Baz Publications
Baz Productions Blogs 2015-2020
I will share here the blogs I have written for Theatre Company Baz Productions from 2015-2020. There will be some think pieces, written in the voice I had cultivated for 'Baz' -who signs off every post - as well as some reviews and interviews. Working with baz on their exciting, non-conformist, inclusive and experimental work was the most life-changing and enhancing working relationship of my career. Enjoy a deep dive into making extraordinary theatre from the inside.
Long Live Baz. Jx
Being Open in Playmaking, 2020
January 03, 2020
Hey there Baz fans! We hope you had a great break! For Baz this January will be bright, and nothing like winter, as we really love making our own productions. Our fourth production, The Process Play, will be opening on the 11th January at the Bunker. And this will perhaps be our most exciting and rule-breaking yet.
As our manifesto says, we are always looking for new ways to tell stories and connect with audiences. It could be argued that The Process is the production that has thought about the audience the most. As a theatre company in previous productions, we’ve walked through our audiences in previous productions and caused some fun. And yet now, we feel as if we’re reaching out to everyone we can. 2019 was a great year for forward-thinking and growth in theatre. This will be true for us in 2020.
With The Process, we are producing a play that features both English and BSL, captioning and relaxed performances. We are using these new forms of theatre to tell new stories and reach out to audiences. However, the story we are telling is not so kind. If 2019 taught us anything, its that good doesn’t always win and that underneath, society is not so open. What good drama, or art, can do is warn us about what lies ahead if we let it. We are finding The Process is very relevant.
That’s a subject for another blog, but for now - here’s how we at Team Baz approach a project, and what’s been adapted/changed for this new Process play. To do this, our resident writer Jess spoke to The Process Play director and Baz Assistant Director, Sarah.
Jess: 'The Process' has gone through many versions. How does it feel to finally 'start' with a team you have personally picked on a project that's meant so much to you both personally and professionally? Does it feel any different to starting any other project?’
Sarah: Well, it’s been a long process! I feel we’ve lived with this story and characters for a long time. We first did that Research and Development week on the project in 2017, and that allowed us to test out the project to the audience we were aiming to reach. The experience was as fun as it was exciting. It’s amazing to see it coming to life in the room - we have a wonderful team who are bringing so much more to the project than I could ever have imagined. For me personally, I’ve usually lived with a BAZ project for a while. I’ve written this project - so even before we get into rehearsals I will know it very well. I love this creative process. It also means by the time we get to rehearsals I’m desperate to start!
Jess: 'The Process' has been a work in progress format, a sharing format and a final draft format - from the idea to now, how has it changed?
Sarah: It’s definitely developed a lot! We started with a few different favourite books and plays and found a story. We developed this in our Research and Development stage of the project in front of a sharing audience. That gave us a sense of what the tone would be of the project, and also how English and BSL would work together in this project. The story development came next - we settled on a story about one woman’s journey through a nightmarish system. It also acts as a kind of warning. It’s also been a strange few years in the real world, and that has been worked into the project. It’s been a real challenge. Our story is set a few years ahead of the world today, at a time when conservative and punishing laws and actions has become more normal in the UK. As the real world around us has changed, our play changed too. It became scarier and familiar. There have been times we imagined horrible things to put in our play that have happened in real life.
Jess: At this point in rehearsals, has your directing style changed because of the play? And if this is true, why?
Sarah: The piece has been difficult in many ways for the actors. It is funny at times and odd, but basically it’s very scary. It’s okay though as the actors are very kind to each other and themselves. They trust each other. It might have been hard to get English and BSL to work together as languages but as a team we have managed very well. I’ve never worked on a project that has two languages working together and that has been challenging and exciting. It has made the play better.
Through The Process Play we’ve been able to be bolder than ever before. We look forward to Processing with you on the 11th at The Bunker.
Until the next time,
Baz x
Written in Plain English
The House We Built - Artistic Optimism And You
October 04, 2019
Hello Baz-ites! Team Baz here, salutations! It’s been a fair while, but be assured we are busy bees with some exciting stuff in the offing, it’s all very exciting, eee...and all to be revealed soon. In the haze of activity here at Baz HQ, we just wanted to take a minute, just a few, to recognise, in the face of all this hostility that’s enveloping the country, how the arts are starting slowly, to resist division and lift each other up. The arts are a lot of things: underfunded, mainly, and whilst it has shown itself to be making moves in a positive direction we here at Baz implore the arts community to go further, be better and more unified than ever before.
We’d be pretty removed from reality if we weren’t aware of the deep political divisions threatening the unity of this country, and Baz is resolutely not one for internet mudslinging-but we aim to make our views clear through our use of the classics. We originally founded Baz to address the lack of classical roles for women, in order to be the change that we wanted to see. We started out in that way, yet through the years (10 of them, count them, happy birthday to us) we have seen the arts slowly evolving into a platform for all kinds of voices that before now had been ignored. We also realised that our take on the classics would be so much more powerful if told by a whole slew of talent that the arts, generally for centuries had ignored. We here at Baz saw that the status quo was in need of opposition - and we felt compelled to speak up about it. For too long classical stories were told only one way, and by the same kind of people and we wanted to disrupt that.
But hey, let’s be honest that’s all very well and good, but we all need bums on seats don’t we - and we all use Twitter and social media for promotion, as we should. However, out there, in the real world, there has never been so much inclusivity, with mother and baby matinees, actors with varying abilities enjoying more visibility than ever before - there has been much more noise in hard hitting pieces for The Stage about the disproportionate gender difference between the number of male to female playwrights. Generally there has been much softening of the arts towards women - and towards the BAME and LGBTQ artists too, with bursaries available at Talawa and The Soho designed to support these communities. Also in class structure: Working Class Artists on twitter is a hub of opportunity and encouragement for art’s general struggle with hierarchy.
This confusing online/offline disconnect in theatre goes against the grain. Traditionally art brings together, celebrates, discusses, supports. Our online community should reflect that. Art does, after all reflect society. Gone are the days in centuries past, where theatre is both a tool of the monarchy and of the state - Ampitheatres acted as news bulletins, the Globe allowed people to learn without reading, and the nobles, kings and queens in the castles used the players to try to guilt each other into admitting to murder...or are we getting our Shakespeare muddled? Either way, theatre and politics have been uncomfortable bedfellows over the years, and their pillowtalk has been plenty. We should indeed, hold any action a theatre or company takes that is reductive, negative or non-progressive to task and undoubtedly the best way to do so is online, but we should also lift each other up and support.
It’s small, and young but the positivity is starting to bloom.The arts community, apart from great lip service, also puts its money where its mouth is. We were so very saddened to hear that, the excellent Graeae Theatre company, who we much admire, suffered some structural damage to their offices in Hoxton. Our hearts went out to them, and frankly, it put a worrying precedent in our heads, especially as with the roar of political unrest becoming, despite our best efforts, a low-level hum that underpins most things. Despite the worry, once again the arts community took non combative action and donated money and their support so that Graeae can maintain the great work they do. A win for the enlightened and kind.
And it’s spreading, all this goodwill: we scroll ArtTwitter now and theatre companies and professionals are retweeting each other’s Kickstarters, foregoing traditional job postings by appealing directly to like-minded individuals, supporting each other’s works in progress, going emoji-crazy for their friend/artistic crush/colleague’s first night - and all this on the same app Trump uses. Change is happening. Big arts organisations too are picking up the mantel - just a few days ago Spotlight held an industry conference to welcome debate, discussion and to show what they are doing to make casting a more even playing field, the Royal Society of Literature funded a nation-wide survey so that writers could explain and ask for the things that would make their craft easier, and more fair. Across the board, discussions are being had, thoughts are being heard, and efforts are being made.
Impressive house we building, here. It has many bedrooms, welcomes all, and has a great sea view.
There’s a succinct difference between inaction and not engaging. In our opinion, the arts is learning to not engage in the mudslinging, the faux wringing of the hands or most importantly the sinking to their level. Quietly, but firmly, the arts, and theatre itself is doing it’s best to be more inclusive, more welcoming and push a Utopia that frankly, we’d all like and deserve to live in. Here at Baz, our mission statement from the start has been to commit to 50/50 gender casting, whilst maintaining our original aim of shaking up the classics in women’s favour. Over time, this mission statement has spread to encompass representation from a wider variety of communities that we see in our society, and for the same reason, that of marginalisation. For example, we’ve been honoured these last few years to make such wonderful friends and contacts that inspire us on our journey: from learning basic BSL ourselves, attending wonderful workshops that explain the necessity of Relaxed Performances and how they are needed, and also how they are implemented and just generally how to reflect the theatre we see and respect flourishing in these dark times.
Blimey. We’re all excited now - and beyond to show you all what we’re cooking up! Soon, Bazzers. Soon.
Until then, keep it up - truth, freedom and love. Put that on your t-shirt.
And because we love it so, here is the excellent Sophie Stone giving her Jacques from As You Like It: All The World's A Stage, But This One Right Here Is Sophie's
Much love, fight on! (in that cool way you do)
Baz x
Supersonic: A Morning At the Goldilocks Mixer
August 16, 2019
Hi there friends, Baz HQ here - apologies for the lack of Bloggage but we’ve been mighty busy with plans afoot that should come into place very soon. Watch this space, it’s all very exciting. *rubs hands together*. As ever, we at Baz are always in the pursuit of knowledge, and always keen to learn and experience where possible where accessible theatre could take us in the 21st Century: what it could look, feel and sound like.
That’s why we were thrilled to be invited to Felix Peckitt’s exciting, relevant and groundbreaking workshop. He titled it, very succinctly, the ‘Goldilocks Mixer’ - thankfully not a weird booze/fairytale mashup - but a mixer of the equalizer kind, like you’d have in a soundbooth. But let’s go back to the beginnings of this project, back in 2017 when the Globe hosted a ‘Remix the Globe’ event, as explained in a fab write-up on the Tourettes Hero Blog, a wonderful read we recommend you read post-haste.
The day was primarily aimed at young people with Tourettes and was a slice of what true Sonic Inclusivity could look and sound like with frank discussions on language around tics and Tourettes, a sonic map of the Globe, a succinct report on the sounds its unique shape promotes and muffles and a chat with the team at the Globe on how to be more inclusive. By all reports, a complete success.
Fast forward to August 2019, and Felix’s tour with his sonic workshop of sounds has been touring spaces and theatres alike, at the ‘I’m Here, Where Are You?’ disability festival and many more unique venues with a pledge to inclusivity. The Goldilock Mixer finally made its way back, after its maiden voyage to the scene of it’s beginnings and to the Sam Wanamaker. We were kindly invited to the workshop- something truly appreciated as the workshop is not for our needs - as adults without Tourettes ourselves it was very generous of Felix and the crew to allow us to be part of the conversation and take part.
What becomes apparent immediately, is that everyone, regardless of the industry in which they work should have a go on Felix’s see-saw, addictive exercise in the two and fro, the give and take of curating shared sound - not only between ourselves, but everyone else in the space: what made us all wince, what we took no notice of. It posed great questions regarding how used one can be to the culture of silence in an artistic space: the fact a gallery is a silent appraisal of silent works, the fact that the seconds before curtain up - whether it’s the Palladium, or the Royal Opera House, the audience, every time, fall eerily quiet. It seems that in our Westernised Culture silence = respect. For Felix, and the other participants that is clearly not their truth - and they are far from being disrespectful. The census to our shared sense of disappointment and anger from the discussions at the workshop was that many adults with Tourettes in the group refrained from visiting the theatre, worried of consequences.
That is an abhorrent truth, and worth getting impotently angry about on behalf of the Tourretes community - but Felix and the team that supported him to create this Mixer are intent instead on educating everyone on the experience of a true sonic map that is distinct to every venue. With this data Felix and his team can site evidence that backs up the fact it is the common opinion that needs to change, not the cultural habits of those with Tourettes, and offering to help in the solution. Through tech and samples of sounds, two people seek to find equilibrium in sonic harmony. First, on synched tablets, you both choose one location - these can range from a beach to a cafe - and then you are presented with a selection of sounds you can turn up or down with a swipe of your finger. Some of these sounds are background, like indistinct chatter, the sound of a coffee machine whirring into life, or the soft swell of the sea. Others are foreground, such as a baby crying, someone telling a story around a campfire, the train pulling into a station. It is up to your twosome to find a balance, something that is not too overbearing, and yet remains an honest depiction of how noisy life can be. The baby, Felix pointed out, often gets muted, but as a group, across the board, nobody chose to drown out the sound of someone’s tics.
Onstage at the Sam Wanamaker, with the sonic patterns bouncing off the columns and the shapes these curated soundtracks ensured the space felt more alive, more relevant and more real. The frank discussion held afterwards with the participants was at times humbling and sad, on behalf of such ostracism of the Tourettes community and at other times inspiring. There is something, always, about hearing the truths told by affected parties, and it's something everyone must hear.
What Felix manages with his talent for tech and his excellent hosting skills is something that is, on the surface, presented as a fun task - it soon became desirous to be one of the two ‘mixing’ - and the easy familiarity of tablets and swiping contribute to make it feel quite game-like - but you never lose the drift of the thing; and that is sound is its own animal - it will crash and whisper, attack and caress - and it is unstoppable. The sounds of tics should be accepted and normalised in our theatre spaces. The fact that we uphold silence in the pursuit of art is a practice that actively hurts accessibility and inclusion. It certainly gave us here at Baz a lot to think about in terms of inclusivity and what kind of atmosphere we’d like to promote in the spaces we put on work. The sway of attitudes today would dictate that theatre goers in particular may be ‘put off’ or even annoyed by the tics of a person with Tourettes. Well for every one of those people - attend the Goldilocks Mixer - you might find yourself across from a Tourettes Hero as you work together to make something not so quiet, not so staid, but something real, a true reflection of the sonic intricacies we are taught to block out, to reject even. Together, you’ll equalize until you find something just right.
Check out Felix’s Goldilocks Mixer website on what they do and how they do it here: https://weareunlimited.org.uk/commission/felix-peckitt-the-goldilocks-mixer/
Many thanks to
Felix Pickett
Tourettes Hero
Wil Renet
David Bellwood
Best,
Baz x
Tear Down This Wall - The Subtle Art of Carrying On
June 24, 2019
Bazlings! You must forgive us for this long absence. We did think of you often, looking out to sea like a heroine from a romance novel, but never fear for we are back, and once more with open arms. And apparently straight out of the 18th century. Um, we missed you ok? That’s the jist.
Shuffles awkwardly, scuffs shoe.
Ahem. So. Anyway, we hope this sunny(?) June is treating you well, we ourselves are still drying out from Henry V at the Globe, just one of the trilogy our own AD Sarah has directed, and it was so. Worth. It. And the rain. It can’t put a dampener on such a brilliant production so we implore you, go to all the Henrys posthaste.
But now, onto business. We have some very exciting things in the wings, as ever, but recently they have been ramping up excitingly. More news on that later. But for now, we want to reach out to you, dear and loyal creative, boss, lynchpin, key worker that you are. Regardless of what you do, our summer of content should be for you. And we’re talking Wellbeing. In an industry such as ours, there can be many traps, false floors and secret fire escapes that are actually not part of the set ready to make this already fairly unwieldy path a little more difficult. Sometimes you are your own obstruction, without meaning to be. With this series of blogs over the summer we hope to tackle this head on with tips and tricks, methods, good reading, and good listening. That’ll make sense in a moment, we promise.
This time, we’re on about the Wall of No. Anyone who does anything mildly freelance will know to what we refer in good time and will, hopefully gain something from this, but in particular we mean the creative industries where you have to stand alone: actress, director, producer, artist, dancer, writer...the list goes on. If you’re not represented, it can be a tough and lonely path as The Wall of No raises ever higher. So the Wall. We should explain. For an unrepresented ‘emerging’ writer for theatre for example, this is, say, a deadline for a national prize for writing. They go to LondonPlaywrights.Com and use the deadline planner, prepare work, and like flowers in summer, lay seedlings all over the place, working through their list of deadlines with aplomb, and growing confidence. For the artist it's submissions for a particular theme for a magazine or competition completed, for actors and dancers it's being called to audition. It is a wonderful feeling, come on, admit it is, where you get that call/meet that deadline/ ace that submission and you are happy. Successful, confident, sated.
And that’s what the deadlines are for. The temptation to rest back on your heels, to stop, to think you’ve aced it, no more to do is strong but the best thing you can do is forget about it once it's done. Literally do something else, preferably still in that natural endorphin afterglow of completing a project or task, and move on to the next one. Always be working, striving, healthy. Already the Wall is made up of significantly less bricks. There’s nothing to be done to avoid the Wait, but it's important to avoid adding bricks to the Wall by using deadlines for your own purpose - as a bookend to the play/project you’ve been putting work into, not a message in a bottle that you spend three months squinting out into the horizon looking for. It’s a stepping stone for your own process, not all your hopes and aspirations tied up in a solitary bow.
