‘I’d do it again a hundred times over’- participant

Sightless Cinema by White Cane Audio Theatre, led by theatre deviser Ciarán Taylor with composer and radio programme maker Rachel Ní Chuinn, was presented in June 2015. The performance and communal listening event generated a warm and enthusiastic response from blind and sighted audience.

‘I, as part of the audience was completely engaged in what was happening around me and although I spent much of the time laughing I was very moved by some of the emotions that were conveyed and communicated in a way that really took me by surprise.’

This essay will describe the participatory ‘per cent for art’ commission by Dún Laoghaire- Rathdown County Council (dlr) which culminated in the event. 

The Brief

In May 2014 dlr invited proposals for a performing arts commission exploring sensory disabilities. The brief looked for: ‘no predetermined outcome as this will come through the collaborative process’. This is an ideal, if challenging basis for devising theatre. At the pre-submission briefing session a chance meeting was the spark for my artistic collaboration with Rachel Ní Chuinn on ‘Sightless Cinema’.

I proposed to use theatre devising techniques to create new audio theatre for and by the blind, with the help of NCBI Services (National Council for the Blind in Ireland). The proposal envisaged a range of possible outcomes.

The Group 

When I was commissioned, NCBI’s local office helped directly recruit people with sight loss. There was to be an initial series of eight weekly two-hour workshops. A group of ten was established ranging in age from 20’s to 80’s, and including fully blind members and those with a diversity of visual impairments. The group remained largely constant until the end of the project, displaying a loyalty that was exceptional in the experience of the NCBI staff. 

The Crucial Eight Weeks

At the first meeting I described how the workshops would not be a training course but a collective exploration of the possibilities of radio drama, with the ultimate aim of recording new work together and possibly performing for an audience. I planned to take the whole process step by step, avoiding any anxiety about performing or having to produce material. In any case I was open to different levels of individual involvement.

In retrospect it was vital to the project as it turned out that the group stayed together for nine months. The first eight weeks to which members committed had to grab their attention and motivate them to continue.  Broadly, the workshops were to introduce devising by exploring improvisation, sound effects, field recording, and examples of existing radio plays. 

Listening

Listening to existing examples of radio drama, we sharpened listening skills, and analysed the techniques used. Pieces ranged from The Goon Show (1950’s absurd comedy) to Under Milkwood (a poetic piece by Dylan Thomas) to Solpadeine is my Boyfriend (a contemporary reality play). 

Improvising on microphone

The group improvised on microphone from the start. The process was often amusing, and by listening back we could analyse what was effective, and discuss possible ideas to develop. An improvisation set in a hairdressers yielded risqué outcomes that later inspired the idea to create a soap opera-style play, which evolved into Crooked Fringe - a twenty-five minute piece in three parts which was eventually recorded and performed live. 

Live Sound Effects 

Using a range of everyday objects we recorded sound effects, and people went outside in pairs to record sounds. Somebody said the recording of rustling tissue paper from a dress pattern sounded like a deep fat fryer, so we improvised a scene in a chipper called ‘Luigi’s’, creating a night-time story of an elderly woman in for chips unnerved by drunken costumers. Members also recorded pieces on phones and dictaphones such as a Lotto win comedy with a niece in the kitchen, and a meditation on water recorded over a bucket in the back garden.

At the end of the planned eight weeks of the workshop, members said they assumed we would carry on, so seamlessly we moved into a second phase to develop finished pieces…

Phase 2- Devising, scripting, recording

We had found that discussions of experiences of blindness and visual impairment recurred-and often went on past the tea break. I asked for stories, that lead to other stories and it became clear that these would be the best material for creating pieces. Members also worked on field recordings of walks around the city. Some of these were composed into a sound piece by Rachel, that features the rhythm of a cane and a visit to a new born in the Rotunda hospital. I decided to record long interviews with each of the participants individually, exploring their life experience from childhood to the present. These were done in the comfort of home, and without a fixed idea of how they might be used. 

With the developing abilities of the group I was convinced that they could perform for an audience in a rehearsed ‘live’ radio recording similar to those made in the early days of radio. So ‘Crooked Fringe’ was born. Many didn’t quite believe that they would be performing live, and we had to find plenty of practical solutions to make it happen. Through brainstorming, improvisations, script conferences and individual script writing the basic plot and characters emerged. One group member then undertook scripting in collaboration with me, and developed the plot by testing drafts with readings by the group. We discovered dramatic scene structures through improvisation with microphone technique- so for instance Jean’s thoughts while discovering her husband Sylvester’s infidelity could be interrupted by him shouting from downstairs and arriving up, by simply changing vocal volume and moving the microphone closer or away from the speaker, (and some walking on the spot!).

With scripts ready and rehearsed, we spent three days in the radio studio of a local college recording the final pieces. They were then edited and assembled for presentation. Media interest in the project meant that group members were interviewed for Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1) and Culturefile ( Lyric FM).

Cinema Performance  

As hoped from the outset, the final recordings were presented in a cinema. The presentation in UCD’s student centre created a sense of occasion. Blind and sighted guests gathered in a darkened cinema for a communal listening experience in a mutually accessible medium. The event and the title ‘Sightless Cinema’ playfully evoke the visual, but in this case the pictures are in your head. The recorded programme included among others the pieces described below.

