Q&A: JODY O'NEILLactress and playwright, talks to EOIN BUTLER
Your upcoming show documents a love story that turns sour .. .Yes, it revolves around two characters who are very heavily invested in the world of online social networking. They inhabit that world and become romantically involved there. She's old fashioned and looking for a strong man to protect her. He presents himself very much in that mould. But when they meet in real life, they realise they don't know each other at all. They've created these online personas, but they've edited out the things they didn't like.
These characters' online personas actually exist for real, don't they?Both characters are on Twitter, and Simon White, the male character, has about 300 friends on Facebook. I've written weeks of Twitter and Facebook scripts and I'm constantly online chatting in character to people who leave comments. This brings us right up to the point where the two characters meet online for the first time, which is where the show starts. In terms of representing the rest of the story onstage, we decided against using a lot of technology. Because, at heart, this is a human story.
Why is it called 'Celebrity'?Well, Simon is obsessed with iconic stars such as Kylie, who he regards as the perfect woman, so the show looks at the way we put celebrities on a pedestal as something bigger than ourselves. The need to do this, I think, comes from a very similar place as the need for religion. We also explore the contradictory messages sent out by women's magazines. You know, they write that someone is too fat, someone else is too skinny. On the next page they'll talk about the latest diet tips followed by an article about positive body image. These days, with social networking, anybody can become a celebrity in their own little universe.
It's aimed at teenagers. Are you worried that your audience might know more about the subject matter than you do?I would be worried if we were trying to lecture people. What we're aiming to do is to represent this world rather than judge it.
How do teenagers differ from adults in terms of online interaction?There's less of an edit button for teenagers. Less thought often seems to go into what you're actually putting out there. Teenagers can be mean, too. They post insulting messages on each others' walls and set up fights between girls in school and then post videos afterwards.
I had a friend in school who invented flattering nicknames for himself. The joke then, of course, was that you don't get to decide how other people see you.You couldn't, no.
But with social networking, you can do that to a certain degree.I suppose I'm fascinated with the idea that people use Facebook to market a certain version of themselves to the world. The male character in this show seems quite exotic. He's always seems to be jet-setting around the world, but we never really know whether it's true or not. He's obsessed with iconic stars such as Kylie who conform to the stereotypical idea of a perfect woman, and the female character seems to fit that. The relationship works online but in real life it doesn't work at all .
While researching social networking, what's the strangest story you've come across?There was a woman who started a blog about a terminally ill baby she was carrying. It garnered lots of fans and money started to pour in. People were buying merchandise and everything. Of course, it turned out to a hoax. She intended it as a pro-life stunt, I think.
What do you hope the audience who comes to see the show will take from it? The thing about social networking, I think, is that while it's a relatively recent phenomenon, it does still just come down to human behaviour. It's totally dependent on people and the extent they're willing to put themselves out there. We hope the young people who come to see the show will start to think about some of the issues it raises. We're not trying to change the world, just to create awareness.
Celebrityruns in the Project Arts Centre, Dublin from January 11th to 29th. See celebritymagazine.ie
