Blog
that it seems like a new thing
It’s the New Year and I have been thinking about beginnings – the starts of plays, all of their starts:
- conception – the idea;
- finding the first word, the first line, the first scene;
- the paths toward production;
- the locking in of venues, money, sponsors, artists – the things that make it real, the first steps; and
- there is the disbelief that it is happening at all, while all the while that forward momentum gathers and gathers and gathers, rolling us on.
We have bumped out of La Boite
We have bumped out of La Boite.
Every light, every lead, every bit of black masking, every nut, every bolt, every screw that went in crooked and came out slowly. Every bit of gaff, or leccy tape, every piece of coloured mark-up tape.
The space looks huge now. Black-painted floor and lofty, lost-up-there ceilings, criss-crossed by lighting bars.
The truck is packed. That’s 7 times we’ve packed and unpacked that truck. We’re pretty good at it now.
World Premiere - Oakey
by Elaine Acworth
Opening – Oakey, 20 July 2011
My God, we share this piece with its first audience tonight.
It has been a long and extraordinary birth – and difficult at times for many different reasons.
But I am very proud of this work.
I’m proud of the choices we have made to try to practice what we preach – to look for ways to make theatre sustainably.
Kellie Jones interview
by Nicholas O'Donnell
Three weeks into rehearsals for Water Wars and Kellie Jones takes a break to talk about finding her character, Gally.
Kellie also talks about what the differences are for an actor working on a new play like Water Wars versus working on an established work.
Oh ... and she talks about the laughs - as this is, after all, a timely dark comedy.
Water Wars set construction
by Nicholas O'Donnell
No ordinary kind of set.
With a commitment to sustainable practice and production behind-the-scenes as well as on the stage, Water Wars challenges audiences young and old to re-think their social responsibilities and ask themselves the inevitable question: what would we do in a world without water?
Water Wars uses primarily LED light sources, which last up to 100 times longer than traditional filament bulbs, with radically less power usage.
Why I write
by Elaine Acworth
The last two weeks in the rehearsal room have reminded me of why I write, and specifically why I write for actors.
There is a magic that happens on the floor. It is a truly extraordinary experience to hear words come off the page and see actors start to shift and morph, assuming different proportions, different gaits and mannerisms as they move about the stage.
Interview with the director
by Nicholas O'Donnell
Water Wars rehearsals two weeks in
Water Waters director Shaun Charles reflects on the first two weeks of rehearsals and on what lays ahead before the world premiere on 21 July.
Water Wars set walk-thru
by Nicholas O'Donnell
A walk-thru of the Water Wars rehearsal set with director Shaun Charles.
Major elements from the set of Water Wars have been in place since Day 1 of rehearsals, including the treehouse and the bespoke LED chandelier.
One into three doesn't go
by Elaine Acworth
Writing, producing and production managing are three completely different headspaces.
Writers need a little wildness and stupidity – the ability to completely f**k it up.
They look up or down to their left – meaning they’re accessing either imagination or memory – the tools of the trade, really: we mine our lives, others’ lives and we fabricate, we imagine what we don’t know.
Producers do money, venues, personnel. They need cool heads and cold hearts.
The world has changed
by Elaine Acworth
Saturday 25 June – the world has changed
End of the first five days of rehearsals – and the world has changed. The play is changing, morphing, clarifying characters’ lines and motivations – losing complications, refining simple moments, answering questions around the nature of the world – and how we create that theatrically. And the cuts triggered my old fears – my fear of losing the connection to the audience.
