Talking Theatre With HeadlessActing

Theatre is a major part of the cultural scene and we are happy to talk to one of the people aiming to put Scottish talent on the map with a series of shows aimed at the stage and building on their own experiences in the field, from sourcing funding to casting, HeadlessActing is pushing the envelope of the creative arts.

Why don’t you start by introducing yourself and telling the lost audience what you do in the creative arts? 

My name is Brandon Ferguson and I’m an Actor and writer.  Recently, I created the production company ‘Headless Acting’ as a way to produce and perform some of my own  pieces of writing. Currently, HeadlessActing is working on two plays with a third being in early development.

You have been talking on social media about your recent Fringe show and plans to do more stage work from a Scottish perspective, can you tell us more about that? 

Yes, I have just finished my first ever run at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I was playing ‘Peter’ in “Alba” which was written by Jack Byrne and Jordan Howat of ‘Action Theatre Scotland’. I had a wonderful time working on that. I’d never smiled more in my entire life, on the stage and off.

Once the Edinburgh Fringe was over I was just so eager to jump into something else, I decided it was time to create my own work. The Theatre industry in Scotland is dying a slow and painful death, whether that’s to do with ticket prices or even just that theatre is seen as “posh.” I wanted to fix that. I wanted to bring in a brand new audience, reach people who may never have stepped inside a theatre before. 

I had written a play about an event in Scottish history, but this play was a huge task. I would need a big team and a lot of funding. So,  I chose to start with something else, something smaller. So I wrote “*Smoke Not Included” which is a Stoner Comedy on the Stage. This play is one act, one location and four characters. What better way to bring in a new audience than putting on a stoner comedy haha.

Something we have noticed is you are very theatre focused with stage being a major part of your social media showcase, can you tell us what made this your focus as a creative? 

I’ve always been interested in theatre.  I never got to see much of it prior to being in high school, but I was always so entranced by the theatre. The sets and costumes, the actors! It’s magic! Buy a ticket, grab a drink and sit and enjoy the show. You might see a perfectly executed performance, you might see actors breaking character and causing everyone to laugh, you might even happen to see a story that touches you in a way a TV show or Movie never could. I like to say that theatre is just a live action book. When someone reads a book they can imagine what is happening and what the world may look like. Well, on the stage it is the exact same! The audience has a suspension of disbelief, you don’t need backdrops and a full room of sets. You just need the actors and a few important pieces of set or prop and the imagination of the audience does the rest. It’s great! 

“There’s also what I said before about the theatre industry in Scotland dying. I don’t think I could just stand back and watch that happen. I had to create. I had to try and show people that theatre isn’t scary, it isn’t too posh for you and it shouldn’t be too expensive.”

You recently talked about a crowdfunding campaign for your projects. Can you tell us more about the project and what is being planned?  Will you focus solely on theatre or expand into other areas of work? 

We are raising money for our first production, “*Smoke Not Included” , on Kickstarter, we still have a few hundred pounds left to raise. I couldn’t even describe this play to you if I tried, it’s quite silly, lighting and sound is used in a way to emphasise humour, there’s a lot of fun moments but at its heart, there’s a nugget of sadness. Neil, Jacko, Lauren and Aaron are our characters. They all have quite interesting relationships with each other. I won’t say too much haha. We’re currently casting for Aaron and Neil, submissions are open until 20th October. We are planning on going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next year as well as having a few performances in Fife. We also intend on filming the production and posting that on YouTube sometime after we finish doing the show. This is a way to combat theatre shows being short lived. We’re kind of immortalising it on YouTube haha. 

I do believe that HeadlessActing will remain working in theatre, but that’s not to say there isn’t a short film or two in the works.

What does the future hold for you and your team in media and creative terms?  What can we expect to see from you?

Currently HeadlessActing has a 4-Year plan. We aim to cast, rehearse and perform a show every year for the next four. We want to work with as many Scottish creatives that we can! I can’t say too much right now but we are working with a Scottish Artist and a Scottish Musician on one of our projects right now. We are also aiming to cover a wide range of genres. Starting with Comedy, then Horror, then History, Then Noir. If you’re following our Instagram (headless_acting) and our Twitter (@HeadlessActing) you’ll see we post updates all the time! Right now we are casting for *Smoke Not Included. We’ve received a lot of submissions and the self tapes are coming in now. We’re very excited for what the future holds.

