In creating the show, I set out to create a script for the show. When I started work on it, I decided to give all the details on the event and the stuff was extremely long.
To give you an idea, here was the original script:
As you can see, the script is detailed but is too long for ten minutes. So, the script had to be edited even more so it had the punch to the show. If anything, the script felt very long and as if I was trying to say anything and everything leaving a lot of potential for the audience to become very disinterested in the show. I also felt that the script felt forced and as if it was trying to fit in the gimmicks of the rollercoaster when they didn’t need to do that. So, after multiple drafts, I was able to cut it down to 13 minutes which is good. To give you an idea, here is the updated script.
As you can see, whilst it still has detailed information, it still feel really condensed and punchy. Even though I would want it to be longer, I am satisfied with the way it has been progressed and I hope that the possibly of adapting the script further is a possibility.
It’s been a while since I wrote something so in these next few posts, I will be highlighting some of the things I have been creating. For now, this blog post shall focus on my script-writing and the creation of my character, Mrs Arsehole.
Now it is important to note that whilst the script has been developed, the concept of my childhood as a rollercoaster has not changed at all so you can relax for now. However, in furthering my script, I decided to establish a character that would become an alter ego for me to play in the show. The reason I wanted to do this was as the show focuses on my time at school and the knock on effects of my conditions being ADHD and Worster-Drought Syndrome, I felt that there needed to be a character which the audience could hate and genuinely struggle to treat seriously. Plus, at my time at school, this headteacher was the only one which caused the problems. So, with that in mind, I decided to create Mrs Arsehole.
However, people may ask how this has been utilised in the script. To give you an idea, here is a little snippet of her speech.
The Script
However, my first downhill would occur when I had my first assembly at my primary school. I was pushed into this one room with everyone. Everything went silent. I could hear the noise of distant footsteps. Out of the blue, this thing who looked like Maggie Thatcher arrived. She yelled “Good morning everyone”.
(Audience: Good morning Ms. Arsehole!”)
The performer puts on the wig and becomes Mrs Arsehole
Me (As Mrs Arsehole): Now, today we have a new student called Daniel. So I want you to be really nice to him. Now, Daniel needs some friends so lets be nice to him. Now how do we behave in this school? Yes.
V/O: We laugh about how you are called “Ms Arsehole”
The V/O laughs and the school laughs and starts singing “MS ARSEHOLE IS A FARTER”
When devising the character, one question that I raised early was how she was going to be utilised in the show. Whilst I did want to expose her as a comedic character, I do still want to expose her true colours in the solo performance and show how she was to students at my school. One way I want to do this is by showcasing the comedy as irony. In other words, I want the comedy to start off as if I am joking. However, there is a truth behind her methods of teaching. From this, I hope to bring true terror for the audience and for them to understand how she ended up being worse after a first glance.
As well, one other idea in creating the character is through the idea of costuming. Indeed, whilst a lot of the character comes from the mannerisms and scripting of the character, some of the creation comes from costuming. So, in costuming, I have decided to dress Mrs. Arsehole as Margaret Thatcher. Possibly one of the most hated people in Barnsley.
(mynameiswhatever, 2009).
Now there are numerous reasons to costume this character as Margaret Thatcher. Firstly, one of the reasons is due to the connection to my home town. Indeed, as I live in Barnsley, she is possibly the most hated person due to the closure of the mines during the 1984/85 strike and also causing so much unemployment. Still to this day, the town has not recovered. So, as I have not recovered from Mrs. Arsehole, I want to utilise her as a character. However, another reasonI want to use her as a caricature for Mrs Arsehole is because, upon further research, I uncovered that from 1970-74, she was in the Cabinet as Secretary of Education. So, I felt that this would be a prime example to use her for my alter-ego.
I have also decided to further this idea by placing in another line in the show based on Margaret Thatcher’s death. This is the following line:
I had defeated the Wicked Witch of the West. For now. It’s just a shame she didn’t melt away.
Again, the reason I wanted to bring in this line was I wanted to showcase the ideas of Margaret Thatcher. In particular, I wanted to highlight her death. When she died, there were a lot of party’s particularly in Barnsley and the most popular song played when she died was “Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead” from The Wizard of Oz. Whilst I do not particularly agree with the behaviour, by including this line, I will be able to reinforce how the similarities between Mrs. Arsehole and Margaret Thatcher are not uncanny to each other.
