What I Learned From My Play
I reflect on the valuable lessons I learned during my People Wipe Me Tour
I can't lie – I'm dredging every last crumb of glory I can out of my People Wipe Me Tour. I promise I'll write about something else next week –there is other writerly work that I do, for myself and for other people.
But for this week, I'm going to share the lessons I learned from my People Wipe Me Tour, in the possibly deluded hope that they may help anyone else who wants to perform their writing.
Publicity: Mix of New and Traditional Publicity
We may be living in a digital age, but I knew local media coverage would still be really valuable in spreading the word about the play. This time I discovered a new dimension to that coverage; online media gives your press publicity a longer shelf-life.
When I was interviewed by Tipp FM and The Clonmel Podcast some people heard the original interviews. But more people heard them online, through the posts I put up and through their own browsing.
And it was the online versions of those interviews that helped build an audience for my first Clonmel show at Cluain in July.
Venues: Be Clear About What You'll Offer
I worked with some fantastic owners and managers during my tour – Gerry and Mary at Cluain, Siobhan at Molly's Clonakilty, Mary Pat at Moone, Mick and Colin at the Coastguard, Tramore, and Mark and Cathy at Raheen House, Clonmel.
When you work with a venue, you work in partnership with them, so it's a good idea to be clear about what you can offer them and what they can offer you.
I'd like to think we worked well together, but based on my experience on this tour, I intend to offer non-theatre venues the option to sell paper tickets. That way, they can rest assured that people are going to turn up for the show.
How To Make An Entrance
Lynda Gough, stylish diva that she is, taught me the power of making a grand entrance. She advised me to stay hidden from sight until showtime, a challenge in some of the venues, but I managed it. We also rehearsed what I'd say when I made my entrance, which was a right laugh.
Audiences: You Never Know What They'll Do
Audiences are unpredictable beasts. For a start, you never know who'll come and support you. Support comes from unexpected places. People came because they liked the sound of a blurb or because I chatted to them on a hillwalk.
And when these people come, they laugh in unexpected places. The parts of the play I flattered myself would be heart-rending made the audience laugh heartily. That's totally fine with me. The minute my words leave my mouth, they belong to the audience.
The Shape Of A Room
I hadn't realised how much difference the look and sound of a room would make to the success of my show. The theatre-style seating at the Coastguard and Moone made me feel as if I were delivering a full-blown theatre show, while the elegantly arranged tables in the café shows created a warm, intimate atmosph
Photo Description: This is the shape of the room I performed in at Raheen House, Clonmel. There are four long tables covered in white table clothes and set for dinner, with 8-10 green chairs one each table.
I also didn't know that when people arrive in a room, it sounds completely different. When I rehearsed in an empty room, my voice echoed off the wall and my drum-roll at the end deafened me.
But when the seats were filled with bums, the echo went away; the bodies took the hard edge off it, softened the beat of my drum.
Post Show: Taking A Bow
After my first couple of shows, I stood like a rabbit caught in the headlights while people clapped on and on. It appears they loved the show, but they were also clapping because I hadn't left the stage.
Lynda advised me to take three bows, with my hands clasped together like so 🙏, then then leave the stage. Mind you, I tried that in the Coastguard and Lynda had to tell me to go back on stage, because it turned out the audience wanted to give me a standing ovation. What can you do?
Decompressing After A Show
After each show, I was high enough to light every bulb in a room. I tried various methods of decompression. Booze. Trashy food. Trash TV. Wine. Hot buttered toast. Trash TV.
Nothing worked. The only thing that worked was to open a Google document and treating it like a confessional, where I could pour out all my thoughts.
Personal Lessons
Aside from all the stagecraft lessons I learned, I discovered two marvellous things. People are really kind, supportive and great to work with. They have softened my cracked contrarian soul.
And I really, really love writing for performance, feeling the immediate love of the crowd, hearing their laughter, hearing my words land. What a wild ride it's been.
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