Author: Bob Christer

It is just before 9am on Friday morning and Shaun Hartman doesn’t look like a writer who hasn’t slept in over 26 hours. This is the first time Shaun has written for 14/48. His script was submitted just over an hour before the deadline.

The debut word pile is about a band given an opportunity to sell out or stick to their principals.

“I’d written it as a comedy but with a somewhat cynic and nihilistic rant at the end. But then I was very conscious of the fact mine was play number 7 and I wanted to end it on an upbeat note.”

This is a fine balancing act writers have to tread. Not just considering what they want to say in a piece but also where their piece lies in the running order of the night. The first play is like a MC in a comedy club. They come out to set the scene and warm the audience up. A first play which hits the marks can help the others fly higher. The beats in the last play ring out as the audience head home.

Shaun’s play requires a song to play at the end. He says he hasn’t specified what this song would be. “But if it was up to me it would be Love Shack but that’s because it’s my answer to everything.”

We agree Love Shack is easily one of the top three songs ever written.

Last night, after the drawing of the theme, many of the company hit the pub. Sitting in the group were Shaun and fellow writer Matt Beames. Other writers had disappeared but these two hung out in a drinking establishment, notepad in hand. With such a tight deadline why would a writer go to the pub to hang out?

“I had some ideas in the Y when the theme first came out when I was around people. I got a lot of ideas from mingling with people.” He explained further, “If I’ve got absolutely nothing and I go into a hotel room by myself then I don’t trust myself to come up with anything.”

So the pub was an oasis of inspiration. Or was it?

“I was in this weird position where I ccouldn’t quite enjoy myself but I couldn’t sit down and write. I probably should have left a little earlier.”

To anyone who has written, particularly for 14/48, this is a common thread. If you find inspiration you cling to it for dear life. It takes you a while to realise if the inspiration has morphed into a weight on your shoulders and is holding you back.

It is to be expected Shaun will collapse from lack of sleep at any moment but he remains chatty and upbeat. This energy probably comes from the nervousness of what will follow.

“The adrenalin is still going because I don’t know who my director or cast are.” Come 10am he will probably crumple into a heap where he is standing.

So is Shaun happy with the script?

“I’m definitely not unhappy with it because whatever happens it’s my first script for 14/48, I handed it in on time and it’s done so fuck it.” Director Hannah Torrence is nearby and she spins around. “That is genuinely the only criteria for the script. Come 9 o’clock it’s one of our problems.”

There is a chorus of approval. Shaun’s script was chosen by fellow Wolfpacker Fran Richards. They have discussed the script and we await the actors draw. Shaun sits back in his chair, his arm propping up his head. He might not make 10am.

Dave Pitt
5th May 2017. 09:45
@davethepitt

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It is just before 9am on Friday morning and Shaun Hartman doesn’t look like a writer who hasn’t slept in over 26 hours. This is the first time Shaun has written for 14/48. His script was submitted just over an hour before the deadline.

The debut word pile is about a band given an opportunity to sell out or stick to their principals.

“I’d written it as a comedy but with a somewhat cynic and nihilistic rant at the end. But then I was very conscious of the fact mine was play number 7 and I wanted to end it on an upbeat note.”

This is a fine balancing act writers have to tread. Not just considering what they want to say in a piece but also where their piece lies in the running order of the night. The first play is like a MC in a comedy club. They come out to set the scene and warm the audience up. A first play which hits the marks can help the others fly higher. The beats in the last play ring out as the audience head home.

Shaun’s play requires a song to play at the end. He says he hasn’t specified what this song would be. “But if it was up to me it would be Love Shack but that’s because it’s my answer to everything.”

We agree Love Shack is easily one of the top three songs ever written.

Last night, after the drawing of the theme, many of the company hit the pub. Sitting in the group were Shaun and fellow writer Matt Beames. Other writers had disappeared but these two hung out in a drinking establishment, notepad in hand. With such a tight deadline why would a writer go to the pub to hang out?

