Posted on May 25, 2016 by Georgia Harris

Final Blog Post

One of the first things to consider when starting a theatre company is the hierarchy, each member must have a role and each role must have someone to fulfill it. In our theatre company we needed three members who did not perform in the show, when discussing the roles it became apparent that a lot of the group wanted to perform. On the other hand, I was not as passionate about performing as I have often taken a backstage role. The role of producer therefore took my eye as I am confident in leading a team and that is a crucial element of the producing role. So it was then that I became our company’s producer. However, I later found myself asking what actually is the role of the producer?

‘The producer is responsible for delivering a good show, on time and in budget’ (Seabright, 2010).
As the Producer of the company, It is my job to ensure that everything runs smoothly. I am responsible for the way the company is viewed and the way it is ran. One of our first tasks as a theatre company was deciding upon a name and logo. As a group, we discussed what kind of theatre we would like to produce as this would have to reflect upon our entire culture. One of the original topics we discussed was real life events and conspiracies, we wanted to play with the idea of perception and this stemmed lots of ideas for potentional company names. After several discussions, ideas flowed and we narrowed it down to a few options. Finally, after contemplating the name hornswaggle for far too long, we finally came across Pinpoint. We chose the name Pinpoint as it can be read in several ways, it feels very current as if we are bringing together lots of ideas. The idea of location, to be able to pinpoint current events in society, to potentially pinpoint a certain area are all ideas that worked with our mission statement and our company ethos.

I worked closely with the marketing team to come up with a logo that looked professional and was relevant. Here are a few of our original designs:

Potential logo designs (Lothian and Smart, 2016)

Another potential design. (Lothian and Smart, 2016)

Final Pinpoint Design. (Lothian and Smart, 2016)

Here is our final design:

We felt our logo was very simple and transportable. The symbol of the location pin in one that is globally understood.

SHOW ME THE MONEY
My main role as a producer was to deal with the finances of the company. We were given a grant of £200 by the University, however we needed to fundraise in order to create the style of show we wanted. ‘You can never have enough money to spend on operating your company. Never’ (Mulcahy, 2011, 41). Immediately I thought of doing an event, however with every event you have to judge whether you will make a profit. I wanted to do something that was little cost but a big gain.
Many creative projects use crowdfunder’s to raise money via donation, this is a cost effective fundraising source as it does not cost to set up. We chose to use the website kickstarter. We created a page that displayed our theatre company and shared it across our social media platforms, with families, friends and strangers. We decided to set a realistic target of £200 over a 21 day period. As the theatre company is made up of 10 members we felt like this was achievable via family, friends etc.

Kickstarter page. (Pinpoint Theatre, 2016)

So the kickstarter went live…

We all go mad sharing it on every social media we all have, sharing in every group.The response was absolutely incredible, not only did we smash our target but we did it in less than 3 days!! Never did I ever expect a response like this, we continued sharing for the remainder of the time as you can go over your target. This additional budget meant we could make the show even bigger and better. All in all we raised over £300 from the kickstarter, and we cannot thank the people that donated enough! A main factor to consider was the kickstarter prizes as people who donate can claim a gift for donating, we wanted to offer unique prizes, ones that felt worthwhile. We also decided to offer a large range of prizes meaning each donation got a prize.
These prizes ranged from personalised videos, to personalised cards and even two tickets for the show.

This meant another task of mine was to organise these gifts, so we set up a filming day to film the personalised videos, we wanted to make each one individual so they felt more personal instead of generic. A member of the company knew each backer personally, this meant that we could make the video’s to their taste! The session was truly hilarious coming up with unique ways to say thank you, from dance routines to mime and the outcome was just as we had hoped! Some more sensible than others, but all the backers loved our videos.

Although we raised a lot from the Kickstarter, there was always room to do more. I came up with the idea of hosting a pub quiz, we looked at local venues and decided upon the bar Walkabout in the city centre. They gave us the space for free which meant any money we raised was entirely profit plus they threw in a bar tab for the winning prize (Thanks Walkabout!). I met with marketing to ask them to create an event on our social media and appointed Charlotte one of our performers to help me with the organising of the actual quiz questions. Before the event, I met with the events manager at walkabout to ensure the event ran smoothly.

LETS GET QUIZZICAL
The day of the quiz soon arrived and we had sparked much interest on social media. We set the entry price at £2 per person, the floor started to fill as people arrived. The quiz was a really enjoyable night for everyone, and gave a lot of students who came a chance to have a night off from studies and let their hair down. Charlotte and I (Pinpoint’s answer to Ant and Dec) hosted the night through a range of rounds from general knowledge to music, which fittingly had to be space themed.
We were overwhelmed with the response of the quiz as we were unsure how many people would turn up, overall we raised £126 which was an amazing addition to the money currently raised!

A FRESH PAIR OF EYES
As Producer, this meant that I would often be doing my administrative work during rehearsals. I could therefore act as a dramaturg. “The shaping of theatre and choreography requires an outside eye and it is this objective influence that can liberate the performer to be brave, take risks and try new things” (Graham and Hoggart, 8). I loved this part of the process as I could see completed scenes and give my feedback, even if this resulted in me sobbing several times at the final scenes! In rehearsal’s I would often sit and make notes of the little things. It also helped that in rehearsals the actors had created backstories for all the characters. Some of these I would not be as familiar on, meaning scenes that make sense to them because they understand the context did not make sense to me. I can then give feedback as an audience member who would be in the same boat as it was not clear. With our piece relying heavily on physical theatre and minimal dialogue it was crucial that the story was clear through the use of the physical movement. These sessions were therefore really helpful as a group as I could offer a different view on things.

FINDING THE RIGHT SPACE
Rehearsal space was limited around Lincoln, therefore finding the right rehearsal space was hard. Often we would rehearse in rooms at the University Campus however due to the physical aspects of our piece these rooms were far too small for some scenes.
This became a problem especially when intergrating the boxes as they take up so much room just for storage!
Our performance space is at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre Auditorium, however due to the running of the theatre it is hard for this space to be avialbale for weekly rehearsals. After researching other areas, we came across the Student’s Union Engine Shed.

Engine Shed rehearsal. (Walsh, 2016)

This venue was massive and is often empty as it is mainly used to host legendary club nights such as QUACK! and Propaganda. I enquired at the Students Union and managed to get us full day rehearsals several days a week. This was a great breakthrough as the space was perfect! This also meant that the tech and dress rehearsal would run smoother as the actors were used to rehearsing in a suitable space.

KEEPING ON TOP OF THINGS
My most important job is too ensure that everyone is doing their jobs correctly and on time. ‘The buck always stops with the producer’ (Seabright,2010,7). I held meetings with different roles to check back on the process, this was really important with teams such as marketing as they control the external look of the company. The marketing team worked really well together and the final designs looked fantastic. They truly were a strong part of the company, our social media was consistant and professional. It was important to catch up with all departments especially in the later stages in the process as these roles were taken by actors. It was important that they were not focusing on the rehearsals too much and forgetting about their other roles.

