A fascinating first week which has been made all the more exciting by seeing some very creative developments. I wish I had time to get them all down. Here are the highlights:
1) The Lake House.
Changing the actor / audience dynamic in the University Lecture scene seems to work well. Rather than put the lecturer on stage and plant the actor playing the student in the auditiorium, the lecturer now darts around the auditorium, lecturing flamboyantly on the ethics involved in terminating life support. The actor playing the student in the lecture is on stage, taking notes. Opinions fly back and forth between the lecturer, planted audience members and the character on stage. It is far easier to focus on the differing opinions and the whole scene seems much more exciting.
2.) St Trinians.
The fundamental principle underlying the John Godber's style seems to rest in choosing which parts of the narrative you show and which parts you narrate. The theory here is that in Teechers, for example, the way Hobby, Salty and Gail characterise Oggy and Basford, etc exists to show more about Hobby, Salty and Gail. Godber's focus being the people, not the events.
3) The Notebook.
After just 3 practical rehearsals there is an atmosphere of creative excitement as all that "talk" and ideas starts to become reality on stage. Elements of movement, music and improvised light-shows have really got a great "Knee High" feel to them.
4) Alice in Wonderland
Landed with the first shift on stage, with little time to plan for the rehearsal, there is some good news: In the process of trying to create Theatre out of thin air, it is easy to see the bravery and the commitment of the actors. After two hours there was clearly some skills development for some and the product grew a little. There was even a lesson to be learnt about the boundary between expressionistic and naturalistic mime.
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What's All This?
Everyday I have hundreds of conversations with staff and students. I would like to think that each and every one of them is super-important. Some of them certainly are. The purpose of this blog is to record some of the verbal decisions and ideas that would otherwise be lost.
Please read regularly and try to keep up. Especially read the notes on other groups' projects because they will shed light on your own processes. I obviously welcome comments and would encourage you to both read and post comments.
Cheers!
Please read regularly and try to keep up. Especially read the notes on other groups' projects because they will shed light on your own processes. I obviously welcome comments and would encourage you to both read and post comments.
Cheers!
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