There's No I in Failure

My intense relief that I managed to actually survive the training with Anna Helena Maclean over the past fortnight is wonderful, and nice to have finally performed as a class in front of an albeit smallish audience too. We also know something more about each other's strengths and vulnerabilities as artists, and plenty about each other's intimate parts thanks to all those gymnastic routines! I had real issues with the way the work was directed and structured. The narrative of the three Euripides tragedies- Iphigenia at Aulis, Elextra and Oresta- on which the presentation was meant to be based was so cut up that the audience would not have been able to follow most of it. I am not a dancer by any stretch of the imagination so moving and gesturing to 11/8 or 5/4 rhythms was- how do I put this politely- a challenge. And I found the Ancient Greek, the Romany and Polish polyphonic folk songs difficult to pick up. I am certainly not used to work that is quite so director-led. I know from what classmates have said to me that all our tolerance levels- physical, mental, emotional and professional- were at some stage of the process piqued. Tears were shed on more than one occasion, blood spilt, bruises sustained, shoulders dislocated and backs and knees put out of joint. At one point an ambulance had to be called and one of the cast had to be hospitalised. His arm’s still in a sling but he’ll be OK. However we pulled together terrifically well as an ensemble, and despite some injuries and bruised egos we're all still here. People were kind enough to say some encouraging and positive things afterwards- comments by fellow cast members and the audience (including my tutors Bill Wright, Mark Saunders as well as my Polish friend who is a great fan of this kind of work, Agnieszka Bresler who runs Gappad Theatre) about my own contribution as an old, grotesque, comic goat. Most of all they all remarked on what an impressive ensemble vibe was evident in the presentation; a vibe that had been less obvious in the 2nd year BA acting students' Gilgamesh project two weeks ago, also directed by Anna Helena. I'm still not convinced the class presentation worked entirely but hey, we pulled together and we did it and that feels good right now. What was it Kirk said in Coronation Street a few weeks back...? Ah yes-

"There’s no 'I' in 'Failure'."