Remember that your work could and can be for anyone, so use the deadline for your organisation purposes, and to get the thing done. When it is, let it go like a greyhound on the track, and to anyone you can think of that would welcome it. Get a calendar, preferably a big one with Monet’s water lilies on it, and mark the deadlines/competitions and castings you have got coming up, cross them off, mean it, and look at it often to remind yourself you’ve done it and congratulate yourself. Be kind to yourself, and treat yourself as if you are your own best friend, one you really rally for. Most importantly, don’t be a perfectionist and let yourself be stopped before you’ve even begun and end up down there in that dark hole of endless YouTube ‘best of’ videos. There, you get dragged into the three Ps as diagnosed and recognised by therapy techniques:
Perfectionism
Leads to
Procrastination
Leads to
Paralysis.
And guess what. These three buggers, aided and abetted by social media stalking of others in your industry, the internet in general, or letting yourself be defeated by the blank page are the grouting for a certain structure. But they needn’t be, if you spot it, and pull the weeds. Most walls, true, you can’t go through, but you can go up, over and around. It can be easy to fall into the grip of the Wait, agonising and punishing as it can be. It's still only a temptation and one that needs to be avoided at all costs, or failure, and of your own making is imminent.
If a No comes around, let it wash over you only the once, recognise it briefly and then move it to your mental Trash bin. In reality, make a folder, preferably online to keep, but ultimately file away. Disappointment is no use to creative process, move onto the next. This all may sound very straightforward, basic even, but it’s easy to forget when the creative industry is so inexorably tied to ourselves; our emotions, our wants, our points of view, our worlds. It's an emotional world too, as at its core, the creative wishes to move you, and will employ as much of themselves as possible into it to make the most impact. Needless to say, audiences miraculously quiet as one when the house lights go down, people wander with a hushed respect in a gallery, passers by will stop and give money for an impressive public performance on the street. Whatever it is you do, it comes from your soul, but that doesn’t mean your success comes at the cost of it. When not creating, it’s business, not wishful thinking.
Man are we passionate about this. But it’s true, here at Baz we are made up of creatives; our ADs have other roles than the theatre company; as an actor, director, and exec respectively. Even Jess, our resident pen is a playwright so believe us, we have lived these things, survived to tell the tale, and created Baz for the very purpose of making the art we want to make, and seeing the people onstage we want to see create it live. We come from the Wall of No, if you like, we’ve been made by the same strong sturdy stuff, and we hear you. And believe us when we say, we really want you to succeed, whatever it is you do. To that end then:
Positivity: Key. Healthy mind > good creative business for the creative. Download the Calm App, read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, employ mindfulness techniques and listen to hilarious podcasts such as Craig Parkinson’s Two Shot Pod, David Tennant Meets…, The Guilty Feminist and Simon Stephens’ Playwright’s Podcast.
Organisation: Use a calendar or diary that is decidedly not intertwined and very separate to your personal life and use twitter, artsjobs and notifications to build a deadline calendar and steadily tick them off. Be aware of when you are supposed to ‘hear’ but most importantly, separate that information from your head so it doesn’t lay roots. It belongs in the book or on the wall, and you are smashing those deadlines and castings, dude.
Immersion: Remember to be on top of your game - go and see productions if you can: first nights and previews are usually cheaper, and apps like TodayTix do Rush offers on tickets. For Londoners, The Royal Court do £12 Monday tickets, and the NT does £15 tickets for under 26s. At Theatre Royal Plymouth and the Drum, where the beat of new writing’s drum is often played, tickets are often £10 and at the Royal Exchange you can see every shiny thing there for a mere £7 if you are a student, or under 26. If you want to write, read. If you want to paint, or snap, visit. Know what shape it's all taking so you are ready to take your spot with all that knowledge behind you.
Find Your People: And actually meet them. Everyone knows their lives are nowhere near as glam as social media would have you believe, so go and make contact. Sure, make contacts too, but link up with other writers or artists, find a common ground, perhaps someone to read or look at your work for feedback. Join a book club, go to the theatre or gallery as a group. This idea of the solitary artist has been much aggrandised but it’s horsepoo, you’ll be invigorated by the talent around you, and you’ll rub off on them, too. Not everything is a competition. Plus, it's always fun to whinge into a glass of wine with someone else who gets it.
That wall don’t stand a chance, mate.
See you on the other side.
Much love, and luck!
Baz x
Extant Pathways: A Showcase of A Showcase
April 8, 2019
Well phew, fancy seeing you here! Yes, its us again, your friendly experimental theatre company, Baz, back with another blog. Or review. Or blog review type thing. Although there’s no criticism in it - so just explaining a really blummin’ good afternoon. ⅓ of us here at Baz were invited to a showcase held and run by Extant theatre company, whose brilliant work and ethic you should check out here: http://extant.org.uk In truth, an event such as this could be firmly filed under the heading of ‘Accessability’ or ‘disabled theatre company networking event’ but it was so much more than that. Or rather adjacently, just a damn good showcase that attacked the form of so many beige showings and came out, rather embarrassingly quickly, on top.
So if you don’t mind, we’ll talk about the theology not the biology of the Pathways event held by Extant at the old drill hall at RADA. As you’ll be aware, many actors that are in stage schools, drama schools, and drama courses up and down the UK have a showing of work: it’s as regular as bread and butter: filling but not that full of nutrients. Lord knows everyone at BAZ HQ recalls a school play, or a speech at assembly, an end-of-course showing or rather memorably in one case, playing Snoopy onstage. (Yeah, that one. No, we won’t tell you who) Usually, they are quite pedestrian, if useful: the closest thing a performance can come to admin, that serves a noble purpose but has no lifeblood in it.
Well, enter Extant. The Pathways event took the idea of a showing and put it on its head. This was not only appreciated by an audience of professionals from the National Theatre, Theatre 503, the RSC and the Globe, but it was also clever: now a few days on, we here at BAZ remember vividly what we saw - an impossible feat for a form that is so used and relegated to being performed in some way to serve a purpose. That kind of thing will stick in someone’s head, and that someone may remember you come casting time. But that’s not only why they did it. It was also clearly because they wanted to perform, and well. The way a showcase (and we’ve seen many between us) usually works is much of a muchness, but here, in this afternoon, we took a closer, far more interested note of the varied content and wide, confident ability of the actors and their choices - Sebastian from Twelth Night and a speech from Capaldi’s Doctor of Doctor Who in one set list? Yes please. We will take that.
The diversity and strength of the monologue choices and the display of talent was already high, so how to raise it? Well by being warm, and hilarious. You know how you could be at the bank and someone asking about your day makes the air shift and the conversation instantly warm up a few degrees? This cast expertly showed their personalities, wit and prowess with introducing each other, explaining astutely, humorously and yet also in detail for any visually impaired, partially or completely blind audience members - the description of an actor’s wide frame being put as also: ‘but his mother prefers to call him barrel-chested’ was a particular highlight. The monologues had transitions, the cast had props, the set was interrupted with welcome little sketches or dry observations that changed the air of the usual transactional nature of a showing to a warm hallway of portraits the actors stopped us in front of in an original, charming monologue.
There was also prestige present as the actors listed off an impressive list of thank yous that showed the real signal (and sorry, we’ll only mention it once we swear) of accessible theatre’s progress on punching down walls in the space of only a few years - the classes, opportunities and tools this cast were armed with should be available to all that are usually kept away from it, and it was another warming sign of good things to come to modern British theatre. These actors were bold, confident and able - and hilarious as the final skit saw the cast huddled in the front of the stage narrating in Attenborough voices:
Alex: Remember, the actor can’t see who this is.
Anthony: The director approaches and greets the actor, forgetting to say their name.
Dougie: The director can see the table so put the plate of sandwiches down,
Danielle: And extends their hand for a hand shake - the VI actor doesn’t notice.
Anthony: The director feels slightly awkward and pulls her hand back.
Chloe: And it’s only now that the actor notices the hand. They too now feel awkward but try and shake it off.
A chef’s kiss of perfection. Mwah.
They captured the awkwardness and the humour of the situation well, and gently explained to us the best way to approach: always say your name and what you do, and if you meet again, repeat your name. The kind of thing you could do with and for anyone, but it took the so often used option of being embarrassed and reserved as an excuse not to connect off the table without being the least bit accusatory in the process.
The whole thing was effortless, impressive, warm, and wholesome. Why can’t all showcases be like this? We’re so incredibly glad to be invited by Extant, and wish wholeheartedly that funding and resources for these projects can be poured extravagantly into projects like this and its like. At the end of the day, this was actors, acting. Well. As one actor Anthony said, “I am an actor. I just happen to be visually imparied.” For the actors, the team at Extant: Hannah. Maria and Jo and Julie - you should all be incredibly proud, of not only breaking new ground with a project like Pathways, and making truly accessible theatre the norm: but also for a bloody good showcase - one too good to be ignored by the theatre gatekeepers for sure. Bravo!
See you soon!
Love,
Baz x
Diversity - As Far As The Eye Can See
Jan 28, 2019
Dearest Bazuli! (that’s was a weird one but we’ll let it stand) how are you all? We do hope your 2019 is off to a stellar start, full of fresh starts, new opportunities and most importantly, health! We also hope you’re not too full after the info we dropped from our excellent sit down interview with AD Sarah Bedi and Dramatherapist Annemarie Gaillard - if not, acquaint yourself with the blog above and thank us later - we do have more fab interviews in the pipeline for our ‘Wellbeing’ series, so look out for that. But for now though - we here at Baz make it a priority, in every stage of the production process to be fully up to date with the best methods, materials and language so that our work stays truly inclusive and informed.
As in the previous blog post we have made significant changes to how our rehearsal room works: our AD Sarah likes to lead with discussion, as well as an accent on mindfulness - meditation, exercise and games to help make making theatre no longer a stressful, purely achievement > goal experience. With the addition of dramatherapy to her rehearsal rooms,the results have been wholesome, upbeat and generally easier for all involved. We also understand that the language, and form and variables of life and what it has to offer shifts constantly, and we are always glad to see new communities creating either more visibility or opportunity for themselves. We’ve seen it done, or in the process of doing good work in raising this awareness with such communities as, the LGBTQ Community, the D/deaf and disabled community and the BAME community too. We’ve been so proud and glad to see their talents and much needed voices come shining through and fully represent the beauty and level of talent we all share equally.
One community that we may not have heard of until fairly recently is the Neurodivergent community. It’s useful to point out that we came across it as one of our own - our resident blogger, would see herself as part of this community and felt very pleased to see its emergence into the public lexicon. Our Co-Ad Catherine, was introduced to the term as part of the cast for The Globe’s Relaxed performance for last year’s Othello as part of their performance schedule and mission statement for accessible theatre, something that in recent years has been more of a familiar sight in theatre. For those who don’t know, the neurodivergent community is merely the name of the group, not of the malady. It stems from the term ‘Neurodiversity’ coined back in 1998 by an autistic Australian sociologist Judy Singer when the active push the for Autistic Rights Movement really gained traction. To break the term down, it really means that much like human diversity, there can be diversity of the brain too, and that the differences some experience make them no less ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’. In the case of the arts, the term covers a wide range of neurodivergent differences from dyslexia, OCD, bipolar disorder, those who identify as being on the autistic spectrum - any mental difference that stems from a neurological standpoint. As we’ve said on this blog very often, mental health still has a stigma attached to it - though it truly affects us all - could this be the last taboo of the arts? With the Baz team we see many an arts job application, and whilst we’ve seen impressive and important changes such as a call out or special emphasis for BAME, LGBTQ applicants: a fantastic moment of leeway in out much-needed push for diversity and acceptance, and even questions on class status, we’ve yet to see in-depth questions on mental health or Neurodiversity.
It’s worth pointing out that we discovered this term from a call-out for a neurodivergent director to direct a cast of actors who may be autistic or identify with any other neurodiverse condition for a cast and creative team that would literally be on the same page. It made us so happy to see this kind of project advertised on an arts jobs website and got us searching for the meaning and the basis of the movement. The testimonies and stories of those who are now relieved to identify with a group that share the same difficulties that the ‘neuronormatives’ do not face within any industry, let alone the arts, shows that like previous years, 2019 is not slowing down the quest to be truly all inclusive, accepting and aware. We’ve still a long way to go though from one job advert on an arts jobs website - is it the next flag to be raised in this quest to make the arts truly representative of all people and all differences, be they physical or mental? We surely hope so - and we are always willing to support and always, as ever, to learn.
With much love Bazzers, take care of yourselves
Talk soon,
Baz x
Interview With Artistic Director Sarah Bedi And Dramatherapist Annemarie Gaillard
Dec 14, 2018
So this is Blogmas, and LOOK what we've done!
Hi Bazlings! We’re back and transmitting for Baz HQ. You’ll see, if you’ve been following our social media that we have some exciting new changes to our output/outreaching/general hanging out with a very Baz lead-up to Christmas, longer blogs and our (hashtag) LunchBites!
Oi oi, you lucky people!
Ahem, sorry, we’ve just always wanted to do that.
Anyway! We’d like to start as we mean to go on with some serious bloggage and have we got a doozy for you. As you know, Baz’s missive is about being alive, limitless, and dedicated to the connection we seek between our performers and our audiences. In our previous works of Macbeth, Prophesy, Strindberg’s dreamplay, and the The Process based on Kafka’s The Trial coming in 2019. We have explored different sides of humanity, behaviors – from the broad to the unique – the biggest questions of who are we and why are we here, to the consequences of a single action by the individual.
We’re not afraid of treading into bold territory – but as a theatre company, we certainly do not want to achieve that to the cost of our actors. Our casts are usually made up of a brilliant but small number, and so it is imperative that those that are in the rehearsal room are focused, happy and safe. Enter Annemarie, a drama therapist that one third of Baz Artistic Director and director of our productions Sarah will be working with on Baz productions upcoming ‘The Process’. Sarah and Annemarie have collaborated on drama school graduation shows and R&Ds outside of Baz’s output. Encouraged and excited by her not limited effect on not only the rehearsal room but in the cast – we thought resident pen, Jessica to sit down to an interview with them both. We think you’ll find the result just as fascinating as we do, so without any more preamble, here here it is! Enjoy!
(J denotes Jessica, S Sarah and AM is Annemarie.)
J: So this is exciting! An actual call like they do on the telly. Ahem. So. If we could start with you Annemarie, could you tell us a little bit about what you do?
AM: Of course, I’d be happy to. So I’m a dramatherapist, and dramatherapy is a form of psychological therapy that utilises drama and theatre practice within the therapeutic process, as resources that promote growth, insight and healing. It is an established form of therapy widely used with many different client groups. My practice is rooted in the Sesame methodology – a non-confrontational approach based on the theories of Carl Jung's psychology, Rudolph Laban's Art of Movement, Peter Slade's work in children's play and Marian Lindkvist's non-verbal language of Movement-with-touch-and-sound. Non-confrontational means that the client can express their internal world through the art forms of drama and movement, and at their own pace, without having to address any difficulties directly. It’s through working in this way that allows the client to acknowledge that the feelings are there, and these feelings can then be understood, worked through and reflected upon, without becoming overwhelming. Through the art form of drama and theatre, the client can get a different perspective on themselves. For the last few years, I have also been working with actors, both professional and in training. This is a newer and more emerging field, and Sarah and myself have been working together for over a year now, applying this therapeutic practice in various ways to the rehearsal process. Being ‘on hand’ in a rehearsal room, school drama studio, anywhere actors could be triggered by past traumas through character study, the text, or any negative stimuli means I can offer therapeutic support in the moment.
J: I see. So what drew you to it?
AM: Well, I trained at drama school, graduating in 2005, and I then worked as an actor for 10 years. Acting is a tough career, right from the training! There are many in the industry who suffer for many reasons, and psychological support is needed both in drama schools and professional companies. During this time, I also worked for a charity for Beats Learning (formerly Squeaky Gate) as a drama tutor, teaching drama and theatre practice to adults, some of which were affected by mental illnesses or difficulties. I wanted to explore drama as therapy so I retrained on the Drama and Movement Therapy MA course at the Central School of Speech and Drama to become a dramatherapist. I believe dramatherapy is ideally suited to provide support to actors; the language of the art form is already shared and familiar, and can be easily accessed by both actor and therapist. The therapy sessions then naturally make use of the actor’s craft – play, theatre games, improvisation, expressive movement – but nurtured and contained in a safe space, which in turn, facilitates the actor to take that journey of intuitive personal and artistic growth.
