Sean Tyler

It’s been a while…

seantylerplaywright — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:34:42 +0000

So. It’s been a while. Quite a while. Sorry about that.

My only excuse is that I’ve been too busy writing. But is that an excuse? Surely I could have found fifteen minutes here and there to write shorts blogs. Yes, I probably could have. And I probably should have. But I didn’t. So… sorry! Things are going to be different around here from now on. Promise!

So, what have actually been up to? Well, firstly, I’ve been working on my stage play inspired by the life and work of the American painter Edward Hopper. I’m really excited about this. It’s been rolling around in my head for years and finally it’s coming to life. The concept is that the play is constructed from a series of individual scenes that each stand alone but, when put together, they form a whole. The play is the story of a life. It could be anyone’s life. It could be yours. Or mine. Or it could be Edward Hopper’s. Each scene is inspired by one of his paintings. In the main I’ve gone for some of his less well known works, to avoid people coming to the play with too many preconceptions. This evening, at The Berry Theatre in Hedge End I have a script-in-hand rehearsed reading performance of one scene, Office at Night, as part of the Page to Stage event I was at rehearsals yesterday and it’s looking really good. Sarah Brigham, the Director, and Dave Orme and Ruby Glaskin, who play The Man and The Woman, are doing an amazing job at bringing all the meaning out of the lines and discovering subtleties that I didn’t know where there! After tonight, the next time the play sees the light of day will be a script-in-hand rehearsed reading of the full play at the beginning of December 2011 in a very special venue – the house in which Edward Hopper was born, 82 North Broadway, Nyack, New York – courtesy of the Edward Hopper House Art Center. More on that in a future blog.

I heard a few weeks ago that, theplaygroup, the company Matthew Wilkie, Mark Hewitt and I have formed, have been funded to produce a series of three new plays at Farnham Maltings in Spring 2012. We’re calling the series EAT THEATRE, because each performance will be a supper theatre event – i.e. you buy your ticket and you get supper (in this case a heart soup) and a new play all in one! This is an R&D project, although the performances will be fully realized professional productions, and if it’s a success then we hope to extend the scope. Farnham Maltings have been really supportive in helping us get this far. We’re having three develop days in November, one for each of our plays – eek, that’s only about five weeks away now, better get writing! Again, more on this in a future blog.

Also, I’ve been tinkering with my play on Stan Laurel that I’ve mentioned before. I’m really excited about this one too, I’ve got a really clear picture in my head of how it’s going to look. It’s definitely a piece of theatre that I would want to go and see! But then I would say that, wouldn’t I?

Other stuff I’ve been up to. I’m continuing to coordinate the Writer Hub at The Berry Theatre. Since we started back in April, with essential ongoing support from New Writing South, we’ve been building what is now a thriving and successful focal point for writers from Eastleigh Borough and the wider Hampshire county to come together once a month, lend each other support, comment on other members’ work and to listen to (and quiz) guest speakers. It’s great and I’m proud to be a part of it.

Also at the Berry Theatre, and again in conjunction with New Writing South, I’m the Associate for the Writer Squad, which is a monthly meeting of aspiring 13- to 17-year-old writers on a Saturday morning. The group had it’s first meeting in September and I’ll be joining them from October onwards, so I’m looking forward to meeting the young people and, hopefully, encouraging and inspiring them to create wonderful writing.

Well, I think that’s enough for now, I think – we’ve gone from nothing to everything! Hopefully you’ll be able to forgive me for being so lax with this blog to date, now that you’ve seen everything I’ve been doing. But, still, as i said earlier, I should be able to find fifteen minutes from time to time to jot a few thoughts down. From now on I’ll be aiming to do shorter more frequent (and hopefully interesting) blogs.

So, I’ll be off in a few minutes to The Berry Theatre for more rehearsals before the event this evening. Looking forward to it.

Au revoir Ulverston

seantylerplaywright — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:58:06 +0000

So, I’m on my way home. I’ve had an interesting and productive time in Ulverston. I’m coming away with a substantial draft of my Stan Laurel play, now with a working title: Imagining Mr Laurel. I’m really pleased with what I’ve produced, it’s quite unlike anything I’ve written before – I’m trying to tell his story of his life in the way in which he lived it: through music-hall and vaudeville acts, silent movies, talkies, magic tricks, etc. Really looking forward to getting it on its feet, although it’s likely to be a few months before I’ll be able to do that. So, meantime, re-writes, tweaks, refinements as and when the mood takes me – in between all my other projects.

