Budget subject to change, as awaiting finalised figure of production costs.
– Verity.
The Final Weeks, A Memorable Experience.
Suddenly in the final weeks the process of devising and creating theatre seems to catch up on you as a theatre company, even more so as a Producer. The deadlines once set months before are days away and the final touches begin to take place.
We started as Fill In The Blank Theatre in January, at the start of our final term at University. The aspect of creating a fully functioning theatre company and producing our premier piece on the 20th May seemed a world away, but before we knew it we were in the venue’s auditorium tech-ing our show and seeing it come to life on the stage, out of the rehearsal space.
Our fantastic Stage Manager (Alice Saxton) and myself liaised to create several documents to ensure that the tech rehearsal and performance day both ran smoothly and we kept to schedule ensuring to make most of the time and space. In order to be productive in the space, Alice made sure that all of our technical requirements had already been created, such as lighting and sound cues and collated into Qlab to save time. Due to this we were able to do a full run in the space which we didn’t expect. It was a great opportunity to try the piece in the space and make necessary changes that we would of otherwise not known, for example certain blocking.
After a smooth productive tech rehearsal it was back to rehearsals to fine tune the piece. During this time it was my job in rehearsals to make notes during run through’s, although admittedly these notes became picky in the end but it was such notes that made the difference in making sure the piece was fluid and polished especially in aspects such as the choreography, where a foot out of place could make the scene look ‘sloppy’. During this fine tuning process, one element that I found vital was the presence of outside eyes. Nearing the end of our process we as a company invited our tutor and peers to come and witness our several ‘work in progresses’ and give us feedback. This is something I will most definitely carry with me from this experience as individuals outside of the company can pick up on things which you would have never thought to question due to being so involved with the project.
Due to our tech rehearsal being so successful thanks to our Stage Manager, Lighting Designer and Sound Designer being on top of things, it enabled us to make small changes on the performance day, such as re-recording voice over’s and changing projections due to our lighting and sound designers being experienced in using Qlab.
Yet again, Myself and Alice S planned our get in for the show day, it followed the below schedule:
9am- SM, ASM, SD, LD, PD and DESIGNER called at this time. Please try to arrive 10 minutes early as this means we can keep to schedule.
9-10.30am – Technical Set-Up. DESIGNER in charge of stage set up:
Hannah and Verity to set up stage boxes and props.
Katherine (and possibly Alice S) to set up hanging boxes.
Naomi to set piano on stage (to help Katherine after)
This time will be used to mark out the 8 chairs and centre stage, make any lighting changes and set up the projector(s).
CAST ON STANDBY FROM 10am – All cast and company members should enter through the back stage door as opposed to the auditorium. The code is 1930. Please stay in the dressing room unless you are called. Be ready in costume for Tech run.
11-11.50am – Full Tech run.
11.50am- 12.15pm – Notes and Lighting edits.
12.15–1.45pm – Lunch break. Everyone needs to return and be ready for no later than 2pm.
2-2.25pm – Cast warm up, DESIGNER to check props.
2.30-3.30pm – Dress Run. Full run of performance as though would be performed on the night. No stopping, if mistakes are made they are to be addressed at the end.
3.30pm–4.00pm – Feedback (Split; Verity = Performers and Alice = Technical)
4pm – 6pm – Dinner. If you leave the building please change out of your costume.
6pm – CALL FOR ALL CAST MEMBERS TO RETURN.
6.15pm – 6.45pm – Physical and vocal warm-up on stage. PR, SM and DR to check set and props. Performers to get in to costume.
6.40pm – HALF HOUR CALL.
6.55pm – 15 MINUTE CALL
7.10pm – BEGINNERS CALL
7.15pm – BEGIN PRESET
7.15pm – DOORS OPEN.
7.30pm – SHOW.
8.20pm – SHOW ENDS.
8.30pm – GET OUT BEGINS.
All in all we stuck closely to the schedule, perhaps being 10 minutes behind there or there abouts in which we shortened our first dinner break as we had notes to adjust technical requirements and some last minute blocking issues. We had quite an early first full run as we wanted to ‘warm up’ and get the cast used to the space whilst checking all the tech to ensure we had time to make changes, as well as the fact that we had Phil Crow, a professional photographer coming in to take pictures of our dress run at 2.30pm.
Following two fantastic dress runs, before we knew it, it was time for beginners call and the doors opened. I couldn’t be prouder of how the show went, all the cast gave it their all and were dedicated to such intense physical sequences. If I had to pick a favourite moment in the performance it would have to be the scene ‘waiting room’. Influenced by Frantic Assembly’s famous Chair Duets the scene was performed solely of movement and in complete silence, these being two reasons why I was particularly fond of it, but also the fact that it was relatable. Everyone at some point has received some sort of bad news and as people often say they have ‘no words’ to describe how they are feeling, thus its shown in the body. Even in reflection I still can’t quite comprehend the feedback we received from tutors, peers, family and friends. For example the response below;
“What a beautiful, haunting show…I admired and was touched by every aspect of the show – the conception, the performances, the soundtrack, the choreography and movement, the ensemble work, the use of the stage space, the overall productions, the artwork, the lighting, sound, projection and design. It was all pulled together so sensitively, fluently, stirringly. Really special” (Jordan, 2015).
