On 04/05/14 I had a rehearsal that was, essentially, a work in progress.  I invited a few friends to come and see my show in the space with a few of the props.  Their feedback was as follows:

*More sincerity and honesty when it comes to performing the child-like self – to give even more the impression that she is lost in her own world – make it obvious when I am playing the younger version of myself and when it’s actually just me.  To make more obvious the game of hide and seek to show that she is dipping in and out of her childhood memories and reflecting on those experiences.  I could use the game of hide and seek to represent the older self playing with my younger siblings, the experiences and memories I dip into portrayed through my younger self.

* Swapping the blue sheet for actual water and use the water a little more.  In terms of aesthetic, the blue sheet wasn’t as effective as I hoped it would be.  I guess this is because, other than the rose that I throw into the ‘water’, I don’t use it at any other time during the performance. I’m thinking, to try to incorporate the water a little more, that I may change a little of the text in the final episode of the monologue in which I can brush my hand in the water rather than give the illusion that I’m inside a tent. This way I can also focus more on the stars that will be presented through the fairy lights strung in the beams above.

*Use a smaller space. Performing it in the space, the props that I did use, didn’t fill the space as much as I hoped and so it looked a little lost.  One of the ways to overcome this would just be to bring in the performance and occupy a tinier space.  This would enhance the idea that everything within her tiny environment is spurring of the memories she has and the performance can then be more intimate.  I’m thinking of having the drapes at angles which frame the edges of the performance, with the audience sitting on a mixture of bean bags and chairs as if they are peering into her world. See picture below. I have also bought another grass carpet and have now purchased some stones as ideally, I don’t want any of the grey floor to be seen.

The main thing is to keep rehearsing to iron out the creases!

The stage layout is almost like a sun…

Nicholls, N. (2014) Stage Layout.

To pull back the drapes to see into the secret garden beyond…

*****

An idea to incorporate the water more – create a love heart in the water using stones.

Nicholls, N. (2014) Heart in Water.

This however, took too long.  I like the idea of creating a heart as it relates directly to the moment as to when I’m talking about my family, but I’m going to need to do something that takes less time.  I need to do something that takes less than 30secs to accommodate the transition of one voiceover into the next and allow myself to ‘go to sleep’, so it is efficient and therefore, more effective.

I have very nearly collected all of the props I need for my performance.  The only one that remains unsolved, as yet, is the lawn.  The problem I’m having at the moment is actually getting hold of some!  I’ve looked in the local B&Q and Homebase and they don’t have any as yet.  I will go back within the next week or so just to see if they’ve brought some out as part of their Spring/Summer stock (maybe I visited the shops too early).  If there is some, my next task will be to check the price (make sure it’s within reason) and then work out when I need to purchase the lawn.  I can’t buy it too early as I don’t want the grass to turn brown before the performance.  Being rolled up however, it might be able to survive if I bought it a week before the show.  I would then have to figure out how I’m going to get the lawn from said shop to my house or straight to the theatre as the lawn is breakable and heavy and I do not drive a car.  This proves problematic as, because the local stores to do not have any, it means I will have to travel further out, but to do so, I would need a car.  The other option would be to buy it the day before in a friend or family member’s car, and take it straight to the studio, but then I risk the store not having any lawn in stock.  Also, looking at Homebase’ website, it informs me that I can only purchase turf in bundles which are very expensive, with prices starting at around £139!

From working through this dilemma, I believe my best option would be to contact the store (wherever that may be in the local area), tell them the purpose of needing the lawn (only need a small amount), pay and arrange for the lawn to be delivered straight to the theatre the day before the show and only roll it out on the day of the show so it will still be fresh.

As a back up plan however, I have purchased an Artificial Grass Carpet for £6.99 at Aldi, so if getting my hands on some real lawn fails, at least I still have grass! :

Aldi (2014) Artificial Grass Carpet.

The other idea that I’ve also been thinking about of late, is what photo to use for the projection.  I’ve only ever thought that it’d be a picture of a field, but what field has sparked many different questions as I want the photo to have a real purpose and significant meaning to the piece.  My first thought was to just have a look on google images but a lot of the photos I found looked photoshopped which is not my desired effect, particularly as I’m focusing so hard on having real grass in the show.  Then I thought about using one of my own photos, one that I have taken, which then spurred me to think about when the photo was taken, possibly using a photo of a field where I would have played as a child.  This would link strongly to my piece as it focuses on the dreams and memories of childhood.  I found the following:

Webster, M. (2012) Old John Tower in Bradgate Park.