“I had some ideas in the Y when the theme first came out when I was around people. I got a lot of ideas from mingling with people.” He explained further, “If I’ve got absolutely nothing and I go into a hotel room by myself then I don’t trust myself to come up with anything.”

So the pub was an oasis of inspiration. Or was it?

“I was in this weird position where I ccouldn’t quite enjoy myself but I couldn’t sit down and write. I probably should have left a little earlier.”

To anyone who has written, particularly for 14/48, this is a common thread. If you find inspiration you cling to it for dear life. It takes you a while to realise if the inspiration has morphed into a weight on your shoulders and is holding you back.

It is to be expected Shaun will collapse from lack of sleep at any moment but he remains chatty and upbeat. This energy probably comes from the nervousness of what will follow.

“The adrenalin is still going because I don’t know who my director or cast are.” Come 10am he will probably crumple into a heap where he is standing.

So is Shaun happy with the script?

“I’m definitely not unhappy with it because whatever happens it’s my first script for 14/48, I handed it in on time and it’s done so fuck it.” Director Hannah Torrence is nearby and she spins around. “That is genuinely the only criteria for the script. Come 9 o’clock it’s one of our problems.”

There is a chorus of approval. Shaun’s script was chosen by fellow Wolfpacker Fran Richards. They have discussed the script and we await the actors draw. Shaun sits back in his chair, his arm propping up his head. He might not make 10am.

Dave Pitt
5th May 2017. 09:45
@davethepitt

from Blog – 14/48 Leicester http://ift.tt/2pNuFVG
via IFTTT

It is just before 9am on Friday morning and Shaun Hartman doesn’t look like a writer who hasn’t slept in over 26 hours. This is the first time Shaun has written for 14/48. His script was submitted just over an hour before the deadline.

The debut word pile is about a band given an opportunity to sell out or stick to their principals.

“I’d written it as a comedy but with a somewhat cynic and nihilistic rant at the end. But then I was very conscious of the fact mine was play number 7 and I wanted to end it on an upbeat note.”

This is a fine balancing act writers have to tread. Not just considering what they want to say in a piece but also where their piece lies in the running order of the night. The first play is like a MC in a comedy club. They come out to set the scene and warm the audience up. A first play which hits the marks can help the others fly higher. The beats in the last play ring out as the audience head home.

Shaun’s play requires a song to play at the end. He says he hasn’t specified what this song would be. “But if it was up to me it would be Love Shack but that’s because it’s my answer to everything.”

We agree Love Shack is easily one of the top three songs ever written.

Last night, after the drawing of the theme, many of the company hit the pub. Sitting in the group were Shaun and fellow writer Matt Beames. Other writers had disappeared but these two hung out in a drinking establishment, notepad in hand. With such a tight deadline why would a writer go to the pub to hang out?

“I had some ideas in the Y when the theme first came out when I was around people. I got a lot of ideas from mingling with people.” He explained further, “If I’ve got absolutely nothing and I go into a hotel room by myself then I don’t trust myself to come up with anything.”

So the pub was an oasis of inspiration. Or was it?

“I was in this weird position where I ccouldn’t quite enjoy myself but I couldn’t sit down and write. I probably should have left a little earlier.”

To anyone who has written, particularly for 14/48, this is a common thread. If you find inspiration you cling to it for dear life. It takes you a while to realise if the inspiration has morphed into a weight on your shoulders and is holding you back.

It is to be expected Shaun will collapse from lack of sleep at any moment but he remains chatty and upbeat. This energy probably comes from the nervousness of what will follow.

“The adrenalin is still going because I don’t know who my director or cast are.” Come 10am he will probably crumple into a heap where he is standing.

So is Shaun happy with the script?

“I’m definitely not unhappy with it because whatever happens it’s my first script for 14/48, I handed it in on time and it’s done so fuck it.” Director Hannah Torrence is nearby and she spins around. “That is genuinely the only criteria for the script. Come 9 o’clock it’s one of our problems.”

