Theatre Professionals > New Writing & Artistic Development Current Projects

Half Moon works with many artists developing new writing for Professional Productions and our Participatory Progamme. Presently Ashmeed Sohoye, JB Rose, Will Davies, Lucy Foster, Jeni Draper, Fin Kennedy, David Lane and Dean Atta are participating in this process.

For a professional theatre company like Half Moon, which engages specifically with young people from birth to 17, our responsibility is to engage meaningfully and respond honestly to our audiences and participants, and to grow and change accordingly. Those who do not do this will produce and present theatre work, which is at best boring, at worst irrelevant.

But how is this achieved? Young people are, of course, as diverse as the world within which they live, be it globally or be it locally. The common thread theatre-makers must recognise is a young person's right to participate actively in their world and, by so, doing influence our own creativity. As a result, Half Moon recognises its part - however small - in opening up this process, by breaking down the barriers that stop participation as a result of culturally, socio-economic, or practical and philosophical restraints, in the case of young disabled people.

When an arts organisation like Half Moon offers the space, time and resources, we must also engage openly with a young people's mindset. Where this happens, the interface can become an inspirational, dynamic and creative catalyst, both for the young people themselves as they make their own work as well as importantly for the professional artists with whom they engage to create new and meaningful theatre. It is at such moments that innovative, startling and sector-moving pieces of work are conceived.

Over the past 3 years our writers have emerged from our pool of freelance artists. These artists have been attracted to Half Moon because of our work and have been employed as workshop leaders across our participatory portfolio - working in our schools, our youth theatres and so on. They all have three things in common. They are wanting to:

• explore and place language at the heart of their creativity;
• engage with the emotional maturity of our young audiences;
• understand and work in direct contact and consultation with young people during a writing development period.

Usually, as tutors, they will have already written short plays for the young people to perform themselves - Scriptworks being one of our most popular programmes.

Here, we place the writer alongside an experienced theatre tutor and designer for up to 16 hours of direct contact with young people in an after-school or in-school, holiday or other youth context. At the end of this process, the young people present a play to their peers and the script is published - albeit in a simple photocopied booklet format. At this point, a writer may well have something they want to say. Importantly, the writer has been inspired by the young people to tell their story. It is at this point that a writer may be offered a commission.

Commissioning at this time may simply be:

• a translation of the 12 or 20 hander play into a more focussed small-scale piece often to be realised by 2 to 4 actors;
• simple treatments of ideas based on the encounter or similar experiences and observations;
• a selection of script extracts equally inspired.

These are offered up to our young people once again through our range of Participatory Projects to explore, pull apart or to be used as a stimulus for their own creative work. The writer observes their reaction and response.

The creative continuum has begun - a fusion between the participatory work and the writer's creative processes. In due course, a full script will emerge. This will be read to focus groups in our local schools, or presented as rehearsed readings for our youth theatres to critique. Although at the end - usually having produced four drafts in total - Half Moon would want the option to produce the play as one of our annual national tours, it is the process and the nurturing of writers that underpins the work with writers. Producing the commission is not the overbearing goal. Such pressures can stifle innovation and reduce risk-taking.

To date 17 writers have participated as writers-on-attachment with the company, and importantly Half Moon always pays the writer for their time whenever they participate. The process moves forward as quickly or as slowly as is required. If the play is produced the process doesn't end at the performance. The play in turn acts as the stimulus for our young people to create their own work. Locked In was presented to an audience, which included our senior (14 - 17 year olds) youth theatre. The group in turn presented their own version of Locked In - a 30 minute reflection on the life of the central characters post the death of Zahida through the eyes of a series of external characters affected by their story. As a result, new stories have been seeded, reflecting upon grief and depression. These sit alongside other work in development, which include, for example, exploring martyrdom in contemporary London, body image in young men and female sexuality. Exploring is important, as the plays should not be about an issue, but rather through presenting true human stories, authentically reflecting young peoples' worlds.

To read more about our current new writing and artistic development projects click on the links below.

Creating and Realising a 13+ Play • Creating and Realising a Bi-lingual/Intergrated British Sign Language and English Play • Sensory Journey • Touching Science • Wild Lunch Funsize • Exchange for Change • Writers Laboratory

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Creating and Realising Locked In, a 13+ Play

Our recent production, Locked In by Fin Kennedy, like many of our commissions, began where the authentic voice of our community and our audiences spoke directly to an artist who had the skills to frame and broker their stories and aspirations into a piece of theatre.

Locked In emerged over a 3 and half year period, with Chris Elwell as the dramaturg, initially as a series of monologues developed through a Scriptworks programme with Year 10 students from Mulberry Girls School, (East End Tales); to B-Minor, a short play looking at a suicide bombing in Leicester Square through the eyes of three bystanders, used as a stimulus for Careers-in-Theatre (a Borough-wide Y10 play in a day programme); repeated with extracts from draft 1 of Locked In for the same programme a year later; then a full reading of draft 2 to Half Moon's senior youth theatre quickly followed by a full rehearsed reading for Year 11 students at Swanlea Community School of draft 3; the unexpected influence of the London bombings on July 7 2005; a full script development day with actors and the designated director for the production, Angela Michaels, and then the inevitable edits and re-works as the play is rehearsed.