To learn more about HeadlessActing or to support their work see:

*Smoke Not Included Crowdfunding Campaign.

HeadlessActing Instagram.

HeadlessActing Twitter.

Making No Mercy a Boxing Odyssey

When it comes to indie film the process can be arduous and full of obstacles but the outcome is worth every step. Tackling not just acting but producing, directing, and more we talk to Louis Findlay about his latest film No Mercy, a film about the darker side of boxing, taking the gloves off and looking at it from a different angle.

Filming a project on this scale is a big undertaking, what have been some of the challenges you have faced in the process and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for this project was money. I must have spent around £2,000+ on the project which is all I could really afford. Most of it was my own money and then the rest was via GoFundMe. The way I overcame potential challenges prior to filming was by writing locations I knew I had access to and casting friends I had worked with before. Then it was literally asking a LOT of favors from everyone else. One challenge I wasn’t prepared for was COVID. We literally had the training montage to film which is one of the most important scenes in any boxing movie,  so we couldn’t wrap it till we shot that but no one knew how long lockdown would last.  I felt about pulling the plug on this project so many times when the going got tough, but I just had to fight my way through it (no pun intended) 

The style of the film is very close to the docudrama or docusoap style, do you think that will change how people will look at the film and the people involved?  

Yeah, I hope so. The main focus was about making these characters feel real and forget people are actually playing these parts. I wanted to show this working-class family who are incredibly close, who have had their ups and downs and a fair share of family drama but at the end of the day, you can relate and fall in love with them.  I wanted it to feel natural and I think the visual style really helps to sell that. THAT and the fact everyone just bossed their roles. 

What was the motivation for this project in particular the look at boxing and the behind the gloves side of the business?

 My dad used to box back in the day, not professional but had a few bouts. He tried getting me to do it as a kid but I felt bad hitting people in the face. I have fond memories of his Mike Tyson VHS tapes on the shelf (which eventually made their way to the loft.  Dad and I watched them a few times when I was a kid and I thought it was pretty cool but had no interest in pursuing it other than working the bag and pads in the gym as I got older. 

But I think what makes any boxing film great is the story outside the ring, I think southpaw is a great example of that because he’s fighting for his daughter, not about being champ.  For my film, I wanted to focus on the darker side of boxing which is reflected in some of the dialogue and the way the promoter goes about business. I took a lot of inspiration from DareDevil, between a prize-fighting father and a son who looks up to him, but behind the scenes the promoter is dodgy. I also threw a lot of personal stuff from my childhood into the project too. 

There have been many who have taken the step over the line from actor to director/producer and worked both sides of the camera. Do you think this is something you will continue between acting jobs as a means to not only showcase your own concepts but to create opportunities for others in the creative fields?  

Absolutely, 100%. I had no idea how to get into the acting business when I left school so I started making my own films. In essence, I’ve learned other skills along the way by doing that such as writing and learning how a camera works.  But I’m very much a person who can’t sit still, I don’t wait for the grass to grow and if no one is going to give me the roles I want then I’ll go out and get them myself. I could’ve been waiting years for a role like this and it may have never come my way.  I think it’s so important for actors to make their own work and if I can help others out along the way and offer opportunities in front or behind the camera then that’s what I’ll continue to do! 

 What is next for you and your team? Do you have any projects in the works that you can tell us about?

 Yes, I’ve got a micro shortcoming very soon that we shot on the sky in Trafalgar, a short film called RoadKill that I had hoped to turn into a feature and a drama coming very soon which is about a man confronting someone from his past revisiting some disturbing memories. I have also just written two new features. 

What advice would you offer to someone starting their journey as a filmmaker and actor?

As I said, don’t wait for the grass to grow. It is so easy to make a film nowadays, we all have a camera in our pocket so just write something and film it.  Find like-minded people who can help you and if you’re really nice to people they’ll go out of their way for you. If you don’t ask, you don’t get - simple! 

*I would like to add a huge thank you to everyone involve and in particular Marcus O’Brien, Brandon Bailey, Dan brooks, Richie lamb, Gerard, and Keith Scott.

