Introduction –

Hello! This is (you guessed it) my final blog post. I was going to do a video, but I have found that I am a bit too self critical when on film.
This post is going to cover from when I first got the idea all the way to the final performance (Missing out some things from previous posts).

How did you come up with the idea –

What came first was using death as the subject for my performance. Whilst working on my first idea (which was about how we perceive ourself and how we are perceived by others) I went to see the first solo show at the LPAC that we were asked to watch – Jamie Woods’ O No! The experience that this show gave the audience was an influence, in the way that I wanted the audience to feel something when watching my show, what that experience I wanted to give them was I didn’t quite know yet. the subject of death didn’t come up until I re-watched the documentary Dreams of a life which attempts to uncover the death of Joyce Vincent, a Nigerian-English woman who was found dead in her North London flat three years after she died. her TV was still on, wrapped presents on the floor beside her. The bailiffs found her as they went due to outstanding bills. The documentary gave me a different experience to the uplifting O No! it made me think about death and how sad and scary it is. It also made me think about when I was six years old with a collapsed lung and Pneumonia. This led me to want to talk about death in a universal way.

I decided to interview people about their feelings about death splitting the conversation into three categories:

  • Does death scare you? If no/yes why?
  • What do you think/want to happen when you die?
  • What would you want you legacy to be? (What would you want to leave behind?)                                                              

Although the interviews conducted were not used within the final performance it was useful to get a feel of what other people believe happens after death and how they feel about it. The general feeling I got from the three interviews i did was of confusion. This is something I would say I feel, there is also an uneasy sense of the unknown.
Making a show out of an idea –

My struggles with how to use my own and other people’s opinions and thoughts about death led me to forget about everyone else, and do what I originally didn’t want to do. Focus on me, and my own “story”. I wanted the show to be in sections – the first section being … naiveté, to show this I decided to tell the audience about when I was in hospital at six, in order to show my lack of memory of this traumatic time (all I remember is specific but non-traumatising details) to show the severity of what happened I asked my mum and dad to sit down and talk to me about what they remember, I filmed them with the hopes of having them on a TV.
the second section came when I was travelling home to Leicester for the Easter break, someone was hit by a train upsetting the train service schedule, and upsetting a lot of commuters. Whilst waiting for my girlfriend to pick me up, I observed and noted down some of the things people were saying in frustration, with the idea of me playing two businessmen who sat by me in the station- This led to section two being about connecting and how I personally feel about the idea of my death being an inconvenience, this links to the first section and how through my parent’s interview they discuss their disappointment with me being a smoker with a scarred lung.
After talking to Martin and Donald about the ideas, they both shared a concern, how was I going to play two men and myself without it getting confusing and looking stupid?
Honestly, I am not sure what made me want to turn the show into a conversation with the Grim Reaper. I think maybe it was because of the conversational style that I had grown to like through seeing performers like Victoria Melody and Eric Bogosian, through these two artists I found that not only did I want to use a character on stage (which is something I had decided from the beginning due to preferring myself as an actor) but I also wanted the audience to see me, due to the personal aspects of the show and also Melody’s welcoming and warm personality that gave an experience to the audience that wasn’t unlike that of Jamie Wood.
Having The Grim Reaper (whom I later named Roy as a way of personifying death) talk to me throughout the show gave me a way of really talking about death, which is what I wanted to do. I wanted the audience to leave with something to think about.
Once I gave Roy a name I decided that I wanted him to become a sort of icon for the show, which would reflect the impact that death has on us all. My one and only thought when thinking of what to use was the iconic red lips in the opening song Science Fiction/Double Feature from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yet after a few weeks of thinking of different ways to execute this idea on no budget it became obvious that the time that it would take me to edit all 27 videos needed for Roy was time that I didn’t have. I decided to leave the lips for this particular performance and use audio instead. As I wanted to use my own voice anyway I planned to do this still, editing the audio in the hopes of making it sound somewhat god-like, but again at the mercy of time I didn’t want to risk it. I got thinking about who could do the voice of Roy and thought that the idea of death being the voice of someone you love is a comforting thought. I immediately asked Jess, my girlfriend, who was confused due to Roy being a man why she should do the voice, so instead I asked my Dad.
Two weeks before show day I finally found that I had a show —

  • To begin the show I used a recording of two of my friends’ interview, the section I used was when they decided to get off topic and talk about how having a Domino’s pizza as their last meal (signifying what people think about when they think of dying) This leads to me coming out of a coffin to The Circle of Life.

