Dramaturgy Awakes: Miranda Colmans @ Edfringe 2017

New solo show reveals the struggles and darker side of insomnia at this year’s Fringe

Miranda Colmans / Free Festival

Awake

It's the middle of the night and I'm awake. "I'm Awake"... are you?

A brand-new show by experienced performer and novice writer Miranda Colmans, Awake is about five women around the world who are all awake in the middle of the night.  Their narratives are interwoven to reveal their joint story, exploring the harrowing effects Insomnia can have on the lives of those that suffer from it

Performing dates 3^rd-27^th August 2017

Performance time 18:45

Venue Basement @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 69 Home Street, Edinburgh, Venue 106

Ticket Price Free / unticketed

Performance length Approx 40 mins

Performer Miranda Colmans

What was the inspiration for this performance?

"Awake" is not autobiographical but it is inspired by my personal experiences with insomnia. I’ve suffered on and off with insomnia since I was about 12 and one night, lying awake again it came to me that this would be a good thing to write about.  30% of British people suffer with short periods of insomnia, women being twice as likely to do so, therefore the topic is something that many people can identify with. 

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

Absolutely.  Performance is a great way to have a debate - writers can explore an argument through their characters by pitting them against each other.  

The writer may or may not come up with a definitive answer.  

I love leaving the theatre and having a good chew over what I've just seen and I like the idea that that thought and influence can have life beyond the

theatre's walls.  Theatre can of course also tell stories which may not have been heard by a wider audience before and I think that is vital - to society at large and to the people whose stories they are.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I remember taking part in school Nativity plays and even from that early age, I knew that this was something I enjoyed.  I always loved to play dressing up games and the idea of pretending to be someone else.  

As a child, along with my sister and our friends, we would often make up shows for our long-suffering parents to watch and I seem to have just carried this habit forward into adulthood!  Before I went to drama school, I did a BA Hons in Drama and Theatre Studies at Chester.  

Our course was very practical and we spent three years devising our own work.  It was a brilliant degree and gave me a lot of confidence to create work and to see the endless possibilities of performance.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

Trial and error!  This is the first play that I've written for one performer with multiple characters, so I've been feeling my way through it, writing, re-writing and creating characters to see what will best work to deliver the story.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

As a professional actress, I don't think that I have a "usual" production as I've done a bit of everything.  I've always wanted to write and to do a one-woman show so I am really excited to be making this happen.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I would like audiences to come away having been told a good story.  I hope that they will invest in and enjoy listening to the different characters

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

My staging is quite simple as I would like the audience to listen to the story, rather than be distracted by set and props.  Awake is designed in that respect for an intimate space and for the audience to hopefully feel as if they are being told this tale one on one.

It's the middle of the night.  The air is still, the moon is up, foxes are skulking under lampposts. Many people are deeply, blissfully asleep, unaware of the tortured souls around them who are struggling to sleep.  But there is a place where they can meet, a place to find comfort and solace..."I'm Awake"... are you?

Speaking on the inspiration behind Awake, playwright Miranda Colmans said “I’ve suffered on and off with insomnia since I was about 12 and one night, lying awake again it came to me that this would be a good thing to write about.  30% of British people suffer with short periods of insomnia, women being twice as likely to do so, therefore the topic is something that many people can identify with.”

The Little Dramaturg: Teresa Burns @ Edfringe 2016

How It Ended in association with Scamp Theatre

The Little Gardener 

Based on the book by Emily Hughes

UK Tour: June-July 2016

This heart-warming adaptation of Emily Hughes’ popular children’s book The Little Gardener is an outdoor, interactive adventure for all little gardeners.

Performed inside a large glass box, containing a real-life garden, How It Ended, a visually inventive theatre company, tell the story of a little gardener and the garden that meant everything to him. 

He worked hard, very hard, but he was just too little to make a difference (or at least he felt he was). Will you help the little gardener bring his garden to life? This spellbinding show will melt your heart and get your hands dirty too!

How It Ended is a visually inventive theatre

company based in the South East, jointly run by co- artistic directors Eva Sampson and Teresa Burns. 

