More Angela Milton

PART 2

Theatre Producer & All-Around Creative

http://www.angelajmilton.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ImmersiveResponse/

And we’re back! As you mentioned in Part 1, you recently created a site-specific, interactive experience called the WWI Wardrobe Project. Can you talk a little about what this entails and what sparked the idea?

I have been fascinated by the impact of World War I (WWI) for as long as I can remember and wanted to look at it from the perspective of those on the home front – the women who had put aside campaigning for the vote to work in factories, nursing, working on farms, or getting together to send items to the troops abroad, as well as about any men left behind - what that felt like for them and why they may have not gone to war.

In terms of what sparked the idea, I was inspired by a huge photo of my great-grandfather that hangs in the hallway at my parent’s house. When I was younger I thought that my great-grandfather was really old in the photo, but as I got older I realised he wasn’t, he was just posing with his best suit on – as was the tradition at the time – to show him as a responsible, respectable man. I started wondering about him and his life. I had this idea for a show where people would get to dress up and have their photos taken in period costume. That way they could see themselves as their ancestors or fore-bearers and perhaps recognise that as people we are still much the same inside, no matter what time period we lived in. From there, the WWI Wardrobe Project sprung forth. I then started to add in extras such as singing songs together (music was important at the time for gathering the spirit of togetherness) and getting people to read letters out loud.

The show is a mix of actors and audience participation to create the overall story. Could you discuss some of the characters and how they came to be?

There was such a range of work that women could do when the men were away at war. The most familiar was the nurse of course. A friend, Jen McGregor, who is a Scottish playwright and director, had a monologue she had written that was about the experiences of a nurse during WWI. It fit what I was doing and is the only part of the show that I didn’t write.

I was also fascinated by the premise of ‘Canary Girls’, the women who worked in the munitions factories building bombs. Many ended up with yellow skin from the toxins and sometimes dyed from the poison. Scotland had the largest munitions factory in the UK at Gretna and it made sense to tie that in.

The sole male character is a young man who was not able to go to war. He is based on my grandfather who hadn’t been able to fight due to a foot injury from an industrial accident and because he was a crofter. There were a few reasons why a young man would not go to war and these included certain occupations (those who grew/caught food which was needed due to wartime shortages) and particular injuries or conditions. I made my character a fisherman who served as a naval reserve volunteer. Like my grandfather, the fisherman had a foot injury that precluded him from fighting and it was interesting to research what that might have felt like, including the impact of White Feathers (an organisation that aimed to shame men into enlisting in the British army).

For my character, I wrote a woman who had a son at war and was part of the Women’s Rural Institute (WRI), an organisation that came into being in Scotland in 1917 specifically to look at ways to help the war effort using the skills of local women. My mum has been part of her local Rural Institute for as long as I can remember so I had some inspiration there too.

As we mentioned, the show required audience participation as a way to tell the story and enhance the experience. What challenges and successes did you encounter with this method?

Yes, there are always challenges! Funnily enough, I found that the reviewers thought it stressful even when no one was forced to join in. But we approached it gently, directly addressing things to the audience, and found that the natural progression of the show allowed the audience to get comfortable with participating. For example, the audience was a part of the ‘WRI meeting to help with the community.’ It started with everyone having a singsong, then they were invited to dress up and have their photo taken, etc. and by the time they were given the opportunity to ask questions of the characters and read out the letters, it was never much of an obstacle, especially since they could look at the text as opposed to each other. Out of 60 opportunities to dress up (20 shows x 3 costumes), we had 51 people dress up – pretty good odds for a show I think!

That said, I do think people were afraid of the questions at first, until someone got it and then it became difficult to reel it in! I did a lot of “hot seating” with the actors so we were really prepared to be asked anything and everything about their roles and the time period. Research was key.

The real challenge getting an audience, that was the hardest thing. This might have been the time slot (early to late morning) or just not enough interaction with the target audience, I don’t know. I lost a lot of money and sometimes spent too much time worrying about audience numbers rather than the job of performing. But for those who did come along, they seemed to really enjoy it. I have had some people come up to me more than a year later to say how much they enjoyed it.

Did you produce the show on your own or did you use a team?

I did the producing all on my own which was incredibly tough and when I do the show again (I intend to further develop it) I will need help. I directed it with a light touch which worked for the immersive style of the piece. For the writing, I whizzed it past my writer friend and she said it was in good shape which was a relief. I spent about 3 months doing a lot of work and getting very little sleep. If I had had funding rather than just my personal savings, I would have tried to use a team, but it is a challenge being self=funded at the grassroots level.

However, there is that satisfaction of knowing just how much a human being can be capable of and having my own voice out there.

How important is it to find people who share the same creative vision or values as you?

Incredibly important. For example, when we worked together, I liked our shared vision. We may not always have had the same creative thoughts but what we did was find a way to meld them that brought forth lovely shows. I have met a lot of great people back here in Edinburgh, but it takes a special team to have that click that enables working together creatively. For this piece, I was very careful in who I chose to work with, which I think helped immensely throughout the process.

In Part 1, we talked a little bit about compromise with regards to living a creative life. What have those compromises been for you and how do you manage them?

