We don’t need to be experts we just need to be cool with it

We don’t need to be experts we just need to be cool with it

‘Oh…So…I am here’

For the very first time…

I have been a Director of Six Lips Theatre for three years now, and those who are au fait with their working style or were swept into the whirlwind, force of nature ‘six shows in six months’ programme, will know that as a company we are used to an intensive, high energy, all hands on deck process. In fact I remember once delivering the first sharing for one show whilst the next one was workshoping next door and I went home afterwards to finish the third script. But one thing has always remained constant and uncompromised; the detailed, conscientious, nurturing ethos where all creative’s are equal, allowing valued contributions on the subject matter in hand. No more so, than on this project; House of Tragic She.
After the first open sharing of our ‘stage 1’ of the performance, it was time to reflect on our journey. Switching the way I was used to working with Six Lips, but remaining true to the company’s integrity and values, was always going to be a challenging one.  6 months of reading, making, re-reading and re-making, talking, listening, interviewing, being interviewed, reading, making…
‘Repeat. Remember. Repeat. Re-remember.’

There have been dead ends on our journey, reoccurring roundabouts, sudden u-turns, moments of driving with our eyes closed and just hoping… but we got there…we definitely got there!
If it was a journey without this hilly terrain and minor detours then it would have been a wasted one; the reason it was like this is because everyone cares so much, not only about the work itself, but the subject matter; the incredibly important conversation on mental health.

So let’s start talking.

We all have mental health. Got it? Good.

It is not an opt in or opt out offer.
We all lie somewhere on the spectrum of mental health, from feeling positive, productive, part of a community, to the more negative end that adversely affects your ability to function on a day to day basis.

And it fluctuates. The loss of a loved one, stress at work, a sudden trauma and we change…we move on the spectrum. We may settle back to our previous position in a day, a week, a month, but if it is more than temporary and it is affecting our ability to function on a day to day basis, then this is when we are looking at mental ill health.
This is why it is so important to talk, to accept and be OK with putting ourselves in the middle of it all. If we cannot talk about mental health or even admit we have it, then how will we ever overcome the stigma of mental ill health?

I know this sounds easier than it is. I am aware of this and have been throughout our R+D process. It is so subjective, so personal and unique. Yes we have diagnosises, terms, definitions, but those are not true for everyone – it is a complex and foggy territory.

We have never set out to educate, to enlighten or to remaster mental health, quite the opposite. If one person leaves the auditorium and turns to their friend and says ‘do you know the part where… I’ve felt like that before’ then I am indeed a very happy director. This is why I am so proud of House of Tragic She (and the full team), because it’s happening.

Our first few audiences have commented on many different things all taking from it what they will (or indeed what they want) and that is so very rewarding with a piece of theatre.

‘The part was like the inside of my head’

‘I’ve done that….copied someone else because I thought I should…or thought I’d get away with being normal'

The fact is people are being part of the conversation. What more could I ask for.

For some people the words will resonate, others the movement will speak volumes, the films may capture something important, whilst the music may hit the nail on the head for you.

So going back to the title of this blog – I am not an expert, but I am cool with mental health and even if House of Tragic She gets you to think away from the performance or allows you to talk to the person next to you about mental health, then for me it’s been a worthwhile journey and for you it’s been a worthwhile outing to the theatre.

 

 

For the Love of... By Andy Love!

We all say things we regret.  You know the sort of thing; "No, your bum doesn't look big in that", "Keeping pigs seems like a good idea....", "I do". That sort of thing.  I'm now wondering if I can add, "If you need someone to stage manage for you next year, I will do it".  I was up at Edinburgh Fringe to see Six Lips' 'Faustus - the musical', and was clearly carried away by the general vibe of the Fringe, and Mrs Love and I had already decided to spend a week up there this year, so doing a job of work seemed like a good idea.

So here we are, nine months later, and ready to take 'House of Tragic She' to Brighton.  And, all things considered; the strange morphing of Stage Manager, into Stage Manager/Set Designer/Set Builder, it's been reasonably trouble free.  Yes, there was that awkward moment when Rocky asked for three mini revolving stages for some yet to be defined part of the show, but we met each other's gaze with steely determination; luckily, and in a rare occurrence, Rocky blinked first, saving me hours of work! 

The set has taken a little time, to make, but has been engineered to keep costs down on transport - we won't need a van - but painting it white on the sunniest day of the year left me suffering something akin to snow blindness!

I've now been lucky enough to sit in the latter stages of the rehearsal process and hopefully chipped in some helpful 'old man' comments now and then.  To their credit neither the actors nor wonderful Matt Harper directing have visibly rolled their eyes heavenwards.

One wonderful outcome for me, has been finding a solution to help running the show's tech - sound, lights and video - on a budget.  I have managed to find a great little app for iPad called Go Button, which is a very natty little sound cue player that I'll be using in my own shows in future.

It has been great to see the show take shape, and seeing Rocky, Hannah, Stacey and Matt hone, re-shape and tighten this piece has been an exhilarating experience.  We've one more York rehearsal before the actors and I head south, and I'm sure that more changes will be made before first night in Brighton.

So, for the moment, no regrets.  Ask me again after a week with the girls in Brighton.  Then ask again after two weeks in Edinburgh!

 

Creative Blog #1 Natalie Roe: Designer Extrordinaire

There are three. Three women in this story, three authors, three actresses. As soon as I arrived on this project, I was introduced to the characters of Charlotte Bronte, Virginia Woolf and Jean Rhys. Three women who had connections with mental health and attitudes that were being described in the piece.

