Imaginate - A Chance to be a Child for a Few Days

Myself and Ej has been invited along to see some performances and get the chance to meet some performers/actors/producers/whoever has a chance to be there. I saw 6 performances, over the space of 3 days so I'll be talking about these performances. This is late and I'm terribly sorry. Things has been hectic but Imaginate has been in the front of my mind these past few months. 

When I arrived, I went to see "The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik". It was stunning. The style of puppetry used was unique and admirable. I admired his skills and how he interacted with the animation on screen. The story was basic. It was about a man who lost his wife and decided to go into the sea to find her soul. He found her soul but couldn't bring her back onto the soil. As he tried to reach back to earth, he died and his soul lived on forever with her in the sea. Wonderful lighting of the souls, as the bright yellow light representing the wife's soul. In the Q&A, there was a wee girl, saying that the performance was "heartbreaking". I have to agree with her. I loved it. The screen with animation, was just stunning. The actor, doing this on his own, I admire him for it. Keeping the kids entertained with a tragic story but beautiful.

Information on "The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik" http://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival-show/the-adventures-of-alvin-sputnik-deep-sea-explorer/

Arriving in Festival Theatre Studios to see "Tiger Tale", expecting a storytelling and heavy dialogue, it was nothing I expected at all. It was a dance piece. A great piece of dance. They had the mother, the father and the daughter, all doing the day to day routine but the daughter was obviously bored with this, wanting to become a lion. The mother and the father didn't condone this and told her not to be a tiger. The father disappeared and became a tiger, annoying the mother but the daughter was excited by this. As the tiger come into the scene, everyone was terrified of him but started to have fun and embraced the inner tiger within them. The father came back and everyone started to have run about, having fun. I loved this performance. Wasn't anything I expected at all. The children were obviously enjoying it and my friend enjoyed having the tiger's feet in her face as he chucked some stuff onto the stage, annoying the mother. I thought this wasn't children's theatre I saw when I was a child. It was experimental, unique and it drew me in from the moment it started. 

Information on "Tiger Tale" http://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival-show/tiger-tale/

The next day, I got up and saw "Not Now Bernard". This is a one man show, he played two different characters, the boy and the monster. The set was simple (as seen below) and the kids really connected with the young boy. Every time the young boy would do a simple movement, the kids really connect with the young boy. The set had a mother and the father as part of the stage but it wasn't portrayed by actors, it was a cardboard with one movement on the arms or the legs. The quote was "Not Now Bernard". That was it. It was simple, funny and great. I feel I don't need to add more to it as it was good as it is. The kids are a better critic at this than I am, they all loved it.

Information on "Not Now Bernard" http://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival-show/not-now-bernard/

But Up To Speed, I felt it was better. It was a spoken language performance but I loved it. There was two characters portrayed by two fantastic actors. The girl was obsessed with Doctor Who and being a Doctor Who fan myself, I was excited by this reference. I was happy to hear about the time travelling, I felt like a kid and watched the boy being the gullible person when the girl talked about the fact that time travelling is real. If I was his age, I would of believed it too. The girl said that every time you see a penny on the ground, it's actually someone who has been time travelling, leaving pennies from that year behind to let them know where they have been. For example, if you've found a penny from 1992, it means they've been there at 1992. I thought this was a fantastic idea, making something that was so simple into something magical. I wish I can see it again. When the performance finished, we all walked out of the theatre, there was these pennies all over the ground. I thought it was a great way to connect with the children. The acting from both the actors were just fantastic. They've told the story well and I loved the set!
Information on "Up To Speed" http://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival-show/up-to-speed/

I thought that the performances at Imaginate were really high standard and it really connected well with the children, I saw "Saltbush" which I was really excited about and had really high expectations about after hearing about their style of theatre which is using lights that is projected on the ground. I have to say, I was a little bit disappointed as I did expect something more magical. However, the singing involved was beautiful, the involvement of children into the story made my eyes a bit teary and I loved the ending. The ending was this massive piece of material, flowing over the floor with the night sky projected onto it. The children were under this material, gazing upon the beautiful night sky. It was truly beautiful to watch. I really wanted to get involved and sit with them but I don't think it would be acceptable. For me personally, watching the kids get up and get involved is truly beautiful. Once I've finished the show, a man told us about a young girl in a wheelchair not being able to get involved in much of the show but when the stars came out, they lifted her out of the chair and allowed her to watch the stars. That just made my heart clench. So many feels.
Information on Saltbush http://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival-show/saltbush-childrens-cheering-carpet/

