Performing in the morning, I learned from Theatre for Children, can be demanding on the voice.  Therefore, I created a little warm up for myself, based on various exercises undertaken for T4C and came up with the following:

*Breathe in and out (in through nose, out through mouth), hold and release for 5/10/15secs.

*On a release breath say ‘ahhhhhh’, ‘sssssssss’ and ‘hmmmmmmm’ alternatively.

*Chew toffee (small toffee, big toffee)

*Scales (high and low)

*****

Overall, I’m incredibly happy with the way my performance went.  One of the aspects I was most nervous about was performing my piece to an audience of 30 when, throughout my process, I’ve only ever had a maximum of 5 people see it in its skeletal form!  My performance was essentially based on myself and my own experiences.  It therefore required a focus and a concentration that was different, or at least felt different, than if I was performing a character. It was only when I was putting the performance on its feet, throughout the rehearsal period, that this realisation hit me. I was performing myself and the younger version of me, intertwined, which felt more true and honest than if I was a character but made me feel very open and vulnerable simultaneously. I didn’t need to worry though. They were a truly supportive audience and even laughed in places that I hadn’t expected, which was very comforting and put me at ease.

“The presence of a single performer in front of an audience of many instantly creates conflicting roles for both performer and viewer – great power and great vulnerability” (Bonney, 2000, xiii)

I’ve never been very confident with using tech and in this performance, some of my cues relied on it. Whenever I’ve created a performance in the past, I’ve always been wary of this just in case the tech suddenly goes wrong.  For my final performance however, I wanted to challenge myself.  I wanted to give myself the opportunity to work in an aspect of performance that I’ve never really dealt with before.  The techies who worked with me on this were extremely hard working and helped put my vision onto the stage. The lighting and the sound throughout was spot on and came in at all the right places. I couldn’t fault this element at all.

If I were to do the performance again, I would consider having the audience placed at the sides of the performance in between the drapes, as well as end on, so my performance would almost be performed in the round.  This idea was presented to me in the tech and so I didn’t want to drastically alter my staging the day before my performance, but if I had more time, I would consider incorporating the hide and seek element of the performance with the audience to make them feel as if they are peering, even more so, into the world of my imagination.

“…working at this friction point between the self and the world” (Giannachi, 2012, 46)

One thing I’ve learnt from this performance is to have more confidence in and trust myself when it comes to making decisions and performing something that is my own creation.  Before I knew it, the performance was over and I suddenly wanted to do it again!  The audience were all so positive about my show and it were those comments that made me realise that I’d created a show that I could be proud of.

Nicholls, N. (2014) My Set.

References:

Bonney, J. (2000) Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century. New York: Theatre Communications Group.

Giannachi, G., Kaye, N. and Shanks, M. (2012) Archaeologies of Presence. London and New York: Routledge.

Over the performance period, I went to see many other solo shows.  The ones that I saw were all so unique and so very different from one another,  it was very refreshing to see.  One performance I saw reminded me a little of my own piece in that the performer dipped in and out of the world of reality into a fantasy world, based on the power of the imagination.  The piece was Martyn Bignell’s and my favourite moment was when he created a ‘rescue the damsel in distress’ scene with a pencil and rubber which really transported me into thinking that these items of stationery were actually, for a moment, people! It reminded me of such scenes as seen in Shrek or Toy Story 3 and was really lighthearted and funny.

The second piece I saw that I really enjoyed was Sam Davis’ performance.  I worked with Sam in second year as part of a group for a devised performance and to see him perform, in a way that I hadn’t seen before, was so lovely! I had such a smile on my face throughout! He was so humourous and so confident, intertwining this element of control through voiceover with an act of rebellion through his ‘masculinity’ that was quietly, but so effectively, defiant of his stereotype.  It was charming.

What I found truly touching, for each of the shows I saw, was the turnout. Every solo performer had such a large (dependent on capacity) and supportive audience that truly reflected how tight-knit of a year group we actually are.

*The white drapes were placed at a slightly wider angle than what I had imagined as I wanted the drapes to closely fit around the grass and the performance space to enhance the idea that the performance is based on memories (an interior world).  However, I preferred the slightly wider angle we created in comparison to the sharp diagonal that could also have been created.  This was to work around the rigging and width of the drapes as a lot of them weren’t very wide, so couldn’t reach as far across as I thought.  Being on such a sharp angle would have affected the way the lights projected into the space and would have been hard for the audience to see in terms of sight lines in relation to the way the audience were positioned in the space.

Nicholls, N. (2014) Creation of My Set.

Nicholls, N. (2014) Creation of My Set.

*The projection of ‘the place in which I was performing/playing as a child’ was smaller and positioned higher up on the drapes, but this was to accommodate lighting and to prevent shadows appearing from the light of the projector.  Maybe if it was performed in a more compact space, I could have had the projection a little bigger, to the floor for example, because my initial intention was to have it blending in with the grass on the stage to blur and connect the reality of the live performance with the ‘frozen in time’ world of the picture.  With a large projection I could also have thought about potentially using floor lighting to evade any problems with clashing light…

*I originally wanted the fairy lights, which were strung down the sides of the projection, to be hung from the rigging.  However, I didn’t have enough and so not only would they have looked lost, but they would also have proved problematic in terms of the position of the other lights that were needed throughout the performance and again, may have clashed with the light emanating from the projector.  I feel that they worked better down the sides of the drapes, I just feel I could have placed more down the sides of all the other drapes to create more light that I felt was needed toward the end of the show, especially as at this point, the fairy lights were my only source of lighting.

