Current Production

Nothing to report except weather - rehearsals should have started last week, but were called off due to the heavy snow and ice on the ground. Keen we may be, but a severe weather warning is something to be heeded, especially when the route is one of hills, ungritted minor roads and village streets. With a bit of luck, it'll all change for tomorrow.

Rather more promisingly, the play has now been cast, as listed above, and the support machinery for design, publicity and backstage is starting to rumble into place. It's quite possible the producer will be along in a minute, to provide a more detailed view of how much progress has been made...

The first time I read the script of this play I just could not stop laughing. That was exactly what I had been waiting for. Script after script had been mildly amusing, stageable and many more satisfactory things, but none had grabbed me by the collar and said "Cry with laughter, I'm hilarious". The writer is Ray Cooney and he doesn't mind taking a risk. This play may not be very PC but I think it is goes so far that all of us can find it funny.

The story is about a normal average man called John who has somehow managed to marry two woman and has a wife in Wimbledon and another in Streatham. He manages a strict schedule so that he is always home when expected and neither wife finds out about the other.The unexpected happens and John is involved in an incident which leaves him with a head injury and a groggy mind. Accidentally he gives one address to the police and the other to the hospital. The police are suspicious and John finds himself in a situation which becomes more and more complicated. As each lie is told to cover the truth the spiders web becomes more unmanageable. Drafting in the help of an unwilling friend adds to the confusion and soon the cast has the audience fully enthralled and splitting at the seams.

This production is not one to miss, I am sure everyone will enjoy the light hearted comedy.

Progress So Far - Clare-L 19/01/10

On Monday 12th January the group were finally able to get together for the first time as the snow had started to melt and the main roads were reasonably ok. I was very relieved as I was eager to get the show cast.
There were only two ladies available to do the play so after taking part in the other cast readings it was easy to say which lady would do which part. In the end Sam was cast as Mary and Linda as Barbara.
It was great to see so many non cast members visiting as well which helped give us the numbers we needed to read the play through in the other room as we read the characters in more privacy.
With 8 gentleman available to play 5 parts it was always going to be difficult. I tried to keep my mind open to any person for any part but even so I had a couple of pre-conceived ideas. On the night, however, I was surprised by one or two of my choices.
The first part was cast with semi-newcomer Nick as the part of Stanley. Now I hadn't seen Nick as an overly comic character but in fact he had me in stitches. It was clear he had spent time on preparing a character and in fact his facial expressions were perfect for the part. I narrowed down Dave and Gareth as potential John's and played them against Nick. That was a tough choice but in the end it was clear that there was something about Gareth and Nick's characters that complimented each other in the play.
Next we looked at the two Sergeants and once again I was surprised to find that long standing member John fit my view of Sergeant Porterhouse perfectly. He wielded a kind of strangeness to the character that fitted well with the strange situations he encounters, especially in Act 2.
Dave did a spot on impression of Sergeant Troughton and his stern, deep voice made the shouting scene wonderful. Stuart was perfect for the part as Bobby but unfortunately this left three wonderful actors without a part. Luckily Zahir had graciously agreed to do the half page role as the journalist and take on the responsibility of costumes. Martin has agreed to run the props division, be milk monitor and understudy to all the characters. Mike L has taken on the mammoth task of stage manager and will be able to use his years of experience to help a reasonably new backstage crew.
Backstage roles have also been filled. We have the usual set build management team comprising of Pete and John, a lighting and sound team of Damo and Mike M as well as Mike L, Zahir's and Martin's jobs. Mary has agreed to the role as prompt and to assist in communication regarding scripts and the licence. Lindsey is on standby to assist with Producing if I fall ill etc and Carol is on standby to assist backstage where required. We have a wonderful Front of House team and overall I am very positive about the start of the production.
So here's to a grand start and fingers crossed it all runs smoothly.

On Wednesday 14th we started with a short production meeting between myself, Nick and Stage Manager Mike. Much discussion was required on the arches, entrances, windows and the divider at the back of the stage. There wasn't much time but overall some of the bigger decisions were made. It was decided that the windows wouldn't work and instead these will be mimed when required. The cast had mentioned that they wanted to use cordless phones and so Mike is looking into that option. I have emailed set build manager Pete to see about different coloured carpets and we need to start looking for coordinated furniture. Much to do in this area but it was nice to get things started straight away.
We then started plotting Act 1 and everything went reasonably well. By the end the actors had grasped the concept of the two separate flats sharing the same space and in fact were eager to see the end of the Act and stayed half an hour later to finish it off. From a Directors point of view I was disappointed that the stage directions seemed to clump the actors together and didn't use the full space offered by our stage. Some additional work will be required on this next week.

