I felt privileged to be warmly welcomed as Papertrail Associate Artist onto day two of the Creative Stages course, and to listen to some of the honest and inspiring conversations taking place between directors and interpreters. And it was a delightful surprise to run into Katie Fenwick, one of the interpreters on the course, who I worked with just last year on a play called ‘The Luminous’, that I wrote and performed in for RedCape Theatre company. Working with Katie on this production had given me an insight into just how multi-faceted and complex the interpreter’s job is.
Attending Creative Stages showed me how truly numerous and potent the possibilities are. It was exciting to watch the directors and interpreters workshop scenes together, and to see how many layers can be unveiled in a text by working creatively with interpreters. I watched scenes where the interpreter became doppelgänger, daemon, mirror, comic sidekick, critic, twin, temptress, protector, provocateur, soul, spy, judge, poltergeist, Mother Nature, God… the possibilities felt infinite. Observing from the perspective of a writer, I reflected on how this potential could be harnessed by me as a playwright. It feels like a compelling prospect that I would love to explore and discuss with others… a Creative Stages for writers next, perhaps?