First Hippo on the Dramaturgy: Oliver Lansley @ Edfringe 2017

First Hippo on the Moon

2 – 20 August

Pleasance Beyond

12pm

From Number One bestselling Children’s author David Walliams comes an explosively funny space adventure for children of 3 and up. Two big hippos. One ENORMOUS dream. Who can make it to the moon first? 3 ...2 ...1 ...BLAST OFF! 

(Q&A with Les Petits’ Artistic Director, Oliver Lansley)

What was the inspiration for this performance?

David Williams fantastic and anarchic picture book of the same name. It seemed perfect for us. These great animal characters, a space race, and a whole lot of poo jokes.

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

I think it's an essential space for that. To me most art is about trying to answer a question you don't know the answer to. I think with what's going on in our world at the moment there is an increasing responsibility for performance to raise these questions and be a provocateur.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

For this show there's a lot of people we worked with before Finn one of our directors was the puppetry director on our show Alice's adventures underground so seemed perfect for this puppetry packed show.

The performers have been in various other of our shows from the marvellous imaginary menagerie, the fantastical flying exploratory laboratory and our immersive Sherlock show, Games Afoot.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I've been interested since childhood. I loved performing but even as a kid I was making up stories and experimenting with ways of telling them. I would do shows for the people on our road in my front garden and make my mum serve them chips through the kitchen window.

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

The challenge is trying to capture the essence of such a bright, anarchic picture book but also to fill that story out into an hour long piece of theatre that is going to keep kids hooked. Whenever your working with puppets there's alway a lot of play to get a sense of what that puppets movements and personality is. That dictates the ways the character works a lot.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

With our children's shows certainly, but I think there's a definite thread of irreverence which runs through all our work. And a certain rich, visual style.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

Fun, for me that's what's most important. That the kids have a great time, laugh and want to go back to the theatre again.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

You have to listen to an audience and be prepared to keep changing and growing the show. For us a show isn't finished once it's open, it's an ever evolving process.

David Walliams has taken the literary world by storm and his brilliantly funny stories are adored by children all over the world!  He has achieved unprecedented critical acclaim and quickly developed a reputation as a natural successor to Roald Dahl. His books have been translated into over 45 languages and sold over 9.5 million copies in the UK alone.

Adapted for the stage by acclaimed award winning Theatre company Les Petits and hot off the heels of their hugely successful Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs tour and immersive hit Adventures in Wonderland, comes a fantastical adventure featuring puppetry, music, mayhem and a giant space race to the moon! Based on David Walliams’ original children’s book with illustrations by Tony Ross, The First Hippoon the Moon is an explosively funny space adventure which sees the enormously rich Hercules Waldorf-Franklin III and ingenious Shelia compete to be the first hippo to make it to the moon.

The creative team have worked on such hit shows such as Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, The Nationals’ Elephantom, War Horse and Raymond Briggs’ The Bear. Les Petits was set up as the sister company to 'razor sharp theatre group' (The Telegraph) Les Enfants Terribles whose work includes The Trench, The Vaudevillains and Alice’s Adventures Underground. 

Dramaturgy and Friends: Caroline Bowditch @ Edfringe 2017

Caroline Bowditch & Company presents

Snigel & Friends

4 – 27 Aug

Dance Base (Venue 22) 14–16 Grassmarket

The inquisitive snail is going on an adventure. Join Snigel and friends as they dance and play, in the undergrowth uncovering secret treasures. Acclaimed dancer and choreographer Caroline Bowditch presents her first work for children, Snigel and Friends.

A collaboration with Designer Laura Hook, Snigel and Friends invites children aged 0-1 and their adults into Snigel the snail’s cosy home underneath the leafy canopy; a colourful and sensory world where Snigel’s insect friends come to visit.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

For the last few years I have become aware of the demand for interesting work for young audiences. I also realised that very little, if any, work being made for young audiences includes visibly disabled performers. I have made this piece to start to address this issue.

I had had an idea about transforming myself into a massive snail and my motorised wheelchair being covered in a snail shell that could move through crowds at festivals and events. The idea of being a snail had emerged from the fact that in my chair I glide, I don’t have a footfall so it seemed like a natural connection.

I proposed this idea to my Co-collaborator and designer, Laura Hook, and she was up for the challenge. We went on join up with musician Zac Scott to create ‘The Adventures of Snigel’ which was recently previewed at the opening weekend of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival.

