Exactly like Dramaturgy: Lotte @ Edfringe 2016

Joe Brown and Matt Whayman present 

Exactly Like You

August 4th-28th

15:10 (1 hr)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61)

Spoken word artist and actress Lotte Rice presents her debut one-woman show Exactly Like You, combining her gifts as a performer and a poet to present a modern story drawing on the electrifying songs of Nina Simone, directed by Fringe First Award winner Kirsty Patrick Ward (CHEF, by Sabrina Mahfouz).

A girl wakes to find a strange man in her bed and spends the day piecing together what happened the night before. Lost in a lonely city, she summons one of the twentieth century’s most inspiring figures, Nina Simone. This brand new show from Lotte Rice is driven by poetry and bubbling with wit.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

Good question! There are quite a few actually. Needless to say Nina Simone was a huge influence- I have always listened to her music but got particularly absorbed by her work just before I had the idea for this piece. I wrote a short play first- a spoken word performance piece really – which is what this play is based on. But also, I came to Edinburgh in 2014 and saw so many amazing female performers. Lady Rizo was one. The most fabulous woman with the most sensational voice just DOING HER THING. Also, Jessie Cave, an incredibly honest, observant and hilarious comedian commenting so brutally on the anxieties and neurosis that so many women share. Basically, lots of women doing their thing.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

Beautiful serendipity really, and with help. My producers have been incredible at getting me into gear for making decisions, and my director has a fantastic network of brilliant creatives who she has admired or worked with before – lighting, sound and set designers.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I trained as an actor at RADA, which involved largely script based acting. Which I love! But I’d always secretly written poetry and short stories, and harboured dreams of singing and a few years ago I started tentatively putting some of my own work out. It was partly due to wanting to challenge myself. As an actor you never know how long the periods of thumb twiddling between jobs are going to last, so it became a sort of side hobby. But then when it was suggested I write a play, I thought the challenge would be a really great way of developing new skills and learning new things.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

No. As I said, I am used to working collaboratively, bouncing off of other peoples ideas. This has been a very novel experience for me, a lot of time alone with my ideas, but luckily I have some fantastic producers who have been supporting me from the start, so it hasn’t been lonely!

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope that they are uplifted and inspired. I hope that they are entertained. I hope that they are encouraged to take the time to listen to the music that they love more often!

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

I’m not sure I completely understand the question, but I will answer as best as I can! I was keen to create an intimate cabaret experience blending theatre, singing and spoken word for an audience who like to be taken on a journey and entertained. 

I am working closely with a sound engineer, who is doing some fantastic work with sampling bits of music and creating effects to help the audience understand time passing and the internal life of the character.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
I suppose storytelling and spoken word.

Lotte Rice graduated from RADA in 2011. She has since been taking the spoken word circuit by storm, regularly performing at scratch nights across London.

Exactly like Dramaturgy: Lotte @ Edfringe 2016

Joe Brown and Matt Whayman present 

Exactly Like You

August 4th-28th

15:10 (1 hr)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61)

Spoken word artist and actress Lotte Rice presents her debut one-woman show Exactly Like You, combining her gifts as a performer and a poet to present a modern story drawing on the electrifying songs of Nina Simone, directed by Fringe First Award winner Kirsty Patrick Ward (CHEF, by Sabrina Mahfouz).

A girl wakes to find a strange man in her bed and spends the day piecing together what happened the night before. Lost in a lonely city, she summons one of the twentieth century’s most inspiring figures, Nina Simone. This brand new show from Lotte Rice is driven by poetry and bubbling with wit.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

Good question! There are quite a few actually. Needless to say Nina Simone was a huge influence- I have always listened to her music but got particularly absorbed by her work just before I had the idea for this piece. I wrote a short play first- a spoken word performance piece really – which is what this play is based on. But also, I came to Edinburgh in 2014 and saw so many amazing female performers. Lady Rizo was one. The most fabulous woman with the most sensational voice just DOING HER THING. Also, Jessie Cave, an incredibly honest, observant and hilarious comedian commenting so brutally on the anxieties and neurosis that so many women share. Basically, lots of women doing their thing.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

