GRIFFIN ARTIST BLOG

DAY #6 + DAY #7

I am rolling the last two days of the workshop into one for we have covered very similar territory in both. It is winding up now and Samantha and Chris are pulling a fine-toothed comb through the script (rather than, say, one of those industrial hairdressing combs where the teeth have 5cm between them.)

I have learnt a lot over these past two weeks. The importance of biscuits. Laughter. Honesty.

Honesty is something that I have not delved into much but it is fundamental to creative development. On Wednesday there was a section of one of the scripts that Samantha didn’t find interesting during the reading. Upon discussion of the session she showed the section to the writer and exclaimed how bored she had been. I was shocked and then shocked again by how well the writer took it. I suddenly realised that this was the whole purpose of what we were doing here. The writer needs a multiplicity of voices outside of his or her own head to tell him/her, honestly, what works and what does not because they themselves do not have access to such a perspective.

So honesty: tick. It seems obvious but I guess it’s the kind of honesty where, although you take care of and respect the feelings of the artist involved, you also don’t mince your words. They are there because they want the very best out of their work and it would be a disservice for you to not be candid for fear of hurting their feelings.

I have also learnt about the importance of a rock-solid beginning and ending. It is these that anchor a script and if they are not well-built, subtle and refined then there’s a good chance that the writing will just float away. Think of the play as a picnic blanket and the beginning and end are the rocks you’re using to pin it down in the breeze. And the breeze is the audience’s attention. OK, enough with the analogy already.

I have learnt about the importance of fine actors. Lucy Bell and Matt Zeremes are not your dime-a-dozen thespian and I have realised that their power as performers lies in their curiousity. Endless questions not only about their characters but about the mythological and artistic references, the spatial configurations of the performance, the relationships and the motivations not only within the play-world but of the writer herself, challenging her to substantiate her artistic decisions. Bottom line: good actors in the development phase are as important as any other person in that room.

This is all I will write in summary for now but I’m sure much more will spring to mind.

There are going to be three more of these workshops throughout the year - I strongly (vehemently?) suggest that you apply for these internships. The insights have been invaluable.

DAY #4

Apologies for the late Day #4. I was swept up in the spectacle that is Bojana Novakovic and Ride On Theatre’sThe Story of Mary Maclane by Herself at Griffin last night. What a lady.

And Tim Rogers with that gee-tar (my heart be still). 

The main lesson that I took away from rehearsal yesterday is the importance of both laughter and biscuits. The break is a crucial part of rehearsal as it allows people to breathe with each other, to make jokes and gossip (more than once have I been threatened with a ruined career if I dare to break the cone of silence), all of which lead to bonds of intimacy between the performers, writer and director.

If I could make a flow-chart on this blog it would look like this:

Biscuits and jokes

lead to

Laughter and comfort

which lead to

Trust

which leads to

A group of artists able to create work from a foundation of security and stability.

We’ve all seen shows where the performers look uncomfortable and unhappy with what they’re doing. This can generally be traced back to the director not being in key enough with his/her performers and what they are/are not comfortable with performing on stage, which is also able to be traced back to a lack of trust between performers and director.

Directors note: you needed more biscuits.

DAY #3

Back to Van today and The Bull, The Moon and the Coronet. The piece had a reading at Merrigong Theatre on Saturday, apparently to resounding success.

OK, so. Things learnt today.

1. If you dig symbolism as a playwright, you must always keep the question ‘how does this symbolism drive the action?’ tucked behind your ear.

2. If your play is veering between being a play about the past and being a play about now itmustbe a play about now. I can’t stress enough how much this was made a point of today.

3. It is always better, if your play is based on real-life events (eg. if your characters are modelled on relations, etc), that you find out what actually happened rather making shit up. (That’s verbatim, people).

4. If you are at the video store right now, hireIn The Cut, a Jane Campion film with Mark Ruffalo and Meg Ryan. It’s much hated because of its promotion of feminism but it is well worth the watch apparently. Mainly because it is a perfect exemplar of a perfect relationship, which may only be achieved once women have understood violence and men helplessness.

5. Never forget the value of the diegetic. You, as a playwright, must put us in the realness of your world. For this, exploring the sensory faculties is very useful, although don’t overdo it. Good one.

Another day, another draft.

DAY #2

Today I took the morning shift and sat in on the development session of Scowlby Angus Cerini. Serving as both dramaturg and director were Susanna Dowling and Chris Mead along with actors Vanessa Downing, Maggie Dence, and Russell Smith. Fabulous team all round.

Observation #1: It is feasible to spend almost an entire session talking about everything but the script that is up for development in that said session.

Observation #2: Although this may seem alarming, concern about relevancy of conversation is irrelevant as it is through the exploration of topics that are both far-ranging and close-by, serious and trivial, that a world of mutual understanding is created between the people around the table, whereby they may all leap off from roughly the same grid reference. I understand there were a lot of different phrases in that last sentence and for that I apologise.

Observation #3: Mead made a comment today about the very physical act that is going to the theatre, which struck me as fascinating. We make the decision tobe still, which is fairly novel in our fast-paced society, to sit before a group of performers and let them affect us. We allow our body rhythms to change so that we may make ourselves ready for new experiences. Interesting.

Observation #4: There is a very real difference (for a playwright) between including detail that is important for the plot and populating their play-world. Even more interesting.

And finally, a very tricky question: how do you layer a story with detail without overburdening it?