Recognising that a more static piece was also needed, I started to ask children in my life what they thought snails did inside their shells. This was the original title for ‘Snigel and Friends’.

Snigel and Friends is a piece for under 1 year olds and invites audience members to join us in a magical undergrowth were we play, sing songs and do dances. It’s colourful and interactive show that has been well received by the audiences that experienced it’s premiere at Tramway’s recent Family Day.

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

I think it’s a brilliant platform to begin to have potentially difficult or uncomfortable conversations. To inform, to raise and brooch issues. I think, as an artist, I’m always amazed at the emotional impact performance can have on audience members, even ones that weren’t intended.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I think I’ve always been a bit of a show-off. But actually living with a very visible disability, as a wheelchair user, I’ve always been looked/stared at. I think often performing is a way for disabled people to be in control of what people see.

Performance is also an incredible platform to get a message across to an audience and, potentially change perceptions and thinking.

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

We played a lot!!

We did a lot of playing with the type of toys that under 2’s play with. We watched lots of nature videos of the creatures in the show to really watch how they move and then applied this learning to our movement.

We shared the songs that we remembered from our childhood and then made our own songs.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

This is the first time that I have ever made work specifically for a young audience so a lot of it was really new.

I’ve work with several new collaborators on this project, including Laura Hook who created a beautiful design for the show, and several artists that I’ve worked with before, like Welly O’Brien who also performed in Falling in Love with Frida.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

A welcoming and cozy space where beautiful and magical things happen.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

One of the most important elements of our making process was the input from the members of our ‘baby board’ – a group of parents and babies from our target audience. The ‘Baby Board’ came into rehearsals weekly which provided us with the opportunity to share with them what we’d been working on and watch how their wee ones responded.

It was the baby board who were instrumental in helping us determine the age group for the piece.

Using dance, song and live music by Zac Scott, and featuring dancers Welly O’Brien, Alex McCabe and Caroline, Snigel has adventures with the help of their insect friends, whilst playing games and uncovering secret treasures. This will be the third year that Caroline has presented work at Dance Base for the Fringe following the award-winning Falling in Love with Frida in 2014 and 2015.

It will also be Caroline’s second year in the prestigious Made in Scotland Showcase, a curated programme promoting high quality dance, theatre and music produced in Scotland. Snigel and Friends and the accompanying promenade work for under 5’s, The Adventures of Snigel which will tour in Summer / Autumn 2017, will be Caroline’s final work made in the UK as she prepares for her own adventure back to her native Australia where she will be based from the end of this year.

“Scotland has been such a rich and nurturing environment for me to develop and grow as an artist. I’m proud of the work that I have created here and will continue to promote Scotland as one of the best places to be an artist, wherever I am in the world. Although my base will shift back to Australia in December many connections will remain here.”

Purposefully making these new works to increase awareness of different bodytypes to young children, Snigel and Friends is a rare example of work for children made and performed by a mixture of disabled and non-disabled artists. www.carolinebowditch.com

Created by Caroline Bowditch and Laura Hook

Choreography by Caroline Bowditch in collaboration with the dancers

Designer: Laura HookCostume Design: Jenny Lööf

Original Music and live musician: Zac Scott

Stage Manager: Freya Gosnold

The cast includes: Caroline Bowditch, Welly O’Brien, Alex McCabe with musician Zac Scott. Please note that castings may vary throughout the Fringe run.

Snigel and Friends is part of the Made in Scotland Showcase 2017.

About Dance Base:

Dance Base is Scotland’s National Centre for Dance, situated in Edinburgh, and encourages and celebrates the potential for dance in everyone. Providing classes and workshops for the community, masterclasses and residencies for professional dancers, and an extensive programme of outreach work, Dance Base reaches out to inspire wellbeing and creativity, and cultivates a future for dance in local, national and international communities. Dance Base is a Regularly Funded Organisation (RFO).

Dance Base’s festival programme is curated by Artistic Director, Morag Deyes, MBE.

Dance Base’s Festival 2017 programme has 21 shows from 12 countries including Scotland, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Argentina, Canada, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Palestine, South Korea and Taiwan.

During the Festival, Dance Base supports performers and visiting companies in Edinburgh with a special programme of classes and workshops.

It offers a high-class venue for professionals to rehearse, a space for their practice and low-cost studio hire.