Beautiful serendipity really, and with help. My producers have been incredible at getting me into gear for making decisions, and my director has a fantastic network of brilliant creatives who she has admired or worked with before – lighting, sound and set designers.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I trained as an actor at RADA, which involved largely script based acting. Which I love! But I’d always secretly written poetry and short stories, and harboured dreams of singing and a few years ago I started tentatively putting some of my own work out. It was partly due to wanting to challenge myself. As an actor you never know how long the periods of thumb twiddling between jobs are going to last, so it became a sort of side hobby. But then when it was suggested I write a play, I thought the challenge would be a really great way of developing new skills and learning new things.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

No. As I said, I am used to working collaboratively, bouncing off of other peoples ideas. This has been a very novel experience for me, a lot of time alone with my ideas, but luckily I have some fantastic producers who have been supporting me from the start, so it hasn’t been lonely!

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope that they are uplifted and inspired. I hope that they are entertained. I hope that they are encouraged to take the time to listen to the music that they love more often!

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

I’m not sure I completely understand the question, but I will answer as best as I can! I was keen to create an intimate cabaret experience blending theatre, singing and spoken word for an audience who like to be taken on a journey and entertained. 

I am working closely with a sound engineer, who is doing some fantastic work with sampling bits of music and creating effects to help the audience understand time passing and the internal life of the character.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
I suppose storytelling and spoken word.

Lotte Rice graduated from RADA in 2011. She has since been taking the spoken word circuit by storm, regularly performing at scratch nights across London.

Black is the Colour of My Dramaturgy: Apphia Campbell @ Brunton

Seabright Productions: Black Is The Color Of My Voice

Inspired by the life of Nina Simone, Black Is The Color Of My Voice, follows a successful jazz singer and civil rights activist seeking redemption after the untimely death of her father.

She reflects on the journey that took her from a young piano prodigy destined for a life in the service of the church to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.

Direct from sell out performances in Shanghai, New York and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Apphia Campbell visits Musselburgh as part of her debut UK tour.

Some strong language and adult themes.

How do you approach 'being' Nina: she is a much loved singer with a complex personality, and does this make it hard to capture her qualities?I approached Nina(Mena as she called in my play), as just a woman. It was really important for me to capture the essence of who she was rather than her stage personality. This is one of the reasons why I changed the name of the character, so instead of the audience focusing on “Nina Simone” the artist. I wanted them to focus on the woman behind the music. I also chose to the change the name because I wanted the music to add mood and texture to the text, and of course, I sing the music. But it’s used as more of a medium to take the story forward or convey a mood just as Nina Simone used it.

What attracted you to her work in the first instance?Nina Simone’s voice is what attracted to me to her. What else could it be? She has one of the most interestingly haunting voices that I’ve ever encountered, and this made me want to know more about the woman behind that voice. When I heard her sing, I was hooked and when I watched her perform I was even more intrigued. I had to know more. I remember watching a clip of her performing “My Baby just cares for me”, and her face looked as if she were a million miles away from that performance. I kept saying, “What is she thinking about? Where is she?” These kind of questions kept causing me to dig deeper.

Do you feel any responsibility to her in a way that you would not feel for a 'fictional character', and how does this express itself in the performance?
I feel a great deal of responsibility towards her because it’s her life. These are elements that I’ve taken from her life, and yes, I’ve changed a few things and interpreted them in a way that I feel she would react to a situation, but in the end it’s Nina Simone’s life. So, I feel like I want to people to walk away with as much respect and love that I’ve developed for her and the only way to do that is to be as human on stage as she would have been in this room alone. Nina Simone was real. 

No acting. No hiding.That’s how I approach my performance. I don’t force any emotion I try to just stay in the moment as she would. It also helps me saying, “Nina Simone didn’t worry about the audience, so neither should I”.


What aspects of Nina do you hope that the audience will take away from the production?
I hope that the audience gains more appreciation for her musical gift, but most importantly, I hope they walk away with an understanding of a complex woman. I’ve been really happy to hear that most audience members have told me that they feel inspired. Feeling inspired by her music is how this whole play started, so with audiences walking away feeling that way I feel that through my gifts, I’m helping Nina Simone’s work continue to impact the world.