I feel the usual ache of the day after a busy performance night, but last night was as good as ever, and everyone seems to really push themselves to try new things. What started as an open-mic poetry night is now truly and eclectic mix of music, poetry, film, short dramas, and interactive experiences. Here is a summary of the performances.
I opened the night with a piece called 'Here Little Fishy', where I sang a child-like song and, while dangling a mock fishing rod, passed a hook around the audience. Those with the hook could suggest things that have been caught and these were incorporated into the song. I tend to open the shows with something fun and a little interactive, to wake people up and help set a mood of excitement and engagement.
This time, in an experiment, the subsequent acts were chosen from a hat, the 'Hat of Destiny', with the performer's names written paper fish and drawn at random.
The next act was Helen Kay, reading two poems with an environmental theme; one written from the perspective of her chicken puppet character, Nigella Clawson.
Debbie Breeze and Claire Bassi performed a flash play about the phrase 'Plenty More Fish in the Sea', then Nick Ferenczy read a short story about his fishing experiences in front of a projected backdrop. Claire Bassi then performed 'Fish/Trash', which involved reading a poem about our environmental impact on the world, and asked the audience to select a random object from a net, either a fish or a piece of litter. I then sang a simple song called 'The Fish Are Singing', with an environmental theme.
Carol Finch then read a flash-fiction story with a horrific twist, originally inspired by a competition for a story that combined diving, a toothbrush and humour.
Newcomer Alice Smith then performed a poetic, acted piece with an approximate theme of coping with trauma and addiction. Alice left the stage to perform among the audience in a confrontational, but also very personal, style of performance that involved props and a range of moods.
Maggie Shaw was drawn next and sang two songs on the theme of fishing, and her husband Alan sang 'Pedro the Fisherman', a song from the 1946 film, 'Lisbon Story'.
Deborah Edgeley then read a blackout poem, a poem made from a mix of random lines from Moby Dick. Moragh Carter recounted her memories of her first fishing trip, and sang a gentle song, and finally Deborah Edgeley as mermaid Thalassa, and myself as Poseidon conducted as simple, television-style interview written by Deborah about our mythical lives.
Maggie Shaw guided us to sing 'When the Boat Comes In' at the end. I've ended the other shows with a song, and the music tends to stick in the mind as we leave, but I wondered if this makes the shows too frivolous and party-like rather than art-like, but last night felt that it did need an ending, perhaps that is the key, a positive melodic ending; even Beethoven might agree with that. The random nature of act selection made things more democratic, but in practical terms wasn't as efficient, as some acts needed tables or other props that could have remained on stage, and the flow of mood can be important too. That will always be difficult when I don't know what the acts are about, but control over the start and end is essential. I will use a pre-set order next time and develop an ending as carefully as the opening.
Simon Ross was billed as the special guest, having been asked to prepare a 20 minute performance 6 weeks earlier. He emailed me earlier in the day to request a 10 minute, non-special, slot instead, as his piece was a collaboration with Sabine Kussmaul and Sabine was unavailable due to a family emergency. In the end, Simon didn't turn up at all with no further message, which is unprofessional, but not untypical in arts performances or music shows. Reliability is the first ingredient for success at anything, but it's amazingly rare. I try not to ask or cajole people into to doing things for this reason, instead trying to make people feel welcome to do what they want; to feel free and inspired to try things themselves.
There were 18 attendees overall, including myself and Deb, enough to break even. The theme for the next show, set for November 23rd, was chosen on the night using the random function on my calculator, and it will be 'First Time'.
