Adjustments….
Our first output is a new film by Nicola May-Taylor, presented by If Opera and The Lot Productions and directed by Harry Mackrill.
“It is an act of courage to summon that quiet voice and tell someone ‘no’ – to trust in your own voice and power. Sometimes those magical moments of strength are given to us during the most everyday scenarios, but they still take courage and they still matter. This is what Adjustments means to me.”
Nicola May-Taylor, Writer / MAYA
One of the primary aims of If Opera is to ensure that whatever we do in the digital realm, it should always be focused on two core principles; that the viewer should come away from the experience understanding the impact that music can have on the individual and secondly, that the piece amplifies the concepts of live performance and attendance. Our first output in this realm – indeed our first output of any kind – is Adjustments, a short film that focuses on how music – and specifically opera – impacts the grieving process of the main protagonist, Maya.
When the script of Adjustments was first proposed to us, it struck me that the film represented several aspects of what If Opera is about, as well as giving us a brilliant first creative opportunity as this new company begins its journey. It isn’t strictly a film about opera; it shows how opera can permeate lives and affect the core tenets of what we all may go through. To most of us who work in the arts, what we do is always seen as more important than just mere entertainment and Adjustments illuminates this process.
It was important to us that the film had authenticity and it was therefore a great thrill that the brilliant Nadine Benjamin agreed to play Melanie, the opera singer whose concert changes the course of Maya’s grieving. Nadine recorded the performance you hear in the film on set and the singing you hear is what emerged on the day of filming – something that was vital to the actors’ responses (it was filmed in a small theatre space and that glittering voice certainly had an impact!) But the whole enterprise of the film supports the key ambitions of If Opera, too. The Lot Productions, our partners in this project, ensured that several on the crew were people still in training who gained valuable professional experience and many of the extras are still at drama college. For the writer and star of the film, Nicola May-Taylor, this is her first film writing credit and, there is diversity throughout the casting and principal creative and producing collective. Perhaps most importantly of all, the film itself seeks to demonstrate the need for individual agency among those working in the arts, the ability to have a voice, and to contribute to a collective as well as a personally positive outcome. As Nicola says herself, ‘to trust in your own voice and power.’
Adjustments also encourages us to confront grief and mental health and how art can change the course of that process, providing new perspectives to help us move forward. We shouldn’t expect that every performance we attend or hear should impact our lives profoundly – this would be an unrealistic expectation of our industry and it is this expectation that sometimes leads us to make bad decisions. Yet on the other hand, it is also important that we allow ourselves to submit to the powerful things that beautiful music and drama can do to us. We have all had moments in the theatre when something on stage seems to resonate deeply with us, or reflects back at us something of ourselves. Maya, behind her sound desk, on her first challenging day back at work after trauma, experiences a small revelation, not just from hearing the music, but by her interaction with the performer who provided it.
We are very pleased to present this film to our audiences. It is a touching, beautifully shot and gives If Opera an opportunity to reach out into our audience, but it also hopes to give non-opera audiences a glimpse of the power of our art form.
