So, we had our preview and it went extraordinarily well- people really seemed moved by it and wanting to talk about the writing and the production afterwards. A fantastic night - with a really mixed age group all getting something from it. I do think this is a special show. We would love to get your feedback- you can fill out a questionaire at your local venue- just ask Dom or go to the show page on this site and scroll down after the tour schedule and add your review- which will come straight to us. I really hope you enjoy this show as much as we have enjoyed making it..... 2010-02-25T12:11:36Z 27 2010-02-25T12:11:36Z And so here we are making the final things work- adding the film and checking the lights and any final costume alterations. The film works really well with the set pieces- adding an edge I think. So now we are going to do 2 dress rehearsals which are just for us before we open the doors tomorrow night for the first preview audience.... Very exciting!!! Its now about story, story, story- are we telling it? is it clear? Are the characters truthful? Are the moments clear? Do the gear changes work? Is the balance between humour and serious stuff right? So many questions, so little time..... there is nothing better than working on a new play... 2010-02-23T10:09:32Z 26 2010-02-23T10:09:32Z So we did two runs of the play yesterday and most of the show feels very solid. I am still questioning the beginnning in terms of how we show that it is essentially a conversation being had off stage not on- but we will find it. There were some really emotional moments yesterday- lump in the throat time when Stacey delivered her Dead Dad speech and Mike's pony in the forest and Mel's stabbing- so many moments that really hit you. But the humour is there as well and I think the writing is a real tour de force when the characters of Shaun and Karen meet for the first time. Last night Dom and I plotted the lights and the music with Becky Applin being her usual genius self. Now we are just waiting for the film- which is becoming a frustration.... But everything else is on track and I think it is going to be a really good piece..... 2010-02-19T09:52:09Z 25 2010-02-19T09:52:09Z So here we are- working through the play moment to moment- challenging all of the blocking and who we think these people are. Gary was with us on Friday and was really pleased with that he saw- it was also great to have him in to clarify bits of the text and test what we were doing. He grinned for the whole day... The next part of the week will be about running and running: scenes, acts ( still not sure where the interval should go) and then placing the technical stuff on top of all of that: film. lighting and sound. Becky will be with us on Thursday and the film will hopefully be with us by Monday- everything is now pushing forward and it is a week to go before there is an audience! I can honestly say I am having the best time in the rehearsal room- I love this play..... 2010-02-17T16:03:36Z 24 2010-02-17T16:03:36Z 2010-02-17T15:59:23Z 23 2010-02-17T15:59:23Z So last week was all about testing the conventions of the play and how to go back and forth with direct speech and natural dialogue. This week is all about character work and fleshing them out. For the past two days I have had the actors tied to eachother with rope, in terms of the 2 couples, to see what that gives us in terms of feeling trapped and needing to be aware of the other person at all times as well as negotiate the space with someone else attached to you. This has been a great exercise for physicalising what is really going on and visually displaying the tensions- lots of fun. Today I have added a ball and a beanbag into the equation so that the actors can throw one to each other and one to us when the dialogue changes focus. This is about exploring and playing.... and trying to keep warm as our boiler has just broken down! 2010-02-09T13:12:46Z 21 2010-02-09T13:12:46Z What an extraordinary week it has been. The actors arrived on Monday and we did a read through and talked through the model of the set and concept of the visuals. With lots of tea and biscuits we talked about the play and how brilliant the writing is. Then for three days we tussled with the script- seeing what worked and what didn't. The constant refrain was: the simpler the better. Anytime we tried to incorporate big physical moments it just didn't work. The key is in the storytelling and allowing the text to breathe. On Thursday Becky Applin joined us and we did a stagger through of the whole play looking at moments of film and music- this has to be done this far in advance because the film makers need timings and there is a tight turnaround. Props keep appearing and bits if set- as Dom and David also add their expertise. At the end of this first week I am really pleased with the shape of the piece and very excited by the prospect of challenging it all again next week! Now all we have to do is get the opening right....... 2010-02-05T09:46:25Z 20 2010-02-05T09:46:25Z What an extraordinary week it has been. The actors arrived on Monday and we did a read through and talked through the model of the set and concept of the visuals. With lots of tea and biscuits we talked about the play and how brilliant the writing is. Then for three days we tusseled with the script- seeing what worked and what didn't. The constant refrain was: the simpler the better. Anytime we tried to incorporate big physical moments it just didn't work. The key is in the storytelling and allowing the text to breathe. On Thursday Becky Applin joined us and we did a stagger through of the whole play looking at moments of film and music- this has to be done this far in advance because the film makers need timings and there is a tight turnaround. Props keep appearing and bits if set- as Dom and David also add their expertise. At the end of this first week I am really pleased with the shape of the piece and very excited by the prospect of challenging it all again next week! Now all we have to do is get the opening right....... 