Well we are now in production!
Actually production started over a week ago with the destruction of the previous show's set; a somewhat satisfying experience it has to be said.
I did have a few teething problems; cast absence due to events beyond their control and director's absence due to reasons beyond my control meant that the rehearsal schedule has to be hastily redrawn. The letting of the theatre to a third party has also put set building & light rigging behind schedule.
However its not all bad news. A quick and dirty rehearsal of two characters Monologues seemed to go nicely last week, and the first main rehearsal was encouraging. Okay the accents drifted from East Coast to West Coast via the West Country, South Africa and Melbourne, and some of the original ideas are going to have to be reworked or binned but its getting there.
What was rewarding was working with Ron and John laying out the set design, and for the first time I can see how Erik Poulson's gorgeous design will fit on our stage. Privately I'd always wondered whether it would be logistically possible but seeing it marked out for the first time last night made me realise that we can do this. Its going to happen.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Monday, 8 February 2010
I can't believe its been so long...
... since I last did an update on this thing! I've been meaning to for ages, but never quite got around to it. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it.
Well then dear reader, what have we been up to since May?
An awful lot actually.
Firstly we have had a slight change of cast; due to circumstances beyond both our control Richard Self had to leave the project due to a clash of commitments. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just that something else got resheduled and was faced with a "being in two places at once" problem. Anyway, as one door closes another opens, and Richards departure meant that I was able to cast John Hart in the role... whose physique is closer to how I imagined Muncie's to be anyway.
Secondly, we've had a revolving door on the crew, with people signing up, then pulling out. I think we are there now... at least I hope so. So the backstage line up is: Michael Taylor (light operation) Michelle Yianni (Sound Operation) Nicky Clark and Geraldine Mullins (Backstage/props) and Yvonne Golding (prompt) all under the watchful eye of the truely splendid Sarah O'Hanlon (SM).
Anyway that brings us up todate on the personell front, so what else has been going on. well quite a lot of bits and pieces have been put together. We have a concept stage design (isn't Google wonderful?), and Sarah is doing a number of smash and grabs at local shops procuring the various odd props which the show requires ("You want what?" okay...."). I've had several discussions with the Wendy Marsh (who is also acting as the costume Guru) and we are starting to get an idea of what people will wear. That actually is pretty straight forward... other than for Roy... (oh we are going to have some fun with that...). Sarah and I had our first pre production meeting a few weeks ago, so we were able to talk through the general management of the production for the first time and I feel that her contributions are going to be priceless. Being Stage Manager is a thankless task: they get blamed for everything that goes wrong, yet a good SM can make as much difference to the show as having a good or indifferent actor on stage.
And finally last night was the first read through of the play! Oh my goodness, for the first time I could hear the voices(well most of them) breathing life in to words that previously only existed on the page. There were moments that made me laugh, others that made me tingle and some that had me struck with awe. If this is what the read through is like the end product is going to be Brill!
Well then dear reader, what have we been up to since May?
An awful lot actually.
Firstly we have had a slight change of cast; due to circumstances beyond both our control Richard Self had to leave the project due to a clash of commitments. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just that something else got resheduled and was faced with a "being in two places at once" problem. Anyway, as one door closes another opens, and Richards departure meant that I was able to cast John Hart in the role... whose physique is closer to how I imagined Muncie's to be anyway.
Secondly, we've had a revolving door on the crew, with people signing up, then pulling out. I think we are there now... at least I hope so. So the backstage line up is: Michael Taylor (light operation) Michelle Yianni (Sound Operation) Nicky Clark and Geraldine Mullins (Backstage/props) and Yvonne Golding (prompt) all under the watchful eye of the truely splendid Sarah O'Hanlon (SM).
