"If He's A Good Writer He Has A Music In His Writing."

I was a bit out of it today as I'm super tired (haven't slept enough over the past week) and had a stressful morning hurriedly sorting my visa which I'd stupidly forgotten about. So this post is short because I wasn't completely paying attention today. So sorry about that...

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Thomas and Mia worked on a scene as Nag & Nell in Samuel Beckett's Endgame.

Philippe got Mia to speak slowly, almost singing, in a light magical voice. Which was contrasted by Thomas who spoke in a grouchy fast fascist voice. There was also a cool moment where Philippe got Thomas to wake up before Mia (this is in the script, but the direction made it clear) and play as if he was bored, and the boredom builds until he wakes up Nell 'by accident'. Knocking on the lid of Nell's trashcan hard, but looking away, as if "perhaps it wasn't me..."

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Tom (Australia) proposed an improvisation to for the story that Claire de France told - about a dead dog in a suitcase getting mistakenly stolen in the Paris metro.

Although Philippe had bagged the story, I actually thought Tom's idea for how to tell it was good: with Basel Masks.

"You explain through rhythm. Not through gestus. You're not a mime."

To stage it, he did the first scene with the owner of the dog (Ric) who was getting ready to leave his apartment, waiting for his friend to arrive to move in, and the dog (Steph) walking slowly about on the floor. Philippe said he couldn't do it like this, because we are so aware that it's not a dog...it's Steph crawling around like a dog!

Also, we don't want her to die. We like her. So he can't kill her in the story.

"As a writer you have to change...The actor brings something new - something special - so I am happy to change." 

Philippe ended up directing the scene with Steph dead in a trolley (I think - I dunno!) and Ric pushing it around. And then when Ric went over to look out the window a robber came on (me) and stole the trolley. And then we see Ric deal with losing his Steph-trolley. 

It was fun getting into the masks again. I really like them. I really want to do a show with them back home. I felt more comfortable playing in them too. And I instinctively remembered the core ideas of fixed point, look at this - then that - then this - then us etc, which was nice as I was scared a lot of it might have disappeared!

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"If he's a good writer he has a music in his writing."

"It's good for the director not to enter in the rhythm of the writing...The director tries to find another colour for this text...Not to say twice the same thing."

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Mia also told a story about her Grandmother.

"We have to write a play about a sensual, sensitive, seductive, and fascist woman."

Philippe said he couldn't do it. 

"Something so difficult...to understand how a human being works." 

I imagine because he's such a strong anarchist. But I find it fun to play fascists - like in Pinter plays - but perhaps it's different to write. I guess the goal is to have fun writing for each character. And if one character isn't fun for the writer to write, it's likely to come out bad...Follow your fun!

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Despite being out of it today, I was on a roll with writing for the upcoming broadway hit Steph: The Musical. Here's a teaser...

I’m going to New Zealand!

To the other side of the world!

I’m going to New Zealand!

Where the toilet flushes in the other direction,

And female politicians win the elections,

And lots of native birds get good protection.

It’s New Zealand!