Ruby Gaskell

Ruby Gaskell is a circus artist, she graduated from the National Centre for Circus Arts, London in 2017. Her main disciplines are Dance Trapeze, and combining movement with the art of contortion. She also has a background in designing for theatre and live performance, where she discovered a love for devising.

Tell us a little about yourself?

“I enjoy the meeting of different art forms, and I tend to use my circus skills out of the ordinary context of the 'circus' genre. I love being involved in a collaborative creative process where anything can happen. Which is what makes me most excited about the creation of Lovewright - Combining theatre, live music, puppetry and circus, is creating something truly unique and multi faceted.“

What are you most looking forward to about the second week of R&D?

“I am looking forward to seeing how the show takes shape, and the feedback from children - hearing what speaks to them and the reactions to the way we tell the story. We perform the story without text really; instead we are using visuals, our bodies and music, and I love the playful quality that is forming.”

Loren O’Dair

Loren trained at a theatre school in Paris called Ecole Jacques Lecoq, which focuses on physical theatre and creating new work. She comes from a family of musicians, so she plays lots of instruments!  Alongside performing in the show, she is devising the music for Lovewright.

How do you go about writing Music for a show like Lovewright?

“I write music in a way that comes directly from the story, and from images or themes in the show. In Lovewright, there are three (or possibly four!) characters, so I was thinking about a different musical theme for each person, each on a different instrument. We have also been playing with sounds that we can make, either with the instruments or using everyday objects, to accompany some of the action that the characters do.”

What are you most looking forward to about the second week of R&D?

“Last week Ruby created a piece of movement as the cat, which I then accompanied with a live improvisation on the violin. I started by playing with my bow, but the second time round I put my bow down and plucked the strings, which seemed to suit the playful, bendy, small cat that arrives in a new place and starts to explore.  I am really excited to try ideas like this out for the first time in front of people, some things are impossible to know if they work or not until you have got them in front of a live audience.”

Joseph Richardson

Joseph is originally from Lincolnshire and trained at the Guildford School of Acting.  Since then, he has performed all over the country in various productions including War Horse and Sunny Afternoon.  He works in Universities and Drama Schools and also for the National Theatre teaching puppetry and running workshops.

How has the process been so far?

“The process has involved throwing lots of ideas into the mix to discover the most interesting way to tell the story, so that it's clear, accessible and fun to watch.  It's a room filled with different skills from all involved; music, singing, puppetry, juggling and trapeze work to name but a few!”

What are you most looking forward to about the second week of R&D?

“I'm really looking forward to seeing how the audience reacts to the piece in the R&D sharings and hearing the feedback to see what they like and what they'd like to see more of.”

Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith is a recent graduate from the National Centre for Circus Arts. During his time at the National Centre he specialised in juggling and trained in dance trapeze. Lovewright is his first professional credit as a circus artist.

What made you want to work on Lovewright?

“I was excited when I saw the call out for Lovewright because of the possibility to collaborate with artists from different specialisms. Through this collaboration, I have had the opportunity to observe the differences in how theatre practitioners and circus artists create work.  Within the process, we have found things that feel dense and tricky to navigate and have cooperated to find solutions as we continue to explore how our different specialisms can work in harmony and be supported on each other.”

What are you most looking forward to about the second week of R&D?

“The opportunity to throw myself into the unknown, a little - such as operating as a puppeteer and playing music on stage  for the first time.”

This project is supported by: