Fair Play

This was my first experience of directing a show without having a co-pilot! 

And this is what the bumf said:

 “A small show with a GIANT message, Fair Play is fun and thought-provoking. Plus it’s suitable for all the family!

Festive Road is keeping it local with their new theatre piece Fair Play.

This is the story of two sisters who begin their journey on the family farm but everything changes when the Trickster comes on the scene (cue: boo, hiss!)

The characters tell the story of trade, taking the audience from the fields and power houses of past and present, to the most recent incarnations of market places; the disconnected shopping experience presented by faceless corporations. And as the sleeping giant is gradually revealed within the ever transforming landscape, hand held puppets, projections and larger than life characters are played and animated with physicality and humour. The show even uses a cycle powered generator!

A positive future is in sight, in which we are all responsible for the giant that commerce has created; the solutions remain in our hands." 

The ideas grew out of a round-table discussion among friends. In hindsight the subject was fairly predictable for me: consumerism, the take over of public space, the faceless face of modern commerce. The older I get the more I realise the latent Maxist within! 

In my role as Artistic Director of MK Festival Fringe, I had been working with various people in marketing companies who safeguard the commercial interests, (the shopping zones), in central Milton Keynes. There is an on going battle to place art and stage performance in these 'seemingly public' spaces but I was also interested in the idea that our huge chain shops have become unable to respond quickly to demand. Their production is so far away from the consumer (literally in another world) that they have to create the demand for products, ie tell us what we don't realise we need, predict (or subliminally set) the winter fashions in the previous Spring etc. 
I was imagining how, if only people understood the mob power they had, simply deciding that the fodder-fed fashion of the day wasn't what they wanted, maybe they could break the whole chain? 

The discussion extended to world food production, the disconnect from reality which now exists in the developed countries and the reliance on long distance imports, cheap labour and other unethical goings on...

It wasn't that there was one simple narrative we could pull out, at least nothing chronological like the revolution from agricultural, to industrial Britain -it couldn't always be blamed on the Victorians! Empire building, mass production, exploitation of people, industrialisation and consumer rich societies are not restricted geographically and pop up and down throughout time, they rise and fall like the sea.

Beyond the initial discussion of ideas (which may have been more about me getting the opportunity to have a good rant?) a group of performers were gathered -all people who I'd worked with before so we had a head start: Natali Bass (physical performer), Manuela Benini (dancer) and Allan Davies (story teller). The next stage was to create a narrative and we approached this collaboratively, all coming from different angles!

I already had a clear idea about creating a transforming set which turned from rural, to urban, to digital and which finally became a standing faceless giant so with a couple of other team members; Nick Garnett, Emma Garafalo and Paul Smith (all makers), we created the story, designed the set and sketched the characters -two sisters who begin on the family farm,  the trickster or middle man (based on the Trinidadian Midnight Robber) and the various extras; marketeers, robots, shelf-packers -which the three performers all doubled up as.

The devising and rehearsal process was also very collaborative and Natali, Allan and Manuela were very supportive of my 'learning journey'. Having co-directed a previous Festive Road production, Brewing Up (but in reality it had been more like shadowing), I was an inexperienced director. As the process continued, I became more and more confident about my ideas and how to shape the show -to make it work. It was an interesting dynamic to work with; Allan -the archetypal source rich, language reliant story teller, Manuela -the abstract, non-linear sense of a dancer and Natali -the 'turn it on its head', mime world of the physical clown. 

If I'm honest I had no idea how hard it was going to be holding all of that! But the end result was pleasing and was well received at all the schools which we performed at. 

By the time we came to share the work at a public performance, hosted by The Chrysalis Theatre in Milton Keynes, the piece had been tweaked many times and was really quite well resolved. 

I had the idea to bring in a bit of a local produce sale as a wrap around, to create a whole audience experience which fitted with the Chrysalis Theatre ethos. The Camphill residents sold their fresh picked raspberries, home baked bread and local veg box schemes spread their wares in wheelbarrows in the theatre foyer as people entered. 

Unfortunately we experience a bit of a technical mess up on the first performance which as luck would have it brought in the largest audience! The second showing was pretty perfect... we haven't performed it since but it's available for bookings. It would be great to perform at a summer food festival? Take a look at the promo video

From Beardy to Birdy or Weirdy to Nerdy?

"And remember; a bird in the hand...is not worth a criminal record, so don't touch the birds!!" 

There I was kicking my heels around after a full on summer, when how exciting, I was called up by my old friend Mary Eddowes, to be told that her application was successful and that the Research and Development work on her new show the 'Nerdy Birdies'...is to start the following week! How could I resist?


My role in the 'flock' was to create costume ideas, supply materials and be on hand to dress, make, create, respond, advise and buy the bird seed.

The Birdies gathered at South Hill Park Arts Centre for the week leading up to the 'Big Day Out', which is an annual one day performing arts festival in Bracknell.

The Birdies were directed by Matt Feerick who helped each of the performers build real characters; both bird persona's and bird watcher personalities. He carefully managed the potential over comedising of the subject matter so that the characters that the birdies explored were more than surface parody of 'Bird watchers' or hilarious over acting birds.

They explored the motivations behind the act of bird watching, they looked at documentaries and on line sites. They worked on the classical flocking characteristics of birds through dance and used the neutral bird masks which I created during the week to look at movement.


It was a real in depth look at the motivations of 'birders' and the cross over behaviour of the watcher and the watched, the bazaar behaviour of both, when taken a little out of context. The 'birder' characters were asked to build nests and the birds were dressed up in green parkas and hats.

Being R and D, meant that the options were kept open throughout, so it was virtually impossible to create any permanent costumes -all was play and experimentation. I'm sure that this underlying belief and understanding, in their own characters which has been built up over this week, will pay off, whatever shape the final show takes.

The Nerdy Birdies were invited to share their work at a special scratch night which I organised at Festive Road HQ in Milton Keynes. They had a excellent response from the select few...but watch this space because the Nerdy Birdies will be coming to an event near you... And remember; a bird in the hand...is not worth a criminal record, so don't touch the birds!! 

A Festival of Fringe in Milton Keynes

"The birth of the long awaited and long needed Milton Keynes International Festival in 2010, brought a complete sea change to the new city." 

How did I get here?!! Director of Milton Keynes Festival Fringe 2012. It was a bit by accident but when I looked around, all I could see were people around me who seemed to need me to fight their corner, to represent the unseen and emerging.  

When I tested the temperature it seemed to me that the Arts community in Milton Keynes was fed up. Tired of the warring factions and empire builders, fed up of the silo mentality which grew up organically in a frontier town where historically, the Council had little centralised power and if you had an initiative you hung on to it like the mast of a sinking ship - every arts organisation for themselves. 

Terrible Shamen, Fringe performance (photo by Legge)

 The birth of the long awaited and long needed Milton Keynes International Festival in 2010, brought a complete sea change to the new city. This ambitious outward looking vessel on the landscape brought about a call to arms from those open minded and metropolitan enough to see the opportunity for the arts in Milton Keynes to 'up it's game'. This could and can only be done collectively in my view.

 
Suddenly it was time for working together, for connected programming, a time to nurture the emerging talent and bring them into the big tent to feed the old roots. The voices in the wind were calling...'collaborate or face extinction!'

Partly this was down to survival of individuals in the financial climate and a need to respond to the 2012 Cultural Olympiad projects, also a defence against the 'culture commute to London', a disease which exists in many places. But among the collective which became 'Milton Keynes, Summer of Culture' this year, there were some genuine team players who could see the bigger picture, 'for the greater good'. I wonder if this was also a symptom of a young city which is finally maturing?

Shake n Speare, one of the 6 Beach hut commissions

It was obvious, what was needed was a broad tent so that no body felt excluded but a tent which could also provide a system of appropriate placing of work; less of a 'curation' role and more of a 'facilitating, staging and framing' role, so that everything could be included without quality being compromised or without, what has been described as, the 'bun fight' that goes on at other Fringe festivals. 

I think I spent 2 months in meetings just listening to people, trying to gauge the climate. One of the first things I did was to sketch a framework together, something which all art forms could find a place within and which provided opportunities for all levels of professionalism and quality to find an appropriate artistic platform. It included open entry artist markets, open mic and busking, to commissioned installation and performance. There were also some invited artists who created links and relevance to the overarching themes. This framework provided a useful working document which was circulated for the arts community to respond and contribute to. I was also able to present this working plan to the guardians of the so called 'public spaces' otherwise known as shopping centres, the various retail consortium's which seem to have mushroomed up in the UK with no national strategy or any overall body to answer to...Always the profits over the prophets and the answer always seems to be 'it's what the people want', (just like they want trash TV and junk food)...oops I'm ranting. 

Walking with Giants, community parade produced by Festive Road

The other thing which I did early on was to talk to Monica Ferguson, Milton Keynes International Festival Director and Chief Executive of The Stables. It was important to find out what kind of Fringe would support the International Festival, how a Fringe could complement the Festival and what we would call it? I also had regular chats with Bill Gee, the International Festival's Creative Producer, mostly to ensure that our programme content was truly providing a 'fringe' to the International Festival and that there were no serious clashes. 