 

  • After the opening Roy introduces himself to me, instigating the show and asking me about when I was ill. After I explain that I can not remember any pain I introduce the video now projection of my parents explaining how they felt.

 

  • Next I talk about the train journey and how the idea of strangers finding another person’s tragedy as an inconvenience to them makes me angry and scared about how I myself will be remembered (Due to this I also want to point out how me turning this tragedy into a fear for me is almost as selfish as people worrying more about how they are getting home – This is highlighted in the next section of the show).

 

  • I become the funeral version of a Bridezilla, trying the pick out the music for my funeral until Roy tells me that it doesn’t have to be sad, but a celebration of life.

 

  • Which led to my final section, Roy telling me about ways that different cultures celebrate the lives of their loved ones. At the end of the show I will dance with the audience members in order to celebrate with them before I ask someone to put the lid on the coffin with me inside.
    (The ending of the show was hard to create as I didn’t want it to end to heavy but I didn’t want to tell the audience that there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to death, because that would be an unachievable goal and not something that I believe myself. As a fan of the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition I wanted to show how some traditions around the world allow people to celebrate the lives of the people they love and lost, a different perspective on a universal event).

Influences –

  • Each week in lessons someone would do a presentation on a solo performer. One week the performer was Eric Bogosian, creator of solo performances such as FunHouse and Drinking in America. What I like about Bogosian was his conversational style, he engages his audience with a stand-up approach whilst playing exaggerated male stereotypes. This led to my desire to converse with a character, (even though the character in question ended up not being played by myself). Bogosian has a way of telling stories that really pulls the audience in, something that I felt was important for me, considering the conversational style I wanted to take my show.

 

  • Victoria Melody – After seeing her performance, Hair Peace I felt that her personality drew me into her chosen subject which helped me to be engaged by a topic that I previously never thought I would care about. Although it would be foolish for me try and emulate Melody’s personality, her honesty was something that I appreciated and did want to show in my own performance. to be honest and open in my own convictions would hopefully help the audience to want to listen to my short conversation about death.

 

  • Joyce Vincent – The story of Vincent’s tragic death touched me so much that I changed my idea and made me think about the topic in depth, which is helped me to broaden it from just talking about my illness and making me want to have a conversation about death and how we connect with the tragedies of other people.

TECH DAY

Due to my reliance on the audio involved I didn’t feel that I got the chance to properly run-through the show beforehand. This made me nervous, especially having the Tech the day before the performance. However, I was ready in terms of lighting and sound, and even though I had not worked with the set before I knew exactly why and how I wanted it to look.
Set –

Living Room – The idea to set the show in a living room was inspired by Joyce Vincent who as previously mentioned was found in her living room. This setting also creates a comforting and welcoming space for the audience. I decided to bring in personal cards and ornaments of mine to show my own personality to the audience, even though they wouldn’t see them I felt the details were needed to set the space. I also used a rug (borrowed from my flatmate) at the space where I communicate to the audience.

Coffin – The coffin’s presents on the stage is an obvious one as the show acts as a limbo of confusion for me, coming out of the coffin and then going back in. The decision to put this symbol of death in the centre of the stage reflects that death is the centre of the show, the whole conversation revolves around it.
The projection – My parent’s conversation was originally supposed to be on a TV but it was rightly pointed out that the audience may struggle to see it, due to its’ importance having it on a projection helps it to be the centre of the audiences attention. I put the settee underneath the projection, something that Martin thought wouldn’t work due to the distance from the audience, yet i felt (and this may seem cheesy) having the projection above me shows how I look up to my parents and emphasises the judgement and guilt I put on myself when I realise that I don’t remember the things they talk about. Having this distance between myself and the audience during this scene also (I hope) shows the disconnection between us during the projection as they will feel what my parents say in a way that I can’t as I don’t remember.

