Over summer 2013 I performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  During my time in Edinburgh, I was able to see a variety of performances happening across the city.  Amongst these were many solo shows, a few I was greatly inspired by in terms of creating my own performance.

The first was Bright Lights performed by Léonie Kate Higgins.  ‘The setting is Léonie’s last day at the office before she escapes to pursue fame as a singer, and sees her indulging in anxious day dreaming in which her future in music is disastrous’ (Black, 2013).  What I enjoyed the most was the shifting atmosphere in terms of the dreariness of the office, which was created and supported throughout by ‘looped vocals… utilising the office stationary to create sound illustrations’ (Humphreys, 2013), all that would typically be in an office with additional sound effects such as the ringing of the phone, the filing of papers and photocopying for example.  Throughout the piece, the normality of the set would then transform itself into “bright lights”, the image of fame, leading a famous life, using brighter colours and the lamp on the desk being turned into a microphone.  She was able to portray two different worlds, two different ideals, tinged with authenticity and autobiographical inflections.  What was most effective about this technique was that she was not only able to take the audience on an emotional roller coaster of a journey, from happiness to sadness to laughter which motivated and engaged the audience, but that she was able to change the atmosphere without the audience predicting when and what would happen.

Secondly, she involved the audience in a way that immersed them into the narrative of the tale without physically needing their presence on the stage.  She achieved this by having the audience take on the persona of ‘the new member of staff’ (ibid) that was being trained to take over her job. With her ‘eternally optimistic persona’ (ibid) it made the audience ‘root for her as she naively negotiates every obstacle that’s thrown her way’ (ibid).

Echolalia was a show that centred on ‘Echo, a woman with Asperger’s syndrome preparing for a big job interview’ (Ribchester, 2013). The piece ‘fuse[d] clowning and physical theatre’ that the performer Jen McArthur said ‘portrays people who meet failure time and time again but don’t get fazed by it…there is a strength in the openness; the audience recognises our common humanity and accepts the fact that no one is perfect’ (ibid).  Despite the similarity in theme between this show and Bright Lights there were differences within technique.

Echolalia – *meaningless repetition of another person’s spoken words*

The three concepts I enjoyed the most, were that firstly, McArthur used very large gestures when communicating, gestures that were extremely welcoming and comforting when words were not being spoken.  Secondly, there was a wooden frame that held a large piece of paper over it with the picture of a door, that at the end of the show, McArthur burst threw as a metaphor for her entering into the big wide world.

Optimism. Hope.

Lastly, unlike Bright Lights where the audience were involved from a distance, Echo immersed herself into the audience, addressing us with questions, unafraid to do so and asking very personal questions.  I happened to be an audience member that was asked a fair few such as, ‘What’s your name? How old are you? Are you married?’ (McArthur, 2013b) At the time it felt quite intimidating to be asked so many questions in quick succession of each other, particularly in front of other members of the audience whom I did not know, but simultaneously, it felt very liberating.  It relates back to the idea of the atmosphere and the performance being very open, a space in which anything can be shared or achieved.

The State vs. John Hayes –

In comparison to the other two solo performances seen, this was the one that exploited the form of the monologue the most, with Lucy Roslyn sat on a camp bed, in the corner of the studio sat facing the audience for an hour, simply talking.  Set in Huntsville, Texas, the monologue explored the many dimensions to Roslyn’s character who was ‘about to walk the mile for double murder’ (Currums, 2013).  What is most interesting is that ‘the audience [were] drawn into her claustrophobic, paranoid, painful world’ but instead of feeling disdain and disgust at the crimes that she had committed, her use of language, a subtle and natural Texas accent and stories about her past life, flipped this notion into one of care and sympathy.  Tone and use of atmosphere are two key techniques that inspired me from this performance.

Minimalism. Theatricality.

References:

Black, M. (2013) Ed2013 Theatre Review: Bright Lights Léonie Kate Higgins. [press release] 2 August.  Available from http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2013-theatre-review-bright-lights-leonie-kate-higgins/ [Accessed 2 February 2014].

Currums, A. (2013) Innocent! [press release] 14 August.  Available from http://www.broadwaybaby.com/listing.php?id=20710 [Accessed 2 February 2014].

Higgins, L. K. (2013) Bright Lights. [performance] Léonie Kate Higgins (dir.) Edinburgh: C Nova, 25 August. Available from www.leoniekate.com [Accessed 2 February 2014].

Humphreys, L. (2013) Broadway Baby Review: Chasing the Dream. [press release] 26 August.  Available from http://www.broadwaybaby.com/listing.php?id=22818 [Accessed 2 February 2014].

McArthur, J. (2013a) Echolalia. [performance] Jen McArthur (dir.) Edinburgh: C Aquila, 20 August.  Available from http://www.seleconlight.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3341%3Aphilips-selecon-helps-c-venues-led-the-way-in-creative-sustainability-at-edinburgh-festival&catid=2%3Anews&lang=en [Accessed 7 February 2014].

McArthur, J. (2013b) Echolalia. [performance] Jen McArthur (dir.) Edinburgh: C Aquila, 20 August.

Ribchester, L. (2013) Echolalia show explores Asperger’s via clowning at 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. [press release] 30 July.  Available from http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/53006-echolalia-show-explores-aspergers-via-clowning-at-2013-edinburgh-festival-fringe/ [Accessed 2 February 2014].

Roslyn, L. (2013) The State vs. John Hayes. [performance] Lucy Roslyn (dir.) Edinburgh: C Nova, 23 August. Available from http://onestoparts.com/review-the-state-vs-john-hayes-hen-and-chickens [Accessed 7 February 2014].