With that in mind I spent most of this afternoon remapping the blocking for Act 2 and tackling the stage use. The rehearsal itself was slowed down by my constant interruptions to change the blocking. I do feel however that the session was very productive and the new blocking looks far better. On Wednesday we will do Act 2 again because I want to make sure that this blocking is firm in the minds of the actors. One again we ran over by half an hour and I think I may need to amend the rehearsal schedule to do Act 1 and 2 over 3 rehearsal days. The success of the new blocking will need to be applied to Act 1 for Monday so I have some work to do. Overall I am very happy with the progression of the production and the actors seem to be really enjoying the script.

Having been asked by the director to do a few lines from an audience point of view and not being terribly au-fait with the procedures of the stage (having only joined the troupe after the start of the last production - "The Importance of Being Ernest", with yours truly as Lane the butler) it has been very illuminating. So here we are, a casting session and three rehearsals into the production and it's all starting to make sense (....ish!!).
From out front, watching the cast go through the blocking and line reading it looks like semi-organised chaos..!! But the play is already showing how funny this farce is going to be... (especially as there are some people who don't actually know what character that are playing at this stage!! He He!!) also the outbreaks of laughter from the cast who cant keep a straight face at their lines or the on-stage antics. Again from out front the laughter from Ray Clooney's lines is showing through as the off stage players laugh at the appropriate and sometimes not so appropriate places.. All in all I feel this is going to be a riotous romp. Totally Non-PC... I don't think it will offend anyone as it is..... 'All Said In the Best Possible Taste'.
Watch this space for more updates......

Blogging A Farce - Nick 03/02/10

We're into our third week of rehearsals now, still blocking. Blocking is essentially establishing the moves of the actors, rather like laying the foundations for the performance. It's terribly important to get them right, especially in this show where there are a lot of moves, fast moves at that and where timing is of great importance. There are of course moves laid down in the script but they don't always fit the stage and set that you work with and have to be adapted if not completely reworked to get the desired effects. As actors we are working with our director ... wassername? (who's doing a great job and who's enthusiasm for the show rubs of on us all). Between us work out how best to to fit the various moves into the dialogue. In fact some actors use those moves to remember dia, dia? Words! Myself I work in layers, the moves being the base, then the ah! Dialogue, then working with props ... or is it the other way round? Anyway back to whatever I was writing about ... oh yes, having done that, we all duly note down the moves in our scripts. it's always amusing to see when we next rehearse that particular scene a week or so later how everyone seems to have a different move or position written down. In my case it's easy to explain as my notes are always an indecipherable scribble (sorry wassername). They weren't at the time I wrote them, more of a self explanatory short-hand that will be bound to trigger my 'hows yer father'. However, they key thing is to make sure it's written in illegible ink , sorry, indelible ink on the brain, anyway after a few goes whatever it was, starts to sink in, after all the most important thing in a play is to remember ... something! Now where was I? .... Oh yes ... We're into our third week of rehearsals ...

Sam, aka Mary - Samantha 14/02/10

When Mitch first asked me if I'd be interested in this play I thought "Yes" as it sounded like fun. What she neglected to tell me, when I got the part of Mary, is that I would spend half of the second act in my underwear!! Having been ill for the second reading I didn't discover this joy until I was blocking Act 2. I thought "Oh well maybe I can buy some sexy new underwear and charge it to costumes", no such luck. Not only wasn't this allowed I was then informed that they had to be 'Bridget Jones knickers', as Mary is so sensible. Where did she think I was going to get these from? Sadly from my underwear drawer, that's where!
We are well into rehearsals now and Mitch is a strict task master for detail. God help us if we forget our blocking moves! No seriously though, it is starting to become a very funny play already. It is difficult learning lines as there is so much movement and comings and goings on set. Plus lots of confusion with peoples lines and the scripted misunderstandings. If we can get the timing right we should pull off a very amusing farce.
Linda and I are madly practicing our opening scene as we have to be in unison with our moves in our characters separate houses. Lots of counting to three then GO...
I am looking forward to watching it grow as the weeks go by. Must go, as HELP! got to know all of Act 1 by Monday. Better get back to my line learning or Mitch will be cracking her whip.

Report From Prompt Corner - Mary 17/02/10

Monday 15th Feb.
Having been asked to prompt for "Run for Your Wife" I have been having a break from rehearsals since Christmas whilst the plotting, setting and preliminaries were sorted out. Tonight was the first night the cast was meant to have learnt Act 1, so my services were required. Not having seen any of the groundwork I was anxious to see how things were progressing. Although I have read the play I am not too familiar with the precise details and sequence of events. My first thoughts were 'How Complicated!!', as the action takes place in two different homes occupying the same space on the stage. I got a bit confused with what was going on, particularly the telephone calls between the two homes. I am sure things will be a lot clearer on stage with proper doorbells and telephone rings. The cast had made an attempt at learning their lines according to the schedule laid out by Clare, the Producer, but some of them were sketchy to say the least. Also with two cast members absent it proved a difficult night. However it usually is a bit rough when the books are put down for the first time so I was not too distressed at the situation. We are going to do the same act again on Wednesday and I think things should go better..