Overall, I am happy with the performance is going. I hope that by using Mrs Arsehole, I will be able to create a lot of comedy with her. For my next steps, I need to work on performing the role and also on how the script will merge her role into the show. For now, here’s to more work for the next few weeks.
In order to ensure that the show is of a high standard, it is important to note that there has to be influences from certain practitioners. Indeed, although this is an essential part of the marking criteria, I want to ensure that the references to those practitioners are not only clear but really well utilised in the show. So, in this post, I will explore the practitioners that I have taken inspiration from and looking to showcase in my upcoming show, The Ride of My Life.
Tim Crouch
One of the first practitioners I am keen use is Tim Crouch. Now I have aware of this practitioner since the first year of my degree since performing an condensed version of his 2007 play, England. However, since doing the module, I have become obsessed with his style of performance in establishing the presence of the performer’s identity by performing other roles “as…” rather than “is…”. Indeed, I was inspired by the play, An Oak Tree, when he begins the show by introducing himself as himself playing a hypnotist in which this trust is then established and brings in a meta-theatrical presence as a performer and character. Indeed, the following video establishes how he does this establishment of the performer.
(juliageek, 2007).
The reason I have been interested in this is as my show encounters a personal story of my life, I want to be able to establish a relationship with the audience in which they are not only able to be immersed in the show but can trust me as a performer. Indeed, whilst I intend to take on certain roles, it would be under the idea of “Daniel Fotheringham as…” a ride attendant for example.
I am also keen on using him to create an immersive show that is visceral but exciting to observe and I was inspired by both ENGLAND and The Author in this case. Indeed, they both use interesting staging to help immerse the audience into a show and get a deeper meaning. For example, the play, ENGLAND occurs in an art exhibition in the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh as whilst it focuses on a persons journey for a heart transplant, it’s main theme focuses on a tour of an art exhibition. Likewise, Crouch’s The Author is set in traverse staging in which the setting is the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in the Royal Court Theatre.
(Kenton, 2009).
In this case, I want to utilise this idea of immersion by creating the studio space into the seating of a rollercoaster carriage and having a projection board to suggest certain things. By this, I will be able to create something similar to the style of Tim Crouch by having something as an overarching concept in which something smaller occurs. In other words, the rollercoaster can therefore be used as a metaphor to talk about my childhood and can be utilised as an idea for achieving the impossible.
Chris Goode
Another practitioner that I have been massively inspired by is the work of Chris Goode and his use of storytelling. Indeed, Goode has the use of storytelling to showcase that we have forgotten to tell stories and that sometimes, less is more. This is vital for me as whilst the show has to be visual, I want to ensure that it has the heart and has the story needed with a solidified beginning, middle and end.
One show that inspires me is the play, Monkey Bars which is a verbatim theatre piece in which adults answer questions by children in the style of children. Now whilst the show my piece is not verbatim and instead a personal story, one thing that interests me is the possibility of using childlike language and seeing how the language can be used for comedic purposes. Indeed, the show focuses on my childhood at an adult age and I think by using this idea of childhood language and honest words could be used not only for poignancy but also comedy.
(ChrisGoode andCo, 2013).
Refreshmentby Craig Gingrich-Philbrook
One final influence on this show is Philbrooks autobiographical play, Refreshment which focuses on a shooting at a Gay Pride parade. The reason I have been inspired by this play is the fact that this ten minute play does interesting things by focusing on the personal event and a bigger topic which is about what it means to live in the LGBT+ community.
I particularly am inspired by this text as I want to ensure that whilst the piece is personal, it speaks on a broader level about achieving the impossible and has some meaning for a wider audience. Indeed, I feel that this piece should connect to people and I hope that it is more important to people to discuss the ideas of bettering yourself.
So these are my influences. For the next few weeks, I need to script it. Currently, I have ideas on how this can be furthered and I hope to further these ideas more so the piece can be truly unique and special.
Since Easter, I have been massively busy on working on my solo performance. Indeed, there has been a reason why I have not been on this blog for a while.
When working on the show, I did a couple of work in progresses and felt that whilst my concept was interesting, it was a difficult topic as I ran the risk of either being insensitive and narcissistic or too self indulgent about the topic and this was a key problem that rose in my work-in-progress. Indeed, the show, whilst focused on a personal story of my friend was actually coming across as if the incident had happened to me. So, with that, I decided to rethink about the work that I had done as whilst I was concerned about the topic, I felt that I did not want to lose the staging I had created.
