Little Lark of London

“I get the absolute best of all worlds because I’m in the show, but I also get to watch the entire show from the side and be part audience, part performer.”

After a successful run at the Arcola Theatre, Hold On To Your Butts is now roaring across the UK, including a week at the Arts Theatre on the West End in April! The show is a “shot for shot” 75-minute parody of the iconic Jurassic Park film, with two performers and a Foley Artists taking on not only all of the characters but also the sounds and set as well!

Recently, we had the chance to catch up with Charlie Ives, the Foley Artist for Hold On To Your Butts. We discussed what it’s like to be a Foley artist for the show, how it’s been touring so far and even what her favourite dinosaur is – and how it’s changed!

So starting with a bit of a general question, how did you first get started in the world of theatre?

I went to go see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when I was eight, and cried on the way out because I immediately wanted to go and see it again! I was thinking it was like a cinema – you cam go and see it again later. And that half term of school, I then joined an after-school drama club, and that was it. That was then the trajectory through three youth theaters from the age of about eight to 21 and then National Youth Theatre. Then I went to uni for Drama and English, and then I went to drama school, and was like, “Yeah, it’s not going away. It’s definitely the thing that I needed to do. Stage2 Youth Theatre in Birmingham was a really big factor, and very good teachers at school in terms of instilling the belief at a teenager that it’s something that could be done and that I should go for. I feel really lucky to have had that kind of background, a classic route. But, I didn’t get to drama school until 24.

And have you seen Joseph since?

I have actually, only once! And it was still just as magical. [Laughs]

And what made you want to be a part of Hold On To Your Butts?

I love comedy and I love parodies. I’ve done a fair amount of sketch comedy at uni and parody shows with a group of uni friends once we all moved to London together, and it felt like Recent Cutbacks were doing the same thing in New York. So coming together felt very organic – we’re doing similar things. When I saw the casting call, I immediately emailed my agent and was like, “I just feel like this has got me written all over it!” That specific skill set with the Foley track especially. If you’ve got a movie or something similar that people already enjoy, and you’ve already got that fan base, there’s so much fun you can have with the shared references, the shared love and the appreciation of it and how silly it can be.

So you’d had experience of being a Foley artist before joining the show, or was this your first go at it?

Not in an official capacity! I’ve done a fair amount of mime where we Foley ourselves,  birdsong and things in the background of scenes. If we’re opening a door, then we’re Foley-ing the door and the doorbell and all of that. So it feels like it’s been quite a natural progression from mime to mime with sound effects to now I don’t get to do any mime – I just do all the sound effects while the boys do all the mime! And I get to correct that mime. [Laughs]

And what is it like to be a Foley artist for Hold On To Your Butts?

It’s so joyous. I was saying to to one of the cast while we were in Manchester that I feel like I get the absolute best of all worlds because I’m in the show, but I also get to watch the entire show from the side and be part audience, part performer. I get to see everything that they’re doing in creating this show, but then I also get to be able to do it along with them, add all the sounds and be part of that play. And sometimes they’ll look over at me as if we’re going to do a little joke or improv, and I’m like, “Oh yeah, I get to be a part of this!”

Do you have any favourite sounds that you get to do?

I have so many! The T-Rex stomp the first time has the biggest impact because if we get the mic level right, it gives real tingly shivers to the audience and can surprise some of the children. I really like the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs are where the real fun is had. But there’s real satisfaction with opening and closing doors, weirdly! It has to be so in sync. When it’s really pacey and going for it, the speed picks up and we’re totally in sync, and there’s so much going on and all the sounds are there, that’s the most satisfying part of it. 

So when you joined the show, were the sounds already specifically scripted? Or were you able to improvise as you went along?

A bit of both, really! A lot of them, in the script, would say, “Track One,” “Track Two,” and then “Foley Velociraptor screech!” [Laughs] Sometimes it splits between “Foley” and “Mouth,” which I find really funny. “Foley” will be what I’m doing with my hands and “Mouth” is what’s happening with my mouth at the same time. And also “Sound Cue!” The director was on hand going, “There’s a difference between static for the Velociraptor scream in the Badlands being a wet sound and shaving cream being a dry sound.” The director was so specific – that’s how they found in the past that that worked. I also had the film as a reference, obviously, and I did a lot of sitting there and being like, “What’s gonna be my version of that?” I can’t quite achieve total realism, but I can find my version of that. And I’ve definitely taken some liberties with adding in little extra bits that I enjoy, for me. If someone sits in a tree and they start moving, then I’m rustling those leaves!

I feel like this is probably a more unique rehearsal process than other shows – I don’t think I’ve ever heard of another rehearsal where you make velociraptor noises!

No, never! Weirdest audition as well, because imagine doing all of that but without any actors in the room! I found it quite weird because I’m quite an over-prepper for rehearsals and like to do as much work beforehand, but other than watching the film and looking at the archival footage that they had, there wasn’t much with this role I could do outside of rehearsals, other than looking at what the quality of the sound is, because so much of it relies on waiting ‘til the boys have set exactly what their movements are, so then I can Foley them.

What has it been like being a part of Hold On To Your Butts so far? 

We had the London run, we’re on tour, we’ve got a confirmed week in the West End in April that we are unbelievably excited about – that’ll be my West End debut! I can’t believe how incredible it is that it gets to be with this show that I adore and that we have so much ownership over. It’s been great because we got really settled at the Arcola. It felt like home and it was really intimate – we knew that space and had a lot of play with it. And then we had a few weeks off, and then came back to it, like, “Oh, it is all still there, good!” [Laughs] And then moving it into different spaces has been really exciting. There’s obviously all the tech stuff of having to check that. It’s a lot of work for our stage manager checking that all the lights are down and their sound levels are right. But there’s a handful of moments that take place in or around the audience, and deciding where those can be when we arrive in every venue is really exciting because that just keeps it really fresh!

And you’re bringing Hold On To Your Butts to the West End! How does that feel?

It feels so exciting! It’s just the perfect thing because it’s so joyous, it’s so funny, it’s so clever. I don’t think there’s anything else like it on the West End at the moment. I certainly don’t feel like I’m competing with any other Foley artists in the West End, which is good for me – sits me in a nice little place! [Laughs] And because it’s so accessible and family-friendly, it works really well being around the Easter holidays, having daytime shows to get people in. When people are strolling out of Leicester Square at 11 in the morning or 1 or 3 in the afternoon, they can go, “What’s on at these weird times of day?” 

Do you have a favourite dinosaur?

I like the cuteness of a little Compy [Compsognathus] because they’re small, but I feel like I’ve really become a fan of a T-Rex. Just the power, the pure gravitas . . .  She’s majestic. Do you have a favourite?

Brachiosaurus! Gotta love ‘em. What do you hope audiences take away from Hold On To Your Butts?

I hope their sides are aching from how much they’ve laughed, I hope their makeup has streamed down their face from how much they’ve been laughing. I hope they leave with a sense that play is so important. Re-engaging with that sense of childish play is something that benefits everyone. It’s pure escapism. We get to just be in a playground for an hour and see what we can create. I hope that that inspires other people to either do the same or just engage with that creative part of themselves. I imagine lots of people will want to go watch the film as well afterwards to see how accurate our impressions were!

And finally, how would you describe Hold On To Your Butts in one word?

Chaos was the first thing that came to mind. Ian Malcolm, Jeff Goldblum’s chaos. It truly is. Obviously finely tuned and very organised chaos. But yes, it really is chaos!

Hold On To Your Butts is on tour around the UK from 7 February to 16 April. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.