Tuesday 8 August

08/08/2023

Dear reader,

Welcome back to our production diary! This is our third entry, and with just three weeks left until The Wetsuitman opens at the Arcola, we’re continuing to juggle multiple roles and responsibilities.

Things are getting real close now, which has us thrilled but also a bit on edge.

In case you missed our first two entries, you can catch up here. For those joining us for the first time, we’re Camila and Trine, the creative duo behind Foreign Affairs, and through this diary, we share our adventures and misadventures from the previous week, giving you an exclusive peek behind the scenes of our work.

This week was more of the same as the previous one, with many hours spent in front of the computer. We’re still struggling to find balance between our early hours work, remote working and Camila’s family holiday in Portugal.

Rehearsals for The Wetsuitman 2022

A week in the life of FA (aka Camila & Trine)

To avoid sounding like a broken record, let’s sum up our week this way: Monday kicked off with a brightening Zoom meeting with Amy, our lighting designer, setting a positive tone for the week. And then…

• From Monday to Saturday – a whole lot of screen time.

We won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that we spent most of our time tackling administrative, marketing and production tasks, leaving little room for creative work. On the flip side, let’s give a shout-out to the digital platforms that make our cross-border collaboration possible. Slack keeps us connected with each other, WhatsApp handles the urgent stuff (with a sprinkle of happy photos), Trello keeps our projects organised, Miro is our brainstorming hub, Dropbox is our partner in file sharing, and Google Drive is our go-to for, well, everything else. We do love a good spreadsheet!

Last week, we also announced our engagement programme to go along with the production. It includes two post-show talks and a theatre club. Luckily, Maria, our engagement coordinator, is on the case, making sure all these activities run smoothly – time’s ticking, and we’re feeling it.

Some thoughts on our creative process (or lack thereof)

While we hoped to carve out a bit of creative time (for Trine), focusing on putting creativity at the heart of things proved to be a challenge. If anyone out there in a similar boat has advice on how to balance being an artist and all the other roles, we’d greatly appreciate your advice!

You can find us on social media (see links below) or drop us a line at hello@foreignaffairs.org.uk.

So, to be honest, no long artist dates, but we both managed to catch moments of calm to find inspiration in nature. Trine embraced peacefulness in Hackney’s Victoria Park, while Camila soaked up inspiration amidst the lush surroundings of Lisbon.

Although artist dates were scarce, meetings with Amy, our lighting designer, and Ria, our production dramaturg, gave us food for thought in terms of staging. We discussed the contrast between the practical and the poetic elements of the production, and how to find the overall production language. Trine spent hours mapping, scribbling on small pieces of paper to stand in for chairs, and an endless array of post-it notes – all in the pursuit of finalising the staging details. As previously mentioned, we’re transforming a promenade piece into Arcola’s Studio 2 stage setup. Now, it’s a waiting game to see if it all works – experience has taught us that about 80% of initial ideas usually end up in the bin, but that’s all part of the journey.

Wrap-up

So, maybe not the most riveting week – more about getting into the groove of working together while being apart. Establishing routines, finding time to enjoy nature and connect with loved ones. With just one week before rehearsals start (and three until opening night), those long computer days are fading away, and the thrill of being in the room with everyone takes over. It’s odd how we spend weeks planning for this moment, and then suddenly it’s here, gone in the blink of an eye. Let’s make sure to savour the moment. Yes, it sounds a bit cheesy, but that’s us!

We’ll be back soon with more updates, misadventures, and insights into our world of theatre-making.

Até logo. På gensyn. Until next time.

Love,
Camila & Trine

PS… we won’t bore you with images of us in front of screens, so instead we’ve included a few rehearsal images from when we were last in the room with the cast of The Wetsuitman – all by Camila.