And FINALLY (I know, I saw a lot of performances. I love Imaginate), I saw Manxmouse. This was a adorable story about a rare kind of mouse, called a Manxmouse which was really expensive to get, having to face up against a Manxcat. This was just fantastic. It was set in a warehouse where a group of workers, were doing their daily work. One of them was reading a story so they decided to use the stuff in the warehouse to tell a story. The puppetry skills was fantastic, the use of props were just great. I couldn't believe my eyes. Every time they move onto a new scene, they would actually set it up in front of us and that was really great to watch. I think it was great for the children to watch that process of how the story was set up and it really helped with the flow. I really enjoyed it. It had comedy moments and emotional moments. It was simply brilliant.
Information on Manxmouse http://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival-show/manxmouse/

I feel that the performances at Imaginate were just enjoyable and I felt like a kid, being there. For me, the true critics is the children and not myself. The shows were created for them and I couldn't be able to say which were bad for the children and which were good. If I hear the children's laughter or see their faces alight with excitement, they've done a real good job. I loved it, thank you Imaginate.

Information on Imaginate http://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival/

#Interchange14

After spending the whole day watching Pokemon (they've put it up on Netflix, no way I'm missing out on that!), I've decided it was time to write up a blog about my weekend at Aberdeen for Youth Theatre Arts Scotland's Interchange 2014.


It was a weekend packed with workshops and performances and lecturers which were interesting and exciting. I'm just going to talk about each workshops and some of the fantastic people I've met.


The first workshop was led by Paul Gorman called "What Brings You Here - Theatre in an Educational Context" which was fantastic. It was about leading workshops in schools for pupils and teachers. It was something I've never thought about leading workshops for teachers as myself and Ej are planning on leading workshops for primary school kids once my contract finishes for Solar Bear Apprenticeship. Leading a workshop for teachers would be something I'd consider. He did allow us to have that freedom of creating a workshop for teachers and pupils which was fantastic as he got us thinking about it real hard about this. I suggested an exercise which was called "Name the Room" for teachers as it turned the classroom which is dull and boring into an exciting room. This was stolen from Daniel Livingston as we've used the exercise for creating a piece of theatre (the current production we're doing!). This received a praise from Paul and I think, looking at his twitter account, he's stolen the idea! I was a bit proud as I did think that that was the perfect exercise Then he got us to think about the pupils but think about an exercise where it might help them with their subject that they struggle with. We had to think about the subject we hated in our school which was maths. We created a "speed dating" exercise where the Advanced Higher pupils sit on the outside and the standard grade pupils/national qualification pupils sit on the inside. They spend 4 minutes on each table with the advance higher pupils, doing an exercise on a specific subject eg angles, Pythagoras. Once their time is up, they move on to the next table to a different subject. Once they've tackled all of the tables, they identify which subjects is their weaknesses and they go to that table and spend 15 minutes, working on it. This has made me think about my future as a practitioner. Something I want to consider.


The second workshop was run by the fantastic Julia Samuels, "Everybody's Got a Story to Tell... and Their Own Way of Telling it". She is from 20 Stories High and will be bringing her production to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I will definitely be seeing that performance. This was a Verbatim workshop which was something I've touched on previous at Deaf Theatre Skills at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland led by Mona Keeling. It was something I wanted to revisit. We did an exercise where a conversation was recorded between the two people. They then would put the headphones on and do the conversation all over again BUT they had to be the other people and not themselves. This was interesting as myself, Ej and Daniel were all from Solar Bear and we had to do it differently. Daniel was me, Ej was Daniel and I was Ej. I had to copy Ej from her iPad video which was difficult to do. Ej had to pick up from Daniel via the interpreter translation of Daniel (which funnily enough, became a camp moment) and my interview wasn't even recorded! Gutted. What I loved about this workshop was the fact that Julia was open minded and was willing to experiment in the workshop as myself and Ej are deaf. At the end, we created a piece of movement at the end, using the text provided and met Kirsten McCrossan who said to me that she remembers me from a young age and she was a part of South Ayrshire Youth Theatre which was run by dad! I then remembered the performance of "Little Shop of Horrors" which she was in! A blast from the past! It was nice to see her and she runs "Love Drama" which I am interested in observing!


