all: getting into the mind of a butterfly. Yes, ladies and gentelmen, we have the best butterflies in Stratford Upon Avon. Method acting, eat your heart out.

On the production side of things, it's all systems go. We're lucky enough to have some arty-minded members of the team, who have been able to rustle up everything from a popcorn tub to an ice cream - the only thing we're still working on finding is a skull! Costumes are sorted, and our stage manager can't wait to start rehearsing with everything she's found.

We have a beautiful poster in the works, to be unveiled soon, and we can't wait for the world to see it: professional designer Anniek Olsder has outdone herself on this one, and we know it's going to look wonderful around the town.

'Lonely hearts' videos and snippets of rehearsal footage should be up on Facebook soon, so keep one eye on our page there - you can find the link to it here, in the sidebar. Remember, 3rd July is the day to watch - and any donations of suncream are very welcome!

Signing off now, as we need to go and figure out a Richard III costume - we'll leave you with this question:

If you were a biscuit, what kind of biscuit would you be - and why?