What I really like about this image is that there is a tinge of blue sky at the top which will, in the studio, almost blend in with the top of the ceiling to make the last episode of my piece (when I focus on the sky) look as if I am actually lying down in this field.  The point of view also looks as if I could have taken the photo and could have been in the field (which I have visited, just when I was younger and didn’t own a camera!)  Having been to Bradgate Park, it evokes a feeling of remembrance which makes this image more personal and equally makes me feel certain that this is the image I want to use.

There was also the option of this photo as what is striking about this image is the vividness and intensity of the purple of the flowers.

Webster’s Wildshots (2012b) Charnwood Forest.

This would also fit into my show as the first section of my piece deals with a flower and so it would give the idea that the projected backdrop is almost blending into the reality of the field/lawn on which I am sat.  However, what prevented me from choosing this design is the fact that it is not an open space (a sense of freedom and happiness), the trees in this image evoking instead, feelings of  entrapment and danger and could almost have a dark and shadowy element to it that could change the dynamic of my piece which is most definitely not my intention.

References:

Aldi (2014) Artificial Grass Carpet. [online] Available from https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/sunday-27th-april/product-detail/ps/p/artificial-grass-carpet/[Accessed 27 April 2014].

Homebase (2014) Garden Turf and Artificial Grass. [online] Available from http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/garden/turf-and-artificial-grass/classic-fresh-turf—40-rolls-305171 [Accessed 27 April 2014].

Webster, M. (2012a) Old John Tower in Bradgate Park. [online] Leicestersire: Bradgate Park. Available from http://www.awao38.dsl.pipex.com/focf/photos.html [Accessed 26 April 2014].

Webster’s Wildshots (2012b) A Rainy Spring with the Bluebells. [blog entry] 25 May. Leicestershire: Charnwood Forest. Available from http://websterswildshots.com/wordpress/category/natural-history/[Accessed 26 April 2014].

The Younger versus The Older Self.

Fantasy versus Reality.

Throughout my performance process, I’ve been influenced a lot by the use of space and aesthetics used in music videos.  The above video plays with the dreamlike reality/fantasy world that I aim to create in my show, with the flowers and the transitioning from one world to another being of extreme importance in my piece to create and enhance this vision.  In the video this is achieved as it almost follows the journey from childhood to adulthood, with her child-like self breaking through into the adult world, leaving behind her childhood and her dreams (although in my show I hang on to them!)

This is the video to the song Dream by Priscilla Ahn whose lyrics I have taken and incorporated into my performance by reading them rather than singing them.  This will form one of the voiceovers within the piece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKfDwChOoHI

References:

BNLGUSA (2008) Priscilla Ahn – Dream (Official Video) [online video] Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKfDwChOoHI [Accessed 7 May 2014].

KatyPerryVEVO (2012) Katy Perry – Wide Awake.  [online video] Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0BWlvnBmIE [Accessed 21 April 2014].

Now I’ve had a couple of sessions in my performance space, I feel more confident in terms of what materials I definitely know that I need and those that I could supplement for other, more efficient, materials.  For example, I was considering buying a sheet of metallic fabric in which to cover the ladder to form a structure and create the illusion that the ladder is a huge rock which I then climb.  However, not only would this be more expensive, but I actually prefer the idea that the audience can see the shape of the ladder and the steps that almost present the idea that I’m climbing stairs that are taking me directly towards the sky, with the ladder simultaneously being a metaphor for the plane on which I am flying .  By separating the metaphorical image of the ladder from the actual purpose of the ladder I feel enhances the illusion more as it ties into this notion that I am playing a child who is an adult who is giving in to her fantasies when they arise and which juxtapose the reality she is in.  I feel this is a recurrent theme throughout, particularly as the monologue is episodic.  Structuring the piece this way also presents the idea that children, especially of a young age, are extremely playful and get distracted very easily, letting their imaginations run wild, turning from one thing to the next in quick succession.

The Illusion – what she sees is actually something else.

ASSOCIATION.

As I’ve been researching the work of Laurie Anderson, I’ve come across some ideas that run parallel to the aims and intentions of my piece.  The first is her use of structure in which her performance United States (1983) uses the episodic narrative that my monologue has.  Anderson introduces a theme/topic/idea in any one of these mini episodes and “their recurrence [throughout the piece] suggests connections between different moments of the performance” (Auslander, 1992, 74).  This resembles my monologue in that, between the three difference episodes, experiences and stories, there is the framing device of hide and seek which connects the episodes together and which enables me to transition between these three very different parts fluidly, to make the performance connected. This is especially important as it focuses on presenting both reality and fantasy.