ITS THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

In the final stages of the production everything began to fall into place. Tickets were selling well and Pinpoint seemed to be the talk of the town. The marketing team wanted to organise a giveaway day around the university campus. We worked together to create a hamper to give away; within it were prizes donated by various local businesses including a free meal at Walkabout, a space themed t shirt and a free nandos! Who doesn’t love free food?

Facebook hamper giveaway. (Pinpoint Theatre, 2016)

All people had to do was like our page and share our post, this not only raised awareness of the company on campus but also reached over 1,000 people on Facebook. We met with the technical team at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre to ensure all of our technical requirements would be accessible and to discuss our technical rider. Lucky for me, our stage manager Emily Cartwright has used the tech at the LPAC before which made the process easy and a lot quicker, she knew exactly what she wanted which meant no delays in the creative process.

TECH DAY
Before I knew it was our technical rehearsal. The nerves were starting to kick in for all as the final week approached. Due to the minimal set and costume setting the stage took no time at all and Emily had already programmed all the Qlab file meaning we had time to do a full run in the space. This was great time management and really helped the actors feel more confident in the space, for me it was truly a magical moment. To finally see the show as a whole and to see the company all come together and to see all roles being carried out proffesionally and swiftly made me proud to be the producer of the company.

MAKING IT TO THE MOON
Show day finally crept up, and before we knew it the stage was set, actors ready and audience

Facebook Reviews. (Pinpoint Theatre, 2016)

members began to arrive. Myself, Emily and Harry arrived at 9am to do the initial set up with the cast arriving later. The marketing team picked up the programmes for the show, and we managed to do two full runs in the space. We did not want to work the cast too hard with the show being physically challenging on the actors, we wanted to keep a high energy for the show. Now that How I got to the Moon and Back is over, I feel such a sense of pride. The show received a great response with audience members leaving reviews on our social media.
It was great to see how we all worked as one unit to create a successful piece of theatre. As the producer, I feel like I successfully carried out my role ‘as the production manager will have worked closely with the director, the designers, and the performers’ (Dean, 2002, 8). Pinpoint Theatre all worked together to help each role complete their own unique vision. I can confidently say everyone completed their role to the best of their ability. I cannot wait to see what our next mission will be.

Works Cited
Dean, P. (2002) Production Management: Making Shows Happen. Wiltshire: The Crowood Press Ltd.
Graham, S. and Hoggart, S. (2009) The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre. London: Routledge.
Lothian, B and Smart, T(2016) Original logo images.
Lothian, B and Smart, T (2016) Final logo design
Pinpoint Theatre (2016) Facebook Reviews.
Pinpoint Theatre (2016) Facebook hamper giveaway.
Pinpoint Theatre (2016) Kickstarter Page.
Seabright, J. (2010) So you want to be a theatre Producer? London: Ashford Colour Press.
Walsh, H (2016) Engine Shed Rehearsal.

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Dominique Sabina Gent

Final Blog Submission

Our production tells the story of 8 year old Sam and his vivid imagination, waiting for the return of his father who is revealed at the end of the piece to have died in the war. We see Sam enter various stages of his life and watch him on his journey as he gains confidence and eventually realises he can make it to the moon without his imagination. We tell the story mainly relying on the use of physical moment as the only dialogue present is the letters Sam has written to his dad describing his new found love for space and the exploring he wishes to involve his dad in. Throughout the production we as an ensemble played the role of Sam’s imagination and also each at some point played his mother, who herself was coping with the heartbreak of losing Sam’s father and battling with the decision whether to tell him or not. We worked intensely on collaboration and characterization of the mother character because although as an ensemble we are all different in appearance we could convincingly play the same character and convey her emotion to the audience. As the theme of our piece was the space race and moon landings we had the freedom and artistic licence to use movement to display the vivid thoughts running through Sam’s head. In regards to set design, owing to the space theme and use of imagination within our piece I began looking for inspiration in other set designs that appeared space themed as I wanted the set to make the audience feel as if they were in the child’s space-themed bedroom without explicitly showing an actual bedroom set. I saw this design by Mischa Katchman for ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ and decided I wanted to use stars and constellations as a backdrop to fit the space theme but also appear child-like as if the child had glow in the dark stars in his bedroom.

A Wrinkle In Time (Katchman, 2013)

However, as we began devising and decided we wanted the audience to focus more on the story we were telling through movement, it became clear that our set needed to be simple and not cause any distractions from the movement. During a rehearsal in the early stages of the production, I realised that the 6 female ensemble members would be playing multiple characters throughout the production and would need to show this in nonverbal ways as well as verbal. I then came up with idea of hinged boxes that would stay on stage at all times and would be able to be used multi purposely and to store props in. When discussing scenography, McKinney and Butterworth state that “what is crucial to Brechtian Scenography is not simply the way it looks but how it is able to comment, intervene and perform as part of the production” (McKinney and Butterworth, 2009, 44). I feel that the idea of the multi-purpose boxes reinforces this statement as they are able to perform as part of the production when used throughout. The use of boxes also allows the audience to use their imagination to fill in the gaps of the set, we provide them with the tools to create the picture that they imagine would be present on stage. This coincides with the theme of the show being set within a childs imagination. When designing the boxes it was important to make them versatile and moveable so they do not interfere or get in the way of any physical movements not only for visual effect but for health and safety reasons. Mendes Ribeiro states that “Scenography is concerned primarily with the ‘inhabitability of the space’; that is, the creation of space with which performing bodies can interact” (Ribeiro in McKinney and Butterworth, 2009, 3). The idea of the boxes emulates this statement by Ribeiro, as the ability to move and change the boxes within the performance enables the bodies to interact and inhabit multiple spaces. The boxes are also a perfect set for touring the show as they are versatile and can stack on top each other as an efficient storage method, also the props all fit inside the boxes.

Box Design (Gent, 2016)

3-D design of set (Gent, 2016)

Originally I had the idea to hang planets around the auditorium to once again give a child’s bedroom type feel to the performance. However once discussing with Harry and Emily we decided that the planets hung around the auditorium, would create a confusion and a break in the barrier between the imagination and reality of Sam. Although the planet’s were not involved in the set anymore, we decided to include a physical sequence within our piece that still used lights that appeared to be planets or stars. Using paper lanterns and fairy lights we decided to create an imagination sequence centered around Sam, giving the illusion that he was being surrounded and intrigued by different planets/ stars.

The light sequence surrounding Sam. (Crow, 2016)

When discussing the colour the boxes should be with Emily, we decided to have them black to enable us to create various stage pictures and illusions. Once the boxes had been built by Emily and the LPAC technical staff we rehearsed with them as long as we could without painting them to ensure the paint was fresh for the final performance. At first there were some slight challenges with the boxes as they were heavier than we had expected them to be, however once we had rehearsed with them a few times we soon got used to the weight.

