We sat down for an exclusive interview with Ian Chapman Black and Levenka Andrea to discuss ‘Reel Life’.
This show runs from 17th-24th June at Etcetera Theatre – Tickets here
1. Reel Life is rooted in the silent film era. What drew you both to that world as a starting point, and how did it shape the physical language of the show?
Ian: Originally, Reel Life was more in the style of a cabaret variety show, way back when it only existed on paper. We always knew it was going to be silent and rooted in choreography. Somewhere in the nascent stages of creation we realized that the silent movie was a much better medium to work with. Art flourishes under constraint, and what made early silent film so special and watchable, even now, is the way it was forced to innovate to tell a story without the benefit of spoken word. By adopting silent film as our muse, we’ve been forced to also adopt a lot of that style of physical storytelling, leaning into the comedia, the mimery, and the clowning of it all.
Levenka: On top of that, during our training at drama school and also now in our professional life we’ve both realised how we thrive in pieces that prioritise physical theatre. When you’re at school you get cast in productions that your teachers have selected, in a role that they chose for you. So when you’ve graduated and you’re let loose into the “real world” and want to create your own show, you have to take what you discovered you thrive in, and combine it with what kind of story you want to tell. It’s a kind of freedom that is both daunting and rewarding.
2. You’ve written this together and you perform it together. How do you navigate creative disagreements when you’re also playing two characters who can’t stop fighting?
Ian: We do dance-offs, and the winner gets to go with their idea for the scene. So far the score is: Levenka: 57, Ian: 2. I’m very proud of my 2. In truth, we’re usually very aligned on what we want, and when we do run into disagreements, we work through it. We talk it out, we put it up on stage. It’s usually very evident when something doesn’t work. We always try to find that moment when we both suddenly align and have our ‘ah-ha’ moment. It’s an intoxicating feeling when that moment arrives for both of us, and it really spurs creativity in the rest of the rehearsal.
Levenka: I have to agree, I’m very proficient when it comes to dance-offs. All jokes aside, it is really fun and creatively fulfilling to push yourself and each other in finding what is best for the show, because that’s what it’s about in the end. I really appreciate that we’ve both gone into this process with the understanding and desire to create the best version of the show that we can, together as a team. It’s not about the ego of having your idea be chosen, when it isn’t what serves the story, it’s much more fun to bounce off each others ideas and then feel the rush of finding “it” . We’ll leave the fighting to our characters 🙂
3. Algernon and Bruno are feuding but completely co-dependent. How much of that dynamic is written into the script versus something that emerges live on stage between you?
Levenka: It really helped putting ourselves into the shoes of the audience to get a clear idea of what is most compelling to people watching it. In storytelling it’s important to have ever shifting dynamics, a mix of surprise and relatability and most importantly conflict and then amplifying it to make it larger than life. Watching a story of two co-workers with the same dream who get along with each other perfectly, as much as it’s a healthy and desirable relationship, is simply uninteresting to watch. We want to see chaos, heartwarming moments and questionable decisions when we go to see theatre and that’s exactly what we want to give our audience.
Ian: It emerged pretty quickly as the obvious choice. Whenever we don’t know where to go in the show, we always ask what’s most dramatically interesting for the audience to watch. Bruno and Algernon are two characters with big egos doing a duo-act, but both dreaming of their own spotlight. Watching them have to grapple with secretly needing/relying on each other, even when their egos could never allow them to admit that is, for the audience, incredibly satisfying. Delicious, even.
4. The show hints at something else lurking beneath the comedy — something hungry for applause in a way even Algernon and Bruno aren’t. Where did that idea come from?
As much as Reel Life is set in the 1920’s, the show is really a reflection of today. I don’t want to give too much away, but the story of Algernon and Bruno is a vehicle for how fame, relevance, and the need for engagement all insidiously consume people, especially in our modern digital landscape. People, in various ways, crave attention. Getting views and likes on social media literally triggers dopamine in our brains. So when there is an algorithm attached to every part of our online lives that rewards us with that attention, each of us becomes a little story about what we’re willing to do or not do to chase that high. Reel Life is an exploration of that societal pressure to chase an audience in the digital world, and the consequences therein.
5. Physical theatre can say things words can’t. What does this story need from the body that dialogue alone couldn’t deliver?
Levenka: Personally, growing up in dance and having to rely fully on your body for storytelling in that artform, working on “Reel Life” felt a bit like a home coming of some sorts. It also forced us to let go of wanting to control that the audience will get each line exactly as we have them in mind whilst we’re embodying them and trust in our story and allowing the audience to make it their own. In the end that’s where you want to be as a creator, you want to present your show and say to the audience “I made this, it belongs to you now”
Ian: Quite a lot, I must admit. Silent film has always relied on intertitles, dialogue and narration displayed on screen, to convey the story, but it can only do so much. People don’t go to the cinema to read paragraph after paragraph on screen, they want to see people. And when these people aren’t able to speak, it only elevated the requirements of physical storytelling. We of course also use intertitles in Reel Life, but a big part of the creative process for us is ferreting out when what we’re trying to say should exist only in the body. Usually, we find that emotions are much more compelling when spoken with the eyes, hands, hips, and jaw, rather than with text on a screen.