Mojo


Most theatre groups have more female than male actors and are constantly looking for plays that offer good parts for women. I was intrigued therefore that Progress Youth Theatre have chosen to produce Mojo - a play with six males and no females at all.

photo by Richard Brown

 I asked youth theatre leader and director Ben Sandiford about the choice of play. He said that it is something he has wanted to stage for twenty years but had always hesitated because of the lack of female roles. This year because of the short gap between Noises Off and the Youth Theatre production they needed to find a play that could use the two level stage already constructed. Mojo needs an upstairs and downstairs area and so it seemed time was finally right.

photo by Richard Brown

Sometimes the Youth Theatre increase the number of roles for girls by changing the sex of a character, for example they have performed female versions of Julius Caesar and Lord of the Flies and even had a female count Dracula. Ben was clear that this was not an option with Mojo as the relationships between the characters and their masculinity is an important element of the play.

The gender balance has been restored off-stage as long-term Youth Theatre member Poppy Price has taken on the role of assistant director. Poppy said that she did question the choice of an all male play but feels that there doesn't necessarily need to be a balance in each production as long as there are good opportunities for both sexes across the season. The most recent production, Roses of Eyam had many more girls than boys in it.

The cast are just pleased that for once they can take over the larger dressing room normally used by the girls!

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 roughly weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails. 

Progress Youth Theatre, Mojo by Jez Butterworth, 7.45 Monday 8th December – Saturday 13th December 2014

The Three Musketeers by Ken Ludwig from the novel by Alexandre Dumas 7.45 Thursday 15th January – Saturday 24th January 2015, matinees on the Saturday afternoons 2.30, Progress Theatre

Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton, 7.45pm Monday 23rd February – Saturday 28th February 2015 at Progress Theatre

Noises Off - life imitating art imitating life

Alex McCubbin is playing Lloyd Dallas, the director of the play-within-the-play in Noises Off. He  claims that he only agreed to be assistant director for Love's Labour's Lost...And Won last summer as a way of building up useful knowledge to help him audition for and play this character. He was diplomatically silent as to how much material he gathered. He did say he can sympathise with Lloyd's frustration when actors blame their mistakes on other people. Equally as an experienced stage manager and actor he can see what a monster Lloyd is putting his personal agenda ahead of the production (not that anything like that ever happens at Progress of course!)

Noises Off is a very fast farce with lots of doors opening and closing and people coming in and out in quick secession. Watching part of rehearsal I was amazed at how the actors could remember where they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to be doing. Alex said that it reminded him of his time on a performing arts course when he had to learn dance moves.

Noises off starts on Thursday and tickets are selling fast on popular nights. Don't forget we now have our own on-line booking system with a lower booking fee so it is worth booking in advance to make sure of seeing this very funny show, Click here to book.

 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 roughly weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails. 

Noises off by Michael Frayn, 7.45 Thursday 20th November – Saturday 29th November 2014, matinees on the Saturday afternoons 2.30, Progress Theatre

Progress Youth Theatre, Mojo by Jez Butterworth, 7.45 Monday 8th December – Saturday 13th December 2014

The Three Musketeers, by Ken Ludwig from the novel by Alexandre Dumas 7.45 Thursday 15th January – Saturday 24th January 2015, matinees on the Saturday afternoons 2.30, Progress TheatreProgress Theatre

Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton, 7.45pm Monday 23rd February – Saturday 28th February 2015 at Progress Theatre

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

Noises off - constructing the set

Noises Off is a difficult play for small non-professional theatres to put on. There are three acts, the first one showing the stage set of the play within the play. The second act shows the backstage view of the same play and then back to the on-stage view in the final act. In the West End this is achieved by having a large revolving stage that can be quickly turned round during an interval. This is not an option in the more limited space available to Progress.

Aidan Moran and Martin Noble started designing the set about three years ago. They began with sketches on paper and then once the basics had been worked out Martin used modelling software to perfect the design and all the measurements. He even drew in sightlines from different parts of the auditorium to ensure that no-one in the audience misses any vital action.

The set is based on a metal structure for strength. It is built in modules that the stage management team can individually turn or flip to achieve the scene changes.

Other small theatres have shown an interest in how Progress is building the set for this popular play. Unfortunately we can't sell on the set because it has all been built in situ and won't fit through the doors.

There has been a huge amount of pre-planning and liaison with the other productions during this season. The staircases and platform were built before the start of the season and used for Darwin and Fitzroy. During WriteFest the constructed parts of the set were hidden behind a curtain at the back of the stage.

The Youth Theatre have the slot after Noises Off and were asked if they would select a play that could make use of the set. Director Ben jumped at the chance to stage Mojo, a play he had wanted to do for some time that needs different levels and staircases - perfect! Finally The Three Musketeers will use the staircases but the rest of the set will need to be dismantled to leave plenty of room for all those sword fights.

 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 roughly weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails. 

Noises off by Michael Frayn, 7.45 Thursday 20th November – Saturday 29th November 2014, Progress Theatre

Progress Youth Theatre, Mojo by Jez Butterworth, 7.45 Monday 8th December – Saturday 13th December 2014

 

The Three Musketeers, by Ken Ludwig from the novel by Alexandre Dumas 7.45 Thursday 15th January – Saturday 24th January 2015, Progress Theatre

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

An abundance of scripts - 9th Annual Writefest

Our 9th annual Writefest starts tonight (15th October) and runs until Saturday 18th you can now buy tickets on-line using our new booking system here.

