Blog – Page 4 – No Added Sugar

We’re not adding sugar… We’re adding colour…

Shellie-Ann Barrowcliffe / May 22, 2014June 2, 2014 / Technical

Sound script, show script and rehearsal script! So many scripts!

As Stage Manager for the company, it was decided – between myself, Abbi and Tom – that whilst doing our tech in the space for Three Words it would only be necessary for the three of us to be there. We then arranged a space for the other 6 members of our company to rehearse, do line runs and also rehearse harmonies for songs. This was a good plan as during our tech it allowed us to focus and get things moving along quite nicely. Not to offend any of the company but I feel that had they been present things would have been completed at a slower pace, this would mainly have been due to curiosity and wonder as to what was happening. These are things which I felt could be self explanatory when we do a run in the space with tech.

So for our tech session Abbi had created a schedule which allowed for our time to spent wisely, allowing us to communicate effectively with the in house technicians, Alex, Martin and Darren which made for an easier get in for all individuals involved. We utilised our previous skills and made sure that everyone was doing something helpful in order to do tasks as quick, but effectively, as we could.

Abbi, as well as being our Production Manager, is also our lighting designer. So as she explained her vision to the technicians and what lights she wanted to use to create the effects and spaces on stage, we all began to get a clear understanding of the task ahead. It was then time to focus the lights onto the spaces. Today was only a rough focus for us to gain an idea of what it will look like. It shall be focused more on the performance day. Today Abbi made her vision come to life, and it was magical… And as Abbi says We are not adding sugar but we are certainly adding colour. Here is a little sneaky preview of our preset 🙂

Having a acquired a good understanding of QLab it meant that myself and Abbi had put together a QLab file ready for the tech. I then grouped the cue together to allow for easier operation. I had a fun job of colour coding each cue to match what was in my folder. This was a good thing to know how to do so that I can easily tell where we are in the show just by the colours that were with the cue that we would currently be in. This helps me not to panic as much for operating the show. I have operated several shows over my time but never have I operated one on stage whilst performing. This in itself is a challenge so I have grouped the cues into scenes and gave them colours, yellow – lighting, green – AV, pink – sound.

The QLab file just needed a few final adjustments and it was soon performance ready. Martin, was impressed with the standard that it was up to, but this had been made through the training that he himself had taught me over the previous year.

As Abbi was programming the lighting with Alex, me and Tom had the chance to talk about sound with Martin, who will be mixing our sound levels for us live during the show. I had not realised that there would be so much that needed to be done regarding sound. This understanding means I have to alter our performance day schedule that I had created, I am not sure how this will go down with the cast but I am sure they will cope. Talking it through with Martin helped us to know how it was going to work on the day, and how he is going to work and what he needs from us on the performance day.

Overall I feel like today has been a success, we achieved what was set on our schedule. The three of us and the technicians, we all became one team and, worked effectively communicating with one another. I feel now as though it is real and we have a performance. It is amazing how much the technical aspects of a show can bring it to life. So with 5 days to go… I am feel confident with the overall process, as I know I have amazing technicians behind me and also a wonderful cast to perform alongside.

Initial Technical Preparation

Abigail Dawson / May 21, 2014 / Development, Technical

During the process of ‘Three Words’ I have found myself undertaking a more challenging role that I have been accustomed to. The usual position I adopt for a production for the past couple of years has been the Stage Manager, a demanding job of its own accord, however by taking on the role of Production Manager has been a brand new challenge which I have gladly accepted. I have gained new responsibilities, such a creating the risk assessment and providing a technical rider to any theatres we may tour to. Throughout this process I keep reminding myself that I am “the person responsible for everything on stage that is not an actor” (Dean 2007, p. 6), especially during the technical rehearsals, I must make sure everything technical and on stage is running smoothly and safely. Peter Maccoy clarifies in Essentials of Stage Management that the HCE (Health Care Equipment) “defines a risk assessment as nothing more than a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. The aim is to make sure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill” (2004, p. 217)

With this in mind, risk assessments are not designed to identify every possible hazard that could occur during the production; instead they are made to reduce risks to acceptable levels. These evaluations open up the cast and crew’s eyes to potential dangers and enable the company to plan how to prevent such incidents from occurring and making sure their risk is reduced if they do. It is essential that either the PM or SM, PM in my case, completes this form so that the “risks can be can be identified and the necessary precautions taken to ensure a safe environment” (Pallin 2012, p. 109), generally they are straight forward to fill in.

