Greatest Creative Failures

Greatest Creative Failures

Sarah Argent, 16 September 2012

A VERY HONEST SESSION IN WHICH A GROUP OF PRACTITIONERS - DIRECTORS, WRITERS, PRODUCERS - EXPERIENCED AND EMERGING - SHARED THEIR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT FAILURE .... AND DETAILS OF SPECIFIC PROJECTS OR PROCESSES WHICH HADN'T BEEN ENTIRELY EASY BUT FROM WHICH THEY'D LEARNED A GREAT DEAL.

Is there too much self-promotion/marketing in tweets about rehearsal processes? How often do we read about people having “wonderful rehearsals”? Would it be more useful to read about the days on which they've struggled, felt creatively bankrupt?

“I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan

“She knows there’s no success like failure
And that failure’s no success at all.” Bob Dylan

All great performances are a paradox between embarrassment and glory - paraphrased!

“Failure” can carry negative connotations, whereas should we regard failure as inspiring?

The most exciting theatre is about human beings displaying their frailty. Are the most interesting creative processes similar?

Directors should be able to admit “I don't know what's happening” and actors shouldn't be worried when directors do this ... it's part of the process. We're here to uncover/discover the unexpected.

Are the principles of Open Space part of our DNA in the rehearsal room?

During the first run-through, the sole job of the director is to manage your fear and not let it show!

The first couple of days of any process are so important - if these go wrong, it can be so difficult to bring things back on track.

Doubt is really important. If you never feel doubt, you're not being honest, you're bullshitting.

WHY DON'T WE FOLLOW OUR INTUITION?
When you feel intuitively that things are going wrong, why don't you stop it or tackle it? “I know it's wrong. I know it's all so wrong”.
“I don't feel comfortable.”
“I don't like the direction this project is going in.”
“I still had a niggling doubt that something was wrong.”
“There should have been alarm bells ringing. There were alarm bells ringing.”

WHY DO WE SOMETIMES NOT HAVE THE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS?

IS THIS THE POINT WHERE I SHOULD WALK? Have you every asked yourself that question? If you did, was that the right decision? If you didn't walk, why not? ... we didn't answer this question, but we would like to!

What are the reasons things can go wrong?

I didn't care passionately about it.
I was stretching myself too thinly by taking on too many roles within a production.

How do we feel when we know things are going wrong?

State of terror
Worried about other things
Actors put up with this
Should have taken some time off
If you're having a hard time, get out. Inflicting/infecting the room with your paranoia The metal taste of terror in your throat.

What was the legacy of that “failure”

I never want to do a play like that in those circumstances again.
The effects were long-lasting and hard to shake off.
Everyone loved it, but I thought it was a pile of crap. It made me feel like giving up.

How many chances is the theatre community prepared to give you? How many times are you allowed to fail before you're written off?
A: Not many!

What can you do to prevent the “failure” happening again?

Don't do anything simply for money.
Already have a relationship with at least some of the creative team, so they can recognise when you're not dealing well with a situation rather than them feeling you're inherently crap.
Make your expectations clear from the outset.
Don't trust people - don't believe they'll deliver just because they've promised something.
Try and find pleasure in everything you do. We're not paid enough to be doing it for any other reason!

CONTEXT
What's going to work with this group of people at this time in this place?

OBJECTIVE
What do I want to achieve?

If these are in place, your STRATEGY should be easy, clear, fluid.

Should we all adopt this in our work?

An Improbable Prayer.

We will say we don’t know when we don’t know. We will say we are scared when we are scared. We will not pretend everything is ok when it isn’t.

We will never ask a performer to do something we wouldn’t be prepared to do ourselves.
We love performers.
We believe they often know more than the director.

We love the audience.
We believe they often know more than either the performers or the director. Anyone is free to leave at anytime.
It is better to leave than to be there and not really be present.
If someone leaves we will do it.
A comedy store joke in serious theatre is just as valuable as serious theatre at the comedy store.
We will never do something just to be different.
We will be prepared to be obvious.
When things get scary we will stay awake.
When things get scary we will look after each other not ourselves.
We will have a good time.
The audience see everything.

SHOULD WE BE MORE OPEN TO SHARING OUR FAILURES AS WELL AS OUR SUCCESSES?

Tags:

Process, Creativity, process, creativity, failure, vulnerability, success, Success, fear, Failure