Solo Performance – Sophie Cole

Tech Day: On the day of my tech I had quite a large set as I filled the cube resembling a young teen’s bedroom bed room. There was a mixture of props and set from my childhood including a school blazer, jewellery, art sets, school books, Justin Bieber books, my dolphin bed set, an old phone and more. These item made the space more intimate and the audience was given a visual stimulus to work from as I wanted them to take away from the performance their own views and opinions rather than talking at them. The audience cap was sixteen and was in a slight thrust increasing the intimacy levels even more. The fire bucket was place at the front of the stage for me to place the photographs into as the burned away.

     

The lighting I used started with a general wash keeping the stage lit as the audience walked in, the created a platform the encouraged the audience the enter the performing space along with this I had a sign on the door and stooges in the audience that had been informed to behave in the way. The 20 second lighting fade was a sign for the audience to take their seats. The main lighting state that was used a spot light on myself, lighting to keep the cube and its condense visible and four LED’s across the back panel the colour had two pink on either end relating to reference to the colour in the poem and the centre two LED’s are red and blue crossed over creating the idea of memory and the stereotypical colours of the two genders. At the end of the performance I collect the music box from the set and hold it against my stomach as it plays its tune, I used a really harsh strong spot light to focus all attention on the box and the sound. I close the box with a snap down and the lights do the same.

  

I planned to wear underwear that child-like and young looking however begging a larger lady they didn’t sell my size. So I decided to go with a plane unattractive style, I wore frilly school socks which gave the impression I was looking for. As I was an adult female with large feminine body figure the fact that I was wearing socks for school children made a very clear sexualised message that the two were being mixed. It was very uncomfortable for me to wear the costume because it was so revealing but I think it lent itself the theme of the performance and helped to create a meaningful message.

Show day:

I was the first solo show to perform in my year group, this created unwanted pressure however I think used in my favour as the audience had a clear slate to work from they had no other solo shows to compare it too. Because my show was mostly tech based and the fire was a large physical section there was not a lot to rehearse or run beforehand so it was relatively fresh when it was performed. I had a good turn out there were only a couple of empty seats but it think this was due to the early time of the show.

I felt proud and confident with the show I produced as I think it was relatable but personal, deep and meaningful but entertaining, it was thought provoking and tackled a taboo topic tastefully. From talking to the audience after the show I have got brilliant feedback, Alice Chattaway said “It was a good topic to choose as everyone has experienced it in some form and the show made people think about rather than its face value” (Chattaway, 2017). Zara Cain said “It was strange to think back to what seen as acceptable back then and how it relates to today’s world” (Cain, 2017). I like to create theatre with a theme or a message that is meaning and I feel like my show did that by using metaphors and symbolism.

I would change I couple of small things about my show looking about, I would add two minutes of content as I felt very conscious of not running over my time slot. I liked the fact that I was mostly silent throughout the piece but I think I might add some more physical movement as the show was quite static but I don’t think that is always a negative. I think a small movement section on its own could have brought a different element to the piece but I would keep the other sections as they were.

I am very proud of my piece as I feel it shows my writing capability as being Dyslexic I have been discouraged from writing and I have enjoyed exploring work of other practitioners.

Works Cited:

Cain, Z. (2017) Audience feedback. Interviewed by S. Cole, 24 June.

Chattaway, A. (2017) Audience feedback. Interviewed by S. Cole, 24 June.

 

Sound clip:

When the audience enter I wanted to have music playing but I wasn’t sure what music I wanted because I already have multiple songs playing thought-out the projection. I wanted something that would work with the piece but wasn’t well known or recognisable, it would just be playing in the background. This is when I thought about the props and set I had in mind, I have brought a music box I had purchased in Disney Land Paris when I was younger. The tune was beautiful and I knew this was a sound I had to have in my show. However I didn’t want just the music box on its own as I felt it gave the show a creepy, spooky, horror film vibe and that was not the aesthetic I was aiming for. I was using photographs from my childhood to burn and they captured the innocence in a snapshot so I thought about using audio clips from old family videos.

The sound was slightly muffled, fuzzy and grainy which was perfect as it gave the impression it was filmed in the past and was filmed on a low quality video recorder, which it was fourteen years ago. I merged these home videos together and used noise removal and equalisation on Audacity then I added the recording of the music box. I edited the music box recording by gradually reduced play back speed and then reversed the last two sections. I think the sound clip will introduce the topic of the piece and start the audience guessing and making up their own opinions to the meaning of the show.

