In retrospect, Re:Play 2009
January 2009 saw the second Re:Play season at Manchester's Library Theatre. This was a two-week mini-festival made up of shows selected by the Library's Artistic Directors from performances at studio theatres and ‘fringe' venues during the previous year. The festival also mounted one-off events, including First Stages - an evening of samples of work-in-progress - and a panel discussion/public debate on the current state of the Manchester fringe. We asked several of the participants to report on their Re:Play experiences:
Cathy Crabb wrote and performed in Beautiful House, originally shown at Studio Salford, the fringe theatre based in the Kings Arms pub:
If I hadn't performed in my own play, I don't think I would have ever realised the depth of the director's role in making a piece of theatre. I'm not saying Neil Bell's particular approach would suit every company or writer. It isn't that a director necessarily has to have a fierce passion for theatre, a terrifying prowess, a meticulous eye for detail, a penchant for allowing themselves and those around them to reach a state of hyper-reality, a loud voice and a lot of patience - that's just what works for me. The performances at the Library were a goal and a triumph for us. It was a huge big deal to be able to perform there and I will be forever grateful to Neil, the cast and crew for making my play such a success.
If you are performing in your own work you have to reach a point where you stop being the writer, I believe. But I didn't manage it. I was still taking lines/words out here and there a few days before. Which I recommend! Though the company are against it, stick to your guns! They trusted your judgement when they read the characters in the first place and will be glad when it turns out to be a better play for your amendments.
I only wish I could have watched the play. We filmed the performances at the King's but I can't watch it objectively, it's like trying to analyse a clip of your wedding on You've Been Framed.
Ged McKenna wrote and performed in Dawn on the First Stages evening...
Trying out the first 20 minutes of my play gave me an excellent opportunity to gauge audience response beyond laughs and claps. The process of getting the segment onstage was necessarily rushed - about four hours rehearsal - but director Nick Moss was well up for it and understood the piece, so the allotted time was used to optimum effect. What I wanted to assess was a) would the laughs come where I thought they would and b) more importantly, would the audience want to know what happened next?
Fortunately, the consensus appeared to be that they were engaged by the relationship between the two protagonists and did want to find out how it developed. They laughed where I thought they would, too, for the most part, so that was a relief. For me, the process was successful in that it not only illuminated what was good, but also, in playing it in front of an audience, pointed up what was weak. In some instances, no amount of time sitting staring at a script can do that. The evening has been a catalyst to the further development of the play and I've now completed a draft. I'm off abroad to work for a while, so will assess what I think of the piece when I come back. Sometimes it's good to leave something alone for a while. The support given by the Library was excellent and I hope the project is an ongoing one.
Kim Wiltshire also had a piece in First Stages...
For my first full length play, Joy with Child, I felt fairly confident about the start, but hugely confused about the endings, of which I had way too many. First Stages was really useful for me, because although it is unusual for a writer to want to showcase the end of a play, the rehearsal and feedback meant I could finally find an ending that worked.
I had a half day rehearsal with the director and cast, as well as the director phoning me beforehand for a general chat about where I was going with the piece. I had a really good cast and we got through a lot in the four hours rehearsal, even if I did come out of it looking like I'd just finished a triathlon. Within that time, I found a completely new ending as well - but one I feel really works finally.
The Monday evening was nerve-wracking: I hate having to go up on the stage, but there was positive and useful feedback from the audience, which always gives you a boost to carry on drafting a piece. Whether I've managed to write the final draft or not, I don't know yet, but as this was my first full length play it's been brilliant to have that process in a rehearsal room with a cast to explore possibilities.
David Slack, founder of the 24:7 Theatre Festival, took part in the Re:Play Debate, chaired by actor/director Wyllie Longmore, and here presents his observations and identifies challenges for the future...
It was a timely opportunity to talk shop about fringe theatre in Manchester. My view is that the term "fringe" implies "never in the centre". It relegates a lot of work to a far-off place where it can be blissfully ignored by the major players. It is a fact that most of the new writing produced in the region is neither premièred in nor is associated with established venues.
What we need is for our fringe/small-scale/unfunded/under-the-radar creative groups to have enough vision, ambition, aspiration, drive and high production values to make a positive impression on audiences. This will make the media take notice. Then the talent scouts will be forced to pay attention. Their commercial risks will therefore be minimised and new blood will be introduced to the industry organically and without huge investment. Simple... perhaps.
In these days of financial instability, it would seem prudent for the more established to nurture the willing novices. This is not to ask for charity or for allowances to be made. Theatre is a serious business that requires commitment at many levels and the skill to assess/guess what audiences want.
I was delighted that a piece premièred at Manchester's 24:7 Theatre Festival won in the Best New Play category at the 2008 MEN Theatre Awards. The writer is pursuing a range of opportunities. Let us be bold enough to declare that, even though we may be on the fringes now, we aspire to be in the centre one of these days!