Anyway that brings us up todate on the personell front, so what else has been going on. well quite a lot of bits and pieces have been put together. We have a concept stage design (isn't Google wonderful?), and Sarah is doing a number of smash and grabs at local shops procuring the various odd props which the show requires ("You want what?" okay...."). I've had several discussions with the Wendy Marsh (who is also acting as the costume Guru) and we are starting to get an idea of what people will wear. That actually is pretty straight forward... other than for Roy... (oh we are going to have some fun with that...). Sarah and I had our first pre production meeting a few weeks ago, so we were able to talk through the general management of the production for the first time and I feel that her contributions are going to be priceless. Being Stage Manager is a thankless task: they get blamed for everything that goes wrong, yet a good SM can make as much difference to the show as having a good or indifferent actor on stage.
And finally last night was the first read through of the play! Oh my goodness, for the first time I could hear the voices(well most of them) breathing life in to words that previously only existed on the page. There were moments that made me laugh, others that made me tingle and some that had me struck with awe. If this is what the read through is like the end product is going to be Brill!
Friday, 8 May 2009
The cast!
Well, the casting is now in the public domain! For those who haven't seen the EA Website the cast is as follows:
Irma Applewood Wendy Marsh
Roy Applewood Paul Friett
Patti-Ann Applewood Hannah Jacobs
Wayne Applewood Matthew Friett
Reverend Dale Muncie Richard Self
Roy Applewood (senior) John Hyde
Em Applewood Shirley Andrews
Frank Chris Manning-Perry
Ruth Applewood Sarah Hills
Wendy was probably the first person who I decided on; and as Irma is the central character of the piece, this decision would obviously shape the rest of the cast. Wendy, while making her feisty, brought a sense of fragility to the piece which would be important in other scenes. Also when she and Paul auditioned together something came alive- I felt they were believable as couple.
Paul himself just nailed it! The guys who auditioned for Roy probably had the toughest job of all because they had to convince me that they could depict the emotional complexity of the man without caricaturing or trivialising it. I felt that most of the guys came across as too blokey; which isn't Roy; the dialogue in Scene 2 between his parents tells us that he's a bit of a softy.
Having Wendy and Paul on board offered me a mouthwatering possiblity; the chance to have a real life Mother/ Daughter Father/Son combination. And while all those who auditioned for the Childrens' parts did well, both Hannah and Matt had the added advantage of looking the part, as well as delivering excellent auditions.
Then came the hard parts to fill. Not hard becuase of lack of auditionees, but hard because the characters where more blank canvases, and really relied on the Actor to deliver an interpretation that I liked. Shirley's presentation of Em had a warm maternal feel to it which I can see being lovely during her monologue and a perfect antidote to the Gruffness that John Hyde will brings to Roy Senior. Although I was unable to audition them together, I can visualise them being an old married couple....
Casting Ruth was probably my biggest headache. There were some excellent auditionees for the part, and agonised ages over it. On face value there was nothing between them, and for a while I did consider doing a recall for the part. In the end though, Sarah Hills earned the part not just on the strength of her audition (which captured the timeless essence of the character) but also on the strength of her previous work at EA. There were elements in her other roles which I simply could not over look- and those elements will, I feel, give Ruth the depth she deserves.
Finally Munice and Frank. I had Muncies and Franks of all sizes and ages to Choose from; and again they were blank canvasses. Muncie, I felt needed to be a slightly comedic fellow- nice to the point of Nausia and I felt that Richard Self, has the ability to creat the role as I see it. As for Frank the key word was "Bloke"; I wanted a man who lived in a mans world, a proper geezer- the polar opposite of Roy. I found him in Chris Manning Perry- and for those who know Chris, he is to all intends and purposes a proper geezer- and a nice guy to have around to boot.
So there you go. After three months, twenty odd auditions, hours of work at the PC, I've now reached a point where pre-production is complete. So I'm going to sign off now, until November when I have to start putting all this preparation into effect. I feel that I have a great show cooking up... and now its up to me to deliver.