On the final week before the show the whole cast helped to paint the boxes to ensure they were done quickly and efficiently. We used PVA mixed with the black paint as a glaze to protect paint on the boxes from getting scuffed and scratched and to give them a shine.

Me painting one of the boxes. (Lothian, 2016)

I designed the boxes so that we could use them in order to create different illusions for the audience and to enable us as an ensemble to remain present on stage throughout the performance reinforcing the illusion that we were playing the roles of Sams imagination, therefore we would always be present. Caspar Neher states;

“A Marble pillar can only be translated, i.e. at best hinted at; while if a turbine were a real one it would break the stage floor. This means that one always has to allow the audience to set their imagination to work in order to believe it could be a turbine, or might be a marble pillar. So you have to have an element of conjuring illusion.”

(Neher, C in Willett, J, 1986, 76)

Two of the main pictures we decided we want to create are; a fort for Sam to sit in during the preset of the show and a rocket that Sam builds in the end scene of the show. The way in which I will create these images, is with the use of other props that can be stored inside the boxes throughout the performance and then attached to the boxes when needed. During the final performance of the show the boxes were used effectively to create the stage pictures desired by Emily, Harry and I. Owing to the prop diagram I had created to ensure the props were placed in the correct boxes, the show ran smoothly and the images were created correctly. The show began with Nick playing the role of Sam in a pre-set fort centre stage, this image was created with four boxes stacked on top of each other and white sheet draped over the top of these boxes.

Setting up the fort on show day. (Walsh, 2016)

Prop to Box Diagram. (Gent, 2016)

The use of the props to create the rocket at the end of the performance was also highly effective, I used card to create the wings, window and top of a rocket and painted them red, this was to allow the audience to understand that it had been created by an 8 year old boy. Overall, using simple set and props enhanced our performance as a whole by emphasising the role of us as an ensemble and putting the focus on the movement of the performance instead of a large distracting set. We also received some great feedback concerning the production as a whole; one email we received described the show as having “Charming and touching moments in abundance, tight choreography, everything honed and polished, simple but effective stage pictures, very effective use of music, voice, stage space, projections, story, and lighting” (Jordan, 2016).

A photo of the boxes being used to form Sam’s rocket (Crow, 2016).

We began the rehearsal process by partaking in multiple workshops lead by our director and assistant director, in the first workshop we all assumed the role of Sam and began writing letters and drawing pictures to do with the space race and moon landing in order to get inspiration in creating the content for the actual show. By having us generate these images and letters Harry and Emily were able to create the letters used in the script for the show and develop the character of Sam, making each letter used, authentic. This same method was used to characterise the mother and we took part in workshops to ensure that we could all portray the same character convincingly. We found it important to keep playing in rehearsals as it is a method that multiple theatre companies use during their devising process, our director Harry from the outset made it clear that it was going to be a collaborative process with us working with him as an ensemble to create content rather than him just telling us what to do. Stephen Hoggett and Scott Graham the directors of Frantic Assembly do not decide what they are going to devise and then teach the choreography to their performers, they devise and “learn through doing and not through memorization of ideas and theories” (Richards, 1995, 3). They often set tasks for their performers and let them respond to them in their own personal ways, Graham and Hoggett feel that this is the most honest, creative and imaginative method for them. An important technique in the devising process of many physical theatre practitioners (including; Lecoq, Forced Entertainment and Grotowski) is devising through play, it is encouraged to spend “a few days [playing] almost without thinking, doing, well, whatever came to mind” (Etchells, 1999, 52). I feel as though this was emulated in our rehearsal process as we would often play games in workshops and turn those games into content for our show, for example a sequence we included in the show involves a game of Grandma’s Footsteps.

The Ensemble in the Grandma’s Footsteps inspired sequence. (Crow, 2016)

Physical theatre as a “performance style requires a ‘sense of ensemble’ with its complex physical interaction between actors, strengthened by a shared understanding of physical and visual composition.” (Heddon and Milling, 2005, 178). In order to devise and create a successful physical performance you must be able to work closely together as an ensemble in order to form a strong bond and to find the ability to trust one another to complete lifts and balances within the performance in a safe and supported manner. In order to reach this level of trust it took weeks of rehearsals just on ensemble work and playing games together to strengthen all of our relationships with one another. The methods we used to solidify our ensemble work were similar to that of the physical theatre company Complicite who state that “There is no way to fake this ensemble feeling. It takes many months of playing games, doing physical exercises, improvisation and working together” (Complicite, 2001, 11).

We experimented with various techniques and methods used by companies such as Frantic Assembly and Reckless Sleepers. One sequence we created is based on the method of Hymn Hands established by Frantic Assembly; we took inspiration from this video and then created our own Hymn Hand sequence for the moment when Sam finds out JFK has been assassinated.

(Frantic Assembly, 2015)

(PinPoint Theatre Company, 2016)

We used mental scores throughout the piece in order to know where we had to be next and how long we had to get there, this is a method that Reckless Sleepers use ““Mathematical formulae are used by Reckless Sleepers as a means of notation i.e. ‘A to B, A moves to B, C falls, etc” (Brown and Wetherell, 2007, 55). This enabled us to ensure each sequence was performed without a hitch. Owing to the the time period that we had to fully devise and perform a completely physical show that relied on full ensemble synchronization, I think we were highly successful on our final performance of How I Got To The Moon And Back. If we had a more extended time period we could have perfected every movement within our piece. However, there was very little that went wrong during the final performance and feedback we received from audience members proved that they could tell how intensely we had rehearsed our piece. Overall, our production How I Got To The Moon And Back was successful in achieving our desires and goals of making the audience feel sympathy towards Sam. We were able to evoke genuine emotion from our audience by using the techniques we did throughout our devising process and on the final performance day whilst they watched Sam ‘make it to the moon and back’.

Works Cited:

Brown, A. and Wetherell, M. (2007) Trial: A Study of the Devising Process in Reckless Sleepers’ ‘Schrödinger’s box’. Plymouth: University of Plymouth Press.

Complicite. (2001) Complicite- Teachers Pack. London: Complicite. [Online] Available From: http://www.complicite.org/media/1439372000Complicite_Teachers_pack.pdf

Crow, P. (2016) The Light sequence surrounding Sam. [image]. Available From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232@N02/26568765513/in/album-72157668377551582/ [Accessed 25/05/2016]

Crow, P. (2016) A photo of the boxes being used to form Sam’s rocket. [image] Available From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232@N02/27105121621/in/album-72157668377551582/ [Accessed 25/05/2016]

Crow, P. (2016) The ensemble in the Grandma’s Footsteps inspired sequence. [image] Available From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232@N02/27105063161/in/album-72157668377551582/ [Accessed 25/05/2016]

Etchells, T. (1999) Certain Fragments: Contemporary Performance and Forced Entertainment. London: Routledge.

