The Penguin
Mark and Joni remember the creation and development of their first performance for Pluck - The Penguin!
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Transcript
Joni
So maybe we should try and describe these shows that we've made.
It might be a bit tricky, really, because it's such a such a visual medium, and describing the music and all of that. But let's, let's give it a go.
Mark
Should we start with The Penguin?
Joni
Yes, because that was our first… I think that was one of our first, very first ideas.
Mark
It was, yeah
Joni
And it was definitely the first one that we started working on. And sort of, I guess, to give a synopsis of the show, in case you haven't been able to watch it, in case you haven't been a patient in the hospital!
It basically starts off with a Penguin who sees a Sea Bird, and the penguin asks the Sea Bird, “how do you fly?” And the Sea Bird isn't very helpful and just says, “I just flap my wings.” And then the Penguin tries to fly, isn't able to fly, and the Sea Bird flies off. The Penguin goes… runs after it. And then in the show, we get to see the Sea Bird doing some lovely flying, which is always very exciting, especially that's kind of when I move towards the patient, so that they can see, see the Sea Bird a bit more. But this just makes the Penguin sad. And then Penguin tries to fly -
Mark
It doesn’t work out
Joni
- just gets really frustrated with it. And then goes to the sea and sees a fish swimming and starts to form that idea of “Oh, I can do this!” (They) can see the Sea Bird trying to -
Mark
The Sea Bird dives but then can't stay in the water very long, has to come straight back up. And Penguin dives in. And then the Penguin finds that, it kind of, is … the Penguin swims underwater and finds a grace that wasn't there on land. Or on air!
Joni
And when the Sea Bird asks them, “how do you how do you swim?” They just flap their wings! And again, it's, it's, it's so difficult to describe because that that does sound like a very simple story, but obviously with with the music and with the puppetry, it does -
Mark
The puppetry is across different… so because you have a 3D penguin who walks around
Joni
It's a lovely penguin!
Mark
There's a 3D Sea Bird, but also the underwater water bits, you do that with shadows and lights. So it's, for me, there's lots of visually to look at. There's lots of different visual changes, which I think makes a big difference.
Joni
And it's definitely our most, sort of, story focused one. Because the aim was that we would have three pieces. That was the first one, sort of, the one that was, sort of, exploring more about "how much we needed to say what was happening?” “how much narration?” And I think it was you that said, “Actually, I think we need the Penguin to say something, needs to talk about, you know, ‘oh, how can you fly?’” There has to be something just to, just to show a little bit about what the Penguin is thinking. So we’ve, sort of, all the, all the words are just (you know, apart from what I call puppet noises) all the actual lines are, “how do you how do you fly?” “I just flap my wings!” And “how do you swim?” “I just flap my wings.” So, very, yeah, very, very simple. And I think, sort of, with the devising process of it - it was the one that really it was the first idea, and it just really worked!
Mark
Yeah, I think what works really well is, (and this was even before it was the final puppet for Penguin, just for prototype) just a penguin plodding about and then making some plodding sounds on my harp, just brought the whole thing to life. And it just, sort of, then had its own life. And then so it was easy just to, sort of, move it. Things got refined a little bit, and the way the lights were about all came over time, but the initial life was just there straight away.
Joni
And I think what was just nice about it's just how quickly and lovely that story came together. And especially when, yes, we've worked with each other for years, but never rehearsed, never came up with a story through just chatting with each other or coming up with something original. It was really, it was just… “reassuring” isn't the word, but it just, sort of, went, “Yes, this does work in rehearsal!” And we kind of, like, you know, everything that we sort of, you know, worked hard to get the funding, was to be at this point where we could spend the time, and immediately there's something really lovely happening. And I think, yeah, I had these little prototypes, a little prototype Penguin and a prototype Sea Bird, which was all, it was all cardboard. It was a little bit, especially the Sea Bird - The Sea Bird was very scruffy! But it was just nice to, sort of, start to find, find those characters and find the story.
