Ted Bundy goes to camp

So I just got back from the Orchard Project. It was a dreamy week spent in Hunter, New York working on The Ted Bundy Project and MY GOD. It was great.

Firstly, I stayed in this house:

Yes, y’all. THAT’S A WRAP-AROUND PORCH.

And the wall of my bedroom looked like this:

THE 70’s CALLED…

So it was off to a good start.

The idea behind the Orchard Project is that artists from all over the US and beyond go there on overlapping residencies to develop new projects or ideas; people are coming and going all the time, but it means that there are always fresh conversations, new influences and unexpected meetings.

For me, the Orchard Project meant several spectacular things happened. I got to connect with American theatre-makers who are working in the USA, which is something I’ve really never done before. It allowed me not only to reconnect in really surprising ways with my home country, but it forced me to step out of what can sometimes be a suffocatingly insular world of London theatre makers or British theatre makers. How refreshing.

The climate of trust, belief and support (no, genuinely) at the Orchard Project meant that I was free to experiment with ideas without someone looking over my shoulder or judging something before I’ve made it or looking at me disapprovingly or even wanting to stake an exclusive claim on me or my work. It was support that really was support. Imagine that.

And Core Company (the company of apprentices at The Orchard Project). What a fantastic group of emerging artists. I was lucky enough to be able to lead a workshop with them and hear about all their ideas. What a huge help to my process and project (mainly because they called me out and asked the hard questions).

So THANK YOU, The Orchard Project.