Throw A Pebble Down The Mountain...

...and it can start an avalanche. We threw the pebble yesterday evening and now it feels - to me at least - as if we're really underway! Yes, we had our first - fanfare please! - production meeting. Slightly truncated in terms of attendees but we've started to assemble the nuts and bolts, find out who's got the spanners, or a half-decent tool-kit, and now we're deciphering the plans. And you thought an Ikea wardrobe was difficult?

Myself, our lovely Lady of the Pins (that's Jenny, the Wardrobe Manager!), Lyndall of the Arty-Crafty Sect and Lynne, She Who Must Dance, were all present and correct and, quite frankly, brimming over with ideas. Now all I have to do is decide which ones to incorporate (I'd love to do 'em all, but it would just look as if I've thrown everything and the kitchen sink at it!) and how to do the incorporation...is there such a word? Anyway, we got a lot of stuff decided and Lyndall once again found that she couldn't say 'no' and volunteered herself (I honestly didn't pressurise her at all...honest) to make the thirteen-odd flags, the four crowns and the full-face helmet for Edgar. Star is too weak a word! Which reminds me: note to self...send out a cast list!

Jenny presented a template for the hoods we shall need, that can be adapted for royal headgear and we settled upon (at least I think we settled upon) a colour template for the costumes/flags and general assembly.
Lynne suggested a couple of brilliant adaptations for the storm sequence and the Bedlam Beggars, which I am going to play around with and present to Caiomhe, our set designer, and say 'That's what we want!' And hope it doesn't cost too much. Must remember to run those ideas by the tech gang, just to make sure it's feasible; but I'm sure they'd find a way, regardless.

Had a bit of a gloat as I presented the very excellent posters that Nigel has sent and also displayed the map on a six foot by 2.5 foot vinyl hanging thing (technical term). It looks spectacular and will, after a little remedial work to stop the lights glaring off of it, completely fill the role for which it is intended. Good job Nigel!

No point in showing the posters and handouts, you've seen those several times already, but, just for the hell of it, they do look brilliant!

Everybody seems to be winding after a long winter...although, looking out the window, I don't think winter's got the message yet...and is looking forward to a summer that will be one of the best we've had for a while. Eternal optimist, me! School's not long long to run now, Easter break looms and then the run-up, or wind-down, to the summer holidays. Warm weather - huzzah! - and the long-dreaded trip to the lock-up to sort out props and scenery and costumes and and and...it seems never-ending. Finalise the booking of the venue, send all the H&S and Risk Assessment stuff off, then start putting the programme together. Among other things. But hey, I certainly wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it...and it keeps me off the streets.
Only a few weeks to go until we're up at the castle and starting to block the play. Looking forward to meeting all the potential new members who have said that they would like to be involved, as well as meeting up with all my old friends who are returning this year.
And speaking of old friends:
KATS' production of Return to the Forbidden Planet - we went to see it last Saturday - was FAB - UUUU - LOUS (dahling!). Seriously great night out; what a storming show. Performances, music, set, costumes, all of 'em were incredible. Knowing what it takes to put on something like DSW makes me wonder, when I see a show like this, how they all find the energy to perform after getting it all together. Truly superb production. (Our Malcolm directed it you know!)
They're doing 'Blithe Spirit' in Summer, so that'll be worth a look, I know. Unfortunately, I think I've got something booked...can't think what though!

                                                       

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Been fairly busy up until now but I have a feeling that I've not got a clue as to exactly how busy it's going to become! Mind you, the next couple of week is telling me something, I think.

Thursday and we should be taking delivery of our two new bits o' kit: generator and the sound system...but that's in the afternoon. The morning will be spent at our storage facility, having a tidy up and a root round to see what's what and what's not. Also hoping to see a man about some new banners for the company...the old ones are getting slightly dog-earred and, to be honest, I don't relish the thought of spending 5+ hours up to my elbows in glue and gunk, scraping the old vinyl lettering off...again.
Thursday afternoon sees Jane and I at Kingsbridge library for the WS@thelibrary event, with Nick the Actor and us giving the denizens of that august establishment the lowdown on Bill and what it is we do every year up at the Castle. Bit of promo and a bit of fun to boot.

Saturday...at last. And at last we can see what Malcolm and the guys at KATS have been up to for the last six or so months and finally get to see Return to the Forbidden Planet. Yep, it's Shakespeare's forgotten rock 'n' roll classic. Based on the 50's Sci-Fi film, Forbidden Planet (which itself was based on The Tempest) this musical is just undiluted fun! Clever too. Lots of sly quotes and paraphrasing from some of Will's greatest. I saw this in the West End, before it won loads of Oliviers, and I can't remember ever having enjoyed myself more! And, if I'm honest, musicals have never been a huge favourite of mine, but this is just sublime.