The Day of the Dead Altar –
A traditional Day of the Dead Altar includes:

  • Pictures of the loved one.
  • Candles.
  • Incense.
  • Flowers.
  • Their favourite things.

When making the Altar I wanted it to seem unprepared and rushed, that Roy had only created it to make a point.

The tech run-through –

Luckily I did have enough time to do a run-through, which Martin was able to come and see. Afterwards he gave the note that I was too slow with a couple of the monologues I have within the show, which was probably why the show was longer than intended. He also mentioned that the transition between the projection and the train station scene was “weak” (Curtis, 2016), as I had asked for a blackout. I asked the technician Shelley what she thought and she suggested a flashing effect instead, which seemed to fit more effortlessly and looked less awkward.
Final thoughts before show day –

I was happy with how the run-through had gone and it only made me more excited and calm about my pending final performance at university. I agreed that the show needed to be shorter and would say that the timing was the only thing that worried me, I did suggest that I take out the projection (which Martin was understandably against) even though it is an important part of the show, it is also time consuming and the performance would still make sense without it, but some of the focus and sentiment may have been lost if I had taken it out. Overall I left the Tech-run feeling optimistic about the performance and was eager to perform it.

 

PERFORMANCE DAY

As my show was the last one of the day, starting at 3:30pm I had a lot of time to rehearse and buy the remaining props (a.k.a the Domino’s pizza). After thinking about the duration of the show I asked Shelley to trim down the introduction to my final song, Spirit in the Sky as the intro is around 40 seconds long, I also decided that if the show felt long whilst performing I would not invite the audience to join in. Although this would not bring the show down a lot I hoped that my nerves when performing would cause me to move faster through the show as nerves sometimes do.

THE PERFORMANCE

Before beginning I had half an hour to set up, due to the previous show having hanging glass from the lighting rig my show was pushed back ten minutes, this allowed me to make sure everything was perfect and how I wanted it to be. I got into my position in the coffin and waited for my cue. As soon as I opened the lid ajar and pushed my arm through the audience began to laugh and during the Circle of Life pizza/Simba opening they continued to laugh. This made me feel as though the audience were going to follow me willingly through-out the show. The biggest test of this was the ending, when I decided that I wanted the audience to join me for my final dance before getting back into the coffin. Due to the teared seating it was mainly the two front rows that joined but I noticed and was told that people waved and clapped as I went into the coffin. Laying there and hearing the audience laugh and some sing to the song as they left made me feel as if I had given them an experience, and although I was not entirely sure what experience I wanted them to leave with I felt that I gave them a positive one.

EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE

I will say that the performance was a success. People have told me that they enjoyed it and found it hilarious, however, I have found that most have mentioned the opening scene involving the pizza, this does not disappoint me but I did hope that through the comedy people would see what I was trying to do with the performance and what each section was attempting to say about death.

What could be improved? – 
Although I made the decision to focus on my own experiences and opinions of death, due to time constraints within the performance, I think if I had made it more universal and given in to more serious and heavy moments there would have been more light and shade for the audience to see and think about.

BEYOND THE MODULE

If I was to extend the performance for an audience outside of university (which I have been planning to do) i would include as mentioned more universal themes around death, such as different religious beliefs and more cultural traditions from other parts of the world.
By extending the show I would add more Roy lines, I think that I would keep my Dad as the voice and would like to use the lips that I had intended to have. I reached out to a YouTuber who had re-created the Science Fiction/Double Feature scene (This clip can be seen in the blog post Roy the Reaper), a month before the show, two days before the performance I received a long e-mail giving me a step-by-step instruction on how to do this including the editing software used to achieve the effect, thanks to this e-mail I feel with a bit more time I will be able to make Roy exactly how I had imagined him.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed the Solo Performance Module. I feel that it has made me more aware of the kind of performer I am. Although the comedy that I use is fun for me to do and well-responded to, I have found that I am interested in the darker aspects of performance and would like to carry on mixing the two into future shows that I (hopefully) do.
Thank you to everyone who helped me with my show, Martin and Donald, my friends and family and the technicians at the LPAC. And thank everyone who came to watch Roy the Reaper’s Guide to a Comfortable Everlasting Sleep!