Catching up with Otherhood sketching

Sketch a day - Day 293/365

It's been so busy since our last Otherhood show with the micro project and catching up with Writing Squad writers and their work, that I haven't had a moment to sketch an image from the last show. And I wanted to. Because drawing kind of cements ideas and memory. And something I was determined to do with this show and tour was to try and notice and be present for it.

That might sound odd. But in the past I have been so nervous about shows and their reception or so focused on what X show might mean for my career, that looking back I simply wasn't present enough, actually being there with the experience. And that's fucking crazy. It's got to be about 7 years since I have had a play tour. By which I mean - work that I have written as a writer happening for an audience. I have been involved in work as a dramaturg, and I have had projects in development that for various reasons haven't been green lit. But I thought, ‘well, if it's another 6 years till my next show, I better make some memories with this outing (message to the creative goddess, please can it be sooner than 7 years? 🙏🏻). And I have done.

This image of Jack captures the quite moment he grabs, to listen to the speakers and make sure they are all working before the show begins. He has this nifty system of sending a recording of himself saying consecutive numbers (1 through 9) that go around to each speaker, in turn. I liked watching and listening to him doing this. I find tech things endlessly fascinating and at the same time, totally beyond my understanding. Tech things stay in my brain for a little while and then disappear. A bit like algebra at school. I would ‘get’ a pattern and be able to do the sums for the lesson and by the time I had to do homework, all the sense of it had disappeared again. I just can't retain that kind of information. I do retain many details which have no use. Mainly about fountain pens, stationery, Anglo catholism and the Beatles. But not tech things. Which is a shame because tech things are awesome. I love watching things being cabled up and a show coming together. I love the ways a show becomes like a little village with all the roles and jobs and order of things working in harmony together. I guess I am a writer because I love watching and noticing everything.

On this last night of the show Deborah had to be away. Which was sad for all of us. We missed her being there. But also it meant I had to try and be Deborah. All the jobs she usually does kind of seamlessly. She makes it look easy. It is NOT easy. For one thing I ended up being an usher for the show and I was terrible at it. Awful. I forgot to give important information and so then had to go around and tell things to people again. I wasn't good at telling people where to sit. I also had to do the bit called clearance, where you tell the actors ‘we’re almost go’, then you run round to get the ok from front of house, to be sure ‘everyone is in’ and then you go back in and let the stage manager know that it's time and then they start the show and the actors get into position and it's go go go. holy HELL! It sounds simple. I mean it is simple. But I was freaking out doing it. Maybe I should trust myself more. It was fine. Nonetheless I will not be ushering a show again any time soon.

So yeah. I wanted to remember all of that and more. And doing this drawing helped me too spend a bit of time with it all. And that was a good way to spend time. And that's the news. Some (but not enough) editing. Free Palestine 🇵🇸