Risk assessments should at least include these following questions:
1. What are the possible hazards?
2. Who is at risk?
3. What controls are needed?
4. How are they going to be implemented?

With controls put into action, such as making sure all wires and cables are kept tidy on and around the stage, taped down and covered appropriately, the production can safely carry on.

NO ADDED SUGAR RISK ASSESSMENT

Above is the risk assessment I have designed for ‘Three Words’, and with our stage and set being fairly minimal, thankfully, it was not a lengthy process. As I am also an actor in this production, I was able to imagine any possible dangers that may occur on stage to myself or any other members of the cast. The biggest dangers appear to be our four microphones which need to be able to be easily moved around the stage, baring this in mind, it means that the cables are not able to be completely taped down across the stage. In reducing this risk, actors will need to be completely aware of them on the stage and where they are going to be moved to.

My role as Production Manager also includes co-ordinating and communicating. Not only is it important to complete this form, it is also vital to prepare a technical rider which can be forwarded to each theatre the company may be travelling to. During this process I am responsible for being “realistic about what can be achieved with the resources available” (Dean 2007, p. 70), so throughout the development of the process I have being documenting the essential bits and pieces that our performance demands. It is imperative that the technical rider includes the technical information of what your company will be travelling with and what they may require at the venue. This is in order for the venue to contact the company at the earliest possible date if they are any issues, such as not being able to provide them with the required equipment necessary for the performance.

NO ADDED SUGAR TECHNICAL RIDER

Above is ‘Three Words’ technical rider. As we employ both video and live mixed sound, it was imperative we included everything that is essential, such as the exact number and type of microphones that we require, also the number of projectors used and where exactly they would need to be placed for the performance. By including as many fragments of technical information on this document enables the theatre company to tour from venue-to-venue as smoothly as possible. By sending this document out the company is able to liaise with venues long before they arrive. The requirements set should be made clear so the company’s ‘get in’ can run efficiently with as little issues as possible.

Works Cited
Dean, P. (2007) Production Management: Making Shows Happen -A Practical Guide, Wiltshire: The Crowood Press Ltd.
Pallin, G. (2012) Stage Management: The Essential Handbook, London: Nick Hern Books.

It was during an S Club 7 Song…

Gabrielle Ruth Evans / May 20, 2014June 2, 2014 / Development, Love, Music, performance

All the musical elements for Three Words are coming together. The number of Music rehearsals has been doubled and the harmonies are being nailed. Like in my previous blog, some of the performers were finding it difficult to get and keep the correct harmonies. Therefore we have had to change a harmony in All you need is Love into two parts, however over the past couple of days, one of our performers Sam was able to pick up a newly revised third harmony which was what the piece was missing. I was able to leave Sam to sing the harmony, as she is one of our most confident singers. She has been a great help in helping the group pitch some of the most difficult harmonies. In adding the third harmony back in, I think it has given the song a stronger texture. The only thing worrying me now is the tone. It is coming after a difficult section, but will in theory and hopefulness lift up the audience’s mood and helps them believe love is all you need. In keeping with the song, our group had a moment of pure genius while rehearsing in Jozey’s bedroom. It was difficult to try to come up with a way to end the piece. At this point the lengthy music rehearsal was getting to everyone and we were going to give it a rest for the day. But then something magical happened. I am describing it as magical because it gave me Goosebumps and as it began to unravel glockenspiel master Becky’s face lit up with excitement. All the hard work the singers put in that day had paid off with a great ending of what can only be described as a love line mash-up. Here is an example:

Of course after the magic, became the practicality of directing at which point will the build up start, who will start it, how long will it go on for and how will it end? But I felt as musical director; after the hours spent it really is true that in a moment of pure spontaneity something amazing can be created. Jozey and Phoebe will lead the group to start and through the direction of myself and Jozey voices will gradually be added into the mix until it reaches a point. Then the guitar playing will cut out and voices will begin to fade out to leave phoebes last line… love is all you need. I think this will be a lovely way to end such a chaotic and unique piece and in a way is a symmetrical to the beginning.

