planning a go-go

Friday was an excellent day!

We had a four-hour session of meeting and greeting actors, chatting, measuring actors for costumes, catching up on design conversations, updating production schedules- all very exciting.

In terms of set design, it looks as though we're going to pursue 'the cardboard way'- which I think is great. Also, some super ideas emerged, in conversation with the actors, about costume possibilities... one intriguing offer was the idea of having one character in a wheel-chair. I love it- the collective creative brain at work!

At the moment I'm making sure that we have as much technical information together as we can: the SummerWorks Festival need our technical requirements by June 28th at 5:00. Just combing through all the information so far to give the festival as full a picture as possible of how the play will look/feel etc, so that they get a sense of it before the technical rehearsals. I'm very slow at admin. and planning in this area- so I'm glad to have a couple of quiet days to sift through it all- and I'm getting the information from the design teams, it's just that I'm putting it all into the form- (yum!).

SummerWorks has a similar technical process to a number of festivals- you have a four hour slot to get your play into the space, do all of your lighting and sound cues, run the play (if you decide to do that) and get out. It's a great exercise in having an organized team. And there's little time for indecision, which I like... Also, as a director it's challenging because up until that point you've only been able to imagine the play in the performance space- and you really never know of you're ideas are really going to work until you see it all coming together in the theatre space. For the actors the challenge is understanding how the space works, how it affects the play- it's a swift learning curve for all the production/cast peeps.

However, I do like the impact that this condensed technical time can have on the design and organization of the play. For example, projection. The play we're doing is set in London, UK and we're performing in Toronto- so I'd like to be able to bring the 'character of London' into the production. This can be done through costume, set design, the actor's bodies, the physical/spatial relationships- and through (perhaps) including projection of some kind. However, projection takes a lot of work, it's another design element that needs careful attention and it can get fantastically complicated in a technical rehearsal... So, we may or may not go down this route... The designer and I are still in discussion about it...

A few weeks ago I was in London so I took a lot of photos on slide film- and one option that we're talking about it using an old carousel slide projector... I think that the production is going to have a 'poor theatre' approach overall- so it might make sense to incorporate a 'retro technical approach'... and if we go that route then we can use it in rehearsal and the transition into the technical rehearsals will be 'easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy', as they say. It might also be a fun, slightly subversive expression of projection, (it's old, it's clunky, there's an ugly-beauty to it), which makes sense for the world of the play. A lot of the play is set on the Thamesmead Estate- (which is all 1970's Brutalist architecture).

Okay- I'd better get back to thinking about music and sound cues...

I will write more about the play very soon- promise!



And I did say that it's set on the Thamesmead Estate in the UK...

Here are a couple of photos that you may recognize of the Thamesmead Estate... from the film A Clockwork Orange

Smack Set/Costume Day

An exciting morning ahead-

Meeting costume/set designer Brandon Kleiman to see costume and set sketches. We were talking about our set being created out of card board- so it'll be interesting to see if that's the direction we go.

I love working with set materials that can be recycled. Last year on the production of Twelfth Night (in Oxford, UK), that I directed our set was 10 tons of sand and found items from beach combing near Bristol, UK- and nearly all the costumes were reconfigured clothes from charity shops- So, it would be super to be able to carry on this exploration of found items and recyclable materials... (and to be honest- we need the budget to stay as petite as possible, so it's great when you're philosophical exploration supports your budget reality-).

And then we meet the actors for measuring- It'll be great to see how Brandon combines his vision with ideas that emerge from meeting the actors.

I love this part of the process, particularly on a new play like Smack: there's room for lots of dialogue between director/designers and the actors' Imagination can be layered into the process as well... and this play is firing off a lot of images and ideas in all our imaginations...

more on The Sad and Cautionary Tale of Smackheaded Peter a little later.

Contrasts galore

Well, the last few months have sped by-

I've been working at The Grand Theatre, in London, Ontario, as the Apprentice Artistic Director. More on that later... It's been a super experience and I've been mentored by the wonderful and thoughtful Susan Ferley, the Artistic Director. I've learned an immense amount about running a large theatre company and have also directed Macbeth (with 19 high school students!), The Little Prince, (with a wonderful cast) and a number of short Canadian plays, (at The Playwrights' Cabaret, co-directed with Susan Ferley and Jeff Culbert).

The next few months are full of contrast, which is why I decided to reconnect with the ol' blog.

First on the list is a new British play that I'm directing at SummerWorks Theatre Festival in Toronto. It's called The Sad and Cautionary Tale of Smackheaded Peter, by Simon Glass. It's a tongue-in-cheek fable about Peter, born on the impoverished Thamesmead Estate in south-east London (UK). His quest is to free the poor and bring peace on earth with low-cost heroin. Oddly, it doesn't all go well... It's a subversive, hysterical combination of high and low art- if you're nearby Toronto during this excellent summer festival please come along.

Next, it's back to The Grand! I'm directing the Grand's High School Project on the Main stage this summer- the 1930's musical, Anything Goes. We'll have about 45 teens in the production- and all the people in the production, on-stage and back-stage are mentored by the theatre professionals at the theatre. It's a unique and inspiring production experience. I caught the tail-end of the rehearsals for Grease last year and it was very exciting. I'm looking forward to working with all departments and tapping along with Cole Porter's wonderful melodies...

