Whilst printing off this week’s reading, I had a sudden burst of memories – a moment I can’t quite confirm why it happened. I thought back to the car journeys my dad and I have had in Menorca, the heat, the relief from walking, the refreshing water that managed to stay cool despite the car being hotter than the sun. But most of all, I remembered the music – to be precise Kiss FM. Though we have Kiss FM over here in the UK, I have never seen it in the same way. It is as if the Spanish version of the radio simply has a taste in music that is in line with my own.  I can’t recall a holiday to Menorca in which Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger hasn’t been played. Whether that be in a restaurant, in the car, even in karaoke (not a particularly good rendition from my memory). Great songs simply permeate the radio in Spain. 

It is these car journeys too that have informed and added to my taste in music. Classics like Toto’s Africa, A-ha’s Take On Me (which has a technologically amazing music video for it’s time) and of course The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go. Even hearing these songs multiple times in a single holiday, they never become tiresome- perhaps it is the relaxing atmosphere, the open breeze or maybe even the relief from walking that has made these songs so memorable and important to me.

Of course, I have listened to my ‘own music’ whilst on holiday but nothing can quite recreate hearing these songs on the radio whilst listening to Kiss FM.

As these songs are something I consider so important to my memories of Menorca, I may wish to incorporate them into my performance, perhaps having them playing whilst the audience walk in and around the space. In this instance, I would place a filter over the music that makes it feel more authentic to radio – a crackle, white noise and a lack of consistent quality. 

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A-ha, 1985. Take On Me. In: Hunting High and Low [Online]. Warner Bros [viewed 21st February 2017]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914

America, 1971. A Horse With No Name. In: America [Online]. Morgan Studios [viewed 21st February 2017]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSAJ0l4OBHM

Giggs, J. (2015) Menorcan Sea. Unpublished Photograph.

Survivor, 1982. Eye of the Tiger. In: Eye of the Tiger [Online]. Scotti Brothers Records [viewed 21st February 2017]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPJPFnesV4

The Clash, 1982. Should I Stay or Should I Go. In: Combat Rock [Online]. Epic [viewed 21st February 2017]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN1WwnEDWAM

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.

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