From this point on all ‘Three Words’ needs is its finishing touches to the performance. Some of the parts required some enhancement. In particular during First Kisses one of the performers, Abbi’s line is ‘It was during an S Club 7 song’ at which point anyone around her bursts into a dance to Reach. Instead of using a soundtrack it would be nice if the motif was played on piano. Another thing we added late on into the performance was the Imperial March. This replaced the wedding march in the wedding scene as we thought it would add another aspect to the ever changing hilarity of the performance. These little moments of music come within in some light and funny pieces.

As well as adding little bits into the performance in order to fill the silence between the little scenes and to make the piece more flowing, it was decided that the transitions will be a mixture of guitar, piano, verbatim and in some cases spontaneous song but together by myself, Jozey and Tom. The piano parts in particular, some were created using simple chords and others were parts of songs featured in the piece. This I hope will help to tie all of the little sections together and polish up any scene changes.

At this point, I am feeling confident that the all the elements especially the music shall be good. With only a week to go, the big numbers just need polishing and the individual music needs practising but I am confident in saying as a company we have put our heart and soul into the performance, challenged ourselves and from my point of view with help from the fabulous Jozey the music is where at the standard if not above what I am hoped from the beginning of the process. I just hope in this next week we can build it up more and give the audience something amazing to watch and listen too!

7 days left… No Added sugar … Three Words… LET’S DO THIS!

Chair Duets

Rebecca Sowter / May 11, 2014June 2, 2014 / Development, Deveopment, performance

Our performance is now just over two weeks away and so we have been blocking the last few smaller scenes this week and we pretty much have a full show (woohoo!). One of the last scenes we have put together has been inspired by Frantic Assembly’s Chair Duets and adds a new element to our already very eclectic performance style.

The scene we have made combines three recordings of verbatim with three separate movement sequences. We took the essence of Frantic Assembly’s Chair Duets: the nature of the action/reaction and the “firm and deliberate” (Graham and Hoggett, 2009, 141) movement are the main two similarities between our work and theirs. However, once we had got to grips with the rules of the chair duets we decided to break quite a lot of them to adapt the style to our own performance. Firstly, one of the sequences does not use chairs at all and another only uses one. Although this breaks the fundamental rule of chair duets (which are supposed to be performed with two chairs facing outwards), we found that we could perform a wider variety of moves. Secondly, we are using the duets to tell the stories being recalled in the verbatim whereas traditional chair duets should not have a story behind them. We have also slowed our movements down in places which contrasts with Frantic Assembly’s routines that are “played at quite a mesmerising speed” (Graham and Hoggett, 2009, 141).

14305389504_42d8aa4c06_h — Our chair duet

Despite these differences, the influence of the chair duet is pretty clear in all three sequences and has been a helpful springboard in developing our ideas. Our duets communicate the same messages of “touches, embraces, flirtations, rejections” (Graham and Hoggett, 2009, 141) as original duets do and all of these actions and emotions play an important part in the three verbatim stories that we have collected. The chair duet has become for us a way to capture the ups and downs of first dates and relationships in a very simple but physical and visually interesting way.

Works cited:

Frantic Assembly (2009) Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre – Chair Duets. [online] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC-dkYZOUVo [Accessed 11 May 2014].

Graham, S. and Hoggett, S. (2009) The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd.

The Brand.

Phoebe Wall-Palmer / May 9, 2014June 2, 2014 / Development, Initial Ideas, Marketing

What constitutes a brand? Well, first you need a strong visual identity: logo, fonts, colors, a catchy tagline – but that is not enough. A successful brand engages on an emotional level – it is all about the customers’ experiences with your company (Goldbogen, 2011, 42).

1599060_10201498592099131_801229275_o — Official NAS Logo

Once we had our logo finalised, we needed to get thinking about our essential marketing tools – poster and flyer designs. As it was the early stages of the process, and the piece is devised, the performance was changing and evolving daily. Theatre in general is recognised as something that is difficult to brand and market: “Difficult brands have two primary characteristics: constrained availability and uncertain outcomes (Harrison and Hartley, 2007) … Uncertain outcomes relates to the risk involved in attending a performance without prior knowledge of how it will be received” (Preece and Johnson, 2011, 19). As we have no credit to the piece, such as reviews or Arts Council funding, it is even more essential that we got the marketing the best it can be to attract an audience. After a group discussion, we decided on a marketing strategy involving post-it notes. We liked the idea of hand-written type, alongside the layering and jumble of the notes. It connected very well to the fragmented and post-structuralist form of theatre that inspired us in the beginning of the process. We planned to write questions on each post-it and stick them around campus and in town. We would ask questions similar to that of our interviews to collect verbatim material, such as “how long should you wait before you say ‘I love you’?” Beneath the question would be a link to our twitter page, in the hope that people would tweet us their answers, with the hash-tag ‘threewords’.

