Corpus Christi

Location: The Space, Isle of Dogs.

Back with OutFox again! Stage managing this time. Thrilled to be reunited with director a John Fricker for his third production with OutFox. Corpus Christi tells the story of Jesus. In Texas. With a gay marriage.

It's brilliant!! 

The play features an ensemble of thirteen who remain onstage throughout. This frees me from backstage roles to operate lighting and sound. I love backstage but this means I get to watch the show each night. We're into our second week of rehearsal and it's looking really good so I'm glad to be able to see it.

Everything Theatre

Location: My Flat

I've just joined the reviewing team at Everything Theatre following my trial on Wednesday. My bio had been added to the website: http://www.everything-theatre.co.uk/p/our-team.html?m=1

Looking forward to writing with Everything Theatre!

Guest Blog

Location: My Flat.

I've recently joined online arts publication Avenir Magazine as a guest blogger. My first blog, a perspective on the role of the stage manager, is online now.

You can read it here.

http://avenirmagazine.com/culture/from-one-stage-manager-to-another

I really enjoyed writing this blog and hope to start another one soon.

Ah, Sunday.

Location: My Flat.

The first week of the Marigolds run is complete! Following a sell-out show last night, we're all having some much needed time off. A luxurious two whole days before our next show on Tuesday. I'm very much enjoying my relaxed Sunday.

Press night went very well indeed. We were all very pleased with the show that we delivered to the reviewers who came along. Every element was at its peak - the sound and lighting were sharp, the look of it was sublime and the performances were incredible - I was thrilled. The audience seemed to like it too. I spent the rest of the evening grinning like a fool.

We've had our first review out from Everything Theatre this morning - a fantastic four star write up - I couldn't be happier.

My housemate (and co-founder of Absent Theatre) Eleanor came to see the show on press night. She gave me permission to use our Absent Theatre warm up 'bananas of the world' with the cast. Its a silly routine we always do before every Absent show and it brings us luck. In return I'd left a nod from our last Absent show onstage - a jam jar containing coloured pencil crayons. These were a prominent feature of the set in On Beauty, the play we took to France.

Its great sharing this work with my friends and loved ones. My housemates from university, Cat and Amy, came to see the show last night. The last time we were all together was at Old Rabbis in the Sky at The Tristan Bates in March 2012. It was fantastic to see both of them. Cat is a qualified teacher and working in a secondary school, Amy is studying for a PhD at Royal Holloway. She's recently been diagnosed with a neurological movement condition called Distonia. She's writing a blog about her PhD research and her condition - you can see it here.

In other news, I will be working with Immersion Theatre again in the new year! James and Rochelle have invited me to assistant direct their touring production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Its going to be a really exciting project. Two versions of the play, a comic take and a dark take in rep in theatres around the country! Can wait to work with James again after Measure for Measure.

Its been a lovely Sunday for me and directing work.

Check out David Monteith-Hodge's production shots for Marigolds here.

Stuff. A Lot Of Stuff.

Location: The Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, London

Final week of rehearsals, its looking good! We're running the show every day and tweaking and tightening scenes. Its been great fun too, we're laughing a lot in rehearsals. Its been a very interesting process. Working with new people can introduce you to new skills and approaches that you may have not considered before. Alternatively you might discover a new method or exercise which is born from its requirement in the current rehearsal, but can be used in future projects. Working with this cast we really delved into the historical and cultural background of the time and location we were using - something I've never felt the need to do before. Ana, our accent coach, has provided a fantastically rounded view of not only American expressions and accents, but loads of information on the what it would be like to live in a town like the one we're setting our play in. We looked at music, films and historical events of that year and preceding years. We even looked at the chronology of our play and worked out how much time had passed between scenes, and key events that occurred both before the play begins and during the timeline of the play. If you're curious, our play begins on the Wednesday 17th March 1971.

It may seem like an indulgent exercise, but the things we discovered in this discussion informs other aspects of the play. By pinpointing the exact location of the play and the month the action occurs in, we could deduce what the weather would be like. This information feeds through to costume. They can then communicate this through the types of clothing that they select, as well as helping to communicate the passage of time as each character wears several different outfits in the play. Our lighting designer also can use this information to make sure the light coming through the window is accurate - no point having glorious summer sunshine if its a chilly spring morning! These tiny details are not explicitly telling an audience these facts, but they all contribute to giving a consistent and realistic presentation of the environment we're setting the story in.

We have rehearsal shots online now too! David Monteith-Hodge came to see a run-through of the play and took some gorgeous photographs. You can see David's website here. I love rehearsal shots - can capture some fun moments of the team as well as the scenes we're working on.