And I guess what's interesting is because we were starting off - because it was the first one, it was very much, “what did we already have?” So I had, you know, this shadow suitcase, which we used a lot in, sort of, our, what? - I guess, our original collaboration with the the nursery rhymes and Disney songs? Just used a suitcase that I made into a shadow puppet theatre, which worked really lovely. We brought it in, into this because we sort of knew that there was a bit of shadow puppetry, but I really wanted to move into 3D as well. And so everything was very, still very scrappy with that first, with that, with the with the Penguin, but we were still able to find, like, well, this is going to be like a little placeholder for that. And I think a lot of the ideas that we now have - So having, coloured light and having a screen, and having, like a little staging area, and, you know, all of the things that I think visually, I thought this is what this might need. I think kind of came from that first, first sort of Penguin exploration.
Mark
That's true.
Joni
That sort of, then really, sort of, honed what now, that's the puppet trolley, what that all aesthetically looks like. And, you know, I don't think it took me long to then sort of bring in the LED grid that we get lots of our, sort o,f sensory lights from. So it really, sort of, inspired me in like, “oh, how can we make this really good visually as well?” You know, even though the story wasn't quite there, even though the puppets weren't there, it really, sort of, sparked, you know, my brain and like, “okay, how can we make this really good?”
Mark
And I think we knew going from a 3D puppet to a shadow screen and back and forth. It's almost like I was talking about, like a, like a magic trick. It was, sort of, like doing that a lot in the shows were, sort of, like a little trick. So, suddenly the Penguin is there in 3D, but it jumps behind, and it's swimming, but it's a shadow thing and that’s - changing between that visually was quite strong. I think also the way, because there's a lot of opposites - Say there's a plodding Penguin, sort of, music would be very plodding, and there's the free flying Sea Bird. So the music thing could be very soaring. It works quite well because it was very much, opposite ends, and that work. And that helps. I think that's quite satisfying from a narrative. And just the way it's it was quite fun to do that as well. Because it was very, Penguin plodding about we've got the Penguin plod is very, very bass heavy, and the Sea Bird flying is a lot more harp-y. It's going a lot higher, more like arpeggios, going “deedledeedledooo” a lot busier. And it's quite nice playing between those two, and then sort of bringing them together as the Penguin learns to swim. So yeah, it's always a nice basis to have that, to have that A and B point to sort of play with, yeah,
Joni
I just, yeah, I'm just sort of now remembering that sort of the first time that I bought in the Penguin prototype. What was very lucky is, because our rehearsals were quite staggered, like we weren't doing… we didn't do like an intensive two weeks of rehearsal and devising. We sort of did two rehearsals a week. But then we had the ideas, and then it gave me time to go, “right? I need to make a penguin!” Or, you know, even if it's not the one it's going to be, let me make the penguin, so we've got something. Let me make a Sea Bird. Let me, you know… what things can I bring in? And I'm, yeah, I'm just remembering that first time we had the Penguin. And that first, sort of… we spent.. I don't know how long we spent on it, but it was just having the Penguin walking and playing with the music and the wanting to fly. And kind of found a lot of the character of the Penguin in that as well. And it was just, like, so satisfying about it, that it just everything was working. And I remember being so excited, like, when I got home, I was like, “This is what we've done, and it's so cute, and it's really working!” And it's probably one of our most popular…
Mark
There's been little children, really small children have wanted it, older ones as well. I mean, I remember our very first performance we thought… it was a young girl who we thought maybe she's been old for this. But it kind of worked, you know. And in a way, I think
Joni
And in a way, I think, it that really helped, you know, even though that was a moment where we, sort of, went “Hmm, that wasn't quite right,” and it was the first sessions that we've done, where we're just, sort of, debuting all of this new work. It was also kind of nice to go “Right, there is more for us to do” because, yeah, I mean, you know, patient, sort of, happily watched it, but was maybe not as engaged, just not as like in… I was going to say “enchanted”! It's quite a grandiose word! But just like that, sort of, - but you see that with the kids, when there's the harp and the puppetry, there is this bit of enchantment. You know, it's not just “I'm watching it” it’s “I'm really watching it”
Mark
It's very otherworldly.
