By: Martha Austin
Of all the things I imagine myself doing at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning, taking an Immersive Theatre class in a brewery was not one of them and yet now I can’t imagine a better way to spend my weekend.
I was lucky enough to be able to take part in the Interactive Theatre workshop run by the Making Waves Film Festival in conjunction with immersive theatre director Joe Hufton. It was a fantastic experience during which I learned a number of new techniques, made connections, learned from industry professionals, and above all, had a lot of fun!
From professional actors to people just there for a laugh, 30 of us gathered together to learn the ins and outs of producing an immersive theatre experience. We warmed up our (somewhat rusty, in my case) improvisation skills by telling stories to one another based on things in the room. From dinosaur uprisings to portals in fridges, we heard it all.
After we were feeling sufficiently creative, we were split into groups to create semi-scripted scenes to guide an audience along a narrative journey. The storyline of the day centred around a gang preparing for the ultimate job (cue terrible mobster accents all round) so after a very important discussion on who would be on Team Weaponry and who would be relegated to Team Tech, we got cracking.
I have to say, it’s been a while since I’ve properly been able to play with a new concept. While initially somewhat depressing, Joe’s mantra of ‘whatever you make the first time will almost certainly be rubbish’ turned out to be shockingly freeing. Having permission to make something more than a bit rough around the edges and for that to be completely OK was something I think we could all do with a bit more of in life.
And, for me, that mantra turned out to be one of the key points of the workshop. Don’t waste time standing around wondering what it would be like if you tried something, just try it and see for yourself.
The Acting & Directing for Immersive Cinema Experiences workshop was part of a preparation process for Pompey Dogs, a live cinema screening of Reservoir Dogs (1992) at Staggeringly Good Brewery as part of this year’s film festival. You can find out more by taking a look at the event programme.
The food was prepared by Kitchen of Hope, a project from Portsmouth City of Sanctuary that provides refugees the opportunity to cook dishes from their home countries. This charity-run kitchen cater for and brings a world of culture to events across Portsmouth a handful of times a month and at this experience, guests enjoyed a classic Arabic mezze salad, a lamb broth, a choice of fish, meat or vegetable couscous, and a delightful sweet couscous and fruit salad to finish the meal.
The standout short film, ‘Daylight’, directed by Alfie Sadler and produced by Ben Steed, clinched the Judges’ Award. Judges praised ‘Daylight’ for its “sense of frustration,” exemplary editing, and the effective use of cross-cutting, which significantly elevated the film’s narrative tension. The audience vote went to another University of Portsmouth team, with the prize being awarded to ‘When this You See’, produced by Ben Jones and Directed by Megan Lyons. The handmade awards, created especially for the competition by local artist Lawn of the Dead, were presented by Ben Cloud and Dan Musty from Millstream Productions.
We then had the opportunity to watch four BFI-funded films including Corinne Walker’s ‘Homegrown’, which explores the experience of migrant farm workers. Providing attendees with a unique opportunity to engage with emerging talent and learn from those who have been through the BFI production funding scheme.
We congratulate all the participants and winners for their outstanding contributions, we genuinely believe we will see some of these young people winning BAFTA’s in the not-too-distant future. Their stories serve as a reminder of the powerful ways in which film can explore our world and give expression to our ideas.
