The Camden Fringe is almost upon us, providing one of the best times in the capital to get into Fringe theatre, and the stories it can tell. To get prepared for the festival, Read About Stuff is running a ‘Five From The Fringe’ interview series, where creative teams answer five questions about their upcoming Festival shows.
In this interview, I chat to Jessica Cooper about their new show The Alternative To Living.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
The show is an exploration of your relationship to yourself, to connections that you have – romance, family, community. What it means to be an individual as well as part of something. It’s a commentary on identity, self-love, accepting all the parts of you – who you are, who you were, who you want to become, and not being distracted by things that are happening now or, even, being distracted by your phone, which is real right? And the show is a comment on that – how that affects you, how that affects your relationships. I think the audience can expect to be emotionally encountered. To be moved by something in the piece. It’s open for interpretation. Every audience member will get a different experience, connect to a different character, a different place in the story but I’m hoping that everyone will be able to see themselves somewhere.
What drew you to this specific story, and why does it belong at the Camden Fringe?
I love pieces about identity. I love pieces that let humans know that they’re worth something. And reading the script I realised that this was a show like that. The script – over and over again – is reinforcing this thing of – you are worthy because you exist. Not because of what you do but just because of who you are. And I love pieces like that. And I felt like the way Fenn wrote it would really impact the audience. I don’t like art where you watch it and you leave with all the answers. I like art that you watch where you leave with a bunch of questions and you have to sort out and answer in your own life – and I felt like this was that piece.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
I think the biggest challenge is, honestly, the time that we have. In an ideal world, I would love three months to take time to really dive in and let the actors really feel marinated in each moment in each scene. So, I feel like we have to go at a pace that exhausts them. They are so good that they are able to pick it up and run with it. But, I can tell at the end of every rehearsal that they’re exhausted. They love their work so much that they don’t even realise how tired they are. But, I know after this process they will probably crash! They’re working hard. They’re putting their whole soul into it.
How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?
I think that we leave a lot of space, as I said, for your imagination to fill in gaps. We don’t overdress the set – we only have what we need to tell the story. And also, because events are not really happening in a specific place, in a specific town, we’ve left things ambiguous enough that you can just sit, and experience the emotional journey. It aids to the more abstract nature of the show itself. We have a couple of things that help you as the audience see and feel and experience what is going on inside the character instead of just hearing words. So, a lot of the actors’ actions can be partnered with the set.
And sound! We have a great composer doing the music, and we’re really working hard together to make sure that it fits the rhythm of the piece. Scientifically, sound kind of surpasses your mind and affects your heart. I’m not a scientist – but it does – there’s a neurological thing – it affects a different part of your brain. So, I always think that sound and music are always really important. It’s a part of the way that I direct. And so, by creating a soundscape that is aiding the actors we’re letting the audience in on their emotions. They’re getting impacted in a similar way that the actors did in order to find their character and story.
If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
Worthy.
That’s how I hope you feel when you leave the theatre.
The Alternative To Living runs at Barons Court Theatre from August 3rd – 5th. Tickets can be purchased here: https://camdenfringe.com/events/the-alternative-to-living/