As you can imagine with seven separate plays on one night there is a lot for the backstage team to keep track of and they have to be very organised.  In this photo stage manager Emma is making a list of all the bits and pieces that have to be in a cardboard box on stage for The Deep Blue. Razor blades and pills were top of the list of essentials.

On the list of props to be set for The Flood is 'Liz Carroll'. Liz recently broke her ankle but in the true spirit of theatre "the show must go on". In The Flood she plays a hairdressing client so once the play starts she doesn't have to move about. She is now wheeled into position by the stage management team as part of the set up of the play. 

As all plays in Writefest are new unpublished works they are liable to change between being submitted and the first night. Some of these changes come from the writers and some are suggested by the directors and actors as they see what works and what doesn't during rehearsals. This is a common process and is why published scripts usually credit the director and cast of the first run. Of course at some point the changes have to stop and everyone needs to be working from the same script. Lighting designer Richard got some blank looks from the cast of Yawn when he read out what he thought were the cue lines for lighting changes, apparently they had been cut in a later version. After some quick checking and reprinting we are now confident that everyone has the same version of the scripts and everyone knows exactly what they are doing.

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 roughly weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails. 


Auditions for Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton, 7.30 Wednesday 22nd October 2014 or  2.30 Sunday 26th October 2014, Progress Theatre

Noises off by Michael Frayn, 7.45 Thursday 20th November – Saturday 29th November 2014, Progress Theatre

Progress Youth Theatre, Mojo by Jez Butterworth, 7.45 Monday 8th December – Saturday 13th December 2014

The Three Musketeers, by Ken Ludwig from the novel by Alexandre Dumas 7.45 Thursday 15th January – Saturday 24th January 2015, Progress Theatre
Full details about out theatre and all our activities can be found on our website.

Reaching Out

The first in a series of blog posts from our members comes from Shona Pepper, our Graduate Intern

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Welcome to my first blog post at the Progress Theatre! I’m Shona, the Progress Graduate Intern and I’m currently researching way in which the theatre can reach out to the older generation. I’ve recently graduated from the University of Reading with a BA in Film and Theatre and am very excited to have the opportunity to work in the industry so soon after graduating. Progress Theatre has begun to realise that there is ample opportunity to extend their services, in the way of workshops or performances to the older generation. I think this is a brilliant idea, as much of the research I have already done has shown that there is a limited number of activities in the Berkshire area, (particularly those who don’t drive or are confident using public transport on their own) and this is something I am very happy to try and change!

The project as it stands is very much in its early stages and I am currently doing as much research as I can to find out what ways that we, as a theatre, can create events, specifically catering for the tastes and need of those who are unable to get to the theatre independently. I am currently looking at a range of different activities, such as, creating play reading groups (perhaps also exploring scenes or plays either practically or verbally), workshops on different aspects of the theatre (for example – set design, costume, lighting, writing, or directing), giving the older generation the opportunity to write plays based on recollections or memories (potentially to be performed by the theatre), or for them to become a regular attendee at performances at a time suitable for the majority.

One factor that has become apparent is that the research and outputs from this project could have equal relevance to other groups, particularly adults with learning and other disabilities. As such, whilst my research is primarily focussed on the older community, I am also exploring the extent to which the kinds of things which are of interest to this group could also be tailored to other groups. While the research is currently very broad, we hope that once we have successfully trialled a few things with the older community, we can start to also look at trials with other groups too.

On behalf of the theatre I am also trying to emphasise the ways in which we can adapt and allow the potential activities to be sympathetic to disabilities, such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s, so that if possible we can incorporate practical activities for the less mobile attendees so that everyone can have the opportunity to get involved. (At this point I should really thank my Grandma Catherine, who has been the guinea-pig for most of the ideas, particularly the ones involved around memory. She has Dementia and none-the-less has enjoyed the opportunity to tell many stories about herself as she can, including many comical ones during her time running her own hotel on the seafront!)

Bearing in mind Progress is a charity with limited resources, I’m also looking into several funding avenues that could prove useful for either bringing people into the theatre for workshops etc, or for taking members of Progress out to groups. This can hopefully provide those who struggle with lack of transport the opportunity to engage with the theatre and not miss out on what will hopefully be a great opportunity!

The next part of my research is to conduct focus groups or one to one chats with potential attendees so that we can really look into exactly what our target audience are interesting in coming and getting involved in. In the next few weeks, I am aiming to come out and meet the residents in residential homes, library groups and other care facilities and find out who would be interested and what sort of things we can organise and Progress can offer.

After we have reviewed the research, we are hoping to arrange opportunities to trial different workshops/performances/events so that we can establish the best type of event to pursue. I am currently handing out surveys to collect this information, please email to request a copy if you are happy to fill one out.

If you are a member of a local church group, care home, local councils, or day centre etc., and would either like to get involved, offer advice or fill in a survey for the project, please contact us via Shona Pepper, 07732332337, outreach@progresstheatre.co.uk.

Keep an eye out for more information on news on our project development!