Petra Sant
I was immediately drawn to the script, as it took me back to when I was a teenager. The script is punchy, fun, and honest but most importantly has a lot of heart and reading it instantly puts me in a good mood. Another thing that attracted me was the idea of getting to direct a semi-devised piece that weaves personal real life stories with science.
It was at that point when I spoke to Tony and Veronica Bezzina about the play (they had been encouraging me to direct for quite some time); they read it, loved it too and gave me the go-ahead. The play is not your run-of-the-mill production and draws upon the actors’ actual experiences.
Can you explain how it works?
Basically, the play pairs scientific content related to brain development (which is sometimes quite abstract and intangible) with real life stories and experiences. By pairing the two, the audience is able to make better sense of why teens act the way they do and feel the way they feel.
The brain is interesting but can also be extremely complicated, which is why our starting point was understanding the scientific content. Once everyone had a basic understanding of the brain, the fun began and we moved into the content building phase.
We all shared our own teenage stories and experiences; we looked at typical conversations we had had with our parents, thought about our teenage bedrooms, our teenage dreams etc.
Once we had all this raw content we started devising scenes based on this material and experimented with mixing it into the scientific content.
What can audiences expect from the experience?
I believe we have really managed to use storytelling, physical sequences, music, and technology to take audiences on quite a theatrical adventure. This is also quite a challenging piece for the actors, as they are constantly jumping and moving from one piece of action to another.
I am constantly impressed by their stamina, focus, and endurance. So is it just likely to attract teenagers, or is the appeal more universal? The appeal of this play is quite universal. Obviously, certain moments might resonate more with some than others but, without a doubt, there is something for everyone in it.
The adults in the audience may say: “Oh, that was me when I was younger.” Or: “This is what my teenage son is like now!” Teenagers in the audience might have an ‘aha’ moment, were they suddenly make sense of something that is happening to them right now.
We have really managed to use storytelling, physical sequences, music, and technology to take audiences on quite a theatrical adventure
On top of that, other may simply enjoy the physical sequences or the scientific elements of the play. What were the biggest challenges in taking it to the local stage? I think overall, there were two main challenges.
The first is that we needed to keep the script contemporary and ensure we tackled it from the perspective of today’s teenagers. I am no longer a teenager, and haven’t been one for a while and, while there are similarities between teenagers of my time and today’s teenagers ,there are also incredible differences. You can thank Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram etc.
Luckily, I teach a lot of teenagers and was able to validate our ideas with them. The second challenge was trying to strike a balance between the scientific and personal content. I didn’t want the show to be either too scientific and lecture-like, or, on the other hand, too sentimental. I believe we managed to find an in between through trying to vary the tone throughout the piece.
How realistic are the issues brought up in the script, especially within a local context?
The issues are extremely relevant. The play focuses on teenagers’ relationships with their parents, from messy bedrooms to teenagers’ increasing use of and dependence on technology and the taking of risks.
In addition to these themes, through the inclusion of the personal stories/experiences we have continued to make the play even more realistic and relevant.
What are your own memories of your teenage years, and does Brainstorm resonate?
I was a horrible teenager! Joking apart, to be honest, I think I was quite the average and typical teenager (and didn’t give my parents too much trouble, I hope). I wanted to spend most of my time with my friends, occasionally argued with my parents, stayed out too late, panicked about my exams, worried about the future, cried a lot, laughed a lot, and had loads of fun. Brainstorm definitely resonates with my teenage years… Especially the scenes about having a messy bedroom!
Brainstorm takes place on March 3 and 4 at Blue Box at MSpace, Msida. Tickets are available by calling on 79793737.