LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL: FIRST MEETING

On Thursday (19/10/06) Things On Fire resurrected the play Love is a Dog from Hell by meeting for the first time since the summer to re-ignite the unfinished work. Liz came from Southampton to become involved for the first time in the rehearsal process. I had relucentatly put the play to bed for practical reasons but now see a new opportunity to bring in fresh blood and produce the work alongside my research at Wimbledon. The puppets (one of which is shown above) have been made and I intend to work on the mechanisms through workshops with the actors and in consultation with Beth who is now working towards qualifications in costume construction.This week I will sketch out a rough production plan and will meet with Beth for a rethink of the puppet construction.

Love is a Dog from Hell is a response to the life and works of Charles Bukowski. I have been playing around with various poems and bits of text for over a year with the intention of forming a more complete piece. It is my intention to explore the realist beat writing of Bukowski through the ‘unrealistic’ (or should this be un-naturalistic?) convention of the puppet. Due to the nature of these particular puppets I will also locate the puppet/performer relationship in the broader framework of my research concerning the doppelganger.

The meeting was short but productive, I was able to video Joe working with the puppet and realise the advantage of documenting the process. This is the start of a new phase for Things On Fire (if indeed this will continue to be our name). I will update the progress of this work along with my individual research.