Banshee Labyrinth (Venue 156)
Aug 6-14, 16-21, 23-28 12:30
Aug 6-14, 16-21, 23-28 12:30
Is money a fiction? What’s
the difference between the notes in your pocket and the ones from a
Monopoly board? A humorous exploration of debt through poetry, personal
stories and actual research, as award-winning poet Tina Sederholm gets
real about money.
What was the inspiration for this performance?
About five years ago, I realised I had a
skewed relationship with money, and was stuck in a getting into
debt/paying it off/falling back into debt cycle. I wanted money but
found it embarrassing to ask for payment, and also felt money was
somehow ‘dirty’. I knew I wasted money by spending on things I
didn’t want or need, or sometimes just to keep the peace (large
group birthday dinners, anyone?) but didn’t seem to be able to
stop. I got curious about the addictive and compulsive nature of
debt, and how, irrespective of their jobs, some people seem to find
it easy to make money, while others don’t.
I also was fascinated by
the fact that although the UK is the 6th richest nation in the world,
Government and personal debt are at an all-time high. I wanted to
answer the question, is it ever possible to be truly debt-free?
How did you go about gathering the team for it?
I write my own
shows, so I only had to book in a meeting or two with myself to get
started. When I had a workable script, I got together with
actor/director and long time mentor, Rachel Mae Brady, and we worked
up the staging, and she helped identify the over arching themes, so I
could hone the script more. I also trade script feedback with fellow
performer and novelist, Lucy Ayrton, and my husband, Neil Spokes,
designed the set and the sound score.
How did you become interested in making performance?
Originally I was a poet, but felt there
was something lacking when it came to readings. Then I saw a poetry
slam, and knew I had found my method of combining writing and
performance.
After winning several slams, and doing short sets at
performance poetry nights, I went up to Edinburgh and saw full length
spoken word shows by people like Richard Marsh, Rob Auton and Luke
Wright, and knew that’s what I wanted to do. I trained with
Rachel, so that I could add more theatrical elements and acting
skills to my performance, and gradually began writing shows.
Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?
Yes, typical that I get obsessed by an
idea, begin researching and writing the show, convinced it is going
to pan out one way, only for there to be a dramatic left turn where
the show takes over and re-invents itself. I dance between writing,
then inhabiting parts of the show,brainstorming the staging, and then
re-writing, so the whole thing is a slightly chaotic, organic
process. As this is my third full length show, I was less panicky
when it all changed about 3 months ago, and instead of having a
meltdown, I could say to myself, ‘Ah. So we are at the ‘all seems
lost’ stage of the process,’ and just go off and make a cup of
tea.
What do you hope that the audience will experience?
At the most, I hope
to blow apart their assumptions about money, and at the least, I hope
by revealing my vulnerabilities around money and debt, they will
experience some compassion for their own financial situation.
What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
I’ve been doing a lot of improv and
some clowning training this year so that I would feel more courageous
with involving the audience more with the show. At various points I
ask them questions and expect answers, and even have a few members up
on stage to help me act out parts of the show. There is a lot of
information as well as personal stories and poetry, so I tend to
shift from scene to scene quite quickly, to keep the pace up, and
also to prevent the show getting didactic. I have ended up presenting
a scenario, leaving a question hanging or partly answered, before
moving on rapidly, so the audience can provide their own answers,
rather than being told what to think.
Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
No - unless there is
a tradition of making it up as you go along.
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