I then went to the karaoke party that night and went back to the hotel at 1 o'clock in the morning and went to Robert Softley Gale's workshop of "Accessible and High Quality - How to Make it Happen". In the workshop, Robert talked about the importance of accessible, high quality theatre. He makes sure that his performances are accessible and what I appreciate is his honesty. Not everyone makes perfect accessible theatre. We did various exercises, referring to making theatre accessible. We did our sign names, talked about barriers and created a piece of accessible performance. I was teamed up with Kirsten McCrossan and we created a visual piece of performance which was a Benny Hill style with music in the background. We had a blast creating that piece and I really enjoyed working with Kirsten. I'm sure it was weird for her to stick post it notes on me as the last time she saw me was when I was 6... She talked about it in her blog and me being cheeky, she described the performance on her blog if you're interested in knowing what was the piece we've created! I've always believed in making theatre accessible for all. I've always focused on making theatre accessible for deaf people and not really explored the audio description for blind people. Robert is the artistic director of Birds of Paradise (alongside Garry Robson) and he directed "Wendy Hoose" which was hilarious, rude and dirty. He did say in his workshop that if you wanted to see the performance, tough as it is sold out! I was lucky enough to see it on Thursday at the Lemon Tree. I couldn't stop laughing. It was great and I would recommend it to you all but it is sold out after all...


Then in the afternoon, I went to Freelancer Toolkit workshop which was led by Lesley Wood. I won't go into too much detail about this workshop as this is more to do with work as a freelancer and what you necessary need. Like insurance, child protection, disabilities act. This helped me as I do have a lot to think about if I was to become a freelancer. I do identify myself as a performer but I want to start thinking about leading workshops in schools and not only do it for pupils but for teachers too. This helped a lot for me and got me thinking about insurances coverage.


It was weird, after attending the National Festival of Youth Theatre (NFYT), I was in Interchange, representing Solar Bear. There is a lot from it I definitely would consider and start thinking about. I attended NFYT as a youth theatre member and now attend Interchange as a member of staff at Solar Bear.


Thank you Youth Theatre Arts Scotland for a thought provoking weekend.


MOVING ONTO A DIFFERENT MATTER
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland are handing out scholarship for 5 deaf students who are interested in taking part of Deaf Theatre Skills, a 5 days course for deaf students who are interested in theatre. This is led by Ramesh Mayyappan who is a theatre creator. This is a fantastic opportunity for deaf people who are interested in the course. They offer £400 which means you only get to pay £90 for the course! Don't miss out on the opportunity, deadline on the 1st of May 2014! Hurry up and apply!

http://www.rcs.ac.uk/shortcourses/dramaadults/summerschools/deaftheatre.html - more information, please share!

Step Up to a New Challenge

So it's been a week since my performance on the Trapezes with Upswing. It's kinda odd that I'm not receiving any bruises or scrapes or cuts (although at rehearsals yesterday I've been dragged about). I kinda miss it. The pain represents how much hard work I've been doing over the past two weeks and being out of that routine, which involved climbing up silks, sitting on trapezes and floating around on the harnesses, is weird. I left on the 19th of January and came back on the 31st of January to do a course called "Step Up".


Leaving Scotland, knowing that there wouldn't be much access to Irn Bru, saddened me. (Of course I miss my family, friends, work but Irn Bru is vital in my diet...). I arrived in London really early and sat in the café thinking to myself "am I going to be okay?", "What the heck am I doing?!", "I'm terrified". The prospect of being away from home for a period of time is something I've never done before. I sat there, filled with these thoughts at half 6 in the morning. When the time comes, I walked down to the building and met the wonderful people for the first time. Safe to say, I was bricking it.