An article appears in a recent publication documenting the development of new writing for older audiences. To download the article for free please click here

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Creating and Realising a Bi-lingual/Intergrated British Sign Language and English Play.

Over the past 4 years, Half Moon has developed a unique way of creating work for the very young combining two languages - English and British Sign Language. The plays produced place both English (a verbal language) and British Sign Language (a visual language) on an equal status.

The dialogue between the actors - some Deaf, some hearing - is an exchange like any conversation you might have with a friend - the difference lies with the need to ensure that the audience - some Deaf, some hearing - can understand or engage with the full conversation taking place.

This is realised in two ways. Firstly, the play script is written so that each side of the conversation is referenced, with one character repeating or extending the dialogue of the other, agreeing with what has been said or referencing the statement in a different way (e.g. "Shall we go to the park?" "I am not sure I want to go to the park."). Secondly, and this way is more interesting, especially for a young audience and for those interested in the aesthetic of theatre making, actors will use the visual energy of the BSL to show an exchange or dialogue (e.g. feeling upset or angry).

In Igloo Hullabaloo, an interesting illustration is in the underwater scene where Bubble (hearing actor) and Blue (Deaf actor) explore the depths of the ocean together. As a way in to creating scenes like this, the actors, hearing or Deaf, need to think in pictures. These pictures, through the playing out the action, can be made physically with the body, gesture or most simply with the hands. By not relying on the oral trajectory of dialogue, a gestural language is created which integrates the BSL with the English and visa versa. As a result, moments of synchronicity can occur when two or more actors make the same gesture or sign simultaneously.

For this piece, it is important that all the characters can use sign to some degree. The aim of the rehearsal period, therefore, is to enable the performers to feel comfortable signing. This is the easy part, as this is the same as learning a few foreign words for a role. The difficulty is finding which key moments the spoken words will be supported with sign, which moments will be exclusively signed, and which will only be spoken.

In Igloo Hullabaloo there is the additional layer of Big (hearing actor) choosing not to use sign initially and this is part of his unfolding character within the story development being offered. Blue can communicate the narrative from her perspective; she can comment on the action (almost like a traditional interpretation), or she can engage in a dialogue. At no point is Blue an interpreter simply standing at the side of the stage. As the play is integrating two languages, it is important to recognise that Blue is a character in her own right who has an active journey through the play as the hearing actors.

BSL sometimes can be faster than spoken English (direct and to the point) but also sometimes needs longer to explain a concept. This becomes clear when the company starts to explore the script in rehearsals. The cast have to learn to be totally aware of each other at all times. In an integrated company, working with periphery vision to build trust and awareness among each other is key. Putting this in to practice with the script is achieved by building the scenes using cued moments, so that the actors literally know where the others are in the script. This could be a gesture (sometimes a shared sign) or a physical movement by any of the actors on a specific line or blocking moment (e.g. sitting down), while ensuring that sightlines (on the stage) are not obscured for the actors.

In a play like Igloo Hullabaloo with a continuous music soundtrack with key music cues, this becomes particularly important. If music changes or new tracks are literally cued, and by adopting a structured, timed or counted choreographed sequence (in the same way a dancer would when performing a duet in a ballet), all the actors will be able to move collectively, without anyone seeming to lead. Sharing responsibility in this way, for both the Deaf and hearing actors, helps create a true bilingual, equal weighted language on stage where there is no lead language and no reliance on oral cues to present the play.

An example from the script.

The written text for characters, which is signed rather than spoken, appears in [ ] to show this convention. Signed text is translated literally and appears in English using BSL language structures. This is shown in text blocks as follows and should be performed simultaneously in a linear progression.

Finger spelling is shown with capital letters separated by hyphens (i.e. B-L-I-S-T-E-R). When a character's sign name is used this is shown (sign-name) .

Notes on direction of sign, placement of sign or intention/context of sign are shown in bracketed italics (i.e. [Them sleep, ssshhh (direction = igloo) ]

At the point of a scene change or establishment, a BSL description of the new world and some of Blue's emotions in this world is placed in {brackets} E.g. After the Prologue scene change, this appears; {WORLD = ice – cold – snow – mountains – tree – distance – alone}. The intention of this is that the BSL Performer can visualise the world into which the signed text of the scene is placed, and use the description as motivation e.g. When Blue signs; [I feel vibration (up and down body) . What? Oh! I feel clock – tick, tock, tick tock,] the performer could use the {WORLD} description to place the [?tick tock?]. For example place the vibration as if it is coming from the trees or mountains. The description of being {alone} may add motivation to characterisation, e.g. Blue feels nervous at being alone and is afraid of the trees, or Blue feels brave at being alone and excited by seeing mountains.