Irma Applewood Wendy Marsh
Roy Applewood Paul Friett
Patti-Ann Applewood Hannah Jacobs
Wayne Applewood Matthew Friett
Reverend Dale Muncie Richard Self
Roy Applewood (senior) John Hyde
Em Applewood Shirley Andrews
Frank Chris Manning-Perry
Ruth Applewood Sarah Hills
Wendy was probably the first person who I decided on; and as Irma is the central character of the piece, this decision would obviously shape the rest of the cast. Wendy, while making her feisty, brought a sense of fragility to the piece which would be important in other scenes. Also when she and Paul auditioned together something came alive- I felt they were believable as couple.
Paul himself just nailed it! The guys who auditioned for Roy probably had the toughest job of all because they had to convince me that they could depict the emotional complexity of the man without caricaturing or trivialising it. I felt that most of the guys came across as too blokey; which isn't Roy; the dialogue in Scene 2 between his parents tells us that he's a bit of a softy.
Having Wendy and Paul on board offered me a mouthwatering possiblity; the chance to have a real life Mother/ Daughter Father/Son combination. And while all those who auditioned for the Childrens' parts did well, both Hannah and Matt had the added advantage of looking the part, as well as delivering excellent auditions.
Then came the hard parts to fill. Not hard becuase of lack of auditionees, but hard because the characters where more blank canvases, and really relied on the Actor to deliver an interpretation that I liked. Shirley's presentation of Em had a warm maternal feel to it which I can see being lovely during her monologue and a perfect antidote to the Gruffness that John Hyde will brings to Roy Senior. Although I was unable to audition them together, I can visualise them being an old married couple....
Casting Ruth was probably my biggest headache. There were some excellent auditionees for the part, and agonised ages over it. On face value there was nothing between them, and for a while I did consider doing a recall for the part. In the end though, Sarah Hills earned the part not just on the strength of her audition (which captured the timeless essence of the character) but also on the strength of her previous work at EA. There were elements in her other roles which I simply could not over look- and those elements will, I feel, give Ruth the depth she deserves.
Finally Munice and Frank. I had Muncies and Franks of all sizes and ages to Choose from; and again they were blank canvasses. Muncie, I felt needed to be a slightly comedic fellow- nice to the point of Nausia and I felt that Richard Self, has the ability to creat the role as I see it. As for Frank the key word was "Bloke"; I wanted a man who lived in a mans world, a proper geezer- the polar opposite of Roy. I found him in Chris Manning Perry- and for those who know Chris, he is to all intends and purposes a proper geezer- and a nice guy to have around to boot.
So there you go. After three months, twenty odd auditions, hours of work at the PC, I've now reached a point where pre-production is complete. So I'm going to sign off now, until November when I have to start putting all this preparation into effect. I feel that I have a great show cooking up... and now its up to me to deliver.
Monday, 27 April 2009
Decisions to be made
Well, today was the bulk of the auditions; I had to see a couple of people during the week and there are a few more to see; however I'm pretty comfortable here now that that I can fill most of the roles with some of the best talent EA has to offer.
I have to say I have some mixed feelings about today. I can't help but feel upset at the mass exodus that occurred after IOBE; I felt that my show regarded by the candidates poor relation of the Oscar Wilde's peice- I guess Normal is a less well known piece and I suppose lacks the Kudos accordingly. After all how many famous quotes can be lifted from Normal!!
Despite that, I feel I was blessed with quality rather than quantity, and I do have some tough choices to make. Some parts are easy to fill; there was some candidates that were just "got" what I was looking for. Others did wonderful auditions but didn't quite match my personal view on the character. Nevertheless I do have a lot of thinking to do: who was better Person A or Person B? Person C read wonderfully for Character 2, but didn't quite look right for the role. Person D was a revelation; a complete curved ball and has given me an interesting new take on Character 7.
Person F wasn't right for character 3 but might well do a good character 4- the challenge will be pitching it to that person.
You may have noticed that I've not named actors or characters at this point; don't try and figure out what roles or actors I'm talking about becuase then letters and numbers are completely random. I may at some point go back and edit this post- after the casting is announced!
