By far the most asked question I've received from 'theatre people' about 'The Zanniskinheads...' is "What market do you think this show is for?", and when I'm feeling honest I've just said "I dunno really..?".
"What do they mean 'what audience'? Everyone! Surely everyone on planet earth will be intrigued, mystified, elated and yet deeply moved by our production? Won't everyone want to come?!!"
Once I'd removed myself from this place of fantasy, I carefully tried to pin down who our audience is for this show, and I feel I'm only at the beginning of understanding what has to be said is practically un-understandable. We're asking "what type of person, what would come and see this show, and enjoy it? Who is my stereo-typical audience member", which given the universal uniqueness of humanity is pretty taxing.
My conclusion so far is people who are young, either in age or in spirit, those who can somehow suspend disbelief and enter into the characters' world, accepting the Zanniskinheads as they are, and enjoying them, rather than judging them and ruminating over the politics of their behaviour. Common groups so far have included late teens, and middle-aged couples!
Through this un-scientific process, I've uncovered an enormous can-of-worms lingering within the arts industry, which is that the very idea of market-research to some artists is insulting and frowned upon. The logic is that if producers or artistic directors are assessing and gathering data on audience demographics of an arts organisation, they will for the sake of finance direct the artistic product in a certain direction, contrived to meet the artistic desires of said audience. Put simply, they will find out who the audience is for a company/artist, find out what they want, then give it to them. Could there be a deeper more exasperating crime?!! (Hoping my irony reaches across the web there). The argument also is given that market research can only assess current tastes, where as art is about creating and generating new taste in the audience - this is a more compelling argument, but certainly not damning. Finally, its thought that if detailed data is gathered and used to guide the artistic product, the result will for certain only cater for the lowest common denominator, the broadest and most widely applicable desire.
Firstly, why is the arts industry so cagey about finance? What's wrong with making money? I'm sure the historical poverty of our industry is self-perpetuated by some desire to be 'poor and pure'. The phrase 'Commedia dell'Arte' can be translated 'Professional Theatre', which is ironic seeing as most people who continue the art form now do so in an amateur environment. For me it comes down to sustainability. If something doesn't pay your wages, its not sustainable, because at some point your resources will run out, the credit cards will be maxed, and your long term girlfriend is staring that little bit longer into the jeweler's window, and you'll put the business 'on hold'. If something isn't sustainable, why sew into it? Or better, if something can't sustain itself long enough to achieve its own aims, why bother? For temporary profile raising, self-satisfaction or artistic exploration - absolutely. But an arts organisation must have a financial sustainability if it wants to achieve the usually long-term aims and objectives it walks towards (such as ours!).
Secondly, I agree that art isn't about giving people solely what they want, hence part of our mission statement being "to go beyond the expectations of the audience" because I hate going to the theatre and being able to too accurately predict what it's going to be like. But I don't see how understanding our audience better determines that we will pander to their most common tastes. Surely by knowing their tastes better, we can decide how to meet them and how to not meet them, how to stir them and how to challenge them, how to embrace them and how to rebuke them. Surely this is the very work of an artist?
For me personally, I've long realised that I write much more fluently and clearly with set boundaries in place. Give me a blank sheet of paper and say "write anything you want, for any medium, for anyone" and I'm lost (and depressed!). But give me a brief, with boundaries, a medium, and a set audience, and my creative juices flow almost instantly as I envision my public in their location, sat, watching, rustling papers, standing up and sitting down, waiting to see something that engages their minds & hearts. Who are they? What do they want? What would inspire them? What would challenge them? How can I make them laugh? Furthermore, if like ourselves, you're a non-for-profit company relying on subsidy, your chances of securing funding are at least tripled by having a clear picture of who you are serving and how public money (through ACE for example) will benefit the people you intend to engage.
To me this is life-giving. Disagree? Why not write a comment?
Zanniskinheads UK tour begins 28th September at Camberley Theatre, all details on the website.
