An Update On Toasted Fiction Theatre Series 2

OK. Toasted Fiction Theatre: Series Two. What the F#@K happened!?

Well, a couple of things really. Nothing major in the grand scheme of things but enough for me to take a pause, take a step back and figure out if this was the best thing to do, creatively speaking, at this point. 

Let me preface this with this - I am delighted with the episodes that I put out, The Lost Soul of Captain Willis (recorded pre-COVID in front of an audience with the wonderful Paul Kozinski) and the three Para Handy tales from Kevin Jannetts’ No Nonsense Productions, with Stewart Phillips and Calum McVittie which had the sole purpose of recording these old time radio tales and sending them to local care homes in Inverclyde so the residents, those who would make up some of the audience for the live Para Handy shows, could listen to them and remember a simpler time and reminisce. We managed to give them something fun, an escape. And I’m delighted about that. 

But when it came to producing the rest of the series, and I turned to new writers and the cast of actors I work with, that’s when I hit the stumbling block. I couldn’t produce the series the same way I produced series one. For a couple of reasons.

Firstly, in the early days of the pandemic, when the world locked down,  and I’m sure I’m not alone, I went into what I can only describe as a crazy panic of creativity. Time - finally we have time! We can throw ourselves into our creative work and I can continue to create a podcast remotely. But on reflection, yes there was time, but it wasn’t the right time. And yes, I could throw myself into creative work, but it wasn’t the right creative work. Looking back it was a bit if “Oh my god what can I do I’m never going to have an audience again how do we continue!? But I think honestly, it didn’t come from the place of creating. It came from a fear of not being able to create.” And, truthlly, I don’t think I could quite get excited about spending so much time in front of Zoom, trying to create and work with people who, part of the joy of creating, is collaborating with them in a room. Most of the time, I put on shows or make sketches or short films, because I want an excuse to hang out with friends and be silly. We couldn’t really do that.

And secondly, and honestly one of the main reasons, was funding. The cast and writers from series one are friends. And the great joy I had making the first series was being able to write and produce new stories, with a wonderful cast of friends and writers but, and this is an important but, everyone got paid. We’re not talking Hollywood Box Office money, but they got paid for the time, talent and hard work - even if it was just a little bit. Going into producing this second series, I thought great I have a platform that can produce and have an audience. Why did I stop in the first place!? Well, that’s why. The funding stopped with series one and I never continued the live shows which would have meant, with a paying audience, everyone would get a little something from the box office, at the very least. 

After the first flurry of episodes, and I started to plan a second series, I started to realise, shit. This isn’t just going to be a month or two of creative people not working. This could be a long time. And it kind of goes against everything i stand for and the pact I made with myself that I won’t do work with other people unless I can pay them something, even if it’s just a little. Even if it’s just a share of the Box Office. If I want to do creative work and not earn any money, I’ll just keep writing books and putting them out there. It doesn’t feel right, in a year where creative livelihoods have been stopped, to be part of the problem and not the solution. I couldn’t in good conscience go ahead as planned and make people do what they love for free when they can’t do it at all. It may be something we love but it is work. It’s not a hobby. 

So, instead of doing the season as planned I’m going to round off with a few stories that are already pre-recorded or written by myself in the past. A short monologue with the wonderful James Keenan that took place in May for Short Attention Span Theatre, based on a true story and a short film called The Auditors I made in 2013 produced by Pan Breed productions. If I find anything else I’ll chuck it in. 

Don’t worry I’m cooking up a project or two for when we can sit together and be together again. And it’s going to be fun. I cannae wait - and I’ll see ye there.

If you want more of my writing do check out my website, where you can find short stories, sketches and links to all my books. You can also check out my instagram, @dancingtoaster for all the latest short little stories and other bits and pieces. 

Take care, stay safe and we’ll share some more stories with you soon.