And out comes ... a recorder?

When booking the Mobilise! event, I had no idea what it would entail. Me being me, a seemingly logical person, I assumed from the title that it would revolve around technology and physical theatre. However, it was not until 7 o’clock on a Tuesday evening when I was sitting in a performance space that I realised what I was witnessing (or hearing, rather): sound.

It was during the second act that I realised I was in awe of the talent being shown. The performance centred around the noise and music of a Nintendo game; the sounds were recorded and manipulated in a way that created a layered track, each noise being presented in a way that still allowed it to be heard. Then, one of the two performers brandished a recorder, seemingly out of nowhere (seriously, it was quite the surprise when the plastic instrument was played.) Oddly enough, this slightly bizarre moment was when I became utterly engaged.

While I admit I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I was pleasantly surprised by the ingenuity of the performances, as the specific manipulation of sounds was something I had never encountered before.

To learn more about the Moblise! event, click here.

Aimee Carter

Lisa Holdsworth's advice: "don't be a d*ck"

More inspiration for the aspiring TV writer came in Lisa Holdsworth’s account of her career, peppered - of course - with hilarious anecdotes about how she got where she is today. And it was just as entertaining as you would expect from someone writing for television. After all, this woman is a storyteller, not afraid to turn meta in the way that she structured her own life story, and the wisdom she imparted was filled with gems.

Top line of advice for those wanting to break into the elusive business? Well,  “don’t be a d*ck,” according to Holdsworth. It’s certain she takes her own advice. Hearing how one tawdry script which took her years to perfect led to lucrative work on soap operas and highfalutin BBC dramas was enough to spark something within even the most sceptical dreamer amid the crowd, which included a broad spectrum of aspirers.

More advice? Plentiful. Slacking off is actually work, I learned, for you’re merely allowing the backdoor, creative-processor of your brain to churn out the real gold in its own time. And of course beware public meddling, for “there’s always a story behind a bad show”.

It’s sad that this business is so destined around who you know as opposed to what you know, and true characters such as Holdsworth definitely seem worth knowing in such a brutal, cutthroat, amazing industry. I can’t wait.

J. D. Gardner