Christopher
The Zanniskinheads
Christopher Hawes & Jean-Luc Grandin in 'The Zanniskinheads and the Quest for the Holy Balls', directed by and using the masks created by Antonio Fava. Photography by Dominic Reichel.
Friday, 16 September 2011
Monday, 5 September 2011
Commedia dell'Arte in the 21st Century: Our journey
In July 2009 I spent four months working with one of world’s only remaining Commedia masters, Antonio Fava, at his International School which he has run successfully for the last 27 years.
Rediscovering European theatre’s foundational art form, the Commedia dell’Arte, was a revelation to say the least, and I found myself gripped by the power of the masks and their empowering of the actors. My return to the UK coincided with my establishing of Slingshot Theatre, a company set up to create exciting new theatre, with my sights firmly set on our debut show bringing Commedia to a contemporary audience.
Our artistic problem lied in relating something so cloaked in Renaissance culture to a modern audience, without disrespecting it or simply ignoring parts of it we didn’t know what to do with. The fixed points of Commedia had to remain present: masks, fixed types, improvisation, multi-lingualism, and Lazzi – comic actions not simply comic utterance. However Commedia’s dramaturgy is very dated, (marriage contracts etc.), the character’s names all carry detailed meaning in Italian, but not in English, and a small-scale production would not be able to accommodate the usual cast of 12-14 actors who give life to the full community of characters.
The answer lay in Antonio’s ‘Zanni-Skinhead’ mask. In Renaissance Commedia, Zanni was the foundational character, a poor, simple servant from the mountain regions, who sojourned to the city in search of work. His life is basic, led by two primary needs, food and sleep, and in summary: instant gratification. These marginalised bumpkins serve to survive, and serve badly because they are stupid. On a visit to the UK, a chance encounter with some aggressive skinheads inspired Antonio to utilise an artistic similarity between these two groups to propel Zanni 450 years into the future, rooting him in contemporary culture, dramaturgy and theatre. So fascinating was this Zanni-Skinhead character, we found the presence of any other character onstage unnecessary, which gave birth to the comic couple of ‘Peenut’ and ‘Ribbón’.
Through an international collaboration between Slingshot, ‘O Pernacchio (Switzerland) and Antonio’s ArscomicA (Italy) The Zanniskinheads and the Quest for the Holy Balls was born, directed by Antonio, and performed by myself and my Swiss colleague, the wonderfully talented Jean-Luc Grandin. It’s been exhilarating, risky and an incredible privilege to put together, but remarkably challenging and has been met with a violently varied response. We’ve had roaring laughter and mass walk-outs - it really is theatrical marmite, you either love it or you hate it and there’s not really an in between. However we don’t apologise for these matters of taste. We defend our culture and Commedia’s rich tradition, while serving a contemporary crowd and humbly aspiring to be better.
Many people ask me “who is the audience for this work?” and my answer is simply people who are young, in age or in heart. For the young don’t question or analyse the mask, they simply embrace it and enjoy it for all its worth, they accept the Zanni-Skinheads as they are, and rejoice in their idiocy, the idiocy of humanity.
Written August 26th, 2011 for Whatsonstage.com
Rediscovering European theatre’s foundational art form, the Commedia dell’Arte, was a revelation to say the least, and I found myself gripped by the power of the masks and their empowering of the actors. My return to the UK coincided with my establishing of Slingshot Theatre, a company set up to create exciting new theatre, with my sights firmly set on our debut show bringing Commedia to a contemporary audience.
Our artistic problem lied in relating something so cloaked in Renaissance culture to a modern audience, without disrespecting it or simply ignoring parts of it we didn’t know what to do with. The fixed points of Commedia had to remain present: masks, fixed types, improvisation, multi-lingualism, and Lazzi – comic actions not simply comic utterance. However Commedia’s dramaturgy is very dated, (marriage contracts etc.), the character’s names all carry detailed meaning in Italian, but not in English, and a small-scale production would not be able to accommodate the usual cast of 12-14 actors who give life to the full community of characters.
