Research before work

For me, researching by going and experiencing is a new way of working, as you may have read in previous blogs we went on a research trip to Newlyn Cornwall, and whilst we met many people and experienced new things and learnt about trawling and fishing, it was the finer details of the way in which the fisherman operated, the sights we took in and the sense of team and companionship that got me interested and well... excited about devising a show around trawling and the fishing industry.

All of which have informed our work and in fact the way in which the characters do their actions. By this I mean that whilst devising and creating we have lots of ideas flowing and flying around but most of the time we then say "hang on, how about when we saw so and so do this" or when "they moved in complete unison". This anchor (excuse the pun) of research that we gained in the first instance continually informs the work. Of course we take some "artistic licence" in some aspects but the research at the beginning has enhanced our knowledge of trawling which in turn has changed our rehearsal process. We wanted to avoid the classic fishing tale of "all in yellow waders" "folk song" (not that they are wrong because I’ve seen many great shows like that) but because in modern day fishing that just didn't happen... well at least what I saw it didn’t happen. "Do you sing when you work" I asked a fisherman... to which he turned whilst exhaling a cigarette and said "do I look like a singer then?"... fair point, not really I thought! Conversations of having text in the show was something we discussed early on and it was soon something we wanted to limit a lot because whilst out trawling one of the fisherman said to me "if you wasn’t here today we wouldn't be talking to each other". This was a comment that has stuck in my head throughout. The only language I observed was the subtle nods as crew passed, the winks, the inaudible shouts whilst hauling the net and of course the fish as they clattered the deck. These are the little moments that I enjoy capturing the most and the subtle difference of taking the research and experienced gained into a live puppetry performance. Jonagold over and out!