Then what? Oh yes, following week we've got the first production meeting with all the design, tech and costume teams so we can thrash out the difference between what I can see in my mind's eye and what they can actually do...and I do have a vivid imagination.
Jenny has already been beavering away at the costumes...and we have to plan a trip to Frome and the Bath Theatrical Costumiers too...and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she's come up with.

Happy bunny, me. Saved a shed load of cash on the printing this year; less than half what it usually costs, and that includes a large 6 foot by 2+ foot vinyl rendering of a medieval map for Lear to point at when divides his kingdom. It's good feeling when a plan actually works...which is always the worry when you try something new.

I'm also hoping that Ben has received the email I sent him with the pictures of the type of beard I want him to cultivate. That's something to look forward to as well; although I'm not so sure he'll be relishing the thought of several months with a wild growth under his chin and nose!


This is not Ben - just his ugly double

No further news on any potential cast members, other than that which I've already passed on to you, but we'll keep looking. And on the off-chance that you haven't already asked your friends, please, ask your friends if they fancy a walk-on and a fancy costume. You know we have fun, persuade them that it's true!!

The Spanner in the Works.

To paraphrase Mr.Spielberg, '...just when you thought it was safe to think it was going really well...' something will invariably rear it's ugly head to make you think 'Oh...great!'

 

LOOK! Aren't they lovely? Three, count 'em, THREE brand-spanking-new benches - slap bang along the main acting runway at the castle.

In the greater scheme of things, I know it's only a smallish spanner and I also realise that we're only up there for a week or so every year but, having been up there for that week or so for past eleven years you'd think, perhaps, that good ol' SHDC might have thought 'Hang on...'

My worry is that, even if we ask for, and get, permission to remove the benches for the performances, we shall have to re-install them after every show. Again, I realise that this might seem to be an overly negative stance to adopt, but hey, you and I all know how wonderfully flexible councils can be when it comes to following the creed of the jobsworth!

Had there only been the original two benches, then that, obviously, would have posed no problem, we've been using them/disguising them for years...and I suppose we'll get used to the new ones - going to have to, I suspect - but it's just another niggling little thing that needs circumventing, that needs thinking about, that needs another letter to be written and another level of bureaucracy that has to be dealt with. If the reams of paper we get each year, just to obtain permission to use the space, are anything to go by, we'll be knee-deep in the stuff by the time we get to putting the set up! Hey-ho.
Huge thanks to Ernie for taking the time to go up there and snap the pictures; I'll let you know what we're required to do with regard to moving/not moving the offending articles.
Did they have benches on the blasted heath, I wonder..?

Cast update & Other Interesting Stuff.

Did you hear the sigh of relief from where you were sitting? Just a small sigh, but big relief. Our great mate, and Company Manager, Gil Garland has just said 'yes' to playing the part of Kent in this year's production.

Gil has been with us since 2005, when he played one of the Sols in The Merchant of Venice (there was Solarno and Solario - as I recall - and what I can't recall is which one he played! It's age, dear. That's him in the picture, as Sir Andrew Aguecheek - who else could it be? - in Twelfth Night. It's always a pleasure working with Gil, because I know that, whatever else may occur, he's usually the smartie-pants who has his book down first...there's usually a chorus of disbelief when he strolls into rehearsals, two sessions in, and pointedly lays his script on a chair before taking his position! But he's also one of the rocks upon which other cast members can rely, unswervingly cheerful and always ready to lend a hand when someone else wants an idea of what to do in relation to his or her character; which is why Jane and he managed to get so much out of Macbeth in 2010.

 That's him in directorial mode during rehearsals for Macbeth...he was actually wondering if he should go to the pub afterwards. No brainer.









 And there's even more news to impart on the casting front. Ben Hamilton (that's him on the right) had agreed to play the thoroughly loathsome Oswald...not any more. After much thought, and research, he's agreed to give the other nasty bit of work, Edmund, a go. Ben pitched up to rehearsals for Midsummer Night's Dream in '07, and managed to snag a walk-on - primarily because we were only a couple of weeks away from the show going live - and he's been with us ever since.
So now all I'm looking for is Oswald and France/Servant 2/Captain. Not too shabby, all things considered. Oh yes...and loads of extras!


Other Interesting Bits.

One of the disadvantages (there aren't many, but this is one of 'em) to rehearsing up at the castle is the fact that when it starts to get dark, it's little like a tropical sunset: the sun's there one moment, gone the next. What we've done in the past, particularly if we need to do some more work or finish an important scene, is back the cars up and turn on the headlights. Not ideal. This year, however, we've invested in a small, portable and noiseless generator, which means we can use a few of our portable arc-lights and illuminate the whole area, making it that much safer and extending the rehearsal time a wee bit - don't worry, we'll be done before closing time!