I was familiar with Charlotte Bronte and her portrayal of the mad woman in the attic in Jane Eyre. I was less familiar (and afraid of) Virginia Woolf and knew nothing about Jean Rhys. I had a quick period of research, speed reading through novels and films. I was amazed by Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and a depiction of mental illness which wasn’t dark and dour but full of life, sensuality and expression. Each actor had already been given a colour; yellow, red and blue for their personal props. To highlight this I suggested everything else involved in the set was monochrome; whites, greys, sterile, all colour coming from the creativity of the girls. We avoided black in the set because it seemed too obvious and negative, the girls being silhouetted against white instead.

Director Matt had said he really liked the idea of using lace with the costumes. Lace depicting fragility and delicacy but also meaning we could put bright clothing underneath monochrome lace and have the colour poking through, as if the personality of the authors were trying to break through. The costumes were tough because the girls had to be able to move in them as well as showing the different characters. For Charlotte, the objective Victorian, I found a long skirt and lace top, with a bow in yellow because all the portraits of Miss Bronte have her wearing a bow on her dresses. Virginia has a very Edwardian-looking white lace top and a red shawl, which she throws off in frustration at the top of the show (ooooh symbolism!) Jean Rhys wears trousers since she’s a 20^th century women, she has loose lace tops in blue and shimmering black, it’s very flowy, textured and less rigid then the other two.

I’m really looking forward to the show going to the Brighton Fringe and getting to join the gang in Edinburgh. All feedback we’ve had on the set and costumes has been positive so I’m hoping people will continue to enjoy what we’ve put together!

 

 

Feeling Blessed! By Hannah

Today we feel blessed! By Hannah

This week has been one of those weeks that seemed exceptionally stressful and hardwork!

Thursday evening we had our first full run though, with all sound, film and lights, which was also our tech/dress run. As usual it was very hard work for all involved! Stopping and starting, forgetting lines and movements, but to add to it all we had Shakera Ahad with us as an outside dircters eye! The pressure was on!... It actually went suprising well! We had notes from Mr Director Matt Harper and then Shakera added to them! Shakera's notes on the performance we brilliant, constructive and eye opening, that caused many discussions amoung the group of how best to improve our work. The key points she raised was to slow it all down, allow the audience to feel satisfied with each and every moment, allowing them to come to their own decisions about this fragmented production. She even enjoyed the singing, which if you are not already aware I am not at all confident with!

We left Thursday evening (at 12:30pm!!) feeling exhausted yet incrediablly proud of ourselves and our most wonderful team! Confident that the notes we had been given were going to be easy to intigrate.

Friday then happened, The performance day! We all individually had particularly bad days, I was the cause of a 93 year old woman having to call out an ambulance (Bad times!) After arriving at the space nearly 40mins late we had to set up! Mr Love and Mr Harper where the heroes of the day! They set up the space with the beautiful set that Andy built, and the vast amount of technical equipment that we required! (Sorry about that guys) This meant that us girls could do what girls do best and decided upon make up and hair designs, and then have a little preshow stress about lines and running orders! Miss Natalie Roe then turned up with all our magnificent costumes and props to finish up our look!

Although this performance was a sharing, purley so that we could get some audience feedback to carry on developing the show over the next few weeks, we wanted to show the very best we could at this stage in our process! I believe we did! The show ran smoothly, with only a few mistakes, that apparently the audience didnt notice (Matt and Andy did though! Ooops!) We remebered most of our lines and most of the running order and most of the movement, and to me that means it was a success!

Our audience was lovely, responsive and constructive. When the performance had finished we asked them to stick around and give us their feedback or email us when they had had more time to think about what they had seen. We tried to talk to everyone there and push them for feedback good and bad, and they didnt hold back. The great thing about the show is that most people had different ideas and perspectives on what the show meant to them personally, which was very rewarding as a practictioner and to our team. We have a great grasp on what was missing,and what our audience want to see more of, and thus feel the next few weeks will be very productive and exiting as we try to add all that we have learnt.

We are blessed with the most wonderful team of creative people, a trusting and supportive ensameble and an audience who will only strenghten the work we have produced.

We leave for the Brighton Fringe on the 26th May and hope that our audience there will be as open and empowering as our audience here in York! When we get back we are putting the finished product on at Monkgate (Upstage) Theatre, on the 5th and 6th June and hope that you will all come back to see how far we will have come!

Huge Thank Yous to Andy Love, Matt Harper, Natalie Roe, Natalie Ailsa, Shakera Ahad and our wonderful audience! Six Lips would be nothing without all our kind support!

House Of Tragic She is here...

This is the official House of Tragic She Blog where we will be uploading ALL material from the show so that our friends and followers can track our process and the journey of the project.

We have a lovely new website, designed by the fantastic Hannah Wallace:
http://www.houseoftragicshe.co.uk/

so you can find out our news, and any future tour dates here or there!

The first entry is a piece of writing that has been cut from the current show order, but may well make an appearance at a later stage through further development.

Enjoy!

Mahogany crevices and mountains,
Rough and gnarled
Like the hands of my Grandfather,
The one who drew you out of your cave.

Worn around your nose,
From frequent need of the secrets you keep.

Your chiselled eyes, clumsy
unsymmetrical making your appearance all the more alarming.

But your mane, unbounded
crowning your menacing fierce muzzle
has the glory.

The envy of Gods