The Beginning
As an all-female theatre company we wanted to enhance this factor, however we did not want to exclude males from future performances. As a theatre company we wanted to focus our productions on fairy tales, however we wanted to give them a modern or unusual twist. Once we had decided this to be our theme we had to figure out a name for the company. We chose the name “Twisted Ivy.” We decided this for a few reasons. As we wanted to put a different spin/twist onto well-known fairy tales we thought the word “twisted” was appropriate. We then decided on “ivy” as it is often used in fairy tales. As well as being common ivy that grows up walls there is also poison ivy. Therefore, there is more than one way to read our name. Our final decision was to call ourselves “Twisted Ivy Productions.”
Following this we had to write our manifesto. In this we wanted to include who we were, the ideas we wanted to convey in our performances and how we create our work, through devising or adapting. Below is our final mission statement:
We are Twisted Ivy Productions, a theatre company run by an all-female team. Although we are a female run company we are not exclusive to an all-female cast, we invite male actors into our performances. We have a bold approach to giving classic ideas a dark, alternative twist to evoke thought on important matters.
As a company of devising artists, our work progresses through discussion, improvisation and writing. By combining movement, fun, comedy and everyday objects, we give sensitive issues a new edge.
After we had written our manifesto we decided to pick our roles. We chose the roles we wanted ourselves, we thought this would be best because as it is our final performance at university we wanted everyone to enjoy themselves. Also, we thought picking out our own roles was a good idea as we can play to our strengths and interests. I chose to be a performer and half of the social media team, I was in charge of twitter and Facebook.
Our Genre
Once we decided that the fairy tale we would take inspiration from was Cinderella by Charles Perrault we had to decide how we would adapt it. Hope came up with the idea of opening the show with shadow puppets and explaining the beginning of Cinderella, how her father got remarried and Cinderella’s step-mother and step-sisters were horrible to her. This then goes onto Cinderella wishing she could seek revenge on her siblings. The actors on stage would represent Cinderella’s mind. Following this, when the Fairy God Mother shows up at the end, rather than Cinderella getting gifts to go to the ball, she would instead get gifts which will help her see that it is not her sister’s fault that they are mean and Cinderella should not try to seek revenge because it does not benefit her.
Since we had a basic structure we then needed to fill in the blanks. We had the idea of the performance being surrealist because it was a dream world. We started out with having the idea that Cinderella was getting ready for a ball and was then in control of her sisters. Her sisters could not move or do anything without her help or guidance. One example is, Cinderella had to push the sisters onto stage and when she wanted the sisters to talk she clapped. However, when we showed this during one of our lessons there was still not a clear genre. Although we wanted the performance to be surrealist, we did not think it was possible for us. Therefore we decided it would be more appropriate to have surreal elements.
After this discussion we chose to have different genres throughout the performance. We chose; film noir, western, horror and telenovela/melodrama. This can be seen as being slightly surreal because the genres are random and there is no need for them to change. However, because the performance was a dream, having different genres worked in our favour. Deciding on the genres also enabled us to think of a solid storyline for the performance. Once we had decided to use a variety of genres our performance began to take shape.
The Leaflet
Early on in our process we had a photo shoot so we could have pictures of the cast on our leaflets and posters. During the photoshoot we had a lot of fun, testing different ideas. We were happy with the final outcome of the photos. However, after thinking about the photos and looking at them for a bit longer, we realised the poster did not reflect our show. The photos were ambiguous, whereas we had a clear idea of surrealism and the performance being set in Cinderella’s mind. We had a look on google for some ideas and our producer, Emma, found this:
(Pinterest, 2016)
We thought this was extremely interesting and thought we could show our performance through a picture similar to this one. We decided to have a drawing instead of a photograph. In the drawing we included the forest, as that was a big part of our set. We also chose the leaflet to be brightly coloured as we felt this captured our performance because of the outlandish behaviour and strange world we created. This was our final image:
(Twisted Ivy, 2016)
When creating the leaflet we looked at an example marketing pack and poster. This example poster was of “A machine they’re secretly building” by proto-type theatre. We were fond of how they used their photo in the middle of the poster and had a white boarder around it, with black writing. We found this helped the image and the writing to be seen clearly. For our poster we felt a white background would contrast well with our brightly coloured image. Emily and I, did not like the idea of overlapping the writing onto the image, we wanted to keep them separate as they are giving different information. We cut the top of the image to allow it to fit onto the page and have enough room to write below the picture. We needed to include:
- Our title
- Date and time of performance
- Location
- Ticket price
- LPAC logo
- LPAC details
- Age limit
- Our logo
This was the final outcome:
I believe the colours stand out and draw in people’s attention. The writing is also clearly set out, therefore audience members know all the information they need to know quickly and clearly. I am pleased with the final outcome of the leaflet.
