Introducing #3: Maria

Hi Maria, loving the photo – you always have great hats! Really excited to have you involved with the project – as with Ryan lets start at the start – what made you want to write initially?
I assume I started writing due to the realisation that real life is nothing compared to worlds where exciting things happen all the time, and it’s even better when YOU get to pick and choose ANYTHING that can happen. Maybe I was just power-hungry at a young age…

Any writers, poets or otherwise, that you particularly admire?
My favourite poet might be E. E. Cummings, though my opinion fluctuates between his work being quite profound and stimulating, to simply ridiculous so that it is just comical.

There’s definitely a liberal helping of comedy in your piece for the show, what’s the tagline?

“Grandma’s Soup: Where do the boundaries of politeness lie?”

Ha ha, nice! Finally, but perhaps most importantly, what is your family’s speciality dish/meal when it’s time for a get together?
My Mum’s classic Miscellaneous Cheese Bake will keep you on your feet with the endless surprises in store, if you dare to venture beneath the cheese…

Brilliant, thanks for that!

To find out more about the event that Maria, Ryan and the other local collaborators will be performing at, head to this page on the Live Theatre site:
http://www.live.org.uk/whats-book/indiana-jones-extra-chair

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Introducing #2: Ryan Watson

Welcome to our mini-series introducing the brilliant local writers we’re collaborating with on the project. First up, Ryan Watson…

Hi Ryan, first up, and crucially of course, what would you say is the ‘speciality dish’ for you family gatherings?
My Nan’s dinners. They usually involve Gravy and chicken/beef, the best mash potato EVER and Yorkshire puddings. Pickled Onions on the side too. Celery sometimes makes an appearance.

After our first workshops at the weekend it’s clear you’ve got a real talent for writing, what got you started?
I’ve always been really into my TV shows, since Thomas the Tank Engine and Power Rangers and I’ve always been half in my own little bubble world. Then I discovered Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and a writer called Neil Gaiman and they inspired me to try and write my bubble world down and see if anyone likes it.

Nice one, what elements of this ‘bubble world’ will you be shedding light on in your piece for this project? Actually don’t give too much away, just the title and the tagline you came up with in the session will do!
Well it’s called ‘The Wedding Present’ and the tagline is:
‘The family’s here. Mum’s getting Married. Growing up’s never smelt so bad.’

Good stuff – does what a tagline should, I want to know more! Maybe just a little excerpt?!
Here goes…
‘I’m the cool guy in the suit, I’m Don Draper.
It’s up to me to save the day.
I take off my jacket. I roll up my sleeves
just to show it I mean business, just to show it who’s boss.
And I walk in there. A peg on my nose and a bucket of water
are my only weapons, my only defence in this great battle.’

Great man, thanks, hopefully that will have whetted a few appetites to the point they want to hear the full piece at the event!Finally, then who’s your hero?

My Hero has to be Batman. Any Batman. Except George Clooney.

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If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones – one poet’s quest for the ultimate tag-line

As part of our re-drafting session on the Sunday, we used the idea of movie ‘tag-lines’ as a route in to understanding the core of our pieces more clearly. A tag-line is essentially a shorthand method of expressing the central theme or appeal of the film – coming up with a tag-line for a poem you are writing means you have to think about what the most important elements of it are; and also about your aims for the piece, both in terms of content and style…

Also, it was a good excuse to read through a few classic movie tag-lines , some of which are below – can you match the tagline to the movie?

TAGLINES:
“In space no one can hear you scream.”
“Houston, we have a problem.”
“They’re back.”
“We are not alone.”
“Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.”
“Who ya gonna call?”
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”
“Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
“One dream. Four Jamaicans. Twenty below zero.”
“The list is life.”
“Earth. It was fun while it lasted.”
“Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.”

MOVIES:
Cool Runnings (1993)
Alien (1979)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Poltergeist II (1986)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Jaws 2 (1978)
Star Wars (1977)
The Fly (1986)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Armageddon (1998)
Shawshank Redemption (1994

Have we missed any other classic taglines? Add your favourites as a comment if you’ve got a minute…

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The classic ingredients!

In our first session, our writers put their heads together to compile a poetic list of what they feel are some of the key ingredients for a family gathering. If you think we’ve missed any out then feel free to add your own suggestions in a comment!

Cooking for hours and eating in minutes.
Cross-generational wii tennis tournaments. Photos. Photos.
All possible combinations of everyone present for photos.
Then looking at photos. The ones you’ve just taken.
A 6 week monopoly game. Cards, scrabble,arguments, cards.
Overstayed welcomes. A very intense game of trivial pursuit.
The traditional Christmas pizza.
Chaos in the kitchen. Naps. Awkward silences,
or everyone talking at once.
Buffet banquets. Obligatory charades.
Way too much food. The huge tin of sweets
that only comes out when everyone’s full.
And gets wolfed down in seconds.
Underlying tension diffused by bad jokes.
And a grandma with total, absolute control of the tv remote.

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Introducing #1: the blog!

Hiya, Simon here…

The idea for the blog is to introduce you to the brilliant local writers involved in the project (who I met for the first time at the weekend) and give you a taster of the type of stuff they’re working on with me. We’ll also be documenting our creative process more generally as we move towards the performance events – hopefully offering out some interesting insights and opportunities to get involved along the way…

As for me, you can find out plenty more than the average person would need to at my website, but as a starter I used this poem as part of my introduction to the group at the weekend, mainly because the incident it describes is one of the proudest moments in my life!

You can check out a video of me performing the scratch to the show on the ABOUT page, but most importantly keep tuned to this blog to watch the project develop!

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