Bethan Power: Writer/Director/Producer
When I first came up with the concept for this piece, It was not a linear narrative, but a selection of isolated scenes in my head that I felt could be tied together through devising. And, in the wild untamed world of my imagination, these scenes were all played to music. Music is an incredible medium to work with. The same dialogue can, with the right backing track, make an audience laugh or cry. And it's a wonderful medium to devise with as it is completely open to endless interpretation.
Films are a perfect example of this. When one watches films such as The Shining or American Psycho, the tension is increased ten fold by the slow crescendos and runaway tremolos. Watch it in mute and I guarantee it will not have the same effect. It's the same with virtually any genre. Without music, you will find your emotions dulled when watching a rom-com, your heart not race as fast when watching an action, and a lack of lump in your throat when watching a tragedy. It adds to the emotion invisibly and yet it is integral.
With Guinevere's Beard (title only provisional) I wanted to create a semi hybrid of film and theatre, by using music as an emphasis on certain emotional points. The soundtrack I have chosen for the piece is by no means conservative; on the contrary it's a audacious mix of vocals, strings and drums, but in the context of the scenes it will be used in I am hoping it will fit perfectly. And I know the risk I have taken in doing so will pay off if, when the play is viewed, the music itself is not viewed as an addition, more like an integral part of the drama that is almost unnoticed.
And so my semi hybrid will have been created. And, through the combination of live drama and cinematic effects, i hope it will be pulled off as a multi-platform artistic achievement. A grand ambition indeed.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Sunday, 8 January 2012
The Beginnings...
Bethan Power: Writer/Director/Producer
So. It's late. Very late. and I am sat with a large mind map covered in a lot of made up words and headed up with the immortal phrase, "Or something along those lines." It can only be Exploding Fish's devised project. And I am the willing fool whose idea was chosen. I think it was the concept of a three man dragon puppet that sold it. Or maybe the notion of a cross dressing wizard? Anyway. I now have just over two months (so about 16 rehearsals) to take these mad ideas and mould them into some sort of coherent plot.
Being a director of a devised piece is not easy. You have to be willing to adapt; to change your vision at every turn and watch your ideas develop and evolve, and that's along with negotiating budgets, the inevitable stacks of health and safety forms and, of course, university studies. And I haven't picked the easiest of topics to explore. After three years of the society using futuristic stimuli, I decided to reach into the past for this year's performance and explore the quandary that is Arthurian legend. And of course, that means huge scale magic battles, mythical creatures and, of course, a token dragon ride.
I personally have directed pieces before in genres ranging from Shakespeare to contemporary dance, but most of these have been in deep collaboration with others far more experienced than myself, so without that backup it's a scary world to be delving into. I am eternally grateful to be backed by such an enthusiastic cast and creative team, where nothing is impossible if you have enough Sellotape! However, by far the biggest challenge we face is the effects. My concept explores the idea of mixing the theatre and film genre through using film soundtrack as an audio aid, and this combined with complex lighting is going to give us our many magical effects. This is going to take many rigs, many men and many hours to achieve. If we do achieve it though, it will be a spectacle to behold, if only for the theatre's electric bill afterwards!
As Exploding Fish's difficult third album, I find myself as president striving to make my mark on the society and push it in directions it has not yet had chance to explore. We are a relatively young society (4 years old) and as primarily an improvisation society we strive to push ourselves into the unknown at every opportunity. Having returned from Edinburgh Fringe supporting some of our finest alumni members in Asterisk Theatre's (https://twitter.com/#!/asterisktheatre) 'They Came With Outer Script', I was filled with trepidation as I knew I would have to coach the new students, giving them the skills they needed to be able to perform as well as the alumni did. I have thankfully been blessed with some exceptional talent that needs only a little nurturing and refining to be a pleasure to perform alongside. So with these great people I set about creating my first vision; The Knights of Improvalot. Cheesy and superfluously grand, I felt it provided a versatile base to create an improv show structre of almost limitless possibilities. After some intense training with long form and musical improvisation I took a risk and launched our new brand with our debut performance of a fully improvised pantomime. And what a success it was. So successful, in fact, that we now plan fortnightly shows under the same format.