There is a chorus of approval. Shaun’s script was chosen by fellow Wolfpacker Fran Richards. They have discussed the script and we await the actors draw. Shaun sits back in his chair, his arm propping up his head. He might not make 10am.

Dave Pitt
5th May 2017. 09:45
@davethepitt

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There was speculation this would be a dry festival. The speculation was wrong. A group of Wolverhampton layabouts descended on Leicester for 14/48. They all arrived by 2pm. This left the group with a few hours to kill which were killed in a pub. At 19:26 as we wait for the company meeting to start a group of us are already succumbing to alcohol poisoning. But it’s all good. Nothing to worry about.

Inside the Y the groups gather. Veterans, those who have done the festival before hug and share tales of what they’ve been doing. Virgins, taking part in their first festival, follow a veteran they know like a puppy or sit nervous. Wondering what they’ve let themselves in for. But another veteran will quickly be upon them. Reassuring words will be passed on. This is 14/48. Mutual love and support in abundance.

Bob Christer leads the faithful and the new followers into the fold. We have a light show, a powerpoint presentation and a beer keg. A theme is picked.

As a writer on 14/48 I’ve experienced the nervousness which is the drawing of the theme. On this night I sit back. I only have to walk the General’s dog miles away from the front line. Next to me is Jess Green… writer… front line soldier. She looks pensive. As if she’s about to go on a white knuckle ride for the first time. A look I recognise. The look of a writer waiting for the theme. Hoping and praying for something with scope, life and inspiration.

Bob shouts the theme…

A righteous quest.

In what seems like seconds the groups are split. Writers stand in front of the stage. They talk about journeys.

Does anyone have any ideas?

There are nods around the group. “Yes,” one says, “But we’re not telling you.”

That is understandable. Ideas at this stage are not for sharing. They are for mulling over. Things have to be worked out. Considered.

On stage are the actors. They stand in a circle and a veteran advises them on what they should bring next day. No one is sure what the writers will deliver and in the air seems to hang implications and ideas.

The design team sit around a  table. They talk about some of the things they have access to. No one says what they think the writers or directors will deliver but they second guess while being vague.

The directors sit around another table. A veteran speaks. “Pick one or two things which you make big. Make the rest subtle.” It’s good advice. Tomorrow they pick a script and have to start putting together a show.

Slowly the writers disperse to their houses and hotel rooms. No doubt cups of coffee will be drunk while stress lines grow on the forehead.

Everyone else mingles. We’re 23 hours away from show time. At 9am tomorrow morning we see what the writers have produced.

The energy in the room sparkles. The tapped keg is hit. 7 writers write. A whole lot of people prepare and bask in the love of their fellow creatives.

14/48. There is nothing like it.

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On Tuesday night I sat in the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton and watched a grown man dress as a 1920’s bather, lube himself up and then climb inside a green balloon.

Just take a second to let the previous sentence sink in.

This “performance” was done under the auspices of art and theatre.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday night I will be sharing a hotel room with said balloon inhabiter as we are both taking part in the Leicester festival.

So far I have seen the distended rubber dweller Alex Turner (Not that one) do anti-comedy, develop a theatre piece which results in the audience helping to create the best action film ever and saw him climb into a huge green balloon. He is probably as close to Vivian Stanshall as I’ll ever get. All of these things have been utterly brilliant and resulted in much giggle juice falling from my seeing baubles rendering them next to useless.

Alex Turner (Not that one) is also tea-total, an amazing actor and sports a physique even Johnny McClean would have to say was impressive. Quite what he’s doing sharing a hotel room with is unfathomable but also the plot to a semi-successful BBC4 sitcom. I will be played by Johnny Vegas and Alex Turner (Not that one) played by Michael Fassbender in a green balloon. Critics would draw parallels to his performance in Frank. This says all you need to know about critics.

