ALICE LEVINE:'I'm Alice Levine, and I'm most definitely not an actress. But I've been asked to perform, for one night only, in War Horse, on the West End. I have no idea what I'm doing,'
ALICE LEVINE:Oh lord.
ALICE LEVINE:'So I have to learn everything I can before I take to the stage.'
ALICE LEVINE:Go War Horse!
ALICE LEVINE:'And today it's all about multimedia.'
ALICE LEVINE:Another day, another dollar, and by that I mean, another lesson, to get me ready for my performance for my stage debut. And today is all about multimedia, so where better to come than the home of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a show that brings its story to life using an incredible array of multimedia.
KAFFE KEATING:My name is Christopher John Francis Boone and I see everything.
ALICE LEVINE:Kaffe, thank you so much for giving us some time
KAFFE KEATING:That's alright.
ALICE LEVINE:ahead of the show. You obviously play Christopher.
KAFFE KEATING:Christopher sees the world in a very unique way, and one day he finds his neighbour's doghas been murdered with a pitchfork. Which he decides to investigate.
ALICE LEVINE:I need to pick your brains a little bit, because I need to not only learn about the world of theatre, but specifically about you as an actor working with multimedia.
KAFFE KEATING:Okay.
ALICE LEVINE:How does it enhance your performance having that extra video element?
KAFFE KEATING:Really helps you, as an actor, feel like you're inside those moments. If you want to we can go have a look at one of my favourite bits and we can see how it works on stage.
ALICE LEVINE:You sure?
KAFFE KEATING:Yeah.
ALICE LEVINE:Okay.
KAFFE KEATING:Yeah.
ALICE LEVINE:What are we doing, what scene are we in?
KAFFE KEATING:Okay so we, we've just, we're running away from dad's house and we're trying to get to London.
ALICE LEVINE:So do you feel maybe that light and video allows you to do that summoning and that magic in a way that other stuff doesn't?
KAFFE KEATING:Yeah! Because obviously it's so malleable, because it's all done through projection it means you can kind of get whatever you need.
ALICE LEVINE:Yeah.
KAFFE KEATING:As, as-- Not only in Christopher's head but also theatrically, which, despite the amazing things you can do with set design, you are limited, to a degree, in what's actually physically possible in the world.
ALICE LEVINE:Of course, yeah.
KAFFE KEATING:Whereas with video and multimedia stuff, you can get whatever you want.
ALICE LEVINE:'Now I've seen the stage in action, it's time to meet the man who put it all together.'
ALICE LEVINE:Finn, thank you so much for having me, and letting me sit on this lovely stage. What is your exact role?
FINN ROSS:I'm the video designer for Curious Incident, so my job is making all the video content that you can see on the walls around us. And then working with the director, set designer, lighting designer, sound designer, costume designer, to bring it all together into one complete world.
FINN ROSS:It's more about a collaboration, and making something that is part of a greater whole.
ALICE LEVINE:What are the restrictions of being a video designer?
FINN ROSS:Well, budget is a big one, because it's not the cheapest thing in the world to do. The equipment is expensive. But restrictions are good. They make you creative when you have to be.
ALICE LEVINE:So some of the in Curious are non-naturalistic, what does that mean?
FINN ROSS:It means we go inside Christopher's head. The play exists between the natural world in which we all live, that he is in, and then the play goes into a world where we're feeling and experiencing the world as Christopher is,
FINN ROSS:so we're not seeing through our everyday eyes, we're seeing things heightened. So you could do it without video, but you wouldn't have such a rich experience.
ALICE LEVINE:So, for your job, what kind of research do you have to do, and I presume that changes from production to production.
FINN ROSS:Yeah. So, for this show I certainly looked at it meant to have Autistic Spectrum Disorder, and what that meant for the individual, how they perceive the world, 'cause that's clearly a large part of it is explaining how Christopher sees the world.
ALICE LEVINE:So, do you might maybe showing me some of your work and some of the pieces that you've done for the show?
FINN ROSS:Yeah, no problem.
ALICE LEVINE:Is that okay?
FINN ROSS:This is one of my favourite bits of the show. We call it "Swindon Fives", and I think it's just interesting 'cause it's a great interaction between light and video, and there's just, there's so much going on that it's a real assault on the senses, and a big assault on Christopher's senses. We can be anywhere really, really quickly and never hold the audience up, it snaps and goes along, and I think the actors really get into that as well.
ALICE LEVINE:Meeting Finn and Kaffe has made me realise the impact that multimedia can have and how much it can help you enhance a story. Sometimes, when you're putting on a production, you're not gonna have the world in front of you that you need. But multimedia can give you the key to unlock a thousand other worlds.
ALICE LEVINE:'But I've also learned that multimedia can be a great tool to enhance storytelling. It can be non-naturalistic, creating meaning for the audience. Remember to work collaboratively, and ensure you research any themes, or historical cultural influences that might be appropriate.'
ALICE LEVINE:I'm not sure I'm going to be faced with quite so much multimedia in War Horse. But what it has made me do is think out of the box. So now all that's left to do is sit here and wait for the show to start. In three and a half hours.
Radio 1 presenter Alice Levine meets Kaffe Keating, the actor who plays Christopher in the hit West End play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, to learn how using video and lighting design can enhance storytelling.
Kaffe shows her some of the effects from this highly technological production, and explains how they can be more flexible than naturalistic design.
Alice then talks to Finn Ross, the video designer for the production.
He explains that budget limitations can mean creative challenges, and that video and lighting can be excellent ways of telling a story in a non-naturalistic way.
Teacher Notes
Students could consider how they would use multimedia to enhance a performance that they have created.
They could take a scene from a play that they are studying and consider how to use light, projection and music to communicate a theme within it.
They could try putting this into practice and evaluating the impact that this has on the performers and the audience.
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be useful for teaching Drama or Theatre Studies, particularly theatre design, at Key Stage 4 and above in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and National 4/5 and above in Scotland. It could also be useful for people of any age preparing for an acting role.
More from Alice's Journey to Wonderland
Developing a character (pt 1/8) video
Alice visits the set of soap opera Hollyoaks to find out how the actors there create their characters. She learns to think about her character's backstory and the influences that affect her.
Using your voice (pt 2/8) video
Alice takes a voice lesson from Ben Aldridge, star of BBC One's Our Girl to learn more about using her voice in performance.
Set and costume (pt 3/8) video
Alice visits the set of hit West End musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to find out how the elaborate set was designed, and how set and costume help tell the story.
Improvisation techniques (pt 4/8) video
Alice visits the Comedy Store in London and learns some improvisation techniques from actor / comedian Isy Suttie (Dobby from Peep Show).
Working with a Director (pt 6/8) video
Alice visits the set of CBBC drama Wolfblood and talks to actor Jacqueline Boatswain who plays Victoria Sweeney about how to get the most out of working with a director.
Preparing for a role (pt 7/8) video
It's almost time for Alice Levine to make her West End debut in War Horse. She gets some last minute tips from lead actor James Backway and gets on her costume and makeup.
The big performance (pt 8/8) video
Alice is finally ready to rehearse for her West End debut in War Horse. She works through her lines and character with the director and other actors, before performing.