We all said our names and did a little name game. Once that was over, we were straight into the warm up and the stretching. The first equipment we worked with was the silks. Silks. I have to admit, I hated them. I think it was because I couldn't even lift myself off the ground. It was difficult. Holding onto the silk and not jumping into the position was hard. As the time pass by, I fell in love with it. I managed to climb to the top. I managed to do a couple of moves on it. I was proud of myself and I was pleased, as you can tell by the picture...

Myself on the silks, having a lot of fun. Photo taken by myself

 

 

Onto the trapezes and my hands were in so much pain holding onto them. It was something you do get used to and it gets a little bit fun after a while. I did my performance on the trapezes and I did it based on a Scottish Fairy Tale which I've been reading for a few days. I tried to make it into a visual piece but the time was a bit short so I talked through it and I think it was decent (although I'd prefer to do a visual piece but you can't have everything...). I did enjoy the trapezes but I think the challenge of the silks is what I enjoy. It was difficult and challenging but exciting to do. Those two were the main thing we've learnt. We've learnt a few others like Acrobats (which I hated, sorry girls!), harnesses and cocoons.

 

 

I feel like I've done alright in it. Nobody is going to walk in and be perfect at it whether you're fit or not. It is a truly physically demanding course and it's been a pleasure to be involved in. The people on the course have been kind (although I've been shy most of the time there...), I wanted to thank those people to making me at ease. I've missed the Irn Bru.

 

 

Over the past two weeks, I've been taught by Vicki Amedume, Jessica Andrade and Krista Vuori who have been patient with me as I've never done anything like this before. Upswing is a fantastic company, encouraging people with difficult backgrounds to get involved. It has been an overwhelming experience and I've thoroughly enjoyed myself as I haven't done anything like this before. Thank you Upswing. You've been so good to me. I've been searching for some classes as it is something I want to continue with. 

 

So it's been a week since my performance on the Trapezes with Upswing and I am still buzzed. I feel like I've stepped up to a physically challenging course.

 

Links:

Upswing: http://www.upswing.org.uk/

Step Up: http://www.upswing.org.uk/workshops/step-up-workshops/ (This will happen again and I would apply for it as soon as the application forms come out...)



First Observation of 2014

Hello all, I'm sorry (again as usual) for not blogging as much. I've been busy with several stuff that has happened and will be happening. 2013 has been a fantastic year, at the start I was just at college, doing highers but since April, I've been doing a lot of work (theatre wise). I was excited and was travelling to a whole load of places including London, Dundee, Glasgow and Inverness. 2014 will be hopefully a good year for me. I'm going to be talking about my experiences at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where I've observed two things: the production week of the Shakespearean play called "The Merchant of Venice" and the students filming their own TV show at the set of "River City".

I haven't read the play of "The Merchant of Venice" before so it was going to be a new play to me and got the story explained by Wendy Rae (one of our interpreters for the day). I was kinda knowing what would happen that day as it was the "plotting". Wasn't an exciting thing as it was just us watching them setting up lights but what was nice to see was the students getting support from the lecturers but allowing them to do what they feel is right and allow their creativity to go wild. It was nice to see that the people working on the production were mostly students working on this production. The director was Ali de Souza who allowed us to sit and observe the rehearsals (thank you Ali!). I've enjoyed watching the actors and I thought the show sounds really good. Sadly I couldn't go as I am saving up some money for London next week. The actors were fantastic and the play looks stunning. I couldn't really judge the play as I am not able to see the show but it seems good. There is a modern element to this play. Does it actually work? I think it does but what is important is the script. With Shakespeare, there are vital scenes that people sometimes forget. Sometimes people do Shakespeare to "show off" their knowledge and say "I know Shakespeare so I will say the lines just to prove to you". Overall, it was enjoyable and I was gutted that I'm missing the show.

Moving onto the film set, the number one thing I was shocked about: EVERYTHING IS FAKE. The houses were fake, the street were fake, the drains were fake. I thought that the streets was abandoned so that the BBC decided to use it for the show but nope. Fake. I laughed at EJ going into the toilet and thinking that it was fake. This laptop could be fake. Okay I'm getting carried away, what was I saying? Oh yeah, the set was fake.