How It Ended make ambitious pieces of theatre that are youthful, contemporary and full of heart. Through original music and visual storytelling they work to excite young audiences and inspire the next generation of theatre makers.

What was the inspiration for this performance?
We loved the book – immediately upon first read. We’re big fans of Emily Hughes’ work and loved her debut book Wild so we were very excited by the release of The Little Gardener.  It’s a simple story, beautifully told, about a gardener who works very hard but feels too little to make a difference.  The idea to adapt the book into a piece of interactive, outdoor theatre came together quite quickly and it felt us though it shouldn’t be done any other way. 

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
The idea was conceived with Eva Sampson (director and co-artistic director of How It Ended) and her clear-sighted vision for the production has really fuelled how the project has been managed.  We had worked with James Lewis (designer) before and we knew he was the man for the project. 

James not only designs but also builds his sets and we knew he would not only produce something beautiful but also create a set that had the durability to withstand lots of touring. We had also worked with Darren Clark (composer and lyricist) before and we knew he’d be the perfect fit for this. Darren is a brilliant lyricist as well as a composer and his pieces really serve the narrative.

How did you become interested in making performance?
My oldest brother is an actor (Michael Begley). There’s quite a big age gap between us so I grew up watching him in plays and he’s undoubtedly a bit of an inspiration. 

At a young age I was exposed to performances that I otherwise would have been very unlikely to experience.  Growing up in an a very working class family in Luton, my peers didn’t experience much in the way of theatre but my family and I travelled the country to see him perform in theatres such as the Royal Exchange Manchester, Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham REP and The Royal Court. I think somewhere along the way I thought: “I want in”.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?
Our process has been very much the same as our previous productions. Before entering into rehearsals we spent a lot of time working on the design concept and the dramaturgy for the production. We hold the belief that if we have done the ‘homework’ beforehand, then we can enter the rehearsal room with a freedom to play.  

It’s really important to us that the book's images are re-imagined so that our audiences do not see a literal representation of the book played out in front of them. We believe in creating non-patronising, playfully inventive pieces, which encourage children to use their imaginations.

The only real significant difference with this rehearsal process was our focus on our audience and how we would manage the interactive section of the play. In fact, in the latter stages of rehearsals we invited a group of young children and parents into our rehearsal room to troubleshoot our ideas. Their feedback was invaluable to the development of the show.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
We’re really keen to encourage children and families to embrace the outdoors and get into gardening. We’d also love our audiences to take away a sense of community and that by working together you can create something wonderful.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
The nature of interactive theatre is that it is always somewhat unpredictable.  However, we have tried our best to prepare for every perceivable outcome. We’re aware that some children will feel comfortable interacting with us, with handling plants and getting their hands dirty, whilst other will be more hesitant, so it’s about making those children feel at ease. 

For each performance we have a lovely team of Production Assistants/Gardeners who are on hand to ensure that the show runs smoothly and that our audience feel comfortable and happy.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
We have always described our work as visually inventive and have often adopted the theatrical language of clowning and ensemble led work.  We’re now really excited to join a new wave of artists who are producing outdoor theatre. Moving forward, we’re really keen to engage with children and young people whom may be experiencing theatre for the first time and thereby challenge any preconceptions of what theatre can be.

Director Eva Sampson comments, We’re so delighted to have been awarded the prestigious Outdoor Performance Commission 2016, giving us the opportunity to adapt this remarkable children’s book. We believe Emily’s story should be experienced by as many people as possible, a story about hope, persistence and community. We’re really passionate about inspiring communities to embrace the outdoors and believe in the active goodwill of others.'


The audience will be invited to tend to the garden while the little gardener is sleeping and, through their work (basic tasks such as planting and watering), the garden will come alive. When the gardener wakes up at the close of the show, he will find his garden in full bloom. The performance is as playful as it is inventive, featuring puppetry (in the form of the little gardener and his pet worm), and an original soundtrack composed by Darren Clark.

Commissioned by Lyric Hammersmith, GDIF, Watford Palace Theatre and Latitude.

Running time 30 minutes

Box Office All performances are free to attend and are non-ticketed.

