During our workshop, I started to think about how I could lay out my stage in a way that was representative of what I want to perform about. Before this workshop, I didn’t have any clear ideas in place as to what I would like to perform about- excluding my childhood. In this workshop we had to prepare a short story to tell to the rest of the class, so I decided to tell a story concerning a time in Menorca when I was 5 years old in which I almost fell off a cliff.  This story was told using techniques learnt from watching and reading about Spalding Gray. Despite the potential danger involved in the story, it is a moment in my life I remember vividly and fondly. 

Suddenly when I thought about how I could layout the stage, an idea came to me. As I really enjoyed telling my story to the class, I established an idea of telling multiple stories in a similar vain- based on my holidays in Menorca. There are 3 key stories I remember: traversing a swamp, a 2 hour walk leading to nothing and almost going over a cliff edge. All these stories involve an theme of danger and suspense which is why I think I remember them better than other memories. and  Similar to Spalding Gray’s techniques, I would keep theses stories truthful but lighthearted– involving a self-mocking attitude.

The stage would be divided into 3– one section for each story. I would have props and set that established the most important aspects of these memories. For example, the swamp would feature murky water and a thin plank– items which I think are crucial for accurately recreation of the story. I would also make use of props such as a camera and a cap into order to represent different characters i.e. my dad and brothers.

Above is an rough sketch I drew to establish to base idea for this divided stage. As I would speak about each section, I would want the audience to be free to move around the spaces– as if they are being transposed into the memory with me.

Inspired by Spalding Gray’s use of the tape recorder, I would also want to incorporate images, videos and recordings of these memories that the audience would be free to look at whilst I told the different stories.

——————————————————————————————

Murfin, I. (2014) Swimming to Cambodia Tape [Online]. Available at: http://blog.hrc.utexas.edu/tag/spalding-gray/ [Accessed 10/02/17].