As that risk paid off, I felt taking another was in order, and so marketed the idea of taking the legend of King Arthur and turning it on it's head. The only catch was that it was to be a serious play; exploring the emotion and power behind the most legendary partnership of Merlin and Arthur. It would be original, zany and would capture the imagination of the audience, drawing them into a world where magic is an everyday occurrence. And it would be done on a budget of about £150. Good luck chaps!
Thing is, they bought the idea. And in three weeks time rehearsals start. Oh boy.
So as the mind map slowly arranges itself into something that vaguely resembles a plot, I prepare to take this journey into the unknown and hopefully will be posting here in a few months time excitedly advertising the resulting performances. Through the contributions on this blog in the next couple of months made by the various members of the production team, I hope you will be able to see how the devising process works and how it fits in with the final production. And, in seeing that, I hope you will be able to appreciate said production even more.
So. It's late. Very late. and I am sat with a large mind map covered in a lot of made up words and headed up with the immortal phrase, "Or something along those lines." It can only be Exploding Fish's devised project. And I am the willing fool whose idea was chosen. I think it was the concept of a three man dragon puppet that sold it. Or maybe the notion of a cross dressing wizard? Anyway. I now have just over two months (so about 16 rehearsals) to take these mad ideas and mould them into some sort of coherent plot.
Being a director of a devised piece is not easy. You have to be willing to adapt; to change your vision at every turn and watch your ideas develop and evolve, and that's along with negotiating budgets, the inevitable stacks of health and safety forms and, of course, university studies. And I haven't picked the easiest of topics to explore. After three years of the society using futuristic stimuli, I decided to reach into the past for this year's performance and explore the quandary that is Arthurian legend. And of course, that means huge scale magic battles, mythical creatures and, of course, a token dragon ride.
I personally have directed pieces before in genres ranging from Shakespeare to contemporary dance, but most of these have been in deep collaboration with others far more experienced than myself, so without that backup it's a scary world to be delving into. I am eternally grateful to be backed by such an enthusiastic cast and creative team, where nothing is impossible if you have enough Sellotape! However, by far the biggest challenge we face is the effects. My concept explores the idea of mixing the theatre and film genre through using film soundtrack as an audio aid, and this combined with complex lighting is going to give us our many magical effects. This is going to take many rigs, many men and many hours to achieve. If we do achieve it though, it will be a spectacle to behold, if only for the theatre's electric bill afterwards!
As Exploding Fish's difficult third album, I find myself as president striving to make my mark on the society and push it in directions it has not yet had chance to explore. We are a relatively young society (4 years old) and as primarily an improvisation society we strive to push ourselves into the unknown at every opportunity. Having returned from Edinburgh Fringe supporting some of our finest alumni members in Asterisk Theatre's (https://twitter.com/#!/asterisktheatre) 'They Came With Outer Script', I was filled with trepidation as I knew I would have to coach the new students, giving them the skills they needed to be able to perform as well as the alumni did. I have thankfully been blessed with some exceptional talent that needs only a little nurturing and refining to be a pleasure to perform alongside. So with these great people I set about creating my first vision; The Knights of Improvalot. Cheesy and superfluously grand, I felt it provided a versatile base to create an improv show structre of almost limitless possibilities. After some intense training with long form and musical improvisation I took a risk and launched our new brand with our debut performance of a fully improvised pantomime. And what a success it was. So successful, in fact, that we now plan fortnightly shows under the same format.
As that risk paid off, I felt taking another was in order, and so marketed the idea of taking the legend of King Arthur and turning it on it's head. The only catch was that it was to be a serious play; exploring the emotion and power behind the most legendary partnership of Merlin and Arthur. It would be original, zany and would capture the imagination of the audience, drawing them into a world where magic is an everyday occurrence. And it would be done on a budget of about £150. Good luck chaps!
Thing is, they bought the idea. And in three weeks time rehearsals start. Oh boy.
So as the mind map slowly arranges itself into something that vaguely resembles a plot, I prepare to take this journey into the unknown and hopefully will be posting here in a few months time excitedly advertising the resulting performances. Through the contributions on this blog in the next couple of months made by the various members of the production team, I hope you will be able to see how the devising process works and how it fits in with the final production. And, in seeing that, I hope you will be able to appreciate said production even more.
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