Dramaturgy and Me: Richard Shelton @ Edfringe 2016

RICHARD SHELTON PERFORMING 

SINATRA AND ME

Frankensteins Pub 5th-14th August

What was the inspiration for this performance?
I have a life long connection - what some may call a spiritual connection to Frank Sinatra, which can’t be ignored or avoided. The synchronicity between us keeps coming and coming - and coming. For example, Frank Sinatra’s tuxedo literally walked into my life and only last week, I was in a very intimate setting watching AJ Lambert (Sinatra’s grand daughter) sing and sitting opposite me were Nancy Sinatra Sr. aged 99 and Nancy Sinatra Jr. who’s birthday it was. All by co-incidence.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
I know Mike Leigh who runs the venue from my last show at the Fringe in 2011 called iCroon. Earlier this year, I spent a day thinking how I’d like to return to the Fringe and the very next day he called me, asking if I’d be interested in his venue. Sarah and I meet through Sally from Hob Publicity - and the rest is all me!

How did you become interested in making performance?
It’s in my blood. It chose me, not the other way around.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?
This show is a departure from my usual performance because it’s about what links Frank Sinatra and me together in real life, as opposed to interpreting or ‘acting’ him in a drama. The music is has been selected to present the him at his best singing wise but it’s acting Frank Sinatra which really interests me - capturing the complexities of his character and many varied moods which inform the music. That’s all in this show.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
Surprise, delight, seeing what makes a show business icon tick and enjoying the timeless music which is selected with a purpose.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
Only telling the truth - telling it as it is and keeping it all very simple.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
I work across the spectrum - movies, jazz, recording and cabaret. As an actor I've portrayed villains, murderers, charming aristocrats and Frank Sinatra. As a singer, I’ve performed for Royalty, with the BBC and in great halls and Ronnie Scotts. You might say my tradition is the very old fashioned, working across all genres of show business, not being restricted in one arena - much like Frank Sinatra!

Shelton who hails from Wolverhampton started his acting career off in the UK and became quite a household name with a long running role in the soap Emmerdale as the evil Doctor Adam Forsyth and numerous other TV and film appearances. 

However it his fascination with Frank Sinatra, which started as a young boy lead him on an extraordinary journey of coincidences and synchronicities with the late legend. Shelton could be described as the living embodiment of Frank Sinatra, with his uncanny resemblance and voice which has taken him to London’s West End stage with an award winning performance as Sinatra in ‘Rat Pack Confidential’ and invitations to perform privately Prince Charles and Elton John. He is now LA based and takes his new show to Edinburgh where he will sing some of Sinatra’s best loved songs as he reveals to audiences tales of how he came to own Sinatra own tuxedo (verified by Roger Moore) which fits him perfectly as he and Sinatra share the same body measurements and have the same size hands and feet as he discovered when they fitted into the moulds Sinatra made on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

He has a long and respected association with Sinatra estate and was afforded the opportunity to record his studio album ‘An English Man in New York’ at Capitol Studios with Franks Band and microphone. He was also one of the last people to visit Franks house in LA before it was demolished! There is an opportunity to see Shelton perform in London in July ahead of his Edinburgh run.

Doris Day Dramaturgy: Sarah Laing @ Edfringe 2015

Local singer to fulfil childhood dream by making Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut with The Music of Doris Day

A local singer and actress from Greenbank has spoken of the pride she feels after fulfilling her childhood dream of securing her first show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Sarah Laing, a former pupil of Bororughmuir High School, grew up attending the Fringe and can’t wait to bring some vintage charm to the festival with her one-woman show, The Music of Doris Day.  The show will be performed throughout August at the Free Sisters venue, which is run by the Laughing Horse Free Festival.

The Music of Doris Day will be performed in the Gothic Room at the Free Sisters, Cowgate from Thursday 6th- Sunday 30th August (excluding 17th and 18th) at 10.45am each day.  


