38 Days till Christmas and the middle of a Ham Sandwich
Greetings fans! It’s show week! Or work-in-progress week, or the week beginning the 17th November, exactly 38 days till Christmas! Titles aside, the important point is that we’re all pretty excited to show our work to a new audience. Not that we haven’t already done so, having presented the work-in-progress in Cornwall, Little Angel and as a scratch in Kingston. However, the show has developed considerably since then and along with the addition of Gemma, George and a new set (including a Gertie makeover) it will be interesting to see how a new audience receives the work.
Today is our last major rehearsal before Wednesday when we present the updated piece at Deptford Lounge and then at Mimetic Festival on Saturday. So far I can’t remember a point in the process where we have gone “Cool, that’s done, now let’s run that”. We often work right through the 11th hour in order to prepare and perfect the work. I’m not sure whether this comes from our shared training, that’s most at home when under pressure, or simply an insatiable need to make the work the best it can be at any given time. This method of sustained madness has however been very productive. I like the way we work and if given more time I imagine we would operate in very much the same way. Most artists are gifted at applying pressure to their situation and we are not excluded from this but it’s also important to realize and appreciate the progress we’ve made and focus on where the work is going to as well as being aware of the work we’re showing. Our aim is to give people an insight into the direction we’re heading and show them the potential of the work as we take it forward.
The emphasis on todays’ rehearsal was to run and re-run the piece, giving ourselves time to look at the finer details and any last props or technical issues we needed to either buy or fix. The show, as it is currently, is very prop heavy. This is a positive statement by the way (in case any readers were under the assumption that I was upset by that fact). The show is very visual. We transport the audience to a variety of locations in a short space of time. This of course means that (and any other artists who’ve experience this type of theatre before, especially puppeteers I recon would agree) an incredible amount of memory is required. Going through our pre-set, for example, Hattie expertly compared the exercise with a sort of Generation Game prize conveyor belt. “Yes Jim, I remember the birds, the kettle, the boats, the underground sign and the puppet.” “Congratulations Matt. Now get on stage, you’re late for your scene!”
With puppetry and visual theatre, I always see it like a dance. You have to remember your steps. You need to be in time with the music and lead your partner (Your partner being the puppet). Of course it could be argued that most theatre could be described in such a way but there is something more technical with puppetry. You’re manipulating the scene, the objects and the puppet. There are rules and techniques and beats to stick to in order to engage with the spectator. It takes a Bunraku Puppeteer decades of training in order to ascend the ranks and become head puppeteer (puppeteer of the head and right arm). It is a commitment, a sequence to be rehearsed and learnt. There is a ritual, like cooking or chemistry and when observing the cast list their assigned props and cues for transitions the parallel becomes very obvious. This is another reason why I’m always impressed when I see how quickly the group adapts to changes and developments in the piece, because it’s a whole new dance to learn. (And Matt is a fantastic dancer)
After running the show a couple of times I feel a lot more confident about the showing on Wednesday. I’m really proud of what we’ve created and also excited to see what kind of feedback we receive. We’ve come a long way and still got a lot to do but the middle is always the best, like a ham sandwich or an Oreo. (I’m not sure how relevant that analogy is but the whole blog would unfinished to me if I didn’t end it with one).
As always fans,
Thanks for reading.
Goofy Apple