J: Brilliant. So in your opinion, Annemarie, is dramatherapy as implemented as it could be?
AM: Well, I do know that more students are being hired from the course I graduated from. Dramatherapy has been practiced widely in the UK for a long time, within schools, institutes and the NHS - but of course it would be great to see it even more widely offered for sure! My MA dissertation argued for incorporating dramatherapy into actor training as a means of supporting young artists at a particularly vulnerable time. Ultimately though, I believe dramatherapy should be more prevalent in drama schools and in professional rehearsals - this is why the work Sarah and I are doing, bringing dramatherapy into this environment - is still somewhat new and unique.
Rehearsal going well? Well before Dramatherapy’s place in the rehearsal room, actors from ‘Bonita Granville’ in the 1950s.
J: So we have some catching up to do!
Sarah, if I could bring you in here: Sarah, you’re notably an artistic director/director who puts great stock in the wellbeing of your actors and creatives – but many would see the rehearsal room as autonomous. Why have you decided to share it?
S: Well yes, in my rehearsal rooms I do try all I can to create a calm, open and supportive area. I love collaboration. Of any kind – the team is only as good as the sum of its parts. I had an understanding of dramatherapy but over the course of a year I’ve come to understand how Annemarie’s work can intrinsically fit into my way of working. What then followed was a realisation that dramatherapy can parallel other roles that I make part of my work such as movement directors. That role, for exampIe, feels like it has two dimensions to it – enhance the creative artistry of the actor and prevent the actor from hurting themselves. Ultimately, it’s about the actor’s wellbeing, both in and out of the rehearsal room: Annemarie is there for wellbeing and in turn to enable expression and eliminate blocks. In my experience, the industry, until quite recently considered these blocks to be an individual responsibility. That’s why it’s so important Annemarie is there.
J: Indeed! Annemarie, in your experience, what has been the biggest single factor that threatens the wellbeing of creative people? In a group of people, there’s always one…keeping track and noticing the signs of someone suffering from something you can’t see is never easy to spot.
AM: Well it is hard to pinpoint as there are many things can can impact our mental wellbeing within this industry; severe self criticism, isolation, loneliness, rejection, lack of routine or stability - to name but a few! Within a rehearsal room context, there are also many factors that affect the wellbeing of the actor, from long working hours to intense schedules and the pressure to ‘succeed’, or please and impress both peers and critics. Actors can be triggered by the content of the play itself. This may be known trauma, or may be something unearthed by the process. To delve into the depths of one’s psyche when exploring a role risks pulling on the thread of greater issues, which can often be left uncontained or explored. Night after night the actor may have to reconnect with this, and this can have an impact. Having a dramatherapist in the rehearsal room or having dramatherapy alongside the rehearsal process, can provide a safe space to explore and in meeting Sarah it was clear we were on the same page and we quickly recognised that we should collaborate to explore the potential of combining our practices. I think, we live in a culture in which it’s not okay to not be okay. I see this none more so than in the acting industry. However, in my opinion this does seem to be changing, and there are now many in this field that promote the importance in wellbeing.
J: So, in both of your professional opinions, Sarah and Annemarie, is drama therapy as welcome as it should be?
AM: In recent years there have been steps taken within the performing arts industry towards addressing the wellbeing of artists; there are more conferences and workshops on the subject, and increased support for students in schools. But think about it another way: you get a sore knee, you sit out of rehearsal; only the issues you can see are the ones that are accepted. There’s are still taboos and fear around mental wellbeing and being able to ask for help or support. In drama schools, students have voiced concerns about coming forward as they feel they may look weak and unable to cope, and that this will affect their casting. There’s too much stock put into being employable. A top down shift is crucial – the inflated hierarchical structures throughout the industry needs to be challenged. Codes of practice and appropriate training need to be implemented urgently, to support not only actors, but also tutors and directors. I believe there is much that the industry can learn from dramatherapy, not just in terms of practice, tools and techniques, but particularly with regards to boundaries in all forms.
S: I agree. For me, it’s a paradox. Everyone pays lip service to the cause of good mental health in the industry – but if you bring it down to the influential individual, it might be a different story. It’s understood conceptually, not in practice. Not in money either; there’s nothing in the budget for it. I agree with Annemarie, we have to change from the ground up. It’s an odd mix of a society that is overworked and overstressed that finds itself only concerned with the superficial and as a result, ends up just box ticking. There’s a lot of energy that solely goes into if the show with go out on time. It’s scary how much responsibility is dodged.
J: Very true. To you both: what actual steps can be taken to make drama therapy a standard? Would it need to be, say, enshrined in Equity rules?
AM: There is still a stigma on therapy. My MA dissertation argued for incorporating dramatherapy into actor training as a means of supporting young artists at a particularly vulnerable time. In an ideal world, dramatherapy sessions would be integrated into the timetable of vocational actor training or within professional rehearsal schedules, with equal importance given to these sessions as would be voice sessions, stage combat, dramaturgy – in the heart of it. But applying dramatherapy in these environments are tricky waters to navigate. There’s a lot to consider: such as finding space within already intense schedules, ever decreasing budgets and funding-cuts within the arts, taboos around the word ‘therapy’ and box-ticking culture where institutes want to be seen to be tackling the rise in individuals presenting with mental health difficulties, yet they fear shaking the status quo.
S: Take dramaturgy. It’s taken twenty or so years for it to be, for want of a better word ‘accepted’ in the UK, somewhat behind its European counterparts. We still have a way to go. Meanwhile, it can still be obvious: I saw a production recently where you could tell the actress was going through something, and was distressed – and the concern that elicited totally overtook the performance for me. It’s slightly unbelievable someone thought it was ok for her to go onstage. Like Annemarie said, this is partly due to these after drama school pub outings where students compete for wild stories of suffering or negative experiences to be the most tortured artist. And personal suffering is rewarded by the society that counts most: Hollywood. Posthumous Oscars, golden figurines for surviving rough terrain and eating raw meat. How have we got here?
J: Sarah – knowing your process as I do, I know you like routine. How has it been fitting Annemarie into your directorial process?
S: Very easy! I do like to schedule and be organised, and I think because Annemarie and I get on so well, and our personalities mesh – we have found a good rhythm. I will sync my schedule to Annemarie’s and vice versa, so she can be present in the room, but I also organise personal sessions between Annemarie and the group that I know nothing about – I just set the time, and ask nothing. That’s a chance for Annemarie to assess and give guidance without me, the authority figure, present. There, they can be vulnerable, and Annemarie can help them work through blocks that prevents them from their best work. They come back into the room, relieved and in better control, and the pressure in the room, that I used to spend time trying to relieve on my own, is released. I can concentrate more on creating and guiding the show to fruition. Annemarie and I have a creative shorthand, so I can hand over to her when I need to. The benefits to both actor and director, are invaluable.
J: And for you, Annemarie, can you see the effect of the work you put in?
AM: As Sarah mentioned, our collaborations have taken various forms so far; from dramatherapy sessions alongside the rehearsals to having me present within them, holding warm-up and grounding sessions at the start and end of the day. An overarching therapeutic aim for applying dramatherapy to actors is to offer the opportunity to connect with creativity and play without the pressure to perform and be judged or critiqued. This very much parallels the way in which Sarah works artistically as a director and our two practices compliment each other. When we’re together in the rehearsal room there was a natural ‘flow’ between us. What Sarah and myself also noted was that during our pilot project the sessions were voluntary - the students didn’t have to attend. But they kept coming back. This was interesting and encouraging. In a therapeutic relationship you share a particular currency that is emotional and unique. There is something new to be learned with every individual and group, as everyone is different and unique. It is interesting to watch the actor use their craft therapeutically and it is hugely exciting to see how our collaboration can evolve and grow!
S: Yes, I wonder what would happen if we swapped partners! It seems to be about a personal mojo – something Annemarie and I share even at this point of working together a handful of times. Oddly, it’s more about us then them – if we can provide a united front, we can provide united support.
J: Great stuff guys. So, I guess to finish, the government has announced more funding for mental health on the NHS – an encouraging sign that mental health is being taken more seriously. If and when drama therapy is a beneficiary of this funding what could be an ideal future for its growth and implementation?
S: We’re all squeezed, from all areas, and in the arts especially. There’s hardly any money to go around and drama therapy as part of a rehearsal process, is not seen as a priority. With government funding it may take a while but at least in individual organisations, they are starting to see the benefit, what the results are when we put drama therapy to work. Enhance creativity and good works happen. As for the future of drama, with the country and the globe, generally, anything can happen. We have to keep going with inclusivity, responsibility, opportunity, making great work that hasn’t come at a cost to the actors and prosper, I guess!
AM: Like I mentioned before, it is encouraging to see steps being taken within this industry, and within many industries, to help and support our overall wellbeing. I see it is something more talked about, therapy in general, and slowly the stigma is being removed from it so people can really access the support they require. We still have a way to go. I agree with Sarah, the world being as it is means we need art now more than ever: as an outlet to feel, think or escape. That’s why I believe urgent support for all who work within the performing arts industry is vital. Then, there can be less on ‘getting by’ on tiny budgets.
J: Finally, a bit of a silly question perhaps for you both: what is the last thing you say to your cast before they leave the rehearsal room after a tough day of confronting issues and hard work – letting them leave it there and not taking it home?
AM: That depends on the needs of the group. I begin and end with a ritual – a collective taking of breath, three usually, at the same time to encourage a feeling of community and calm. We’re breathing together. We’ve been seen and heard. A wonderful dramatherapist tutor of mine once encouraged me to ‘breath from the place where you know you have strength’ - so I sometimes pass this on to my clients. After they leave, I like to clear the room and reflect quietly on the session.
S: Well done. Thank you. Take care of yourselves.
Not much to add to that is there?
Talk soon, much love,
Baz x
Gore To The Fore: When Is Too Much Too Much?
Oct 31st, 2018
Hello Bazites! How’s it going? Or rather, Arroooo’s it going?! (yes it is nearly Halloween, yes this clever wordplay will keep happening) We have some fresh blood/blog for you (twice in one month, you are lucky!) as the planets aligned, the dates fit, the theme is ready and Monster Mash is cued up on the stereo - we’re going to talk about gore onstage and the division it causes in certain situations. So sit down, get comfy (keep your ankles out the way of grabby ghouls under the chair, muahaha, etc) and let’s get started.
In all seriousness, though - why not? The censorship of theatre maintained until the 1960s which is why we are able to have such classics as Edward Bond’s Saved just after - a play that features a very nasty, disturbing and controversial scene, yet remains the standard of great writership (is that a word? Well we’ve coined it now, soz) and a key text in mid-century drama. The point being that art was restrained for many decades due only to its political content - there wasn’t much Will Shakespeare could get past Queen Bess if he didn’t want his head on a spike - it was clear in that era they had no problem with gore; public execution, anyone? For the Tudor society, which lest we forget still had one foot in the Middle Ages violence, actual violence was fun. As the years have advanced and society has changed, are we now more prudish then ever?
There’s a difference between controversial and sensationalist - violence for violence sake has little artistic value - but our accepted thought on extreme violence had to grow up with the decades. For example, take Oedipus, that hilarious, fun for all the family Ancient Greek romp where poor Oedipus self-mutilates because of actions he could never have avoided committing. Did Sophocles indend to show us this onstage? Unfortunately, we’ll never know, as no copy of the text exists. Indeed, productions since usually have the event occurring offstage but one can safely assume those blood-hungry Greek audience weren’t afforded such babying. The era itself was bloodsoaked in constant war, capital punishment and extreme family, er. ‘quarrel ‘that could get out of hand very quickly. I mean, matricide, regicide, um, brothercide? Is that one? Either way, the dramas of Ancient times pulled all the punches. And the entrails.
As we’ve discussed - Will Shakespeare liked a murder or two, in fact, here’s all the victims of his oeuvre in a helpful list:
King Duncan: Done in by Macbeths
Macbeth: Stabbed by Macduff
Julius Ceasar: Set upon by his ‘mates’
Desdemona: Smothered by Othello
Othello: Killed himself
Emilia: Killed by Iago
Rodrigo: Killed by Iago
Romeo and Juliet: Killed by teenage angst and bad timing
Timon of Athens: All kinds of stuff goes on there, woah
And the list goes on and on - and it wasn’t just Will who liked a splash - John Ford, Ben Johnson, etc liked a mutilation quite literally in the audience faces so we can safely say that this era hadn’t yet grown an intolerance for the red stuff. The Regency period (the one with all the Georges) was fairly eventful too - a lot of reprisals from the Renaissance in your more typical Proscenium Arch theatre - but the violence was silly, almost comic in this form. From then until the dawn of the 20th Century there was little new writing that called for gory set pieces, despite the wars, the fact that capital punishment was still lawful and exercised regularly. Amamzingly, laws on censorship first implemented in the 1500s were lifted in the 1960s, and…nothing really happened. Oh yes, you could say what you liked about the Queen, use inflammatory language, really push the envelope, but we all suddenly seemed squeamish about showing blood and guts.
We here at Baz are playing devils advocate (t’is the season) with this viewpoint - we are neither encouraging or discouraging disturbing or uncomfortable scenes of violence, ‘live’ -for want of a better word - but we have noticed a lack of it, and delving into why - in our mission statements we seek to bring something truly live and boundless to our audiences to connect with them - and as such, not much for us is off the table, as long as it supports and is warranted within the story we wish to tell. The same can’t be said, in our opinion for horror movies - that, if the graph of horror and gore for the arts went down for theatre, skyrocketed for cinema; all of Hitchcock’s cinematic output pretty much smelled and dry blood and fear, and American Werewolf in Paris, Hammer films started to come along, bringing with it gallons of red-dyed syrup. Instead, the theatre turned to psychology, not psychos to un-nerve- Pinter for example is the master of thinly-veiled threat, and tension, causing pulses to jump faster and a pit in the stomach for over fifty years.
That is not to say, however, that Pinter didn’t publicly rejoice at the 90s theatre movement of In Yer Face Theatre - and more specifically, Sarah Kane’s Blasted - the playwright was vastly effected by the then current Bosnian war and the atrocities it brought with it - things usually kept as many miles away from audiences as the real events. Pinter applauded her talent and boldness for bringing that conflict into a modern hotel room, and showing us acts of extreme violence, both physical and sexual to make a valid point about human nature, and war. It was met of course, with cries of ‘filth’ and ‘depravity’ to critics - our last remaining bastion of a form of censorship in the wrong hands - and Blasted is still considered, like its title, a massive explosion of a new kind of theatre, a new kind of point.
Here at Baz we always seek to see new theatre, whether it be with student casts, new writing, or West End favourites - we like a variety in our theatre diet, us. We saw a version of Phillip Ridley’s Mercury Fur performed brilliantly and adeptly (seriously, we were left shaking) by Guildhall Students - a fairly recent play of 2005, which even now garnered screaming headlines not unlike Kane’s of ten years earlier - outraged at the harrowing, very-much-onstage violent content (we can confirm, it was grisly) it was reported to have ten walk-outs a night, fainting audience members, throwing up, even Ridley’s publishers, Faber & Faber refused to print it, the works. When watching it, we instead saw a challenge; to look beyond what was happening to see the point - showing us the worst of humanity to fully understand it, set in this near dystopian future Ridley had made sure that we recognise. To ask to be longsighted in such harrowing circumstances is a massive risk - but in the theatre community at least Mercury Fur has inspired some of our more fearless modern writers like Polly Stenham and Neil LaBute. In a nice circular return to the start of this blog, Ridley said of critics yelling their disgust and their personal attacks on Ridley’s own ‘diseased mind’; “Why is it fine for the classic plays to discuss - even show these things - but outraged when contemporary playwrights do it?…/because it is set on an East London housing estate it is seen as too dangerous to talk about.”
For us here at Baz, theatre shouldn’t emulate its cousin of the cinema for cheap thrills and scares - the craft of theatre; that of plot, character, location, decade must lend themselves to the extreme on the stage, whatever form it may take. In our work, we seek connection, immersion - our version of dreamplay for example had our audiences briefly shouted at in the pitch dark, our talented cast weaving and whispering their way through the crowd - anything to break the mould of what we have become used to. Perhaps our views on things that are uncomfortable and extreme could do with being pushed further. We are too grown up now for simple bumps in the night and werewolves - sometimes we are the monsters, and sometimes we need to be reminded of that.
Phew, that all got a bit serious didn’t it? Boo, raaagh, etc. Halloweeeen. There. That should do it, right?
No but seriously, play safe and have a good night- it might be your last, woooooghh!
etc.