2010-02-05T09:44:35Z 19 2010-02-05T09:44:35Z So here we are with 5 new actors ( Mike, Stacey, Melody, Maggie and Tim) and a fantastic new script by Gary Owen- which is mad, witty and gorgeous. The day was full of laughter as the read through brought to light even more humour in the script. And so the challenge begins: episodic structure, characters talking to us and eachother and their thoughts aloud, non-linear timeline- lots of things to discover and work through. Becky Applin is back with a fantastic soundscape which is very filmic, epic and beautiful. City Eye are out in the Forest filming ponies and foxes. And so it begins....... 2010-02-02T09:07:23Z 18 2010-02-02T09:07:23Z Ashputtel- the Cinderella story is now out on the road. It has been a fantastic rehearsal period working with 5 very talented actor musicians and all the artists involved: Junior Jones choreographing, Claire Harvey creating the puppets, Arts University College Bournemouth students working hard on the 3 ball gowns and Becky Applin creating a beautiful score for the whole piece. Not to mention Dom, Emma and David working tirelessly making the set, costume, props, lights and projections work The show previewed at our base and got a warm reception and now all of the set, lights, costumes, actors and Dom are in a van off around the County. I really hope that audiences love this piece as much as I have loved making it. If you see the show and you would like to give us your feedback please go to the show page and enter your comments. I would really like to hear from you. So- my last blog for Ashputtel and the shoe really does fit! 2009-11-12T18:04:52Z 17 2009-11-12T18:04:52Z Well, here we are at our third dress rehearsal with the Youth Theatre coming to see it- our first audience. I am now really wanting to know if we are telling the story clearly and whether the visuals are linking up. The actors are working very hard at getting on top of all of the things they have to do: quick changes ( Sophie has about 7!) playing and putting down instruments, moving the set around, placing puppets, knives, toes and heels.... the list is endless. We have also had Lucy Sewill in today right in the action taking photos. I am hoping they are as wonderful as the Around the World in 80 Days photos- they will be up on the website shortly. If you see us at a venue- do have a look at the display because the photos are amazing. So it is getting to that point when the umbilical cord will be cut and I will no longer be required. One more dress and then we are previewing to an invited audience- scarily close... And the plastic glass slipper has been replaced by a beautiful sparkly ballet pump so that Ashputtel can dance at the Winter Feast despite having sweaty feet by that point! Like I say it is all about the shoe..... 2009-11-10T17:46:36Z 16 2009-11-10T17:47:25Z Well, here we are at the end of the third week and it has been a long one! The week began with choreography and ended with lights, sound and projections- all looking and sounding fab. We have gone projection mad, ( all cleverly sourced by Dom), so that we have stars and snow and fireworks and leaves and birds- you name it, its there! So Thursday night we plotted the entire show and Friday we teched with the actors in full costume. Having slight problems with glass slippers being slippy to dance in and only having half a page to put on the winter ball gown- but other than that all is well! The Arts University College Bournemouth Students have done an amazing job on the dresses- really beautiful and unique. So all we have to do is run and run and run ( both literally and metaphorically) She Will go to the ball............. 2009-11-06T18:36:04Z 15 2009-11-06T18:36:04Z So it is the final week of rehearsal and we preview in a week's time. This rehearsal period has flown! We are starting our third week with a run through and just seeing what we have got and what still needs detailing. This week will be about running and running the sequences and then adding all of the technical aspects around it. We are also joined this week by our Interact ASM Emma- which is great- another pair of hands to get this show on the road ( literally!) Junior will be back in today polishing off the dances- he has been adding more and more modern moves into the courtly dances- for example one opens with them walking like cat walk models- lots of fun. Becky will also be back at the end of the week with the final soundtrack and making sure that all of the music is in place. As for me? I am thinking puppet journey, musical instruments, projections and silhouettes.......... 2009-11-02T09:39:48Z 14 2009-11-02T09:39:48Z We are now at the end of our second week of rehearsals. It has been a week of music and choreography and birds! Becky Applin was with us for 2 days working through the whole play in terms of the soundscape and the combination of live and recorded sound. Junior Jones has been with us for 2 sessions making the Winter Dance very King and I and the other 2 Feasts much more courtly- lots of fun, although I did ache like mad after the first session as he kept using me to demonstrate! So now we are continuing our detailed look through the rest of Act 2 ready for our second full run of the show. Next week goes technical: projections, lighting, set, costumes........... 