Tightlaced Theatre

When I started planning the Tightlaced sessions, my biggest worry was that the technique wouldn’t work, that Affectable Acting was powered by the particular alchemical talents of Aileen Gonsalves. It was one thing to assist Aileen and love her brilliant method of combining reality and imagination to create exhilirating performances. It was another thing entirely to bring it back to Edinburgh and say “I think this is amazing and I want to work this way, who’s with me?”, knowing I would have to train them myself.

I’m so glad I took the leap of faith. The training sessions may not have been running for long, but they’re already proving inspiring! It doesn’t take long to learn the basic exercises, and once you’ve got them down you quickly start seeing how the technique works. I’ve been delighted by the number of actors, both regular Tightlacers and newcomers, who have come along and then come back to keep experimenting, discovering and growing increasingly bold and trusting.

If you’re interested in the sessions and haven’t been along yet, don’t worry – each session starts with a recap for newcomers or anyone who feels they would benefit, and it’s actually really useful to have a mix of people of different levels of experience. They’re free to attend and I plan to keep them that way, partly because I know we’re a pretty broke bunch of people and I’d hate for financial considerations to put anyone off coming even once, but also because I don’t want to foster a teacher/student dynamic. I happen to be the one sharing this technique because I’m the one who had the opportunity to learn it from Aileen, but there’s a strong emphasis on everyone bringing what they know to the group. This technique fosters the idea of being creative equals. As anyone who has heard my lengthy and impassioned rants on this subject knows, I feel very strongly that we have to see each other as creative equals if we are to be a group of self-respecting theatremakers working towards common goals.

There’s so much more I want to say – about the working practice I’m aiming to build, the type of work Tightlaced will create in future, how self-respect is vital to solve many of the knotty problems facing emerging theatremakers. But it’s after midnight (because I’ve never learned to write blog posts at a sensible time – by this time of day my brain has unwound sufficiently to let me put my thoughts in order here) and since there’s a session tomorrow/today, I should get to bed. The most important things for tonight are said and the rest will wait. See you at the Fort!

— Jen

The final hour of 2011! It’s been a hectic year for Tightlaced – we moved into the Fort, did our first Fringe and began a complete revamp which should make for an exciting 2012.

2011 hasn’t been without its sad moments. This year Tightlaced said goodbye to our lovely PR Ariane when she moved to London, where she is currently working at the Barbican, and to the amazing and inspiring Flavia D’Avila, who has gone solo in order to pursue her interest in inter/trans/multi-cultural theatre running Frontieras Theatre Lab. I hope this won’t be the last of our dealings with either of these ladies and that they both have a wonderful, prosperous 2012.

Since it’s New Year, it seems like a good time to make our new website official – no longer www.tightlacedtheatre.org, we are now www.tightlacedtheatre.com! New host, new design, new content, new URL.

Have a fantastic Hogmanay filled with whatever form of celebration you prefer! See you in 2012!

Following a late night last night, I was woken very late this morning by my phone suggesting that I should be on my way to the Fort to run the afternoon training session. That’s when I realised that it’s Christmas, there was no session today and I was officially On Holiday. In fact I am technically On Holiday until we resume on 5 January, although I am supposed to be writing a play between now and then…

The first few weeks of the training sessions have been well supported and extremely rewarding. I’ll be starting 2012 full of excitement and hope for Tightlaced, and looking forward to getting back to work with those who have been to training already and to welcoming those who have yet to start.

Until then I’ll be writing, cooking and luxuriating in long hours of doing very little apart from enjoying good company, playing Tetris and watching films and YouTube videos. I hope you’ll all be doing something similar, and in the interests of entertaining anyone who may need something to amuse them over the festive season, I would like to share my current YouTube craze, The Slow Mo Guys:

…I am going to try to link this video, bear with me…

I hope that works. I’ve linked the most beautiful of their videos, the one that really makes me feel frustrated that these things can’t be seen clearly with the naked eye, but there are plenty of others that are gorgeous and hilarious in equal measure.

Have a fantastic festive season. See you in the New Year!