The students did a great job over the two days so they should be proud of themselves. They are still currently filming. There was a lot of waiting around and cameras being set up and sets being set up. I applaud the actors and crew for being patient. It was great to see the students being professionals. It was interesting to see that people who were used to the theatre sector thrown in the deep end of the film sector. They seem to be able to cope with it. I loved being on the film set and learning a lot of new terms (Double Banking). It made me realise that I might like to give this a shot. Acting on a film set. I strongly believe that this is something that should be on the new degree course for deaf people. I don't think it would be a major difference if you're hearing or if you're deaf. It would be really useful if we are wanting to see more deaf people in the arts world. We should introduce people to filming deaf people in film set. Only difference is shouting on set for them to come on might be difficult... After the couple of days, it made me think of my future and the future of the degree course.

Well I won't be doing any Apprentice work for a couple of weeks as I am off to London for two weeks, exciting! I'm doing a course called "Step Up" which is lead by Upswing. They specialise in Aerial. I can't wait but at the same time I am terrified as I am off to London on my own, staying at my brothers (thank you Cameron for allowing me to stay at his). I want to be able to develop numberous skills and aerial is one of them. I will be blogging about my experiences and let you know what has been happening. It will be exciting and scary. I am feeling the burn after the workouts...

This is what it looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=330qixrHs_w
Their website: http://www.upswing.org.uk
RCS website: http://www.rcs.ac.uk

Last Few Months...

I am terribly sorry for not keeping up to date, I've been busy and not checking up my blog. I've realised that recently I've been doing a lot of stuff and not sharing it! I've been in Inverness, Pitlochry, London, Glasgow. I'm doing two courses at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and workshops lead by Solar Bear, working in the office, doing a show in the Arches on the 18th of December. I am too busy these days.

Well, I'm just relaxing in my bed, with my iPod next to me which I got for my birthday. It's one of these relaxing days (I like relaxing days...). I'm just having a think about the last few months, I've been doing a lot!

In October, I did an audition for Frantic Assembly and got shortlisted! Which is something I'm proud of considering that it is a physically demanding course and I'm not the world fittest person. Also I've been visiting Pitlochry Festival Theatre, observing their rehearsal process for "The Steamie" and interviewing their staff members. It was a different experience and the reason because it wasn't the kind of theatre I've heard of (I should but honestly, I didn't!). They do 6 shows a week during the summer season meaning they would have to constantly change the sets on stage and actors had to get into different costumes and different characters (they're in 4 shows a week...). Fascinating. I also joined a course which is called "Introduction to Acting Training" which is so far a fabulous course but challenging. We have our journals to do and try and remember what happened the week before as the course is happening every Sunday not everyday! Although it being every Sunday, it's hard to keep track but it ensures that you're able to connect with the class and keep in touch with them all. Also I've start Deaf Theatre Skills which runs every Tuesday night and it's going great so far. I've done it last year and I've enjoyed it immensely and I wanted to continue with it.

In November, I've visited the Citizens Theatre which was interesting. Met a lot of staff members and observed the rehearsals for Jungle Book (I'm seeing this tonight, can't wait!). I also went to London to see Deafinitely Theatre production of "Two" and it was fantastic. I got a bit emotional on some parts, especially the abusive boyfriend. That gave me a lump in my throat. Also met the co-founders of Handprint Theatre and also Reading University students.

In December, I went down to Inverness to visit Eden Court Theatre which is great fun. We helped to make props for the production of HUMMM-BUG! It was great fun and the show is hilarious even though it is for under 5s! If a 20 year old laugh at this show and enjoys the show then I'm pretty sure it's for all ages. I'm seeing it this Friday which I'm excited about.

Ok, I pinkie promise that I will blog more and I will keep you guys up to date with numerous of things that are happening. Next plan? Jungle Book at the Citzens Theatre, performance tomorrow and HUMM-BUG! this Friday. Then it's Christmas! In the New Year, I will be down at the Conservatoire a lot so if you're a Conservatoire student, please contact me. I got questions. Plently. It doesn't matter if you're in short courses or a full time student. Any courses will do. THANK YOU! (email: ciaran@solarbear.org.uk)

I'm freaking hungry and I haven't had lunch yet so hope this is interesting...