To download an extract of the Igloo Hullabaloo script click here

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Sensory Journeys

This project was informed by our extensive experience of providing participatory drama education in Early Years and draws upon multi-sensory practice in Special Schools. It was developed after consultation with schools, Sure Start management, local authority Early Years advisers, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. The project particularly worked with children with special or additional needs, ranging from autism to English as an additional language. Exploring theatrical forms, the work explored children's transitions to new environments, developed a creative interaction with environments and created a link between reality and a child's inner world.

The project was lead by a team of highly experienced drama and music tutors working with lighting, sound and stage designers, plus a writer in attendance. Sensory Journeys comprised a series of five experiential, cross-arts drama workshops. The first four developmental workshops took place in the children's own settings, with the final session within a multi-sensory performance installation at Half Moon based upon the themes and narratives explored in previous workshops to create an imaginative journey of exploration and discovery.

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Touching Science

This was a multi-sensory drama project exploring biomedical science with children aged 3 to 7 of all abilities. By building on the 'Eureka Moments' experienced by children as they develop a knowledge and understanding of the world, this project helped them make a creative connection with science and to develop a curiosity for the social and ethical issues relating to advances in biomedical science.

The project comprised experiential, cross-arts drama workshops in the children's own settings, as well as a culminative installation at Half Moon's theatre space, developed by theatre artists and a writer using the technical resources, including lighting, sound and special effects, to create an installation.

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Wild Lunch Funsize

Half Moon and Paines Plough worked together over a number of weeks to develop six extraordinary new plays for children under eight with experienced writers who had not previously written for young audiences. Script-in-hand performances of the resulting plays were held over lunchtimes at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

The project aimed to create a fresh body of work for children that connected directly with their imaginations and experience. Wild Lunch Funsize created a legacy of work for children that is now ripe for development and production. Many plays that have originated through similar Half Moon/Paines Plough projects have been produced by other companies and venues. Another aim of the project was to raise the profile of work for children in the adult world, with the selected writers attracting audiences who don't normally attend work for children.

The plays:

Do You See What I See? by Jennifer Farmer
Clarence Carbuncle and the Kingdom of Sherbetter by Chloe Moss
Our Teacher's A Troll by Dennis Kelly
The Hole Story by Mark Ravenhill with Alfie Buck
Hartleby, Oooglemore and Jeramee by Gary Owen
Monster Mum by Abi Morgan

Exchange for Change

Exchange for Change was a festival of work-in-progress. The aim was for Half Moon to provide a supported space for companies and individuals to create new pieces of professional theatre for children under the age of 8 years and the opportunity to connect with groups of young people in Tower Hamlets in developing this work and finding an authentic voice for their projects.

The common thread across the work was cultural exchange with artists and companies particularly chosen to participate because of their cultural or ability programme.

The final works were still in development and the festival gave an opportunity to showcase them in 'scratch' format and, through the contextual seminars and discussions, gave opportunities for artists, arts professionals and the public to explore the importance and impact of cross cultural work. There were seven pieces at the Festival:

Ten Suitcases – Kazzum
This play about African migration to the UK, told from the perspective of a mother telling her children of her journey from her homeland, went on to be further developed and toured nationally in 2005.

Rukia's World by J.B. Rose
This pice was further developed and showcased as part of a festival of Black British new writing at the Albany, Deptford.

The Totz by Valerie Mason-John, aka Queenie
This script, exploring the Black experience within childrens' homes in the 1970s, became the genesis of a children's novel published in 2006.

The Nightingale - Yellow Earth Theatre
This contemporary adaptation of a traditional Chinese folktale went on to become a co-production with the Hong Kong Festival, before undertaking a middle-scale national and international tour in 2006.

Little Fish, Big Storm - Ripstop Productions
This shadow puppet play, based on a Indian flood myth set within in a domed tent, became the first ever commission by the Here, There and Everywhere Consortium (a consortium of children's theatre programmers) for a London tour in 2006, funded by ACE through Grants for the Arts funding.

Fishes Wishes - Lyngo Theatre Company
This original physical theatre style production, based on Caribbean fishing tales, aimed at 4+ audiences was developed by the company and toured nationally in 2005 and 2006 to small-scale venues.

Spirallina's Tale - Mandy Colleran
This play, featuring disabled actor Mandy Colleran, was further developed by Half Moon to become Mermaid and the Mirror, as the commission for Xposure 2005, London's Disability Arts Festival, which toured London venues.

Writers Labatory

Half Moon and Leeds based Red Ladder Theatre Company worked with 4 writers with experience of and/or interest in developing their ideas for 14+ audiences and writing over an intensive five-day period. The writers were given the opportunity to work with design, music, movement and video artists. The process allowed the writers to have their instant responses played out by actors. This closed laboratory process resulted in 2 commissions. Tagged by Louise Wallwein and My Eye: Your Smile by Esther Wilson. The other artists were Valerie Mason-John (aka Queenie) and Adrian Page.

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