Our audience at The Space was predominantly made up of young people who use the skatepark. As we were setting up and rehearsing throughout the day we had a lot of interest but the skaters were quite wary of us.
Can we skate with the headphones on?
Can we leave if we don’t like it?
Can I watch a bit then go and skate and then come and watch some more?
The answer, of course, was yes. There’s no strict rules with Auditory Hallucinations, audiences are free to move around the space as they please and once the skaters knew that there was no rules or pressure they were happy to come and stay and enjoy the performance.
The actors said they felt they really had to work for this performance, that it was harder to win them over than other audiences but they really enjoyed the challenge. By the end we had a group of young people who were really, genuinely into the show. That for me is the best form of feedback. Thats why I do what I do.
This was a really fun venue for the show. We were in the Vert Ramp room which meant the actors got to run up and down the ramps and do lots of sliding. Again a new venue added a whole new element to the show.
During the second performance Robbie grabbed the mic and ran to the top of the ramp and performed a monologue from there. One of the things that I like most about working with Robbie is that he works best when he has room to be creative during a performance and think on his feet. Rigid rules don’t work for Robbie but when he can move freely and act on what he see’s he thrives. As a director you have to learn to trust your performers, especially in performances like Auditory Hallucinations where there are sections where they have free reign. Those are some of the most exciting moments for me.
Just back from Creative Electric’s Auditory Hallucinations, wow!!! It’s one of the most amazing pieces of performance art I’ve ever seen, possibly the most memorable. Still got tingles going up my spine an hour later…proper rushin’!
Without narrative as such, director Heather Marshall with sound designer Joshua Payne, take you on a trip inside your mind. Michael Collins, Laura Fisher and Robbie Gordon are just your guides. And although the memories are found – garnered from pop-up studios around Scotland – they are repeated with such sincerity that they become your own.
That, partly, is the point. That the way we process information – the sampling and selection and splitting between short-term memory and long-term memory – means that our memories might be unique, but the way in which we access them makes the trigger events shared.
