NOTES: Playwright series; Alecky

Blythe By National Theatre:

https://youtu.be/u21hmi7O6xE
Alecky Blythe is a Verbatim playwright.
Two stages to her profession;

1. Collecting audio because all her work is created from

real-life conversations.

2. Editing, Alecky sits, listens and edits hours of

recordings collected.
She listens to the words that people speak then copy
exactly what they say and how they say it.
Alecky copies everything; their accent, intonation, any
coughs and stutters.
Alecky has a rule that the only words heard onstage
are the words she has captured on tape said by real
people in conversation.
For Alecky it’s not just about recording the characters
but there has to be a story.
For the real- life people who are being recorded it gives
them a chance to talk through experiences in their lives
and certain problems they have faced which gives an
opportunity for them to get a sense of their own lives.
Alecky does a lot of initial legwork to get an idea for a
play from paper to the stage. To see whether the story
has the potential and there are strong characters, to
latch onto to help her through the story.
The truth of the story and the relationship with the
interviewee that Alecky feels shouldn’t be messed
with.
It’s about building trust and keeping the conversation
going with your real-life characters.
Spending not only an hour but a whole day with
someone helps to get to know them as a person and
get enough footage to be able to represent them
accurately onstage.
Don’t just spend an hour so that you’re not just getting
a direct address interview situation and also you can
capture content for different scenes.
Alecky’s best material is when she captures thing as
they are happening because you can include the
emotional heat of the scene.
People are different when they feel they are under
pressure and have to be on their best behaviour.
Alecky sees another side of people’s personalities,
that’s what gives the play “texture, colour and
movement.”
Alecky tries to be present at those key times but
sometimes it isn’t always possible.
When Alecky sits down and edits, listening through and
collating then she can recognise these key moments.
When she edits and collates then she has some control
the story and can put her mark on it.