Director Eva Sampson Dramaturg Teresa Burns Designer/ Set Builder James Lewis Puppet Maker/ Prop Artist Andy Lawrence Composer Darren Clark Actor/ Puppeteer Peter Hobday Author/ Illustrator Emily Hughes

Notes Ages 3+

Performance Dates

7th – 8th June Lyric Hammersmith

King Street, Lyric Square, London, W6 0QL

25th – 27th June Greenwich and Docklands International Festival

2nd – 3rd July Watford Palace Theatre

20 Clarendon Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 1JZ

17th July Latitude Festival

Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk

29th – 30th July Stockwood Discovery Centre

Stockwood Park, London Road, Luton, LU1 4LX

Volcanic Dramaturgy: Paul Davies @Edfringe 2015

The Fringe

What inspired this production: did you begin with an idea or a script or an object?
Paul Davies: This production was inspired by a number of things. I will list them in no particular order:

(a) The possibility of filling an empty building with 3 tons of coal.
(b) The discovery of a very short, surreal story written by a miner in 1947.
(c) The anniversary of the miners’ strike
(d) The sense that work (or art) as action is disappearing from our lives.
(e) The Belgian artist, Gwendoline Robin.

Why bring your work to Edinburgh?We have been bringing work to Edinburgh since 1988 when we performed at the Gateway Centre which was a building owned/managed by Jimmy Boyle. We have come approximately 13 times to the Fringe during this time. We come to connect to the world and the theatre community more generally.

What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production? 

The audience see and stand upon a lot of coal. There will be fire and power tools. It will be cold, loud and occasionally funny. They will hear fragments of stories from four characters – Betty Rae Watkins, Joseph Herman, Dai Alexander and David Martin. 

Some of these stories will be in English, some in Welsh and some in Spanish. I hope that the audience will be intrigued to think about what they are seeing and ask what kind of theatre is this? And what kind of story is this Welsh company telling ? 

 I hope that they think about how a country’s past is contested and that our memories of how we live and what was done (by whom and to whom) are the very stuff of what it is to be human. Finally I hope they think “God that was good. I’d like to have been part of that!”

Dramaturgy
As far the relevance of this goes: it depends what we mean by it. If it means thinking, critical or humanistic or just of the occasional sort then clearly we can all subscribe to it. 

If it means structuring a piece of work so that the narrative or purposes of the authors are more clear I guess we can subscribe to this too. Of course dramaturgy is often in place to protect a script from the director. 

We don’t really need this in the UK as the playwright is in a relatively powerful position. Power is relative and so too perhaps is the thinking of the dramaturg.

Influences and Traditions
Volcano were heavily bound up with physical interpretations of texts. Artaud for beginners, politics too. Particularly connected to the work of Nigel Charnock who directed a number of our early classic black box shows. 

Punk and politics. We have also performed a number of shows in spaces outside of theatres. Especially as we have a building ourselves. 

We don’t really see ourselves as vectors or carriers of any particular tradition or way of making theatre. Dissenters, outsiders, marginal proponents of lumber!

Process

Most processes stick with the particularity of the text or theme(s) that one is seeking to articulate. Having said that of late – risk is at the centre of the process. 

How can we as actors demonstrate that this counts – that this is live and happening now. It is good to do what you cannot do. The other part of the process that is important is to surprise the audience and yourself. 

Finally keep some things secret – why you do this or refer to that; some things are best not said- we can at best hint at them, even to ourselves they might remain unknown.

Audience

Without the audience we are just talking to ourselves. Art and theatre articulate an increasingly private, arcane language. This does in fact happen. 

The converse is also true, art and theatre can just burble on not saying very much distinctive or challenging at all. To prevent these twin threats from really taking hold, we need the audience. The audience confers meaning upon a theatre piece. Without an audience we are depressed and dying.

Is Dramaturgy the bastard cousin of Jurgen Habermas ? Is it, in other words, a part of the project of rationality and knowledge that Habermas and co have been so painstakingly documenting or is dramaturgy better understood as a set of discrete, ill-formed, accidental, almost poetic codes?

I know where I stand, do you?