Wednesday 17th Feb.

Tonight started with a bit more promise. The cast seem to know what they are doing and the first few pages went quite well. Unfortunately, things deteriorated rapidly after that. Everyone needs to do a lot more work on their lines. It is a tricky play so I don't blame them for finding it difficult! Being a farcical comedy, slickness and sharp reactions and timing are vital in carrying the plot along, so the sooner they get the lines under their belts the easier it will be to achieve. They should remember also the first rule of farce and play it as if they believe whole-heartedly in the ridiculous happenings, mistakes and misunderstandings. The audience will find plenty to laugh about but the cast must be deadly serious as they weave their convoluted plot. However ,I don't want to sound too down-hearted as it is early days in the learning process. They all seem to have made strides in developing some nice characterisations under Clare's directorship so I am sure things will have improved massively the next time we do Act 1...

Thank You, Alexander Graham Bell! - Mike 21/02/10

Whilst the actual inventor of the telephone is a disputed subject, dear old Bell holds the trump card in the argument: he was the man who patented it in 1876 and hence got all the money. A Polish gentleman, name of Puskas, managed to invent the switchboard later that same year and a new business was born.
Damn them.
I speak purely from a theatrical point of view (although I have a considerable dislike for the modern obsession with mobile phones and having to be in touch every minute of every day, that doesn't actually impact too much on my personal life - I just don't answer my mobile), since about 90% of plays written in the last hundred years require a working (ie: ringing) telephone on stage. Should be easy, right? After having done so many productions, it ought to be a routine operation.
Well, yes and rather more importantly, no. There are a lot of different phones in the world and a lot of different technologies that have underpinned them. Single wire, twisted-pair, 4-wire, wireless, digital, IP, tone dialling, pulse dialling...I could go on, but the gist of it is that connecting a phone on stage to something that will make it ring off stage is not as straightforward as might be imagined.
In an ideal world, there would be a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network - your standard phone line, in fact) socket on stage, all our phones would be compatible with and BT-certified for public usage, we'd plug it in and just dial the number when the script calls for it. It isn't an ideal world, though, and we don't have such a socket, never mind a vast selection of different phones that would work on it. What we do have is a number of period phones in varying states of repair and a couple of line testers.
In days gone by, we used to do phone effects on tape and pretend that it didn't sound a bit rubbish coming out of the hall speakers instead of from the phone itself. But it was, which is why we try and avoid it wherever possible. I quite look forward to doing a modern production with phones - that would be so easy, now I've got a three-receiver DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Technology) internal switchboard set up. It just works, with each handset being able to internally dial any other, programmable ring tones, the lot. Unfortunately, they're nice, shiny, modern handsets in nice, shiny, powered cradles. Entirely and horribly obviously unsuitable for any pre-millennium stages.
This is an 80s production (it was going to be staged contemporarily, originally - hence purchase of the DECT sets - but the script is too much of it's time for that). Those with long memories may remember that as a time when people were first allowed to buy their own handsets - until then, they were leased along with the line from the BT monopoly. Early wireless sets were just on the market, giving appalling sound quality over very limited range, but most phones were still either the "traditional" dial type or had the angular "trimphone" look. Long and the short of it is that I don't have either in stock, and certainly not one with enough cable to perambulate the stage (as is needed), or one light enough to be safe to juggle with (as is also needed).
Phone testers may well be the way forward. They're the yellow boxes-with-handset-in that BT engineers tote around when they're checking lines. The only snag with that is that engineers test across the PSTN - we have to make do with direct-wiring to the phone. That will only work if the phone is compatible and powered (if it needs power, which started happening when built-in answering machines and cordless sets came in. The 80s, in fact). So, first obtain some reasonably-priced (preferably free!) 80s phones, then try and get them working on a direct circuit, then worry about how it works on stage. And since the stage is a split-set, two-flat affair where people in one flat ring the other one, it has to work pretty well indeed...
Some theatrical events look awesomely impressive and are a piece of cake to put together (they may look pretty Heath Robinson behind the scenes, but that's not the point).
Some theatrical events look completely unimpressive and are a tooth-grinding nightmare to get working.
Phones are definitely in the latter category.

Mary Smith	....................	Samantha Merrick
Barbara Smith	....................	Linda Cooper
John Smith	....................	Gareth Jones
Detective Sergeant Troughton	....................	Dave Holden
Stanley Gardner	....................	Nick Roughton
Newspaper Reporter	....................	Zahir White
Detective Sergeant Porterhouse	....................	John Maplesden
Bobby Franklyn	....................	Stuart Gladwell