I reckon I have about ten days to confirm my cast; which means I have to say no to some people. Thats going to be horrid. There are people who did really good auditions, and would have been wonderful- but just didn't fit my idea of the characters. That said, if Normal does well and I get another directing gig at least I'll be have this experience to draw on... and there maybe roles for other people in the these prospective productions!
I have to say I have some mixed feelings about today. I can't help but feel upset at the mass exodus that occurred after IOBE; I felt that my show regarded by the candidates poor relation of the Oscar Wilde's peice- I guess Normal is a less well known piece and I suppose lacks the Kudos accordingly. After all how many famous quotes can be lifted from Normal!!
Despite that, I feel I was blessed with quality rather than quantity, and I do have some tough choices to make. Some parts are easy to fill; there was some candidates that were just "got" what I was looking for. Others did wonderful auditions but didn't quite match my personal view on the character. Nevertheless I do have a lot of thinking to do: who was better Person A or Person B? Person C read wonderfully for Character 2, but didn't quite look right for the role. Person D was a revelation; a complete curved ball and has given me an interesting new take on Character 7.
Person F wasn't right for character 3 but might well do a good character 4- the challenge will be pitching it to that person.
You may have noticed that I've not named actors or characters at this point; don't try and figure out what roles or actors I'm talking about becuase then letters and numbers are completely random. I may at some point go back and edit this post- after the casting is announced!
I reckon I have about ten days to confirm my cast; which means I have to say no to some people. Thats going to be horrid. There are people who did really good auditions, and would have been wonderful- but just didn't fit my idea of the characters. That said, if Normal does well and I get another directing gig at least I'll be have this experience to draw on... and there maybe roles for other people in the these prospective productions!
Thursday, 16 April 2009
and so to Phase 2
Its quarter to twelve on Thursday April 16 2009 and production is due to commence in just under ten months. It doesn't seem that long...
Anyway I've finally finished pre-production. I have a set design, I have preliminary lighting design and I have just programmed the final sound cue. Now of course I have no idea whether any of this is going to work, or indeed how much of this stuff will end up being used, but at least now I have concrete ideas fully laid out as too how the show will look and sound, whereas before it was more a case of a series of doodles.
I've approached the sound is my normal manner; I've done more than I will actually need or end up using simply because its a lot easier to remove a piece that has been created than find at the double run that there is a dirty great empty void which needs some music; then have two hours to source, edit and test an entirely new piece! Yes I have been there...
There are some pieces though that I know will work wonderfully; there's a single piece of music that will crop up through out the play in different forms; sometimes its solo piano, others its strings, then strings and piano, then vocal. But the simple piece of piano that ends Patti Ann's second soliloquy just works- I can hear it now, I visualise how that will all come together. Now all I have to do is do that for the other 31 scenes!
Actually the reality is most of the scenes have already been plotted; I know how each segment will be played out. That's not to say that everything is cast in stone; even tonight I had a Eureka moment which will hopefully will make people laugh and cry at the same time....
Anyway I've finally finished pre-production. I have a set design, I have preliminary lighting design and I have just programmed the final sound cue. Now of course I have no idea whether any of this is going to work, or indeed how much of this stuff will end up being used, but at least now I have concrete ideas fully laid out as too how the show will look and sound, whereas before it was more a case of a series of doodles.
I've approached the sound is my normal manner; I've done more than I will actually need or end up using simply because its a lot easier to remove a piece that has been created than find at the double run that there is a dirty great empty void which needs some music; then have two hours to source, edit and test an entirely new piece! Yes I have been there...
There are some pieces though that I know will work wonderfully; there's a single piece of music that will crop up through out the play in different forms; sometimes its solo piano, others its strings, then strings and piano, then vocal. But the simple piece of piano that ends Patti Ann's second soliloquy just works- I can hear it now, I visualise how that will all come together. Now all I have to do is do that for the other 31 scenes!
Actually the reality is most of the scenes have already been plotted; I know how each segment will be played out. That's not to say that everything is cast in stone; even tonight I had a Eureka moment which will hopefully will make people laugh and cry at the same time....