Big loveland talk soon you spooky lot,
Baz x
Whether T'is Nobler In The Mind To Suffer, Part 1
June 5, 2018
Hey there Bazlingtons! Are we well? And good, and healthy? These aren't just pleasantries (though it is pleasant and we care about you all lots) it's a deeper question. So, riddle us this: as an actor, you must disappear into a role, behave, act in a way that is not yourself, right? (we promise it won’t be the simplistic all the way through) but in this split personality, and the divide between actor and role, issues, trauma even, can fester and grow - and a need for support and awareness of this issue, is only just coming to light. It’s often tamped down, the run is only six weeks or whatever, no I don’t need to talk about it, I’ll lose my focus, etc, but as we all know repression is dangerous, and the repeated action, say of playing a reprehensible or disturbing role, in a eight show week can make the tear wider. Something of a hushed-up side effect of the acting industry had stayed hidden somewhat in all this recent, modern ownership of mental health in the population generally, so why has this effect on the acting profession been so ignored?
Fantastic imperatives such as National Mental Health Awareness week are great, but they are soon over, and the issue isn’t - 1 in 6 people will have experienced a mental health issue this week alone. A nationwide, worldwide issue, there's so much to be said about stigma, seeking help, and helping each other - and we want to focus on a particular issue that's come to light. We here at Baz have talked about mental health and the arts - what defines an 'artist’ in our blogs before, and the view that’s normally held water is that there is an element of 'madness' to the creative mind, and so it is upheld, solidified as a stereotype and we all move on, yes? Well, no. In this era of social media and blogging, many actors, artists and musicians have been honest and frank about their struggles - and how issues, far from the necessary evil that makes one a genuii, can hold you back. The romanticism surrounding the chaotic and often harsh realities of mental health has, not surprisingly, not done the stigma any favours. However, in this blog we want to look past the set, costume, stage, lighting- and to the time away from the spotlight - and to the strain of the profession - as art can sometimes imitate life.
So. We want to talk about actors. Here at Baz we are a close-knit yet open and frank community - we love the actors we work with- and it is an imperative that we always provide a safe, open, equal and secure environment for our actors to do their best most honest work, and not at the cost of their equilibrium. Our most recent work at Wilton's Music Hall, where we R&D our version of The Trial with hearing and D/deaf actors was, like most of our work, planned before we entered the rehearsal room - but we found it necessary, more than, to hold regular talks, debates and invite members of the D/deaf community into our rehearsal room and process, learning a great deal about the struggles that community faces in order for our story to do them justice, at the cost of an audience feeling uncomfortable, but ultimately, informed. As a company, we're looking at works and classics that show the truths of life: the struggles, the faults - in our production of dreamplay we had actors stretch themselves to the limits of their limitless abilities, in a safe and encouraging environment in order to bring raw, true theatre to our audiences.
Drama, or to refer it by Aristotle's definition of 'tragedy' is, 'the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself . . . with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.' Well. That sounds jolly. And boy did they get serious in their catharses: Ancient Greeks pushed the boundaries of plot and storyline to still shocking lengths and this has not abated throughout the centuries. Great actors of the ages have emulated the madness of King George VI, King Lear, Ophelia, Oedipus, Medea, Hedda Gaebler, Lady Macbeth and Yerma - all roles that and transported us with their talents and skill - but to do so every night? It's a given, it's what the actor must do - but have we ignored the wear and tear of the repeated action? With the classics, there is a distance that can be afforded - after all, who nowadays can relate to a king or queen? (open statement: we'll leave it at that, ahem) but what about roles that are not so desirable, or so distant and 'safe' in their academia?
After the turn of the century we were treated to many an undesirable - from Dickens' wronguns, to Pinter's despicables, theatre and writing in general is littered with baddies. Whilst this is the prerogative of the writer, and in most cases, a necessary stock character, these bad apples are, at least in the modern pantheon, meant to get us thinking, meant to show us the worst of the world to educate us. The boundaries of these 'lessons' we'll talk about another time, our focus is on the actors - imitating murderers, both real and imagined, peodophiles, abusers - every night on stage and the effect it has on the psyche - for too long now, perhaps the idea of the actor as many things, has omitted the one of vulnerable to toxicity and damaged mental health.
So - what can be done? Apart from a constant and encouraging year-round movements, charities and Mental Health Week, as we mentioned earlier, which boasts a fantastic hashtag full of positivity, bravery and ownership of issues. This is all fantastic, but Baz were delighted to learn of Equity, the Actor's Union, launching Arts Minds, a fantastic new prerogative that listened and provided a space to share issues within a community of artists and peers. It's a fantastic step forward, and with it, no few column inches to the strain of mental health for actors, such as Lyn Gardner’s inciting article on the strain of mental health on actors for The Stage. Indeed, last year's Fringe Festival brimmed with plays that tackled depression, PTSD and a host of often maligned issues - and this year looks to be no exception - it seems we are finally ready to open up debate, share, and heal.
Cheers to them, and here's hoping the directive spreads - whilst we still have some way to go, these little starts, little patches of stigma, judgement, repression and ignorance on mental health and creatives will start to grow more green, overgrown and bear more fruit.
Talk soon, exciting news to come!
Best,
Baz x
Greeks Bring Gifts: Time For A Rebirth Of Critical Theatre
March 26, 2018
Bazlings! We are supremely sorry for what we’re calling, for the want of a better word, our hibernation (Clocks went back yesterday…get it?) But we have all, separately and together, been doing our things: from directing, acting, and bringing up kids…check out our Twitter: @baz_productions and our Instagram of the same name for proof, y’all: we got it all, recommendations, updates, all sorts! But this here is out blog and we are back, charged up and better than ever! What’s more, we’re about to drop some history on ya…so watch out!
London, or Londinium, when it was, shall we call it, ‘hostile takeover’-ed in somewhere 100AD by the Romans actually led to a lot we still call home – pasta, religion and those lovely ladies of the arts, the Muses. Also, aqueducts. For all this influence though, it seems as if the modern theatre came from Greece and the great Amphitheatres of the age. Here, 5th century tragic playwrights such as Euripides and Sophocles didn’t only stage the heavyweights of Electra and Oedipus, they also wrote about current invasions, wars and political decisions, often staging their work in the theatres placed right next to the buildings of government. Imagine it- you’re a lawmaker, going about your daily business, deciding who lives and who dies, where to invade next, etc – and you hear the commotion of you being played by an actor in a silly voice, mimicking your voice and actions – and people laughing at it, at this, an age of literal marketplace backstabbing. Now that takes some cajones.
Of course, the act of satire is not new to us: Beyond the Fringe had Dudley, Peter, Alan and Jonathan take aim at Harold MacMillan, who was sitting in the audience, Tom Lehrer was writing funny songs about who’s got the bomb in the nervous 60s, Spitting Image saw the Royal Family at a typical dinner, and most recently, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin – have, you could argue, won against Sarah Palin and President Trump respectively. In the cloudy, faraway mists of the past, however, it seems these playwrights were the first People’s Champions – playing a game of Russian Roulette for their art. Some recent academic thinking sees a strong link between Athenian Tragedy and Democracy, and treat the original plays as historical documents that tell us in more detail, and more astutely then any other kind of record.
These old texts asked moral questions of an audience that had suffered or lived through the actions it staged – sometimes even mocking authority - and was flocked to by all manner of fare – from the farmer to the lawmaker. It’s not surprising, then that fine actors of the age blurred the line between performer and politician – namely a bloke called Aeschines, a popular actor of the age, hired by would be king Philip, father of Alexander the Great to plead his case for taking over said actor’s township. It’s both extraordinary and not, as you hear hyperbole in recent elections of how politicians look, sound, and exude their charisma – not so much politic as chic. Still, plays and their writers had more than a view on the social climate, the affected it – it seems unfathomable now that theatre could affect policy – in this current state the arts find themselves in of self-sufficiency and theatre making for change and representation thankfully still going, but off site – these plays went to the masses. We could learn something from these much lauded, seemingly limitlessly brave writers and orators.
A lot has happened since Ancient Greek theatre – and its not as if these traditional methods didn’t come back, often with a vengeance – after all Reagan, an actor, achieved terms as a serving American President, and Arnie is currently running California, so the charm of the film star has been known to reach out of the screen – and here in England, we have a tradition of actor-activists, from Jessica Hynes' powerful BAFTA speech, Hugh Grant’s work with Hacked Off, Stephen Fry’s campaign for mental health and recently Michael Sheen’s semi retirement from acting to launch his fair loan scheme, inspired by the struggles he witnessed with unregulated lenders in his native Wales.
A fundamental right is that of freedom of speech – but if we return to the age of the snap reaction plays – say, a play set behind the scenes at Whitehall on the night of the Brexit vote– would we get in trouble? Can we only make critical theatre when the subject is dead and gone- what are the laws on this? Censorship on theatre was only lifted in the late 20th Century, are we still at an impasse – and is theatre too polite? As we always say, we here at Baz want to engage you, push you and interact with you – but will our time be long gone before that’s the norm?
We here at Baz don’t know – but if there’s anything we want to do, it’s to tell truths and represent real people and stories. We have done this in the past through Ancient Text – our 2013 Prophesy was our take on the Greek Myth – but it seems the old Athenians had more to offer than previously thought, as new texts are being discovered all the time, and all that is old is new again. Perhaps.
Boom. And that is how you drop some history!
Oh and this blog is proudly pro-Cynthia Nixon for NY Governor by the way. Come on guys, really
Big love, til next time!
Baz
X
The Bold And The Beautiful: Baz On Speaking Out
Nov 3, 2017
Hello, friends. We hope the changing season has treated you well, and we’re still very much excited about our week R&D-in’ with our fab crew and company a few weeks back - going through all the pics and notes has brought back some wonderful memories. It would be a lie however, to state we’ve been able to avoid upsetting and yet unsurprising headlines about our industry of late - something that mars all industry, in fact - and that with the changing seasons, winds of change are finally starting to lift up embedded lint - and though the results are upsetting and uncomfortable, we are so inspired by the bravery of these women and men speaking out.
Allegations and accusations were recently dredged up from the peat bog which is show business; some after decades, showing the long lasting effect and the collusion of cover up that’s dogged the arts and more particularly Hollyweird sleaze elite. And with it, a lot of raw unfettered emotion: anger and sadness at the variety and widespread nature of these actions, a sense of relief that it can at last be revealed and a nervousness about national response. It’s no secret that Britain has the worst news and print industry in the world, something exacerbated by a certain Australian mogul deciding to make himself an empire based on personal slander, misogyny and gross invasions of privacy. The thought to not believe a woman or a man’s accusation has been planted in our mind for decades, or at least to see her as an objectified image, or the more dangerous thought of ‘I can’t say anything’ intimidated by the famousness or power of the abuser to make others keep quiet or turn a blind eye.To no one’s surprise the tools that are meant to bring us together, that of “social media” have instead made us turn against each other and give a mouth-piece to people and views you could have otherwise happily lived your life never hearing. These voices are given free rein while Rose McGowan’s treatment, that of personal abuse, suspended twitter activity and now a conveniently timed accusation of drug use colludes in a ‘keep quiet’ culture that led us to this point in the first place.
To us, art and the arts are based on a trust - as a writer, performer and director, you share so much of yourself - your time, your effort, your skill, your self - and when this works, you fly. This is certainly what Baz has found, through both our methods and our practice of casting and enlisting talent and points of view of any race, culture or otherwise. When one of our would be actors comes in to audition, we want to let them know and assume this is a safe space where safety and freedom of expression is encouraged. These men have made that task difficult. It’s so insulting to us that a Westernised culture that objectifies women has infected the earnest work of producing good stories, entertaining and educating the world and inspiring people to act, write, sing, direct - that these perpetrators took that genuine craft and turned it into a quest for personal satisfaction is disgusting.
Baz obviously condemns the objectification, the misogyny of the arts, a depressingly common theme not only in 20th century theatre, but in these decades too - be it subtle or otherwise. Too often the female role is a nagging girlfriend or mother, a damsel in distress looking for a male saviour - or a prop to the male main character to be used now and then. That women still have to fight for better roles, we knew, but it’s only coming out now, how many other things they have to fight first. Baz is an all female run company and for sure in the Baz workplace you can ask anyone of a harrowing or uncomfortable experience they’ve been subjected to in the industry, but of course it’s not confined to the arts, and is prevalent everywhere. It’s still early days, and though we’re, in situations such as these, encouraged to share and work through the experience, having it screamed from the headlines without care for those who could be triggered, highlights to us here at Baz just how multi-layered this issue is for us all - Baz is relieved to see and hear more stories being told, and we are amazed at the strength of conviction and spirit of these men and women to break their silences, we are just as sorry however, that in order to do that, they must relive it. We’d like to thank them for that, wholeheartedly. All survivors, male or female, are finally getting a chance to be heard, and the world, that was darkened by these perpetrators, their accomplices and the industry covering it up is lightened slightly with every brave statement these survivors make.
We truly hope there is some salvation to be found for this industry we love, and we here at Baz, rest assured are here to support them, all women in the arts, and all men too- in all fields of work, everywhere: whatever role they play, and our dedication remains to tell human stories with equality, truth and care.
Thank you. Much love.
Baz xx
The World Is Kafka Now - Our Week Of R&D on The Trial
Oct 13, 2017
*Waves* Hello you loverly Baz people, how are you? Were not sure about you but we feel as if we’ve been underground and emerged, blinking into the light in a sort of weird reverse hibernation...sorry we’ve just realised that brown bear analogy is a bit weird, but stick with us -we are still powered up Pac Man style (analogies coming thick and fast, duck out of the way!) after a fantastic week interrogating the ultimate tale of interrogation in our version of Franz Kafka’s ever relevant novel, The Trial.
How did it all come about, you ask? (oh yes, the audience participation is real) well, a year ago we staged an interpreted performance of our dreamplay at The Vaults - yes, that was a year ago! - and utilising a fantastic set of skills Katie, our interpreter, displayed, got cogs in our minds working. Sarah, our director and co-AD was electrified by the presence of the language, Katie’s interaction with our actors and the audience and how it seemed to be a play in itself. Our triad of ADs, Sarah, Catherine and Emma meet up regularly at one of our fave Baz places, Persephone Books in Lambs Conduit Street, The Southbank Centre or the little Cafe above Heals (top tip, Secret London fans!) and discussed our next project. It just so happened Catherine was reading The Trial - and that was it - through a meeting of Sarah’s desire to work with BSL and Kafka’s seminal classic, Baz’s official fourth project was founded.
There followed a year long process of funding, venue, auditions and discussion - which eventually led to a week’s worth of R&D in the beautiful Wilton’s Music Hall, thanks to AD Holly Kendrick’s generosity. Here, with our fantastic actors Will, Cat, Mark, Jean and Catherine, the fab Sophie Wooley sitting in as consultant and a stream of fantastic interpreters all ready and willing to take chances, risks and faith in each other from the get go Between them, as writer and script editor respectively Sarah and Emma produced an avant-garde, typically Baz-like script - and then we promptly told our actors to sort of ignore it. Well not really, but from day one, almost the first morning we were improvising loosely from the script, hitting the ground running - something that was hard not to do with such a trusting and bold company in the room.
But first: coffee and opinions. Two of our favourite things. Also: eclairs and world peace but that’s by-the-by - as part of our preparations for the future production it seemed like a great time to offer a focus group, inviting D/deaf theatre goers, practitioners and actors to join us at Wiltons to share their experiences. Everybody came so willing to share what had worked and what didn’t, how theatre and culture generally has a long way to go to fully integrate D/deaf culture, what had worked and what didn’t, the specific requirements needed across the board- and helped us loads moving forward to produce a truly bilingual piece of important, and entertaining theatre. We were so grateful they were so open, specific and frank about needs and ways of presenting theatre to everyone regardless - and it set us up to think up a battle plan for the rest of the week - right up to the showing at the end of it.
The rehearsal process began in earnest, and we were immediately sure that this is the production we’ve been missing - in terms of our personal theatregoing experiences, and as a company making truly expressive and experimental theatre. It was a learning curve, and we were lucky enough to be educated along the way - for example,one of our fabulous actresses Jean was brilliantly informative on the intricacies of the language of BSL and the iterations thereof, and both she and Will, another actor in our company shared very important personal stories of growing up, the workplace, and clashing with bureaucracy. Of course, we all had a story of miscommunication, or injustices, as a company and creative team, going about our daily lives. Throughout the week it became increasingly clear Kafka has Nostradamus-like abilities to predict a future of dealing with employers, schools, hospitals and councils - all trapped in the barbed mire of Corporate Speak - where Jean cited an actual incident a medical registrar was reticent to even write the word ‘deaf’ to describe the visiting patient. However, we found our feet in our traditional ideas of status, identity and portraying truths more stark than ever before - often asking our actors to put themselves in difficult, sometimes uncomfortable situations to better show the current and certainly historical ineptitude society and authority has treated what it deems a ‘problem’.
