last year I began to work with a lovely team of creatives on a show called ' White guy on the bus' , it was a great show that got nominated for a few offy awards and potential transfers, we were very proud of the show!
This year I've been asked to come back and work on 'Beast on the Moon'. A very different play, set in the 1920s in America, it follows a young Armenian man called 'Aram' who escaped from Armenia away from being a victim in the Armenian genocide of 1915, where estimated 1.5 million innocent people were wiped out by the Turkish (ottoman) empire.
He organises for a 'picture bride' to come and marry him in America from Armenia. A younger girl whom he can settle down with and begin to create a new life and family, since both of their families were slaughtered back in their homeland.
The play beautifully shows their progression of time together and their failing attempts at having a family due to her starvation as a child during the genocide.
We begin to sympathise with his obsession of the past and inability to let go of his murdered family. His hope of a family is clearly his own solution to end this,
Despite Aram's hope slowly lost throughout the play, we see his inner peace come through and somewhat redeemed by their unspoken adoption of an orphan boy who was once like them,
Director- Jelena Budimir
Set & Costume Design - Sarah Jane Booth
Lighting Design - Matt Cater
Writer - Richard Kalinoski
Stage Manager- Anuska Zaremba Pike
Seta- ZARIMA MCDERMOTT
Aram- GEORGE JOVANOVIC
Gentleman / Vincent HAYWARD B MORSE
S O U N D &. M U S I C
- With the sound and music that I created, I avoided tradition Armenian music as I felt that it would be too obvious and cheap. Rather I tried to feel the various emotions throughout the play which was difficult in itself, and reflect this with the tonal elements I played under the scenes.
- I used a variety of 'fan' noises and rumbles throughout, from the start to end that changed in pitch and intensity as tension rose and fell. This was a good way to have something under a scene that didn't require music or tonality.
- The music was mostly on my manual synthesiser as well as strings and piano. Throughout I did choose to use an Armenian flute- the 'Duduk', slowed down loads and stretched so that it was less obvious to the listener.
