“What Do You Want To Say?”

Back to classes again today...which means more presentations to try and get into the show.

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Duncan and Sam presented a new version of Duncan’s text about society forgetting about mad people. Duncan was dressed like a middle-ages Bouffon, and he pushed Sam, dressed like an AIDS patient, in a trolley with a light inside it so they were all lit up. Philippe said“I like the image but I don’t like the text” but it’s not Bouffon. Really frustrating for Duncan cause he’s been trying desperately to get into the show that he was led to believe he was already in. Plus only now has Philippe mentioned anything wrong with the text...

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Christine, Lee, Mark and Charles presented a number commenting on society’s obsession with frivolous gossip instead of real important news issues. They were speaking about how recently the front page story on a newspaper was a ‘tweet’ from the ex-wife of a president, and a major story about the collapse of the Euro was shunted to the second or third page. 

In their piece Christine and Lee gossiped over a cup of coffee, whilst Mark and Charles, dressed like tramps, threw money into a rubbish bin and lit it on fire. Philippe said “No! I didn’t understand anything.” And neither did I. It wasn’t clear what they wanted to speak about in the performance. Philippe spoke about how nobody is throwing money in the bin. They might be gambling with it - taking risks - but nobody is lighting it on fire.

“You need to say something precise.”

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Tim and Lee presented the gossiping scene from No Son of Mine. “They are horrible, or I am drunk?...We don’t see them as friends.”

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Katy re-presented the America scene, even though it’s in the show, with a few adjustments. However the adjustments only made the piece longer and boring. So back to what they had before!

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Vicky and I presented a new idea for Brian and Hannah Tamaki. We spent a few hours working on it, trying to find a new way to kill him, and we decided to have them eat an expensive feast whilst talking about how they are just like all their Māori followers and that you don’t money and a nice house and electricity to be happy - all you need is Jesus. Essentially showing their wealth/greed whilst saying they understand how hard it is economically for their people. So this morning Vicky went to the supermarket and got heaps of food, including a roast chicken and chocolate mousse and popcorn and melon... 

And we showed the scene today, without having really rehearsed...or having had lunch. The showing didn’t work however. It wasn’t funny, or particularly shocking, or clear. Philippe said we don’t see Bouffon actors, we just see a big idea and two pigs. 

He spoke about how the image of food doesn’t take the audience immediately to the idea money. It takes us to food. Or fat people perhaps. I argued that poor Destiny Church followers could never afford a meal like this, but I get it, theatrically it doesn’t read. Today I came to understand more clearly the difference between an image and an idea. For Charles’ care home scene, we see him in bin. That’s an image. It says “look, in a way, we put old people in the bin.” But then they have an idea to talk about that image. They have tactics and fun to elaborate and destroy. Whereas with our scene today, we see food, and then we see us eat food. There is no surprise for the audience. 

Philippe also spoke to me about how I need to not be too much with the character. It has to be me - not a character, having fun through an imitation or action, to say fuck you and to destroy. To start, I should imagine I am a Bouffons - one of the people banished and spat on. And then imagine that Bouffon in front of 1000 of the people that banished me. And decide what it is I want to do to get those people. 

I think with Brian Tamaki I’ve fallen into a bit of a trap because I’m trying to get one man, not 1000 men. And I’m trying to talk about a mixture of money and religion. It’s not impossible. But what I showed today, and what I have presented the last few times, have gotten further and further away from destroying him and speaking about what I want to speak about. I was closest to him the very first time I presented him. When I had fun to make him look like an idiot, and then to undercut what he was preaching with laughter.

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Lee and Sam presented a new scene about HIV in which Sam sat in a trolley speaking about happy thoughts, whilst Lee in the background put a quarantine sign on her trolley and sprayed disinfectant from afar, and did other funny things suggesting he didn’t want to go near her. 

But then at the end they both laughed at the audience and the kissed each other and rubbed tongues with each other. Philippe said “not too bad” but that he didn’t love Sam, and “we have to love the actor.”

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Lee also presented a number in which he came out on stage to this Billionaire track that he’s used several times before (I’m not sure exactly why he chose to use it this time) and then imitated Tony Blair.

Whilst he imitated Blair, Charles would pop his head up from above the wings and say with a light laugh “war criminal”. Philippe said we don’t love Lee, and also it was unclear what the message was. “What do you want to say?”

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WEDNESDAY NIGHT SHOW:

We had another good show tonight. André and I did the best we’ve done yet, and my latin-babble walk-by bit is becoming lighter and more fun. It was a bit shorter tonight because Akron has decided to pull out of the show (there was a bit of drama just before we went on yesterday and he didn’t want to perform then). So the show is now only 40 mins or so, which is short. But what can you do? Philippe’s critique tonight: “Not too bad...I didn’t write anything.” He then said he’s not sure if that’s because he liked it, or because he was lazy. It’s because it was good! 

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We all got yellow envelopes today as well with official documents inside them. I got some pieces of paper that will help me if I need to get another French VISA - a bit boring for me - but many people received their diploma for completing the full two years at the school! Congratulations friends! I have to wait till the end of Clown at the end of the year for me.

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Charles also said something after the show tonight that made me think. He said he’d learned a lot from working with other people on numbers during this workshop, and he encouraged us to help each other and work as a team. This is something I haven’t done much of this workshop. And I tend not to do it so much outside of school either. I’m a bit of a loner when it comes to making work. I stick to myself. But I’d like to start working with others more. Tomorrow, I’m thinking about creating a dance number of Captain Cook to say fuck you to the colonialists of New Zealand. This will be me by myself trying to make a silly dance. But maybe I won’t do it. Maybe instead I’ll offer to help other pieces. Because I’m doing the Captain Cook thing now because I didn’t get round to it before. But rushing it now isn’t going to do it justice. And I’m not going to prove anything by doing it. I’ll test something. But I know that with time, I could make a good Bouffon scene saying what I want to say. And with only two days left with all my friends, maybe it’s better to get stuck in with people and relax and enjoy their company.