Goodbye Rehearsals, Hello Bright Lights
I celebrate and mourn the end of my play rehearsals and share lessons learned
I am feeling a little sad but also very excited as I write this. My last rehearsal for my play, People Wipe Me. It's not my last rehearsal ever but it's the last one in my run of my grant funded rehearsals. And thanks to these rehearsals, I have a play that's ready to go.
I am most grateful to Arts and Disability Ireland for their Arts and Disability Connect Mentorship grant. This grant has given me the opportunity to work with my stupendous mentor, Angela Keogh, and we have both loved every minute of our rehearsals.
Photo Description: Black and White logo saying Arts and Disability Connect.
Now is a good time to reflect on what I've learned from the whole mentoring process so far – that is the point of it after all. I'll give you the magic number of three lessons I have learned.
The Language of Lighting
I've learned a new language during the mentoring process – the language of lighting. Angela and I took a swerve away from our original plan of what we'd cover during the mentoring – I applied for The Dublin Fringe Festival and I realised I needed a lighting plan.
Lighting technicians are like gold dust, but I found a great one and she came to my last rehearsal. From her I've learned about washes, spots and Fresnels, a language that shows you how the lighting magic happens
Photo Description: Here’s me in my yellow T-shirt, black hoodie and green pants, trying to look at a lighting plan sketched out on a piece of paper by a woman to the right of me. She has short brown hair and glasses and she wears jeans and a grey T=shirt with a circular pattern on it. We’re in the rehearsal room at VISUAL Carlow, which has a grey floor and grey walls.
The Power Of Movement
When I perform this play, people will want to know how I learned all those lines. That's probably the most common question performers are asked. And the answer is, through movement. Having a sequence of movements for each scene really helps you absorb the words you're reading.
It's like those words become part of you. You learn lines with your body, not just with your mind. And your body carries emotions which are released when you say the words in your script.
You're Not Just Saying Words
I confess when I started this mentoring process, I thought my play would be an extended speech, with elements of stand-up comedy and a couple of theatre tricks in it.
But to make a successful one-person show, you need to become the words. And you need to become the person saying the words so you can bring them to life for the audience. Now what I'm delivering is a play.
Our goal when Angela and I set out on this mentoring quest was to create a play script that would be ready to tour. After 2.5 run-throughs without a script (long story!) I am quietly confident that this goal has been accomplished.
This wonderful rehearsal process was supported by the Arts Council’s Arts and Disability Connect Scheme managed by Arts & Disability Ireland.’
To follow my adventures as I prepare to take my play on the road, hit the blue button now.