Flourish House member Wulf is an accomplished poet and facilitator of creative writing sessions here at the Clubhouse. This Spring he led a series of workshops which culminated in the fantastic radio play “Midnight Castle Two Blocks Down” – written, performed, recorded and edited by members and staff working together! We even got the Art group to do some incredible illustrations of the characters for the monthly newsletter.
We thought we’d ask Wulf a few questions about the play and how he’s found the process of facilitating sessions with other members.
Describe your creative writing background
I’ve always had a passion and a knack for creative writing. My first really really big thing was putting one of my pieces in someone’s EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) for their university application! I’ve certainly improved and grown through the years as I’ve learned more about myself and who I want to be. I have a degree in creative writing and I’m glad I’m using it for something even more. I love what I do, and, what can I say? I’m good at what I do.
What was the focus of this block?
I was initially inspired by (definitely not valentine’s day, gross xD) but the god behind it, Cupid. The Roman god (and Venus’ kid) of love, desire and attraction, otherwise known as Eros, the Greek myth equivalent and Aphrodite’s kid.
Through this, I thought, hey! Myth! Through this, hey! The hero’s journey! A classic! How about we create some characters and take them on a journey of their own!
Could you describe the planning process and what the sessions looked like?
Each session, I brought a new myth along with, to give people a greater understanding of it! My love and knowledge of Greek myth definitely helped!
We started off by taking any character (from a film, a book or our imagination—anyone at all!) on a hero’s journey (I was preaching The Wizard of Oz the whole time through ‘cause it’s a great and classic example!)
The next session, we started on really cool looking bubble people! Loads of different poses and different ways to think! This was followed by taking the characters we created through the bubble people through the hero’s journey.
Throughout the block we were developing our characters, say, through role-play, for instance we were playing fun games such as park bench—you sit on a bench in a specified location and ya gotta figure out why, where, who—all these and more! We were exploring the characters, like how they live, act, their relationships with others, and what makes them, them. This was followed by writing a script for the radio play, lots of things to determine, such as what their role would be, the main conflict, and how they would overcome it.
Give us a brief synopsis of the play
Vampires! Also, sparkles, ponies, aimless wandering and a really snarky mole. And more to explore 😀
Listen to the May show (Part 1) here!
How does it feel to have produced a radio play
Feels great to be putting my skills to good use. Really good to be working with other creative folk to create an adventure, a new world. I liked having a goal to work towards, and I’m very happy with the finished product.
What was your favourite part of the whole process?
Guiding folk in creating their characters, through their own hero’s journeys, and even helping coming up with their journey, before they went on the collective journey. I also enjoyed learning about the characters and how they interact.
Do you feel like you’ve developed as a facilitator? How so?
When I first started facilitating creative writing at Flourish House, I was running sessions every week and whilst I enjoyed the research and understanding the works I brought to the sessions, every week was emotionally and physically demanding. My first proper block was the Hollywood movie Hame Elaine and this was my first time facilitating a larger group, so it was difficult, though the end result ended up being spectacular. From then, I wasn’t quite sure what to do, and then inspiration hit!
Initially, it was more difficult, through various challenges and hurdles. With each week, my experience developed and my confidence grew.
I’m only going to grow further as I gain experience and confidence that I can and will do this well. I’m good at what I do, what can I say?