In the Wings: Filming physical theatre

Event Client: Mann Made Media

Corporate Client: Standard Bank
Video: Mount 2015 (internal audience)
My Role: Concept Development, Co-Script Writer, Live & Video Director
Video: Out of the Blue Pilot & Episode 2 (internal audience)
My Role: Concept Development, Co-Script Writer
Video: Out of the Blue Episode 4 (internal audience)
My Role: Concept Development, Co-Script Writer & Director

How do you film physical theatre - ahh - you don't. Or if you do - it doesn't really work. Have you ever seen filmed theatre? Not great. The major difference between theatre and film is the space. Obvious. The theatrical space cannot be captured on screen in the way that it is portrayed on stage - on stage actors physically project the space with their gaze, their movements and their intentions... it's the wonder of theatre. Film cannot do this. In film you have to have the close up and the long shot and the swell of music... the camera does the work for you. When you arrive in the theatre you are there sitting in your seat... but soon you are whisked away... in a car on your way to Cape Town... or on a run through down town Joburg... or in a boat on the sea... or wherever... your imagination does the work for you.

So when this project for Standard Bank first skidded in - about a year ago now - I did mental backbends and flick flacks on how to do it... without a budget for a mountain climbing on-location shoot at Mount Kilamanjaro! ...the creative back then was a mountain climbing theme which was originally to be realised through a series of physical theatre comedy sketches. This was fun and fabulous... the actors 'squashed' onto a small elevated stage of 1m by 2m... and through physical performance and the actors making their own sound effects... we could be any where! Of course. The joys of theatre... Climbing the face of a mountain rock. Rowing a boat through the rivers. Arriving at the mountain summit to plant their flag in the ground! However the show needed to travel to a number of regions all over South Africa. Sending actors and a road manager and a technical team is quite an expensive business... hence the desire to film it. But how.

After many sleepless nights... and wondering down many expensive and not-quite-right roads... the solution was clear... a white space! Ta Daa. This was so brilliant because it bridged the gap between theatrical space and cinematic space. In a white space you can do anything and be anywhere... like in theatre. And we fully used the joys cinema offers... tracks, dollies, jibs, loads of different lenses... close ups... long shots... crash zooms etc etc... we created a delightful series of sketches that followed these three characters, led by Sue... through the challenge sign-up... boot camp... base camp... half way... and summit! It really was the place where cinema meets theatre... using the limits and offerings of both mediums to the maximum. It was great - so much so that they ended up canceling the live show and everyone got to watch the video. Who would have thought. Not me.

Sue is interesting. We - meaning Deborah Da Cruz the actress and myself - developed her for a Standard Bank monologue (written by Nick Warren at Mann Made Media) a number of years back as a say-it-like-it-is, aerobic-instructor-type, no nonsense, hard-core, hectic... but still charming... character... who the audience just loved. She made them laugh. She is very funny and quirky and uniquely South African. And ever since her first appearance she has become a kind of in-house character at Standard Bank. So much so that this year we started a monthly in-house series with Sue at the centre using the same white space shooting style we developed back then, called 'Out of the Blue.' And it rocks. It has evolved slightly now to include key set and prop elements - therefore the physical theatre side is not as heavily present... but should they need to skydive or white river raft... it shall be back!

So on my return from Italy I have picked the role of director back up ... I was lucky enough to co-write for Sue from Italy... as I know her very well! It is innovative and fabulous and I love doing it. It makes me laugh too. What a wonderful thing. Humour.

Below are some images from our shoot for Out of the Blue episode 4. Rocking. Working.