Summer reading includes Ayckbourne's The Crafty Art of Playmaking published in 2004. Already half way through, writing has been covered, directing follows.
Looking at what I can learn in contrasting health and theatre, there is more than both laying claim to having a 'theatre'. Perhaps health got there first in a very primitive, existential, and fundamental sense. The 'theatre of war' covering battle, and the fight for food and survival. Even as civilisation emerged, on the battle field, triage was practised in a more deliberate way with skills that were built on emerging knowledge handed down orally - to become art.
So, no doubt there was a concurrency going on. Heroics in so many guises, shared around the fire. Plus, our individual dreams and nightmares that are framed collectively.
Ayckbourn offer pithy lessons learned over his career that began in 1959. There's an acting maxim:
'When playing a miser, stress his generosity.'
So can we restate the acting maxim as:
'When playing a patient, stress their strengths'?
Or. 'When playing a patient, stress their personhood'? . . .
If that is a challenge to the healthcare sector (even if unintended), then it is one that is actually long-standing. There are the three R's: rehabilitation, reablement and recovery.
Ayckbourn explains how the darker the subject the more a writer needs to find the light. And vice-versa. This suits me fine, and medicine is recognised as a great source of humour across several cultures.
The book lists a series of 'Obvious Rules' all numbered.
Of No. 1: Born in Liverpool, I never would look down on comedy; and never as a poor cousin of drama.
After reading his obvious Rule No. 2, 'Never start a play without an idea'; I put my pants back on.
Do I have an idea? Oh my! Well Brian's at least.
In a way it's the other way around. The shout goes up - "Eratosthenes! Please pass me a sieve."
On having an idea, Ayckbourn writes: 'They assume, I think, that if they start the journey, maybe an idea will occur on the way. Perhaps a map of where they're going will blow in through the car window. In my experience this never happens.' p.6.
This is good advice, with the additional complication of having many maps, and yes, none: c/o Hodges' model. I need a theme, a situation and a thread. I'm writing a few ideas down. And helpfully Sir Alan advises not to throw ideas away. He describes, from experience how disparate things can come together.
Today (19th), I finished TCAoP here in Corfu. A great help for me, that is, the writing section pp.3-96; as I will try to explain in further posts. Sooner than expcted, I've started a book that will be a 'review'.
A visit to Albania tomorrow - early start pick-up 0710.
The Crafty Art of Playmaking by Alan Ayckbourn. Faber, 2004, softcover, ISBN 0571215106.
https://www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/s/45898/the-crafty-art-of-playmaking
orcid.org/0000-0002-0192-8965
