Teechers making noise

Most productions need some sort of sound effects, in Teechers it is mainly the school bell, rowdy school children and music. The way the play works there are no breaks for stage management to come on and change scenes. When the action switches the actors simply move to a different place on the stage, moving or picking up the props they need. Music will be an important part of making these transitions work smoothly.

Stuart McCubbin will be operating the sound and although Aidan Moran is responsible for sourcing the sound effects and music Stuart has been part of the process as well. He sat in on a rehearsal last weekend and made suggestions about what sounds he thought would be appropriate at different points. He has also contributed a CD box set of 80s music, something he felt showed his age.

When I asked Stuart if he had experience of involvement on the technical side of performances he mentioned operating the lights in a school play using rheostats(*) and a broom handle. Perhaps even less relevant early experiences were playing Father Christmas and leading an on-stage rabble singing the La Marseillaise.

Stuart was drawn into Progress by his children Alex McCubbin and Laura Mills who both started in the youth theatre and are still active members. He hasn't acted himself at Progress but enjoys performing with Reading Bach Choir and hopes to squeeze some of their music into the Teechers soundtrack. Regular visitors to Progress will probably recognise Stuart as he is often to be found manning the bar or working front of house, both roles that he enjoys. Members be warned - there will be more slots to fill for this production as Stuart will be busy.

* I pretended to know what Stuart was talking about and then looked it up here later. It even tells you how they work!

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 Enjoy by Alan Bennett, Sunday 6th March 3pm & Thursday 10th March, 7.30pm Progress Theatre.

Teechers by John Godber 14th to 19th March 2011

Progress Youth Theatre Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons 4th - 9th- April 2011

See Progress Theatre website for details of all our productions and auditions.

Creating a gym for Teechers

Teechers by John Godber is set in a school gym in the 1980s and set designer Aidan Moran wants to recreate the atmosphere he remembers from his own school days.

The base of the design is the floor which has to be the highly polished cross hatch design school gyms always used to have (and maybe still do). The actual stage can't be varnished so it has to be covered with hardboard which can then be painted and varnished to give the right effect.

New member Ashley Dashwood has recently moved to Reading and was looking for something to do and a way of meeting people. A friend pointed him toward Progress and on his first visit he found himself with a hammer in his hand fixing pieces of hardboard. He is going to be a great asset to the theatre!

When it is finished the set will include all the accessories you'd expect in a gym, a climbing frame fixed to the wall, ropes, long benches, big windows and a vaulting horse. The vaulting horse has a dual purpose as it will also act as a space to store props. Teechers is a classic John Godber play where 3 actors play many different roles. It is fast moving and storing the props on stage avoids interrupting the action.

To complete the school gym illusion lighting designer Martin Noble will be rigging some real fluorescent strip lights to light the set when the audience first come in. The only thing missing will be the school aroma but perhaps we should leave that to the audience's imagination.

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 Enjoy by Alan Bennett, Sunday 6th March 3pm & Thursday 10th March, 7.30pm Progress Theatre.

Teechers by John Godber 14th to 19th March 2011

Progress Youth Theatre Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons 4th - 9th- April 2011

See Progress Theatre website for details of all our productions and auditions.