2009-10-30T09:30:46Z 13 2009-10-30T09:30:46Z So, now we are on our second week of rehearsals and this week is all about detail and making sure the instruments are a part of the characters i.e the Prince is the violin, Ashputtel is the flute etc. We will also have our first session with the choreographer Junior Jones - who popped in on Friday and saw our stagger through - and Becky Applin will be back going through all of the music and making sure that the recorded pieces are ready. We have also received the puppet birds- who now swoop rather beautifully. Step by step...... 2009-10-26T13:49:30Z 12 2009-10-28T10:20:31Z So, we are at the end of our first week and we will finish the blocking,( but not the choreography), by the end of the day and attempt our first stagger through of the whole play. I have some very talented actor musicians in the cast who are playing 3 flutes, 2 clarinets, a mandolin, a violin and a cello- all sounding amazing. The next step is about detail and making sure the story is clear whilst still playing around with ideas. It is becoming more and more about appearance and the outside world looking in...... We are also still working out the journey of the puppets and making sure there is a logic to their story as well. Here's to the second week! 2009-10-23T08:51:06Z 11 2009-10-23T08:53:19Z Well, here we are on the 3rd day of rehearsal. All of the music has been looked at- although I also seem to be asking for strange and wonderful things to happen as soundscape as we work through as well! We have blocked 10 pages of the script- very sketchy and will continue with the rest of Act one by the end of today- hopefully! The actors are being wonderfully inventive as I ask them to improvise with 2 lots of steps, a large frame and a small one on a 4 metre square rostra... At the moment it is all about where do the instruments go and how do the changes occur.... at some point we will actually start characterisation! The puppets arrived yesterday as well and so we need to focus on them aswell- the small Ashputtel, in particular, is lovely..... 2009-10-21T08:29:26Z 10 2009-10-21T08:29:26Z So it is now the first week of Ashputtel rehearsals and the lovely actors have arrived. The first day has been about introducing the actors to the world of the play and the music- Becky Applin has once again composed a beautiful score which will be performed live as well as recorded. The students from the costume department of the Arts University College, Bournemouth have also been with us doing fittings for the 3 Ashputtel dresses which they are making- gorgeous. So now we will put the mock up stage in place ready to block the entire play by the end of Friday Let the fun begin! 2009-10-19T15:13:11Z 9 2009-10-19T15:13:11Z We had the most extraordinary nights at Hurst Castle on Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather was so beautiful that we had a stunning sunset which created the most perfect backdrop for Phileas Fogg to be on his sail boat- absolutely magical! The light stayed with us as well- all the way through the scenes in the Castle grounds and then completely fading as we reached the theatre. They were such lovely evenings- it really felt as though the audience was out to have a good time and even the lady with the broken foot gallantly hobbled her way around on the first night. I just want to thank all of the people who made it possible: Jonathan, Sean, Hugh, Bob, Dave- the list goes on- thank you for providing us with this amazing opportunity. Lets do it again at some point!!!!! We would be really interested in hearing from people who were there those two nights- and if you have any photos please e-mail them to us- we would love to see them. 2009-09-30T10:05:07Z 8 2009-10-01T15:15:43Z Well, so far the audiences seem to be enjoying the show. We have had incredibly good feedback. One member of the audience wrote to me to say that the show is ' a feast of wit, slapstick, enormous ingenuity in setting, consummate characterisation and brilliant rapidity in changing character'. What more can we ask for? If you have seen the show please send us your thoughts- we are always interested in hearing from you. Well the next challenge is the Hurst Castle performances. Dom and I are already looking at the logistics and wondering whether the actors can sing their songs on the ferry and where Bombay might end up being! Lots of fun- we hope you can join us on the next leg of the adventure....... 2009-09-21T12:05:07Z 7 2009-09-21T12:05:07Z Well, here we are in the final week with the preview tomorrow night and the Youth Theatre of Forest Forge coming to see an open dress tonight. The last run went very well - just some teething problems with the set moving on the floor cloth - I am wanting the blocks to move easily and swiftly and so we are now experimenting with laminate on the bottom of the blocks! We are now getting the last of the props into the room - just waiting for glasses to arrive, although the period newspapers arrived today so Mike can do his Isadora Duncan moment at last! We have also had a lot of fun with lighting - lots of mad colour and completely non naturalistic moments of day going to night just because Fix wants his film noir moments with the clock. It is now just about running and running in order for the gags to be slick and the