*The lights in the rigging were made up of 6 fresnel’s and a spotlight.  2 were pink, 2 were blue and 2 were orange.  What I particularly liked about the lighting was that, for each colour, there was a lighter and a darker shade so that in the space it created a softer effect in the centre, getting darker towards the edges so it wasn’t too harsh against the other colours of the grass, the stones and the water, complimenting each other rather nicely.  In terms of the heart gobo effect, which my friend very kindly made for me especially for my show, it was larger than I had imagined but I liked the effect it created.  It looked as if it was spilling out of the water and so when I created the heart shape with my hands it was like I was bringing the heart to life, enhanced by the red glow that was cast onto my hands simultaneously.

*The programming of the lights and sound, in comparison to creating the set, was nice and simple!

The development of my stage layout.

The final layout.

Nicholls, N. (2014) New Staging.

This photo shows an up close, end on view of my stage space with the chairs either side of the projector screen marking the white drapes, the other the ladder.

Nicholls, N. (2014) Stage Space.

This photo includes two other drapes, used as markers, to surround and enclose the space.  This was in response to my feedback from my work in progress.

Nicholls, N. (2014) Stage Space.

How it all started…

An image that came to mind – a green field, flowers, a girl in a white dress, the countryside.

Led to…

Bearing this in mind, I was able to draw out useful performative elements – bringing the outside inside, ethereality, a performance that is fun and peaceful.

Led to…

A child playing in the field – the memories and experiences of childhood.

Led to…

A performance that is sensory and stimulates a feeling or an emotion prescribed to a particular object.  E.g. a rose= love.  My monologue was episodic in structure, based around the hide and seek framing device to allow the memories to filter in to disrupt my game and which followed the pattern as to the way we think, written almost as a stream of consciousness and in the way I remember my experiences.

Led to…

The telling of that experience as a story – blurring the boundary for the audience as to whether they believe the piece is autobiographical or not.  Predominantly, it is, but I’ve developed the performance material in a way that, despite that fact that I refer to the stories in the first person, they are relatable, an experience that the majority of the audience will have also experienced (or something similar) in their own lives.

Led to…

Lots of colours – bright – a wonderland, stepping onto the border between reality and fantasy – making the ordinary, extraordinary! The lighting highlighted when there was a change in state, with the pink and blue representative of two particular memories, the orange serving as the basis throughout the performance (a sunny day) the near blackout at the end (with the only light at the end coming from the fairy lights) representing end of day and the fact that she is waking up from her own imagination, has ‘found herself’ in the process and has been on her journey of discovery.

Led to…

The set – fully embodying the idea of the ‘theatrical’, very decorative.  Something artificial versus something that’s real – the combination of both in my performance, with the grass now being fake and the gravel being real, almost strengthens the idea that she is using her imagination, solely from what she is surrounded by, to create these tales of fantasy.

The crunch of the gravel beneath my feet in the dark…a sense of isolation and being alone…

Staring into “the water’s reflection” (Nicholls, 2014) making me aware of my sense of self…

Led to…

Props – I think the hardest thing for me throughout this process has been in achieving the image that I initially imagined.  My work in progress forced me to acknowledge this realisation.  In all honesty, I feel a little disappointed that I’m no longer using real lawn but for me, it were the practicalities in getting and maintaining the lawn that were proving to be difficult.  However, there is a beauty that lies in the idea that I can play with the resources I have to make them appear as if they are something more than they are, relating to the concept and the basis of my show.  In accepting that there is an alternative if Plan A doesn’t always go to plan.  Before show day, the only prop left to now purchase will be a small bouquet of roses, but I will get those the day before the show so they are nice and fresh for the performance, slightly easier and less risky than buying 3 or 4 rolls of fresh turf the day before!

Led to…

Music – The song playing as the audience enter is called “Shine Your Way’ by Owl City and Yuna, created for the Dreamworks movie, The Croods.  I thought this song was particularly suited for the start of the show, as both the song and the movie follow the dreams of a young girl for an adventure which parallels the journey of my performance, my finding my way through my various memories and experiences.  The song that marks the end of the show is called “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” by Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana about a girl with a double identity and that, despite the fact that she leads two very different lives, she knows where she’s from.  This mirrors my performance in that, towards the end of the show I express, “all I wanted was my family, my home” (Nicholls, 2014).  Not forgetting of course S Club 7’s “Reach” that features in the show which was not only a song I used to listen to as a child, but at the point in the show in which it plays, aims to show a ‘seizing of the moment’, a journey into an unexplored and unknown land.  The happiness in these three songs contrasts against “Goodbye” by Avril Lavigne.  I use the first minute of this song underneath speech, in which the lyrics present the feelings felt from a break up, supporting the story that I am simultaneously telling to the audience.  It also represents how a particular moment can remind us of something else, the breaking of the rose signifying the remembrance of this song and its lyrics and the poignancy of their meaning at such a time.

Reference:

Nicholls, N. (2014) My Solo Performance: A Place of Escape. [script] Lincoln: University of Lincoln.