As part as our Edinburgh Fringe 2024 coverage we are running a series of interviews with artists and creatives that are taking part in the festival.
In this interview we speak to Louise Orwin about her show FAMEHUNGRY.
Where did your arts career begin?
Probably when I left my MA (RCSSD), and began performing at scratch nights and grassroots live art and contemporary performance festivals all over the UK. I think I was quite lkucky to be emerging from uni at a time when there seemed to be a plethora of platforms for early career artists- and that’s really where I cut my teeth, trying out new material, beginning to understand how my work met audiences, and in some ways, how programming and venues worked. Sometimes I worry that there don’t seem to be as many opportunities for young/early career artists emerging into the industry now. After that I got my first big break on Camden People’s Theatre’s Starting Blocks scheme, where I had my first big hit and three week run in London with Pretty Ugly- a show which kind of broke the internet and led to me being on breakfast TV around the world and in print and on the radio, it was quite disorientating for a me as a baby artist! I’ll always be thankful to Brian Logan Camden People’s Theatre’s former AD for holding my hand through it all.
Photo by Frederick Wilkinson |
What can you tell me about your show?
In some ways, FAMEHUNGRY is sort of like a return to the territory of Pretty Ugly. That show was about teenage girls on the internet- I was obsessed with how teenage girls were culture-makers in so many ways, but were also completely vilified and abused so often online. I often take a kind of gonzo-style approach to my work, and for that show I lived as three teenage girls online (with alter-egos that I had crafted) for a year, and the show told the surprising and somewhat horrifying story of what happened next. FAMEHUNGRY takes a similar approach. 4 years ago I met a 15 year old content creator and TikToker called Jaxon Valentine and was horrified and obsessed when I found out that they had a following of 50,000 on TikTok. I wondered what it meant for them to perform on the daily to an audience that size; how it might change them, they way they saw themselves and the world. But I also wondered why in the hell they had a following of 50,000 people and the largest audience I’d ever performed for was 250 people (ps I’m a performance artist so even 250 people is quite a large audience for us!). It prompted a mild existential crisis and lots of questions about fame, the attention economy we live in, and the future. And so the next step was obvious for me: I had to become a TikToker myself. Over the course of a year, Jax mentored me in becoming a TikToker and growing my following and the show tells the story of that journey, and what I learnt about myself and the world through that process.
The show is definitely performance art meets TikTok. As with all my work, I’m performing largely for a camera- this time my phone’s camera- and the show has an innovative multi-media set up. The show is performed by me and Jax, with a few surprise faces popping up along the way. There’s dancing and weird performance-art style tasks, and stupid jokes, all served up with a healthy dose of existential threat.
As mentioned much of my work to date has taken a kind of gonzo-style approach to investigation a knotty question, or curiosity I have about something in the world, so that was the main approach for the work. I’d never actually been on TikTok before I started making this show, and in some ways, since the initial year of mentoring with Jax, I’ve had to stay on it! Alongside being on TikTok, Jax and I spent hours and hours chatting over zoom- and the data that I gathered (if you want to call it that!) became the bones of the work. I’m also obsessed with liveness in performance, so I knew there had to be a super live element to the show, a super live way of asking the central question: and that’s where the TikTok Live element to the show came from. The show begins with me setting up a game and it’s rule: I tell my TikTok Live audience that I’m going to perform for them, and in return I want them to reward me with likes (if they like what I do of course!). I tell them that if I reach my goal in likes (which is upped every night that I reach that goal) the I will do something amazing for them. The theatre audience then get to become voyeurs to the weird hunt for fame and fortune that I play out on TikTok Live, all whilst Jax mentors me live on stage. Around this you also learn about what I found out about TikTok and social media and being an artist on my journey to become a TikTokers, plus a few other surprises along the way.
Other than obviously just trying to make the show as good as it can be- sleeping! And trying to make sure I’m as healthy as possible before I get up there. Most years leaving Edinburgh I’ve been a complete mess, so I’m trying to avoid that this year! Although, as a seasoned Fringe performer, I also fully know that the Edinburgh gods demand a sacrifice so who am I to argue with that?
Just seeing as much work as possible! There’s nowhere like Edinburgh for seeing such a wide spectrum of work, and I actually think it’s a brilliant place for artist to learn about their craft, and what’s going on in the industry and the collective unconscious.
Well obviously, following on from the above- seeing amazing work by other artist and companies. But also, pop culture. So much of my work to date has been inspired by the black hole of pop culture that we’re served. I love how it provides a kind of barometer for what’s going on in the world and in our collective cultural psyche, and I often find myself finding ways to repeat, regurgitate and deconstruct trends, and pop cultural moments. There’s so much there.
I think some people will find it fascinating what the show teaches them about social media and TikTok- and so for them, I hope they take away a sense of curiosity and nuance in their opinions about all of that. I think the other thing that feels really important to me about the show is presenting this kind of ongoing intergenerational conversation between me and Jax about the state of the world: social media, what it means to be an artist, what it means to watch, what we’re willing to watch, what the future looks like. All massive questions, of course, that I think I super important and prevalent now. But for me, the missing part of the conversation in the public eye on all these topics, is the voice of a younger generation. So I hope people take that away- and maybe a sense of hope. Working with Jax has definitely made me feel hopeful for the future.
