Blackbird - hanging blinds and other strange activities

 I didn't make it to the rehearsal on Wednesday but I was there in time to hear the notes from the director and have a chat with the cast and crew about how things are going. Photographer Mandy King was there too and kindly sent me a photo of the blinds being hung last weekend.

The blinds go all round the stage and extend slightly into the auditorium to create the impression of a single space. As you can see from the photo they were quite fiddly to but together. Being involved in a production you often find yourself doing unexpected things like constructing office blinds. For example last night  producer Helen Coleman was busy cutting burger buns from a piece of sponge.

I enjoy listening to director's giving notes to actors, you often hear things that are perfectly normal to everyone involved but to an outsider sound frankly bizarre. Last night's gem was "When you've got a decent wet patch on your shirt show it off"

Blackbird runs from Monday to Saturday next week so come along and see if you can spot the burger buns and the wet patch.


There is a good article about the production in this week's getreading

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Coming up -

Blackbird by David Harrower 17th - 22nd October 2011

Auditions for Art by Yasmina Reza Wednesday 26th October 7.30pm or Sunday 30th October at 4pm

39 Steps by John Buchan, adapted by Patrick Barlow 17th-26th Nov 2011

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

Sounds of Blackbird

I gatecrashed a rehearsal of Blackbird on Sunday afternoon. When I arrived the actors were already outnumbered by observers including the director, production manager, stage manager and sound designer. The people you see on stage during a production are a small fraction of the people involved in making it a success.
 
One of these unseen workers is Mike Brand who is designing the sound and lighting for Blackbird. He certainly looked the part of the sound engineer on Sunday - compete with headphones and recording equipment.

During a break in the rehearsal he explained that he had pre-recorded some sound effects and was listening to them while watching the action to check that they sounded right in context.

As well as the 'realistic' sounds like phones ringing Mike is planning to include voice montages at the beginning and end of the show. He recorded the first read through of the play and now has over ninety snippets of speech  that he is hoping to interweave into an interesting sound effect.    


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 WriteFest  Sunday 25th September or 2.30pm at Progress Theatre

Auditions for Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Sunday 9th Oct 2.30pm or Wednesday 12th October 7.30

Blackbird by David Harrower 17th - 22nd October 2011

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