A New Stage and Blocking the Play.

Sunday 1st May.  No we don't do bank holidays, thankyou.

The stage is there - it is hidden under the carpet...

Hooray!  We have a lovely new stage, built by John the Carpenter.  It is bigger than we expected, but looks fantastic and is extremely solid!  Should last a few more productions after this one, and being made in sections, can be moved to other areas of the room or building.

This was just the right time because it made the main job of the day, blocking the play, much easier. Blocking is (well, my interpretation of the word) when you map out the movements of all the actors during the play, making sure there are no pointless movements, and that positioning, personal space, levels and so on, are all appropriate for whatever the script and action are trying to convey.  This can be quite complicated in places, but is very useful, especially for very dynamic parts of the action such as explosions and arguments.  Blocking also helps people learn lines as they can attach a line to a movement in their memory.

However, before I talk too much about the creative work we did today - I have to confess that at this point in the proceedings, 

I'm not panicking, but ...

I don't actually mind sharing this.  I believe in transparency, on the whole.  But I am a little bit concerned about the fact that we now have 3 weeks till the performance and still not got a whole cast, and haven't even started working on the last scene.  I'm not completely concerned as in wildly panicking, because I know this is a community project, made up of good will, and whatever happens, we have created something very good, out of a not quite finished script and a very small grant, in an extremely short space of time.  

Some really positive work was done with a skeleton cast...

However.  A full cast would be great.  I thought we had someone to play Richard, and was very excited, only to learn that he hasn't actually decided yet whether he can do it.  Firm decision due on Wednesday, fingers crossed.  I've given up on the person who was playing Joe ever coming back, and so am now trying to figure out whether to cut the part out of the script all together (my favoured option) or to find someone else (the scriptwriters favoured option).  I will try the second option, and if that fails, the first will have to do.  Another actor unexpectedly disappeared to Scotland , and so didn't come to this rehearsal, which was quite important as he isn't really familiar with the group yet and group coherence/trust is highly important in co-ordinating the performance and building confidence.  We do, I am very glad to say, have someone to play Douglas, and they will be at the final drama day, which is a week before the performance.  Luckily he is a very dedicated and thorough person and I think if anyone can pull of the part in one week, Simon can.  Pre-arranged absences include that the person playing Rachel was off in Scotland today, the actress playing Bridget is off playing cricket for 2 weeks, and our young 'Louise' is studying for GCSE's and will also turn up at the final rehearsal.  Phew.  That's all that off me chest.

Jayse saved the day by coming in and reading Godfrey's lines, and to his surprise, rather enjoyed himself

 That is the scary bit over - and I want to share it because producing plays and managing this sort of project often has moments when you think - flip, this can't possibly be done.  And if I wasn't quite such a ridiculous optimist, this may be one of those times.  But you know, I am confident.  We have some wonderful people, actors, technicians, family and friends, who are all working together and sharing the experience.  Something good is bound to come of this, isn't it?



We had the sound production person - Chris, who along with Gabi (playing Emily), have a Sound/Dance company (http://www.standingtone.co.uk/).  Chris is busily getting on with planning the sound production, the most complicated part of which is an explosion, including a rumble which will hopefully be felt as well as heard.  Chris coming along is one of those things that wasn't actually planned for, but now he has joined us, I really don't know what we would have done without him.

Haven't got a clue what Sophie's doing here, but she looks very happy about it ...

Josh and Dale rehearsing the explosion scene

 Also on the technical side, Becky came to join us to help with the costumes.  We are going to have to have some budget for these, as there will be some things which can only be brought or hired.  Saying that, we are going to keep the costumes as simple as possible, hinting at, rather that describing in detail, the style of the day.  We have started collecting costumes and props, and have so far got a dress for the character of Vicky, and a rifle.

Just a few more bits and pieces to go.  Actually I got a little pile of very old records today.  Anyone got a 1940s record player?


Speaking of props and costumes - Becky found a very interesting looking website - http://www.northstaffs1940s.co.uk/   I'll give them a ring tomorrow...

At some points blocking the movements felt more like choreography, as all members of the cast had to be aware of each other, and movements had to be carefully co-ordinated.

 The main point in the development of the drama today, was blocking.  We managed to block most of the play, however as we only had half the actors and one or two stand ins, we will have to go through it all in detail again next time.  Still, it won't hurt to go through it again.

Chris, the sound engineer, tells the rest of the cast how the sound
 production will take shape

 This play has lots of different threads of plot and sub-plot, relationships, both public and secret, and twists.  This means that there are often several characters on the stage who have all got very different purposes to being there.  In blocking the play, we have tried to show some of the more subtle meanings and motivations, that are not spelled out in the script, by putting them into the movements.  I won't spell them all out here, because it will be interesting to see if the audience pick them up from the performance.

Yes I know we said no scripts on stage...

As far as the no scripts on stage rule goes, despite the evidence suggested by the pics, the cast were actually very good.  The only people that had scripts on stage were those reading parts that were actually being acted by an absent other.  Saying that, there were times when I had to prompt every word of an actors speech, but hopefully that will have inspired those concerned to thoroughly learn their lines by next rehearsal.

Lunchtime is a very important part of the day, because it is when everyone gets to spend some time relaxing, enjoying the garden, and sharing a meal.  The best way to get to know each other.  We do talk about the play, but it is also an opportunity to share personal stories, ideas and experiences of other projects.

New members, old members and temporary helpers all having a tea break