THINK, CREATE, PERFORM
Hargraves St. Productions had many faces. The team and I worked collaboratively and many ideas came and went with the growing need to create something meaningful.
Set Design
The set design for the stage came rather quickly when we decided that we would meet (socially distancing of course) and film aspects of the performance together. It was part due to the necessity to remain 1.5 metres apart, and part taking inspiration from the Beckett on Film production ‘Play’.
Story
‘Start From The Beginning’ in its early days was called ‘Please Touch On’. It had a similar premise of four individual narratives being woven together as the audience witnessed a singular day of their lives. However, there was no key issue that the performance focussed on. Each character had a problem which drove their day, and at the end, they were to all board the same bus/train, signifying a common journey. The vagueness of the storyline meant that not enough development could go into each of the issues, which caused the meaning behind the performance to become lost. This is how we came about deciding to focus on ‘Samantha’s’ narrative of domestic violence, and how the other characters play into that story.
Scriptwriting
We originally scripted individually and combined segments of each to create a fragmented recount of the assault. While this approach did work, feedback from the mentors noted that it sounded scripted and dramatized. While not necessarily a bad thing, it conflicted with our desire to present real experiences. It was decided that we would not script the entire show, instead writing down the beats of each scene and improvising the rest.
Performance
After performing on the 10th and 11th of December, the response from my peers and friends were relatively positive. Some found the movement from the stage scenes to the zoom scenes a bit jarring, but as the performance continued, they realised the fragmented timeline and the transitions became smoother. Many remarked on the intensity of the piece and how the realism of the performances given by the actors aided in this. The projections as a running motif was also mentioned as a captivating element of the show, as well as how the character’s separate narratives came together within the climax.