So, with that I decided to work on the idea of a rollercoaster but instead, this time I focused on trying to use it as a metaphor rather than a literal thing. When doing that, I felt I had to have a look online and came across this picture.
(Pinterest, 2018).
Now when looking at this, I felt I had hit an epiphany as I always knew I wanted it to not only be autobiographical and authentic but also have a wider meaning. Therefore, as I continued working on it, I felt the need to look at the idea of the ups and downs of life. At first, I felt I wanted to talk about it in a generic manner but I then discussed about an incident when I was at school and was basically brought as an outcast when I was diagnosed with ADHD and Worster Draught Syndrome – a rare disorder in which the brain cells stop you from doing certain things. In this instance, it stopped me from speaking properly.
When I was discussing this with people, I felt that there was a sudden engagement as they felt very hooked on the idea and felt actually really interested in my experience. Therefore, I have decided to focus on this as I feel that there is something unique and that I would be able to combine this with a really good metaphor of the rollercoaster. Plus, it also means that I would be able to keep the staging as it was but just in a different manner. To give you an idea, here is a diagram of the old and new staging.
Old Staging
New Staging
As part of the show, I also intend to set the outside of Studio 2 out as a queue line and I hope this will immerse the audience into the world of the rollercoaster.
As well, I have named it The Ride of My Life” as I want to make it something that is quite broad but also gives nothing away which I hope will work. Here is a little segment from my script.
The Script
Pre-set
The audience is stood outside by a podium which says “Welcome to “The Ride of My Life”. Please wait for your ride attendant who will escort you to the ride. The Performer walks and we hear the music “The Call to Adventure”
Me: Good afternoon everyone and I would like to welcome you to “The Ride Of My Life”. In a couple of moments, I will be seating you into your carriage but firstly, it is important to note that whilst the piece does contain true events that did occur, all of the characters mentioned have been fictionalised for safety regulations and for your own entertainment. When boarding the carriage, please ensure that all loose articles such as bags, coats and even notebooks are placed into these lockers. Now, I ask for those who are priority pass members to come forward so I can seat you in your carriage (The performer gestures to the sheet below). Please can these people come forward.
Once the priority pass members are in the studio, the performer turns to the audience.
Me: Ladies and gentlemen, please can you now form an orderly queue so you can be seated in the carriage.
The audience forms a queue and enters the studio. Once the sixteen seats are filled, the performer speaks.
Me: Ladies and gentlemen, the carriage is now filled. Please can you now move to the seating area one either side of the studio sat down on the floor?
The audience moves into the studio having heard the instructions from the performer.
Scene 1
The lights fade up. A whiteboard is seen at the side of the stage. The Performer walks to it.
Me: Ronan Keating once said that life is a rollercoaster. It has its ups and its downs and whatever it brings, we must face it. Scary, huh? You see its weird. All this trepidation. I mean, some people may disagree with me but that’s how I personally see. I mean my story in many ways was a rollercoaster. It never felt right. If anything, it felt like some sort of soap-opera. Just not with the death, affairs, elongated story lines. It was real. It was a rollercoaster that was painstakingly hard to go through. It all started in 1999 when I was a toddler.
I was a late one you see. I enjoyed being cosy in my mums tummy. But with that came my first drop. When I was three, my mum started to realise that I had some problems. I was always a larger than life character. Hence why I got told off last week for being too loud in the library (Pause). Woops. Anyway, back when I was three, I was brought to the doctors to see whether I was ok. My mum at the time was working part time at a job she hated and had a larger than life son who sometimes needed to be controlled. When she brought me one day, she found I had been diagnosed with two conditions. ADHD and Worcester Draught Syndrome.
Now some people may not know about what this is and the truth is she didn’t either. I didn’t know. But the truth was I was just a kid. Essentially, its where the muscles in mouth seize which causes you to stop speaking. Which would mean if I had it now then (As I speak then, I try to speak the next line with the syndrome) this is what I would sound like. It’s impossible to say anything and at this rate, I ought to be a new ventriloquist act. (Pause)
Throughout this period, I would struggle to get words right and even words like “mummy”, it would come out as “Bo-ee”. My mum found this amusing. Not in a horrible manner. Just as something that she found a little funny that I would say. But, as time went on, she knew something was wrong and I needed help. I was getting attachment issues. Don’t worry. I wasn’t becoming a Norman Bates type of character. She knew that something must be done. And so my ascent began.
