I have now performed my solo piece and it went down very well. The audience laughed at the right points and I even managed to time my show in a way that allows me to add in some jokes if they naturally come to me. These jokes also went down very well with the audience. At least this is what I could tell from the reactions. A few audience members also approached me after the performance and we had a conversation about how the stories were in fact true.

It seems as though I made the correct choice with the smoke machine as I managed to get a laugh out of it and it didn’t seem to ruin the pace of the show.

I am now going to eagerly wait for the resulting grade. Although, to be honest I do not really mind what grade I get now because I enjoyed it so much and I managed to entertain the audience with an insight to my life and upbringing.

I have now found a way to turn on the smoke machine without it looking messy. The idea came to me when I was thinking back to Shakespeare and his use of metatheatre.

I am now going to directly comment on the fact that I am using a smoke machine. I also plan to use this as the foundation for a joke or two. My thinking is, if I can create comedy out of turning the smoke machine on then it will flow nicely with the rest of the performance and it wont break the mood or the atmosphere of the story which could ruin the story.

Today I had my technical rehearsal and I could not be happier with the way it went. I now have a smoke machine.

There was one issue though. The smoke machine is going to be behind my sofa and is going to come on as I am telling my story about a fire in a shopping trolley. However, the smoke machine is manually operated which means that half way through my performance I need to find a way to turn on the smoke machine without any of the audience noticing. I’m sure I will think of something.

Rundown of tech

Lighting

The lighting is very simple with some LEDs creating a fast paced entrance as I enter the stage to Anarchy in the UK by The Sex Pistols. The rest of the lighting is a general wash focused on the middle of the stage to make the performance as intimate as possible. The last of my lighting are some slowly fading red, orange and yellow LED’s that will be aimed at the smoke to create the effect of fire.

Sound

The three pieces of music that I previously spoke about are now in the system and ready to go.

Images

I now only use two still images; the album cover for The specials and a photograph that I took of the block of flats that my dad used to live in.

There is also one video which is a pan back and forward of the block of flats and an opposite block of flats which relates to the story I am telling at the time.

Smoke

The smoke machine will be round the back of the sofa and I need to find a way of turning it on for a couple of seconds during my performance.

Since I came up with the idea of including images and videos of my fathers old council estate, I have been to Battersea in South London and taken the photos and videos. Below are just a few clips and a couple of example images from the day.

As well as taking the photos and videos, the day was also an excellent and more detailed insight into the childhood of my dad. As we explored the areas of Battersea and South London that my dad used to roam back in his day, my dad became excited and the stories and little details from his past started exploding out of him. I stood back observed and listened to every detail. I made some notes on the parts of the stories that were exceedingly funny, interesting or important.

The most important part about this day for me was watching my dad. As he told me these stories you could almost define how he was being transported into the past and his whole attitude had changed to how he explains things and talks today. This is what i paid the most attention to and this is what will truly help me in my performance.

I have decided to include the use of media in my performance due to my reading of Craig Gingrich-Philbrook’s Taking Pictures: Rage and Forgiveness in Autoperformance from the Family Archive. 

Images and videos

To assist in expressing the truth in my performance, I am planning on taking some photographs and recording some video of the area my dad used to live in his youth. As I am telling a story from my dad’s youth, it would be beneficial to present the audience with an image depicting the area that I describe in my story. These images will also help the efficiency of my performance. As I am limited to 12 minutes, yet I have enough material to cover an hour, the use of images will speed up the process of creating the atmosphere for the story to really work.

Music

I plan on using three pieces of music in my performance:

The first is a piece of music that will be playing as the audience members are entering and taking their seats. To stick with the atmosphere of the two-tone era that I create for the story about my dad, I have chosen to use the song Too Much Too Young by The Specials. I chose this song as it creates a good atmospheare for my performance; lively, happy, two-tone and relevant. While this music is playing I am going to project a picture of the original 7″ album cover for the song.

(The Specials, 1980)

I decided to include this image for two reasons:

1. The image gives the audience an insight into what a moment feels like in the early 1980’s in a two-tone style setting. This will help to create the atmosphere for the performance.

2. The crowd of people on this album cover were my dads old friends from when he was young. The only reason that my dad wasn’t also in this picture is because he was at a family event on the day this picture was taken. Although I am not going to comment on this photo during my performance, it is still included as a sign of respect and appreciation of my father.

(Just as a side note, the face at the very bottom left of the picture was actually cut out and placed on the photo before it was published as he was someone that new the band and couldn’t be at that event. This has no relevance I know but its a fun little fact none the less.)

The other two songs that I will include in my performance are both by The Sex Pistols. The first is Anarchy in the UK and is played as I enter the stage to open my performance. This is a stand out Punk era song that will jump start my performance, setting a strong mood and tone from the start.

The second song is Sid Vicious’ rendition of My Way. The Frank Sinatra version of the song My Way is a song that I relate to being at the end of events. It is the sort of song that is uplifting and motivational yet is sung as if it is a sign off. By using the Sid Vicious version I am signing off in a way that would make a Punk proud.

There are two main reasons for me using The Sex Pistols for the music in my performance. The first is because The were my dads favourite band when he was younger. The second is because of the anti-conformist attitude that they bring with them. This will add another level to my performance as it is making a very implicit point about the changes through generations.

Works Cited 

The Specials, (1980) [image] Available at: http://2-tone.info/2tone.pl?display102 [Accessed 8 Jun. 2016].