Frantic Assembly (2015) Frantic Assembly: Building Blocks for Devising. [online video] Available From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUqZPfGIX6U

Gent, D. (2016) 3-D design of set. [image]

Gent, D. (2016) Box Design [image]

Gent, D. (2016) Box to Prop Diagram. [Image]

Heddon, D. and Milling, J. (2005) Devising performance: A Critical History. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Jordan, A. (2016) How I Got To The Moon And Back. [email] Sent to PinPoint Theatre, 22 May.

Katchman, M. (2013) A Wrinkle In Time. Available From: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cc/d5/0a/ccd50add2d6c2692c03550089b051512.jpg [Accessed on 20/02/2016]

Lothian, R. (2016) Me painting one of the boxes. [image]

McKinney, J and Butterworth, P. (2009) The Cambridge Introduction to Scenography. Cambridge: University Press.

Neher, C., in Willett, J. (1986) Caspar Neher, Brecht’s designer. London: Methuen Publishing Ltd.

PinPoint Theatre Company (2016) Hymn Hands Rehearsal. [online video] Available From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1xPjblxIHk&feature=youtu.be

Ribeiro, M. in McKinney, J and Butterworth, P. (2009) The Cambridge Introduction to Scenography. Cambridge: University Press.

Richards, T. (1995) At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions. London: Routledge.

Walsh, H. (2016) Ensemble Partaking in a Workshop. [image]

Walsh, H. (2016) Setting up the fort on show day. [Image]

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Mary Harris

Final Blog Submission

(PinPoint Theatre, 2016)

T-Minus 3 Months

‘We are affected by the more subtle aspects of costume: the psychological use of colour and texture, the careful underlying of plot points’ (Holt, 1993, 7).

From the offset, my co-designer of costume and I decided on an understated base costume that unified the ensemble. We settled on layered, black clothing that came down to the performers’ wrists and ankles and came up to the base of their necks.

Due to our show, ‘How I Got to the Moon and Back’, heavily involving physical theatre it was necessary for the costumes to allow ample movement. To achieve a successful performance to the best of our ability the performers could not be restricted by clothing. Furthermore it was important for me that the costumes complimented the movement not just allowed it, costume is an extension of the character created onstage and therefore every movement had to be emphasised by the costume. ‘Costume is part of the actors’ apparatus’ (Holt, 1993, 7). With this in mind Lily, my co-designer, and I then refined our vision and decided to have the all-female ensemble in either a skater cut dress or skirt. This was a flattering cut for all figures, as our ensemble all have different body shapes. It also created a feminine image for when the performers took on the roles of Barbara and Sally. Furthermore the A-line cut allowed the skirts to fan out during movement sequences and therefore became an extension of the choreography in the show.

For practicality (and for the protection of dignity) we also had the ensemble wearing plain, black leggings rather than black tights, there was to be no knicker-flashing in this show! Additionally every ensemble member wore a long-sleeved black top either tucked into their skirt or layered underneath their dress to full cover their arms. This created a uniformed image and immediately showed the audience that these characters were not naturalistic. ‘As soon as the actors appear, even before they speak, the audience will have gleaned a great deal of information’ (Holt, 1993, 7). Because as a company we spent a great deal of time working on the ensemble moving and becoming one entity and the costume needed to reflect that. Despite the different heights, shapes and sizes of each performer the audience needed to understand the ensemble as one.

(Crow, 2016)

Lily and I chose to have full-length sleeves and leggings not just to ensure unity but also to emphasize the facial expressions and hand gestures of the ensemble. This was hugely important because our show was lacking in dialogue and therefore relied on physical expression and movement to tell the story. A playful scene wherein the 8 year old protagonist plays with the characters in his imagination does not appear playful if the performers do not express it with their faces and body language. A neutral face becomes a cheeky grin and long strides become short, quick steps to imitate child-like movements. By having the ensemble in a black costume against a black background these moments are accentuated and the audience’s attention is subconsciously led to exactly where we wish.

One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For A Theatre Company

‘Putting on a play is essentially teamwork, teamwork which depends upon the creativity of administrators and craftsmen, performers, directing staff and stage crews’ (Holt, 1993, 6).

For a company to run smoothly there must be open lines of communication throughout the process. Working collaboratively has always been something I’ve enjoyed and the journey of this show was no exception, both with my costume co-designer and the production team as a whole.

Relatively early on in the process we, as a company, knew that the base look of the show would be simple yet effective. With the spectacle coming from projected videos, the emotive lighting and the poignant music. In order to achieve maximum impact for these technical mediums the set and ensemble costume had to be unified. Black became the obvious colour choice during collaborative discussions as it contrasted the most with bright projections and suited the theme of space. ‘When it comes to the scenic power of costumes, such a power is almost always strengthened by the use of clever lighting’ (Maclaurin and Monks, 2015, 157). Throughout the show there were many moments where Sam, the protagonist, slipped into his imagination and explored the galaxy with the help of his fantasy friends. The blank canvas of the stage showed the audience the freedom Sam felt during these moments of true expression and investigation. For example we included a light sequence wherein each ensemble member produced a small Chinese lantern from their respective box and performed a movement sequence around Sam, this was done with no stage lighting whatsoever. Therefore the only light given was the warm light from the lanterns which were not bright enough to light anything more than a small space around them. This gave the effect of floating planets as the bodies of the actors could not be seen, only Sam was illuminated by the lights circled around him. Whereas if the ensemble had brightly coloured costumes or if the set was painted in a pattern, the audience would be distracted from this image and the full desired effect would not have been successful.

(Crow, 2016)

A challenge that we had to overcome with sourcing costume was our budget. As a new student company we had to ensure that our expenditure was as little as possible, this meant that we had to rely on borrowing rather than buying costume. Thankfully because our base costume for the ensemble was simple we were able to begin by asking the performers to bring their own clothes to a session for us to assess the options and to establish what items we would need to find elsewhere.

Choosing Ensemble Costume (Harris, 2016)

Fortunately most of the cast already owned appropriate dresses or skirts in a skater cut, due to it being a popular fit. This meant that we only needed to source three long-sleeved tops for those who did not own one,these were priced at £2.50 each from Primark.

I was very proud of the final image created by the ensemble costumes, many audience members commented on the flattering cut as well as the effectiveness of colour. I thoroughly enjoyed working collaboratively with Lily in the costume department, we combined our differing skills to create a well-rounded team. ‘The team can best thrive when responsibilities are shared and lines of communication are always open, direct and cordial’ (Holt, 1993, 6).

Then We Can Explore Space Together

‘‘Physical theatre’ as a term, idea or concept captures the aims of certain movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to confront the continuing hegemony of a theatre defined by its literary and verbal dimensions’ (Murray and Keefe, 2007, 6).