Joni
But I'm just thinking, sort of, like the, sort of, memorable… memorable parts of it, and I'm thinking about when we had a patient who was non-verbal, and (we) went and did The Penguin. And right at the start, like they were, like, amazed by the Penguin. And I, sort of, noticed that, and, sort of, brought the Penguin a little bit closer. Luckily, there was, like, a table that I could bring the puppet closer to and she brought out a toy, and we kind of had a little moment where we, sort of, even the show hadn’t, like, had only just started, but we kind of put it on pause. It's like, this isn’t… that show isn't important right now! What’s important is this, sort of, like interacting with, you know… she was puppeteering the toy, and I was puppeteering the Penguin, and they were having, like little, they had a little little game, and a little bit saying hello, and all of that.
And you could, you know, that was such a such a magical moment, even though it had nothing to do with what we had made! And you were playing, you were still sort of keeping up that, that atmosphere. And again, it just, sort of, shows how… One, you know, we're all about responding to the patient, like we've worked really hard on all of these shows. But if a patient goes, “No, I want to take it this way.” We go, "Cool, right? Let's, let's, let's go along with it” And she did end up watching the rest of the show. And then at the end, we did a little bit bit more. And it was just, yeah, it was just really, really nice to sort of open up the story a bit, and open up what the Penguin could do as a little puppet… you know, and of course, it's been really lovely just to, just to do the do the show, and for for the patients to enjoy it. But there was something just in particular about that -
Mark
And that helps with all other, I think that helps, of all of our future times to go through it as well, having these little deviations where you go off into tangents, even when you don't go on a tangent the next time, having that, sort of, in the locker, helps a little bit and helps the way we go through the story, because, it enhances even just little movements and little things, and we, it just helps. Generally, was going through the story.
Joni
Yeah, I think there's even a bit where the penguins learn to fly, and it's just jumping and not getting very far. And because it's on, sort of, the edge of the trolley, because that’s - there's not a lot of space, because there's also the shadow screens as well at the back, and it's only so far that I can push that back. And there was one patient that went, “Oh, be careful!" And I then, sort of, lent into it. I, sort of, went, “Oh, I'll make the puppet, sort of, the Penguin almost fall off,” and now that's in every show you know which, again, it's just, that you, sort of, take those little ideas, like you said, as well, or you keep them in in the locker, they're in reserves, so that you know that - Because the first time you do something where you go a bit off, off script, and you have to really trust your instincts with it, like I had to trust that you would just be fine and keep on playing. And you know, would also, you know, maybe offer a little bit of - I don't know what you would call it -but a little bit of flair, you know, so your interacting as well -
Mark
Suddenly you start, the music plays to whatever's going on, and that's as devised, but also to what's not devised. There's been times where I've been playing, not so much these, but whether some of the hospital machines beep. And you just start playing the time of a beep. Bring back into it, because that's just there and little things like that. And so if things change in the performance, then the music has to move for that, because, I guess it's adding a little atmosphere, and it has to reflect the atmosphere,
Joni
Yeah, and I think I've noticed, I think especially with Penguin, is that the music has evolved a lot. Often it's sort of the sort of the transitions between scenes, and it's really nice to, sort of, hear those, because then it's a nice surprise for me. But I can, sort of, tell that there is this, sort of, this evolution of this music. It's not going to stay in one place, which is just really, really nice. And again, I think that is just that adapting and, you know, responding to to the audience as well. Because I've also got to really trust that what I'm doing is maybe not visually interesting, but the music is carrying it.
Mark
I think sometimes it's the space as well changes. Sometimes we're really hunched in a small corner, and that feels different to say if we're in a much - if we're in a playroom or in an outpatient unit. So sometimes the transitional music just changes for that. It sort of, this, it just feels different. So it has to be different.