As rehearsals progress at the castle, we also bring the music and sound effects into play, giving everybody the chance to get used to what's going to be happening on stage. Once again, we utilised the cars...usually one with a good sound system. Not anymore. We have also acquired something called an Ion Bloc-Rocker. Basically it's a rechargeable sound system that has an i-pod dock and also the facility for plugging in a CD player. Twelve hours of very good sound that can be heard easily by the actors without having to shout for someone to turn the volume up! This particular piece of kit will be invaluable for the Bedlam Beggar's set-piece, giving the dancers/movers the chance to rehearse in-situ and have the advantage of seeing what goes on before they appear on stage.
This re-investment in our own equipment is one of the things that I really love about working with our company. If we need it, if something helps the production(s) and performers/crew, if we can afford it and if it saves us some money in the long run, then there's no argument, we go and invest a few bob and take another step forward in our development. Huzzah for us!

And speaking of development - I might be accused of getting ahead of myself here, but what the heck! - there is every chance that we will be getting a new production up and running for around spring next year, in case you're interested...which I sincerely hope you will be.
As some of you may be aware, we were invited by the management at The Falvel, to transfer our Lear production to the theatre some time in September. That, I'm afraid, has proven to be impossible; time restraints, availability and so on. But, not to be thwarted, and because it's what we do, the new play will be ready to read sometime before the end of June so you can have a think about whether or not you want to be/can be involved.
Let me know if you're interested and, when it's appropriate, I'll send you a PDF of the play so you can have a think and vent your opinions!

And Finally...

With regard to my rant about technology etc: it's happening. The web-site's coming back together...just not as quickly as I would like it to.

And we are so lucky this year. Had loads of contact from interested people who want to be involved in one form or another, many of whom will be coming to meet us at the castle when we start blocking on the 23rd April. Excellent!


















Don't You Just HATE It When...

Oooh..it makes you so cross!!

...you have something all planned out, you know exactly what it is you want to do and how you're going to do it then...technology gets in the way. Well, maybe not technology as such, it's probably more to do with your own inability to understand said technology!
A word to the wise: when something says it's easy to do, take the statement with a pinch of salt; a large pinch. Huge. It's not like there isn't anything else to be getting on with: planning the first production meeting with all those wonderful, indispensable people that you rely upon to get the pictures in your head up on the stage, or tweaking your notions for the block moves, or wondering if Lear was really mad or just suffering from early onset and feeling under the weather, or...you get the picture.

I like to think that, for a relatively unskilled type, I've managed to get to grips fairly effectively with all this 'social media' hoo-hah. Siging up to Twitter, getting our presence out there on several different theatrical web-sites and so on, I've even managed to build and maintain a pretty substantial, and dare I say it, popular web-site. Then the tech bit reared its ugly head and things started going ever-so-slightly pear-shaped. Suffice to say that it lead to complications and I decided to switch hosting services and re-design the web-site. Isn't hind-sight a wonderful thing? To one such as myself, the language used and the expectation of various companies, that everybody knows exactly what they're talking about, is pretty damn annoying. Anyway, I've managed to get so far - with offers of help and advice, gratefully received (thank you!!!), from several people, but things have now ground to a halt...
So, as of yesterday, the company have no web presence. BUT, with perserverance and much gnashing of teeth, it will be back in the next couple of days.

The company we're now with are actually being helpful - which is a novelty in itself - and the new site promises to look even better than before. I'm not holding my breath however - some may call me cynical, I prefer realistic! - because if experience has taught me anything it's that Sod's Law kicks in the moment you say everything's going beautifully! So keep your fingers crossed!

And in other news...the company presence will be felt in the real world on 21st March at Kingsbridge Library. This little event gives us the chance to promote not only ourselves and this year's production, but to raise some interest in Will himself.
Called WS@ The Library, it starts at 4pm and features Nick Rawlinson, of the Bristol Old Vic, performing some of the famous speeches from Shakespeare's work, including Prospero's speech from The Tempest and the 'To Be or Not To Be' rant from Hamlet. After the interval we're up and, to quote the programme notes '...we hope to give an insight into presenting an open-air Shakespearean production for modern audiences whose references are entirely different to those of an audience in the 16^th and 17^th centuries’. Really looking forward to this, in a strangely nervous sort of way...probably because I'm not hiding behind Sir Toby or Touchstone!

And just to hark back to technology for a moment...the benefits of getting out in the ether, as it were, have already made themselves felt. We have been fortunate enough to meet, and use, several excellent actors and have also welcomed many back-stage people to the fold as well. And this year has been very fruitful in this respect too.
So as much as I may fume, fret and curse the mechanics of all this techno-stuff, I have to confess, it's a great tool to be able to utilise!