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Interval Thoughts: Don’t Panic! 15/10/2020

If there's one over-used phrase that we'd happily consign to the dustbin of history this year, it's "Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a pandemic". Seven months of on-again, off-again, on-again lockdown has put considerable pressure on writers to be creative. After all, you've got all that time on your hands, right?

If you’re to believe social media, it seems as if everyone in the world has a) become an expert on baking banana bread, b) learnt five new languages, and c) has written a minimum of two plays,  an anthology of short stories and the next great American Novel.

We all know this is very far removed from the truth, and congratulations to those who have actually managed to achieve this level of output, but what’s the reality of motivating yourself to be creative in the face of a global pandemic?

Writer and Literary Associate Al Lockhart-Morley talked to Box of Tricks' playwrights past and present to ask them about the how they've been finding life and writing since COVID-19 hit and here’s what they had to say...

What’s been the greatest creative challenge since the pandemic struck?

"Feeling motivated to do anything. Early on I was like a mad-thing, applying for everything but in a crazed, panic state. And when you’re hearing that every opportunity or call-out is getting thousands of submissions it has a double-edged effect of making you think you HAVE to apply or you’re clearly not trying hard enough vs why bother."

Alison Carr (The Last Quiz Night on Earth)

“The lack of face to face contact is simply not normal, and at first I found this unbearable, and just too isolating. So being creative has been somewhat beyond me.”

Steve Timms (Pen Pal)

“In lockdown I could only write in the flat, but it's hard to get in the headspace for writing when using the same dining table to write, to eat, to do the online course I started, to do zoom socials, etc. Especially when that same table is shared by a housemate working from home who has at least three meetings a day, which for some reason are much more distracting than the background noise of a cafe.

 Laura Homer (Pen Pal)

“With three kids at home, the biggest challenge during lockdown was definitely time & quiet. I usually have quite a set writing routine so to stay focussed with all the chaos, a household full of distracting little people and the background hum of anxiety was a real challenge."

Becky Prestwich (Chip Shop Chips)

"Isolation. Loneliness. Lack of inspiration by not being able to go to the Theatre. Sheer despair, thinking WHAT IS THE POINT."

Josie Cerise (Box of Tricks' Pen Pal)

“My day job has been relentless – I’ve been writing about COVID in a business context for the last six months or more, so I’ve felt very wrung out at the end of the day. Which only compounds the lack of motivation.”

Nick Kirby (Pen Pal)

“The greatest challenge has been creating stories that exist beyond a Covid world. When lockdown began it was a sharp shock to my system and suddenly drama didn't feel possible beyond this reality. In some ways the new world of fear and regulations gave the stories I was already writing a more extreme, or dystopian setting, but because this was our new normal, it also took away some of the drama, while in everyday life we were coming to accept that anything could be possible."

Francesca Waite (Pen Pal)

"It's definitely been hard to stay creative when things are unstable and uncertain on so many levels. But knowing what NHS workers and people affected by COVID have gone through, I've definitely been in a privileged position: able to keep working and keep writing."

James Harker (PlayBox 2017 & Pen Pal)

“Writing is an act of hope - a hope that someone will listen and that it’ll resonate with them. Writing for theatre is specifically writing with a hope that it’ll resonate with readers, commissioners, artistic directors, directors, actors and finally audiences. A hope that it’ll find it’s way to the stage. There’s very little hope right now.”

 Tom Morton-Smith (In Doggerland)

“What's really needed to write well is time to think well, and this year has been a time of crowded and worried minds. It's been good to have fictional worlds to escape into, but often hard to get lost in my work the way I usually would.”

Lizzie Nunnery (Narvik)

“My greatest creative challenge during lockdown has been lack of movement. Being confined to my (small!) flat has been really difficult for my creative inspo. Seeing live theatre is my strongest inspiration for my own work and so not being able to see live shows has been tough. Also, lack of social events has played a toll on my mental health, which in turn has left me creatively frustrated and blocked. I miss being around friends and colleagues.”

