As thew lead singer of Gomez once said, "there aren't enough hours in our day". Just about how I feel...
All is good in the technical world of TSF. Islands came and went, with lots of stress, enjoyment, elation and sadness all bundled into 9 shows! The cast, crew and office staff really worked hard, together to make a really good show. The audiences laughed, probably wept, and gasped at the realities exposed in the show and everyone had a really good time!
Since then I've taken time off to work for my parents' company, thanks for that TSF! Following a two week break, I was back in the store, preparing the Contes Dores set for its summer tour. A lot of the props had fallen victim to a group of ravenous and crafty mice, which meant a lot of disinfecting, hand washing, sewing, respraying etc etc etc...the usual then...after a very busy weekend it was all ready for the start of rehearsals, and John took over Paddy's roles as Madame Griselde and the king.
The tour went very well, although it was uncomfortably hot in many of the school halls we visited. As well as clashing with a heat wave, the World Cup was taking place...for any of you who haven't met me, I love the World Cup, so I religiously watched as many games as I could, in hotel rooms, hotel bars, hotel lobbys etc etc etc!!!
That tour finished last week, and this week I've been taking some holiday as well as beginning to sort the store, which has been needing a good tidy for a while...I might even run into those mice again!!!
til next time...
Jack
Two weeks
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Shockingly belated ISLANDS gossip!!
RIGHT, since I last posted, our most recent production Islands has opened, toured and finished! If I wasn't so completely and utterly involved in it I may have posted a few more words during April, but my head was very full of stage directions, music cues, possible props, definite props, positions of chairs and much more!!
So I'm gonna do a series of posts about the production...this one is about the rehearsals.
It was in at the deep end for me...I finished touring Contes Dores, had a weekend off, then went straight into rehearsals with the rest of the Islands crew. They had been rehearsing for a week already, and I was pretty confused by it all in the first week. There were so many new names, new languages and new faces, not to mention the big script and never ending list of props that was passed my way!
Myself and Craig, the production manager, dealt with the props list admirably however, and by the tech week we had found everything on the list, or made it. I was working the late shift, from 2 til 10, which was tiring, but allowed me to stay up late with my nocturnal student brother who was visiting for easter! We ran a dress rehearsal/run through on each Thursday night to round off the week, and I could see the show coming together week after week. This was an ambitious project and I remember feeling slightly worried during the first week that it would appear very self-centered from the outside. But with each weeks run through, the stories of each character became more concise and clear and my questions and misgivings were answered.
The composer, Juani Belda, came from Madrid in the third week to play us some of his compositions. It breathed new life into my perception of the show and I then realised that the same effect would take place when I saw it with the video projection as well. Craig and I tried to get a projector up and running for the final run through in rehearsals, but the blackout in the church hall was insufficient, or perhaps it was the tiny projector trying to blast out some big images...whichever, we wouldnt see it all together until the first dress rehearsal.
So, that was a potted history of Islands rehearsals...tune in for the next installment: Tech week
Jack
So I'm gonna do a series of posts about the production...this one is about the rehearsals.
It was in at the deep end for me...I finished touring Contes Dores, had a weekend off, then went straight into rehearsals with the rest of the Islands crew. They had been rehearsing for a week already, and I was pretty confused by it all in the first week. There were so many new names, new languages and new faces, not to mention the big script and never ending list of props that was passed my way!
Myself and Craig, the production manager, dealt with the props list admirably however, and by the tech week we had found everything on the list, or made it. I was working the late shift, from 2 til 10, which was tiring, but allowed me to stay up late with my nocturnal student brother who was visiting for easter! We ran a dress rehearsal/run through on each Thursday night to round off the week, and I could see the show coming together week after week. This was an ambitious project and I remember feeling slightly worried during the first week that it would appear very self-centered from the outside. But with each weeks run through, the stories of each character became more concise and clear and my questions and misgivings were answered.
The composer, Juani Belda, came from Madrid in the third week to play us some of his compositions. It breathed new life into my perception of the show and I then realised that the same effect would take place when I saw it with the video projection as well. Craig and I tried to get a projector up and running for the final run through in rehearsals, but the blackout in the church hall was insufficient, or perhaps it was the tiny projector trying to blast out some big images...whichever, we wouldnt see it all together until the first dress rehearsal.
So, that was a potted history of Islands rehearsals...tune in for the next installment: Tech week
Jack
Monday, 5 April 2010
New show!!
Hi all.
I am currently rehearsing TSF's new collaborative show Islands, which opens at the Queen's Hall, Hexham on the 22nd April. Rehearsals are going well; my hours are 1.30 - 10 most days. Its the first time i've done late(ish) shifts and I like them a lot. It wasn't so long ago I was a student doing fairly similar hours!! Although it's amazing how quickly I'd settled into a 9 - 5 routine!