After that eight-week rehearsal process I'll be zooming back to the UK to direct two new solo plays at The Old Red Lion, Suicide Brunette by Gary Mitchell and The Native, by Christopher Hanvey. More on these solo pieces a little later- I will say though, that they're going to be virtuoso acting pieces-

So, I hope to share some experiences from these three entirely different rehearsal/production processes. It's a season of contrasts... I'm delighted to be working on such a range of material, in wonderful circumstances, with excellent peeps! And a little terrified about it all as well...

More soon...

The Sad and Cautionary Tale of Smackheaded Peter is going to be a blast!

London digs and meetings

DAY ONE

I had one day to find a place to live in London Ontario that had these requirements...

• above ground (I've been living in a basement for 18 months)
• walking distance to the theatre (no car and can't afford one/don't want to buy one)
• access to out-of-doors (for my two cats, Ella and Harry)
• no credit check (I have no real credit history in Canada)
• month-by-month rental (almost everyone wants a one-year lease and my contract is eight months)

I saw sixteen apartments in just under ten hours- and had my lap top on the passenger seat of the car I'd rented, getting updates from websites whenever I could 'pirate' off of someone's unprotected internets. And....

ta da!

because of the power of technology...

I saw a new listing-

called and got a viewing two hours later-

and got an apartment, (that I actually like!), that meets aaaaaaaaaaaaaall of my needs!

yeeeeeee haaaaa!

I was remembering that when I first moved to London, England, it took me three weeks to find a place to live... soooooo...

It was a crazy day- but it's done! Photos to follow...

DAY TWO

Not my first day at school- but quite similar...

Okay- so the first thing was to see my office.

My office... well, it's a grand title- but not such a grand room. Please don't get me wrong- I'm happy to have a desk! and a phone and work computer and a chair. And that's really all I need- and that's good, 'cause that's all the room in my office. Now, you know, in real estate, that location is everything. Well, I'm pretty sure that I've heard that it's like that too with office allocation... So... the great thing about the location of my wee office is that it's just opposite Susan Ferley, the Artistic Director of the Grand. And that's just fine by me. I say, poo poo to the corner office with the great view... I have a corner in my office- in fact- there are four. And who needs a view- I can see the window in her office- and that's just fine by me.

And- far more exciting than any of that malarkey...

I've got a name tag. Yup. A name tag.

It's got my name on it.

And my title...

Apprentice Artistic Director

So...

Day two- see my office, get my name tag and go to the day long board meeting-

more on that another time...

Going to London- photos

Canadian Theatre Adventures- London Bound

On the train to London Ontario...where they have a Thames River and a Covent Garden Market- just like in London, England. This is the prologue to a new chapter in my Canadian theatre adventures.

Seeing about ten apartments today- and meeting my new boss, Susan Ferley, the Artistic Director at the Grand Theatre for lunch.

In a couple of weeks I start a new job at the Grand. I'm going to be the Apprentice Assistant Artistic Director and Associate Artist. I guess that means I'm going to be the AADA and AA... Lots of A's. (If it was a report card I'd be pretty happy with my grades- except for Physics, I got a D in Physics...)... (not really- you know what I mean-).

I'm going working at the Grand as the AADA/AA and learning how to run a big theatre company- and directing three productions in the McManus studio. It's going to be a jam-packed few months learning about governance, programming, financing, arts management and more! I'm really looking forward to it. It's the next necessary step in the theatre adventure- I'm pretty good at my job in the rehearsal room- now I need to learn all the other aspects of running a theatre company.

So, my boyfriend John, suggested, (well actually it was slightly more than a hearty suggestion and just less than bullying) that I might write a blog, rather than having a website. I didn't bother to tell him that I worked on the website and published it. I still need to add lots of text, but my CV and some production photos are there... However! he's pretty fantastic at bullying me into doing things that are good for me... so I've decided to give blogging a try. It'll be another part of the Canadian theatre adventure.

I'm hoping to get lots of blogging advice from chums. My chum Marilla Wex is a super-duper blogger- and it's an entertaining and comedic blog. In fact- I suggest that you stop reading this and go read her blog- right now. She's got a tiny dog called Farfel- it's funny- the dog is really cute and she's doing fantastically well as a comic on the Toronto Comedy Scene!

John could write a super blog- but there's no way I could bully him into starting one- He'll do it if he thinks it's a good idea, but it needs to be his idea. And that's cool... he's his own dude, man.

By the way- John is about the only person that bullies me around. And it's lovely that he does... and I only let him bully me when I think his ideas are good...

It's fun being on the train- especially since the wi-fi is free! and the coffee is good...

I'll post the photos from my train journey a bit later... the wi-fi connection is a bit dodgy on the train...

However- you will see... (drum roll!)

A painted freight train at Woodstock Ontario-

Heather Davies, in an arty photo- at the beginning of a new, exciting chapter of Canadian theatre adventures.

and many more adventures to come...

Toronto Noir Closes

We just finished the Toronto Noir show at Summerworks yesterday afternoon and it was the bomb. The best bit was the closing number from John Edwards Folktronica Productions.