Throughout the year, the £7m dance facility is visited over 50,000 times, for 130+ different classes and workshops. Alongside this, Dance Base’s professional programme exists to support and nurture professional dancers and their work at all levels through classes, workshops, and a programme of residencies.

Dance Base was recently accepted as a member of the European Dancehouse Network (EDN). With its acceptance as a full member of EDN, Dance Base is making history for dance in Scotland as it is the first Scottish dance house to be accepted to the network; opening opportunities for Scottish dance artists.

Oskar's Amazing Dramaturgy: Colin Granger @ Edfringe 2017

Oskar’s Amazing Adventure

Gilded Balloon (Dining Room), 13 Bristo Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9AJ Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 27th August 2017 (not 9th, 16th, 23rd), 11:50

Fun-loving Oskar has to run down a mountain to find a friendly animal to play with. But where are the animals? And why does he have to wait till spring to play his favourite game again?

The UK premiere of this heart-warming, humorous play uses a rich mix of storytelling, physical theatre, puppetry and song to tell the tale of a puppy’s search for friendship.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

Spending a lot of time walking in mountain forests in winter. The silence, just the occasional sound of snow tumbling down from overladen branches. Seeing tracks  but no animals. Where are they all hiding?

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

Yes, in the case of the plays I've written which are for 2 to 7 year olds there's even discussion during the performances  itself, which – through it does need to be controlled  – is wonderful. They have such good ideas and interesting solutions.

How did you become interested in making performance?

As a teenager I was a compulsive reader of plays. At the time, all bookshops had a paperback play section and plays were as easy to buy as fiction. At the time I didn't get the chance to see any theatre so all those plays I read were staged in my mind. I longed to direct a play and finally got my chance as a student when put on Sean O'Casey's Bedtime Story.  

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

Yes, with theatre for young children something new must happen every two or three minutes as you need to capture the audience's attention from the start and keep it throughout the show, If you lose them, they are lost for the rest of the show. 

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

Creating children's theatre is a new game for me -  Oskar's Amazing Adventure is only the second play I've written and directed for young audiences. All my other theatre work has been for adult audiences – and plays tending to be dark, surreal and absurd.  

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

What I really like about doing children's theatre

for 2 - 7 year olds is that is so may people in the   haven't been to the theatre before. For the children It's often their first play because they are so young. And for lots of the parents too -  they are  there - not because they like theatre but because they have children and want to give them a treat. It's an amazing experience and responsibility as you are giving them their first theatre experience!   For the adults the pleasure is watching their children enjoy and be able to concentrate of something for 30/40 minutes and if they are getting involved in the play as well.  For the children the pleasure is of understanding something and being able to following a good story; take part in the action, laugh, feel concerned for the fate of the characters …

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

Not use puppets. For the age group I am writing I believe you need actors to be the focus of attention not puppets. – the children are just not engaged enough if the story is told through puppets  no matter how skilfully the puppeteers are.   

Don't tell everything, leave things for the children to fill in with their imaginations.  Make sure they don't get scared - children often start crying when the lights first go out - it's easy to avoid this happening. Give the children a chance to meet the performers and the animal characters  after the show.  Give them opportunities to join in.

Oskar, the fun-loving Swiss puppy, lives with Grandma and her animals in the little house on top of the mountain. They have been snowbound for weeks and Oskar, desperate for a game, goes out alone in the snow to find a friendly animal to play with.

But the animals he meets are more interested in eating Oskar than playing with him and he only manages to avoid the attention of a hungry fox when he falls down a deep hole in the ground and lands on top of a young hibernating marmot.

Marmot forgives Oskar for waking her up and, using her amazing digging and whistling skills, helps the little dog escape the fox and reunites him with his family. Oskar wants to play more, but has to wait for Marmot to finish her long winter’s sleep.

Many plays for young audiences are adaptations of well-known children’s books, but Oskar’s Amazing Adventure is different; the original picture book and play have been created side by side in one creative process. The text, illustrations and storyline of the book evolved as the play developed in rehearsal creating a story full of action and excitement.

This original, heartwarming and entertaining play for young children and their families is presented by Anglo-Swiss theatre company Theatre Fideri Fidera in association with Komedia Kids. Author, Colin Granger will be signing books after each performance – this is also an opportunity for children to meet Oskar the playful puppy and his newfound friend, Marmot.

