Writing styles

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend WIP last week, as I went to the Lyric Hammersmith to watch Lovesong (Which, I thought was awful!). But that’s the past and this week I was back at WIP, to experience a taster playwriting session, led by expert playwright Brian Mullin and ICT’s literary advisor, Guy Jones, who will also be leading Friday playwriting sessions called Speakeasy.

So to start off one of the first things Brian said was that we will be doing lots of writing to do. Wasn’t getting too excited about that, as you may (or may not know), I’m not the biggest fan of writing (or English lessons!) but at least he was straight with us. But as usual we played some games to get all the tension out of our bodies and then began to start doing some writing exercises. First, Brian gave us a sentence but left a blank for us to fill with anything (e.g. the future holds…). I was thinking this was fun but really simple, maybe it was like a writing warm-up your fingers.(Maybe?) Anyway, we then had to do automatic writing (which we have done before, so I guess I'm  an expert at it) which I enjoyed because I didn't have to think about details or logic; it was just my imagination floating about. (I sound a bit crazy don't I!)

By now I was getting into the writing because it was chilled and we were writing good stuff not just rubbish!

Daniel and Guy then put pictures of building structures around the room and then we had pretend we were in an art gallery and pick which was our favourites. I chose a picture which looked like the Olympic stadium half-built because I was thinking of a play where like children are using the structure as a hang-out as they felt they need to reclaim it for the taxpayers. (It would be pretty cool! Imagine...) Anyway we had to write  all the words which we asscociate with the structure.

This is where we start making plays, (which is pretty cool!)   We each wrote our own first scenes which took place anywhere we liked (I chose the estate I live on). This was probably my favourite part because I could just do my own thing and it wasn’t being so heavily scrutinised. Sharing it, I wasn’t sure about (My characters names were inspired by biscuit brands!) but I did as Brian and Guy wanted to see some of them acted out. It was very weird seeing someone take something I wrote and interpret it differently than myself. I enjoyed watching my own and the other scenes as well.

Getting back to the writing, we then had to do more automatic writing, but this time it was more personal. We had to automatically write, but firstly in the voice of an elderly person, personally important to each of us, talking to us then do the same but a response to the previous writing. Finally, we had to automatically write as if the elderly person was our age (16-19) and imagine what they would say back then. I thought of my Grandma and it was quite funny and endearing to write about her subconsciously, especially when I read back and find some surprising quotes.

To finish, we each read out a phrase, about the elderly people we each found important, which we found interesting and some were weird, some were sad and some were funny. But, all in all I enjoyed the session, just a little bit less writing because for me writing can sometimes become a chore and I felt at one point it was a bit monotonous. But I really appreciated the session more than I thought I would have and may join Speakeasy. Anyway, goodbye, adios, au revoir, arrivederci and 再见 (zaijian)!

Telling stories

Unfortunately, the physical workshop has been postponed for next week, so I’m happy (no exercise for me!) but also, I wanted to do a physical workshop because it would have made a nice change up to the workshops. To be honest, I thought this week’s workshop was going to be kind of boring. (Don’t worry; this blog is not about boring drama workshops!) However, I can’t dwell on that so too bad! Anyway, as the physical workshop has been postponed, Ned had a trick up his sleeve to rectify the problem and keep the session going. (And keep us entertained!)

As usual, we had to do the stretches and games, (you know, to get us warmed up and in our ‘theatrical’ mode) but then told us all to sit. (Sounds really dramatic, huh?) Here comes Ned’s little trick up his sleeve. Ned had expressed his interest in real life stories about ourselves, which happened before we lived, which may have made us who we are today and wanted us to get in pairs to share a story or 2.I was thinking oh no, I have no good stories and will probably have to make up something that sounds good! However, when listening to my friend’s story, it was really interesting to hear because it’s a bit like hearing a tale from a book that hadn’t been written. I eventually remembered a story as well, and despite thinking it was kind of boring, it was nice to return the favour and tell a story. We then had to get in a circle to hear other stories and contrary to what I thought at first, the stories people told ranged from funny, to insightful to serious and were anything but boring.  It only gets better from here on, as we picked 2 of the stories to make scenes out of, in groups of 8, so we could see it in a more artistic light.

Devising the scene was definitely the most fun part as it allowed us to be creative with a true story, without clouding the message behind it. I generally find devising hard, as you have to start off with little, but making a scene out of this story of ours was not only easier than I expected but fun as well. When performing the scene and watching the other scene, I really felt we had done the stories justice by keeping it real.(How many times have you heard that!?)

Anyway with the session ending, the physical session (hopefully!) should be commencing next week and I’m looking forward to it now even more. See everyone next week!

P.S Happy Chinese New Year!!

A shoal of fish

Happy new year everyone! For anyone who cares, this New Year hasn’t brought me anything new, except college (*sigh*) and more interestingly, WIP is back on! Yes, Work In Progress, my purpose in life (bit too dramatic perhaps!) is on every Thursday and started off with a surprise.

So we start, first with stretches (not my forte) and since Ned allowed us to do our own stretches, I decided to stretch and roll around on the floor. (Looked a bit like confused fish out of water!).  I was thinking a bit (Shock!) , when we get down to the nitty-gritty, the best part of WIP, I’m going to give it my best, as I haven’t seen so many faces for quite some time and my drama bone needed some working out.(Not sure if that’s... the best metaphor but you see my point.)