This scheme was in the pipeline, but we felt it was too early to begin as we didn’t have posters and flyers in place. Inspired by the post-it note idea, we decided to create an image of a heart using them. This would make our branding consistent, and the post-it note would be recognisable in relation to No Added Sugar. We particularly liked the contrast of the heart, something traditionally associated with love, made up of something quite ordinary.

We forwarded the images to our graphic designer. We were regrettably vague with our guidelines as we still had not come to a decision as a group on exactly what we wanted, but felt we needed a draft of something to work with.

NAS Flier 31 Mar page 1 — 1st Draft NAS Flyer

NAS flier 31Mar page 2 — 1st Draft NAS Flyer

At around the same time, Craig Morrow (the artistic director of Lincoln Performing Arts Centre) needed copy and an image to put in the assessment brochure. We used the image below as it was consistent with the initial poster and flyer designs. Th hand written title added to the ‘home-made’ vibe that we particularly wanted to pride ourselves on, and the blurred writing at the edges was just a little ambiguous and provoking.

Though the current flyer and poster draft were connected to the company through the colour palette and supported our marketing scheme, there was something quite uninspiring about the post-it’s for the poster and flyer. The grey on the face of the flyer made it feel quite pessimistic and cold. It just was not the tone we wanted to create. Additionally, the post-it note heart could have looked brilliant if we had very large posters so the detail could be seen, but was not nearly as striking in A4 or A3 size unfortunately.

As rehearsals continued we stumbled upon another image. It was suggestive of the theme of love, and the way we planned to deal with it on stage, but still rouses curiosity to find out more. We hoped it would entice an audience far more effectively.

Two inanimate, gender neutral objects, intimately hugging. We all felt there was really something beautiful about that. It also connotes what we are doing with romantic relationships, stripping away the hollywood romance, and leaving the bare bones of what we all experience in reality.

We forwarded this image, with a much clearer brief to the graphic designer, and they hastily began work. We then needed to change the image we had sent to Craig Morrow so it would be consistent with the posters and flyers. We had just missed the deadline, but I went directly to his office to see if it was too late to change the image. I was told that as long as I sent it by the following day it would be absolutely fine. Unfortunately, despite sending it in time, there was some miscommunication in their department and the new image was not used. By the time we had noticed the assessment brochure had gone to print. As had our posters and flyers. We were then in a position with our essential marketing tool having the mannequin image, and the publicity within the venue having something quite different.

With the advice of Diane Dubois, we soon settled upon trying to interweave the two themes. We have begun pushing the post-it note marketing scheme, posting them in and around campus and regularly tweeting about them to create interest. We are continuing to use both images, such as the homepage of this blog site, so that both the mannequins and post-its become recognisable to our company. Web-based marketing, such as social media and websites, are becoming more widely celebrated as an integral marketing tool.

Web-based tools will be seen as complementary to traditional methods. In time, they will replace some of the traditional methods and become more central to organizations’ efforts to engage their audience members between performances and to cultivate and enhance relationships between audience members and the organization itself (Preece and Johnson, 2011, 30).

Online we can more effectively, and instantly, collaborate the two strands and become a consistent presence to our potential audience.

We have certainly learnt a lot from this issue. More urgency and attention should have been paid on how we connect with our audience, and what with, not just making material to perform. Perhaps we should have continued with the original poster and flyer design, but we were willing to take a risk and use an image that we felt really represented the company we had become and the performance our audience will see.

NAS poster FINAL — Final Draft NAS Poster Design

NAS flier FINAL — Final Draft NAS Flyer Design

Works Cited

Goldbogen, T. (2011) Re-Imagining a Brand. TYA Today, 25 (2) 42-44.

Preece, S. B. and Johnson, J. W. (2011) Web Strategies and the Performing Arts: A Solution to Difficult Brands. International Journal of Arts Management, 14 (1) 19-33.