This links to Anderson’s use of text in that she “distinguishes between words that are for reading and those that are for saying out loud” (Bonney, 2000, 82).  For me, this idea is presented through the use of voiceover, where songs and thoughts are recorded and interject spoken text which aims to show what the character is thinking versus what she is doing.

By connecting and creating my piece in this ways also relates to the work created by Spalding Gray, whose monologue in Swimming to Cambodia is presented as a thought or stream of consciousness, in which Gray rapidly and constantly changes subject and theme throughout the 70min piece.  As a result, the piece becomes associative through images and figures mentioned that accumulate to form the fragmented but connected monologue.

“Peering beyond a monologist’s stage presence into his uncensored mind” (Garner, 2011).

REALITY V. FANTASY (appearing and disappearing between worlds):-

References:

Auslander, P. (1992) Presence and Resistance: Postmodernism and Cultural Politics in Contemporary American Performance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

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

Garner, D. (2011) Peering Beyond a Monologist’s Stage Presence Into His Uncensored Mind. [online article] Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/books/journals-of-spalding-gray-edited-by-nell-casey-review.html [Accessed 19 March 2014].

LenkaVEVO (2009) Lenka – The Show (New Version). [online video] Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elsh3J5lJ6g&feature=kp [Accessed 15 April 2014].

I am now at the point in my performance process where I am starting to collate props and am attempting to configure a pattern and movement to my piece.  Now that the monologue is written and the concept is fully established, I wish to try to bring page to stage by experimenting within the space, in learning the monologue and in sorting the practicalities of tech and set etc.  To do so, I have had to reconsider some of my artistic choices as they could be difficult to create within the studio space.  The first is the ceiling projection that I wished to have to reflect the night sky that would have been the backdrop for one of the episodes within the monologue and which would come towards the end of the show.  By having this particular part at the end also marks a kind of transition from day to night, start to end.  The difficulty in producing this effect however, lies in the fact that if I had a ceiling projection a) I would need a white drape that would reflect the image clearly to the audience, but in doing so, would cover the lighting rig and so would be problematic in terms of lighting the rest of the show and b) the projector would have to be situated in the centre of the space and so I would have to be aware of its presence to avoid tripping over it and it could potentially provide a distraction for the audience.  This would not be aesthetically pleasing, especially considering that my performance is based around the idea of creating a beautiful, calm and peaceful space. Therefore, I am thinking about potentially lighting a disco ball that could give the entire space a starry glow and would remain in the rigging which would eliminate the need for the projector to be on the floor OR hang fairy lights vertically down from, or crisscrossing, across the rigging.  Again, when I’m in the space I guess I’ll have to see which is the more practical but these are a couple of design ideas I particularly like in terms of visualising and realising this effect:

Hendricks, R. (2009) Untitled.

Bradley, S. (undatedb) Tewin Bury Farm Lighting.

Bradley, S. (undatedb) Ufton Court.

Having the lights draped in this way would also eliminate the need for any fairy lights to be placed down the sides of the space, in front of the curtains, which would reduce the quantity of lights that I’d need as the ceiling lights would give the desired effect instantaneously.

In terms of costume, I was first thinking of wearing a white dress that would signify innocence which plays a key part in my piece, especially considering I’m basing it on childhood.  Secondly, I was considering wearing dungarees as this was a staple piece of clothing that frequented my childhood! However, the difficulty was in finding a pair that were 3/4 rather than shorts or full length which I felt was important to get right as it could make the character seem too old/too young etc.  Plus they were fairly expensive! In keeping with the idea of wearing casual clothing however, instead of something that is more symbolic, I settled for a coral colour dress that is going to be worn with white plimsolls and white frilly socks which will be comfortable to perform in and present the character of a young girl.

References:

Bradley, S. (undateda) Tewin Bury Farm Lighting. [online] Oxfordshire: Oakwood Events Ltd.  Available from http://www.oakwoodevents.co.uk/blog/fairy-lights-at-tewin-bury-farm/[Accessed 2 April 2014].

Bradley, S. (undatedb) Ufton Court. [online] Oxfordshire: Oakwood Events Ltd.  Available from http://www.oakwoodevents.co.uk/venues/ufton-court.php [Accessed 2 April 2014].

Hendricks, R. E. (2009) Untitled. New York, USA: Ruth E Hendricks Photography.  Available from http://rutheh.com/tag/disco-ball/ [Accessed 2 April 2014].