A Dream Play

A Very Happy Heather

Well then. There’s a lot to say at this stage in the process as Stage Manager. Yesterday we had our Get-In (The day we “get in” to the space). Props and costumes were moved, arranged and organised, and the set was constructed. We had a lovely and very capable team of people who did an awesome job- the set looks amazing! The lights were all adjusted to the satisfaction of Hamish (our dashing lighting designer). My role in all this was to get all the cues for lighting and sound changes recorded in my script (aka “THE BOOK”) so that I can make all these things happen at the right time during the performance alongside being an odd jobs person. It was exhausting but we got most of the necessary tasks done, and finished them off today in the tech rehearsal.

The tech rehearsal for us involved a lot of catching up on things that were on the plan for yesterday, but that’s always the way. For me it was my opportunity to practice calling the show. As a first time Stage Manager I was quite worried that I would need a lot of practice and wouldn’t have enough time. But as soon as we started my worries faded as I found out that I love it! It was wonderful making things happen as part of a team - makes me sound like I’m applying for a job!- but it really was great. Tomorrow is the dress rehearsal and, as usual, we didn’t get through everything today so there’s lots of things to do tomorrow. I’m not stressed though, I’m just very excited: I get to be a Stage manager again! YAY!

Tomorrow is the big challenge for the cast and the costume/makeup team. This production has an insane amount of costume changes and some very quick ones too! To help out with this I made a huge chart of which character each cast member is at any point in the play, and all the props they need. The lists were being put to very good use by our lovely costume team and very patient cast today and I hope they all break a leg tomorrow

Time flies when you’re having fun

Well the last few weeks of rehearsals have flown by! Directing this play and bringing ‘A Dream Play’ to life with such a great group of people is an incredibly exciting experience. A lot of hard work had been put in by both the team and the cast over the incredibly stressful period of exam time and it’s really paying off. The rehearsal process has been bags of fun and I’m so impressed with how the cast have adapted to the, let’s face it, pretty surreal nature of this play. For the past two days I have been having one-to-ones with the cast to discuss characterisation and all things ‘Dream play’, which has been lovely. This week (exam free!) we are running the play and introducing the multitude of costume changes that the multi-rollers will be getting to grips with. All very exciting! In an unexpected move away from Rachel and Sarah’s beautiful costumes, tonight’s run will be in Corp uniform ahead of our ‘Dream Corp’ social – if you’re not already going DO, it will be a rather hilarious night.

As you may have noticed (since we probably spammed you all) our publicity is finished and we have a beautiful trailer and poster! We had a great day of filming around Crokes and the Rivelin River which was topped off with tasty pie and chips at the Punchbowl. Massive thanks to the cast who bravely shed their layers in the cold January wind (especially Jade, you star) and to Stu for all your hard work shooting and editing. I’m sure you will all agree the end result is brilliant!

Well I’d best be off, play to do and all that..

B x

The ins and outs of costume and props

   

Hello readers, I thought it was time to add some costume and props fun to this blog!

It has been a busy but very exciting time and me and Sarah have been working hard to bring everything together. And the good news is – it’s so nearly finished! :)

For the last couple of weeks now my room has been filled with various Dream Play items, and my flatmates have been endlessly amused by the seemingly random things I keep bringing back to the house; items such as a walking stick, hazard tape, fake roses, a white mask, a fishing net, and a graduation cloak (which was immensely fun to play Hogwarts with… yes we are university students believe it or not). I have had a lot a lot a lot of fun finding all these items and making some too, and it has been a very welcome break from my stressful exam timetable.

On the costume front we are now well on the way to being finished in that area too. We will be running it through with costume changes mid next week, and now only the last finishing touches are still to be done. Due to exams etc. we are now finishing the main dress for Agnes to wear, and the two dresses for the Dancers are also in progress. This has been difficult to pin down an idea as of course it is an important dress – Agnes is always on stage and in every scene and therefore we really wanted it to be right. We really hope you’ll all like it – very nerve wracking for us!

The publicity for the play is looking amazing, and I am so excited. This is my favourite time in the whole theatrical process – the very-nearly-there stage that we are in now, where the show dates are growing closer and everything starts to really come together. The end few rehearsals, the first few runs, and the time when we costumy people have the most work when we realise that we haven’t anticipated how much leaping/flipping/striding/doing the splits/etc. the actors have decided to do and the designs must be changed! All part of the fun!

Cheers guys, I’ll keep you updated.
Rachel x

P.S. A Dream Play in German is Ein Traumspiel. What a nice word 

Producer antics

Greetings all, so I thought I’d kick off the blog posts with a few words of what’s been going on recently on the producer-front. The cast and crew had an excellent day filming for the trailer and shooting the poster in Crookes and by Rivelin River, despite the freezing cold and general peril experienced by many of the cast being outside for a duration longer than it takes to walk to the Information Commons. As a result we have an amazing flyer and poster, and I pass my thanks on to Stuart Gresham our Digital Publicist in SuTCo for his amazing work filming and editing all the publicity material.

A slightly less fun side of producing admittedly is sponsorship hunting. Many cold evenings have been spent by producers for SuTCo shows scouring the bars and restaurants of Sheffield, clinging to their sponsorship packs through the rain and many rejections from managers and owners alike. I am however proud to say that A Dream Play has acquired sponsorship from two excellent establishments in Sheffield: BB’s Restaurant on Division Street and The Old Number 7 on West Street. BB’s sponsorship was secured over two weeks ago, whereas it took many conversations with Chris, the owner of The Old Number 7, usually accompanied by bottles of beer and cigarettes before sponsorship was secured. I can’t help but think that I may have personally provided about a quarter of the sponsorship they have promised us purely through the drinks I had during negotiations!

So to conclude publicity has been done and we are awaiting the arrival of posters and flyers, hoodies should be here as soon as possible, and sponsorship has been secured. All in all, I am one happy producer right about now, and cannot wait for the show to begin on February 8^th. 

When and where? I hear you cry…

‘A Dream Play’ will be running from the 8th - 11th February at the University Drama Studio on Glossop Road, Sheffield. Tickets are available from the Student’s Union Box Office and sutco.co.uk, see you there!

Bx

A Dream Play trailer