business to be precise. I hope people have as much fun watching the show as we have had making it! Here's to the tour... 2009-09-08T11:46:03Z 6 2009-09-09T10:11:30Z We are now getting to crunch time with a week to go before we open. We did a run of the entire show on Saturday which went very well, but was a tad faltering as we all tried to remember which boat/train/elephant we were about to get onto next! Costumes are also beginning to appear as well as THE BAG - which is very exciting! And the furniture is slowly turning a deep mahogany! This is also the week that lighting will be going in and my film noir moments will be being realised- I am SO excited about the fact that the clock provides my Orson Welles moment! Anyway- today is about sound and the lovely Becky will be with me looking at all the music and making sure the songs are in place. The clock is ticking... 2009-09-02T08:59:40Z 5 2009-09-02T10:03:41Z Well, we are now coming to the end of our second week and we have consolidated the work we did last week. These last few days have been all about detailing and the journey of the hat and cane! i.e where on earth Fogg puts his personal props at any time! We have been playing more with the _Stomp_ idea- the Reform club begins with our tribute to _Stomp_ using a pipe, pack of cards and glass of whisky! We have also been looking at how the scene changes (which are numerous) can look as though they are part of the journey that we are undertaking. Rebecca Applin was with us on Wednesday and we went through all of the soundscape in situ - the music etc. really lifts the tempest scene and the train chase. The actors - Jonathan Jones, Michael Magnet and Michael Cole - are all working incredibly hard and letting me throw anything at them. They are also almost off book, which is brilliant as we go into the third week. 2009-08-28T08:21:32Z 4 2009-08-28T09:21:05Z Well, we have finished the first week of rehearsal and all is going well. The week was taken up with blocking the entire show - which is very technical as each piece of set becomes a different form of transport etc and becomes an interesting memory test of which boat are we on now! The week began with a meet and greet with the company and then a read through and design presentation. I think the set is going to work brilliantly and is highly inventive. On Monday and Tuesday we also looked at the music and soundscape of the play. 2 of the actors have solos and all are involved in a sort of _Stomp_-like Reform Club number. Soundscape is a vital part of this production and we will be timing every scene and scene change to make the fantastic score Becky has come up with fit- it has a real Ealing Comedy meets Film Noir feel. Some photos from the first week of rehearsals are in our gallery at http://www.forestforge.co.uk/folders/8 So onto the second week- which is going to be all about detailing the action... 2009-08-24T09:21:10Z 3 2009-08-28T10:56:59Z Well, we are off and running and having fun with elephants! The big challenge this week is how I do a train chase with a sideboard and on a 4 metre square stage - oh the joys of epic theatre! 2009-08-19T14:00:31Z 2 2009-08-19T15:51:22Z Well, the first female Artistic Director of Forest Forge Theatre Company may not have the world-shaking impact of the first black American President, but I feel empathy for Barack Obama as he finds his feet with his new job! The last few months have been a heady mix of meeting lots of people from all walks of life and absorbing as much information as I can from all the many supporters of this theatre company which has touched people’s lives for nearly 30 years. I have sat in council chambers, village halls, school classrooms, theatres - the list goes on as I have tried to navigate my way around the operations of the company and come to some understanding of where the future lies. It has been a fascinating journey - I have heard of the many productions that people have really enjoyed and still remember as well as the ones that have been less successful and have challenged people’s perceptions of what should be in their venue. I have driven more that 10,000 miles in the last 3 months seeing work by other companies and immersing myself in the network that is Forest Forge. Some exciting things have come about purely from conversations over a cup of coffee (always a good way of getting round me!). For example, my first show _Around the World in 80 Days_ will now be shown for 2 nights at the end of September in the Garrison Theatre in Hurst Castle - a first I believe for all concerned. The most exciting thing about this venture is that Phileas Fogg will be on a beautiful sailboat as part of the performance - something I could not have imagined when I first programmed the piece. My journey has also taken me to the extraordinary place that is the Bournemouth Arts Institute and there I hope to work with the students on aspects of the Christmas show that is _Ashputtel - The Cinderella Story_. How amazing to find so much talent right on our doorstep. The team here have also been very welcoming. We have had those brainstorming sessions that don’t happen enough in business, when you have the time and space to consider what the possibilities are. We are only just beginning this exciting journey. By February next year there will be a new business plan in place and we will have developed both our thinking and our practice. Forest Forge is opening itself up to the future and seeing where is leads. I can’t wait! Kirstie Davis CEO/Artistic Director 2009-08-17T09:22:33Z 1 2009-08-20T11:38:47Z