In this post, I am including bullet points of the current ideas I’ve had from learning in seminars and my own research. This will be the first of a series of monthly overviews on my overall progress in this solo performance module.

 

 Themes

• Asexuality – I am drawn to do a show in this area of the LGBT+ community, as I personally believe not enough knowledge is on the subject. I feel it’s not featured in the media or performance and I would like to potentially change this. To accomplish this, I will research into the history of asexuality and my own personal experiences of being an asexual man. However, this does not mean I aim to make a complete autobiographical show as if we are honest that would be boring to watch.

 

• Depression – I am interested in exploring how I could present depression differently. Taking a Chris Goode approach to this by making a gentle and potentially humorous look at it could accomplish this. As someone who suffers from mental health issues, I can consider a way of achieving this. I often find myself laughing at myself so, for example, I could take a stand up comedy approach. Its very early days but it could be an interesting approach.

 

• Adapting a character from a story – I once witnessed a brilliant solo performance adaptation of Oliver where we see Fagin is about to executed for his crimes. This solo performance is one of best pieces of performance I have ever seen and it was a huge inspiration for me to take this module. I could potentially explore the idea of taking a character from a novel or play by putting a spin on this as shown in Hamlet by Crouch.

 

       Techniques

• Live music – Looping guitar and making songs.
• Audience participation.
• How set the seating in consideration of power and emotions.
• The use of projection.
• The use of transition.
• Pacing and structuring the show properly to convey emotion and my purpose.