A big topic at the group was the use of interpreters and/or captions - both equally helpful as they were problematic. We decided, in the spirit of experiment, to integrate our fab interpreters Katie and Jo in some scenes, taking them out of others, even asking our hearing members of the audience to close their eyes briefly so the D/deaf audience knew that the scene would be played with all actors ‘voices off’ - so there was no sound whatsoever. On top of this, our epic producer extraordinaire Liz utilised her words per minute to transcribe the action on her laptop, to be read over her shoulder - so we made full use and tried out different techniques for providing information. Afterwards, we held an impromptu feedback session - and we are so grateful to those who came to stay and explain that their laughter was not only by being entertained but also in recognition, what was clear, what wasn’t - once again showing how versatile and fantastic our audience was in coming with us on our risks and entering into our experiment with an open mind.
Ahhh. We’re feeling all loved out now - and so keen to show you all what we’ve been up to!
Until next time friends, with videos and pics galore, we like to keep the Bazlings informed!
With Love,
Baz x
Spatial Elite And Plain White Trainers
Aug 10, 2017
‘This Brave, O'erhanging Firmament' - Hamlet, being rather Meta and talking about the Globe Theatre’s pretty paint job in 1602.‘This Brave, O'erhanging Firmament' - Hamlet, being rather Meta and talking about the Globe Theatre’s pretty paint job in 1602.
Hi there Bazzers! All here is abuzz at Baz (such a satisfying sentence, ahh) with meetings, sending out our facilitators to Leeds to educate over 1,000 teachers (boo-may we say-yah) and our friends and colleagues continuing to be completely brilliant in all respects. This has put us in such a good mood we’re all excited to look at beautiful places in the world to perform theatre and daydream about our world domination…in a nice way, obviously. A kind, hostile global takeover where all theatre is free, we’re equal, respectful of all and fluent in Shakespeare. For like, a start.
If you lovelies have been following our Baz Insta posts (which you should, we’ll wait here while you follow, then come on back- we’ll wait…) you’ll see we love a hashtag BazPlace(s) - where we visit somewhere epic either in a meeting, to see a show, or to explore the city and it’s possible locations, and share a photo of it - and it got us thinking. London is an epic theatre city, boasting new and old, often alongside each other. As theatre makers and theatre lovers, anywhere that houses performance, whether it’s one big ornate room, or a gentleman’s club, we are here for it, as our earlier blogpost on our most fave unusual theatre projects will attest.
A recent visit to the National Theatre got us on this thoughtpath (we made that up, we like it, it’s staying, feel free to use it) and the idea of theatre as status - a barometer of its location; how the arts, through the decades has been stigmatised as an upper class pursuit. We love the National, and it has an interesting background - Sir Laurence Olivier founded it in the late 50s, finding a site on the then fairly abandoned South Bank and sought, very nobly, as a nobleman does, to create a new kind of theatre decidedly overbearing the Thames bank, and unlike any theatre seen before -with its brutalist and consciously unflouncy shape and sharp corners shocked the likes of Shaftsbury Avenue. Along with the new look, the fairly traditional and old-fashioned progenitor wanted to induce a new kind of theatre too, for all - a good example of using private wealth for public use. Of course, despite its best efforts, it has fallen into the trap of achieving it’s mainstream goal, whilst unavoidably becoming a symbol of status and the old guard. And as it should: a hub of great theatre events, and a sure fire ticket in ol’ London town. But it begs the questions: how does an institution avoid elitism? Is it possible?
As long time affiliates of experimental theatre, we are used to seeing and producing work in the most unlikely of places: our past two works have taken place in a lighthouse/lookout on Aldeburgh Beach and The Vaults under Waterloo Bridge with our production of dreamplay. Our question is that if a performance, a crew of actors, technicians and creatives adopt a space, does it automatically gentrify it? Is theatre still seen as, one of our favourite films of 2015 ‘Birdman’ states something to get through until the interval, where, filing out quietly ‘they can all get a cup of coffee and a slice of cake’? What can we do to change it? And should we - theatre is not just for the young, but it needs to keep moving, keep rejuvenated. Of course, places like Venice, Norway, Sweden have their share of theatres - beautiful Restoration, delicate, hand-painted masterpieces- that are more museums than places to see live theatre - where opera is still performed de regur and you most certainly will not be let in wearing trainers. This idea is changing however, and a sub -culture of experimental, site specific and promenade theatre has found its place - the successful runs of our mates’ shows like Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man, any and everything by Forced Entertainment and Get In The Back Of The Van theatre collectives- (delightfully mobile, fluid, hedonistic and literally in-yer-face theatre, never mind the 90s theatre moniker) but it’s all considered ‘specialist’ and whilst there is (and always should be) a time for revivals and musicals- not to the detriment of others.
So what is the answer? Take over the delicate music-box theatres in Amsterdam and spray graffiti all over it? By it’s nature change has to use willpower and have a movement, a shape - but this can easily be misconstrued as aggression and destruction - think of the Sex Pistols in 1979 calling a household name interviewer a ‘rotten wanker’ - and that is not what’s happening here. But much like getting a seat on the tube, you might have to make good use of your elbow. And yet, there’s cause for celebration - so many new writing theatres dedicating to new talent their time, expertise, rehearsal rooms and performance spaces, this scene is expanding - and with £15 under 26 tickets at the National, £10 Mondays at the Royal Court, a rise in ‘Pay What You Can’ offers, apps like TodayTix that find and search out the best ticket deals on the West End and elsewhere. It’s all looking pretty bright from over here - as long as we don’t give up and continue to make cool, all-inclusive stuff and take the focus slightly away from the traditional theatre of the West End, or else put something in the water in Drury Lane*- cos nothing changes if we don’t. Deal? Deal.
*to be clear, we here at Baz aren’t advocating putting something unpleasant in the water in a busy TheatreLand and London, street. Nope, no. Be assured.
Ah, so with that in mind, in a very Henry V way, we hope you feel inspire. All the best to you today whether you’re picking up a pen to write a scene, a prop dagger from the store, your script for your readthrough or all of the above + a strong latte - more power to you. And...create!
All the Baz love,
Baz x
Got The Whole World In Her Hand - The First Female Doctor
Jul 21, 2017
Baz is a-buzz - and much more than usual, given the vats of coffee we manage to drink here at Baz HQ - but our caffeinated buzz has been way overtaken by the news of the weekend. Doctor Who number 13 is a woman - and Jodie Whittaker to be precise. We are chuffed to something not mentionable before the watershed about such an important and well-loved character graduating, especially for the yoof, playing in the garden with their figurines as per usual, the only difference being the narration of “and then she runs back into the TARDIS…” and it’s surely for that image alone that we must embark on a spotlight for Jodie, the Doctor, and her Doctor. Warp thrusters are a go, people…
Yes, we here at Baz have *those* among us, those that consume tales of space and time travel like catnip, as well as the natural high that comes with any announcement of a woman cast in such a high-status role, huge swathes of us bazzers are pleased by unifying and unique reasons. At a basic level it signals a great new direction for TV casting in general - precious few are led by one woman alone, let alone in such a powerful role with the exception of the fantastic Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag - long live the 50/50 Era movement James Nesbitt championed at this past year’s BAFTA awards before presenting one to Sarah Lancashire- but in a much larger scope, this casting, it’s kind of genius. As Doctor Who fans we should be delighted with the new opportunities, new conversations this will bring to a show that’s been running for 50 years.
Firstly, let’s get this straight - Jodie is not cast in this role because she’s a woman - Chris Chibnall cast her in the role because she encapsulated his vision the best - and that’s it. That just happens to be a fact alongside the long-held view the sky is blue. It has no impact on her ability to act, take on a role, or lead a show, so ‘Woman Doctor’- no thank you very much. New Actor Takes On Iconic Role, we’ll take that. Of course the media showed us its mucky, putrid underbelly with the usual suspects being implausible and yet predictably vile in its rags/chip paper - safe and snug in their 15th century attitudes, with males taking to their keyboards to wail about “ruined childhoods” that ended, presumably officially, 30 years ago. But hey. Imagination. Sometimes it evades sci-fi fans. For the rest of us, very exciting days ahead (and way back, to the side, in a different galaxy) await.
Secondly, we’ll have to dip into the archives (oh no, really, etc - ok then) to see it’s not that surprising - despite the 12 male actors that have claimed the main role down the years, they have been outnumbered by far more women over its 50 years playing important and groundbreaking roles - you’re just as likely to see women in a blonde wig and union jack shirt, as Billie Piper’s Rose as a long coat and tie at Dr Who conventions. From the forward thinking, no nonsense, feminist companions of the 70s in Lis Sladen and Katy Manning, to the 80s counterpart, Sophie Aldred’s Tomboyish punk, Ace, to the modern women who’ve joined the often flawed alien on his travels, Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, Catherine Tate and most recently, Pearl Mackie - all teaching the Doctor a little something themselves about modern lives and progressive attitudes. Of course, alongside the portrayal of strong willed and minded women aboard the TARDIS (for those not in the know, the Doctor’s spaceship of sorts) there’s been some excellent casting along the way with representation happening across the board - so a change like this was certainly in the offing.
So what about the 13th Doctor herself? What do we know about Jodie Whittaker, and what are the plans for her takeover? Well, we can’t predict the second part - and it’s fantastic to, for once, be excited to tune in on Saturdays, and see something you have certainly not seen before (oop, but our Dr Who Nerdy senses are tingling and getting us to add that Joanna Lumley once briefly played a memorable version of the Doctor in a Stephen Moffat-penned sketch of ‘99 for Comic Relief) but we do know Jodie is an incredible talent - and we notice looking back on her previous work: from her first role, a film straight out of Guildhall School Of Music and Drama, with Vanessa Redgrave and Peter O’Toole, through to various stage roles: a memorable Antigone at the National, an innocent bystander and fighter in monster film with a difference Attack The Block and most recently in Broadchurch as the grieving mother in Chris Chibnall, new Who showrunner’s hit. We notice that she has an incredible ability to get you on her side, a kind of everywoman you side for and instantly like, on top of some standout, gutful performances. And alongside a lot of our favourite actresses, comes from the school of powerful, top-notch actresses of the North: from the likes Sarah Lancashire and Vicky McClure. And what else could you ask of your new hero, we ask you now - a likeable, talented, passionate human being. What else indeed. Oh and she’s a fan of house music and mashups - after listening to her recent Front Row interview she recommended the album co-produced by The Heritage Orchestra and Pete Tong, compete with live string plucking to the dance classic Insomnia, and we literally. Cannot. Stop. Dancing at our desk. So you know, that’s another big tick.
But lastly - we ask you, out there who are not sure, some even afraid of the change and what this means for the franchise - give it a chance, a whole chance and nothing but a chance- this truly was a long time coming, perhaps written in the stars. As 8th doctor Colin Baker tweeted “Change, my dears. And not a moment too soon.” Has this appointment been marred by negativity and name calling? Yes. Would that have happened if another WASP had been cast in the role - for once, possibly - as there was the strange phenomenon of public pressure on the Beeb to get its arse out of the 50s and, wielding their wand, fairy godmother that business and give us a Doctor for the 21st century we deserve.
Congratulations Jodie, history made.
With much love and support,
Baz x
She Stoops, She Conquers, She Scores - Women In Theatre
May 6, 2017
Hello Bazzers!
Early Edwardian Actress Lucy Weston who graced the stage - in fine fashions.
Oh how we’ve missed you- we’re back and brought some Spring with us! In fields of Daffs, hot cross buns (yes, fields of buns, think about it...it would be so soft and tasty) and bunny wabbits - we thought we might spring forward like the BST clocks we are and take a wide look about how it’s going with women in theatre as a whole.
As you do.
So get your buns out the oven (steady) and let us review shall we? Current political climate notwithstanding, things are looking a tad brighter than they have been for a while - high profile events such as Tonic Theatre’s Lucy Kerbel bringing out an excellent book, All Change Please using hard fact and testimony to provide all the material you’d ever need to lay a convincing case of ‘be better to us’ to the jury and the arts industry as a whole. Tamsin Greig has won everyone over as Malvolia at the National in Twelth Night and it’s just been announced that Josette Simon will be playing Cleopatra in a hotly anticipated production of Anthony and Cleopatra at the RSC (great article here about the powerful woman/whore dichotomy in the Guardian this week) https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/mar/21/josette-simon-cleopatra-rsc-shakespeare) Also, the ever brilliant Baz patron and our favourite Ceasar ever, Harriet Walter talked about her new book, and taking on the male canon in her inimitable style and to great critic acclaim in Brutus and Other Heroines.
So far so good? Well yes, but something goes up, something else must come down. Emma Rice’s well-documented run as artistic director of the Globe continues to make headlines, and it’s hard not to note that now, with one less female artistic director at the helm, there’s still very few running buildings in the UK. We are all for inclusivity, diversity and women in theatre as a whole, but it seems as if this is only just about stretching to the actors. We need more producers, directors, stage managers, artistic directors and soon. Goodness knows that once indoctrinated with a lack of diversity, opportunity, or even misogyny and racism, it becomes a new norm.
So what can we do about it?
Well. We here at Baz have a gorgeous team of women running the show - our trinity of founders are an impressive array of producers, writers, actors and practitioners - our producers, set designers trainee directors, even our blogger all share an x chromosome and it’s obviously at the top of our list when we look over actors we love for our productions - that, and obviously diversity. It’s been in our manifesto since day one And we are not alone in this - many theatre companies such as Kneehigh, Punchdrunk impress a difference on the theatre landscape in their casting and the landscape shifts a little more in the right direction.
But as ever, not all opportunities, or indeed all doors are open to the just off the University roll call producer/designer/director -but never fear, Baz is here - with a list of things to check out n do:
Tonic Theatre events - Go.To.These. It’s a great place where the shiny happy people go and of COURSE where great female-facing projects and books are launched that you already love and want to read cos you wouldn’t be reading this if not. Wink.
Women@Rada - A fantastic free initiative at RADA for female playwrights only - lovely nights where the next generation of female playwrights get to show some work - a fantastic platform for writer and performer alike.
Directors Programme at Young Vic - A fantastic long running directors training programme at the Young Vic - a programme all of it’s own kind that has brought much talent to the foreground. A wonderful initiative!
Sphinx Theatre Company - Apart from programming some excellent female led theatre, this company regularly runs festivals, opportunities and is generally a great resource of stuff to do with women in theatre. Thumbs up.
Bechdel Theatre - So relevant it has it’s own test named after it - another behemoth of theme and concept led theatre, their latest project required recorded conversation between women for their latest piece. Inclusive, strident and outspoken. We dig it.
Apart from that - see it all! Go to the first nights, meet the people ,take the opportunity and the lead ...you never know where it will get you. And ahem, one other suggestion, if we may…
Baz Productions - C’mooon. We had to. PLUS we are really cool and love theatrical ladies so stick that in your pipe.
In all seriousness though, it is all in our hands - and sure this industry is a tough pill to swallow at times, and a main reason Baz exists is that we felt the situation was so dire we decided to step up and make it ourselves, but triumph comes out of adversity. Be the missing piece that fits into that slot. Nothing is achieved unless you open the door to it. We need to stick with each other and stand on each other’s shoulders. Now more than ever.
We’re rather good at this. Maybe we should sideline in life coaching?
There’s a stat floating around that states ‘Women speak up 75% less when they’re surrounded by men.’
*beats path to Destiny’s Child soundtrack*
We believe in you. Now get out an hustle!
Big Lady Love,
Baz xx
Location, Location, Location - Promenade's Place
Apr 6, 2017
Helloo again Bazzers, on this the eve of summer! Could it possibly be true that we are about to get...warm? The evenings are drawing out and it’s a lovely day to be outside - this is promenade weather - and for the uninitiated we ain’t talking about parasols and lace. No, we of course refer to theatre occurring in pub gardens, on roofs, underground train arches, as we found last summer at The Vaults - truly live, truly unpredictable, and truly vulnerable to plane noise, but hey you can’t have everything. We kid, we love those metal birds, who needs soundscapes? *rolls eyes but we love it*
One of the main things that Baz’s manifesto set out to achieve from the start was accessible theatre, for all - we have massive respect for London’s rich theatre history and it’s theatres - the old and cherished and the new and bold. The only thing is that these beautiful, gold-embellished venues aren’t meant for throwing around paint in and climbing up curtains - the kind of crazy thing we are wont to do - exhibit A being a half-full bathtub being splashed around in every night at The Vaults, that kind of thing- therefore a lot of high profile theatre events tend to stay in the traditional realm, with lots of revivals. And that’s great- far from underestimating our rich theatre and playwriting history, we honour it, we hope, by moving the action to new and unexpected places.
