All hands on deck!

So far the blog 'announcements' have focused on casting, but I can now give you some info on who'll be assisting me on the backstage side of things. Mark O'Halloran has accepted the role of 'Stage Manager', his first at Archway. Ably assisting him is Louise Adams (she's been a fantastic source of knowledge for me during this process) who will be supporting Mark in his role. On the lighting desk is the talented Alex Gibson, and I understand Mark has also roped in Emma Ladd for his crew!

I'd also like to say a quick thank you to Neil Hunt for his assistance in locating a bed frame and to John Hankin for offering to do some work on it.

Casting Announcement (the final piece of the jigsaw)

I am extremely pleased to announce that the role of Soldier has been taken by David Robson. David recently graduated from the The Southern Theatre Arts Centre and has been performing as an actor for many years, both as a student and professionally. David's recent theatre credits include Demetrius in the five star rated Midsummer Nights Dream for the Brighton Fringe Festival and the title role in Roberto Zucco at the Northbrook Theatre in Worthing. David has worked as a performer for outdoor site-specific theatre company Periplum for the last two years, performing in their critically acclaimed The Bell, Arquiam and Snowglobe, throughout the country. In late 2008 David directed the musical theatre show Shattered at The Northbrook Theatre and is interested in creating new collaborative devised theatre in the future.

This now means we've got a full cast - the jigsaw is complete! (A pretty poor jigsaw, mind - it's only got four pieces! Shall we say we got it from the Early Learning Centre? Good, I'm glad you agree)

So the official cast line-up looks like this:
Peter - Dan Woods
Beth - Mandy Humphrey
Soldier - David Robson
Emma - Ella Sowton

We may have a Stage Manager confirmed very soon too...

(Slightly) Extended Run!

Tiny bit of exciting news - the decision has been made to extend the small run for The Family from two nights to three! This means that opening night will be Thursday 8th October 2009 at 7.45pm. The feeling is that we may be able to generate enough interest in the play to attract a wider audience. Ticket reservations haven't opened yet but details will be posted on here once confirmed.

Rehearsal #1

The date: Saturday 1st August 2009.
The time: 10am.
The venue: Archway Studio Function Room.
The reason? The first rehearsal for The Family!!

Over the last few days I've had a lot of people ask me "Ooh, how did it go?". I stand there. I look at them. And I have a little think. "Yeah, it went really well, thank you". And they continue to look at me, and I think to myself Crikey, that's not enough! They want more from me! So I smile, pause a moment. "Yeah, really really well. Really pleased with it. It's looking good. Thank you". A brief silence, before "Oh good". And off they trot.

And when I say a lot of people, I really do mean quite a few. And it's brilliant that they're showing an interest and offering support etc and I'm not for a single second slating anyone for that because it's a huge confidence boost and fills me with hope that we'll actually have a few people show up and watch the thing. But my problem (and it really is my problem and nobody else's) is that, well, I just don't know what to say! Even now, writing this blog, knowing that people are reading this word here - and now these ones - I just don't know what to write.

The night before (and the hours and minutes leading up to) the first rehearsal, I was bricking it. What if they've changed their minds? What if they refuse to do as I say? What if they laugh in my face, tear up the script and declare they're going to put on 'Cabaret' instead?! Clearly irrational, I convinced myself and headed off to Horley with my folder and duplicate scripts. I arrived to find the Function Room locked and no caretaker in sight - luckily, the main theatre was open for the flat wash for Private Lives, so we borrowed the key from there.

Mandy, Ella and Dan all arrived, raring to go and we entered the Function Room to be hit with the smell of fresh paint - Mandy's hangover was about to get much worse! After opening all possible doors, I took the cast through to the studio to explain how the revised staging would work. There is a bit of a gangway down the side of the stage at floor level - the entrance for which will now form the upended bed. The steps from bedroom to the main room of the house (on stage) will be the stairs at the other end, with the "front door" being stairs at the back of the stage. (Not sure that makes any sense - I'll draw a diagram at some point for you...). We returned to the Function Room and got to work on the first scene - and very quickly we hit our stride. Dan and Mandy have great chemistry and should work well together. Towards the end of the first scene, Peter goes to bed followed by Beth. As the bed is upended, the actors must stand instead of lying down. I moved the actors to the wall and, assisted by Ella, held their scripts so they could position their arms properly - in effect, the first small bit of choreography in the play.