Forest Fringe: Future of Accessible Theatre

Recently I went to the Forest Fringe where they made performances accessible for deaf people. It was a great day. There was interpreters there. There was artists willing to have interpreters in their performances. This is the attitude that theatre makers/directors should be having. A willing attitude and to allow accessibility happening. It gets me excited but it is still a long journey in the future and it will take time for it to happen...

It started off with a discussion about accessibility in theatre. There was two groups, one for the audiences and one for artists. I joined the "artists" side as it is something I feel strongly about. I raised my hand up to say something but we ran out of time in the end sadly so I spoke to Andy about what I wanted to say. I wanted to raise the point about the word "deaf". When people talk about deaf, they tend to generalise "deaf" and assume it means someone who can't hear anything at all and signs. This is not the case. I am profoundly deaf with a cochlear implant and I prefer oral over sign language. I've only been learning sign language for 3 years now but I prefer to speak. There was talks about "problems" with deaf people when really the only way to "solve" the "problem" is by communicating with the deaf person via email or text. They will tell them about their preferred communication methods. Interpreter or no interpreter? It is up to them and if they don't need it, they don't need it.

There was two shows that really stood out for me, "I wish I was Lonely" and "Hoke's Bluff". They were fantastic productions. "I wish I was Lonely" was a show that involved using phones. At the start, we had to write down our phone numbers on a card, give it to the performers and sit anywhere in the audience. Once everyone sat down, the cards got passed around with someone's number on it. We had to text one another saying why we needed our phone. I got someone number who I've been working for that week so therefore it was a bit funny. I had awful signal in that room so my text couldn't be sent through and I couldn't receive their text until later. Sadly. The performance made me think about phones in general. I admit I usually spend my time with my phone in my hand checking facebook or twitter occasionally. One of the performance said that you should go out without your phone in your hand and take in everything around you. Get on the bus and look out of the window, admiring the scenery. So far have I done it? Not yet but I will... Only problem is that the interpreter can be difficult to see. It's to do with the positioning and sometimes the actors can go in front of it but that's just a minor problem. Apart from that, fantastic performance. Possibly the best performance I've seen this year.

The other performance I saw was Hoke's Bluff. This was filled with energy at the start. Cheesy songs, a mascot dancing in the middle of the stage, someone with a tray filled with popcorn, a referee. This made me feel like I'm in an American Football game. High energy. But this play focuses on the couple, one was a cheerleader and one was a football player. It was great. The football player was called Tyler and what I love about it is that they used the audience and refer to a member as "Tyler". It was something different and hilarious. It was like the audience were actors and characters. Great. I love their use of the interpreters. They've integrated the signing into the performance. They didn't make Yvonne Strain in a corner just standing and signing away. They got her to be a part of the performance. They got her dressing up as a coach and reacting to what was happening on the stage. They showed a great example of using interpreters in a performance. They balanced the tragic side to the story and the energy side of the story. There wasn't a slow transition between them, it was face paced. It was fantastic. I was dancing along with the cheesy songs and sympathised  with the characters on the stage. It was fabulous. GO WILDCATS!

Forest Fringe is the start of something new. I cannot believe it existed for 7 years and I wasn't aware of this. I have subscribed to their newsletter and hope to see future productions with them. Fantastic day. Met a lot of wonderful theatre makers and artists. They were the loveliest bunch of people I have ever met and I hope there will be more people like them. It is still a long hurdle. A long wait. But it will be worth it. 

My week with Deaf and Hearing Ensemble...

This week, I have been in Edinburgh working with Jennifer Bates's up and coming theatre company called "Deaf and Hearing Ensemble". It was good fun and it had it's up and downs. I've spoken to many people this week and increased my confidence in networking. I just wish I had my business cards printed out then. I arrived on the Sunday the 18th, meeting the cast of "Deaf and Hearing Ensemble". I couldn't ask for the most welcoming bunch I've ever met. They made me feel like I'm a part of their crew.