In 2011, we performed Macbeth in a crypt in Holborn, in 2013 the entire Greek Myth canon in a single room in Shoreditch - for us, it’s about taking away as much as possible and seeing what we can still work with. Great theatre companies like Punchdrunk take over full warehouses, and almost all of the then abandoned Battersea Arts Centre for their projects, marking, we feel, the first shift we felt in the industry away from seeing promenade, experimental theatre as gimmicky or worse, looked down upon. Our most recent production, a version of Strindberg’s dreamplay at the Vaults in London, moved our audience, from courtyard, to stairwell, theatre, to tunnell and beyond, on a scene by scene basis. The majority of our audiences didn’t bat an eyelid about being moved from space to space, sometimes able to sit, sometimes not - Bazzers unite - but those who were being introduced to us, seemed bemused, occasionally annoyed about the upheaval. For us, theatre is a group activity - it’s not sitting with your feet up and eating popcorn - in essence, we don’t want you to be too comfortable, all the time.
Er, take that last statement any way you want. We are experimental, after all and that is what we want you to do.
But what remains is the irksome idea that sitting down in a beautiful dark room that is adorned with cherubs is still the standard - Baz loves that stuff more than anyone else, but that’s partly why we made our manifesto in the first place. We of course don’t want to do a disservice to major theatres doing excellent and ground-breaking work, on and off west end - Lucy McCormick’s devilishly entertaining Triple Threat at the Soho is a definite pick - go forth and see it and then never forget it, really just try- but when a member of the Baz Team got to go to a piano recital just recently: where applause is restricted to between movements, coughing is a killing offense and the line between performer and audience has never been so clear: in status, in skill, in tone in such regimental fashion - makes us seem a bit moany over here in Theatreland. Sort it out, classical music concerts. But in all seriousness what do we, and other experimental theatre companies have to sacrifice in order to court the proscenium arch audiences and break through to the mainstream, you ask? Well thank you for asking, but we counter with maybe that it shouldn’t ever be mainstream-ised (is a word, shut up) and that we belong in the weird crowd - discovered by all you delightful weirdos (or Bazzers in this private circle *raises champagne glass*) as you perhaps tell your friends about this bonkers piece of theatre you saw, or you post it online….and maybe that’s the true future of experimental theatre: it’s not, by its nature, there to to earn a place in the prim and proper books of history - it’s meant to be a live, thrown against the wall, one time only event. Truly utopian in nature - anyone can do it! It can happen any place, any where - it’s groovy like that. Viva abandoned cark parks, real parks, fake parks with astroturf, roofs, underground stations, crypts and night clubs in the daytime, your front room - anywhere we can make theatre together... and let’s all arrange to meet back here to see the panto in December.
What do you know. Maybe there’s room for us all - even if you have to stand a little bit. Look at these people, they're loving it! Cheers!
Love,
Baz x
Objectification, Your Honour: A Handy Guide To Censorship
March 14, 2017
As we enter day six of Happy international Women’s Bonanza...wait, what? It's only a day? Oh...OK. Anyway, we thought we might honour the 24 hours set aside for the outpouring of gratitude and instagram posts and hashtags such an event inspires, by appreciating how far we’ve come and confronting what we still need to do. So put down your bunting and ‘I Heart Women Today’ posters and let’s crack on shall we? (sarcastic? Us? Noooo….) we’re here to discuss one of the last taboos in theatre – nudity. Hold on to your drawers. (Or don’t. It’s a free country and also it flies in the face of this post, but we are all about your choice)
OK yes, we are being sarcastic, but for comic effect you see – of course it’s great to have the country simultaneously fall over each other to cry the virtues of Woman: mother, sister, partner, wife…but what if that was everyday? Ah. The truth is we still have a long way to go. The war is not over – and the battleground is our bodies. In the years since censorship in the theatre was lifted, we’ve been, um, treated to many an arresting visual image – Edward Bond’s Saved featuring a notably disturbing and brave ending sequence in the 60s- censorship was only unofficially placed in 1968 - violence, the rise of immersive theatre, course language, all that good stuff - but this has also featured the human body.
You can’t post a nipple on instagram. On a woman. On a man it’s perfectly fine – you get multiple posts of glossy black and white shoots you could pick up from the newsagent shelf of the male torso in all it’s lightly dusted glory. When Daniel Radcliffe played the title role in Equus in 2007 there was many a salacious column inch dedicated to eye witness accounts- treating us, forgive us - but kind of like children.
“And then what happened?’
“He got his…thing out!”
We all have a body. We all make use of a body. So why not put it on the stage?
Battleground. Remember that?
Back in 2012 Sherlock actress Louise Brealey played Helen of Troy in a production of the Trojan Women, appearing onstage nude. Again, more comment from the papers, but a little less salacious this time: a taste of that tangy flavour of…was it, disapproval? She defended herself on twitter and wrote in a paper herself of how freeing it was, how confidence making, how real. And fantastic, we applaud her – for doing her job. That’s what was required of the role, and the director’s vision – she agreed, and she did it. For art and for the role she was playing. The comment was for….?
What we’re getting at here- the female body is so sexualized that a social media company views the human nipple not as a means by which to feed babies, but something to be censored, deemed inappropriate and just when we start to make headway, sit around the table – politics bashes down the door and we had all better take a seat. When Emma Watson posed for Vanity Fair just this week wearing a revealing top, the internet and it’s top agent Piers Morgan came for her as an actress, a role model, a feminist and a woman. When the rules are changing for everyone every day, what did we need? A man to gently face us in the right direction and point, with a saccharine smile to a handwritten sign that says “Feminism. 500 miles this way.” Sigh. Wouldn’t it be easier if nobody got naked at all, Bazzers? We went back to the Victorian times, no sex please we’re British, what hippy nonsense? Well, no. Because to Baz, theatre is challenging, difficult, confrontational, and ultimately about life. We have no interest in titillating audiences, and it’s true, no project of ours since we launched has featured any nudity- some underwear perhaps, but not to seem edgy. It’s quite difficult to make plain Y-Fronts look controversial, believe us– but being the free-thinking and brave Baz Broads we are, we aren’t ruling it out – just not for novelty’s sake, and not for the clicks. We stand by every creative decision we’ve made: from switching gender roles, confronting and visualizing disturbing themes, even throwing our audiences into total darkness - If we feel it suits our production and our vision then we own it.
So in conclusion your honour – we, women didn’t do it. The crimes against female representation has made the body a no-go zone. It has been compromised by the male gaze, the fashion dollar, the celebrity culture and the glossy magazine. We stand accused of being a target market your honour, where we lose out, giving a pound of flesh with no recompense.If and when we decide to feature any nudity of any gender - it will be with our aims and manifesto in mind - no red tape, no shock value and no publicity. Wish us luck.
Sigh. Anyway. What’s on instagram?
We joke. There are plenty of women, both in the arts and otherwise that are waking up to these disparities and doing excellent work. As we mentioned before, the highly attended Women’s March earlier this year brought the equal support of men and women. And even the most tepid and infuriating of comments under a video with a sensational headline are at least evenly spread with some level-headedness. Who knows? Maybe the wind’s about to change, and the real censorship can be lifted.
Hashtag boobs. If you’re comfortable with it.
Love,
Baz xx
DreamPlay Dispatch - Missives from the Baz Creative Team From The Run at The Vaults 2017
Subtitle
Ahoy Bazlings!
Hope all is well on good ship Baz, we've certainly had a good week - full of Shakespeare of all kinds: RSC and All Female - and it did not disappoint on any level, forsooth. It got us all fired up for the future though and many an idea has been thrown around while drinking wine (and sometimes those verbs got mixed up, but hey, that's PASSION. And we got a lot of it.)
But as London is literally lit up like a Christmas tree and the air is filled with cinnamon and whatever makes Subway smell so damn delicious, it got us thinking about our bumper year, and like our American cousins, what we are thankful for.
Well, you lot, of course, the lifeblood of the thing, who we write, direct and perform for, and who have loyally stayed by our side up to an including this year with our dream play project, the scale of which we'd never tried. Our casts, old and new that have dug our ideas and manifesto, and with fearlessness always gave it some welly - without their talent, support and continued loyalty we'd be nowhere fast. Our excellent Trio of Cath, Sarah and Emma who gave this thing life, gave it 100% commitment and shared their incredible array of talents and practices so uniquely them to make Baz not something able to be ignored.
And of course, our crew: Stage Manager Libby who you met in our previous blog, our fab producing duo George and Liz and of course our Stage and Set designers Josh and Naoimi who between them on a limited time, budget and just the obstacle of dressing and lighting a concrete tube, a pros arch theatre and a former office, three jobs in one, delivered more than we could possibly ask for: with dedication to the themes and ideas, amazing detail and most importantly a smile and a joke. It was an unmitigated pleasure to work with them, so how better to celebrate Bazgiving with the last of our Look Back Blogs, here's Josh and Naomi JUST as dream play's run ended.
Joshua Gadsby on the visual world of dreamplay.
dreamplay, was a departure for us. A co-design between Naomi Kuyck-Cohen (who specialises in set and costume design) and me, Joshua Gadsby (who specialises in lighting design). We both have a professional background in devised theatre works, movement works and performance art. We were keen to see the impact of removing boundaries in the design process, could the visual language become more visceral and playful?
Naomi and I were really drawn to BAZ's mission to bring theatre that holds a playful core. Theatre that coerces the audience to have a direct relationship with the action unfolding. It’s a delightful provocation for design.
Our work on dreamplay begun around 4 months ago, the journey from page to stage was somewhat unique, a classic text used as a framework for a contemporary response which formed a script, which was then used as a basis for play and exploration in the rehearsal room. We are both very process driven designers that thrive on interrogation and response to the source material (the play, the movement, the image) and this production offered a fantastic opportunity to go on a journey of interrogation with director Sarah Bedi. Strindberg’s A dream pay is a mammoth of a text, almost endless in it’s vivid and changing imagery. Sarah’s interpretation was no different, spanning the vast width and breadth of human suffering. We set about interrogating every image of human suffering within the play, picking apart and looking for common and universal images that could provide a visual language. Being sure not to give too much, as this is not a production seeking to give answers.
After many a site visit it was clear that the the Vaults architecture would become a very looming presence within the play. Trains rumble above, as each new room is architecturally more obscure than the last. Drowning the space in design was the last thing we wanted, we needed a language of simplicity and directness that allowed the audiences to connect with performers, not just watch them. Ultimately, the cavernous, characterful and sometimes absurd Vaults became the springboard for what our dreamscape looked like. We embraced it, it became the floored context that often inhabits our dreams. A bedroom appears in what is almost certainly not a domestic space, a plastic greasy spoon table and chair set sit in on a bare theatre stage and a mystical cellist appears high up in a frame, It’s the unexplainable stuff of dreams. Spacial forms are broken, remade and broken again. dreamplay really does inhabit the vaults.
There is nothing quite as terrifying as entering the first day of rehearsals with only a a white card model box (usually the design is completed and locked down at this point) and a notion of what some of the spacial dynamics will be, but this led to a flexibility and playfulness that meant that we could keep focus on the energy and boldness of the company. Often fleeting and exciting creative discoveries in the rehearsal room are also enabled as a result, a vast and decaying mirror... possibly the most absurd and unexpected image that has come of dreamplay came late in the process, something magical was captured in the rehearsal room and so it became part of our world in the Vaults.
No good ever comes of committing too early. Trust in the process, trust in the playfulness and stay open.
** 17.09.16
Impressive aren't they? And they did so everyday - a new issue, a new obstacle, managing a budget, still managing to be creative and ingenious - we really lucked out, and we see big things on the horizon. Thanks Josh and Naomi! Happy Bazgiving :)
And alas, there endeth the Baz blogs for the dream play era - but never fear, like an overactive child on too much hot chocolate we could rattle on about not much for days, so expect a new blog post soon.
Have a good monday, y'all (we've come over all American) and drink wine and be merry.
….We know it's 1pm, your point? Loads of places do mulled wine, c'mon now...
Big Love,
Baz
xxxx
Comment 1 Likes
Share
VOICES IN LIKELY PLACES (YOU CAN'T IGNORE THEM FOREVER)
November 18, 2016
The above image taken at our Young Director's workshop - the brilliant Liz set the task of asking them to write their thoughts on post its and stick them to pages posing different questions about the production. We got a very colourful theatre floor going on. You just can't see it cos it's in black and white.
Good morning Bazerinas, we hope this blog finds you well – we certainly are, still wondering if dream play was some wonderful dream that still gives us butterflies. Ah. Don’t expect us to not be mushy for a while yet! But at the same time, the gooey centre that is Baz needs it’s raison d'etre (this talk of chocolate and raisins getting you guys hungry too?) anyway – it’s proving quite hard to stay positive given current news and politics news – but it’s uncertain, worrying and austere times that art has proven its mettle and proved its here to stay.
It’s so hard to believe that austerity has been around for six years – kids, there was such a thing as money put aside from the arts, and people not meddling in culture ! That’s why we need young voices and talent more than ever and Baz is dedicated to nurturing and providing tools in order to contribute to the health of the arts for the future – Baz Education is just there above on the right and we’ll wait right here for you to check it out and then come back.
Okay?
Good, isn’t it? Okay, it’s brilliant and it’s fine if you haven’t gone, you can do it later but in essence, Baz’s aims and manifesto in our theatre and programming have helped shape our teaching programmes – using the tools we use in rehearsal and performance – from verse and approaching scenes to devising. For key stages 2,3 and 4 these kinds of skills are so useful for not only studies but also vocabulary, wider knowledge but most importantly, personal confidence. We also tailor our workshops to suit different institutions and levels of study. Cos we’re passionate like that.
During our dream play run at the Vaults, we reached out to young directors, offering them a ticket inclusive with a Q&A with two kind members of the cast, and our director/writer extraordinaire, Sarah – it was led epicly by one of our trainee directors Liz and was such an eye opener to how young people think about theatre: as well as their furtile imaginations and keenness to talk and interact with the production itself through directing exercises, brainstorms and Q&A sessions. That alone was enough to convince us that there is interest, passion and more importantly talent out there we need to nurture more than ever. We also recently visited and talked at the BRIT School for further confirmation that faith in young talent is founded - they have the skills and we need to provide the goods.
We’ve also worked closely with those top top people at Teach First – an organisation that truly puts education at the foremost of its ideals – for all ages, all parts of the country, all nationalities – everyone. The tireless work they put in to this inspires Baz, and also provides us with a framework to adapt our workshops to visit all schools, universities and work spaces we can get to- allowing us to tap into our fantastic actor’s network to lead the workshops we have formed in order to get the message out there by professionals with hands on knowledge of the industry they are talking about. We’ve seen for ourselves that drama techniques and training can give students and teachers alike that extra boost of confidence and skill that makes all the difference, especially through our Teacher INSET education packages. To learn more, take a trip to the top of the page under the lovely banner of Baz Education.
And it’s not just us – various theatre companies, even big buildings like the Old Vic are running programmes that use performance spaces and theatre in the day to help you give that presentation, to help your confidence, to help you imagine and understand that monologue you have to analyse. And we here at Baz dig that, and am so pleased to be part of the movement. So ultimately, are we about to break into Witney Houston song, teach them well and let them lead the way? Well yes, actually, that’s a silly question, but aside from that the arts, our cultural output and identity is being cut year on year, less voices are being given the opportunity to be heard and society can’t advance without arts. That’s why we need to nurture young voices and talent – of which there is no shortage in this country – and support the arts! We smell revolution. You with us??
With a friendly roar, we're off to eat some chocolate raisins.
Love, Baz
1 Comment 1 Likes
Share
MORE BLOG THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A STICK AT (BUT THAT WOULD BE WEIRD)
November 13, 2016
Whoo! Hi Bazzers! Us again, we're back! We hope this blog finds you well, as one can be after a weekend - we're here to keep you all in the loop once more with all things Baz. Cos we're loopy like that. Ah and this is from the vaults (both metaphorical and Waterloo) to bring you some thoughts from our epic Stage manager Libby: Always there with a light/a joke/a cuddle/ a towel from when you get out the bath she ran before every show, pyjama provider, engagement ring arranger and lighting manager. You get a lot in the deal that is Libby the Rock. Much more badass than Dwyane Johnson (though don't tell him we said that)
So anyway, here it is: some brilliant thoughts from our all rounder -at the point just before we got into the space - here Libby reflects on her growing responsibility and inclusion - far from being intimidated, she took on every challenge, and learned there was literally nothing she couldn't do. We literally couldn't have done it without you, Libby. Take it away!