We skipped Scene Two as Soldier hasn't yet been cast (it's in italics for a reason...!!) and moved onto Scene Three. Again, Mandy and Dan were great. It was pointed out that, as the stage is a lot deeper than expected, there would be room for a dresser or shelving of some sort at the back for Beth to potter around at etc. Ella entered as Emma and was great - and again, her and Dan look like they'll have some great chemistry together, with Mandy throwing in a bit wicked sister action.

During a quick lunch we chatted about forthcoming rehearsal dates before starting on Scene Four - a dinner scene with Emma and Peter. As we're mainly only blocking at this stage, I'm not really focusing on performance - but at the moment, I've no worries on that score. At 2.15pm Dan had to dash off to work, so Mandy and Ella went through their couple of short bits together with me reading in for Dan.

Hopefully this blow-by-blow account wasn't too dull a read...?! I think once blocking is out the way I'll be able to tell you a bit more about the practicalities and performances.

And there may be an announcement in relation to Soldier this coming weekend - watch this space... ;-)

More casting news!

What a brilliant start to the day!

I am very pleased to announce that this morning Mandy Humphrey agreed to join the cast of 'The Family' as Beth, the sister of main character Peter. Mandy will playing a pivotal role in the play and I'm absolutely delighted that I shall be working with her. You may have seen Mandy in the Archway Theatre productions of 'The Danny Crowe Show', 'The Crucible' and, most recently, as Dolly West in 'Dolly West's Kitchen'.

This now means there is only part to be filled: the Soldier. But it also means that we can start rehearsals on Saturday 1st August - if I have the Soldier by then that'd be great, but if not then we can make a start and it'll give me an extra week to find an actor.

Good times.

Casting announcement

I am extremely pleased to announce two confirmed cast members for 'The Family'.

Yesterday afternoon I was being a bit cryptic regarding the casting of Emma as I wanted to ensure that the unsuccessful candidates had been informed. Ella Sowton read the part beautifully in Monday's audition and, having seen her brilliant portrayal of Nancy from 'Oliver Twist' in Archway Theatre's Young Adults Performance 'Twisted Tales', I know she'll be a fantastic addition to the cast. I'd like to thank Katie Dunbar and Emma Ladd for auditioning for this role and hope that I am able to work with these talented actresses in the future.

I'm also chuffed to bits to announce that the role of the lead character Peter has been accepted by none other than Dan Woods. I choreographed Dan in 'Privates on Parade' back in 2007 and have been hoping to work with him again ever since. In fact, whilst writing 'The Family', Dan was the first person that sprung to mind to play the part. He's also got a part in the forthcoming 'Dick Barton' so there'll be plenty of opportunity to see him perform at Archway this autumn...!

Two down, two to go... There should be more news later this week - keep 'em peeled!

It's audition time!!

I ended the last post on a cliffhanger about the auditions and, before I knew it, the evening of auditions was upon us!

Last night (Monday 20 July 2009) in the Archway Theatre Bar, a small group of us had a bit of a readthrough of the first act of the play. One of the male actors had called me earlier in the day to say he'd been called in to cover a shift at work and I shall be meeting with him on Thursday instead. Unfortunately, he would have been the only other male in attendance. Luckily, Emma Ladd had brought along her friend Phil who read all of Peter's lines - allowing me to be able to sit back and listen to the girls do their thang...!

For the role of Beth we had two auditionees: Roz Ingrams from the Young Adults Workshop, and Mandy Humphrey from the main theatre. I also asked Emma Ladd to read for her as well - more on that later... For the role of Emma I had three auditionees: Katie Dunbar and Ella Sowton from Young Adults, and Emma Ladd. In all honesty, I had been expecting a few more faces to show up - but that's the nature of the beast...! I'd already had emails and texts from various male and female potentials to say they'd not be auditioning - and they all seemed genuine in their liking of the play - but, sadly, due to time/work/commitments, they would be able to commit to the play. But I don't begrudge them at all - much better to bow out very early on than to dive in and find it becomes too much.