Home_Video_Full_Chime_001:

Chime_001:

Home_Video_Full_001:

I wanted to create something to piece the performance together as I have a lot of different sections but I want them to flow together. I wanted to find something that shows the process so taking parts from childhood and mixing them with teenage aesthetic. I thought of using cartons from the late 90’s and 00’s, from when I was a child. But having music that is slightly more sexualise played over the top so they mix together. As these are both cartoons and music from my childhood it makes it personal but it is also relatable for others my age as they would recognise the characters and music from their childhood too.

I used the cartoons; Kim Possible, Barney, Bear in the Big Blue House, Teletubbies, Arthur, and Power Puff Girls. These are aimed at range of ages but all in the child category, the clips will be played one after the other with music played over the top. The songs I have selected are; T-Spoon – Sex on the beach, David Guetta and Akon – Sexy Beach, Kevin Lyttle – Turn Me On, Spice Girls – 2 Become 1, Sean Paul – Temperature, and Vengaboys – Boom Boom Boom Boom. All of these songs have sexual undertones that are incorporate for children. However this does not stop them listening and hearing these lyrics. I am having the video projected on to my stomach during the performance as it symbolises impression music, television and the media have on child. My character is absorbing the sexual content along and this changes their view of them self and the world. I got inspiration for this unique way of projecting from creating the video itself, as I use a clip from the children’s show Teletubbies. They have mini televisions on their stomachs, I thought doing this would be another connection to the idea of childhood but also show that my bare body is absorbing the content.

I have chosen to have this projection in the show because it symbolises the sexual undertone of puberty for girls they are objectified as the stereotypical sexy school girl or the jail bait. As in this time of their lives they are encouraged to wear makeup, push up bras and heels as that is what adults look like and they want to embody that.

Works Cited:

Cole, S. (2017) Video Projection

Fire can represent many themes of the piece; sex, as you have physical heat and the colour symbolises passion, love, and lust. Danger, for example you have the term ‘jail bate’ or the fact that this topic is linked to criminal behaviour and blood,  could symbolise female puberty in a physical definition.

The use of fire links into my piece as I wanted to find a way to show the transformation from child to adult. The idea that this is an irreversible process and a natural right of passage, I wanted a way to show this on stage. I had previously mentioned the blend of my show having sections of personal work but also being a relatable and effective for the masses. I had thought about using childhood photographs from my own life in the performance hanging across the top of the cube on string. The start of the play would consist of the audience entering into the space and moving around the stage in the first minute and a half. They are able to view the photographs closely and explore the space before they are seated.

                                    

Once they are seated I will collect most of the images and one buy one set them on fire by putting them into a fire pit that is slightly open so the audience can see the flame. Since having this idea I have spoken to Martin and the tech team and the fire pit idea isn’t achievable as having a fire that large so close to the audience is a hazard. Instead we have found a happy medium, I will set each picture on fire with a large kitchen lighter then place them into a bucket filled with water, petroleum jelly or sand depending on what works best.

      

I really like the look the fire has created on the photo and when practicing with the petroleum jelly the flame didn’t go out so I tried it with the water which worked a lot better. I will be checking with Martin on this very soon as I am concerned by the smoke and smell coming from the pictures as they have the photograph film over the top which is creating the smell of plastic. I am excited to see what the finished out come looks like.

Work Cited:

Cole, S. (2017) Prep Pictures.

I want to look at other elements of my piece as I have already created some poetry to perform. I have thought about prerecording Portrayal, my piece of poetry. But using other women’s and girl’s voices to read it. A new speaker for every two lines as the poetry rhymes and, it will keep the rhythm and pace flowing. I wanted to use other females voices as this is not only my story but it has been experienced by young girls all over the world. I think this would give a balance of person material and wider meaning within the piece.

When speaking with the technicians some weeks ago I noticed they were constructing a large mental cube. It resembles scaffolding as it doesn’t have any physical sides or ceiling. I thought this would work as a perfect metaphor for my theme. The idea that the performance would consist inside this cube would symbolize how the girl in the poem is sexualised by the people around her. Throughout the poem she shows signs of vulnerability, innocence and, naivety these traits are some of the things that makes her attractive to these said people. Her mind is trapped inside a body that has started the process of growing from child to adult. This period of time in a female’s life can be seen by some as fresh, young and pure in a sexual way. In her mind she dreams of unicorns, rainbows and being a pop star. But when adult men see her on the street they look back and sexualise her body, fantasizing about a sexual experience with her without caring of her age.

Using the cube I will create seating into a small thrust around the outside, I will need to get measurements of the cube of be able to get an estimate of the audience capacity. This creates an intimate space but the frame work of the cube instils the divide between the actor and audience with the theme the audience is looking in on the girl and her life. But the cube also symbolizes the fact she is being confined by her age, sex and, gender.

I will be meeting with Darren Page in the near future to try out the metal cube and see what complications we run into and how this will be assembled and dismantled on performance day.