From the point of view of the International Festival and others in Milton Keynes, the growth of a healthy, thriving, locally/regional focused Festival Fringe, is of great concern, as, without one, there is always the more negative contingency of the local arts community, the 'moaners on the sidelines' who make life difficult. There is always a need for somewhere fringey, edgy and seemingly 'outsider' to focus creative energies. This allows the International Festival to focus on International horizons but it also provides a supportive space for new and experimental work to develop and get showcased.

Cycle cinema, produced by MK Independent Cinema

The MK Festival Fringe 2012 was awarded the London 2012 Inspire mark and is also signed up to the Greener Festival Awards' scheme. The themes and strands that ran through the Fringe were an attempt to make links with the Cultural Olympic events such as Godiva Awakes visiting MK, (hence the giants parade and the focus on cycling), The Boat Project, (hence the beach hut commissions, Dip your Toe Bathing machines on tour from Brighton Fringe and the wave paintings of Alexandra Leadbeater).  But the strands also reflected the interests of the people who coordinated and pulled the whole festival together -the team, many of whom were volunteers. And my particular interest in ecology and recycling projects gave the programme a strong 'green' flavour.

The programme -all 220 different audience opportunities; including live performance, street theatre, dance, music, visual art exhibitions and participatory workshops... which were on offer over the 19 days of the Festival Fringe, can be found in the full Festival Fringe brochure which was designed by Allan Davies.

Next years MK Festival Fringe will be taking place 19 -21 July 2013 -get it in the diary now!

Brewing Up -the show

"A show for all, which investigates the quintessentially English action of drinking tea, and tells the story of our multi-cultural history. 
The performance fuses carnival arts with street theatre, facilitates new partnerships and creates experimental new work. Produced by Festive Road’s Director Jessica Rost and co directed by Sian Thomas and Manuela Benini, with musical direction by Daniel Clark, this blend of talent will reach and infuse the parts that other blends just can’t refresh."
 
I wonder if any other outdoor theatre piece has ever developed via such a windy journey, as Brewing Up has done over the last three years?

Three years of Arts Council investment, three years of collaboration and partnership work with artists, funders, producers and venues across the South East and most importantly ...three years of artistic development for Festive Road


Once upon a time we were a small community carnival company but nowadays I look around me and see that we seem to have become a fully fledged street theatre/outdoor arts production company. The core family of creatives, which we've collected along the way, all have one thing in common; they can't be squeezed into any box that's been invented yet!

Our journey is captured in this short video. But the final shape of Brewing Up ended up being a professional, tour able out door theatre piece ...of course we had to try out everything in between from installations to parades and having got to that 'professional, tour able outdoor theatre piece' there are inevitably more questions than answers...

This 2012 production was directed by Sian Thomas, who co-directed, or rather mentored, the show last year. The show became a fixed 20 minute performance in the round with original music directed by Daniel Marcus Clark and with Manuela Benini once again leading the choreography.

 
With the development of the show spanning over two years, it was understandable that we'd attract some interest when it came to auditioning for paid performers, we already had a following. All the previous work had been with community groups and volunteers and we found that we were in the very lucky position to have a huge number of applications from a range of very talented people; physical performers, musicians, dancers, actors...who applied from Nottingham to Brighton. Out of the 40 odd who we shortlisted for audition, eight were taken on initially.



Due to commitments elsewhere, I was unable to both project manage and co-direct as I had done before. So we recruited Helen Wright as tour manager and I became a producer as well as lead designer. This was the best possible scenario for me as I was at last able to concentrate on the creative side of the production; working closely with Sian, Manuela and Daniel to develop the narrative and in response to the work at rehearsals created the designs for the costumes and set.

This was a new way of working for our company -when the visual design responds to a pre-developed narrative and devised performance, although probably the conventional way round to do things in the world of theatre. Our leadership very much springs from our visual arts background; we are used to devising around the visual design and I for one, found the performative lead challenging at times.
The lead artists/directors of the company had been disposed to being mere prop builders...but this is what we had invited people into the company to do, it was the only way to find out what kind of company Festive Road can become.

Perhaps Festive Road's strengths will always lie in our impact visually, the power of our design and inventive use of materials but we watched, learnt and responded to the challenges with relish. The company has successfully assimilated the right people to extend the skills base and I think that we are stronger for it.

Brewing up is now a finished production (as finished as any production ever is). It is ready to tour and looking for bookings for next year at arts festivals and events around the country so please spread the word.