I've been helping the production manager, the great Craig Davidson, gather props and costumes, order set parts, and generally bring the technical side of the show together. It has been fun...I've made contacts in the south Scottish milk industry, discovered the wonders of Oxfam's online shop and observed the rigorous and thorough work the cast and director do. During the show I will be manning the sound desk and the projection of video.
Today I went to pick up Juan Belda, the composer, from Newcastle airport. He has just arrived from Madrid and we had a very nice talk on the way back to Hexham. I can see I'm going to get lots of opportunities to speak more spanish in the coming weeks!! YAY!!!
hasta luego
Jack
Monday, 22 March 2010
Finally...some internet and time!
Hi all,
We are in our last week of Contes Dores in the beautiful town of Harrogate. The show is going very well; our pack up time has quickened to 30 mins where needed and the kids are as enthusiastic as ever!
Since I last posted we enjoyed a week in Wokingham and Reading, performing to a variety of year groups in some lovely schools. We performed at a secondary school, which is always a bit nervy due to the quite childish nature of the show, but we were very well recieved there and it was much better than when we visited the same school last year. This was followed by a friday gig in the uber-picturesque village of Ewelme, south Oxfordshire. The school was amazing...it was like a castle; all nooks, crannies and mysterious corridors! Unfortunately their hall was really small, so we performed in the village hall just down the road. The kids and teachers really enjoyed the show and I think the whole school came to see it, which was nice, as you can always count on 6 year olds to get the crowd going!!
The following week we went to stay in Cambridge with Emilys mum Shona, and had a lovely time catching up with her. Shona came to Tunisia to spend christmas with Emily and we all had a great time with her out there. She cooked us some fab food, which always makes me happy! After staying with Shona we did a strange day in a town near Bedford, performing a great show in the morning to a really nice primary school, before moving next door for an afternoon show in a middle school. It was supposed to be for a teachers conference, but only 10 showed up, so some year 6s got brought in and were a bit confused by it all as they hadn't done any prep work on the story or vocab in the show...plus we were in a corner a cavernous sports hall! The teachers did enjoy it a lot though...we could hear them laughing throughout and the kids even managed to learn the choruses to the songs by the end of the show, so it was a success! We then went to do a show in Stretford, Manchester, which was very good. Lots of visiting primary schools came and really enjoyed themselves. This was followed by a show in Northwich at a high school with more visiting primaries.
Then I got to go home...yay!! We were away for 4 weeks and I had missed the north quite a lot...I was really chuffed to be back in the cold, dank grimness of Sunniside once again!
We have just finished a very rowdy show in our first school in Harrogate. They saw the show two years ago, before I was in it, and enjoyed it again!
After this week I begin rehearsals for Islands, which opens in Hexham on the 22nd April. I'm looking forward to being back in a theatre...not that I dont enjoy primary schools; there is always a great camaraderie to be found in the staff room, but I find there is much less mashed potato on the stage than in the school hall!!
hasta luego
Jack
We are in our last week of Contes Dores in the beautiful town of Harrogate. The show is going very well; our pack up time has quickened to 30 mins where needed and the kids are as enthusiastic as ever!
Since I last posted we enjoyed a week in Wokingham and Reading, performing to a variety of year groups in some lovely schools. We performed at a secondary school, which is always a bit nervy due to the quite childish nature of the show, but we were very well recieved there and it was much better than when we visited the same school last year. This was followed by a friday gig in the uber-picturesque village of Ewelme, south Oxfordshire. The school was amazing...it was like a castle; all nooks, crannies and mysterious corridors! Unfortunately their hall was really small, so we performed in the village hall just down the road. The kids and teachers really enjoyed the show and I think the whole school came to see it, which was nice, as you can always count on 6 year olds to get the crowd going!!
The following week we went to stay in Cambridge with Emilys mum Shona, and had a lovely time catching up with her. Shona came to Tunisia to spend christmas with Emily and we all had a great time with her out there. She cooked us some fab food, which always makes me happy! After staying with Shona we did a strange day in a town near Bedford, performing a great show in the morning to a really nice primary school, before moving next door for an afternoon show in a middle school. It was supposed to be for a teachers conference, but only 10 showed up, so some year 6s got brought in and were a bit confused by it all as they hadn't done any prep work on the story or vocab in the show...plus we were in a corner a cavernous sports hall! The teachers did enjoy it a lot though...we could hear them laughing throughout and the kids even managed to learn the choruses to the songs by the end of the show, so it was a success! We then went to do a show in Stretford, Manchester, which was very good. Lots of visiting primary schools came and really enjoyed themselves. This was followed by a show in Northwich at a high school with more visiting primaries.
Then I got to go home...yay!! We were away for 4 weeks and I had missed the north quite a lot...I was really chuffed to be back in the cold, dank grimness of Sunniside once again!
