Truly Madly Single
Preset
Opening/ Sonnet 116
Dates
Main Theme/Murder (From Psycho)
The Wall
‘I am happily single’
06 – Shiny Happy People (LP Version)
‘I am not ready for a relationship’
Are You Ready For Love (’79 version radio edit)
‘Stop looking for love’
Ending
11 Your Love (All That I’m Missing)
My final performance went far better than I expected.
Whilst rehearsing I realised that my performance was less funny than I had expected it to be. The script was not as humorous as I had thought it had been. But it might have been because I have been thinking about relationships over the past four months and have had a few realisations, which I spoke about in my performance.
However, the audience laughed more than I expected. Although it surprised me, it was nice to have a positive reaction. It also made me realise that different audience members reacted to things that I hadn’t previously thought were funny. It definitely surprised me when audience members laughed at parts which I found upsetting.
As the performance developed during the tech runs, I felt that it was improved by the decisions made. Having the projector above my head helped the audience to see all the slides, and it also avoided me walking in front of the projection. Using the projector mounted on the rig instead of the MobyGo, neatened the performance and made the space more aesthetically pleasing.
I am happy with how well my performance went, although I think there might have been areas which could have been improved. I stumbled over a few words, but that was due to nerves and couldn’t have been avoided. I also think I could have used more of the stage as there was a lot of unused space, however the sparsity of the stage highlighted the loneliness which I talked about during my performance.
Audience members gave me brilliant feedback after my performance, which made the performance all the more worth while.
I enjoyed myself during the performance, but I did surprise myself at some points. Due to the honesty of the performance, I found myself become emotional at certain points which I had never experience when the event happened. I think that the performance benefited from this points as it changed the mood and added variation to the performance.
Whilst preparing for my final performance, I found myself thinking that the style was too simple and the audience would not have anything to look at apart from me.
I also felt that some aspects of the performance could be shown visually. Using a presentation will allow the audience to understand which each section of the performance is about. It’ll also focus the section and link in with the text.
Using a box to physically represent each metaphorical brick will also gave the performance more visual aspects.
The use of a table will also give more shape to the date scene. I can set the table as if it is a restaurant table to show the audience what I ate on the date that I am talking about. Any references to the meal or date in the script will then make more sense.
Over the past few months I have toyed with different ideas of performance style.
From creating a restaurant in the studio space, to becoming different characters talking about relationships, I have been through many ideas.
However, as I have explored my own feelings about love and relationships, I have decided to strip back the performance and make it as simple as possible.
I want the performance to be honest, reflective and moving, and the other performance styles wouldn’t have allowed me to accomplish that.
Making the performance more confessional will hopefully allow my audience to relate to what I am saying. Hopefully it will allow them to reflect on the performance afterwards and take something away from it.
Although my performance is autobiographical, I hope that it is not one dimensional, and isn’t just me stood there talking about myself for ten minutes. Instead I would like the performance to spark conversation and allow for the audience to reflect on what they have watched.
My dating life hasn’t been very fruitful. I’ve yet to myself a relationship with another guy, or actually ‘date’ someone for more than a few weeks.
I think the biggest barrier when it comes to dating is my own self consciousness. I worry that people will be staring at me, or that the date will be awkward and we’ll have nothing to talk about. However I do think that this stems from my own expectations about what a date is.
Going for a coffee with someone seems to be the first thing to do just to see if you actually get on, and then you can go from there. But in the past I have been out for dinner as a first date, then failed to see him again after that. I have watched films with guys, and this hasn’t lead to anything more. There seems to be an area in which I am failing.
Maybe I am too quick to judge someone on something that I don’t like. Maybe I expect the perfect man to be sat in front of me and not have any faults. Maybe I am just too caught up on wanting something to last and someone to like me and make me feel wanted. But I can’t force myself to like someone, and vice versa. Nobody is perfect, myself included (hard to believe I know!) but from childhood we are fed heteronormative ideals about relationships which the have an impact on our future relationships.
There will always be the person who asks about a gay couple ‘who is the man and who is the woman?’. But the answer will always be ‘neither’ because that is the reality of a homosexual relationship, it is simply two men or two women who just happen to like each other, just like how heterosexual relationships function.
It is all well and good that I say this, but it has been a while since I have been on a date, so maybe going on some dates would be the best place to start. So would it kill you to go on a date? The answer is no. So I now need someone to go on a date with. Any takers?