Mermalade Dramaturgy: Laura Stevens @ Edfringe 2016

Manhattan Children’s Theatre presents

Mermalade

World premiere

Based on the children’s book by Clare Cockburn-Martin

Illustrated by Anna Welsh

Directed and adapted for the stage by Laura Stevens

A Little Mermaid she is not.

A fast paced, interactive comedy. A universal quest. A play for all ages.

  

Left with a cryptic note, a pearl, and three annoying oysters for company, MERMALADE is determined to make sense of it all. She’s brave enough to approach the biggest forces in the universe. She’s strong enough to confront those that get in her way. But is she wise enough to find her answer?  

Add three life size Oysters as narrators, cameos from the Moon, Sun, Stars, Thor (God of Thunder), a beach setting, a splattering of pop music and one strong-willed 11-year-old girl that never quits and what do you get?

Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath) 

3-29 August at 11.15am 

60 minutes

Suitable for children 3+

What was the inspiration for this performance?

I was inspired to write a play for young audiences after reading a children’s book called Mermalade.

MY BRIEF BACKGROUND

I had recently moved with my family to Edinburgh from NYC, where I co-founded Manhattan Children’s Theatre, a non-profit organization with a mission of providing affordable, high quality theatrical entertainment to children and families of the community.

For almost a decade, we served over 250,000 audience members with productions for young audiences based upon both classical and contemporary literature.

I had the extraordinary privilege of building a company, watching it grow, creating relationships with schools, teachers, families and community organizations, developing new work, working with hundreds of talented artists as well as directing many of the productions.

Needless to say it was a huge loss for me having to leave it. 

My heart had no choice but to carry on with MCT’s mission here in Edinburgh.

I produced and directed one of our shows, THE LAST OF THE DRAGONS in 2015 at the Fringe – Pleasance Courtyard - using all local talent and received solid critical acclaim. 

PERFORMANCE INSPIRATION CONTINUED

After reading the book, I found myself drawn to and relating with the heroine, Mermalade:  A girl looking for an answer and asking the biggest entities in the universe for help.

She was brave enough to ask WHY to anyone she thought could help her.  She had a difficult journey.  She didn’t give up.

I needed answers in my life too. I was close to giving up.

WHY DID I HAVE TO LEAVE SOMETHING I LOVED AND CREATED?

WHY IS THE WORLD THE WAY IT IS?

WHY DOES THE FINANCE INDUSTRY MAKE MORE THAN THE THEATRE INDUSTRY? (Ha. Ha.)

I knew I had to figure out a way to continue directing and producing live theatre in this new country.  I never thought I’d write a script, that is, until I met Mermalade.

I read the book to my 11year-old son, then found myself asking him to re-enact a scene between Mermalade and one of the other characters, Thor, the GOD of thunder.

I had him hold his nerf gun while standing on his bed, then I told him to shoot at me when I signalled to him as I was reading.

THOR: (shoots nerf bullet)

MERM: OWWWW!

THOR: (shoots nerf bullet)

MERM: OWWWW!  Stop that!

THOR: (shoots a few nerf bullets)

MERM: OW. OW. OW. OW. OWWWWWW!  What’s your problem?

THOR: What’s my problem?  What’s YOUR problem?

In those few moments, an idea for a script found me. 

Note: I am not using nerf guns in the performance!

MERMELADE, the play, is a fast paced, interactive comedy suitable for all ages.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

The “google” strategy. 

Moving to a new country, I had to start from the beginning. 

IN NYC, with Manhattan Children’s Theatre, I went through the challenges of building and managing the organization from both an artistic and fiscal standpoint, after a few years I had a solid network of support and strong relationships throughout the community.

Here in Edinburgh, it’s taken a while, but I believe I have the beginnings of a solid network of industry professionals.

I was fortunate enough to find Infinity Artists in 2015.  The owner, Susie Dumbreck was extraordinarily helpful with identifying and casting The Last of the Dragons, as well as mentoring me throughout the process.

Since then, I have been fortunate enough to identify and connect with brilliant, local talent.

How did you become interested in making performance?

When I realized I couldn’t act!

While I spent many of my younger years taking part in community youth/amateur theatre productions, I always thought of it as a hobby, not a career.

I went to university, graduating with a B.A in journalism.  My first job was in a tiny town called Jacksonville, Illinois where I wrote for the local paper.  I was “promoted” to a larger paper in Cleveland, Ohio.

I was making $22,000 a year.