The answer lay in Antonio’s ‘Zanni-Skinhead’ mask. In Renaissance Commedia, Zanni was the foundational character, a poor, simple servant from the mountain regions, who sojourned to the city in search of work. His life is basic, led by two primary needs, food and sleep, and in summary: instant gratification. These marginalised bumpkins serve to survive, and serve badly because they are stupid. On a visit to the UK, a chance encounter with some aggressive skinheads inspired Antonio to utilise an artistic similarity between these two groups to propel Zanni 450 years into the future, rooting him in contemporary culture, dramaturgy and theatre. So fascinating was this Zanni-Skinhead character, we found the presence of any other character onstage unnecessary, which gave birth to the comic couple of ‘Peenut’ and ‘Ribbón’.
Through an international collaboration between Slingshot, ‘O Pernacchio (Switzerland) and Antonio’s ArscomicA (Italy) The Zanniskinheads and the Quest for the Holy Balls was born, directed by Antonio, and performed by myself and my Swiss colleague, the wonderfully talented Jean-Luc Grandin. It’s been exhilarating, risky and an incredible privilege to put together, but remarkably challenging and has been met with a violently varied response. We’ve had roaring laughter and mass walk-outs - it really is theatrical marmite, you either love it or you hate it and there’s not really an in between. However we don’t apologise for these matters of taste. We defend our culture and Commedia’s rich tradition, while serving a contemporary crowd and humbly aspiring to be better.
Many people ask me “who is the audience for this work?” and my answer is simply people who are young, in age or in heart. For the young don’t question or analyse the mask, they simply embrace it and enjoy it for all its worth, they accept the Zanni-Skinheads as they are, and rejoice in their idiocy, the idiocy of humanity.
Written August 26th, 2011 for Whatsonstage.com
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Shock & Awe
Wow! What a busy time I'm having! Just now securing our Edinburgh venue, and indeed booking in previews and a small-scale tour of Zanniskinheads in October. As always lots of new territory being covered, and as I'm a one-man band at the mo I've had to learn how to deal with it all. My highlight of the week was writing Slingshot's Health & Safety policy - I nearly died with boredom. Still, we are officially a Limited company now and I'm feeling great about that, another step forward.
Watched two plays this week, Mogadishu at the Lyric Hammersmith and To Kill A Mocking Bird on it's national tour, this week in the epicentre of progressive cultre: Bromley. Both contained good content and some really good acting (in various degrees of course!), but I was left by both of them just, as my friend Martin concurred, 'wanting more'.
I think it's a really healthy attitude for theatre makers to just keep wanting more. One of the key phrases for Slingshot's 'manifesto' if you will, has been 'to go beyond the expectations of our audience'. I find this spirit so important. I don't want to go and see something which meets my expectations. I don't want to be able to acurately predict what the show will be like before I see it.
This is why I'm falling more in love with mask & puppetry, because I think it brings that spectacular dynamic to the stage. The word 'Spectacle' gets thrown around like dirty laundry in the West End. Snotty actors say "Oh but you know, it's all just cheap spectacle, it's not real, it's not drama". Firstly, I don't agree with these sentiments anyway, because I think spectacle can create much greater drama and intensity of emotion, but secondly, the profound truth is that audiences WANT specatacle. Look at the shows which succeed year after year in the West End - while I wouldn't at all say that I like them all, they all have great amounts of spectacle: glorious singing, dynamic dance routines, impressive staging & technological splendour. My favourite example is WarHorse - one of the few plays to be transferred into the West End in recent years, and certainly a freak of nature in terms of its continued sell out audiences. WarHorse has surpassed the National's last big success 'History Boys' and why? Spectacle. If it weren't for the puppetry and the music in the show, I'm not sure it would have even transferred - after seeing the show 5 times now they are the only sections of the show which remain interesting to me!