There are many different approaches to devising a piece of physical theatre. ‘Devising is a method of making performance that is often non-text-based and includes the collaborative participation of the whole creative company in all stages and aspects of performance-making’ (Allain and Harvie, 2006, 145). We took inspiration from different companies who employ their own rehearsal techniques and devising processes namely Frantic Assembly who use play and improvisation.

Frantic Assembly, a company that formed in 1994, are led by artistic director Scott Graham and use the technique of play during devising workshops, finding choreography in the improvised movements of the actors. We employed this technique in a lot of our own workshops to devise our piece. Often our director, Harry, would lead us in a simple playground game such as ‘Tig Scarecrow’ then he would sit back and observe, picking out any moments he felt were powerful and flowed well. Many of these moments were then refined and made the final cut in the show. One section showed Sam being encouraged by his imagination to play rather than consume his world with space, this was done by distracting him with a game of ‘Grandma’s Footsteps’, requiring him to move toward the ‘grandmother’ without being caught, freezing every time she turned around. This section began as a play workshop where Harry gave us rules to adhere during the game. We had to touch the ground, touch another player and go under the arm of another player before we reached the grandmother. This encouraged improvisation and a playful attitude necessary for the scene as well as encouraging teamwork and requiring us to work as an ensemble.

(Crow, 2016)

Whilst we thoroughly enjoyed using play during our process it cannot always be completely relied upon. ‘It is, in a sense, an opportunistic form of theatrical creation which, to a sometimes alarming degree, relies upon an engagement with coincidence and the unpredictable’ (Barton, 2005, 105). Because of the unreliability of this method of devising it was often difficult to not become disheartened or held back by an unsuccessful rehearsal or sequence that was ineffective or that impeded our progress; it was essential to learn from these mistakes rather than to dwell on them. It was important for us to know when to put a section to one side and not attempt to force meaning from it. We had the difficult job of choreographing routines from an idea or a plot point rather than being able to rely on a script like a naturalistic play. It was imperative for us to remember that arguably the most important part of the devising process is the failures. Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett of Frantic Assembly said, ‘an expansive array of mistakes makes us informed and trustworthy in describing the trials and tribulations of modern theatre making’ (Graham and Hogget, 2009, 3). Their company make a note of wearing their mistakes like a badge of honour, proudly referring to them as necessary learning curves that built the success of their company.

In all types of theatre, but especially physical theatre, everything that happens onstage must be carefully considered and extensively rehearsed as the audience can and will read into anything they see. And in our ensemble heavy physical theatre show that was especially true. Every minute movement, every breath and even every moment of stillness told the story and therefore had to be choreographed. Especially since our plot was told with little verbal explanation. A huge difference is made when a performer’s foot changes from dorsiflexed and extends to plantarflexed, it suddenly becomes an extension of the gesture and the actor’s body rather than fighting against the body and making a statement to the audience about an inner turmoil within the character. For this reason alone it is easy to see how important extensive rehearsals were for our cast, when every tiny movement or indeed stillness has the potential to be scrutinised. This was heightened by the fact that our ensemble played the same character or extensions of the same characters’ imagination and therefore many of the sequences had to be performed in perfect synchronisation. The success of this relied on our continuous hours of engaged rehearsal and a lot of ensemble workshops and exercises.

We Made It To The Moon And Back

Last night we, as PinPoint Theatre, made our debut with ‘How I Got To The Moon And Back’ and the response we got was overwhelming. Everyone had such positive feedback and even a few tears were shed!

‘Congratulations on the show tonight. It was lovely. Very well-judged, by everybody. Everyone on the same page throughout. Charming and touching moments in abundance, tight choreography, everything honed and polished, simple but effective stage pictures, very effective use of music, voice, stage space, projections, story, and lighting. I loved it. You should all be very pleased’ (Jordan, 2016)

Given the time frame we had and the enormous devising task we set ourselves I’m so proud of the company, we professionally and successfully put on a show that we created from scratch. As a performer I was very grateful for the countless hours of rehearsal we put into the show and as a co-designer of costume it was a thrill to see the look of the show so well received.

Creating and being part of a theatre company has been a challenging yet fulfilling experience for me and has enabled me to develop my communication, devising and creative skills. I could not have wished for a more dynamic, hard-working, dedicated or entertaining group of people than PinPoint Theatre Company.

(Crow, 2016)

Works Cited:

Allain, P. and Harvie, J. (2006) The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance. Oxon: Routledge.

Barton, B. (2005) Navigating Turbulence: The Dramaturg in Physical Theatre. Theatre Topics, 15[1] 103-119.

Crow, P. (2016) How I Got To The Moon And Back. Lincoln University. [online] Flickr. Availabe from https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232@N02/albums/72157668377551582 [Accessed 24 May 2016].

Graham, S. and Hoggett, S. (2009) The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre. London: Routledge.

Harris, M. (2016) Choosing Ensemble Costume.

Holt, M. (1993) A Phaidon Theatre: Manual Costume and Make-up. 2^nd edition. London: Phaidon Press Limited.

Jordan, A. (2016) How I Got To The Moon And Back. [email] Sent to Mary Harris, 22 May.

Maclaurin, A. and Monks, A. (2015) Costume. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Murray, S. and Keefe, J. (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction. Oxon: Routledge.

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Charlotte Fage

Final Blog Post

(Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

Forming a theatre company was a daunting but exciting task that was easier than first expected. The 10 of us within the group knew from the start of the semester that we wished to collaborate together and the idea of working with talented, likeminded people to create a piece of theatre we all felt passionately about was an exciting prospect. We felt that as a cast and creative team it was important to create theatre that evoked some kind of emotion not only in us but also in an audience. We discussed many ideas and researched certain events to try to find the basis of our show. We eventually decided on space with the moon landings in 1969 being our inspiration. We discovered that the Space Race would be an interesting and effective vehicle in which to explore a ‘coming of age’ story. After the Second World War the United States and the Soviet Union were pitted against each other in the Cold War as to who was superior, the Space Race came from this and “beginning in the late 1950s, space would become another dramatic arena for this competition” (History). This ‘dramatic battle’ that changed the world and its future forever stood out to us. The idea that a young boy could grow and learn through something as famous and iconic as the Space Race was an exciting opportunity for us as a theatre company. Just as the world’s knowledge grew and expanded with the exploration of the universe in the 1960s so would the life and knowledge of the little boy in our story, as he too explored the universe around him.

