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| The List - Ian Legge Photography |
Wednesday morning.
I am awake.
I run down stairs and switch on the computer. It is like the old black and white TV we had in the 80's. I won't be able to use it for 10 minutes until it has warmed up.
I think back to the previous years of "Off the Block" (Reading Between the Lines writers' relay).
The format is simple basically:
4 Writers, 4 directors, 4 days, 4 plays, a lot of Actors and only 1 day to rehearse...
In previous years I have managed a whole day but today I will be working. I will be at work...
7.15am - I am still waiting for my stimulus. (It won't be with me until 7.30am on the dot, but I'm still hovering...) I know that the stimulus will be the last writer's end point, usually an action or position, in the past I've had "On Hold", "Raising glasses in a toast" and "Under a duvet".
I'll have a quick wash, brush up and get dressed.
7.25am - Still nothing. There shouldn't be. It is supposed to be 7.30am
7.26am - Nothing. I shall prepare my notebook that will give me something to do...
Done.
7.27am - Nope. 7.30. It will be 7.30am. Says it very clearly on the instructions.
7.28am - Nada - sod this, I'm making a coffee.
7.29am - Still nothing. No need to panic.
7.30am - Making coffee, I can see the screen from here. I've turned up the speakers so the ping of it arriving can sound out like a siren of creativity. Hmmm. Nothing seems to have come.
7.31am - Oh. It's not here. Not here! They've forgotten me! Maybe I heard the wrong day. Was it Wednesday? Check the calendar... Nope definitely Wednesday... I'll have to phone them.
7.32:01am - Seriously? Seriously? I've got 24 hours! 24 hours! Oh god, what am I going to do? How will I manage it? They've forgotten about me.
7.32:05am - Come on come on come on...
7.32:09am - Time seems to be slowing down...
7.32:10am - Seems to be running to a halt...
7.32:10am - Yep it's definitely stopped...
7.32:10am - Well this will be handy...
7.32:10am - I could get loads done...
7.32:09am - Whoah now it's going backwards...
7.32:15am - Back to normal... where is it?
7.32:20am - Oh god oh god oh god. I've got to leave for work in a minute... I can think about it in the car as I drive in. Lots of thinking time! I could work it all out... I just need the stimulus. Pleeeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeeeee.........
7.32:21am - Sniff...
7.32:22am - Stifle a sob...
7.32:23am - Tears pricking at the corners of my eyes...
7.32:24am - I'll never get it done... never never never never... I feel sick... I am going to be sick...
7.32:25am - Right I'm getting on that phone right now...
7.32:26am - Ping!
"Hi Chris,
Well here we go...
The start point that has been passed on to you is:
Someone taking a phone call
This is only a start point and need not be an inspiration for the whole story line.
We have thrown something new into the mix this year and we are asking that the final line of your piece be the the starting line of the next writer's piece, so as well as passing on your final situation we will be passing on the final line as well.
The final line that has been passed on to you is
'Everything here? Never better!'
This must be the first line of your play. Please ensure that your play does not exceed 20 minutes."
Wow. A start line too. Why RBL with these stimulii you are spoiling us... what wonderful people. I've got loads of time. Just loads. Tons. Thank you. I love you RBL. And what a fascinating first line too... hmmmm...
They have also sent me a pack with pictures and biogs of the four actors I am working with. What a handsome bunch. Two men, two women. One of the actors was in my piece last year. He's very funny... hmmmmm....
7.40am - On my way to work. Chatting away to myself.
"Everything here? Never better!"
Someone is on the phone.
Something is set up.
What is set up?
Something is going to happen.
"Everything here? Never better!"
"Never better!"
Something that this person is proud of. It's a good thing.
Hmmm, to make it interesting for the audience it should be a bad thing...
8am - I get out of the car and quickly jot down a few things before work starts.
"Phone call - who is on the other end?
-gangster
-relative
-relative who is a gangster"
I like the idea of the character on stage being polite and nice. This term "Never better" suggests that. But if the story is about nasty things that might give me somewhere to go...
There is the germ of an idea here.
"Everything here."
But what is set up? What is "everything"?
I am seeing boxes. Packing boxes and a phone. The phone rings. A man enters. He has a clipboard.
