Shakespeare in the carpark

There are two Progress productions starting in mid-July. Next week I will find out what is happening with Progress Youth Theatre's The Rose's of Eyam but this week I caught up with the open air Love's Labour's Lost ... And Won.

I had been told they were rehearsing at the theatre but when I arrived the cast and crew were all in the car park. There was more to this than the fact it was a nice sunny day. As the performance will be in the open air it is important the actors get as much experience as possible performing outside. It is much harder to be heard without walls to bounce the sound off and they need to get a feel for this. They have been holding rehearsals outside since mid-May and so far have only been driven inside once by heavy rain.

Director Dan Clarke consulting with assistant director Alex McCubbin

From Saturday they will be rehearsing in the beautiful Caversham Court Gardens so keep an eye out if you are down by the Thames. As well as rehearsing the play the cast will be practising setting up and taking down all the backstage tents that are needed during the performance. Being an actor isn't all glamour!

I don't normally take photos of people's backs but this was a good opportunity to show off the Love's Labour's Lost ...And Won polo shirt.

Producing shirts for each Shakespeare production has become a tradition at Progress. Those involved keep them as a memento and it is a good promotional tool. You usually see a range going back several years at set building sessions. I've still got my favourite pink one from a Midsummer Nights Dream in 2007


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. 

Progress Youth Theatre The Roses of Eyam by Don Taylor Monday 14th July - Saturday 19th July.

Reading Open Air Love's Labour's Lost... And Won by William Shakespeare Wednesday 16th July – Saturday 26th July 2014 at Caversham Court Gardens

Auditions for Noises Off by Michael Frayn Sunday 27th July 2.30pm or Monday 28th July 7.30pm 

Full details about out theatre and all our activities can be found on our website.

Producing God of Carnage

Anna Jennings' real love is musical theatre and she joined Progress to take part in Little Shop of Horrors in 2013. She has become very involved in Progress since then, directing in this season's WriteFest, doing front of house and performing in Progress writers' plays on Radio Berkshire.

Anna (far right) in a scene from Little Shop of Horrors (2013)
Photo Richard Brown

Anna is known as the social secretary among her group of friends so had always thought that she would have the necessary skills to produce a show. She knew God of Carnage director Glynn Oram as he wrote Three Little Words, the play she directed for WriteFest. When Glynn sent out an email asking for people to help with the production she volunteered to be producer.

She has got on well with the standard tasks of finding people to fill backstage roles, keeping an eye on budgets and generally tracking progress and has had plenty of help and advice from long standing members.

Anna told me about some of the things she has learnt in the role. Perhaps the most important is that if you are asking people for a photo of an eleven year old boy then it is best to mention that it is for a play at the beginning of the conversation. She has also learnt that she is not very good with polyfiller (but it makes a great exfoliant) and when visiting the basement props store wellies are a better footwear option than stilettos.

Alan (Geoff Dallimore) and Michael (Richard Tripp) share a drink
Photo Richard Brown

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. 

God of Carnage by Yazmina Reza, adapted by Christoper Hampton Monday 23rd June – Saturday 28th June 2014

Progress Youth Theatre The Roses of Eyam by Don Taylor Monday 14th July - Saturday 19th July.

Reading Open Air Love's Labour's Lost... And Won by William Shakespeare Wednesday 16th July – Saturday 26th July 2014 at Caversham Court Gardens

Auditions for Noises Off by Michael Frayn Sunday 27th July 2.30pm or Monday 28th July 7.30pm 

Full details about out theatre and all our activities can be found on our website.

Gatecrashing a God of Carnage rehearsal

I timed my visit to a recent God of Carnage rehearsal just right and was able to watch almost a whole run through. Even with some stopping and starting to rework moves I still found myself gripped by the action and the ebb and flow of emotions and alliances.

The action takes place in a living room and the small coffee table on stage was well used for putting  down drinks, bowls of clafoutis, decanters and art books. For the actual run they will be using a much longer table that Geoff Dallimore (who plays Alan) is bringing from his house. Understandably he doesn't want to bring it in until the set has been built and painted so for the time being they are making do with a smaller one.