Ulverston is a lovely little town, very friendly people. My landlady Ann at Old Daltongate House B&B couldn’t have made me more welcome or more comfortable, and it’s perfectly located in a quiet road just off the main Market Square. Plenty of lovely coffee houses, especially Gillams, which I patronised most days. Last night I went to the Lanternhouse, a wonderful arts centre – I understand the venue was originally the home of Welfare State, acknowledged as the first site specific theatre company – alas, no longer. But I did hear some great music from three young local bands. I particularly enjoyed Audio Conspiracy. Lanternhouse has a project on the go right now, exploring Thoreau – they’ve built a replica hut in some nearby woods and a spectacular temporary stage in the main auditorium.

Much as I enjoyed the past five days, I have to admit that I’m looking forward to getting back to a more urban environment.

Whilst away I’ve also been putting the finishing touches to an Arts Council England bid that I’m submitting with a couple of fellow playwright friends. Can’t say much more about that until (positive thoughts!!) it gets funded. But watch this space…

Hampshire Writer Hub – June meeting

seantylerplaywright — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:41:18 +0000

Must mention the great night last Wednesday at the Hampshire Writer Hub meeting at The Berry Theatre. Another excellent turnout (20 or so) and (in a change to the published programme) a really interesting talk and Q&A by Stewart Ferris. Stewart is a writer and publisher and set up Summersdale to bring a breath of fresh air to the publishing world. He explained how the company works with writers to produce a unique selection of diverse non-fiction titles and gave fascinating insights that got many of us present thinking… Thanks Stewart – and especially thanks for coming along at such short notice, there was certainly nothing last minute about your presentation.

Imagining Mr Laurel…

seantylerplaywright — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:51:45 +0000

So, it’s my third day in Ulverston, the birthplace of Stan Laurel. I’m here to write a play about him. Not the easiest place to get to – I flew from Southampton to Manchester, took two trains, a bus and then a third train before I eventually arrived here, seven hours after I left home.

The writing is going really well, it’s flowing freely so far… I seem to be creating something that has Stan’s music hall/vaudeville heritage at its very heart and it feels like it’s working well. More on that as it develops over the next few days.

I’ve been to look at the small terraced house where Stan was born (as Arthur Stanley Jefferson) in 1890. Humble beginnings, truly. And I’ve stood (alongside several other people) and marvelled at the lovely bronze statue of Laurel and Hardy that stands proudly in the town centre. Every time I pass by there is an old couple looking admiringly at it, or two kids trying to climb up it, or a dog with a cocked leg taking full advantage of the faciliies!

I’ve just stopped for a traditional Sunday Roast lunch in The Mill at Ulverston, a lively pub in the town. Writers need their sustenance too.

Busy week ahead…

seantylerplaywright — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:22:38 +0000

Lots on the go right now.

This Wednesday I’ll be hosting the third meeting of The Hampshire Hub at The Berry Theatre (Hedge End, Southampton, UK) – an opportunity for all local writers to get together, share our work, give each other constructive feedback, etc. We’re excited to be welcoming Clare Christian as our special guest this month. Clare is the self publishing guru so I know her session is going to be really interesting and helpful for lots of our members.

Then on Friday I fly up to the English Lake District for six days to carry out research on Stan Laurel, one half of the legendary Laurel and Hardy. I’ve so grateful to the New Writing South organisation as I’ve been awarded a New Buds Awards bursary, which will enable me to make this trip and complete a full first draft of the script. Stan was born in Ulverston, Cumbria, UK and started out on the traditional Music Hall circuit before finding his way to America and fame and fortune! I’m going to be staying right in the heart of Ulverston, just a few minutes walk from the house where Stan was born.

In the meantime I’m continuing to work on my The Heroism of Failure script, which is still coming on in leaps and bounds.

Plus a couple of other projects that are at too early a stage to divulge here… all in good time.