The sound of a lifthill chain is heard. The performer draws this hill.
When I was six, she brought me to a primary school and got me sorted there in the hope that it would be the right school for me. It seemed nice. It had everything you wanted. Displays that were appealing, a range of nice and welcoming teachers and a friendly atmosphere. It made me feel like I would enjoy my time at school there. It seemed like I had hit the jackpot. Of all of the primary schools, it felt like Disneyland – the happiest place on Earth.
My intention now is to further my script and make it even longer in the hope of being able to make it exciting but also different. In my next post, I’ll discuss the influences that I wish to have and who I want to reference as my practitioners.
After doing my rehearsal on Tuesday, I began to think about how the opening would work. Indeed, whilst what I had was interesting, I felt that I needed a pre-set for the audience to experience in which, when entering the space, they would feel overwhelmed about the event. Similarly, they would feel how I felt on the day when I heard the news that the incident had occurred and the day after when I found out it was my friend involved in the incident.
Part of the reason I felt this pre-set is important is because they need to know about the incident and I would rather give them the context of that situation by showing them what happened rather than telling them. So, I started thinking about ideas and how this may work. When beginning the pre-set, I knew I wanted to use The Smiler music used at Alton Towers as when listening to it, there was something quite horrible concerning the music. Indeed, in the song, there is a heavy bass sound that is used as the beat of the song as if it is meant to be oppressive. Later, there is the sound of people laughing in a sinister manner and a we can hear the scream of a girl as if she is having fun (IMAscoregermany, 2013).
Personally, when listening to the song, I found this a bit darker than what was expected. Indeed, whilst the concept of the ride, as stated by TowersStreet.com, is based on the concept of Marmalisation” which is “a process intended to instill a sense of social compliance through constant smiling” and is based on the idea that the guests are social experiments, there was something about the music that made it have a double meaning (Towers Street, 2018). Indeed, the music itself reminds me more now about the incident and can be seen as a scary reminder of the day about a set of people intending to have fun and being part of a tragic event.
However, when messing about on a laptop and browsing about to get an idea of the event, I decided to look at the news broadcasts made and found a really interesting set of them. From there, I decided to compile them underneath the music and found it to be scarier as the music was an undertone under the piece and I felt that this could be used when the audience enters. In the next couple of weeks, I am intending to mix this together in the Media Building and I hope that this will show its big effect. Whilst I cannot mix it now, here are the clips I am intending to use in this video under The Smiler music.
(IMAscoregermany, 2013)
(Good Morning Britain, 2015).
(BBC News, 2015).
(Sky News, 2015).
(ThorpeLT, 2015).
These are just a few of the videos that I’m intending on using. From this, I am hoping this may overwhelm the audience with the seriousness of the incident and also how one incident isn’t as forgettable as it is to others.
However, in furthering this idea of overwhelming the audience, I am intending to also do something else. As mentioned before, I want to explore the idea of using tape to represent something. However, I am very aware that this will limit the amount of people who wish to view the show. Therefore, I am intending to also use tape again to represent the queue and people will be able to voyeuristically watch it from the experience of the queue. By doing this, it will allow them to get a sense of the incident and how exposed I felt when I heard the news. Plus, I want to explore the idea of becoming a ride attendant and seating the audience in the rows as if they are actually going on the ride. Therefore, the message could feel more heartfelt about the idea of people looking forward to a day at the park and going out for a good time and instead coming back with horrible memories.
Works Cited:
BBC News (2015) Alton Towers boss: ‘We are devastated by what happened’ BBC News. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5ZXE6GIYXQ [accessed 29 March 2018].
Good Morning Britain (2015) Alton Towers Smiler Crash– Good Morning Britain. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5VxuRa_WBc [accessed 29 March 2018].
IMAscoregermany (2013) The Smiler Soundtrack [official]. Available from https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+smiler+music [accessed 29 March 2018].
Sky News (2015) Full Interview With Alton Towers Boss After Rollercoaster Crash. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kke3h2UeH3I [accessed 29 March 2018].
ThorpeLT (2015) Smiler Accident at Alton Towers (LONGER VERSION) 02/06/2015. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ems1fgKysVQ [accessed 29 March 2018].
Towers Street (2018) The Smiler. Available from https://towersstreet.com/theme-park/ride/the-smiler/ [accessed 29 March 2018].
