Deep Contemplation

So I've been thinking... What a way to open a blog about contemplation. I'll cut to the chase. I now think I'm a safe distance away from 'Boy Banned' (at least for now anyway...is that a rumour of another season???)to think about the piece with a deeper understanding for the character and the play itself, which perhaps will come to the front during the next production of the show. To understand what I'm about to say you need a brief storyline. It's 1997, 'Boyz R Uz' have just been formed by the god-like record producer Ricky. Mike, Jay, Stew and Freeze are the members of the band- two's a couple, three's a crowd, four's a boy band. Ricky thinks he is on to a hit...and the 'Boyz' seem to start out that way. In actual fact they are pretty poor. How do you fix a problem...the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Bye Bye Stew. But is Stew the weakest link in 'Boyz R Uz'. (To summarise the plot further Stew works his way back into the band, only to have it split up again.) Here is where I'd like to begin my thinking...turning 'Boy Banned' much deeper than originally planned. Is Stew the weakest link? What are the faults of the other characters? Was this depth planned at all in the making? And how does coincidental events effect the play? You're about to find out. Is Stew the weakest link? 'Jay' states that Stew lacks the dancing and lip syncing abilities, 'Mike' states he doesn't have the looks, 'Freeze' just thinks he's pretty average. That is what those characters believe, from their perspective. Ego was always going to be an underlying factor in 'Boy Banned' but it is the 'Boyz' ego's and the probably unseen persuasion of Ricky that forces Stew from the band, from the false pretence of 'He's Not Good Enough...the fans find him boring'. The audience isn't given an insight into Ricky's decision, and it is only ever stated that the 'Boyz' leave him behind. The Audience also isn't truly aware of Stew's capabilities. Lip Sync and dancing are off but Jay reveals that other people record the songs and they just lip sync along on the night. Is Stew hiding a hidden gift? Can he really sing? Is that how he got into the band in the first place? So what are the faults of the other characters? Well at the end of the play when the band does begin to sing again we find out that Jay can't sing, he has issues with live singing and his 'lip syncing abilities take a back foot'. (Yes Josh stuffed up the line and said back foot!) Mike is to driven by ego and the idea that fame will get him all the girls he wants, talented- probably, but his ego is his downfall. Freeze, the ever truthful member of the band is simply in it for the money. (He does have a kick ass falsetto though ;) ) So really any member of the band could have been kicked out by Ricky...but why Stew...was there a bigger goal in mind...was there some mystic power at play that kicked Stew from the band. Time to further explore the role of the 'godlike' Ricky. Ricky as God is something that Jarrod, the director of the show, didn't want to push too much, and it's true I may have written the references a bit too heavy. Ricky is always a voice, never seen on stage. But taking divine power on board it is possible that Ricky had a further plan for Stew, for him to leave the band, learn how to sing and return again to help the group become super stars. This is how the plot turns out in the end. (Although stars fade...) Stew is a scapegoat in the eyes of the other 'Boyz' they can put their weaknesses on him, he takes the blame, the fans accept this and then a new looking 'Boyz R Uz' is formed. All for the possible better. But it's a tough competition, and the divine intervention of Ricky helps save his band. Which is probably losing money. So was this depth all originally planned? No...not really. This piece was mainly experimental. A cheap, solo show we could whip up, produce, present and maybe take home some extra spending money for the holidays. Did we expect it to be the challenge it became...ugh not as much as it was! Do we love the thought of insurance now... Sorry I'm getting sidetracked. Depth wasn't really there. We describe the play as an extended sketch...and really that's all the original version was. But now with a deeper look into the characters I could easily apply what I've learnt about the characters I created and re-do the play with a completely different emotional feel to it. Make the 2D character of Stew into a 3D character. Should I have done this originally with the aid of Jarrod...possibly, but time was a killer and we wanted a show. We got a show, and now our little baby is growing up, becomming mature...still in a comic way though! So how about coincidence? Well I've already mentioned we've learnt stuff. One of that is recording our own songs and making our own songs. Lyrically we're very proud. Our songs make us wet ourselves. When it came to recording we recorded 'Love Drought' first off...and you can tell. Audio levels and vocal pitch is so off in this song...but consider its place in the show. A newly emerging Boy Band...and one that is pretty average because of their faults. Song that come after that are much clearer (Na would probably disagree... :) ) The voices seem to gell better as the band becomes better. It's safe to say none of us are the world's best singers/songrwriters. We tried our best, we're happy with the results and I think the growth in our ability and in the end the change in way we recorded our songs is reflected very well in the piece and definately allowed us to show a change in the band. So coincidence...yeah it's good! As a playwright I now reconisder what 'Boy Banned' means. It's a show about continuing to fight, even though all those around you think you can't do it. (Aka the first show I put on.) It's about realising that everyone has faults, but it's coming to terms with that and using each others strengths to overcome this. It's about showing who you are, following your passions and achieving goals. And when I think about it...'Boy Banned' is really something quite special.