But I don't believe spectacle is about big budgets, not at all. Indeed, part of our reason for choosing the name 'Slingshot' was the story of David & Goliath. Goliath has a sword, a spear, massive armoury protection, and stands 10ft tall, a man-mountain. David is a young shepherd boy, with simply a slingshot, but he knows how to use it and uses it well and Goliath falls. David asks to borrow his sword, and chops off his head. Young companies like us - we may not have big budgets, we may be surviving in unorthodox ways, we may not have the weapons & the armoury that the big organisations have. But I believe that theatre is predominatey made manifest through the actors, through their skill, talent and ability to look after an audience, and if this is done well, I truly believe we can compete with the best.
A great example of this is my friend Dan Clarkson who with his comedy partner Jeff went off to the Edinburgh Fringe 6 years ago with the proviso "How far do you think we can get by just dicking around on stage?". Their show 'Potted Potter' was picked up by a producer, and they have toured the UK extensively playing to sold-out theatres, were head-hunted to be presenters on CBBC, and most recently brought their new show 'Potted Panto' into the Vaudeville theatre over the Christmas season, for which they were nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment Act, alongside the English National Ballet's Beauty and the Beast and the eventual winner, the Railway Children. As one reviewer said of them "It's good to see how far you can get with just a few silly hats".
All the best and more news to come soon,
Christopher
Watched two plays this week, Mogadishu at the Lyric Hammersmith and To Kill A Mocking Bird on it's national tour, this week in the epicentre of progressive cultre: Bromley. Both contained good content and some really good acting (in various degrees of course!), but I was left by both of them just, as my friend Martin concurred, 'wanting more'.
I think it's a really healthy attitude for theatre makers to just keep wanting more. One of the key phrases for Slingshot's 'manifesto' if you will, has been 'to go beyond the expectations of our audience'. I find this spirit so important. I don't want to go and see something which meets my expectations. I don't want to be able to acurately predict what the show will be like before I see it.
This is why I'm falling more in love with mask & puppetry, because I think it brings that spectacular dynamic to the stage. The word 'Spectacle' gets thrown around like dirty laundry in the West End. Snotty actors say "Oh but you know, it's all just cheap spectacle, it's not real, it's not drama". Firstly, I don't agree with these sentiments anyway, because I think spectacle can create much greater drama and intensity of emotion, but secondly, the profound truth is that audiences WANT specatacle. Look at the shows which succeed year after year in the West End - while I wouldn't at all say that I like them all, they all have great amounts of spectacle: glorious singing, dynamic dance routines, impressive staging & technological splendour. My favourite example is WarHorse - one of the few plays to be transferred into the West End in recent years, and certainly a freak of nature in terms of its continued sell out audiences. WarHorse has surpassed the National's last big success 'History Boys' and why? Spectacle. If it weren't for the puppetry and the music in the show, I'm not sure it would have even transferred - after seeing the show 5 times now they are the only sections of the show which remain interesting to me!
But I don't believe spectacle is about big budgets, not at all. Indeed, part of our reason for choosing the name 'Slingshot' was the story of David & Goliath. Goliath has a sword, a spear, massive armoury protection, and stands 10ft tall, a man-mountain. David is a young shepherd boy, with simply a slingshot, but he knows how to use it and uses it well and Goliath falls. David asks to borrow his sword, and chops off his head. Young companies like us - we may not have big budgets, we may be surviving in unorthodox ways, we may not have the weapons & the armoury that the big organisations have. But I believe that theatre is predominatey made manifest through the actors, through their skill, talent and ability to look after an audience, and if this is done well, I truly believe we can compete with the best.
A great example of this is my friend Dan Clarkson who with his comedy partner Jeff went off to the Edinburgh Fringe 6 years ago with the proviso "How far do you think we can get by just dicking around on stage?". Their show 'Potted Potter' was picked up by a producer, and they have toured the UK extensively playing to sold-out theatres, were head-hunted to be presenters on CBBC, and most recently brought their new show 'Potted Panto' into the Vaudeville theatre over the Christmas season, for which they were nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment Act, alongside the English National Ballet's Beauty and the Beast and the eventual winner, the Railway Children. As one reviewer said of them "It's good to see how far you can get with just a few silly hats".
All the best and more news to come soon,
Christopher
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