The next big decision we faced as a company was how to tell the story of this small boy named Sam. The Space Race spanned over ten years so fitting all the events of the race into an hour would be an impossible task. A non-naturalistic style of theatre was adopted to encompass the content and time jumps that would have to be involved in telling the story of the race. Artistic director of Frantic Assembly Scott Graham emphasises the importance of movement and how it “has to earn its place in any production” (Graham and Hoggarts, 130) he goes on to say to “aim for progression through your choice of physicality. Demand that it move the story on! Consider what words cannot do or can only do in an obvious or laboured way” (Graham and Hoggart, 196). After much consideration on how to tell our story we felt that the most effective method of portraying the life and emotions of Sam, alongside that of the Space Race, was best done through physical theatre with small snippets of dialogue to explain his inner thoughts.

As three of our company wished to undertake backstage roles our cast was made up of six girls and one boy. As our piece focused on Sam, when not playing his mother Barbara the remaining actors would become physical theatre elements of Sam’s imagination for we served only to help tell his story. Imagination was a key theme we wished to explore through Sam because according to child centre 1^st Place “young children often learn about historical events, different cultures or people that they will never meet, and imaginative play is a way for them to discover the world that surrounds them” (1^st Place, 2015). With the decision to represent Sam’s imagination on stage we were blessed with the gift of complete creative freedom. A child’s imagination is one of the most powerful tools at their disposal, it “is the source of all human achievement” (1^st Place, 2015). This is because imagination:

“- ignites passion

– helps create our future

– stimulates creativity and innovation”

(Serf-Walls, 2014)

The Space Race had similar effects on the world. It ignited passion and stimulated untold creativity and innovation. Space to this day continues to fascinate and intrigue us. With the discovery of space we found a timeless theme that we were all able to connect with.

(Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

In the process of portraying a child’s imagination we discovered a child-like creativity in us all, fuelled by our own imagination at the possibility of what we could create. On devising a piece of theatre Heddon and Milling write that “while the word ‘devising’ does not insist on more than one participant, ‘collaborative creation’ clearly does” (Heddon and Milling, 2006, 2) and although as a company we had a director we soon discovered the devising and creating process became more of a collaborative one. At first this was a difficult task as we all had different strengths and weaknesses but we soon found the way to find the right balance was to play around with ideas and be practical. The idea of ‘playing around’ in regards to physical theatre comes from Jacques Lecoq and his principle skill of ‘Le Jeu’ (playfulness). A former Lecoq student Alan Fairbairn describes ‘Le Jeu’ as “rendering the moment on stage into life – bring[ing] it alive – exploiting the moment” (Masoliver, 2013) and Lecoq himself defines it as “when, aware of theatrical dimension, the actor can shape an improvisation for spectators using rhythm, tempo, space, form” (Masoliver, 2013). Another principle skill Lecoq advocated was the idea of complicité (togetherness), a skill we worked on mastering so that we truly became an ensemble and one body.

(Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

Having previously decided that the six female performers were to become an ensemble we felt it important for the “actor/performer […] [to] become part of a creative partnership in authoring the emergent theatre piece in question” (Murray and Keefe, 2007, 18). Our director and assistant director would give us a concept for a scene and then the seven of us would either try things as a group or split off into smaller groups. To create a scene between Barbara and Sam we felt it best to split into pairs, returning after 10/15 minutes to present our work. The final routine we added to the show became a mixture of parts from all four pairs’ routines, incorporating each person’s interpretation of the exercise in a truly collaborative manner. Graham and Hoggart write that “the decision to create a movement scene [must be] based on it being the best way of telling the story” (Graham and Hoggart, 130) and in this case we felt the best way to truly convey the nature of Sam and his Mother’s relationship was to do that through the power of movement as, when used properly, our bodies can say much more than our words. Having two directors proved invaluable during the choreography process as “the shaping of theatre and choreography requires an outside eye and it is this objective influence that can liberate the performer to be brave, take risks and try new things” (Graham and Hoggart, 8). To help us with the physical aspect of the show we researched various different companies to gain inspiration. The work of Frantic Assembly and Reckless Sleepers can be clearly seen throughout the show with a Hymns Hands sequence and a Negative Spacing section showing the clearest influence. The reason these two companies became of most use to us was because we felt their work was accessible and could convey a story effectively with little to no dialogue. We were also each given a small exercise book to write in and after rehearsals our director would ask us to write letters as Sam. At the following rehearsal we would read them all aloud and form the dialogue for the show out of the seven letters written, with certain letters also inspiring scenes within the show. Through this the character of Sam bloomed into a fully rounded little boy that we all felt a connection with.

As well as being a performer I was also assigned the role of Lighting Designer. Despite my lack of practical experience, it was a role I was ready and willing to take on. Tony winner Donald Holder once said “99% of the audience is unaware of the lighting but 100% is effected by it” (Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark, 2012) – this is because the lighting of a play can either enhance the world created or detract from the performance. With this in mind I researched various different productions where the lighting had stood out to me as an audience member in the hopes of gaining inspiration for How I Got To The Moon And Back. As I had never designed lights for a production before, this research proved to be invaluable to me as a resource and I soon found that Holder’s words on how “lighting operates on so many different levels but it controls perception” (Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark, 2012) were all too true. I felt the best way to start would be to create a Pinterest board (https://uk.pinterest.com/charlottefage/how-i-got-to-the-moon-and-back/) containing images of space, the Space Race and productions where the lighting had helped to create a whole other world on stage. As Morgan writes “it is the lighting designer’s job to interpret the concept through the medium of light” (Morgan, 2003, 10) therefore I knew that the lights had to enhance the fact that we were to travel between reality and the imaginary world Sam created. Morgan furthers his point by stating that lighting “assists with the storytelling to the point it is helping direct the audience […] and controlling the emotional response” (Morgan, 2003, 13). In our case lights had to help inform the audience of the scene’s location, for example when in reality a warm wash was used or two spotlights illuminated microphones, unlike in Sam’s imagination where the lights would focus in on the action and be coloured. After researching various different lighting designers I discovered that the designs of Paule Constable, Justin Townsend, Jon Clark, Donald Holder and Tim Routledge were the works I was most drawn to. When speaking about designing the lights for Spider Man: Turn Off The Dark, Donald Holder said “a lighting designer reveals the world of the play. We control what you see and how you see it” (Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark, 2012). With this in mind I knew a difficult task lay ahead of me which is why I worked closely with the Stage Manager and Assistant Director Emily Cartwright as she had had previous experience in this field. I planned and designed as many lights as I possibly could in preparation for our tech day. In Style in Lighting Design (1967) Richard Palmer remarks that “the soul of lighting design rests not in technical design, rest not in technical considerations but in creating a form in light which is in harmony with the conceptions governing the entire production” (Palmer, 1967, 142), something I hope I managed to do. My aspirations for the lighting in the show were for it to enhance the story so seamlessly and transparently that it lifted our story off the stage and invited the audience to experience this new world with Sam and his imagination.

