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'."

Tally's Blood 7

I am overwhelmed with the response to Tally’s Blood. In all my 15 years at the Ramshorn- as an audience member/ actor/ director I have never known such vociferous and positive reaction to a show. It’s just astonishing the extraordinary levels of affection the actors are inspiring in those who come to see it. Every night the audience are in floods of tears and sniffles; there are warm gales of laughter, shrieks of delight and sympathetic “awwws” during the tender, sentimental moments; applause at the end of every single scene. Hormonal girls are even waiting at the stage door to pass on messages to the actors playing Hughie and Franco! And none of this is done ironically- which is surely saying something, given that the vast majority of the audience are hard-nosed teenagers. 35 of my own students came to see it last night and they were in raptures. I think they may have a little more respect for the advice i give them in the classroom now :-)

I know only too well that 15-18 year olds are, in many ways, perhaps the most difficult audience to please, even if they may not always (admittedly) be the most critically discerning. They can by turns be both cruelly cynical and sentimental, knowing and ignorant, enthusiastic and dismissive; yet I think it is a measure of our achievement that we have managed to pitch the show in such a way that we are able to appeal to the adolescent, whilst at the same time moving and engaging a more grown-up, theatre-literate demographic. This is because there are so many exquisite subtleties and nuances of observation to do with emotional psychology and the difficulty of love and human relationship in there too. Di Mambro’s writing does much of this, but it would be glaringly obvious to anyone if my production should somehow fall short of her vision of what the play should be in performance. My actors really are doing a fabulous job. I like to think she would find much to admire in our interpretation. I do hope she finds time to come and see it. I just hope the actors are not tempted to try 'to fix wot ain't broke' out of boredom, over-familiarity with the material or a desire to force growth. There are early signs this may be happening (-more of which below), and it must be stamped out now.

Some of the most positive reactions have come from adults, especially drama teachers. “Magical”, “wonderful”, “brilliantly directed”, “perfect casting”, “beautiful”, “the best show I’ve seen here”, “the best production I’ve ever seen”(!), “fantastic”, etc. They love the design, the acting, the choice of music, the direction, the composition of the blocking, and the clever use of set... etc. One middle-aged woman told me that she had seen several productions of this play over the years (where?) and ours was easily the best. The audience particularly warm to Hughie and Massimo’s characters; yet my Karen is attracting some of the best responses from the older and perhaps more astute and discerning members of the theatre-going public for her superbly judged reading of Rosinella Pedreschi. My friend Robert is particularly affecting too as her husband, Massimo. The pair of them are like twin pillars on which the rest of production rests.

The rest of the run is now completely sold out. And the whole cast and crew are lapping it up, of course! The theme of the play is Love, and so it seems perfectly in keeping that everyone involved- behind stage, on stage, FOH and audiences has been infected with that profound spiritual force too- not in a soppy way, but in a deep-rooted and powerful sense. Everyone concerned is really going to miss this show when it finishes. I couldn’t be more pleased. I’m now receiving several invitations from drama departments all over the west of Scotland, asking me to come as a guest speaker and talk about the job of directing.

But even now it is important that none of us grow complacent or cocky. I want the cast to keep the lovely ensemble feeling. There are early indications that the threatening shadows of ego-conflict are starting to loom, which India and I will need to keep a close eye on. Apparently there were some disagreements backstage after last night's show. India, Robert and Karen told me about them. Some actors (who must remain nameless) are making too much of their roles, trying to milk audience response with over-illustration and playing out- which tends to throw the production off kilter and steals focus from the thrust of the story while it places the emphasis on their acting. This is deathly, and must be resisted at all costs for the production to gel as a whole.

Ah, the perils of the Actor's Ego...!

I must be sure I manage these issues as sensitvely as I can, or the ensemble ethic could so quickly fracture and disintegrate. One of the main reason the play is such a success is because everyone involved has until now been so mutually supportive and trusting of each other. Without those precious and delicate bonds the whole thing might easily collapse like a house of cards. It seems my role is now less as 'Director' (the play is now up and running after all, and my job should be over) and more as 'Family Therapist'!

Me!?!! LOL