So we went through scenes 1, 3, 4 and 6 of the play (i.e. the first act minus the scenes between Peter and Soldier) with the girls taking it in turns to read. Very quickly I knew who I wanted to play Emma. Because I haven't told the unsuccessful auditionees their fate I shan't publicise on here just yet who has been cast - but I am happy to announce that I have a quarter of my cast confirmed! Hoorah!

For the part of Beth, Mandy Humphrey has asked for a little time to work out if she'd be able to commit to it, and I've also asked Emma Ladd if she'd reconsider playing the part (although she feels that learning the lines and the emotional weight of the character may prove too much - entirely understandable) andshe is going to take a couple of days to do so.

I'm hoping to be able to confirm the castings for Peter, Beth and Emma later this week, with Soldier shortly afterwards - watch this space!

Also, the first rehearsal has been booked for the Studio on Saturday 1st August. This hopefully also means that I'll be updating the blog on a weekly basis - it's all becoming real now...!!

The Second Workshop

Has it really been that long since my last post? Oh dear, I knew wouldn't be very at this 'regular' thing!! On the assumption that at least one person is reading this, apologies for keeping you waiting!

When I started writing this blog I wanted to make sure I was honest and upfront about the whole writing-workshop-performance process and that's exactly what I'm going to do - especially about the second workshop...

The Second Workshop
...was a very different experience to the first workshop. The first one had a real air and buzz of excitement - a brand new never-before read script was about to be explored and the day as a whole was very positive with a lot of encouragement for me as a writer and for the play in it's own right.

That isn't to say I didn't receive praise and encouragement in the second workshop - because I did, and I'm incredibly grateful to those that turned up and supported the play. However, the second workshop was a lot more critical of the text. I don't want to sound like I only want praise for my work - far from it; the only way I can grow as a writer is to be criticised, questioned and pushed on my decisions. But compared to the first workshop it was a sharp sudden shock.

Some points raised were valid - a character called 'Josh' has had his name dropped as it's pretty hard to say when used in the sentences it was placed in (e.g. "Josh just disappeared..."); the indication of wealth from the description of the cooker needed revising. Then there were other opinion-based criticisms, and the questions, and the nit-picking. Frankly, at the time it just felt like an onslaught, and I could feel the patches appearing in the pits of my t-shirt with the shame/embarrassment/pressure.

But in hindsight I learned two valuable lessons:
1. Even the best work has it's flaws and it sometimes takes other people to point them out before you spot them, and
2. If they didn't think the play was worth it then they wouldn't have turned up in the first place!!

One interesting point was that the group didn't realise it was a civil war and thought Peter had returned from abroad. This has meant a few clarifications and additional dialogue early in the first act but hopefully it should work.

The best outcome was that the play, based on the draft seen at the workshop, has been approved for performance. Hoorah! I'm going to keep rewriting and working on the text throughout the rehearsals as I'm sure things will need to change but we'll see...!

More to come later about 'Auditions' - check back this evening!

The original inspiration

I've realised that I haven't yet uploaded the painting that originally inspired The Family - and here it is.

Painted by Paula Rego, The Family tells the story of a father returning home and being manhandled by the females in his family. The narrative is ambiguous with the viewer unsure if the man is being helped or hurt.

Another work by Rego, Girl Lifting Up her Skirt to a Dog, shows a young girl doing precisely as the title suggests and implies that she is exploring her sexual boundaries at a young age.The two paintings' narratives have strongly informed the play's story and this should be evident in the final work.

The First Workshop

First off - crikey, over a month since my last post?!

And back to business... Today was my first opportunity to get 'The Family' into a public domain. I was extremely grateful to have a bunch of actors come along to a workshop I held with the intention to explore the play in a bit more depth. My original intention was for a day something along the following lines: read-through the script en masse; in groups and pairs, read a couple of key scenes again and re-improvise the scene; eat; spotlight interviews on the two main characters - Peter and Beth. And that's basically what I got, but with a few very interesting deviations...