Sam exploring his imagination. (Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

Part of the opening imagination sequence. (Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

The Sputnik Sequence. (Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

The Gagarin Sequence. (Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

Sam and his mother in reality. (Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

The final scene. (Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

The final image. (Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

The reception we received from the audience was overwhelming, as a company we knew we had created a strong piece of theatre but we were unaware of just how strong and powerful it was. We fully understood what Graham and Hoggart meant when they wrote about “the notion of how powerful theatre can be when the audience engages and completes the narrative” (Graham and Hoggart, 201) with one audience member commenting “this is why we have the theatre, for moments as beautiful as this” (Burrows, 2016). On performance day the show ran smoothly with barely any hiccups. Having spent hours rehearsing we all knew the show incredibly well and so could spot any small mistakes. For example in one sequence not all the box lids were closed at the same time, a tiny detail gone unnoticed by the audience that didn’t impact upon the show. Another slight mishap was that after the final scene the lights did not fade to black before they came back up for the bows, this was a programming issue but once again a small one that had a very small impact upon the rest of the show. I feel that if I could improve anything upon my performance it would be it would be my backstage role of lighting designer as being a performer as well as a lighting designer proved a difficult task. There were sequences within the show that I appeared in and had therefore never seen, for example the scenes I found most difficult to design for were the Opening Sequence and the Sputnik Sequence. On tech day our Producer stood in for me as we programmed the lights and ran a cue to cue. This was an interesting experience for me as I was able to see what the show looked like from an audience’s perspective for the first time. In future productions if I take on a role that is both backstage and onstage I feel it would be beneficial for me to watch a few rehearsals before the tech day or to record certain parts of the show to see what the performance looks in order to better design all the lights in advance.

(Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts, 2016)

Works Cited

1^st Place (2015) 1^st Place: The Importance of Imagination in Children’s Development. [online] 1^st Place. Available from http://www.1stplace.uk.com/the-importance-of-imagination-and-creativity-in-childrens-development/ [Accessed 20 February 2016].

Burrows, J. (2016) How I Got To The Moon And Back feedback. [speech] Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, 22 May.

Graham, S. and Hoggart, S. (2009) The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre. London: Routledge.

Heddon, D. and Milling, J. (2006) Devising Performance: A Critical History. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

History History: The Space Race – Facts & Summary. [online] A&E Television Networks, LLC. Available from http://www.history.com/topics/space-race [Accessed 20 February 2016].

Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts (2016) How I Got To The Moon And Back [image]. Available from https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232@N02/albums/72157668377551582 [Accessed 24 May 2016].

Masoliver, M. (2013) The Actors Space. [online] Barcelona: The Actors Space. Available from https://theactorsspace.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/jacques-lecoq-about-play/ [Accessed 20 March 2016].

Morgan, N 2003. Stage Lighting for Theatre Designers. Entertainment Technology Press: Cambridge.

Murray, S. and Keefe, J. (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction. London and New York: Routledge.

Palmer, R. (1967) Style in Lighting Design. Educational Theatre Journal. 19(2), 142-148.

Serf-Walls, L. (2014) Huffington Post: 5 Reasons Imagination is More Important than Reality. [online] Huffington Post. Available from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lamisha-serfwalls/5-reasons-imagination-is-_b_6096368.html [Accessed 20 February 2016].

Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark (2012) Behind the Scene – Lighting Design by Don Holder (Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark). [online] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4FinZS274I [Accessed 25 April 2016].

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Lily Bingham-Davis

Final Blog Submission

I hope this blog will give an insight into my personal and professional experience working within a theatre company and alongside some exceptional people to create a performance we can all be extremely proud of.

Suiting up.

Having had some previous experience in the role of costume I decided that I would again like to take this back stage role alongside performing. Mary and I shared the role, which was useful as we were able to come up with more ideas as a pair. After forming our company many ideas of what type of piece we wanted to create were thrown around, as we had to have a solid idea for a performance before decided upon anything else. As we didn’t know what type of show we were going to put on the thought of costume wasn’t addressed until much later in the company’s process, though everyone’s roles were established at the start of the company’s formation.

After many ideas of what type of piece we all wanted to multiple concepts were considered, until we all decided on a piece that would involve physical theatre and movement. This was where some initial ideas for costume came together. When thinking of a physical theatre piece, I first and foremost think that the performers should be able to move well and easily and be comfortable in their costume. Nothing restrictive and overly tight or uncomfortable as all these elements will hinder the able to perform at their best.

I believe that “[w]hat the director thinks, sees and feels about the play is of the utmost importance. It is essential that you should take these ideas and impressions on board, exploring and developing them alongside your own” (Thorne, 2001, 52). I feel that throughout the process Mary and I maintained this outlook on our roles in costume, understanding the vision that our Director (Harry) and Assistant Director (Emily) had in mind before acting upon our own ideas.

Sam (Nick)

It was always the intention to have Sam in pyjamas as we thought that this would illustrate and represent that of a young child, we also felt that the style and colour of them were appropriate with the connotations of 1960’s children’s clothing. We also decided on bare feet opposed to socks or slippers because we thought that it would be more ‘childlike’, pushing the idea that we wanted people to see nick as a child. We also chose a light colour as one of the initial ideas was that we were going to project onto him, therefore we needed something relatively plain and light so the projections would be seen.

Crow, P. (2016)

When designing Sam’s badge from the first scene in the show I used ideas from pre-existing badge designs, I looked at space and army badges for my inspiration and then created some of my own. I showed them to the company and they chose this design, but change the words from NASA Astronaut to Sam.

Bingham-Davis, L. (2016) Badge Design

Crow, P. (2016) The Badge

The Ensemble

The initial idea was for each performer to wear something different to the rest. We decided to go with a base costume of all black, long-sleeved t-shirt and leggings, with either a dress, skirt or shorts over the top. For most of the skin to be covered with clothing other than head and neck, hands and a small section of the ankle. All performers were to wear jazz shoes, this type of shoe allowed graceful and fluid movement and less noise when moving on the stage. We had decided at the beginning of the process that all of the Ensemble were going to have their hair plaited the same, we used plaiting because it effectively moved all the hair away from the face, allowing no facial expressions to be missed.

Crow, P. (2016)

The Mother & Sally

Choosing the costume for the Mother and Sally were a slightly longer process than that of Sam’s and the Ensemble. We wanted something that would stand out from the base costume but also something that was conservative and subtle. In a sense the Mothers and Sally’s costumes were a prop, as they were used in the fashion of representing a specific character at certain points in the performance and not continuously used. Before deciding on the cardigans for the Mothers costume we had ideas of glasses, a bag, gloves and also that associated to her job, so a nurses hat or watch, but we thought that a cardigan would be more fitting and a big enough gesture for the audience to understand who she was. It was between these two cardigans:

Everything £5. (2016)

We then decided on the cream cardigan with the golds buttons, but removed the buttons as the made a lot of noise when putting them into the boxes but also because they looked quite tacky, here is an image of Tania as the Mother in her costume.

