It is now almost three months since I last posted. That was the beginning of our journey towards a theatrical production of Kitty Canham. Who knew the adaptation would take so long? I know... you did!
Since then we have had many laughs and not a few stressful moments as we work together on the adaptation.
It turns out that telling a story on stage is so very different to telling a story in a novel. I knew this, having worked in theatre for a number of years, but I hadn't realised quite how challenging the process would be! Thank God for the team. Jackie Morton-Hart. Jane Baynes and Emily Woods. (Got to get head shots and biogs then you will get to know them better!)
The Adaptation.
In facing the challanges mentioned in the last post; far fewer characters. (we can't afford a cast of twenty!); placing the characters in the landscape without tiresome reportage; how to denote time passing without the pythonesque clock, I have found that that is when our creative juices really get flowing!
We are finding creative ways of solving the problems we face to distill what would be more easily told in a six part drama into a couple hours. It will be intense, but hopefully an involving production where the audience is seemlessly taken on Kitty's journey.
I have found the importance of a team paramount. As the writer of the novel, I am too close to it. I needed the objectivity of the team and their creativity to find a way forward. At times I have become completely stuck, but when we thrash out the problems with the team, I find I am able to forge ahead.
Next month we are having a Research and Development day to take the script to the next level. We hope to have some idea of venues by then and most importantly, to have found an excellent admin person. We, being a creative lot, are great at solving problems, but not so great at remembering the nuts and bolts.
I'll keep you posted... I've updated my website if you fancy a look.
Thanks for reading, may you find joy in all your endeavours.