We’re really pleased to announce that we’re now accepting scripts for immersive performances. Writing for immersive performance is a completely different way of imagining and creating work and presents a completely new set of challenges that, we know, will develop the way that writers consider their practice.
The call is open so there’s no specific deadline for scripts. You can submit them whenever you think they’re ready and we’ll consider them for whatever we’ve got coming up next.
There are a couple of examples of scripts from previous performances linked at the bottom for you to have a look at but please do refer to this guidance before you download these.
1. Scripts integrate a high degree of interactivity. So high in fact that the piece cannot fully exist except in the period that a participant spends in the space with the performer. This doesn’t mean that there has to be a conversation about something, touch or staring deeply into a participants eyes are equally interactive.
2. We don’t really do character or acting or learning specifically phrased lines. What this means is that the performer has to be able to ‘be themselves doing something unusual’. If there is dialogue they should be allowed to draw from their own experiences rather than, for example, yours. What this might look like in a script is where, for example, you want a performer to talk about a dream, they shouldn’t have a paragraph of dialogue to recall. You might want to include this as an indication of the tone but also acknowledge that the performer needs to talk about the most scary dream they’ve ever had.
3. Scripts should resemble a normal play script (see examples) but don’t feel restricted by what you can and can’t include. If you need to give us some information to help us understand what your aim is then do. If you need to insert dialogue and then give an overview of how a performer might talk about this then that’s fine. Present your script clearly and consistently but don’t get bogged down in formatting.
4. We’re probably much more likely to produce low-tech work so focus on the interaction between the performer and participants’ bodies and minds.
5. Our normal mode of presentation is one participant to one performer but you should feel free to play with this if you like. We’ve done small competitive group pieces (4-5 participants / 2 performers) and larger group work. Remember that the more people are in the room the less time each person has to engage with the performer.
6. Pieces can be of any length but your work is more likely to be shown if it’s a relatively short piece (approx 15 minutes) that we can repeat. Feel free to consider the accumulative effect of repetition on the performer and environment. For example, if each participant is asked to remove an item of clothing from the performer the performer will, over the course of an evening, become more undressed.
7. Feel free to suggest essential props. If you have a specific aesthetic in mind then do include this but we might want to change this to fit our overall aesthetic. Again, the simpler the better.
6. Because it’s us then you should feel free to push the limits of the performer in whatever way you wish. Feel free to also push the limits of the what’s socially acceptable. We like work that challenges social convention. we may need to have a chat with you to discuss the ethics of the piece and make changes accordingly but that will very much be a collaborative thing. We won’t make changes without consulting you beforehand. Nudity is fine. Sexual acts are more problematic (mainly due to the ethical consideration surrounding the participants) but we’ll consider your ideas. Touch is fine.
8. We’re unlikely to select anything that will cause long-term or permanent physical damage to a performer and won’t select anything that aims to cause physical or mental damage to a participant. Challenging people is good, aiming to harm them is not what we’re about.
9. It may take us some time to get back to you. If you submit something then accept our thanks now. We’ll consider work when we need to and if we’re excited by what you’ve produced we’ll make contact. I know that’s not ideal but it’s all we can manage with time constraints.
10. We won’t automatically give feedback on individual scripts. That takes time and resources that we don’t have. If you do decide that you want feedback then we will ask you to pay a charge of £20 for this to cover our time. If that sounds unreasonable or money grabbing we apologise but we’re a business at the end of the day. If we don’t accept your work, don’t necessarily think it’s ‘bad’ – it’s more likely that it just doesn’t fit with what we’re trying to achieve.
11. We can’t offer a fee for scripts that are produced. Obviously, you’ll get free tickets to the event where your work is being shown.
12. If we like what you do and work well with you (as in we don’t find out that you’re not an egotistical, self-obsessed twat who doesn’t understand the notion of collaborative working and that the end result might not completely match the original idea) then we’d be really keen to developing a more long-term relationship with you. We don’t know what exactly that would mean at the moment but essentially getting produced once means you’re likely to be produced again.
If you’re still interested, take a look at the scripts below. You’ll notice that they’re quite different in style. The first is more conversation based (although it’s important that you realise that this was then reduced back (what we’d call retroscripted) to just the specific points of conversation as opposed to the specific word. The second is much more scenario-based and gives the participant more free choice in their interaction with the performers.
Links here:
Ghost Flowers of the Sub-Night Reverie
please send all scripts to: collectiveunconsciousuk@gmail.com
Look forward to hearing your ideas.
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