The overall experience of being a part of organising, devising and creating a theatrical performance of a professional standard that people spoke of so highly is by far one of the most challenging yet greatest experiences I have been a part of. I have learnt many things throughout that I will carry with me after University.
It is for sure an experience that will go down in the memory book!
Works Cited:
Ficken, V., Saxton, A. (2015) FITB Performance Day Get In.
Jordan, A. (2015)
Managing the Minutes
As producer of Fill In The Blank Theatre one key task I do, is taking minutes during every meeting or rehearsal. This simple yet very important task enables us as a company to keep track of any ideas or suggestions regarding the company, the performance, the set, sound or lighting. With any theatre company, (especially that which consists of a large number in our case ten members) remembering every idea or contribution to the devising process is difficult and therefore often a potentially exciting idea can be missed or forgotten.
Freadman and Reade note that “in the case of all companies, efficient and effective marketing and organisation, as well as your originality and talent, are the keys to longevity” (Fredman and Reade, 1996, p.267). The point they raise re-enforces the importance of keeping minutes and rehearsal notes. It is vital to find the balance between creativity and organisation. By keeping minutes it means I can find this balance by noting everyone’s creative contributions which thus allows us as a company to remain organised.
Seabright notes that “one key purpose of these [production] meetings is to keep the director updated on how the production side of things is going, which can otherwise take a back seat in their priorities when rehearsals are in full swing” (Seabright, 2010, p.272). This is also where the task of taking minutes comes into play. As Seabright notes often the production side of the process can take a ‘back seat’ during the devising process as most of the Directors focus is on the rehearsals and creating the content itself. By myself and often the stage manager taking notes and minutes in rehearsals it enables us to be able to give the in-house technical team at the venue a better idea of our performance from the offset.
Arranging production meetings with the in-house technical team is important as it means we can establish early on our vision and if it is achievable. By taking notes it means I can then feedback to the Director as Seabright notes informing them on how things are going and what the technical team suggest if problems arise.
It is clear that taking minutes and notes throughout the devising process is important for keeping the company on track and as Seabright notes fulfilling “one really important part of a producer’s role is maintaining a view of the ‘big picture’ at all times in the production process” (Seabright, 2010, p.12).
Works Cited:
Freadman, R. and Reade, I. (1996) Essential Guide to Making Theatre. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Seabright, J. (2010) So You Want to be a Theatre Producer? London: Nick Hern Books.
Becoming a Producer? What it is, My role and Our Company
In a theatre company, “the producer’s role can appear confusing and indefinable. The briefest of definitions would be that the producer is responsible for delivering a good show, on time and in budget” (Seabright, 2010, p.5) Seabright’s definition of a producer’s role in a theatre company is similar to that of mine, as producer of Fill In The Blank Theatre.
Freakley and Sutton note that “working creatively in a group brings different challenges. It can be a very rewarding experience since a group of imaginative people working together can very often achieve far more than they could as individuals”. (Freakley and Sutton, 1996, p.120) This is certainly the case in our theatre company as it consists of 10 artists. In order to keep good working relationships, Freakley and Sutton note that they are maintained “by knowing when to insist, when to let go and when to compromise” (Freakley and Sutton, 1996, p.121). This will certainly need to be the case within our theatre company as we are devising our piece.
Within my role, I am responsible for ensuring that the work we create as a company is of a professional standard, finished within plenty of time before the opening night and ensuring all of this is done within budget. It is also part of my job role to communicate with all members of the company, in particular the production team, ensuring that everyone is on task and is on board with the same vision. As part of my role, I will keep minutes of all meetings/rehearsals to ensure that we don’t forget topics/ideas we have discussed and it also means I can make sure we stay on track with the schedule.
We established early on that we wanted to be a collaborative devising company. Although we’d have defined roles in regards to the production, we’d all be able to input creatively into the devising process assisting our Director (Michael). Below is our company structure and how the roles co-inside and communicate with each other;
(Ficken, 2015)
As you can see from the above diagram, several of the company roles are connected. Firstly the producer and director are linked with the stage manager as ongoing discussions need to be had during the process in order to decide what the staging will look like and if it will fit in with the Director’s vision. The stage manager is then responsible for contacting the set, lighting and sound designers in order to set them upon the task of sourcing and creating the set for the performance. As producer I will also be in regular contact with the marketing manager to discuss plans of how and when we will market the show for example discussing the copy of the show and deciding on an image.
As aforementioned briefly, one of my main responsibilities as producer is to make sure that the performance is all kept under budget. Originally we decided that set and costume would have the smallest amount of budget as this fitted with the designer’s vision, however as time passed and ideas progressed it became evident that set would cost considerably more than first budgeted. Luckily as a theatre company, along with our budget given to us by the university, we fund-raised over £100 to add to our budget. Below is a draft of our budget. It is likely to change due to unforeseen costs, such as the labor costs of set.
(Ficken, 2015)
In order to ensure that the budget is kept up to date, I will be in regular contact with our Stage Manager (Alice S) and Assistant Stage Manager (Katherine).
Verity – Producer, Fill In The Blank Theatre.
Works Cited:
Ficken, V. (2015) Company Structure.
Ficken, V. (2015) Company Budget.
Freakley, V., Sutton, R. (1996) Essential Guide to Business in the Performing Arts. London: Hodder and Stoughton Educational.
Seabright, J. (2010) So You Want To Be a Theatre Producer? London: Nick Hern Books.