Rocket to the Moon

seantylerplaywright — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:12:23 +0000

Spent a very enjoyable night at the National Theatre a couple of days ago, watching Clifford Odets‘ Rocket to the Moon. I remember first reading the play maybe 15 years ago and wondering when I would ever get the chance to see a full production – well here it is, in all its retro glory on the amazing Lyttleton stage! The set is stupendous, a living testament to the influence of Edward Hopper on design for theatre as much as for movies. The row of globe lights disappearing down an ever-decreasing corridor stage right was reminiscent of the reflection of lights in the window in Automat. And the main part of the set, the office, was straight out of Office at Night. It was all so nicely set off with vibrant green window blinds and the red glow of neon lights outside the window, reminiscent of the greens and reds of Nighthawks. There were towering performances from Jessica Raine and Joseph Millson in the lead roles – they were utterly convincing playing two people that were living and breathing in the 1930s. I’m sorry to say that the reality of seeing Keeley Hawes acting live didn’t quite live up to my expectations – her actions were, at times, unnatural, she didn’t seem to know what to do with her hands – and her Brooklyn accent was just too much of a caricature to be totally taken in by.

Back at home in my study yesterday I felt I was on a metaphorical rocket to the moon myself – I made terrific progress with my The Heroism of Failure script. Some days everything seems to fall neatly into place and, fortunately, yesterday was one of those days. There’s no rhyme or reason why one day should be so vastly different to another – that’s just how it is. It’s so gratifying after several months work to finally be able to get a sense of the final shape of the play. There’s still lots more work to do on it, of course – workshops, re-writes, edits, etc. – but yesterday I had a warm feeling that it’s really going to work!

Rehearsed Readings at The Berry Theatre, Hedge End (Day 2 of 2)

seantylerplaywright — Mon, 23 May 2011 21:19:00 +0000

Just finished an exhausting 13-hour day at the theatre – the second day of a two-day rehearsal process culminating in an evening performance. Although I have to say I’m sure the amazing actors and brilliant directors found it even more draining than I did.

What an exciting day, to think of all this new work being created in li’l ole Hedge End, just a 15 minute walk from my front door.

There was a real buzz at the venue, a very successful evening. I know from talking to the writers of the five pieces that were presented how useful they found the process in helping them develop their work.

I like to think of these works-in-progress as ripening berries!

We’re going to see plenty more of this at The Berry in the months and years to come. And who knows, Hedge End could become a hotbed of creative theatrical talent.

Have to cut this post short – have the last 30 pages of Stoner by John Williams to read tonight before my book group meeting tomorrow evening. More on that to follow.

Rehearsed Readings at The Berry Theatre, Hedge End (Day 1 of 2)

seantylerplaywright — Sun, 22 May 2011 16:47:09 +0000

Just finished the first of two days at the beautiful Berry Theatre with Sarah Brigham and Rob Iliffe and a great bunch of actors and writers, preparing for tomorrow (Monday) night’s Page to Stage rehearsed reading event. I’m helping coordinate the event so it was interesting for me to be involved with rehearsed readings without actually having my own work performed. Further insight into the creation process, listening to the writers to hear the inspiration and ideas behind their work, how they envisaged the pieces being staged, what they learnt from the actors bring their words out into the open as opposed to just hearing them inside their own heads, how that changed what they thought about their plays…

Another full day of rehearsals tomorrow before curtain up at 7:30pm.

Now off to gather together a whole lot of props ready for tomorrow morning…

Punchdrunk

seantylerplaywright — Sat, 21 May 2011 22:25:01 +0000

Spent an amazing 6 hours today at The Point in Eastleigh (Hampshire, UK) with the inspirational Maxine Doyle, learning how Punchdrunk create their immersive theatre experiences. Learnt so much that I can use to enhance The Heroism of Failure, the production I’m creating about the American painter Edward Hopper that will be premiered at the Edward Hopper House Art Center in Nyack, New York this coming Fall.

Okay, enough blogging, must go and apply my learning…

The beginning…

seantylerplaywright — Sat, 21 May 2011 22:09:35 +0000

So. Here goes. My first blog.

I figure that the day on which the world is supposed to end is as good a day as any to start.

Whilst listening to Tom McRae‘s End of the World News.

I have to admit to being slightly apprehensive about blogging. As a playwright I usually have the luxury of writing something. Then revising. Then editing. Then revising a little more. I guess blogging is meant to be different than that. More spotaneous. I’ll have to learn to over-ride my natural tendency for perfection.