Juxtaposed!

Well, Wednesday evening was memorable! Dressed in all our finery, Holly, Toby, Chris and I took to the streets of Cambridge - poor Jared had caught a chill from our first performance so was sensibly taking it easy at home. So the four of us strode out in character to make an impression.

And I think we did. Whilst Chris and I, as heroic Prince and Summer Queen, made our way to the Market Square to dance amidst the Christmas lights, Holly and Toby (aka Ice Henchwoman and the green Keeper)headed to Starbucks in Borders. Having ordered coffee silently with the use of a chalk and slate, the two sat down to a game of chess. We then met up in a bar to play a silent card game gambling with gem stones and trinkets. A fantasy world fully formed in some rather everyday locations. What a juxtaposition.


Hats off to Holly's innovative direction, we each had aninstruction to hold onto when our improv inspiration ran a little dry. Princely Chris searched on an old, sepia-toned map, Toby could 'block' any street with his impressive stature and I would look lovingly at red shoes in the shop windows.

Now I'm fascinated at people's reactions to what we're doing. During our daytime performances so far we've had young teenage girls applaud loudly, young teenage boys shout unmentionables at us, we've had little children stare in awe and wonder and parents smile broadly. Adults alone will usually either do their best to ignore us or smile in a confused but intrigued manner.


With Wednesday evening's frolics being past most children's bedtimes (and mine really in all honesty!) and with a sparser cast we really had nowhere to hide. As a performer it was heart-pounding but we soon found out we had to throw ourselves into it to see where it lead.

The more we engaged with people, the more they seemed to respond positively (a flyer explaining things seemed to help!). The more confidence with which we hold ourselves the stronger the impact. Sticking together as a team seemed to show it's a performance although seeing the reaction to a lone performer is fascinating as well. It is so rewarding to see any reaction on people's faces, positive, scared, confused, whatever: Cambridge has a reputation for being rather reserved so to get the people of the city responding in any way is exciting.

This project is something captivating, something absurd, something DIFFERENT. It's worth being excited about.

The performance - Part One

A quick post tonight, as I have come down with a bad cold after all that running around outside at the weekend and badly need some sleep. From the look of the photos taken, though, it was worth it -A little girl looks in wonderment at Radha's Winter Queen.People stare as Toby passes by.

And the actors are applauded by two girls who passed us by on their way to the Grafton Centre then stopped and watched on the way back.

And to give you some idea of the actual performance, here's one of Chris as the Prince and Jared as his wolf servant trying to reach the King as he lies dying (cheering stuff):More to come soon from other members of the company...

An odd sort of shopping trip

So I'm going into Cambridge tomorrow to rummage through charity shops and costume places for the final bits and pieces for 'Everyday Fairytales'. I made out a list of everything I need to find. Below is a trunkated version of some of the wackiest:

Prosthetic glue
Red corsets x 2
Leg warmers
Green hair spray
Pointy ears x 8
Thick brown socks x 3
A beard

I think that speaks for itself...

And below is another photo from Sunday's rehearsal, just because:

It's blurry because I'm still getting used to the new camera. Radha as the Snow Queen (in mask), Chris as the Prince, and Max playing Toby's part (the dead King) very effectively I think.

The Day after the Night Before

...or something like that.
The day after rehearsals for 'Everyday Fairytales' has traditionally gone something like this:
1. Rehearsal photos are posted on Facebook.
2. Everyone makes witty comments about said photos.
3. Juliette emails me lots of ideas and questions arising from rehearsal.
4. I realise how much still has to be done.
Today 3 and 4 came before 1 and 2, as I have just got back from a long day of reading scripts for Menagerie Theatre Company (I work there part time as their 'Literary Associate' - sounds a lot more glamorous than it actually is) and attending meetings for Horseshoe Theatre Company (for whom I'm directing a devised piece at the Round Church next Easter), and am just beginning to download photos from my father's snazzy new camera. We got some lovely shots, and some embarrassing ones too (in one episode I play a snake-like 'temptress', and we rehearsed my scene with Chris yesterday - it's very hard pretending to seduce your good friend of eight years!). We also got this photo of Radha's son Manu, who brought his play-dough to rehearsal and was generally adored by all of us:
So much for 1 and 2. As for 3 - Juliette always reminds me of all the things that I think of during rehearsal and neglect to jot down. Such as - how characters are going to 'appear' on Christs Pieces or how any characters that may or may not die (I'm trying not to ruin Saturday's show for anyone who may be coming along!) will be transported to a 'backstage' area. And more often than not, I find it's the simplest solution that is the best.
But, as ever, there's always tonnes to be done still before the opening performance. We're several costumes short of a full wardrobe, so I'm going to be spending my Friday hunting around charity shops for grey coats, and picking out leaves and twigs from my garden to go into tree imps' hair (the actors are going to love that). But I know it will all get done in the end.
It's not just 'Everyday Fairytales' that's all go go go. 'Beowulf' launched last weekend and we're now into the beginning stages of marketing, as the lovely Janet Cornish - secretary of the Cambridge Preservation Society - has been in touch asking for blurb for various newsletters. And the script is well underway: we had two extracts read by local actors Gary Mackay, Matt Brown and Juliette at the launch and got some very positive and constructive feedback on them. Now to write the rest of the script!

Revamp!

At last the new website is up and running, just a week before the first proper performance of 'Everyday Fairytales' (our first 'non-proper' performance was as part of the Christmas Lights Parade in November, where we did some movement in the Grafton Centre and were rewarded by large crowds and a number of rowdy children chasing Jared in his wolf's costume).
We had our final rehearsal this afternoon. I'm usually very stressed on such occassions but today I was remarkably calm. Possibly this has something to do with the fact that 'Everyday Fairytales' is basically improvised physical theatre, so it's good for me to let go instead of trying to choreograph every move in minute detail. With this project the spontaneity of the movement is very important.
Then after rehearsal some of us went on to CB2 - a wonderful little cafe/restaurant on Norfolk Street with a basement that new writing company WriteOn! use for their series of rehearsed readings. Juliette had written and was acting in a very powerful monologue - I was blown away by the ideas behind the piece. And she says she isn't a writer!