I took the finished programmes into the Box Office today. Much consolation, advice and laughter about my embarrassing interview on Radio Gloucestershire. I might have done the theatre some good, but Copenhagen, maybe not. It’s sooo difficult to put this play into sound bites that work well on the radio. In fact I am so close to it now that I can’t see the wood for the trees. Paul Scott suggested that I take prompt cards next time but in this case I doubt even that would have worked. Every time I’ve written publicity releases it has been a struggle to encapsulate the scope of the work. At least I know that I’m not the only person to fail. When the play was first performed in the late 1990s I can remember the reviews being strangely uninformative and uninspiring. All I can say is put aside any preconceptions you may have formed and come and see for yourself. It’s a wonderful play.
Paul Scott in the Box Office released the keys for Lighting and the Stage Manager so we are all set to go as soon as the maintenance crew allow us the stage. They have been busy drilling huge holes in the wall for cabling, painting the dressing rooms – hooray, happy actors – and clearing rooms so that the Wardrobe can be moved upstairs, safe from further flood damage.
We were thrilled that the exterior flood defences were going in today. The thought that after a year’s preparation and 40-odd rehearsals the River Chelt could pour through the building and force us to cancel the show is a depressing one. Hopefully future directors won’t have to fear this.
This evening we were back in rehearsal after a welcome day’s rest. The actors were tired on Wednesday and struggling so I stopped them because we weren’t achieving anything useful. Today they were back on form and better than ever. The performances were splendid and the pace faster than before. Act One is better than Act Two, which has not generally been the case, but Act Two has been neglected a bit in recent rehearsals and will come back into shape quickly. They have a run through with Keith Swinford (Prompt) on Sunday afternoon, which will sort this out.
Paul Scott in the Box Office released the keys for Lighting and the Stage Manager so we are all set to go as soon as the maintenance crew allow us the stage. They have been busy drilling huge holes in the wall for cabling, painting the dressing rooms – hooray, happy actors – and clearing rooms so that the Wardrobe can be moved upstairs, safe from further flood damage.
We were thrilled that the exterior flood defences were going in today. The thought that after a year’s preparation and 40-odd rehearsals the River Chelt could pour through the building and force us to cancel the show is a depressing one. Hopefully future directors won’t have to fear this.
This evening we were back in rehearsal after a welcome day’s rest. The actors were tired on Wednesday and struggling so I stopped them because we weren’t achieving anything useful. Today they were back on form and better than ever. The performances were splendid and the pace faster than before. Act One is better than Act Two, which has not generally been the case, but Act Two has been neglected a bit in recent rehearsals and will come back into shape quickly. They have a run through with Keith Swinford (Prompt) on Sunday afternoon, which will sort this out.In the workshop Helen Critchley (Set Designer) was spraying the set with glitter. Half way through the evening the maintenance crew gave us the stage – a day and an evening early. It was a godsend. Martin Oakes (Lighting) immediately left the rehearsal to start rigging and Helen and Alan Compton (Stage Manager) marked the position of the platforms ready for the build on Sunday morning.
The best news of all is that none of the Cast listened out for my interview so my humiliation is not totally complete.
Roll on Sunday. I will be burning plenty of adrenaline hauling heavy things around the stage. If I exhaust myself I might even manage more than six hours sleep that night.
The best news of all is that none of the Cast listened out for my interview so my humiliation is not totally complete.
Roll on Sunday. I will be burning plenty of adrenaline hauling heavy things around the stage. If I exhaust myself I might even manage more than six hours sleep that night.
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