We have just finished a very rowdy show in our first school in Harrogate. They saw the show two years ago, before I was in it, and enjoyed it again!
After this week I begin rehearsals for Islands, which opens in Hexham on the 22nd April. I'm looking forward to being back in a theatre...not that I dont enjoy primary schools; there is always a great camaraderie to be found in the staff room, but I find there is much less mashed potato on the stage than in the school hall!!
hasta luego
Jack
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Quick networky post...
Hello to any readers of The Courier who are visiting this page after the article in the paper on Monday. Although there wasn't enough space in the article, we'd love for you all to become fans of us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hexham-United-Kingdom/Theatre-Sans-Frontieres/132121159401 and/or follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/theatresansf
We are touring at the end of next month, and these will be good ways to stay in touch with us and see what we're up to! Of course, you can find all our tour dates, locations, information about previous shows and so on at http://www.tsf.org.uk
Thanks,
Stu
We are touring at the end of next month, and these will be good ways to stay in touch with us and see what we're up to! Of course, you can find all our tour dates, locations, information about previous shows and so on at http://www.tsf.org.uk
Thanks,
Stu
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Busy, busy, busy + no internet = not very much blogging!
Hi,
We have been touring hard in the south east, living in a cottage with no internet access. the show is going well. We have a morning off today, getting a little bit of internet time in, but it's not enough...we have to leave for Sonning Common high school in half an hour. So it's short and sweet today. I will try and write something with more substance this weekend when I go to visit my brother for his birthday in Totnes. I don't think he has the internet either though...I'll find a way though, he sleeps until mid afternoon, so there should be time in the morning!!
Ok Do k
Must rush
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Jack
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Half Term
Hi all.
Last week was exciting, full of ups and downs...
We performed in Newcastle, Blyth, Bishop Auckland, Wakefield, Warrington and Glasgow. The best Premier Inn was in Glasgow, for all who are interested! We were photographed a lot last week, lots of the schools wanted photos for their websites, newsletters and govenors. We posed after the show with some children from the schools. The performances we did were lively, the show is getting much closer to the 1hr 5min target, Warrington was 1hr 6!! We just need to keep Paddy on track!
On Wednesday night, while driving from Wakefield to Warrington, I put £60 worth of petrol into the van. When I took the company fuel card up to the kiosk to pay, they told me I'd put the wrong fuel in!! aaaaaaagh!! So I had to pay for the fuel, then we waited to get the fuel pumped out. We got to Warrington at half 10 and I felt really sheepish! Hopefully I will never do it again...I've heard loads of 'wrong fuel' stories from loads of people since, which has been nice!
Its half term now, Emily and Mariae have gone to Tunisia and Portugal respectively. Paddy is planning a new music show with a friend of his and I am taking a couple of days off before the final five weeks of the tour begins. I will also be doing some fixing jobs; sewing, spraying and stapling mainly!
The second part of the tour sees us bound for the south of England for four weeks. We will be in Kent, Essex, Beds, Oxford, Hampshire and more before finishing the tour with a week in Harrogate. We will be staying in rented accomodation, which I'm really looking forward to...I enjoy cooking my own food too much to be in hotels and restaurants all week!
Bye for now
Jack
Last week was exciting, full of ups and downs...
We performed in Newcastle, Blyth, Bishop Auckland, Wakefield, Warrington and Glasgow. The best Premier Inn was in Glasgow, for all who are interested! We were photographed a lot last week, lots of the schools wanted photos for their websites, newsletters and govenors. We posed after the show with some children from the schools. The performances we did were lively, the show is getting much closer to the 1hr 5min target, Warrington was 1hr 6!! We just need to keep Paddy on track!
On Wednesday night, while driving from Wakefield to Warrington, I put £60 worth of petrol into the van. When I took the company fuel card up to the kiosk to pay, they told me I'd put the wrong fuel in!! aaaaaaagh!! So I had to pay for the fuel, then we waited to get the fuel pumped out. We got to Warrington at half 10 and I felt really sheepish! Hopefully I will never do it again...I've heard loads of 'wrong fuel' stories from loads of people since, which has been nice!
Its half term now, Emily and Mariae have gone to Tunisia and Portugal respectively. Paddy is planning a new music show with a friend of his and I am taking a couple of days off before the final five weeks of the tour begins. I will also be doing some fixing jobs; sewing, spraying and stapling mainly!
The second part of the tour sees us bound for the south of England for four weeks. We will be in Kent, Essex, Beds, Oxford, Hampshire and more before finishing the tour with a week in Harrogate. We will be staying in rented accomodation, which I'm really looking forward to...I enjoy cooking my own food too much to be in hotels and restaurants all week!
Bye for now
Jack
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)