-‘Crossing the Floor’ is about looking for love at public dances across four decades. It pulls together three distinct stories, and was created through four different means of collaboration. The piece began life as an anecdote about a first-kiss memory that was then scripted by a participant as a monologue, edited with my help and learned by heart for the studio recording.  A second story, about a traumatic incident of being night-blind and abandoned at a Spanish disco, emerged during an interview, was retold to the group, dramatized through improvisations then scripted by the teller before rewriting and recording.  Another was an edited recording of a dialogue improvised during a workshop, with two ladies reminiscing about true dance hall experiences. Music and sound effects complete the dramatisations, and the piece finishes with an original song about first love by a musician in the group.

-‘Talking to Empty Chairs’ takes a lighter look at the experiences of blind and visually impaired people while out and about , and brings together eight stories and dramatisations including Zorrow at the Bank, a scene where a blind woman and her guide dog encounter a well-meaning but over-helpful stranger while lodging a cheque. 

-‘Don’t Stop the Rope’ is a half-hour reality piece about the life adventures of group members. It is made up of short excerpts from over sixteen hours of interviews. The themes included childhood memories, personal experiences of sight-loss, and adventures such as parachute jumps and walks in the Himalayas. After a long process of whittling down, Rachel Ní Chuinn selected the final excerpts which she interspersed with songs and music to subtly resonate with the themes. The piece allows the authentic voice of the participants to come through while giving space and time for the listener to engage imaginatively with their experiences, and our common humanity. 

The event continued with the whole group performing the final episode of Crooked Fringe live. For the finale two members sang the collaboratively written White Cane Song, accompanied by a chorus-line dance by the group wielding their white canes. 

Reflecting many people’s response one audience member wrote: ‘I laughed so much, it was so true, fantastic depictions of what it is like to be visually impaired.’

The encounter with the audience, rounded off with a reception in the cinema foyer, was a memorable, satisfying and empowering experience that gave meaning to the artistic project to explore sound as a shared creative expression.

Feedback and afterlife

Three months after the event the participants were interviewed about their involvement. The response was overwhelmingly positive. They spoke about the group process: ‘It was great what you got out of us motley bunch’; ‘Quiet people came into their own’; ‘everyone was prepared at the drop of a hat to go up and do their piece’; our oldest member said ‘It’s keeping me alive’; ‘The dynamic was right, great craic’; ‘I was fascinated by the imaginative capacity of the group’.

In relation to devising pieces, all found the process interesting and surprising. ‘The ad libs were good fun, you didn’t know where it was leading- the adventure of being transported somewhere’; ‘very engaging- the mystery of what each person would do was fascinating’; ‘The stories came out naturally and evolved- the theme was built around our stories, not imposed’; ‘acting out the drama made it come alive - we understood where the stories came from’.

On writing: ‘I don’t like homework but it was useful, you got to see it enacted and that was satisfying’; ‘I could trust that if I gave something it would be used right. At first I went with very developed ideas- it was torn apart in a good way, and I could see that whatever way it came back it would be better’ ‘I always intended to write, but this put my feet to the fire-I learnt the virtue of finishing a draft, then working on it- the group waiting for a script helped focus the mind’ 

On recording in the radio studio: ‘Brilliant- so much you can do with so little on radio’; ‘great to get head phones…really connected to what you were saying’; ‘we could take part fully in the process’; ‘I remember sitting giggling, trying not to breathe’; ‘I was nervous on mic before, but I got used to it the fun way you did it’.

On rehearsals: ‘improved my memory- hours here shouting at no one‘; ‘You get hooked, being around people, laughing, seeing it come together'

On the presentation: ‘Delighted, loved the way the perfect sound and good drama melded into something worthwhile and unexpected’; ‘I was struck by how good the scripts were’ On performing: ‘Glee!’; ‘Did we realize what we achieved, to go for it with no prompt’; ‘I thoroughly enjoyed dancing on the stage’; ‘It was a buzz chatting afterwards, realising it’s us they’re talking about’.

On the Audience: ‘Loved that sighted audience couldn’t see us- it gave them a sense of how blind people operate in terms of communication’; ‘great way to get people to see what visual impairment is like emotionally and psychologically’; ‘it was captivating- listening to everyone’s breath and reactions-the tension in the audience is still fresh in my mind’.

On the future: most would like to do more, and many asked for the group to continue. Some would like to get into the technical aspects of editing audio, one said he’d like facilitate arts participation, others had ideas for future work including a documentary on seafarers, and a drama about golfing.

Overall

‘It made me more aware of sound, even as visually impaired we take sound for granted- now when I’m hanging out the clothes I listen for birds and the wind- it’s enriching to not forget where we are.’

‘It opened our minds.’ ‘Everyone’s situation is unique to themselves- it was nice to share, good to laugh, and then use humour to communicate to others.’ ‘It reaffirmed that I’m not on my own- it normalised visual impairment.’ ‘I learnt so much from others-curiosity kept me coming-I never imagined what it was going to become, but it blew me away!’ 

‘Interesting all the way – it increased my confidence, I never thought of myself as in that role.’ ‘It expanded my horizons-I’m listening for sounds when I’m out.’ ‘Took twenty years off me- the performance was the best day of my life.’ ‘We achieved what hadn’t been done before. It enhanced my belief in human beings.’

Conclusions:

The success of the commission was based on the fundamentally collaborative nature of the outcomes and the positive audience engagement with the new work. It built on the established dlr/HSE arts in health partnership and fed this expertise into the public art commissioning process. A suitable venue, NCBI staff support, portable recording equipment for workshops, a local radio studio, and the complementary skills of deviser and sound artist in the artistic process were also key to the success. Devising was an ideal way of responding flexibly to group members and what they could offer. This requires time; and expert facilitation is important in establishing a working group dynamic. Audio was an ideal medium, while the unique strength of the public performance was as a shared experience more specific to theatre than radio.