The one thing that became hugely apparent after only a few rehearsals is the sheer amount of STUFF involved in this play. Considering the play is set in a dilapidated family home, it is logical to assume that a lot of their possessions will be visible onstage. Mr Zindel even calls for lots of junk in his stage directions. The amount of stuff in the play becomes oppressive. I always remember someone saying that a messy bedroom can affect your resting state of mind and quality of sleep - I completely agree with that statement! The script also contains a lot of dialogue which exists in the background of a task - that is to say that I can see the characters doing a task (reading the paper, making a drink) and talking at the same time. Its true of life - how often do people sharing a home just talk to each other, completely focused on the other person? We're all involved in our own activities and relating to each other simultaneously. Our rule of thumb is "if you're not doing stuff in a scene, you probably should be" so the props list is huge! We're thinking of things the characters might be doing while talking. Its a mammoth task for our lovely ladies, who are having to remember all the blocking and the prop-work as well as all the lines. They're doing a smashing job. The production team are also doing fantastically to source all of the props we're looking for. Many kitchens, charity shops and theatres have been raided and our rehearsals are full of these props. But I must say it looks great seeing the actors using them while talking. Some plays call for it - 'On Beauty' anyone?


Book tickets here!!

http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/brockleyjackstudio/events

First Week of Marigolds

Location: My flat.

The first week of rehearsals for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is over!

The read through was great - it was thrilling to see the entire cast and crew in the room together. We have such a an exciting and talented bunch of people devoting their skills to this show, it was a real buzz to have them all together to embark on this together. Now the crew will all disperse to work on their separate contributions to the show, and slowly we will come back together, feeding in these elements, finally culminating in the technical rehearsal on the 30th September.

But for now, I will be shut in a room with five fantastic actors while we explore the play, set it on its feet and start making choices about the five characters. Our first two days of rehearsal were great. Its becoming more and more apparent that the props list will grow to ridiculous proportions! The amount of "stuff" in the family's house becomes such a powerful influence - so we're taking that route!

We have a small but beautifully formed cast. I have had the pleasure of directing two of them before, Evelyn Campbell has been in OutFox's Spring Awakening, and also involved in Lost/Faith/Art with Absent Theatre and Grace Lyons Hudson was recently in Measure for Measure, which I assistant directed. Sophie Doherty was also involved in Spring Awakening, so I have worked with her before (as stage manager). We also have Katherine Rodden and Clare Almond, two gems found in auditions, and both are bringing fantastic work to rehearsals and I'm excited for the next few weeks as we work together. We have also found a stage manager who will be joining us next week, so our team is complete! Really looking forward to  having Rosanna in the room.

The Marigolds team on the first day.

Evelyn, Me, Kate and Sophie.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

Location: My flat, Sydenham.


I am back home and have taken care of all essential return-to-normal admin. I have slept, done my laundry and unpacked, cleaned my room, bought groceries and gone to the gym. What with the high volume of work this summer I'm something of a stranger there! But its time to look to the next project, something I'm incredibly excited about.

This October (as you may know) I'm directing a show with OutFox Productions. As an associate of the company, I have stage managed all three of their previous shows. To be given the opportunity to direct is such an honour and I'm thrilled to be directing with this fantastic company at The Brockley Jack Studio Theatre. This will be my fifth production at The Jack and I really enjoy working in this space. The play is called 'The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds' by Paul Zindel. Its a beautiful piece, which I find hard to describe, but what stands out for me is the oppressive home life the family in the play struggle through - which is mostly self-imposed - and their coping methods. The cast features five female roles, of varying ages, and I'm looking forward to directing a female-only production. We're due to find our final two actresses in auditions tomorrow, then on to a production meeting before our first sound recording next week. Its all kicking off!

The production team is compiled of an incredibly talented group of people who have worked on previous OutFox productions. We have Gina Rose Lee (Spring Awakening, Carbon Dating) as Designer. I loved her bold, clean designs for Spring and Carbon and I'm excited to see how Marigolds will look! William Ingham (Rope) is back as Lighting Designer, if you want a preview of his work check out Sam Rose in the Shadows at Greenwich Theatre (3rd - 7th Sept). Mark Webber (Carbon Dating, Rope) is back making beautiful noises as Sound Designer and we have Emma Treleaven (Rope) as Costume Supervisor. I have worked with Mark and Emma before as director, on Absent Theatre's show On Beauty, and cannot wait to resume the working relationship we had on that awesome project. As the play is set in America, we also have Spring Awakening and Rope actress Ana Luderowski coming on board as Accent Coach, which gives me great relief to know this is in capable hands.

I've been busy sectioning and prepping the script ahead of rehearsals starting next week. It feels like its been ages since we announced the show - and now its finally beginning! We've even sold some tickets for the show - that's because we have producing powerhouse Kirsty Fox on the case! I met with Artistic Director John Fricker yesterday to talk about castings and to have a drink at our favourite theatre/pub. John is also taking a producer's role for this one, I will miss being with him in The Jack rehearsal room (as director and stage manager), but I'm sure he'll pop in and say hi. He's also working on his own prep for Corpus Christi at The Space. Its a busy time for OutFox!

So until rehearsals begin I'll leave you with this final note:

This is a very exciting project for me and I'd love your support. Lets make a deal. You buy a ticket to this show and I promise to make it an amazing night at the theatre. Deal? Ok.

Show information and tickets here!


Amy