"Eveything here?" he says. He is about to start checking the boxes but decides to answer the phone first...
Suddenly it's not a gangster on the other end it is someone who thinks they are calling a naughty line for naughty people... we can only here the rather surprised reactions of the poor guy who has just picked up the phone. I write this speech in my notebook:
"(Pause.) Never better! Thank you for asking! That's so sweet. ... What am I wearing? Well, I'm wearing a tie... it's plain blue... (laughs) oh yes I'm wearing other things too, not just a tie, that would be silly... Well I've got black shoes and black socks... A white shirt and a plain but rather smart suit... My underwear? Gosh you're thorough."
That makes me giggle for a bit. But for the start to work it really needs to be a conversation that has already started and it can't be with a stranger to easily get the response of "Never better." Hmmmm
I shall think...
"Everything here?"
What is set up?
Is a character on the mobile walking in?
"Eveything here?" - is this said to people in the room? Then "Never better" back into the phone...
Work. Work Work.
11.15am - At break I have time to watch the actors' videos... I make lots of notes on type, voice, other skills. They really do look very good... the actors that is ... my notes are awful
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Later in the afternoon after work is done, I manage to find a quiet room...
The room is empty.
In previous years I have worked at home, in my busy and chaotic study surrounded by exciting things and been too close to the internet... there is a great temptation to procrastinate...
The room is silent. There is some noise from outside so I put on a Dunwich Radio mix to help blot out other sounds...
I think and jot down how the room is set up - again I am considering opposing ideas, things that don't go together...
"Torture/parents meeting"
"Chair with instruments"
"Summoning of the devil"
"Ghost hunting"
It is the "chair with instruments" that stands out. The room is set up for torture but the phone conversation is not only matter-of-fact but also very pleasant and British...
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And this is where I started and - for the first time for a writers' relay - this is the idea that stayed. I don't want to give anything away about the plot but it was a relatively easy write. The lack of struggle concerned me as I sent it off way before the deadline... eek. I even had time to watch an episode of Spiderman with the kids in the evening...
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I am very nervous on Friday. Will it work? The main idea is pretty outlandish, very dark and pretty darn twisted.
The actors are buzzing when they pass me to go onto the stage, they seem to genuinely like the thing! I check their eyes for any tells. They appear to be telling the truth.
The whole evening is super.
The winner of the Find a Reading Writer competition Casey Jay Andrews has written a stonking little piece, small and perfectly formed. It explores the awkwardness that arises when you bump into a former schoolmate who you never really liked in the first place and you're in a rush.
Bea Roberts has written the first full play, a fascinating farce set in deep space. The actors play with physical theatre very inventively to create a sense of weightlessness.
Casey's full play is next, a sublime comedy about scout leaders trying to quell an uprising. The petty and ephemeral hierarchies that are formed in such organisations are laid bare. My own children are at Beavers and Scouts tonight and I feel a shiver of recognition.
In the interval I hurriedly take pictures of my lovely cast...
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| Benedict Chambers - as "Martin" |
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| Alexander McWilliam - Just about to go on as "The Man" |
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| Lily Beck as "Lucy" and Sophie Caton as "Jill" |
I am very pleased with my play and the audience seem to lap it up too. Little sad at the end that I don't manage to speak to Gemma Kerr who does an excellent job directing the thing. The actors are incredible, the piece demands a great deal of pace and is vibrant and funny.
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| The List - Ian Legge Photography |
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| The List - Ian Legge Photography |
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| The List - Ian Legge Photography |
Now as this is a relay when I finished the play I had to send on my own last line "How much was it again?" and the action "Writing a cheque" and so I am looking forward to what the final writer Oliver Bevan will do with it...
His piece concerns a surprise birthday party (he uses the last line and action in the ordering of drinks for said party) in which the guests begin to realise their mutual friend isn't as great as they realised. Filled with cracking lines and superb observation about the power certain people have over us, it is a great end to an amazing evening.
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What strikes me as I tuck into some rather wonderful brie in Macdevitts Studio at the end of the evening is how well drawn the characters were in all of the pieces. Both that and tight plotting are tough to get right when creating under pressure, so it is great to see how well all four plays manage this.
I hope to do get involved in future relays as it is an absolute tonic for the little grey cells...
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