Sunday 28 March 2010

Getting ready for Intimate Exchanges

It was a busy Sunday at Progress Theatre. The cast and crew of the Earnest/Travesties double bill took down their set in the morning. As it is less than three weeks until curtain up on Intimate Exchanges director Geoff Dallimore was there to help them get out as quickly as possible before starting to build his own set. By the time Progress Blog got there in the afternoon the first audition for Death and the Maiden had started. Every space in the theatre was filled with people threatening or pleading with each other - I assumed these were lines from the play. 

There is plenty to be done for the set of Intimate Exchanges. There is the front end of a garden shed to be built as well as a platform for a performance within the play. The set building team were trying to work out how high the platform should be so Geoff got down on all fours and said "measure me" (26 inches if you're interested).

The run of Intimate Exchanges consists of two separate plays,  A Self-improving Woman and A Gardener in Love. The two plays are exactly the same for the first twenty minutes and then diverge when one of the characters makes a decision. You can go and see both plays if you want to see what happens when the alternative path is taken but you don't need to, each of the plays can be enjoyed as a standalone piece.

If you are interested in what goes on at Progress Theatre then sign up to this blog. Enter your email in the box under ‘about us’ and click on subscribe. New postings are made weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails.

Coming up ….

Auditions for Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. At Progress Theatre,  Wednesday 31 March 7.30

Intimate Exchanges by Alan Ayckbourn 14 - 24 April 2010

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh 20 - 29 May 2010

See www.progresstheatre.co.uk for details of all our productions and auditions.

Sunday 21 March 2010

Auditions for Death and the Maiden

Auditions for Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman will be held at Progress Theatre on Sunday 28th March at 2:30pm & Wednesday 31st March at 7:30pm. 


This will be the fourth time that director Zsuzsi Kingsnorth has been involved in a production of Death and the Maiden but she says it is a play she could never get bored of.

There are only three characters, a woman who has been tortured in the past, her husband and the man she suspects is the torturer. It is passionate and spine-tingling and Zsuzsi particularly enjoys seeing audiences' reactions which can range from bewilderment, to sobbing, to anger but never indifference.


Zsuzsi says that she sometimes feels theatre has lost its edge and she loves producing shows that have an impact - positive or negative.She is certainly no stranger to controversial productions. In 2004 she directed Corpus Christi by Terence McNally which led to a complaint of blasphemy to the local police. Last summer a production of The Laramie Project she directed as part of the first Shanghai Pride week was cancelled by the Shanghai authorities.The play, which deals with the murder of a gay student in Wyoming, was later performed at a new venue. 

Since 2001 Zsuzsi has run Zuloo, a small production company. Zuloo has produced plays in Scotland, China and America and can now be found here in Reading.  They are currently running weekly workshops at the Rising Sun Arts Centre Be Part of Part of a Play! 

If you want to be part of a passionate play with a director clearly passionate about the power of drama then come along to auditions for Death and the Maiden.

If you are interested in what goes on at Progress Theatre then sign up to this blog. Enter your email in the box under ‘about us’ and click on subscribe. New postings are made weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails.

Coming up ….

The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Mon 22nd & Weds 24th March 7.45 pm, Saturday 27th 5.30 and Travesties by Tom Stoppard Tues 23rd, Fri 26th March & Saturday 27th 7.45 pm 

Auditions for Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. At Progress Theatre, Sunday 28th March 2.30 and Wednesday 31 March 7.30

Intimate Exchanges by Alan Ayckbourn 14 - 24 April 2010

See www.progresstheatre.co.uk for details of all our productions and auditions.

Sunday 14 March 2010

The Importance of Props

Progress Youth Theatre is performing The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Travesties by Tom Stoppard between 22nd and 27th March. The plays are on different nights during the week with a double bill on the Saturday. The Floodlights and Blinders are the theatre's older youth groups, 16 - 18 year olds, and recent productions have included Macbeth and Don Juan comes back from the war.

Progress blog crept into the back of the theatre during a rehearsal last week to be confronted by the smell of toast and a tempting plate of muffins. Settling down to watch part of a rehearsal of The Importance of Being Earnest it became clear these were part of the props. Rehearsals have got to the stage where the actors know what they are meant to be doing and saying and are now trying to do it while drinking a cup of tea and eating a piece of cake. In the scene we watched this is further complicated as the two girls - Imogen and Emily who play Cecily and Gwendolen - also have fans.

 These have to be opened and closed at appropriate moments and it is an acquired skill that modern woman don't have much opportunity to practise. At the end of the scene director Ali tentatively suggested that it would look better if they could use the fans in their left hands! Being true professionals they agreed to take the fans home for some intensive training.

Imogen and Emily also play versions of the characters Cecily and Gwendolen in Travesties. The plot revolves around memories of a production of The Importance of Being Earnest so the plays work well together as a double bill.

If you are interested in what goes on at Progress Theatre then sign up to this blog. Enter your email in the box under ‘about us’ and click on subscribe. New postings are made weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails.

Coming up ….

The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Mon 22nd & Weds 24th March 7.45 pm, Saturday 27th 5.30 and Travesties by Tom Stoppard Tues 23rd, Fri 26th March & Saturday 27th 7.45 pm 

Auditions for Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. At Progress Theatre, Sunday 28th March 2.30 and Wednesday 31 March 7.30

Casting for a mystery cycle play Monday 5th April 7.30 Progress Theatre. To be performed 18th April contact Chris Bertrand at candjbertrand@uwclub.net for more details.

Intimate Exchanges by Alan Ayckbourn 14 - 24 April 2010

See www.progresstheatre.co.uk for details of all our productions and auditions.

Saturday 6 March 2010

The Mystery of the Missing Trousers

A lot more goes on at Progress than just the main plays at the theatre. One example is a group of members with, according to one participant "nothing better to do on a Monday morning", who meet weekly at the theatre.

Their latest production is The Mystery of the Missing Trousers, the second in a series of Town Hall Murder Mystery Evenings.

This evening is based on a true story from the 1920s when an American actor performing at a theatre in Reading was accused of murder. The event is held in the historic Old Town Hall and the ticket price includes a buffet supper. The audience receive a pack giving them a detailed background to the crime and all the characters. They then try to find out whodunnit as the drama unfolds. 

Tickets are £20 from the Hexagon, 0118 9606060, www.readingarts.com Thursday 18th March 7.30, The Old Town Hall, Reading.

If you are interested in what goes on at Progress Theatre then sign up to this blog. Enter your email in the box under ‘about us’ and click on subscribe. New postings are made weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails.

Coming up ….

Progress Youth Theatre present The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Mon 22nd & Weds 24th March 7.45 pm, Saturday 27th 5.30 and Travesties by Tom Stoppard Tues 23rd, Fri 26th March & Saturday 27th 7.45 pm 

Auditions for Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. At Progress Theatre, Sunday 28th March 2.30 and Wednesday 31 March 7.30

Casting for a mystery cycle play Monday 5th April 7.30 Progress Theatre. To be performed 18th April contact Chris Bertrand at candjbertrand@uwclub.net for more details.

Intimate Exchanges by Alan Ayckbourn 14 - 24 April 2010

See www.progresstheatre.co.uk for details of all our productions and auditions.