The Fringe

What inspired this production: did you begin with an idea or a script or an object?
I started the show while in my final year of university last year.  It started off as a 40 minute show that I toured around a selection of care homes in Edinburgh and from there I developed it into a theatre show lasting an hour.  It probably sounds a little cheesy but my main inspiration was Doris Day.  I have always loved her music and films since I was little and it feels great to now be performing some of her most famous songs. 


Why bring your work to Edinburgh?
It’s my home town.  I’ve been going to see shows at the Fringe for many years and always thought it would be amazing to perform a show of my own at it and now I am.  I feel it is also such an amazing platform for people to see your work and you never know who might be in the audience.  So many different people come to see the Fringe and there is always such a variety of shows, I really wanted to be part of it all. 

What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?
The audience can expect to hear song made famous by Doris Day.  There are also stories in between each song about Doris and where the songs came in her career for example if it came from one of her films which one.  The show tracks her career from its beginnings singing with big bands, through to her film career and then finishing with her own television show.  

The show is suitable for the whole family and you don’t need to be a fan of Doris Day or familiar with her career to enjoy it.  Being a big fan of Doris Day myself I hope that audiences leave humming one of her songs and maybe even encourages them to listen to her music or watch one of her films they maybe haven’t seen for a long time.

The Dramaturgy Questions

How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of dramaturgy within your work?
To be honest during the creative process I did not consider the relevance of dramaturgy within my work.  The show is not a play and is more like a cabaret/concert therefore it does not sit in a particular place and time and can be relevant and enjoyable to a wide range of audiences.  Therefore I would say that it is not particularly relevant to this style of show however if it had more adult or topical content it may be more relevant.


What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work -  have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?
The main influence I would say would be that of a cabaret/variety show.  It was important to me that it was suitable for anyone to come and see and that they didn’t really need to bring any prior knowledge of the subject (Doris Day) to enjoy the show.  There are a couple of chances for the audience to sing along if they want to and I also ask a couple of questions to the audience so it makes it a more interactive experience that I feel is influences by the cabaret/variety show tradition.

Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?
There wasn’t a great deal of collaboration within the process.  I am the creator of the show and also the performer so currently I work a lot on my own but I always like to get feedback  and will seek out advice if I need a bit of help.  

At the moment  I am still very knew at developing a show so I wouldn’t say I have a particular process.  I changed the initial show several times while performing it in care homes and again after the first performances of it as a theatre show I changed things slightly to get it working better.  I suspect that after the first couple of shows at the Fringe there may be a couple of changes if I feel it could work/flow better.

What do you feel the role of the audience is, in terms of making the meaning of your work? 

I feel that the role of the audience is simply to enjoy the show.  This probably sounds simplistic but if they enjoy the show and leave with a smile on their faces I will feel like I have done my job as an entertainer and it will in some way validate my work.

The talented 26-year-old said: “I have been going to see shows during the Fringe for as long as I can remember and always dreamed of being the one up there performing. I love the buzz that is around Edinburgh during August and can’t wait to be right in the middle of it all.  The fact that I’m going to be performing hasn’t quite sunk in yet – I actually screamed when I got the email confirming my slot!”

Sarah, who studied Musical Theatre at university, has wanted to pursue a career in the industry since she got her first role as Dorothy in her Brownie’s production of The Wizard of Oz at Greenbank Parish Church, aged nine. She explained: “I am just as excited about stepping into Doris’s shoes as I was stepping into Dorothy’s ruby slippers when I was nine.  This is an absolute dream come true for me and I can’t hope that everyone who comes along enjoys my performance.”

The show, which has already enjoyed a successful run at the Big Burns Supper festival in Dumfries this year, features stories about Doris’s life and renditions of some of her most popular songs such as Que Sera Sera, Secret Love and Sentimental Journey.

Sarah explains: “I remember seeing Calamity Jane for the first time when I was nine and being blown away by Doris’s performance as she not only had a beautiful voice but was also really quirky and funny. I regularly perform in care homes in Edinburgh as I love engaging with the residents, many of whom have dementia, and using music to try and tap into their memories.”