I was nervous about working with them. They are experienced in the theatre world and had a wealth of knowledge. I talked to them and they were talking about their experiences and what they did previously made me want to achieve my dream so badly. They were working with a lot of people, had great relationships with directors, performed on stage multiple times and most importantly, they were talented. This talented bunch were Sophie Stone, Jacob Casselden, David Sands, Nadia Nadarajah, Brian Ferguson and Lucy Ellinson. They were my inspiration.


We did several activities throughout the week and even though I wasn't performing, I wasn't afraid to contribute my ideas to the piece that they were doing on the Wednesday night/Friday night. My favourite task of this week was being given 20 minutes to go and find a location, 3 minutes away from the rehearsal space. We were given 20 minutes to write down about that location that we were in. I chose mine to be at the bottom of the stairs and loved it. I wanted to run down the stairs in the building to see how far I would get. When I got there, I had no signal on my phone and I felt lonely. In a good way. There was a fire exit next to me so I felt safe and heard noises upstairs which sounded like ghosts singing. I felt like I was scared. Scared of what might happen to me. Which is a weird combination, a combination of safeness and creepiness. When I went to see the others, they all had an interesting choice of location. Sophie was at a grassy area near the Edinburgh Castle, Jacob was in an isolated land surrounded by rubbish and David was at the opposite side of the Castle with coaches blocking his view. It was different. I have done this task before and it was weird to see the differences in what Deaf Youth Theatre did before and what they did with the task. I felt that I've used my creativity well in this activity and I felt proud of myself to be able to showcase my thoughts and feelings. They used the idea of the stairs and the haunting feeling into their piece on Friday. Love it.


Another activity which was new to me and I've enjoyed was the "breathing" task. Lorna Penney lead this workshop which was odd for me because she worked with my dad before when he was a lecturer at Ayr College. Small world. She got us to go back to back with a partner (my partner was Sophie) and told us to basically breathe. We had to learn about our breathing and ourselves whilst learning about the partner's breathing. It was odd for me as I only met Sophie the night before for the first time and we have to do something that is quite intimate and close. We were then told to lie into each other shoulders and breathe once again. Afterwards we had to move around and communicate with each other by using our breath. We would breath quickly, slowly, quietly, loudly. In any shape or form. We were communicating. I felt like we were in trouble and did something awful but we had each other. We had elements of love, trust and support with each other. It was a great way of getting to know one another without using English or Sign Language to communicate. It was surreal and quite nice. Probably the most weirdest thing I've ever done but I thoroughly enjoyed it.


As I mentioned, they did two performances and I was heavily involved in one of them which was for "The Bloody Great Border Ballad Project". I had to check on Youtube the right order for this title. It is a pretty long one right? We saw the performance on Monday night. Basically, it's a bunch of poems about this girl who was born on the border between England and Scotland on the day of the Scottish Independence. The first poem starts off with the girl's birth so she's a baby. The next artist adds on a verse when she's 5 years old. Then the next artist adds on a verse when she's 10 years old. Get it? Yep, I didn't either. It's one of these projects where you had to be there to understand what the fuck is going on. I watched the performance without understanding what was going on but we spent all day on Tuesday the 20th trying to understand what was going on in the girl's life. It was just fascinating.You can check out the verses on Youtube. Just search "The Bloody Great Border Ballad Project" and there it is. Simple eh? I wish the title was... Here is the video of the Deaf and Hearing Ensemble performing verse 17!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D84V3YtOMJY
Check it out!


This blog is probably the most hardest blog I've ever typed up. It's really hard to condense my time in Edinburgh so this blog is dedicated to Deaf and Hearing Ensemble. Jennifer Bates, thank you for the experience. It made me think about my future and made me think about my own decisions. It certainly opened my mind a bit. In the next blog, I will be talking about my time at the Forest Fringe.

Deaf and Hearing Ensemble do have a twitter so check them out! @Ensemble_DH

Over the next year, there is going to be changes in my life. It's going to be a toughie and a risk but I am willing to make rash decisions. Watch this space...