Finding our play... (4 min read)

Yes, that is what this month has been all about! The start of the writing and rehearsing process, as we start to turn all the material gathered over the drama workshops into our interactive play. And it has been a very fun experience, I have to say!

I’ve been incredibly lucky to have two great collaborators join me this month, Aaron Spendelow and Hannah Stoye, who both bring a wealth of experience in making new, vibrant community theatre and working with a wide variety of ages and needs (as well as just being totally brilliant and very generous human beings!).

I met Aaron initially when working on a schools-based project last year (Trestle’s Create, Speak, Thrive) and immediately loved the energy and vibrancy he brings to all this work as a creative workshop leader and performer, as well as being a producer of his own work for ‘A Children's Story’. Please see www.achildrensstory.com to find out more.

And I've been lucky enough to know Hannah for quite a few years, knowing her as both a talented dancer/ performer and a movement for memory specialist - leading her own brilliant community dance company, ‘Imagination Arts’. Please see www.imaginationarts.co.uk to find out more about her work - I have attended one of her Movement for Memory classes and it was a blast, I would highly recommend it!

So, when I set about this project I knew I would love to work with and direct these two very talented people and see what we could create together. And, after only 6 hours in a rehearsal room together, we have found so many great starting points for further work - I am so excited to return to Trestle Arts base for more rehearsals with them next month. Most importantly, however, we have found a shared language of play which is the basis for all our work and this has been a delight to discover here, in the rehearsal room, as well as amongst the community groups when delivering workshops.

I have always found, when devising and scripting new work, an investigative and playful approach is imperative – especially as we three need to create in a relatively short time frame. I have been devising for quite a few years now (more than I would probably prefer to tell you!) but I will share that, without exception, every project is always completely different and every creative group, like ingredients in a recipe, bring a totally different flavour to the work. I have to say that this one brings a lot of vibrancy and a beautiful sense of imagination that I think the dementia support groups are going to absolutely love!

For those who do not know this way of working, and would like to understand a little more, I am taking an approach that I often use as a theatre creator which is part devising, part choreography and part scriptwriting. The process involves bringing ideas and scenarios to the rehearsal room for the actors to play around and improvise with (I also brought a wealth of props because this is often useful too!), before I set anything down into movement/ words. It allows the actors more ownership of the work, as well as finding a truthful and engaged approach to the material that works for them both as individuals and an ensemble of two.  I then take that away and create more of a formalised script to keep working and developing next time.

Not everyone likes this as a creative methodology but, in fact, the main skill as a director/ writer when working in this way is honing the work down to its essence as there can by so many great creative proposals as the actors work!

I don’t want to give too much away at this stage, but I question whether you can look at these initial rehearsal photos and not see the fun we are finding? I can’t wait to share more with you but,  in the meantime, I hope these images bring a smile to your face the way working with this great team does for me…