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.    


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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.

Proof press night

On Friday Progress Theatre held a press preview night for our latest production, Proof. The cast performed in front of a small invited audience including press, theatre members who had been involved with the production or who are away during the main run and, of course, Progress Blog.

The evening was run as if it were a normal production - including opening the bar. Producer Chris Moran explained that they had planned the rehearsal schedule from the start with the aim of being performance ready for the press night. They will still have a final dress rehearsal on Sunday night to give them a last chance to iron out any wrinkles.

Lauren Gilbert and Anna Bristow as sisters Clarie and Catherine

During the interval I chatted to Liz Crosthwaite, entertainments editor at the Reading Chronicle. She normally concentrates on music and this will be the first play she has reviewed for Progress. She seemed to be enjoying it but we'll have to wait and see what she says in her review.

I certainly enjoyed it and the rest of the audience seemed to be. There were even a few discretely wiped away tears at the end! The main run starts on Monday 12th and runs until the Saturday.


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 -

Proof  by David Auburn September 12th - 17th 2011

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.

Proof

I distracted director Aidan Moran for a few minutes during the technical rehearsal for Proof on Sunday. This was the second day of technical rehearsals, Saturday had been mainly about rigging the lights but Sunday included the actors. Lauren Gilbert, who plays Claire, was practicing walking in high heels while looking elegant and not falling over. I also met new member Anna Bristow who is playing Catherine. Her costume is a bit more casual - no shoe practice required.

Anna Bristow

 Aidan decided he wanted to direct Proof after reading the first scene. The play is set in Chicago although his original idea had been to change it to an English setting so that they could concentrate on the drama of the piece without having to worry about accents. This was not allowed under the terms of the performance licence so the cast are having to use American accents but Aidan has kept them simple and generic.

You may have heard that Proof is about maths. I should stress that you don't need to understand any maths to enjoy the play. The most complex calculations involved were the ones Martin Noble had to make. He had the job of making the weirdly angled roof Aidan designed into a reality.


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 -

Proof by David Auburn September 12th - 17th 2011

Auditions for WriteFest  Sunday 25th Sept, 2.30pm at Progress Theatre

Blackbird by David Harrower 17th - 22nd October 2011

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

Happy Holidays

Progress Blog is off for a summer break for the next couple of weeks. That doesn't mean that there isn't a lot still going on at the theatre. Rehearsals are well under way for our next show Proof and there is still time to audition for The 39 Steps on Sunday 7th August at 2pm.

We'll be back soon to let you  in on what is going on behind the scenes at the Proof rehearsals.
 

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 The 39 Steps Sunday 7th August, 2pm at Progress Theatre

Proof by David Auburn September 12th - 17th 2011

Blackbird by David Harrower 17th - 22nd October 2011


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

The Tempest - rain and church bells

As I walked through the church yard at dusk, making my way down to Caversham Court gardens, I could hear a haunting melody floating up from the river. I was on my way to one of the final rehearsals of The Tempest and the music was coming from the live musicians who provide all the music and sound effects for the performance.

It was coming from the live musicians and the passing disco boat. One of the hazards of an outdoor production is the extraneous noises. In the Abbey Ruins, where we used to hold our outdoor productions, it was the shouting of inmates from Reading prison. Sometimes they even quoted the speeches they had heard many times in rehearsal. At Caversham Court it is the disco boat - that luckily comes past in the interval -  and the church bells. When the bell ringers are practicing  it is impossible to hear anything on the stage but they have kindly agreed not to ring during the performance week.

The cast and crew have been showing the best of British pluck rehearsing in the recent bad weather. Producer Coral Last was explaining the contingency plans for rain, including the potential to move the time of the interval and having on hand a supply of clear rain ponchos for the cast. There are currently still tickets available on the gate so if you've been put off buying a ticket because of the weather you can wait for a sunny evening and come down then.

Don't forget that there is no fixed seating so bring your own blanket or low backed chair to sit on, there will also be a number of chairs available for hire. Stewards will be guiding people to a seating space to ensure that everyone has a good view. It really is a beautiful setting,  right by the river and an exciting production so keep your fingers crossed for some good weather or be really British and come and enjoy some outdoor theatre whatever the weather.




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. 



Open air production The Tempest by William Shakespeare 23rd - 30th July 2011 Caversham Court Gardens

Auditions for The 39 Steps Wednesday 3rd August 7.30pm and Sunday 7th August, 2pm at Progress Theatre


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