Professional Residential, July 2009
NWP's first residential for established professionals included two seasoned TV writers. They share their experiences, and first, Caitlin Doherty, who was an invaluable support to the whole operation, provides her impressions of the week...
"Would you like to hear the Inuit throat singing now?" booms a voice from the kitchen as the clock strikes 11pm. It is director Bill Hopkinson, deep in conversation with playwright Lavinia Murray over references for a scene in which a troupe of reanimated Pete Marshes will regurgitate their last sacrificial helpings of grain in a cafe mismanaged by Franz Kafka. It is also the first night of the North West Playwrights residential 'experiment' in Hamps Barn. I am there, over the course of five days, to assist with tea making, errant sheep dog catching, and general absorption of atmosphere as four new scripts from professional playwrights are put on their feet and through their paces for the first time outside their creators' imaginations.
The Barn itself, set on top of a picturesque Staffordshire hill, chips into the workshop process at appropriate moments by providing sound effects such as howling wind and pattering July rain. Inside, the cleared dining room is selected as a rehearsal space for the sessions, which begin with time for each playwright to explain their ambitions for the work and discuss its themes with actors and director. From there the structure of the workshops start to vary as the input of those acting, directing or simply observing points out possible improvisations or new interpretations of the existing texts.
This collaborative style seems to be the most valuable part of the residential: in Charlotte Keatley's work influencing changing subtleties in father-daughter relationships; whilst in Lyndsay William's making previously minor characters the focus of the play itself. As an observer to the process, it's the interaction between playwright and actor that strikes me as particularly worthwhile, as this seems inevitably to provide a focus on how the play works in performance that perhaps otherwise might not appear until much later in the play's development. Working towards a script-in-hand show at the Oldham Coliseum at the end of the week also provides an impetus not only for the actors to master the Belfast accents for Jane McNulty's Our Lady of the Goldfinches, but for all four playwrights to redraft altered sections of text in time to see them work on stage.
Meal times at Hamps Barn create a communal-living feeling, when peeling mountains of vegetables and washing up enough plates and glasses start to seem the most urgent tasks around, with Bill expertly timing the cooking of huge amounts of food for lunch and dinner. Most evenings are spent chatting at the dinner table or playing card games in the stately sitting room - leading to the discovery that Charlotte Keatley is a fearsome Cheat player and that Chris Bridgman is a hopeless bluff!
By the final night, with all but one workshop complete, there's an atmosphere of having worked as a company on the four scripts-in-progress during the residential. Five days spent living together seem to have created the time and space for the playwrights to test ideas before the final draft and I personally loved watching the transformation of each play as the week progressed, knowing which line owed what to which earlier workshop moment. Coming away at the end of it, I'm reasonably sure of not being the only one wishing for a few days more; though maybe next time without the Inuit throat singing CDs.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS
I felt I was at quite an early stage in writing my play, so I was hoping to develop the story and find a more theatrical way to tell it. I was also hoping to develop the characters and find out whose story it was. As well as giving myself a kick-start to get going with writing it.
The residential was a huge help in all these things. It also gave me the confidence to trust my instincts about what I wanted to do and say. Actually having the date there was a motivation to think about the idea more. Being at the workshop and observing the actors and the other writers was a great way to start thinking more theatrically. The actors' improvisations were a great way to try things and really worked for me.
The best thing was having the space to try things and make mistakes. At first this was very nerve-wracking, as I'm used to getting things done quite quickly and then moving on; but exploring the scenes and the idea in more detail turned out to be just what I needed. I certainly figured out which character's story it was. This was down to a breakthrough on the last session when I realized where I had been going wrong with the story and the scenes.
Half way through the week I was struggling and going in the wrong direction, but ultimately that helped me realize what direction did feel right. This was a major breakthrough for me. I did feel the last half hour of the last session was the most helpful moment for several writers, the point where things really clicked.
Making the contact with the other writers has been great and we have now started to e-mail each other so we can continue to support each other's progress.
Personally, it might have been less nerve-wracking and possibly more rewarding if I'd had more time to prepare. This was entirely my own fault, so if I were to do it again I would take more time off before the workshop to get myself ready.
After this week I feel I have the direction and the inspiration to write the play now. I wonder whether I would have if I hadn't been through the process. I know that given the constraints on my time it will be hard going, but I hope that everything I have gained from the workshopping process will help me carry on. I'm certainly excited about the idea of working in theatre again.
JANE McNULTY
I was hoping for some time and space to write the play I've been trying to write for years. I hadn't realized that I'd also get a wonderful director/dramaturg in Bill Hopkinson, or that I'd have the services of a group of professional actors to workshop my piece in progress. The other writers also contributed wonderfully to the process, and I enjoyed being present at their workshops too. I didn't write as much of my play as I'd hoped but the two new scenes that did come out of the process were better than the earlier ones, due not only to my having the head-space to concentrate on the play, but also the improvisation the actors did on the complex layered ‘Jean carries her cross' scene. John Elkington's suggestion for the song was inspired and his delivery just beautiful.
What was the most fruitful aspect of the week? Bill's wise and sensitive direction? The actors fully committing to the work (and boy do they work!)? The support of the other writers? The luxury of having a week to concentrate on my play?... Mostly, being able to concentrate on my play, I think, with the support of so many other inspiring people.
The only difficult bit was the feeling beforehand that I had to produce something. But that was actually helpful: I respond well to deadlines, being a telly writer - it goes with the territory. And it was a bit scary thinking that the Coliseum event was coming up at the end of the week, but again, it was great to round off the week with a public reading of the work. The audience response made me sure - if I needed to be any more sure - that I had to carry on with the play.
Something marvellous has happened to me through my involvement in this process. Wonderful company, great laughs (and tears) and a real inspiring event. It's been just what I needed to get this blessed play on its way. The whole process has restored me. After taking a personal battering from years writing for the soaps, this has helped me to regain my identity as a writer. Is it too melodramatic to say it has restored my self respect as a writer?