I found the read-through absolutely fascinating - this was the very first time my characters had voices, the first time they became more than typed words on a page. I think I managed to contain my excitement... As the read-through went on, I found myself concentrating on how the words were read - for example, Peter W read what I originally envisaged as a very angry section of text, quite softly and calmly and, ultimately, quite beautifully. Like I say - fascinating! And then there were the cringing moments - the realisation that whenever Peter starts to reminisce, he begins by saying "I remember..."; or when Soldier tells Peter that he wants his skins or that he is coming - it sounded a bit more gay than creepy (that being said, we were all sat round so on it's feet it may have an entirely different feel). Interesting, exciting and very useful.

I then intended to launch straight into improv - two pairs working on the opening scene, one trio doing the last scene of Act One. I explained what I wanted, asked if there were any questions and it came: "Yeah, erm... What's it about?" Of course! In my excitement I'd entirely failed to ask for their opinions, their thoughts, their objections and their questions!! Oops!!! So I explained the background of my initial ideas of the play (inspired by The Family by Paula Rego) and how it evolved into the 46 pages sitting in front of them. I also explained that I'd read a couple of interesing news articles this week that I thought could direct and justify Beth's actions a lot more. My answers appeared to satisfy everyone and the improv began.......

Now, I haven't done improv for quite a few years and, judging by the fear in a few people's faces, neither had the actors. But they were great, really getting stuck in to the task. Quite naturally they stuck to the text for a while (there's direction and dialogue there for them - of course they'd be drawn to it!) but as time went on it was apparent that they were growing in confidence and felt able to lose their inhabitions. They took on the task well and seemed to have an understanding of the characters. A couple of things came out that I really liked, a few one liners here or there that spoke volumes about the characters ("You silly little girl" immediately springs to mind). One pair had an almost bickering brother-sister relationship which I'll almost certainly add to the opening scene - they felt natural together and, whilst their behaviour at times may not necessarily be appropriate, you could see their love for one another. I had my trusty camcorder on hand to film the lot so I shall rewatch in the coming days and see what I can take from their work.

The intention for the afternoon was to generate fresh material for parts of the text - first off, I needed to hear more about Beth's relationship with her father and was keen to see how the actors saw her and what she had been through. I also knew I wanted another 'war story' for Peter and pretty much asked them to come up with one, keeping in mind the landscape the play had already created. This time, the two groups took very different approaches - one dived straight in and started interviewing each other; the other group sat down and began to map out a background for Beth, making notes of their decisions about her to be used. And it was this that pricked my interest - I could tell that they each had very differing opinions and thoughts about Beth, her past, her relationships, and were debating about the route they should go in. I reacted to this and happily dropped the improv and asked both groups to focus on creating character profiles.

I went between groups, spending five or ten minutes with each, just listening - unless directly asked a question, I just nodded or smiled and intentionally remained as vague as possible. And I got so much more material from this than any improv could ever create!! They asked the questions I'd already asked myself but, more importantly, created questions that I'd never dreamt of asking. They began to question the reality of what Beth had told her brother; discussed how Peter's experiences of war had made him the man he was; interrogated the reasons for both characters' actions. After about 45 minutes of discussions I sat both groups round the table and asked them to relay their findings to the other group. This, in turn, raised more questions and will without a doubt help me write more material. The discussion ran on to the point of running out of tape in the camcorder - talking for nearly an hour! I'm going to watch the tape back tomorrow and my next post will be about these discussions...

Ultimately, an extremely valuable day for me. I'd like to thank all the actors that attended today for everything they gave me - in no particular order: Jo Ord, Jo Pickering, Sam Mansi, Emma Ladd, Peter Westmacott, Peter Russell, Stuart Martin, and Jo O's writer friend 'Gerard' for popping by for an hour or so too. They gave me the voices I needed to hear and raised the questions I needed asked. I'll be honest - I was shitting it a little bit: we were going to spend the day dealing with this thing I'd written and I had no idea if it was any good. But I've come away so incredibly encouraged and very excited about what is still to come. So thanks again - you've made my day! :-)