Libby Blog
I trained in Theatre practice at Drama School and have worked in Theatre and live events for over 11 years. I have spent time in a lot of rehearsal rooms and each show is unique, offering a different set of rules to bring about different outcomes. I have worked a lot in music production, events, festivals and circus so coming back to theatre is a really good feeling. Being a part of a creative process again, exploring and finding with a group of people is very exciting. In Baz’s case, the daily structure of the week is outlined by the director, I share that daily with the entire company along with general and specific notes from that day’s rehearsals. Each scene is worked on with high-focus, there are improvisation games, text work, movement sessions. I help record and action this.
When it comes to Theatre for me the most exciting way to work is collaboratively; sitting in the corner of a room all day can take its toll so being made to feel like part of the company, having interesting discussions not just about the play, script or character but life experiences, daily experiences, things that have happened to friends, are all discussions that I am encouraged to be part of. And that is very exciting and liberating. That, to me is my definition of experimental theatre.
I also love what we are working toward, what the performances will be. The structure of the play is being found in rehearsals and a lot of the content that will build the play will be found in performance every night. There are no solid cues, no book (in fact a lot of the time no script), no big changes of set. The play is alive; my task is to help keep it so. I need to be as in tune with the scene, content, theme, understanding, cast and research as anyone else ‘on stage’. And rehearsals are not a time for me to do paperwork but for me to be engaging in the process.
I’m in my 3rd week with BAZ and I am really enjoying each day. I really enjoy how organised Sarah is, the rehearsal day is clear, structured and really enjoyable. I’m really learning not to be self-conscious, my opinion / thoughts / feelings are often asked for during this process and that’s quite unusual for me to speak up! I really enjoy being involved in a collaborative process and working with BAZ has given me more confidence to (when asked) be actively involved, reading in lines, standing in as an audience member, joining in the warm up and speaking in research / analysing sessions.
Its important not to have any pre conceived thoughts before arriving into a process like this. Before I arrived I read the play and drew up the usual paperwork pre rehearsals, props list, character and scene breakdowns etc. But once rehearsal began I soon realised I will need to be open to the process and not confined with paperwork or tradition methods of working. This is something I teach often when I work back at my old drama school so it is really good practice for me to be doing it live! The structured paperwork I originally made I have shed in favour of more free flowing templates that I can fill in. I am very much looking forward to the outcome of this play, I have no idea yet, even at this stage of rehearsals, what the entire outcome will be, there is a real feel of adventure and play. I’m definitely on my toes.
Isn't that exciting? Makes us feel we want to get right back into the process of putting on a show again! What Libby didn't know was that the resulting production would keep her on her toes and her toenails, but she never got down or stressed, and did whatever was right for the cast or production, whatever the task. That's dedication, professionalism and class. It always went like a dream.
Ha. Punny.
We love you Libby! What no, shut up there's something in YOUR eye...
ext week we'll have more thoughts from our company, this time mid-late production from our epic dynamic design duo, Naomi and Josh! You don't want to miss it!
Love,
Baz xx
Comment 1 Likes
Share
THE LOST BLOGS - AN ACTOR REHEARSES. JACK'S BLOG
October 4, 2016
Hey hey Dreamers! (We refuse to let go of the dream so what!) Just because the run has ended, doesn't mean that dream has too! Oh yes, we still have content coming out of our ears like a Peter Gabriel Aardman music video (long story) so stay tuned. First up, from week two of rehearsal, actor Jack Wilkinson reflects on the new: cast, rules, games, and freedom. Super interesting to read especially now the run is over…sniff. Don't look at us. Allergies. Anyway, a great blog, take it away Jack!
“Just say yes…”
Was actor, Colin Hurley’s response to being asked if he was really going to use a Sainsburys shopping bag as a bathtub.
I feel that comment sums up the feel of the room so far in rehearsals for ‘dreamplay’. It’s week two and the atmosphere is just as open and playful as the first – sometimes in a rehearsal processes there comes a point where people want to start to nail things down, even have the answers given to them, but this is a play very much made up of questions rather than answers. What is it to love, to hurt? What is it to dream? And to try and discover these things, I think it’s about creating the right atmosphere in a rehearsal room, one that’s safe for people to “…Say yes.” To be able to try things out and not be afraid to fail.
With dreamplay, we often have all the actors in the rehearsal space at all times, and sure, even though sometimes it may be good to shoot off into a green room, have a brew and learn some lines/check facebook, there is a sense that you’re all building a play together, as an ensemble – watching each other work, adding ideas, picking scenes apart as a company and getting to know the play as a whole not just individual parts. We have an actor who has a clowning piece in the play and instead of being a personal endeavor all of us over the past few weeks have been playing and developing individual clowns.
One of the actors said to me the other day – “It’s like being back at drama school”. I wondered if that felt regressive, but then I’ve never been as brave in my career as I was back then. It is like being back at drama school: large voice and body warm ups, dancing, clowning, large improvisations – and the ability to watch fellow cast members work and be able to learn. It’s one of the things many great performers talk about, that we should never stop learning, but sometimes it’s easy to fall into a place where you feel the need to succeed, impress and ‘get it right’ – a lovely director once told me, “Acting is a very simple thing, made complicated”.
It’s amazing what happens when you’re in a room full of people that are open enough to express how they felt during an exercise or scene. “I felt I was maybe not being as open as could” – “I was probably too polite...” the whole room becomes braver and when somebody makes a discovery, it’s doesn’t panic the rest of the room into believing that they’re behind in their work – but acts as a bar being set, a challenge, something that galvanizes everyone to create.
When I took this project on, somebody said it was maybe too experimental for them – but I think all theatre should be an experiment, a place to explore. And it is a joy to share with the audience. Why do these characters do what they do? What is it like to be human? A question I think we can all have a little say in… and one I’m very much looking forward to trying to answer with audiences at the Vaults.
How about that - even in week two, no shying away from the difficult stuff. And no hint of a Killers lyric in sight (are we dancer? What?) more the first bit: are we human?
We went some way to trying to show that in every light we could. To err is to be human.
To quote is to blog.
Love you Bazzers, thanks so much on making this run the best yet, your support, your reactions and your donations. You all rock harder than Axel Rose on a Tuesday (we presume he rocks then, may be untrue, but you get the jist!)
Baz x
/This blog was featured on Reviews Hub.com in Sept 16, and wrongly credited. The words are credited to Jack Wilkinson and should read as above.
Comment 1 Likes
Share
NO TRAINING NECESSARY: BAZ MAKES GOOD CHOICES
September 26, 2016
Good afternoon, Bazzers! Have we got a treat for you! We've heard from one brilliant trainee directors Stephen Lloyd and now Elizabeth Bacon steps into the breach for us. Not to get misty-eyed (watch this space) but we have been so lucky to appoint Stephen and Liz as so much more than trainees: workshop givers, post-show talks, and general support. dreamplay is not a usual production and we have found creative professionals more than happy to give us their support, time and creativity. Like the title says: we make good choices. What? No, there's nothing in our eyes? Ahem. Anyway. Here is fresh new blog from Liz mid-dream at The Vaults, Waterloo...
Things As They Are
I wrote a blog post a while ago about how audiences respond to theatre; about how every one of us is an expert at deciding whether a performance was effective or not, because theatre, in my thinking, is about making audiences feel. How exciting then that I can’t tell you whether, or how, a piece of theatre will make you feel, that no-one can. How wonderfully democratic that we each come at it from our own starting point and that no-one is more expert at being an audience member than anyone else.
Working as a trainee director on ‘dreamplay’ with Baz Productions, at The Vaults in (in fact, under) Waterloo, I’ve come back to this again- I’ve been thinking about theatre performance and narrative, and the pressure to ‘get it’, or not. Inspired by Strindberg’s original, the play is about dreams and the dreamer, about how we experience dreams- how we see them, hear them, how they make us think, feel and what they do to us. Placing the audience as dreamer, the play immerses us into the world of a series of different and sometimes related dreams, as we pass through different spaces in The Vaults and the 8:05pm train to Woking rumbles over-head.
Actually- it’s sort of about those things. And here’s where I think it gets interesting; it’s open, it doesn’t tell the audience what to think or feel, rather it presents us with a series of things that are played so truthfully and with such life and openness, that they are little presents in themselves. This openness is central to the Director, Sarah Bedi’s, process, which from the outset was about working with a group of curious and committed performers to find the game in each scene, and to play that hard, and differently, every night. This was never about blocking, fixing or choreography, this was about finding the game and keeping it alive and engaging for the performers and audience alike.
What struck me about ‘dreamplay’ is that each scene tells a different story, and there are links, and echoes, and gifts in each one, but there isn’t a coherent whole. Or rather, the coherent whole is the audience’s journey through the piece, the dreamer, taking part, experiencing, feeling and engaging. This isn’t a trick- there isn’t a story that you’re ‘meant’ to unearth, there’s a narrative framework- Agnes, a kind of angel-figure, comes to earth to find out why human beings are sad- but, really, understanding that (or not) shouldn’t alter your experience of it. What I love about this play is the beauty and commitment of each moment, each performer, the feel, smell and acoustics of each space. What I take away from it is a series of beautiful things that brought goosebumps to my arms, laughter to my belly, tears to my eyes and a pleasant shooting sensation down my back.
Now, let me be honest- as an audience member, I’m often guilty of needing to know the meaning- what I’m meant to learn, the joke I’m meant to be in on, the irony I’m meant to raise an eyebrow at, who I’m meant to trust, who I’m meant to be suspicious of- I want to get ahead so I can be ‘in’. It’s a test, and I want to pass, please. That creates a fair whack of anxiety, often leaving me dissatisfied and prone to blame (I’m working on it). But what if there is nothing to ‘get’. What if it’s up to each of us to feel and respond to a piece of theatre as we will, and if that means taking away five 2 minute segments where some beautiful movement sequence felt like freedom, or a wail hit so poignantly and hard at grief it made you hold your breath, or a light and a shadow felt like being 5 years old again, or an argument felt so totally yours, you realised you needed to apologise- well, what if that’s enough.
I think there’s a big responsibility here with theatre makers- directors, performers, designers and their creative teams – to connect to and engage audiences in a way that they feel safe and confident to respond to a piece in a manner that is totally their own, because that is so much more robust and profound than ‘getting it’, so much more flexible, personal, moving and ultimately, I think, much more valuable.
Liz's website can be found here: http://elizabethbacon.co.uk
Til Next Time, Bazzers! Sweet Dreams...
Baz x
1 Comment 1 Likes
Share
Baz Dispatch - Trainee Director Writes
Sep 8, 2016
Good Morning Bazzers!
Do we have a treat for you or what - our first Trainee Director of the project has written us a blog, postcard from rehearsals all the way back in week one - it's a fascinating read during a week of final rehearsals: to understand and reconnect with the nucleus of the piece, what's changed and what's stayed the same. Thank you Stephen! And we're looking forward to a different experience every night too...
Full of expectation I arrived at the Vatican rehearsal studio for day one of rehearsals for ‘Dreamplay’. “We’ll probably spend the morning sat around a big table, reading the script, drinking coffee and discussing the themes of the play. Bit of uniting, a few games, definitely ‘Zip, Zap, Boing’”. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Following a brief introduction, Sarah led a warm up which involved the company moving around the room, engaging with the space. The warm up was followed by a series of improvisations directly linked to scenes in the play. Exploring the themes and nature of each of them, then discussing how it made us feel, both those taking part in the exercises and those watching.
The rest of the week continued to play out this way, so that by Friday we had looked at every scene. I really enjoyed being involved and seeing this process take shape. It felt like the company had a stronger understanding of each scene, their characters and the play as a whole; a group of fearless, daring performers who took on each challenge with pure enthusiasm and inspiring confidence.
As a trainee director, I assumed that I would spend a lot of the week just watching and observing the process, but instead felt very involved, contributing to discussions and exercises. I even had the opportunity to lead a morning warm up.
It was great observing the work that the company did with movement director Fionn. Seeing them completely let go and use their bodies to translate characters and situations, the physicality of the Clown and the Dancing Girls whilst owning their material and being in the moment. Something that all artists aspire to achieve, but do not always having the space and time to practice and explore.
By the end of the week I could see that all of my expectations were well and truly wrong and I’m so glad they were. I had learned a great deal from Sarah and the company. Even having taken over some stage management tasks, I felt that I had a better understanding of what everyone does. Having worked as an actor for several years and have directed a number of plays myself, this opportunity was a wonderful way to experience work from the other side and observe the many ways and approaches towards text, characters, scenes and production.
I really look forward to seeing the finished piece, well considering a lot will be improvised, a finished piece.
Signals From The Blog-osphere
Sept 1, 2016
Ahoy! We are fully on the good ship Baz's dreamplay, and already nearing the end of the penultimate week of rehearsals! This is both bonkers and exciting, Bazzers. As ever we are loving exploring, playing and improvising our way through Strindberg's landscape, armed to the teeth with excellent acting talent at every turn, and with Sarah Bedi in the captain's hat/director's chair - the job is a good 'un. Seriously, guys. We've seen some of it. Dreamy stuff.
In honour of this excellent and immersive process, the arts review site Reviews Hub asked our director for her thoughts and 'rules' of engagement in the rehearsal space. Ask and ye shall receive some great comments and soundbites and witticisms that make us feel all grown up and knowledgeable, which we totally are. Got a badge and everything. Anyway, read on for some knowledge, some reflections and some thoughts. Well done, Cap'n!
--------------
In the first of a regular series taking us behind the rehearsal room door, writer and director Sarah Bedi shares her thoughts on creating the complex world of dreamplay, opening in September at The Vaults in London.
Day two of rehearsals for dreamplay. Day two of playing, experimenting and feeling our way towards a complex dream-world that already feels endlessly surprising and unnerving. It’s early days yet and already some ‘rules of play’ are emerging from the room. We’ll keep adding to these as rehearsals progress until finally, we have a complete set of guidelines … but for now this is where we are at:
Rule #1: The parameters of our dreamplay are the same as those set out by Strindberg in 1907 in the preface to his A Dream Play:
“The characters split, double, multiply, evaporate, condense, dissolve and merge. But one consciousness rules them all: the dreamer’s; for him there are no secrets, no inconsistencies, no scruples and no laws. He does not judge or acquit, he merely relates; and because a dream is usually painful rather than pleasant, a tone of melancholy and compassion for all living creatures permeates the rambling narrative.”
Rule #2: The audience is the dreamer. We are in their subconscious. In a dream every person you meet is part of you; they must be as there is only your subconscious. Therefore every character our audience meets is also themselves, we are all part of the same consciousness. As the audience is the dreamer, it is to them the adventure happens.
Rule #3: There is a transaction with the character Daughter/Agnes: we become her and she becomes us.Daughter/Agnes/Audience goes on a quest to find out why humans suffer. We encounter suffering in various guises. Fear. Shame. Rejection. Loss. Anxiety. It’s everywhere, and it repeats. Endlessly. Perhaps this is human existence.
Rule #4: Everything in the space is live. Everything is physical. Nothing is ‘pre-made’ and therefore nothing is ‘pre-decided’ or ‘pre-determined’. Where possible, lighting is made through practicals operated by performers. Actors change characters in front of us, and we don’t rely on theatrical ‘tricks’. The magic is a different sort of magic that happens in front of us and with us. It’s open and generous and present.
Rule #5: In a dream anything can happen. This is not a get out clause. In the seeming chaos, there needs to be order – even if it’s order of a different kind. Dreams are made up of feelings, thoughts and the fragments of everyday waking life. There is still a structure of sorts: perhaps a spongy, bendy, illogical sort of structure, but it’s still a structure.
Rule #6: A dream is open to interpretation: there is no single ‘true’ reading of a dream. dreamplay is equally open to interpretation: there is no single ‘true’ reading of dreamplay. This is a show that isexperienced through the body as much as it is through the mind. It is not an intellectual experience, nor is it didactic. We aim to give the audience a bunch of dots and leave them free to join them however they want. Some will guess at our intentions, others will create their own story/meaning. Both are valid and right.
dreamplay runs at The Vaults, London 10 September to 1 October 2016
Read it online here: http://www.thereviewshub.com/production-diary-sarah-bedi-on-rules-of-engagement-for-dreamplay/
Mirror, Signal Automatic, Aubergine, Oops, Baz Science Lession No. 4
Jul 18, 2016
Afternoon Bazzers! We’re back with yet another sleepy blog, where we have learned yet more about the odd world of sleep: an activity, a true verb, that looks from the outside restful and peaceful, but we are about to shatter that impression with our booklearnin and smarts. Well, we try to with the help and guidance of resident brainbox PJ. As we inch closer to our dreamplay becoming a reality we’re more morbidly interested in the phenomena of sleeping than ever, ‘bad sleep’ if you will, so without further ado let’s dive headfirst into anxiety and dreams –see you on the other side...