The development of the performance
After we had decided on the genres we needed to structure the performance. Using the different genres gave us a skeleton of the performance.
The first genre we used in the performance was Film Noir. Kay and Hope researched this before the scene was written. Therefore, the language used and blocking was similar to what would be seen in film noir. During this scene we saw the sisters entering and Cinderella telling them about a letter they had received. In this, we see the relationship between the sisters and how Gertrude is the evil sister, and how Belinda follows what her older sister says. There is also a turn at the end of the scene, when Cinderella decides to make a plan to stop the sisters from going to the ball.
The second genre was Western. We felt this worked well as the second genre because in this scene Cinderella tries to kill the sisters but they escape. The costumes also worked well, as the sisters had fake moustaches and bandannas and Cinderella had a cowboy hat. This scene was comedic as it was the first time the audience realised different genres were being brought into the performance.
The third genre used was Horror. In this scene the sisters are scared and lost in the woods and Cinderella finds them and tries to kill them. Although the beginning of the scene was serious and dark, with the sisters being worried about Cinderella. On the other hand the fight scene made it comedic. This was because of the language and light heartedness used by the step-sisters whilst they were fighting Cinderella.
The forth scene was Telenovela/Melodrama. During this scene the sisters have made up and Cinderella wanted them to be friends. However, they keep talking about the ball and Cinderella cannot take it anymore and poisons them. Belinda has a long dramatic death, whereas Gertrude’s was quick, as she fell straight to the floor.
In all of the scenes the sisters played their characters in a pantomime style. By this I mean, they were over the top, with grand gestures and larger than life personalities. I believe this added to the performance because the contrast with the difference genres heightened their characters. The amusement came from the characters being in situations they should not be.
During the scene changes there is a recorded dialogue between the fairy godmother and Cinderella. This was included in the performance because we wanted to portray the voices inside Cinderella’s head. How her conscious was talking to her, but she ignored it until the very end. We thought this concept was good because it showed the internal struggle Cinderella faced.
To help transition between scenes there were recorded monologues of Cinderella describing the scene changes and what she could see. This was used to allow the audience to understand what was going on in Cinderella’s mind and how she was coping with the way the sisters were treating her. Throughout the performance the tone of the monologues changed. The first was very descriptive, to show the change into the western scene. After that they became darker, for example in the second monologue Cinderella says she will eat the sister’s eyeballs. The monologue reflected how Cinderella was feeling. We believe this was effective as is showed her inner emotions and explained why she was behaving the way she was.
After thoughts
After the show, as a whole, I think the performance went exceptionally. The day before there was some hesitation as to whether the performance would work. This was because the feedback we received could have been worked on over a period of a few weeks, when we had 24 hours to change. Despite this, the company members tried their hardest to change as much as they could. The sisters had to be bigger characters, the costumes had to be uglier and the performing whilst the monologues was playing had to be more active.
On the day of the performance the staging, costume, lighting and performing worked amazingly together. I think the audience’s laughter really spurred the sisters on, as I believe that was their best performance. Their characters came alive when they went on stage and became the biggest I had seen. I also believe their costume and make up was part of this, as it was the stereotypical pantomime step-sisters outfits, this helped them get into character.
If we were to perform Every Rose… again I would take more time to focus on my movement during the monologues as I felt they went on for a bit too long and brought the atmosphere down slightly. I also think the horror scene could be changed as there could have been more of a reason for the sisters to go into the woods. I also did not feel comfortable in the fight scene, but I think with more rehearsal and practice I could have overcome my fear and to make it sharper.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I am happy with the outcome of Every Rose…. At times there was some difficulty working as a group, with some miscommunication and some bickering. However, this was expected as it was our first time working together and the first time any of us had created a forty five minute performance. I am proud at how far we have come as a theatre company, we had lots of ideas at the beginning but once we all knew what we wanted to do everything came together perfectly. I believe everyone helped with as much as they could and worked to their best abilities. Although there are some things I would change with the performance, I am happy with what was shown and I am very glad to have been given the opportunity to work with such a wonderful group of girls.
Pinterest (2016) Rafal Olbinski – Manon Lescaut [image]. Available from https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/350225308492923742/ [accessed 25 May 2016].
Twisted Ivy Theatre Company (2016) Final image for Every Rose… [Facebook]. 3 April. Available from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209652642049863&set=g.575261872642879&type=1&theater [accessed 25 May 2016].