Martin O'Connor: Samples of Work
A selection of Martin's work in conversations, verbatim theatre and working with people.
Writer in Residence: Children's Hospice Association Scotland 2015-16
"People find an inner
strength from somewhere – I don’t know – it might be faith – it might be family
– but whatever it is – it gets them through these very challenging times."
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"When you mentioned to me hospice I just sort of imagined…well I didn’t really know what to imagine. Though not something like this."
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"But if I can tell them there is light at the end of the tunnel – you can come out the other end and possibly come out a stronger person – then… you know, why should people not hear that?"
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I have recently taken up a self-initiated post as Writer in Residence with The Children's Hospice Association Scotland funded by Creative Scotland. This follows on from early work with Scottish Opera (photos above).
Based in each hospice in Balloch and Kinross, I am creating a space for conversation that will allow parents who are recently bereaved or are going through the process of having a child in the hospice, to talk openly about their lived experiences. These will become the basis for the audio stories that will be installed in each garden, and provide a resource for current families as well as new referrals who will have the opportunity of hearing others' experiences.
In addition, I am creating two separate projects to capture the voices of grandparents, who are sometimes marginalised and who provide a unique viewpoint; and documenting the voices of young people in transition as they move through into into adulthood and adult services.
Based in each hospice in Balloch and Kinross, I am creating a space for conversation that will allow parents who are recently bereaved or are going through the process of having a child in the hospice, to talk openly about their lived experiences. These will become the basis for the audio stories that will be installed in each garden, and provide a resource for current families as well as new referrals who will have the opportunity of hearing others' experiences.
In addition, I am creating two separate projects to capture the voices of grandparents, who are sometimes marginalised and who provide a unique viewpoint; and documenting the voices of young people in transition as they move through into into adulthood and adult services.
Good Days Bad Days, 2016
In collaboration with sound artist Nichola Scrutton and Platform, Glasgow, Good Days Bad Days was a 5-month development project with Glasgow’s North East Recovery Community. Participants were engaged in conversations focusing on remembering their first and last alcoholic drink, to open up bigger discussions of childhood and family life; living conditions and wider society in Glasgow and the impact of addiction and recovery on individuals and communities.
These conversations form the basis of an immersive sound installation that was staged at Platform as well as being part of the Outskirts Festival 2016. The piece will continue to be developed as part of Martin's new spoken word performance The Mark of the Beast.
These conversations form the basis of an immersive sound installation that was staged at Platform as well as being part of the Outskirts Festival 2016. The piece will continue to be developed as part of Martin's new spoken word performance The Mark of the Beast.
Turntable, 2015
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Turntable uses multiple art forms to connect, reach out and share experiences with individuals and communities in an exploration of the ways in which music can enrich our lives. One of the project’s key objectives is to combat loneliness & isolation experienced by the young and old across Scotland and UK, and in pursuing this objective, Turntable intends to reclaim music as a communal experience whilst also celebrating each participant’s individual relationship with the key songs & albums in their lives.
Participants are invited to browse a pop up record shop, select a song from a variety of vinyl albums, and take their choice over to the turntable to be played, and to tell the host the story behind this record. Participants are encouraged to consider the meaning of the song to them and the impact that music has on their life. Inspired by the song, participants shed light on many other themes of memory, ageing and social history.
Turntable is created alongside musician, composer and artist Michael John McCarthy, designer Rachel O’Neill and producer Alice McGrath. Turntable is produced by Red Bridge Arts and is working with the SMHAFF in 2015 and 2016 to develop the project and connect with audiences across Scotland.
Participants are invited to browse a pop up record shop, select a song from a variety of vinyl albums, and take their choice over to the turntable to be played, and to tell the host the story behind this record. Participants are encouraged to consider the meaning of the song to them and the impact that music has on their life. Inspired by the song, participants shed light on many other themes of memory, ageing and social history.
Turntable is created alongside musician, composer and artist Michael John McCarthy, designer Rachel O’Neill and producer Alice McGrath. Turntable is produced by Red Bridge Arts and is working with the SMHAFF in 2015 and 2016 to develop the project and connect with audiences across Scotland.
The Pokey Hat, 2014
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"The Pokey Hat is coming round the houses
Welcome to our story. Treats galore a shop right to your door A knickerbocker glory." |
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"How much have I got left mister?
I want a ten pence mixture. What you after hen? Better take your pick then... No wait gies a Feast and a Twister." |
The Pokey Hat was a family show created for Culture 2014 during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. It was performed in and around a custom-built ice cream van which toured the country as part of the Queens Baton Relay, visiting over 100 locations in a variety of Scottish local authorities. The performance was created from conversations with people from the East End of the city, and centred on their memories of ice cream. After the initial research and development we found that asking about ice cream memories revealed insightful information on a past way of life, families, childhood, housing and sheds light on the socio-economic changes that have taken place throughout Glasgow in the last 30-40 years. We were then able to tailor the conversations and interrogate these memories further. As writer, I took the recorded feedback and crafted it into anecdotal scenes containing scenarios based on lived experiences, and re-presenting the material back to participants and new audiences alike.
Pop Up Theatre Royal, 2012-13
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“Old Glasgow’s gone. My life has gone.”
“My age. That’s all I can see in it.” “Makes you feel like you want to go back to those days.” |
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The Pop Up Theatre Royal project was created by Scottish Opera and is part of a wider celebration of the Theatre Royal Glasgow’s heritage as the building underwent a major redevelopment of its public spaces.
Myself and filmmaker Iain Piercy delivered a series of engagement workshops with community groups and organisations local to the theatre and with an interest in heritage and the arts. Each workshop was tailor made to the participants requirements, and collected memories from theatre and cinema going days.
The research formed the basis of a new, free community-touring production that celebrates this ongoing regeneration of Glasgow's oldest theatre. Performances were staged in Scottish Opera’s Theatre Royal Community Trailer; a specially converted scenery truck that was designed to reflect the interior of the Theatre Royal.
Myself and filmmaker Iain Piercy delivered a series of engagement workshops with community groups and organisations local to the theatre and with an interest in heritage and the arts. Each workshop was tailor made to the participants requirements, and collected memories from theatre and cinema going days.
The research formed the basis of a new, free community-touring production that celebrates this ongoing regeneration of Glasgow's oldest theatre. Performances were staged in Scottish Opera’s Theatre Royal Community Trailer; a specially converted scenery truck that was designed to reflect the interior of the Theatre Royal.
The Nation//Live, Clydebank, 2012
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Audio Performance
"I mean, if you’re talking about work, what are you talking about there? You’re talking about machinery, you’re talking about factories; these are inanimate objects. Much more important are human beings."
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In 2012 I led a large-scale community project with theatre company Visible Fictions and The National Galleries of Scotland. The Nation//Live: Work was part of a year-long engagement project that spanned the length and breadth of the country using key figures form the National Portrait Gallery to explore our recent histories. I was based in Clydebank, with the figure of Jimmy Reid as inspiration, and worked with school groups, a writing group and shipbuilders and veterans from Upper Clyde Shipbuilders to create a live performance, film and sound piece based on Reid's legacy. We questioned the role of Work in today's economy and social life. Together, we reinvestigated the textual elements from the 1971/2 work-in at John Browns Shipyard such as speeches, interviews and union meeting minutes. We reappropriated these texts into many forms such as staged conversations between former and new employees of the industry, used them as the basis for further conversations with young people, and created a recorded document that was used for a live performance. During the process I engaged with the public of Clydebank by asking them the question Jimmy Who? to elicit responses. These responses were edited and crafted into an epic poem, performed by the young people on the site of the former shipyard, and the sound piece and film were exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery.