Wednesday 6 July 2011

Quick Quiz: #20 Laura Eades

1. Where are you working at present?

Next week we are rehearsing Holiday at Camden People's Theatre, in their basement rehearsal room. Some might say that rehearsing in a lightless underground room is unseasonal - I say, a windowless room is exactly what you need when rehearsing a show in the total nude while pregnant. It's about the body, and it's brazen, but the last thing you want is window-shoppers. And it's a huge privilege to have the development of our work supported by CPT - a fringe theatre that is so committed to new and experimental work.
 
2. Describe your occupation and why you love it.

I'm director of the theatre company The Honourable Society of Faster Craftswomen. Sometimes I write or perform as in Holiday, but mainly I bring together new collaborations project by project - and it's that that I really love - the feeling of being in great company - as well as the wonderful 'society' of the audience when we finally get to a show. 

3. Who do you most enjoy working with and why?

It's different every time. This time around, I'm excited to be working with two directors: Sara Kewly from the company Little Wonder, and Elgiva Field, who has a company called Oblique House and works a lot with Punchdrunk. The people I work with tend to be interested in experimental theatre and live art, and in what it means to forge an intimate relationship with an audience. 

4. What's your dream day?

I've never been one for taking it easy, so being pregnant has been a very different pace for me. But I do love to swim so today's job - preparing for rehearsal by learning lines lying beside Brockwell Lido - is the perfect mix of activity and lounging. Also, I get to photosynthesise as much as possible in advance of basement rehearsals. 

5. Favourite ever show and why?

EVER? That's a bit tricky. You can't really compare the immersion of going around Punchdrunk's Faust in a Wapping warehouse to, say, the irony of the dancing in Forced Entertainment's The Thrill of it All, or the surreality of some of the events Lone Twin have initiated, or the lovely at-ease feeling of watching Daniel Kitson tell rambling stories. Tim Crouch's The Author was the most ground-breaking thing I saw last year. 

6. Favourite actor/actress and why?

I don't tend to go for people with an acting style so much as a way of addressing an audience that feels natural and without pretence, albeit when it's a persona. I saw Ursula Martinez's Family Outing when I was 17, and it altered my mind forever. 
7. Favourite band/musical artist and why?

I love Clinic, they sound faintly dangerous. This year's obsession: Anna Calvi. 

8. Where do you see yourself in 25 years?

In 25 years I will be 57 and I hope to be making theatre whose form is defined by whatever parameters our lives present at that point! I hope I always get to team up with wonderful artists. I don't wish to still be making autobiographical work though ... after Holiday, I feel like turning my attention outwards for a while. I'm going to be a parent - it's not all about me any more. 

9. Any exciting future projects you'd like to mention?

This year I'll be making theatre in between looking after a newborn. To fit with this time, I'm going to launch an Honourable Society of Faster Craftswomen project which is about experimenting with new and much looser kinds of collaboration - whatever's possible in between feeds - ones that use the internet, the postal service, skype, writing, drawing, talking, the stuff of life. 

10. Random one: what's your favorite cheese?

Stilton. Goat. Gorgonzola. Camembert. All the wonderful, pungent, honking, farmyard cheese you're not allowed while pregnant. I swear, when it's breastfeeding time it's gonna be cheese cheese cheese all the way. This child of mine is not going to be fed on milk, more a kind of homemade breast fondue. 

11. Do you have Twitter? Do you follow @the_prompt? You should... 

Yes we should. and you should follow @TheHSFC

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