WriteFest - Mermaids and Bag Ladies

Fresh from a hip replacement operation Liz Carroll is still playing an active part in Writefest at Progress Theatre. She is directing a play called On the Rocks by Gerald Kells. The play starts with a girl on the beach egging on a boy to do something daring, the adventure starts when a mermaid gets involved. The cast includes two members of the Progress Youth Theatre and Liz's daughter Ali.

While we were talking Alison Hill, who is playing the part of Mary in  a play Liz has written for WriteFest called The Browning Papers, came up to ask Liz a detail about one of the lines in the play. Alison plays a "bag lady with a past". Liz was very relaxed and said that Alison should say whatever felt right for the character.

Liz has written another play in this year's WriteFest called Asylum. All she would tell me about it was that it is a very short thriller with two actors - she didn't want to give anything else away.

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...

Writefest 4th to 6th November 2010

Ajax by Sophocles 25th November to 4th December 2010

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

Of Mice and Men Auditions

Another chance to audition for a progress production. Auditions for Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck are on  Sunday 24th October 2.30-5pm and  Wednesday 27th October 7.30-10pm  Progress Theatre. The performance dates are 10th – 19th February 2011.  

Director Joe Haynes has directed of Mice and Men before. He is drawn to it because he is interested in the 'American Dream' as a fascinating subject for theatre. The phrase was first used by the American writer James Truslow Adams in 1931 "The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. " Of Mice and Men was written only a few years after this in 1937. Joe believes that its story of two poor men and their dream of owning their own piece of land is one of the finest examples of the genre.

Joe is an experiences director - his debut was ‘Spring and Port Wine’ in 1977. As well as being interested in American drama Joe is passionate about Shakespeare. He directed an outdoor production of Twelfth Night in 2009 and has previously previously directed Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale.  He will be directing Measure for Measure for the Wargrave Village Festival in 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...

Auditions for Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck  2.30-5pm Sunday 24th October Progress Theatre Foyer and 7.30-10pm Wednesday 27th October Progress Theatre Foyer

Writefest 4th to 6th November 2010

Ajax by Sophocles 25th November to 4th December 2010

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

 

Metamorphosis and Acting Workshops

Metamorphosis starts tomorrow (11th October) and it only runs until Saturday so don't miss out on seeing this exciting production.  

The acting workshops  in the title of this post don't refer to any need within the cast of Metamorphosis but to a series of Acting Skills workshops being run by Ali Carroll. Longer term readers my remember a post about the support group Ali had started to encourage those who wanted to get involved in theatre but needed some support. (See Making theatre more accessible to all). The series of workshops currently running on Sunday afternoons are open to members of the support group as well as anyone else in the theatre who is interested.

The session this Sunday was attended by eight people and covered characterization. It involved games and exercises like having to walk around like a supermodel who is secretly insecure! There was plenty of serious discussion and learning about acting techniques as well as a lot of laughs. There are still two more sessions on acting skills 4 - 6pm on Sundays. There is then a break for half-term followed by some sessions on mask making. Contact Ali if you are interested in attended any of the sessions. Email elizabeth.carroll7@ntlworld.com or ring 07831 488809.

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...

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka adapted by Steven Berkoff 11th to 16th October 2010

Writefest 4th to 6th November 2010

Ajax by Sophocles 25th November to 4th December 2010

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

Reunited in Metamorphosis

Evelyn Frith and Jim Tubbs-Galley first played husband and wife in 1995 when they were Ancient Pistol and Mistress Quickly in Henry V, the first Progress production in the Abbey Ruins. Fifteen years later they are reunited as Mr. and Mrs. Samsa in Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

In his day job Jim is a hypnotherapist and helps people overcome addictions. One of the addictions he can help people with is nicotine which as he is a longterm heavy smoker himself may seem a little strange but he says he feels he is a good warning of the dangers of smoking!

With a week to go until Metamorphosis opens on the 11th October the cast and director were hard at work on Sunday afternoon. They were looking at the exact intonation of particular lines to best express the frustration of the characters.

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 The Ash Girl by Timberlake Wertenbaker Wednesday 6th October 7.30 pm at Progress Theatre

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka adapted by Steven Berkoff 11th to 16th October 2010

Writefest 4th to 6th November 2010

Ajax by Sophocles 25th November to 4th December 2010

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

Metamorphosis

The set of Metamorphosis features a large cage that was originally built for People in Cages in 2007. It is good when parts of sets can be reused, it saves on materials and work. The cage is being adapted so that actors can climb on the top and hang from the inside of it. Mindful of health and safety the construction team have also worked out a way of cutting up mattresses and laying them out on the floor of the cage just in case anyone falls.

 

One aspect of putting on a production that people may not be aware of is getting the licence to perform a play. The first step is to get permission to perform it. This is usually straightforward and all that is involved is paying the nightly performance fee. Sometimes permission is not given - usually because there is a professional production on at the same time. Some licence holders also have strict rules about how the play is performed, the most common one being that none of the text should be changed. Director Joanna Rogowska cast the part of Gregor as a woman and her sister as a brother changing the names slightly to reflect the gender change. She was however told that she couldn't do that and the names had to remain as in the script. She has responded to this by keeping the name Gregor but still having the part played by a woman. This fits in with what she sees as one of the main themes of the play, the difficulty of being yourself when all the pressures are to conform and do the sensible thing. 

The play has also been updated from the 1900s to modern day. This meant a few minor changes to the text, for example switching letters for emails and permission was given for this. They were also allowed to switch one of the characters from playing the violin to the saxophone as the rehearsal schedule didn't allow the actor time to learn a new instrument!

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 The Ash Girl by Timberlake Wertenbaker Sunday 3rd October 11am at Mencap 21 Alexandra Road and Wednesday 6th October 7.30 pm at Progress Theatre

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 11th to 16th October 2010

Writefest 4th to 6th November 2010

Ajax by Sophocles 25th November to 4th December 2010

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