Tempest Auditions

Progress Theatre's outdoor Shakespeare is back! We are still not able to use the Abbey Ruins because of safety issues but this summer we will be presenting The Tempest in Caversham Court gardens by the Thames. Auditions are Sunday 20th 2.30pm and Tuesday 22nd February 7.30pm with a call back on Sunday 27th February at 2.30pm, all at Progress Theatre.

Auditions start at the theatre but, weather permitting, at least some of the time will be spent outside. Director Chris Bertrand needs to hear how actors can project their voices outside with no walls to bounce the sound off. The rehearsal process will include work on voice training.

Chris likes to work with a company of actors who all get involved in developing the performance and work together as a team - there will be no bit parts in this production. He is looking to cast a company of about 20 actors, ideally 10 male and 10 female. The call back on the 27th will be where Chris will make the final decision about who will be in the company. He'll let people know that on the day but the parts people will play won't be decided until the first rehearsal.

Chris feels that as a magical fairy story The Tempest is well suited to an outdoor production. It lends itself to visual imagery and as water is a key image in the play being next to the river will be a bonus. Chris has run a series of three workshops over the last few months, where participants looked at different aspects of the play like the comedy, the relationships between the main characters and the use of music and sound. This gave Chris the opportunity to try out some of his ideas like having Ariel, a magical spirit, played by 5 actors. This worked well and will allow the spirit to be portrayed in a state of constant movement. The auditions are open to everyone - you don't need to have attended the workshops.

This should be a very exciting production to be in and to watch so if you can't audition put the performance dates in your diary - 23rd to 30th July 2011.

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...

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Thursday 10th to Saturday 19th February 2011

Auditions for this year's outdoor Shakespeare The Tempest, Sunday 20th 2.30pm and Tuesday 22nd February 2011 7.30pm.

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

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

Tackling the American Accent

of Mice and Men is set in California in the 1930s and the actors need to speak in American accents.

This isn't too much of a problem for Melissa Tanner as she is from California. She came to London two years ago to work as a Nanny before returning to Los Angeles to study musical theatre. She moved to Reading last March and when she saw the auditions for Of Mice and Men thought it was a great opportunity to get involved in Progress.

She plays "Curley's wife" the only way her character is referred to in the play - she is never given a name. 

It has been very helpful to the rest of the actors to have a genuine American on the cast and Melissa is impressed with the way they have all picked up the accent.

Of Mice and Men is very popular with school groups and there are not many ticket left so if you want to see this production then you need to book soon. 

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...

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Thursday 10th to Saturday 19th February 2011

Auditions for this year's outdoor Shakespeare The Tempest, Sunday 20th 2.30pm and Tuesday 22nd February 2011 7.30pm.

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

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

Of Mice and Men - the finishing touches

Tickets for Of Mice and Men are selling fast. Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th are already sold out and other nights have only a few seats left. If you want to be sure of seeing it you will have to book in advance.

Progress Blog popped into a rehearsal on Sunday and preparations are well advanced. Notes from director Joe Haynes mostly concentrated on people getting details right like shutting doors at the right time and making sure they were wearing a hat when they came in from the supposedly blazing sun. People do notice these details and as Joe said "audiences love to see things going wrong - I don't!"

The actors were all looking the part in jeans and cowboy boots. Producer Heidi Ashton, watching from the audience, had also got into the mood and taken on the role of a good American housewife. She was busy hand stitching stuffed mattresses to go on the bunk beds.

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...

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Thursday 10th to Saturday 19th February 2011

Auditions for this year's outdoor Shakespeare The Tempest, Sunday 20th and Tuesday 22nd February 2011.

Teechers by John Godber 14th to 19th March 2011

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

All My Sons Auditions

Auditions for All My Sons by Arthur Miller are on Wednesday January 26^th 7.30 pm and Sunday January 30th. 7.pm both at Progress Theatre.

Over the years Progress have performed several Arthur Miller plays. The Crucible has been the most popular being put on in 1956, 1984 and 2004. Death of a salesman was produced in 1966 and then thirty years later in 1996. We have also done A view from the bridge (1983) and The last Yankee(1998) was directed by Harry Gray who is returning to Miller to direct All My Sons.

All My Sons was was one of Miller's earliest plays. He wrote it in 1947 after his previous play had been a flop on Broadway and had said that if it wasn't successful he would give up writing. Thankfully it was successful, winning a number of awards.

Harry Gray has directed and appeared in many productions since joining Progress in 1963. He most recently directed Four Nights in Knaresborough in 2008. This was set in the medieval period and involved chain mail, full helmets and big swords. (The photo shows a publicity shot with Harry standing in as a knight second from right.)  All My Sons is set in the 1940s so the costumes should be easier for the actors to handle although they will have to get to grips with an American accent. All the parts in the play are strong, it is a powerful piece with plenty for actors to get their teeth into. Harry describes it as a condemnation of anti-social behaviour that starts of gently and builds up to a devastating conclusion.  

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 All My Sons by Arthur Miller Wednesday January 26^th 7.30 pm  and Sunday January 30^th  7 pm

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Thursday 10th to Saturday 19th February 2011

Auditions for this year's outdoor Shakespeare The Tempest, Sunday 20th and Tuesday 22nd February 2011.

Teechers by John Godber 14th to 19th March 2011

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

The Ash Girl and the Glutton Toad

For this week's blog I interviewed Helen Bryant who plays the Glutton Toad, one of the seven deadly sins featured in The Ash Girl. Helen described her costume as "very pink and very fat". The deadly sins also wear masks representing their characters. The mask covers the top half of the face depriving the actor of the use of their eyes in showing emotions and thoughts. Helen has acted in masks before, once at school where she played the angel of death, and in a short play in WriteFest at Progress. In the WriteFest play, Home News she played a man and a woman where for the male character she used a mask and for the female one she didn't. This meant that not only did she have to remember her lines and who was supposed to be saying them she also had to think about whether she should be wearing the mask or not! 

An access officer at Reading Borough Council during the day, in her spare time Helen is an active member of Progress. Her favourite roles have been a gypsy fortune teller in Too Clever by Half (2004) and in Godspell (2005). Her most recent role was as a fish wife in The Tamer Tamed (2008). The photo shows a scene from The Tamer Tamed with Helen being menaced by a bear.

As well as acting at Progress Helen has done some film work. She was an extra in The Sweet Shop starring Gemma Atkinson from Hollyoaks. Helen also had a small role in a local independent film called The Dragon and George. This was made by a group of amateur film makers called TeamTV. Both these opportunities came via contacts she made at Progress Theatre. She is also part of a training group called Spotlight on Diversity that uses drama to work on issues around prejudice and diversity.  

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 Ash Girl by Timberlake Wertenbaker 11th to 16th January 2011

Auditions for All My Sons by Arthur Miller Wednesday January 26^th 7.30 pm  and Sunday January 30^th  7 pm

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Thursday 10th to Saturday 19th February 2011

Auditions for this years outdoor Shakespeare The Tempest, Sunday 20th and Tuesday 22nd February 2011.

Teechers by John Godber 14th to 19th March 2011

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