Stretching check. Game played... not check on the imaginary WIP list. You would never guess what game we played, I’ll give you 10 seconds, 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...0. Time’s up! If you didn’t guess, we played a game imitating the film Night at the Museum. Weird, right? But fun... and serious. (Look on the bright side!). So in this game, one person had to be the night sweeper of the museum and the rest had to be wax figures, which had to try to approach and creep the sweeper without him noticing or he could melt you. As a wax figure, I had to be calm, collected and devious to approach the sweeper. So I came up with a plan. Move like a robot, as not only are they cool but they move like humans, making it easy for me to get to the sweeper easily. Well. My plan worked and I managed to get into the dramatic mode I wanted to.

To ramp up the seriousness, we then had to move as a group, dedicated to stay in unison, around the room, like a shoal of fish. Sounds easy in theory, but like we all know, practice is another story. It was hard you know! With no leader, as everyone was one of many, it was more difficult then expected, especially when moving at faster paces. Throughout the exercise though, we managed to get better; looking less like actors and more like a shoal of fish. (Which, may I add is a brilliant achievement, not many can say that!)

Surprise time! For the majority of the session, as we have a top-secret, undercover, production, we had a chance to read the first draft. I couldn’t wait to read the text and see how Alexandra Wood (Our, mega, super writer) had incorporated her own and our ideas to create a play. So what was the play about? Well, that is something we know and something you will find out about, my pretty, as long as you keep following us. It’s worth it, I guarantee it. When we read it together, I kept thinking how this line would work, how would we portray this? Dance, silence, naturalistically? So many ideas of what the final product may look like, perhaps going a bit too much with the wind! Moreover, after having a discussion about the, I felt that despite WIP has not come together for quite some time, we are moving towards a common goal as a group... like a shoal of fish!

At the end of WIP, I just really wanted to act this play out! However, I have to wait and hold onto my impulses as next week in WIP we are doing intense physical movement. Not my 3 favourite words but least it will allow me to workout this unexercised body. (Always look on the bright side!) Anyway, I have spoken (or written) for too long, so goodbye and come back for the next week of blogging!

Winding down (for now)

Boo! Unfortunately it’s the last week of WIP (for this term) and I’m sad. WHAT WILL I DO WITH MY THURSDAY AFTERNOONS!!  (Don’t worry I’m just exaggerating… slightly!) Anyway, since it’s the last week of WIP, the session was much more relaxed, playing games such as spacejump (get in a circle, put 2 people in the middle, improvise a scene together, someone shouts “SPACEJUMP”, replaces 1 person in the middle and changes the scene up.) .

At end though however, there was some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want first? Good or bad? Ok the bad news first! Unfortunately, Laura, our project and administration volunteer, is leaving us. *Sob*(Well not leaving us but almost… postponing working with us till a further date! You catch my drift?) We will see her eventually again however and it’s just a waiting game now! Us vs. Laura! (I jest!). But thanks Laura, for the time being, it’s been great working with you and sharing some oddly funny experiences with you. We will be awaiting more Laura!

The good news now? Of course! All the techniques, warm-ups and exercises, Tanya taught us has been compiled, by Ned, so we have them for reference for the future.  Just want to say a personal thanks to both Ned and Tanya for that! It’s going to help me a lot in my dramatic future! Also, next year, we are lucky enough to work with some of the most exciting theatre companies to devise and create original plays, which will be performed by us!! (The theatre companies are… a secret!) You will find out only if you keep following our website though!  Also, since we pay virtually nothing, we’ve got some fundraising to do! Anyone want to sponsor me to do something in the holidays? Your choice of activity? Anyone? (If anyone is serious about sponsoring however just click the contact button to find contact details.) 

Also, ever since watching Blackberry Troutface, I have wanted to write my own play about a relevant issue, which will probably be unemployment. Now, this is coming from someone who can’t stand English lessons and has never written a play in their life, so I believe this will be a real challenge for me. So wish me luck! Anyway, this will be last blog this term so to everyone who read my previous blogs, thank you! And to everyone, Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings and have a Happy New Year! (I know it’s a bit early, but better to say it now then never!) Bye!

Facing the blackberry

Well guess where we went this week? That’s right, the Unicorn Theatre. To see what, you ask? Blackberry Troutface, which, as bizarre as it sounds, a nationally touring show which has won several awards for its excellence. Performed by the Liverpudlian theatre company, 20 Stories High, Blackberry Troutface shows us the harsh and gritty reality of life of children with a parent addicted to drugs.

Let me just give a little taster of the play. Its morning and the 3 siblings are going through their usual problems again; 15 year old Kerrie’s trying to get ready for school, her little brother Cameron’s having his panic attacks and big brother Jakey is still trying to escape from a local gang. Amidst all this chaos, the 3 find a note in a Frosties box from Mum, £50 and a ripped up newspaper under the microwave. The note states that Mum has left. Sounds wicked, doesn’t it?

Now what I thought of it? Well. I thought the show was amazing! Funny, engaging and a little bit weird, Blackberry Troutface kept me on my toes. The jokes were actually funny; the suspense was full of raw emotions giving me goose bumps; the actors, full credit to them, played the characters exceptionally well to create an amazing performance where I was left feeling not only excited about watching the show, but also educated about how it can severely affect the children. Another thing which was great was that the whole play took place just in the house, which allowed me to focus just on the characters and them as a family. Also, the play wasn’t patronising or condescending, like many shows for young people I’ve seen, where the main message is don’t do drugs or knife crime is bad. Blackberry Troutface allowed me to thinkon what has been shown to me and then come to a conclusion to where I know what I think about the matter. As a young person, I would recommend this show to anyone, young or old.