The actors were using some of the props for the first time in this rehearsal and having to work out things like when they should put down a glass. They didn't have all the props yet so some were being mimed. They did a good job of keeping track of it all and keeping in mind that they couldn't pick up the real coffee cup until they had put down the imaginary bowl of clafoutis. They also discovered that some things wouldn't work – those delicate brandy goblets really weren't going to stand up to being wrestled over.

For the run the clafoutis won't be imaginary, there is someone lined up to make it – in fact there are two volunteers so a bake-off is planned.

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. 

God of Carnage by Yazmina Reza, adapted by Christoper Hampton Monday 23rd June – Saturday 28th June 2014

Progress Youth Theatre The Roses of Eyam by Don Taylor Monday 14th - Saturday 19th July.

Reading Open Air Love's Labour's Lost... And Won by William Shakespeare Wednesday 16th July – Saturday 26th July 2014 at Caversham Court Gardens

Auditions for Noises Off by Michael Frayn Sunday 27th July 2.30pm or Monday 28th July 7.30pm 

Full details about out theatre and all our activities can be found on our website.

Not About Heroes get the chairs

This is a tale of two chairs (well three to be precise...) The first is for stage manager Heather Noble. There are only two cast members in Not About Heroes and not much for the stage manager to do once the performance starts. Heather agreed to stage manage the show on the condition that she could have an armchair and her special light back stage so that she could do her crochet and quilting.

This beautiful pair of chairs caused director Steph Dewar a great deal of grief.

They needed to represent a gentleman's club and not be too big in case they masked action going on at the back of the stage. (The ladder in the background is part of the war-time trench scenes.) She thought she had found a perfect pair on a website and ordered them, not being too concerned when they rang her to say those ones had gone but offering her an alternative. 

She was concerned when she noticed the money she'd paid for them had been refunded. Apparently while she'd been talking to one member of staff their manager had sold the chairs. Luckily she saw the pair pictured above advertised on Gumtree in Shepherds Bush. In London for work Steph was able to make a quick detour and pick them up. Nothing is ever plain sailing.

Not About Heroes  runs all week from Monday 26th May. The perfect break from exam revision, especially for those studying the First World War poets.

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. 

Auditions for Darwin and Fitzroy by Juliet Ackroyd, Saturday 7^th June, 6pm at Progress Theatre

Not About Heroes by Stephen MacDonald, Monday 26th May – Saturday 31st May 2014

God of Carnage by Yazmina Reza, adapted by Christoper Hampton Monday 23rd June – Saturday 28th June 2014

Reading Open Air Love's Labour's Lost... And Won by William Shakespeare Wednesday 16th July – Saturday 26th July 2014 at Caversham Court Gardens

Full details about out theatre and all our activities can be found on our website.

'Not About Heroes' Help Mark the First World War 100th Anniversary

A few weeks ago the Friends of the University ran an event to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and its impact on Reading and the University. Not About Heroes director, Steph Dewar works at the university and suggested that they include some extracts of the play.



Gareth Saunders playing Siegfried Sassoon at the University Heritage day (photo S. Dewar) 

Not About Heroes dramatises the true story of the relationship between the poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Owen studied botany at Reading University while working as the Vicar's assistant in nearby Dunsden  so performing extracts at the heritage event was particularly relevant.



Owen Goode who plays Wilfred Owen displaying his 'medal' during a break in rehearsals (photo S. Dewar)
 

Steph and the actors enjoyed their day at the university and discovered more background about Wilfred Owen and his time in Reading. Although he studied botany he was also urged by the head of the English department to take some English classes. Clearly someone who was able to spot talent.

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. 

 

Auditions for Darwin & Fitzroy by Juliet Ackroyd Wednesday 14th May 7.30pm or Sunday 18th May 2014  4.30pm at Progress Theatre

 

Not About Heroes by Stephen MacDonald, Monday 26th May – Saturday 31st May 2014

God of Carnage by Yazmina Reza, adapted by Christoper Hampton Monday 23rd June – Saturday 28th June 2014

Reading Open Air Love's Labour's Lost... And Won by William Shakespeare Wednesday 16th July – Saturday 26th July 2014 at Caversham Court Gardens

Full details about out theatre and all our activities can be found on our website.