Alex Turner (Not that one) has been encouraged to bring the balloon along to 14/48. I have thought about the minimum amount of alcohol I would have to consume before thinking it would be a good idea for me to get inside the balloon. It’s a shockingly low amount. Only a couple of extra beers or a shot of gin would convince me it was a good idea to get in the balloon with Alex Turner (Not that one). I mentioned this to writer and walking facial topiary model Matt Beames who is staying in the same hotel. He reckons there will be a commotion outside his room. He will look outside and see a huge green balloon bouncing down the corridor with two grown men laughing inside. Even if this doesn’t happen Beamsey owes it to 14/48 folklore to say it did.

And this is a crucial point of 14/48. It’s not just about the stories which make up the 14 world premier plays delivered in 48 hours. It’s also about the stories of the participants and what they get up to. It’s about the morning breakfasts in chain pubs. It’s about racing across town to source swimming hats. It’s about climbing security fences to escape halls of residence at 6.30am on Sunday morning because you got locked in.

Sometimes what happens off stage is weirder than what happens on stage. So when a traveller in a local complains about a huge green balloon upsetting their sleep it might be an idea to check if it’s 14/48 weekend.

Dave Pitt
4th May 2017. 8:16
@davethepitt

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14/48 Leicester is getting closer. We’re a day away from the first all company meeting.

The panic has set in.

Not a panic because I have a mission critical job which I feel I can’t do. The panic I’ve forgotten something or, more importantly, got something wrong. I did book the hotel for the right days, didn’t I? I did book the train ticket for the right place and destination, didn’t I? Crikey, I did book the right hotel, didn’t I?

I’m also going over words and phrases in my head. I don’t want the blog to be a constant stream of me saying, “This is {insert name here} and they are fucking awesome.” The trouble is the people I know doing the festival are fucking awesome and it’s difficult to think of new ways to say “fucking awesome” when you want to be both accurate and equal across the board.

There is also the fear of my own strange and individual humour. Some of you may think Neil Reading keeps bees, Liam Thornton’s real name is Greg or Pove reads Maeve Binchy novels. These are all little white lies I started to amuse myself and twist a conversational carriage off the tracks. There is no rhyme or reason to it and I give little thought to what I’m going to say until I’ve said it. From Thursday to Sunday I have a blog, an audience and a self imposed word count. It’s safe to say, I can’t be trusted.

I want to do 14/48 Leicester proud. I might just be blogging but I want to create a blog which is informative, entertaining and something else to complete the three part list.

So yes, I’m panicking. But I’ve checked and the hotel is right. The train ticket is right. I know words and I’ll put something like “at least one fact in this post is made up.”

It’ll be fine… But I’m still panicking. The thing is… Those jeans I’m wearing on Thursday… Does my belly look big in them?

Dave Pitt
3rd May 2017. 20:15
@davethepitt

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So we’re one day away from the launch night of May 2017’s 14/48 Leicester, and we have something else to throw into the mix to make this festival even more interesting…

We’d been toying with the idea for a while based on some discussions with our American (and West Mids) counterparts and are pleased to announce that this festival will be gender neutral.

So, what the hell does that mean?

Well, each festival our writers are set a brief to write a 10 minute play, based on the theme that was pulled form a hat. The only other information they get, is where their play will fit in the running order, and the number of male and female actors they are writing for. But why… why do we give them a number of genders to write for? We don’t categorise the actors in any other way; race, sexuality, religion, so why gender? Well, let’s find out what happens… is it possible for our writers to create a ten minute piece of theatre overnight, without this piece of info? Will we end up with seven plays about amorphous sci-fi entities, will it prove difficult to form narrative without relying on some of the cliched stereotypes formed by the relationships between ‘men’ and ‘women’?

Personally, nah… I think it’ll be fine. Because I trust the creative process, and I’m a bit of a hippy; but the only way to find out is to do this thing and pull it apart afterwards. So, if you come to watch this weekend, and have an opinion on how our gender neutral experiment worked out. Give us a shout, comment on here, hit us up on twitter or facebook, and let’s see what we learn. Other than that, let’s make theatre, drink beer and have a good time.