Crow, P.(2016)

Again we had multiple ideas for Sally’s costume, originally we were going to use a cardigan for her but decided that it was too old for her character as she was supposed to be around the age of 21, I also considered a piece of jewellery, such as a necklace but decided that there was a chance that it wouldn’t be physically big enough for an audience to see. We then thought of a bow in the hair but as we had already decided on plaits, it wouldn’t have looked right over the plaits. So we decided to tie it around the neck as this also echoed the time period well, it was a simple paisley scarf that I already owned, it was lucky that we only needed on scarf as it is a vintage piece and we wouldn’t have been able to get once exactly the same. Here is Charlotte as Sally, in the scarf.

Crow, P. (2016)

Overall I think that the costume choices for the Mother and Sally were very effective in representing and differentiating between the two characters with clarity and that they were fitting for both of the characters backgrounds. I think the base costume was effective, in that everyone looked uniform and that it was constant throughout other than changing into the Mother and Sally.

If we were to perform again or take the show on tour I would be inclined to change the base costume of the Ensemble, since the performance I have been contemplating alternatives for the base costume, I thought that maybe a loose-fitting black shirt would work, maybe even the same as the original but in a different colour. I just feel we looked very formal for a child’s imagination, especially that of Sam’s, as we see he has such a vivid imagination and I think that the ensemble should have reflected that more. Though I have had this thought I keep coming back to the fact that the black base was so simple that it may distract from the rest of the piece if we were to change it.

Performing in ‘How I Got To the Moon and Back’ as an ensemble member.

Improvisation has been a key factor in the process of creating our piece, each week were given different tasks to undertake, games to play and stimuli’s to build from. Harry made the creating process so enjoyable and fun. In one of our first rehearsals we were asked to draw pictures as if we were Sam, which was such a good way to get into the head of an 8 year old boy. We also kept a diary of sorts, each week we would write letters to Sam’s dad for example we would telling him about all the exciting things we had done and how we wanted his help to build a rocket. Even though I wasn’t playing that character it helped me understand what was going through his mind and how to act when we were to do a scene in his imagination.

In another of our earlier rehearsals we watched YouTube videos of the moon landings, from both the real moon landings but also that of science fiction films of the era. We used it as a stimulus to replicate walking on the moon, how it would feel to actually be on the moon and how we would move around.

This video taken from the 1965 science fiction film Luna, we used this a a stimulus as it has a lot of over exaggerated movements in that were simple enough imitate and develop.

Admirabilis, R. (2014) “Luna” (The Moon). USSR, 1965. Fragment 3 – On the surface of the Moon.

The footage of the Moon Landings in 1969 which we referred back to throughout the whole creative process, used as a stimulus in the ‘walking on the moon’ scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4

beanz2u. (2006) First Moon Landing 1969.

Using these as stimuli we created the ‘walking on the moon’ scene which ended up in the show. I found when we used this process of ‘watching’ and ‘doing’ we were able to create material much easier than when we had no stimuli.

Crow, P. (2016)

In Dymphna Callery’s book Through the Body A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre (2001) she states that “[p]ractitioners practice first, and make discoveries on the studio or rehearsal-room floor in much the same way as the scientists conduct experiments in a laboratory” (13). I couldn’t agree more with this statement, experimentation has been the basis of our work in this theatre company, if it worked then fantastic, if it didn’t we would try something new and this was our mind-set throughout the whole process of creating our piece.

The practitioner Jacques Lecoq and his work on ‘play’ (Le Jeu) had, I think, an overwhelming presence in our work, not only in our final piece but also in our rehearsals as “without play there can be no creativity” (Keefe and Murray, 2007, 147) which I think our piece was full of. The use of ‘play’ emanates in scenes such as the ‘book stealing’ scene and also the ‘negative spacing’ scene in our piece as Lecoq believes that being successful in ‘play’ the actors must attend to “rhythm, tempo, space and form” (2000, 29). Which I think we used properly and successfully in not only those particular scenes but throughout the whole piece. Lecoq also said that “[t]rue play can only be founded on one’s reaction to another” (ibid, 30), which I feel needs relating to our work as an ensemble, throughout the rehearsal process and in the final piece our reactions were a major key in the audiences understanding of the piece and the characters within it.

Personally I found that reactions, especially on the face, were difficult for me to consistently deliver, as I found that omitting the correct emotion with my face was much more difficult that I had thought it ever could be. Stylistically the piece thrived on consistency of movement and faces throughout the performance, which is what gave the piece the overall air of symmetry and regularity in the sense of the piece as a whole. One of the lecturers at the university, Andy Jordan notes that we had “tight choreography [and that] everything [was] honed and polished” (Jordan, 2016).

I found an interesting quote about muscle tension and using the body in Niki Flanks book Acting with Passion: A performer’s Guide to Emotions on Que (2015) that brought me to think about the scene in our piece wherein Sam is attempting and then subsequently then becomes successful in his multiple attempts, to walk on the moon, Flanks states that “our hands are all about needs and communicating our needs” (19). Sam’s hands would clench when he was trying his best to walk but unclench when he felt defeated, which I think shows that he is trying to communicate to his imagination (the Ensemble) that he needed their help to succeed.

Crow, P. (2016)

Throughout the whole process from the first workshop to the final performance, I believe that our work as an ensemble was boundless, I have come to understand so much more about working as an ensemble over the past five months, than in any other experience in my life. It has been one of the hardest yet most rewarding performances I have ever been a part of and I will not forget it in a hurry.

Works Cited

Admirabilis, R (2014) “Luna” (The Moon). USSR, 1965. Fragment 3 – On the surface of the Moon. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr2g5vzeqMI [accessed 21 May 2016]

beanz2u (2006) First Moon Landing 1969. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4 [accessed 21 May 2016]

Bingham-Davis, L. (2016) Badge design.

Callery, D. (2001) Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre. London: Nick Hern Books.

Everything 5 Pounds (2016) Gold Button Cardigan. London: everything5pounds.com. Available from http://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Gold-Button-Cardigan/p/54501 [accessed 10 April 2016].

Everything 5 Pounds (2016) Speckled Button Up Cardigan. London: everything5pounds.com. Available from http://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Gold-Button-Cardigan/p/54501 [accessed 10 April 2016].

Flanks, N. (2015) Acting with Passion: A Performer’s Guide to Emotions on Cue. United Kingdom: Methuen Drama.

Jordan, A. (2016) How I Got to The Moon and Back [email] L, Bingham-Davis, 22 May.

Keefe, J. and Murray, S. (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction. Great Britain: Routledge.

Lecoq, J. (2000) The Moving Body. London: Methuen.

Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts (2016) How I Got to the Moon and Back. [image] Available from https://www.flickr.com/photos/61839232@N02/albums/72157668377551582/with/26568716353/ [accessed 24 May 2016]

Thorne, G. (2001) Designing Stage Costumes: A Practical Guide. United Kingdom: The Crowood Press Ltd.

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