We here at Baz have a bit of a downer on Freud, frankly we think the guy had issues: a touch of Narcissism and prone to fantasy episodes but that’s just laywomen’s opinions – and remind us to never use the term ‘laywomen’ again – but we do appreciate some of the ideas he put forward: most specifically those dealing with anxiety. His theory that society is a major player in the formation of anxiety is something that certainly feels true today: phones, likes, magazines, money, politics. But Freud being Freud he put it into two neat categories: that of Automatic Anxiety and Signal Anxiety – so the choice is: being afraid of being afraid of something happening to you in the moment and it being terrible, or being afraid of feeling something bad is happening anyway and all that bad stuff is just going to, you know, be really bad.
Good times, are we right, guys?
Freud theorises that these daily worries slip into our unconscious so that at night, an anxiety dream (or a ‘failed dream’) as he called it, is you trying to exorcise the anxiety by sort of living it. We know, super useful; and not traumatic at at all. But that REM state you get into when you’re about 90 minutes into the night will probably bring lovely dreams of being mugged or stuck or that moment of hearing your keys in your bag but not able to find them for an abnormally long time…or is that just us?
Anyway, Automatic Anxiety: what is it? Well, dreams that imagine a scenario when you are ambushed and are helpless to the physical or emotional consequences of it – recreating a traumatic experience – and this is where beardy Freud-y loses us a bit here. He then confidently asserts this is a reflex left over from the experience of both before and during our own births, earning it the name of ‘primary anxiety’. And hey, you don’t get more primary than that.
Well this guy clearly loves a sign... shown here for 'balance'.
Signal Anxiety, on the other hand, is the sensation of being aware that something bad is going to happen, causing the emotional and physical consequences of a Bad Thing , and that in itself being just as scary as actually experiencing it, so good news – you’re not only going to get stuck on the rollercoaster upside down but you’re going to feel like you were going to before you stepped on it. The body goes into a state of constant preparation, aware that any second you might have to spring into action to avoid the unavoidable fate your dream has cooked up for you. This Freud coined as ‘Neurotic Anxiety’ and we mean….you weren’t kidding, Sigmund.
So how do we get ourselves out of this Primary/Neurotic state unscathed? Well it’s not that easy, really. Freud’s theories of defence mechanisms don’t offer much hope, throwing around words like, Repression, Regression, Projection, Denial…the future could be looking pretty dark, if it weren’t for Sublimation and Rationalisation. Rationality, kids, is your friend and when you employ it to your anxiety dreams through realisation of Freud’s patented ‘Talking Cure’ ™ you can go back to common or garden 'just going back to check I locked the front door' maybe twice, tops. But more Baz in style is Sublimation, where you take that negative energy and instead of wiping it clean away, you mould it into something else that could work for you. Probably Van Gough had anxiety, certainly depression and other tendencies but his art is beautiful and calm. He sublimated like no-ones business, and discounting the ear incident that worked out well. Of course, Freud links this to sexuality and would, at this point in the session, accuse you of having the hots for him, so we’ll leave anxiety there on that fairly positive note.
The main thing is though, enjoy yourself, put on the telly, out on Elbow, have a Pimms, read a monologue, play an improv game and sublimate, sublimate, sublimate/
/Be lazy
(Mood) swings and roundabouts innit?
Just by the way, Baz will always confirm that you did lock the door, cos we’re that kind of friend and we dig you.
Love, Baz x
The Cold Side Of The Pillow- Baz Science Lesson No. 3
Jun 21, 2016
We just can’t stop with all the head shrinking here at Baz HQ – but then again we’ve come to the subject we have been most fascinated by – sleep disorders. So listen up sleepwalkers, dream fighters, nocturnal twitchers and midnight conversationalists, we might, in our roundabout, theatre way, be about to cure you of your ills. Er, terms and conditions apply. Both of those being it based on this totally not working. Or will it? Are you dreaming right now?! Read on to find out! And again we'll be enlisting the help of our resident brainbox PJ who we are indebted to and who allows us to make silly jokes just a bit more knowledgeable.
No, you’re not dreaming right now, but to discuss properly what’s going on with your flailing limbs we gotta figure out what’s going on in your noggin. The more Baz learns about sleep the more the idea of it and ‘rest’ seem laughable. Your brain is so cogniscient, so on it in ways it’s not when you are awake it might be more specific to call is a ‘refresh’ like when you refresh a webpage – all the info returns, the headlines, links, text, pictures – but it also comes with updates and new information and not always of the happiest sort: moments from your childhood, a scary scenario that never happened but could have: poor souls with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, and even Narcolepsy can have far reaching effects that all stem from sleep where the saloon of traumatic memories and icky stuff isn’t constrained by waking hours.
So when someone is standing beside the bed, punching at the air, it’s fairly certain they are suffering the adverse affects of PTSD: a mental disorder that occurs after a traumatic event, usually after an attack of some kind. Sufferers can feel constantly on edge in waking hours, but it can profoundly affect sleep, causing insomnia in many cases, but also REM sleep behaviour disorder wherein the nightmares, often linked to the original incident, are acted out. Delayed Sleep Phase disorder and sleep apnea are often common, too. Borderline Personality Disorder, too has roots in sleep, with adults that display symptoms of Fantasy Proneness, spending daytime hours fantasising and daydreaming or playing games excessively, for example, make you especially prone to periods of ‘Derealisation’ – a feeling of detachment from the real world, people and objects too, occasionally suffering from amnesia. These also manifest as sleep disorders where games, fantasies and imagined situations are too, often acted out.
Banquo at the Banquet (good name for a band by Theodore Chasseriau, captures the moment Macbeth has his funny turn.
These examples are extreme and reliant on suffering trauma or excessive, harmful exposure to un-natural concepts and light, but the thought of sleep being so prevalent in some major mental health disorders is disquieting. The comforter and the eye mask aren’t looking so uncool now, huh? Anyway, all this research got us thinking about these disorders in literature, and more importantly, in theatre: pretty evident Macbeth is suffering from a bit of PTSD when he is visited by Banquo in the great feast, and his Lady Macbeth from extreme Dissociation, after trauma and fantasy, and let’s face it, sleep wasn’t exactly restful for poor King Duncan. Oh yeah and Hamlet and his Dad at the battlements. Typical transference in a dream state pertaining to parental issues possibly due to a absent father and a lack of patriarchal order. (I thank you: we're getting pretty good at this now.) People are always having prophecies and dreams in the Ancient Greek times aren’t they? But maybe that had something to do with all the wine and the heat. We don’t know. We are not academics, as we are at pains to point out. We do highly doubt though that A Midsummer Night’s Dream would have been as fun without that pesky Dream Juice.
So to conclude, what have we learned? I mean, really tell us, because there will be a test on it later (joking, of course, but we do hope we planted the seed for a few anxiety dreams in some heads out there) No really: we have learned that there is a definite link between mental illness and disorders that stem from sleep – it really is more vital to our health than we realise. All the more reason to curl up in bed with a book an hour before you usually do, that’s what Baz is gonna do. Rock n Roll. We fancy a bit of Strindberg….a quick dip into Dream Play, perhaps? Conditioning? Us? How dare you. (It is a good read though. With a dram of whiskey. But who’s counting? Well, maybe sheep. Good luck with that)
Thought we'd leave you with something of a palette cleanser after this one, so here is everyone's favourite sit-rom-com The Vicar of Dibley, with Geraldine working through her pre-wedding anxiety with a touch of fantasy proneness and transference. And Sean Bean, which we feel is a must working through all issues. All of them.
Love and sweet dreams. Hopefully.
Baz x
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Seratonin - Baz Science Lesson No. 2
Jun 6, 2016
Hello again Bazzers! It’s time for us to delve yet again into the murky world of sleep, dreams and just exactly why you keep dreaming of a cactus in a sombrero dancing to ‘Walking in the Air’ by Aled Jones (actually there is nothing we can do to help you with that, you might be on your own there: we suggest you get that sorted. Pronto.) But it is weird isn’t it? It’s not just us – right? Sort of lying unconscious, sort of paralysed, for at least eight hours, Every night.
Freaked out yet?
Well never fear – Baz and our resident brain-box PJ are back with facts about sleep that are more awesome than the cool side of the pillow – so settle down under the blanket with your hot water bottle and your CD of whale noises and let us tell you all about it…So. What is sleep? We all spend, people have theorised, a third of our entire lives doing it. Even educated fleas do it. (Sorry) Basically, it’s a restorative natural impulse, and good night will usually encompass the three states/cycles in the brain and set you up for the day: Wakefulness (where your brain bids you a good night, releases Orexin neurons to moan at you if you decide to just watch one more episode of Homeland) Rapid Eye Movement (when your eyes are going crazy and you are literally all up in that high speed car chase with Scooby Doo) to Non-Rapid Eye Movement (that weird Inception-like place where not much is happening but what is, is confusing – sorry Chris Nolan, bit harsh?) It’s in that REM state though, that the drama happens – REM Behaviour Disorders, or sleepwalking/fighting/Irish dancing occur, and the normal state of paralysis is completely bypassed. There’s also the cheery prospect of Narcolepsy, or Sleep Apnea – two disorders that greatly affect the individual’s life in ways that show just how important and all-pervading sleep can be.
Of course, there are your bog-standard Nightmares too – and this is what Baz is particularly interested in with our Dream Play – it is one of the few things like breathing, laughing and crying that we all share, sure, but you can’t tell Baz that you’ve not had that naked at school/embarrassing dream about a teacher episode. Well, it can go even deeper than that, and into something called Dream Reality Confusion – which , like it suggests, can make things get really weird. And lucid. To which we here at Baz say – awesome. And “can you write that down for us?”
This kind of information, this science, is just as important to Baz’s vision as the work it produces for the simple reason that it’s fascinating – kind of miraculous and every day simultaneously, providing real insight into what it means to be human on an individual basis: subconscious desire, an unknown ambition, an anxitety you just don’t face during the day – and it is one of our main aims to provide enlightened, important and educational work to our audiences. Even about sleep. Plus is cool to know that the Melatonin chemical is the fun one, and the Serotonin one wakes you up. Pull that out at dinner parties.
Most interestingly, however, these cycles of different sleep patterns occur roughly every hour and a half, signalling the next big change. Ninety minutes. Kind of like the length of a play…
Just leaving that there.
Sleep well! Dream it up! (Baz dreamt of lighthouses all last night. No matter the situation. Callback to Aldeburgh last year where Baz devised Dream Play in around the South Lookout at HighTide, perhaps? Nonetheless, it did make a nice feature of that leisure centre, though.)
Sleep tight! (anyone else suddenly really sleepy now?)
And thanks again to the Almighty PJ making our lives, blogs and dreams just that little bit easier to understand.
Baz x
Quietly Loud - a Baz Appreciation Of Music
April 5, 2016
(BAZ Blogger: Jess Bailey)
Hello again lovely post-Easter people! Hope you are still aglow with chocolate sugar-buzzes and watching Easter Parade for the hundredth time on BBC Two (bless Fred and Ginger….but that’s for another blog, another time) For now, we talk of that most abstract yet present, all encompassing, yet always-in-the-background thing: music. We here at Baz HQ love music. Can’t get enough of the stuff. Both individually, as a group, as a theatre company and as a cast - we’ve used it to the best of our ability (which has always been pretty damn good) - in all forms, all the best stuff: acapella choral singing, improvised singing, improvised music on and with props, and most recently with a divine cello. For Baz it’s always the extra player in the scene, though it has no lines to recite, nowhere to enter or exit, but heard in, around and through the action: quietly loud.
Laura Moody in Dream Play R&D for BAZ at HighTide
One thing that’s terribly important to Baz, and this, in fact, vies with other aims for the top spot, is to tell stories. Any old story: stories of love turning to hate, hate to love, ambition to ruin, vice versa - sometimes it’s barely about something as simple as finding somewhere to sit down in a busy room - as long as it’s told well and in the most interesting way possible. Music has a happy tradition with storytelling, something lost in the mire from the 18th century onwards with the advent of naturalism and realism, for the most part anyway, and Baz has always wanted to honour that magic moment when an audience is silent and someone starts to sing, or run a bow along a string, hit a key in contemplation. There’s that famous example of Ophelia, now insane, wandering about, singing and mumbling to herself, to make it clear, but music can do so much more than illuminate character, it can also conjure everything from regal palaces to humble slums effortlessly.
Well, that got a bit fact-y didn’t it! Forgive us, we get kind of nerdy about this stuff, and excited when we can use it to its fullest extent with the talent and creativity of performers like Laura Moody, who was part of our Dream Play cast - an amazing classically trained cellist who also has a line in experimental music who, free from sheet music, improvised swathes of gorgeous melody that belong only to the play: her reaction to the play and her knowledge of how the cello could best describe it - that’s original, once in a lifetime material, and performed so beautifully and with melancholy on a gradually dimming beach in Aldeburgh - magical. To prove it, here, enjoy Laura spellbinding everyone with her own personal album at Wilton’s music Hall, why not indeed:
Of course there has always been a close correlation with music, theatre and art - Ancient Greek culture made sure the Sirens beauty was only bettered by their seductive, ethereal singing - so much so Odysseus had to be tied down to resist only their voices, and Greek theatre gave us the term ‘Orchestra’ for the area behind the stage where the players would sit. In Baz’s 2013 production of Prophesy, we tackled the Ancient Greek canon, by mixing dialogue with improv, art and singing, in a way honouring the original tradition whilst keeping it all Baz. From music for lyre and flute of Shakespeare’s time, to the great scores of the 20th century from stabbing violins for Psycho to the unbearably lush waves of Rachmaninov in Brief Encounter (we implore you, imagine the film without it) - to Michael Nyman’s award-winning score for The Piano and Peter Greenaway’s potent collaborations, music has shown its relevance across the board - sure it’s not showy like language, visual like acting or dance but it’s damn well there all the same. And you find yourself listening.
It’s important to us all, though, music and sound - the first noise you are ever aware of being that comforting pound of boom-boom of a heartbeat, but as we grow older, brought up with particular tastes of our parents and even a little bit of our grandparents before them, music is so hardwired into us. It helps us too, even heals: research has shown its miracle qualities, from bringing back memory to brain damaged patients, curing stutters and tourrettes- from the domestic, making you feel a wide spectrum of emotion, a teenage connection, dancing your first dance to it, getting married to it, it’s in all things human and it would be ridiculous to not be included in our productions.
Good job we have then, eh. And have we have been lucky so far.
If music be the food of love…(who said that? It sounds familiar…)
Then, love.
Baz x
Comment 1 Likes
Share
Has It Been Five Years Already - Baz 1st Blog
Jan 21 2016
Baz Blogger: Jess Bailey
My, how we have grown! And by god, we’re going to mark it in a celebratory fashion, (meaning a blog post) so hold on!
Ahem. Well then. Here we are, knocking on the door of our fifth year. When you start an experimental site-responsive company dedicated to an entirely raw and live theatre experience from a female perspective, that half-decade milestone seems a long way off in the distance. A really long way. But it’s been so worth it for the love of the moment: an unexpected connection with an audience member, getting to shock, educate and deliver something new every night. Of course, we’ve come out the other side of five years briefed on the health and safety and lighting requirements of any location that exists, ever, so apart from anything else we’re putting that in the ‘pro column’.
Thinking of this day, January 28th 2011 - a typically freezing winter’s night where it all came together beautifully, big sign and all, still gives us the warm feeling the biting cold outside couldn’t get near:
It was a wonderful and super chill (even if we say so ourselves) launch to what we do and who we are, where the wine flowed freely (of what we remember) and friends, family, colleagues and interested parties raised a whopping amount in order to get us on our way. Since then, we’ve had two healthy and happy productions under our belt (and a third well received in the development stages coming soon to a very exciting space), award nominations, critical praise, and a thriving education programme helping out teachers, students and workers alike.
We’ve strived to give back as well as push ourselves, gaining knowledge and help along the way, learning to trust our instincts and returning, always to our core aims and manifesto. We couldn’t be more proud of our casts, creative teams and of course, our founders. Right, going to put that trumpet down now (but excuse us, we are very pleased.)
Of course, we couldn’t have done half of all that, however, without the kind moral and financial support of our patrons, individual givers and of course, our generous audiences. What? no, there’s nothing in our eye…
So far, so awesome, but we’ve got to keep up the momentum to give you theatre that we think you deserve, exciting, limitless and alive. Here’s to us, to you and the next five! Oh and watch this space (and that step, it’s crumbling a bit...sorry, old habits - site-specific life)
With serious love and thanks,
Baz Team x