FAMEHUNGRY will be playing the Main Hall at Summerhall all month long (1st-26th August), at 4.15pm
In some ways, FAMEHUNGRY is sort of like a return to the territory of Pretty Ugly. That show was about teenage girls on the internet- I was obsessed with how teenage girls were culture-makers in so many ways, but were also completely vilified and abused so often online. I often take a kind of gonzo-style approach to my work, and for that show I lived as three teenage girls online (with alter-egos that I had crafted) for a year, and the show told the surprising and somewhat horrifying story of what happened next. FAMEHUNGRY takes a similar approach. 4 years ago I met a 15 year old content creator and TikToker called Jaxon Valentine and was horrified and obsessed when I found out that they had a following of 50,000 on TikTok. I wondered what it meant for them to perform on the daily to an audience that size; how it might change them, they way they saw themselves and the world. But I also wondered why in the hell they had a following of 50,000 people and the largest audience I’d ever performed for was 250 people (ps I’m a performance artist so even 250 people is quite a large audience for us!). It prompted a mild existential crisis and lots of questions about fame, the attention economy we live in, and the future. And so the next step was obvious for me: I had to become a TikToker myself. Over the course of a year, Jax mentored me in becoming a TikToker and growing my following and the show tells the story of that journey, and what I learnt about myself and the world through that process.
The show is also quite unique in that it is performed simultaneously for two audiences: I am streaming live to a TikTok Live audience, at the same time as performing on stage for the theatre audience. The caveat being that the TikTok Live audience aren’t quite in on the joke- and don’t see the full experience. You’ll have to see the show though to understand what I mean there!
How would you describe the style of the show?
The show is definitely performance art meets TikTok. As with all my work, I’m performing largely for a camera- this time my phone’s camera- and the show has an innovative multi-media set up. The show is performed by me and Jax, with a few surprise faces popping up along the way. There’s dancing and weird performance-art style tasks, and stupid jokes, all served up with a healthy dose of existential threat.
How have you approached developing the piece?
As mentioned much of my work to date has taken a kind of gonzo-style approach to investigation a knotty question, or curiosity I have about something in the world, so that was the main approach for the work. I’d never actually been on TikTok before I started making this show, and in some ways, since the initial year of mentoring with Jax, I’ve had to stay on it! Alongside being on TikTok, Jax and I spent hours and hours chatting over zoom- and the data that I gathered (if you want to call it that!) became the bones of the work. I’m also obsessed with liveness in performance, so I knew there had to be a super live element to the show, a super live way of asking the central question: and that’s where the TikTok Live element to the show came from. The show begins with me setting up a game and it’s rule: I tell my TikTok Live audience that I’m going to perform for them, and in return I want them to reward me with likes (if they like what I do of course!). I tell them that if I reach my goal in likes (which is upped every night that I reach that goal) the I will do something amazing for them. The theatre audience then get to become voyeurs to the weird hunt for fame and fortune that I play out on TikTok Live, all whilst Jax mentors me live on stage. Around this you also learn about what I found out about TikTok and social media and being an artist on my journey to become a TikTokers, plus a few other surprises along the way.
How do/will you prepare yourself for a run at the Fringe?
Other than obviously just trying to make the show as good as it can be- sleeping! And trying to make sure I’m as healthy as possible before I get up there. Most years leaving Edinburgh I’ve been a complete mess, so I’m trying to avoid that this year! Although, as a seasoned Fringe performer, I also fully know that the Edinburgh gods demand a sacrifice so who am I to argue with that?
I’m also trying to be as good as possible on TikTok- one of the interesting nuances to the show is that sometimes being a performance artist on TikTok is quite difficult. Generally TikTok is quite a conservative platform, and as I’ve been developing the show and doing previews I’ve found myself getting censored/kicked off it quite a lot. It’s definitely bringing an interesting edge and sense of jeopardy to the show- and I’m wondering how I’m going to get through 25 shows whilst navigating this new challenge!
Other than the show, what’s something you’re looking forward to doing in Edinburgh this year?
Just seeing as much work as possible! There’s nowhere like Edinburgh for seeing such a wide spectrum of work, and I actually think it’s a brilliant place for artist to learn about their craft, and what’s going on in the industry and the collective unconscious.
What keeps you inspired?
Well obviously, following on from the above- seeing amazing work by other artist and companies. But also, pop culture. So much of my work to date has been inspired by the black hole of pop culture that we’re served. I love how it provides a kind of barometer for what’s going on in the world and in our collective cultural psyche, and I often find myself finding ways to repeat, regurgitate and deconstruct trends, and pop cultural moments. There’s so much there.
What do you hope an audience takes away from seeing the show?
I think some people will find it fascinating what the show teaches them about social media and TikTok- and so for them, I hope they take away a sense of curiosity and nuance in their opinions about all of that. I think the other thing that feels really important to me about the show is presenting this kind of ongoing intergenerational conversation between me and Jax about the state of the world: social media, what it means to be an artist, what it means to watch, what we’re willing to watch, what the future looks like. All massive questions, of course, that I think I super important and prevalent now. But for me, the missing part of the conversation in the public eye on all these topics, is the voice of a younger generation. So I hope people take that away- and maybe a sense of hope. Working with Jax has definitely made me feel hopeful for the future.
Where can audiences see the show?
FAMEHUNGRY will be playing the Main Hall at Summerhall all month long (1st-26th August), at 4.15pm
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