Cheers. @bobchrister

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In 4 days time I board a train in Wolverhampton and make the short, cross country jaunt into Leicester.

It is another of the 14/48 Festival and for the first time ever I will be blogging. Blogging is an odd discipline for 14/48. If 14/48 was a war blogging would be a person stationed at the front line but their sole job is to take the general’s dog for a walk out of range of enemy tanks. For everyone else the pressure is on. Bullets and missiles will fly past their faces and landmines will threaten to blow apart their weak and precious leg twigs. I’ll be walking a small dog. While elsewhere people have to pull out their A game to make the show a success I can, quite literally, leave the dog tied up to a lamppost with a bowl of water and some Winnalot and the show will be unaffected. A substandard script will destroy a weekend for scores of people. A substandard blog will be ignored and forgotten.

This results in people, myself included, believing me blogging will result in my base camp being constructed next to the keg. I will then proceed to indulge in a weekend of alcoholic destruction not seen since Keith Moon and Oliver Reed once suggested popping down the boozer for a couple. You know, that boozer with a hotel next to it, a swimming pool on the ground floor and let’s drive there in my Bentley.

I’m aware within Wolverhampton and Leicester I have a reputation for “hitting the keg”. This is partially true and partially false. I’ve always, without fail, produced a script. I may have been a little drunk before writing and I may have been very drunk after writing but while writing I am sober, alert and busy delivering the goods. As everyone else hits the keg with some wild abandon on Thursday night I am tucked away writing. As they hit the key on Friday night I am tucked away writing.

And yes, come Saturday morning at 10am once all the writing duties are out the way, I hit the keg. I hit the keg hard. Captain America’s shield against the face of a non-American while disregarding basic rights for those suspected of criminal activity hard.

At the last 14/48 festival in Wolverhampton there is a 20 minute video of me, face painted white, half standing, half staggering in front of a camera while I’m asked questions. I don’t know why my face was painted white. I’d written a script about sperm and the actors playing sperm had their faces painted white so I assume it was a desire of mine of fit in. I remember nothing of being filmed and refuse to watch the video. I live with myself 24/7 and more of me will not lead to an advancement towards Nirvana. But the point is, I’d written the script. Three sperm looking for an egg which was a metaphor for the EU referendum. I reckon I deserved to hit the keg hard after accomplishing such a feat.

But this time, I’m blogging. I see my job as letting the audience behind the magicians cloth. But also letting the people taking part behind the cloths they don’t see. What’s it like being in the band? In the design team? Being an actor? Doing lighting? Sound? Directing? A writer? The only thing I can’t find out is, “What’s it like realising you’re a turkey in a Dave Pitt play?”

Which leads to the question… when can I hit the keg? Yes, I could let the blogging slip by but anyone who knows me will realise I can’t do that. The blog has to be the best it can be. It has to reverberate around 14/48 and cause people to notice, appreciate and hell… even love the blogs. I can’t do that if I’ve got a white painted face and am unable to stand up.

To me the magic of 14/48 is the whole weekend and the job of the blogger is to document the weekend. It begins as I board the train and ends as I walk back into my house on Sunday afternoon. It includes all aspects of the weekend including the keg hitting. But I’m not sure I can hit the keg and successfully document the hitting of the keg by others. I’m not Hunter S Thompson.

As a writer I’m used to feeling like I’m not part of society and instead peering over the wall and looking in. I wonder if 14/48 Leicester will see me standing back, watching in a non-participatory way? Will it be a relatively “dry” festival?

In four days… we will find out.

Dave Pitt
30th April 2017. 14:15
@davethepitt

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In 4 days time I board a train in Wolverhampton and make the short, cross country jaunt into Leicester.

