15.06.18 Play Showcase

On the 14th of June, I attended the rehearsal process for my play 'No Evil' that would be performing at the Greenwich Theatre Showcase the following day. On the same day, I was also informed that the showcase had been mentioned on the 'Londonist' website, which was exciting. It was a very insightful day but it was just slightly hard having to be so passive in the process. I was there solely as a reference point for material in the text. Not acting a part or directing, and having my script twisted by someone else made me feel at a loss within my own script, it was an uncomfortable experience.

There are times I feel like I could just stick with writing, try to build a happy and complete life just handing over my work to others. This experience taught me I can't do that. I was watching the actors and trying to fill their shoes in my head, how things would be different if I was playing one of the parts. Similarly, because my script required a lot of technical staging, this was not possible for the theatre, budget and time allocated, so the stage directions were disregarded completely, and the director put her own spin on differentiating my 'dream world' from 'reality'. Don't get me wrong, I think she did a great job, but there's a lot I would've done differently. I know that writers do have to have the faith and trust to put their work into someone else's hands but if I want to be involved in all aspects and that's the dream, why not?

Fast forward to Friday, the day of the event. I'll admit there was some trouble, especially nearing the end but these things happen and it just taught me how easily things can go wrong. My friend and I got to the theatre five minutes before showtime and the realisation hit me, that people were going to be seeing (and internally judging) my play, my words. I instantly wanted to run, or take my script back so it couldn't be performed, but I knew that was just the anxiety talking as this is all I ever want to do, be involved in art and theatres. I took a breath and we went inside to the studio space of the theatre, taking a seat in the second row, where we were greeted with programmes of the event, my play being second to last of the 1:30-6 pm showcase.

The first few acts were performed and what wasn't made aware to us beforehand was that this would be more so a 'reading' than a performance. The actors acted, of course, but they all had scripts in hands. Albeit I should've seen this coming as I'm not sure anyone could learn a script, cues and blocking in a 2 & 1/2 hour session the previous day. There were no costumes or props it was merely a showcase of the writing, which was fine, I just wish I'd known this beforehand. The first break happened and I noticed that three plays that were meant to be shown in the first half weren't. I knew they couldn't skip them and knew they couldn't run overtime. Mine being second to last, I worried it may never be shown due to their time budgeting.

The second half started and I continuously checked my watch for the time, they finished the three that should've been in the first part and then took a third break. This was when I saw my playwriting teacher looking for me. She wandered over and apologised profusely as they had to cut the longest plays by half, meaning only half of my play would be shown. I was admittedly gutted but was relieved that at least something of mine was being shown, despite the nerves to watch it from afar.

It finally got to my play and I shrunk down in my seat, I had never felt so watched without being on stage, so full of pressure for it to be good, and such worry that it would be bad. As the first line was spoken, what I can only assume was a drunk man wandered into the studio space shouting, he was loud and obnoxious asking for directions, and even when told to quieten down, he was still loud. This caused my head to turn bright red and the actors on stage to start laughing, ruining the tone of my dark opening completely. The actors did their best to return from this but as the play went on I was picking apart everything. One was way too melodramatic in their line delivery (not my intention in the script), another couldn't find her page, another was skipping lines or making her own up. It was not a showcase of my best work, let's just say that.

The best part of the day by far was the Industry panel that was delayed by an hour because of the schedule malfunction. From 7-8 pm I spoke to someone from the National Theatre, two producers of playwriting competitions and another writer in the midst of writing a musical. I got to ask my questions on experimentation with writing and taking on a directorial role along with writing, to which I received some insightful and inspiring answers.

The day was not a huge success, but it was an enjoyable day, a stepping stone and a learning experience. In live theatre, not everything goes according to plan but you can recover from that. More than anything it's taught me that I want to be involved in every aspect of bringing a play or musical to the stage, which involves acting in it, if not directing the action or scenes.

I am thrilled that I was chosen from a large group of people and plays, it really was an honour that the theatre liked my play enough to want to include it in the showcase. I just wish the option had been there to act in it and work more with the director as opposed to a passive part in the process. But as I've said, the day was worth it, it gave me a lot to work with on the short play, and I learned a lot more about the industry, and most importantly the roles I want to play within it.