It was a big chicken shop for a small dragon who had only just arrived, couldn’t see properly through the greasy windows, and, above all, couldn’t roar as – his father had said – all proper dragons should be able to do.
“Really wonderful! I had so much fun…well done everyone.”
“[The director] did an amazing job in writing a charming story that allowed participation at all levels, and brought the audience in too. ”
The Dragon and the Wizadress. Modern Melodramatic Storytelling (2018)
for women with learning disabilities and other artists
The project was funded by GROUNDWORK CultureSeeds.
in collaboration with POWERHOUSE for women with learning disabilities
Project Description: A dragon in a chicken shop
THE DRAGON AND THE WIZADRESS was an interactive melodramatic story performance about a little dragon who goes to a chicken shop in South East London, because (s)he hopes to find a proper dragon roar there. The performers were women with learning disabilities and their volunteers from the East London charity POWERHOUSE. The performance took place at Canning Town Library.
The idea is to develop this project about self-acceptance and non-normative speech into a community project for young adults: I’m planning to collaborate with a short film animator to translate the story into a video clip and develop a performance workshop around it that involves the participants and helps them to discover and, perhaps, accept their own dragons and individual ways of roaring.
Theatrical Concept: Female empowerment and melodrama genre conventions for a disability context
I called the project a melodramatic storytelling performance, because it uses soundscapes and songs to illustrate the story and to heighten emotions in the gendered tradition of 19th century melodrama. Likewise, the set-up of the chairs in a semi-circle on the stage reinvents 19th century variety conventions for a disability theatre context. Elements of the performance were devised during a one week performing arts summer school in sessions together with guest artists. I wrote and directed the story and co-facilitated the workshop week.
The project is representative of my work as a facilitator and director for non-mainstream music theatre because it shows how I use techniques such as audience interaction, popular forms of music theatre making and a quirky aesthetic to create an accessible piece of theatre that tries to innovate traditional forms. My directing approach is also informed by the conventions of classical text-based work and the sensitivity of dramatherapy.
“Talking to Florian made me feel less nervous.”