It is another of the 14/48 Festival and for the first time ever I will be blogging. Blogging is an odd discipline for 14/48. If 14/48 was a war blogging would be a person stationed at the front line but their sole job is to take the general’s dog for a walk out of range of enemy tanks. For everyone else the pressure is on. Bullets and missiles will fly past their faces and landmines will threaten to blow apart their weak and precious leg twigs. I’ll be walking a small dog. While elsewhere people have to pull out their A game to make the show a success I can, quite literally, leave the dog tied up to a lamppost with a bowl of water and some Winnalot and the show will be unaffected. A substandard script will destroy a weekend for scores of people. A substandard blog will be ignored and forgotten.

This results in people, myself included, believing me blogging will result in my base camp being constructed next to the keg. I will then proceed to indulge in a weekend of alcoholic destruction not seen since Keith Moon and Oliver Reed once suggested popping down the boozer for a couple. You know, that boozer with a hotel next to it, a swimming pool on the ground floor and let’s drive there in my Bentley.

I’m aware within Wolverhampton and Leicester I have a reputation for “hitting the keg”. This is partially true and partially false. I’ve always, without fail, produced a script. I may have been a little drunk before writing and I may have been very drunk after writing but while writing I am sober, alert and busy delivering the goods. As everyone else hits the keg with some wild abandon on Thursday night I am tucked away writing. As they hit the key on Friday night I am tucked away writing.

And yes, come Saturday morning at 10am once all the writing duties are out the way, I hit the keg. I hit the keg hard. Captain America’s shield against the face of a non-American while disregarding basic rights for those suspected of criminal activity hard.

At the last 14/48 festival in Wolverhampton there is a 20 minute video of me, face painted white, half standing, half staggering in front of a camera while I’m asked questions. I don’t know why my face was painted white. I’d written a script about sperm and the actors playing sperm had their faces painted white so I assume it was a desire of mine of fit in. I remember nothing of being filmed and refuse to watch the video. I live with myself 24/7 and more of me will not lead to an advancement towards Nirvana. But the point is, I’d written the script. Three sperm looking for an egg which was a metaphor for the EU referendum. I reckon I deserved to hit the keg hard after accomplishing such a feat.

But this time, I’m blogging. I see my job as letting the audience behind the magicians cloth. But also letting the people taking part behind the cloths they don’t see. What’s it like being in the band? In the design team? Being an actor? Doing lighting? Sound? Directing? A writer? The only thing I can’t find out is, “What’s it like realising you’re a turkey in a Dave Pitt play?”

Which leads to the question… when can I hit the keg? Yes, I could let the blogging slip by but anyone who knows me will realise I can’t do that. The blog has to be the best it can be. It has to reverberate around 14/48 and cause people to notice, appreciate and hell… even love the blogs. I can’t do that if I’ve got a white painted face and am unable to stand up.

To me the magic of 14/48 is the whole weekend and the job of the blogger is to document the weekend. It begins as I board the train and ends as I walk back into my house on Sunday afternoon. It includes all aspects of the weekend including the keg hitting. But I’m not sure I can hit the keg and successfully document the hitting of the keg by others. I’m not Hunter S Thompson.

As a writer I’m used to feeling like I’m not part of society and instead peering over the wall and looking in. I wonder if 14/48 Leicester will see me standing back, watching in a non-participatory way? Will it be a relatively “dry” festival?

In four days… we will find out.

Dave Pitt
30th April 2017. 14:15
@davethepitt

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So Donald Trump is all over the news as he tries to become CEO of the United States of America Inc.

But… here’s a whole bunch of reasons not to leave him alone with your last Jammie Dodger…

1. A whole heap of contradictions…

The guy just can’t help himself, he opens his mouth, and boom…

2. Interchangeable facial features…

Swap his eyes and mouth and… hang on… have you done it yet?…

3. He’s never been to 14/48…

That’s right, he’s never been to see the World’s Quickest Theatre Festival… so don’t be like Donald… Make Leicester Great Again and join us at The Y Theatre, Leicester on 18th and 19th November

Sorry.. but you gotta attract attention somehow…

Here’s some more creepy Drumpf pics to keep you sweet…

Hope to see you in Leicester!

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