To learn more about the film or the team see:

No Mercy Trailer.

No Mercy Facebook.

No Mercy Twitter.

No Mercy IMDB.

Frederick Edward Social Commentator and Youtuber

We wanted to look at other elements of the media including Youtube commentators and a prime example of this would be Frederick Edward who took the leap into the world of social and historical commentary giving his viewers a unique insight into the world at large. Already a respected writer with articles featured in The Conservative Woman, he is taking steps in this new direction and bringing a new perspective to the public dialogue.

Frederick Edward Social Commentator and Youtuber

Can you start by telling us a little more about your background and what led you to set up a youtube channel?

Starting a YouTube channel is something I had intended to do for years. However, I never quite got round to it. I was always interested in issues surrounding politics and ideas but had been a consumer of content rather than a producer. Perhaps I lacked confidence or was just busy with other things. For example, I spent thousands of hours in my twenties learning Chinese – an unforgiving task which I’m still trying to find a post hoc justification for.

As strange as it may sound, the thing that made me decide to become more active was the death of Roger Scruton – the finest conservative philosopher of our age. Very suddenly, one of the most robust defenders of Western civilization was no longer around. While I am in no way suggesting that I in any way fill the vast gap left by his death, it made me realize that it is ultimately up to us all as individuals to speak plainly and enter the realm of debate. It is too easy to leave it to others to do the heavy lifting!

Tell us more about your target audience and what makes your channel unique?

I’m not sure whether I have a specific target audience in mind. My guiding principle is to make videos or write articles on topics that I find interesting; hopefully, this cathartic endeavor will resonate with people. My worry would be that if I try and target myself specifically to anyone niche I would end up adopting a style or lines of argument that aren’t necessarily mine. Putting on an act in that way is ultimately self-defeating.

In terms of uniqueness… that is hard to say. There are many incredibly erudite, talented, and insightful people who put out content online. I leave it to my audience to decide in what ways my endeavors create value-added in that realm. Nevertheless, over the last few decades, mainstream media has become victim to an intellectual and cultural monoculture that fails to speak to a majority of people, meaning appetite has grown for people who will say things that would certainly be unwelcome in an issue of The Guardian. I most definitely fall into that category – I’m yet to receive an invitation to write a column for that esteemed publication.

As a “YouTuber” are you a solo worker or do you have a team?  What has been your biggest challenge in creating your content?

Other than my mum making me the odd cup of tea, I’m a one-man-band. There were a few hurdles to overcome when I started producing videos – specifically that I had never used a video editor – but the process has not been as technically difficult as I first envisaged.

The greatest hurdle for me, instead, was the very act of speaking in front of a camera. Feeling comfortable, sounding natural, and cogently expressing thoughts when just speaking to the camera on your phone is something I still have to try and get used to. Going through all this, I definitely have a newly discovered respect for people who can deliver pieces in one, seemingly effortless, take. I’m quite not at that point myself. 慢慢来！

What is the future of your channel?  What is the longterm plan for your work?

I will continue to make videos alongside all of life’s other commitments. I think the next stage would be to learn how to make more visually engaging content: when you see a video that has unique and interesting visuals it can be hard to take your eyes off it. There are some YouTube channels that do this incredibly well and deserve their large audiences.

Otherwise, I will try and write more articles as well. While YouTube is a good platform, one wonders what may be at work behind the scenes in the website’s algorithms. As such, getting my articles and videos out there on other platforms is something I will increasingly try to do.

What advice would you offer to anyone looking to set up a channel?

Get ready to put in a lot of work and don’t be disappointed if you don’t strike gold immediately. It is peculiar to see some people’s attempts immediately translate into stardom, but the reality is more likely to involve a great deal of effort and long hours staring at your YouTube channel’s statistics and worrying about SEO.

More broadly, I would advise people in general – but also those who are thinking of starting a channel – to speak plainly and not to be cowed by the opinions of others. Be honest and speak truths as you see them. Honesty is a commodity that is increasingly in short supply today, and the truth is our greatest weapon in combatting the madness we see around us.

To learn more about Frederick or to follow his channel and social media see:

Frederick Edward Youtube.

Frederick Edward Facebook.

Frederick Edward Twitter.

Frederick Edward Parler.