The biggest compromise is having to have a day job to afford to live. Unless you have the connections or background to be able to work more frequently in the creative field, you spend a lot of time doing something that is not your creative life. It is exhausting and sometimes I struggle for creative inspiration. There has been a big stooshie (great word) recently here in the UK about the demeaning of an actor in the press who had had to get a job as a security guard in a store to pay her bills (click here for story). She had been in a well-known soap but that contract/role came to an end. There is a public perception that once you are well-known that somehow equates to being financially well-off which, as any creative knows, is usually not the case! It is exhausting though, to try and keep being creative when all your energy is drained by a job that – just about – pays the bills.

But for me, putting on my own work has helped to remind me of what I am capable of. Having that not only reminds me of the skills I have (that I often feel must be lacking when I struggle to be seen creatively) and there is such joy in putting on a show and telling the world that you have a story to share. Earlier this year I, without thinking, said to someone: “when I used to act…” When I realised what I had said I was devastated, at least that was what it felt like at the time, a point when I had no chance to use my skills. I am an actor. I am a director. I am a writer. I can be all of those things and still need a day job, and often I just have to remind myself it is OK for it to be that way and I am more than the sum of my parts.

Obviously, you are a woman of many talents. Out of all of those hats you are wearing at any given time, is there one that you identify with the most?

I have been asked this a few times in the past year – probably because I have made a more conscious effort to network – and I think it honestly has to be about the play or the production. Sometimes I want to tell the story in one way (by performing it) or by helping others to tell that story through directing, producing, or writing. I said to someone recently that I have accepted I might not be performing at the well-known theatres here in Scotland, so I am going to do something that I enjoy, that inspires me. Yes, I want to get paid to do that (and it seems silly that creative jobs are often seen as an area that pay is only a ‘nice’ thing to do if possible, despite it being an actual job) but I also want to do things I enjoy. I have met actors who are jaded from doing roles that they haven’t enjoyed or being seen as a particular performer when that is not what they actually like. I know it can’t always be the most amazing thing, but if I can’t enjoy something in the role or in being part of a production, then is it worth my time? My time is precious, especially the older I get. We get lulled into this sense that as creatives, we should just be grateful to get a role/part of a production but actually, should we? Maybe once in a while taking that paid role for the money is fine, but if you do that longer term you lose the joy of it, and for me, that would feel wrong. I also want to make clear that I don’t see it as a hobby – it is a job and a job that I love.

What’s next?

I am in It’s A Wonderful Life as Clarence (the angel, gender swap!) at the Scottish Storytelling Centre here in Edinburgh in December. After that I am hopefully doing the development of the next stage of the WWI Wardrobe Project (the long hoped-for version with a tea dance for everyone in costume). Plus lots more percolating in my head.

Who’s your idol?

Oh, so many… Keanu Reeves, because he does his own thing. He gives oodles of his money to many charities without publicising it and because, despite a great deal of challenges in his life, he has kept going with dignity. He might not be one of the greatest actors, but he gives so much. Also, Greta Thunberg, the inspiring face of youth that has a voice and uses it. Loads more but I think those are a good start!

What’s your favorite song or album? (or closest you can get to it) And Why?

Oooh, well… 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton is a song that will always get me on my feet (I grew up with country music – Scottish people are big fans, or at least were when I was young); Blaze of Glory by Bon Jovi which is from the Young Guns II soundtrack. It has been my wake up song for years! Most songs by ABBA – they contain so much emotion, especially those that plot the separation of two of the group. I love Bach’s Cello Concerto No. 1… and for album, it’s a choice between Appetite for Destruction by Guns n Roses and the soundtrack from White Christmas (I love Christmas things!).

What’s your favorite piece of literary work? (book, play, poem, etc.)

Funeral Blues by WH Auden – it captures the range of feelings so well.

Who is on your guest list (alive or dead) for your perfect dinner party?

Well, it would be great to see you there! Some friends from my school days – Alison, Terry and Tracy. Plus my grandparents, Ella and Jim Fraser, and Gertrude and Sandy Milton. Lisa Milinazzo and her husband Wally. If you want to talk famous types, well… Will Shakespeare, Michelle and Barack Obama, Benedict Cumberbatch, Queen Victoria, Frederick Douglass, Billie Holiday, Oprah Winfrey, Keanu Reeves, Dolly Parton, Joan of Arc. Hmm, probably quite a big table there!

What would your last meal be?

Mac n Cheese, mmmmm!

Where is your favorite place on earth?

That is a tough question. I think it’s wherever home is and at different times, that has felt like New York City (in Central Park near the loch, not far from the zoo) and Edinburgh, standing in my garden, looking up at the stars.

What’s one thing you can’t live without?

I would be devastated if I could no longer hear music but I guess I would live. Let’s just say that if I thought I could never perform again, that would be life-changing.

If you could give a piece of advice to someone interested in starting something – whether it’s a business, a new career path, a new adventure, a relationship – what would you tell them?

Do it – even if you have to do it along with something else until whatever it is you want to succeed in is up and running, just do it. We spend so long second-guessing the world and ourselves, but life is so short, so, so short: take the chances when you can. Make moments and take moments. Tell people you love them. Have empathy.

Didn’t catch Part 1? Read it here.