While in Cleveland, I was approached to be a spokesperson for Toyota commercials. I auditioned, got the job.

It paid $600 an hour. 

I moved to NYC to become FAMOUS then quickly found out I COULD NOT ACT.  However, I did get the opportunity to direct a few shows.  I found out I COULD DIRECT and I loved it.  This led to being a co- founder of 2 Theatre Companies. (Vital Theatre & Manhattan Children’s Theatre)

My passion for producing and directing live theatre exists to this day. 

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

NO.

I no longer had a network or the relationships created with MCT in NYC. At 46 years old, in a new country, I found myself feeling like I was walking into the first day of primary school. SCARY AS SHIT!

WHERE DO THE ACTORS COME FROM?

What are my TARGET MARKETS?

Who are the KEY JOURNALISTS?

What are the OTHER THEATRES DOING GREAT WORK for young audiences?
What are the overall COSTS of producing theatre here without a company?  

How do I identify funding and sponsors?

Will people here care about my art?

I’m still trying to answer most of the questions listed above, but I figured enough out to put together an extraordinary artistic team. 

I’ve spent many moments HATING having to re-create my “typical process” of making a performance.  I continually have to remind myself that LIFE is like LIVE THEATRE – nothing is ever exactly the same from one performance/day to the next.  I’ll work it out.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

(MERMALADE is a 50 minute show)

50 minutes of intrigue, wonder and the need to know what happens next.

25-30 minutes of laughter

15-20 minutes agreeing or disagreeing with one or more of the characters within the story

A lifetime of feeling that they are not alone in this world and to have the urge to always ask WHY?

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

I was fortunate enough to work and produce with The Pleasance for my 2015 production of THE LAST OF THE DRAGONS.  This opportunity has been crucial to my marketing, publicity, operational efforts and STRATEGY for my production of MERMALADE this year. 

Through this network, I was introduced to The Corner Shop, Out of Hand Marketing, as well as various other TYA groups.

All of these elements assisted me with creating a strategy for the AUDIENCE EXPERIENCE:

KNOWLEDGE OF THE VENUE – both the theatre and the outdoor space

KNOWLEDGE DIRECT MARKETING POTENTIAL – where do I put my money? (promotional give-aways? Ground team force?)

KNOWLEDGE OF PRODUCTION ABILITIES AND LIMITIATIONS – how will the performers & design elements work best in the space to engage the audience?

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

I’d characterize my work for young audiences on the stage – both as a director and as a writer - as a “SITCOM for the STAGE.”

I am quite certain this characterization cannot be considered a TRADITION, rather a stereotype of American TV:

Quick and consistent comedic dialogue with immediate audience response response (aka laugh track).

While somewhat similar, my work is not “PANTO”. 

The characters within the tale are real.  They each have a reason of being, with recognizable faults and redeemable qualities, discovered and challenged while telling the story.  The comedy exists strictly through the dialogue vs. the comedy of “stock” characters.

A subtle and challenging difference.

I love this challenge, just as I loved and still love US sitcoms. 

I’m not embarrassed to admit that I completely connected with one or more of the “FRIENDS” as they went through life.  I still find myself tearing up at the end of a “Modern Family”.  These characters struck a chord with me.  Somehow they made me feel I wasn’t alone.  I wasn’t the only one feeling what I was feeling. Through it all though, I laughed.  Often. I felt lighter and happier after watching them.

I TRULY HOPE THE PERFORMANCE OF MERMALDE makes the audience feel the same.

Unlike traditional fairy tales, MERMALADE’s story holds no moral decree. In the Socratic Spirit, the show offers more questions than answers with WHY? being at the top of the list. 

Why does everyone tell me what to do and feel? 

Why is a pearl so special?

Why do I have to keep asking “WHY?”

  

Laura Stevens, who recently moved to Edinburgh from her native New York, co-founded Manhattan Children’s Theatre in 2002 and directed over 30 plays since, including theatrical productions for very young audiences (Little Tales, based on folk tales from around the world). Between 2002 and 2011, MCT welcomed over 250,000 audience members through its doors. Laura’s production of The Last of the Dragons debuted at Fringe in 2015 to rave reviews and toured to Biggar in Scotland and Warsaw in Poland to sold-out audiences.   

Now Scotland-based, the mission of Manhattan Children’s Theatre is one of providing affordable, high quality theatre entertainment to audiences in Scotland, children in particular.