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Surprising!
I am pleasantly surprised by the number of people who have expressed an interest in this project. I had imagined (wrongly it seems now) that getting a cast together for this production would be hard push; given the subject matter and I had anticipated press ganging people into roles. Yet I am getting a steady flow of enquires from people for various roles and rather than scratching around so it seems that I will be spoilt for choice.
I feel that the key to pulling off this production (well any production actually) lies in the preparation and its going... okay. There are a few curved balls (see previous blog) but things are generally going fine. I may lose someone who I had hoped would read for a part due to circumstances beyond my control, but I suppose that opens up other possibilities I guess. Another individual who I had hoped to garner some interest from has graciously declined the opportunity and I understand their reasons perfectly. On the other hand another individual has spoken to me about a role and I am really interested in seeing what they can do with one of the characters.
As for other areas of the show, I now have a final set concept which is now almost "locked", subject to a bit of tweaking here and there. I have fifteen of the twenty three music cues programmed (although there will be some trimming there) and I'm half way through a lighting design. Hopefully my SM will be free to come on board soon so we can start to fill the technical jobs. Costumes are going to be easy... other than Roy... which is going to be... ahem... interesting.... So its all coming together and I think I'm still on course to have pre-production finished on time (which at the moment is scheduled for mid May). That of course could all change....
I feel that the key to pulling off this production (well any production actually) lies in the preparation and its going... okay. There are a few curved balls (see previous blog) but things are generally going fine. I may lose someone who I had hoped would read for a part due to circumstances beyond my control, but I suppose that opens up other possibilities I guess. Another individual who I had hoped to garner some interest from has graciously declined the opportunity and I understand their reasons perfectly. On the other hand another individual has spoken to me about a role and I am really interested in seeing what they can do with one of the characters.
As for other areas of the show, I now have a final set concept which is now almost "locked", subject to a bit of tweaking here and there. I have fifteen of the twenty three music cues programmed (although there will be some trimming there) and I'm half way through a lighting design. Hopefully my SM will be free to come on board soon so we can start to fill the technical jobs. Costumes are going to be easy... other than Roy... which is going to be... ahem... interesting.... So its all coming together and I think I'm still on course to have pre-production finished on time (which at the moment is scheduled for mid May). That of course could all change....
Saturday, 14 March 2009
sounds demanding!
Well the best laid plans....
I have very clear ideas on how I want Normal to sound, aurally. Now I've had some musical doodles kicking around for ages, but I decided today that I really wanted to get them nailed, so it was one tick in the job done box. I thought it was going to be easy; after all I had all my ideas already didn't I- so it was be just a case of finalising the mixes and the edits. Easy.
Wrong.
There's always a problem child, and I think I've just found it. You see I have very clear cut ideas on how sound design should be done, and my first guiding principle is always stick to the same source; the same soundtrack, CD, whatever. Except that I have one particular "need" that I can't seem to find in my desired source; any ideas that I find are too long (and can't be edited without compromising the structure of the music), have something going on that doesn't sound right (like a piece of vocal or backing) or just doesn't sound right! Could be worse I suppose; I could be using some old discos hits.....
I have very clear ideas on how I want Normal to sound, aurally. Now I've had some musical doodles kicking around for ages, but I decided today that I really wanted to get them nailed, so it was one tick in the job done box. I thought it was going to be easy; after all I had all my ideas already didn't I- so it was be just a case of finalising the mixes and the edits. Easy.
Wrong.
There's always a problem child, and I think I've just found it. You see I have very clear cut ideas on how sound design should be done, and my first guiding principle is always stick to the same source; the same soundtrack, CD, whatever. Except that I have one particular "need" that I can't seem to find in my desired source; any ideas that I find are too long (and can't be edited without compromising the structure of the music), have something going on that doesn't sound right (like a piece of vocal or backing) or just doesn't sound right! Could be worse I suppose; I could be using some old discos hits.....
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