Curtain Call: California Dreamin

California Dreamin was one of the main highlights to come out of this year’s Fringe with the successful run of of the production. As most creatives can relate, Creating a play is a journey filled with anticipation, challenges, and ultimately, the gratification of seeing one's work come to life on stage. California Dreamin was no exception. In this curtain call, we delve into the insights and reflections with Rachel Loiuse Clark, as she shares her thoughts on how the audience engaged with the balance of comedy and darker themes, unexpected nuances in live performances, and the impact of the play on the creative journey.

California Dreamin followed Mike and Tom, on an extended mission aboard the International Space Station means an increase in frustration, tension and a decrease of supplies (such as the mentioned Maltesers). California Dreamin’ was a 30-minute dark comedy that centred around a shady millionaire, Mike and an introverted scientist, Tom. Both have secrets, both have problems and both want out. The play reveals the strained relationship between the two clashing personalities and the emotional turmoil they go through with the news of remaining up in space. It explored themes of isolation, relationships, deception, and survival.

How did the audience react to the balance between comedy and the darker themes in the play? Did they engage with both elements effectively? 

I think it worked really well. It wasn’t a laugh-a-minute comedy, but I feel like when we did have a joke, it was received well. It’s always a relief when you can hear laughter! I also feel like the comedy was definitely appreciated, with the play being quite intense those little moments of respite were needed so the audience could take a breather. It wouldn’t be fun to have people just white knuckling it the whole way through. 

Were there any unexpected surprises or nuances in the live performance that added depth to the characters or storyline? 

We did six performances in total, and every performance was unique! It was also interesting to see how the audience responded to different things each time. I feel like Ant and PJ bounced off the audience's reactions to things so would either play up or downplay certain parts of the script depending on the audience's response.  Some performances were more intense which gave more depth to each of the characters, which was great but then some performances were more comedic which lightened the mood, which was also great as it needed those comedy moments. They did a fab job on all six shows! 

 What was the overall experience like to see the show come to life the way it did? 

It was incredible!! Seeing your words come to life and be acted out in front of you is always an amazing feeling. I always feel a massive sense of pride and excitement. So, seeing California Dreamin’ being performed at the Fringe increased those feelings x10 – it was boss! 

It was such an awesome experience but definitely a learning one. This was my first time putting a show on independently and my first time doing the Fringe, so I feel like I’ve learnt a lot about myself as a creative, putting on my first show and directing. I’ve taken loads from it and will know how to do things even better in the future. 

It was also incredible to be nominated for Best Short in The Fringe Awards and for PJ and Ant to be nominated for Best Performing Duo – very, very well deserved as they gave it 110%! 

Did the live performance leave you reflecting on themes of human connection, isolation and survival? If so, in what ways? 

Watching California Dreamin’ made me realise that the themes of human connection and loneliness are something I want to explore more in my writing. It doesn’t always have to be as extreme as being in space and being disconnected from Earth, but I feel like loneliness and human connection are such universal feelings that are really prevalent in today’s society. I’d also like to look at how social media plays a part in that. 

After seeing the live performance, are there any specific aspects or moments you would highlight as particularly successful or noteworthy? 

I really loved the chemistry between Ant and PJ, I feel like they absolutely nailed the level of disdain that they had toward each other. Even when Tom (PJ) is trying to support Mike (Ant) when he’s talking about his breakup, the moment doesn’t last very long as Mike says something that instantly just irritates Tom again. The same when Mike tries to ask him about his relationship with Adele, they only have these brief moments where they actually try to be nice to one another and the rest of the play you can feel them both fizzing under the surface. It’s a constant powerplay the whole way through and I think they both really delivered on that. 

Is there anything you would change to the script or performance in the future? 

To be honest, I wrote California Dreamin’ in 12 hours for the Fringe Festival Fundraiser and then only did one or two revisions after that, which, looking back it could have done with a few more but I really loved it and didn’t want to lose any of the rawness by over editing. I think that was a bit naïve (cocky maybe?) and I’ll be going back to a million edits in the future. I’m also looking at making it longer and potentially developing it into a full-length script or as part of a collection. 

I loved doing it in The Pilgrim as it’s a boss pub, the atmosphere was really relaxed and the pub vibe was what I wanted for my first Fringe, but I feel like next time in a theatre, with a proper tech team, it will make it so much better. When you’re in the theatre it’s easier to get in the headspace like ‘okay we’re in space’ but when you’re upstairs of a pub and the jukebox is on downstairs, you need to work that little bit harder, so being in a proper theatre will really elevate the show.  

As Rachel looks ahead, several exciting ventures await. Pending responses from various opportunities, she remains optimistic about the potential projects coming up. Engaging in a directing course has opened up new avenues, with plans to shadow experienced directors in the near future. In addition to ongoing writing ventures, including a comedy/drama and a horror script. At The Creative Wire we cant wait to see what the future holds for this passionate Creative!

Written by, Amy Brennan

Edited By, Christopher Woodward