Stefanie Reynolds (Pen Pal)

What’s helped you survive and feel creative?

“Early on in lockdown the change in pace led to a bit of a creative surge as I felt I had some space to think, reflect etc that I’d not had before. It also led me to look again at the spaces I was used to e.g. I would do the same walk most days but the repetition actually proved quite inventive and allowed my mind to wander more than normal.”

Katherine Boon (Pen Pal)

“Talking to my old playwriting buddy Kat Boon over zoom has been great - she's definitely someone who's found new COVID-safe ways of making theatre outside of traditional stages, and a person who always inspires me with her work ethic and creative vision. And that direct connection to another artist is something I've picked up with my Pen Pal Clare McNulty, who has been a fantastic partner. I've also been working on a record with musicians from all over the world, collaborating without ever meeting in person, so that's been a great creative challenge that I would never have been part of outside of lockdown.”

James Harker (PlayBox 2017 & Pen Pal)

“A steady diet of culture. I can’t get to the theatres or the galleries or the museums - but I have Netflix and I have Amazon Prime so I’ve just been inhaling as many films as possible. And only watching things I’ve never seen before. Widening my knowledge base. Stocking up my influences and expanding my points of reference. Hopefully getting inspired along the way.”

Tom Morton-Smith (In Doggerland)

"My dopamine hits are coming from writing during lockdown. Having feedback and the motivation of a writing partner is beyond valuable. Oftentimes writing is a lonely task. This has made it achievable and has been punctuated by feedback that makes sense to me."

Clare McNulty (Pen Pal)

"There was a period when everything being thrown up in the air weirdly liberated me. I’d been struggling with a redraft, but when I finally HAD to sit down and do it (cos, deadline) I had a moment of ‘well theatre’s dead so it doesn’t matter’ and it freed me up. Now I know/hope theatre isn’t dead and it definitely does matter, but it lifted a pressure that had been holding me back. So, you know, every cloud. Take the positives where you can.”

Alison Carr (The Last Quiz Night on Earth)

“I tuned in to my first ever podcast at the start of lockdown (I know) and have been listening to a few writerly ones, in particular enjoying the Traverse Theatre's weekly open submission workshops. I've also been taking advantage of the range of free online workshops run by various companies, including some brilliant ones from Box of Tricks!”

Rachel Price (Pen Pal)

“Working on a project with a friend who lives in the US which is based on our love of romance novels. It's soothing to write something about people having a nice time and falling in love and makes my more political writing feel easier too. “

Molly Sweeney (Pen Pal)

“Finding a routine. Mine includes Kundalini Yoga to get rid of any negative energy, morning pages, walking the dog, eating breakfast then tricking myself I'll do 15 minutes of writing. I always end up doing a bit more than that.”

 Josie Cerise (Pen Pal)

“I found I had to let go of what I thought I needed to write and instead I found myself writing in whatever pockets of quiet time I could find. I also massively lowered my expectations of what counted as productive. And I got back into reading fiction, reminding myself the joy of just being immersed in a story."

 Becky Prestwich (Chip Shop Chips)

“My greatest creative challenge during lockdown has been lack of movement. Being confined to my (small!) flat has been really difficult for my creative inspo. Seeing live theatre is my strongest inspiration for my own work and so not being able to see live shows has been tough. Also, lack of social events has played a toll on my mental health, which in turn has left me creatively frustrated and blocked. I miss being around friends and colleagues.”

Stefanie Reynolds (Pen Pal)

“Reading my kids stories has helped. You've got to do all the voices and put all the energy in, no matter how you're feeling. Suddenly you realise you've forgotten about everything else for a few minutes 🙂 Writing songs and singing with my partner Vidar. The moments we've grabbed to do that have been so important.”

Lizzie Nunnery (Narvik)

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