As I sit in the dressing room on the opening night of the show I can feel the adrenaline of the other cast members ricocheting off the walls. I am sat quietly in a corner going over in my mind all of my cues, the dance routine in the opening scene and my lines for the second act. My thoughts are interrupted by a tannoy announcement “The cast of Pinocchio, this is your beginner’s call. Please start standing by; this is your Act 1 beginner’s call”. This was it; I gather my group, ensuring everyone is ready and set to go on stage. As we walk through the dark corridors, lit only by the blue backstage light, my stomach reiterates my nerves by doing a slight flutter.
In the auditorium the stage is set with a large red and gold circus tent hanging from the ceiling. As the audience take their seats and the house lights begin to dim, three objects and dragged on stage by cast members. All is quite apart from the distance sound of whistling which becomes increasingly louder as Geppetto walks through the auditorium and onto the stage. While he whistles he removes the cloth covering two of the objects to reveal two very brightly coloured puppets.
Backstage, behind the curtain I am stood holding a washing basket watching the monitor, awaiting my cue. Gepetto begins to sing about carving a puppet as he uncovers Pinocchio, the third puppet hidden under the cloth. As he carves, the puppet comes to life arm by arm, leg by leg until the puppet Pinocchio is larger than life and ruder than ever! “You are the worst father a puppet has ever had” booms Pinocchio, “and you, are the rudest puppet a father has ever met!” retorts Geppetto. This is my cue. As I walk onto the stage, through the blinding lights that are painting the stage with a fountain of colours I can just about make out the silhouettes of hundreds of people. All of whom are staring at me, awaiting the next instalment of the story being told to them.
My job at this point is to show my distain towards Pinocchio’s behaviour through body language and facial expressions. Pinocchio begins to run around the stage causing havoc and distruction, including emptying the contents of my washing basket across the stage! He runs through the audience singing and performing aerobatics.
We begin to sing and dance telling the story of how we are able to catch this puppet and find out why he is behaving in such a way. We finish the song and run off stage. We did it, the first scene is over with, and as I walk back through the dark corridor and up to the dressing room, my heart is pumping and adrenaline is pumping through my veins at a rapid rate. I now wait, wait for the next scene and for another rush excitement.
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Monday, 4 January 2010
Writing Style 3
“We work using an inclusive creative process which means everyone is welcome, and everyone is valued”
(http://www.chickenshed.org.uk/about/main)
Chickenshed Theatre Company was founded in 1974 by Mary Ward and Jo Collins with the vision of creating a theatre company that would be accessible and available to anyone with a passion to perform, 35 years later this can still be seen in every aspect of their work. They would describe their method of theatre as inclusive theatre, an ethos that aims to make every aspect of the workshopping, rehearsals, production and performance accessible to all, be it performer or audience member.
This vision can be seen today within Chickensheds workshops, education programs and regular performances and shows, both onsite and at outside locations. It runs workshops either as a regular commitment or as one off events, for children, adults or schools/companies. These aim to include everyone who is interested regardless what their situation might be, as long as there is an interest, anyone is welcome. As the Chickenshed website states “These workshops are all underpinned by our inclusive creative process which harnesses the creativity of each individual, and magnifies it, to make theatre that belongs to everyone.” At present Chickenshed has over “600 amazing children and young people” involved in workshops, as members, on a regular basis. Anyone can become a member however the waiting list has over 2000 names of potential members all waiting to become a part of this unique setup.
In terms of education Chickenshed was the first centre, and remains the front runner, to teach inclusive performing arts. Like the workshops it is open to anyone who shows interest in the arts and is willing to do what it takes to develop and progress. Not only does it provide the chance for youngsters to learn about the world of performing arts it also provides nationally recognised and accredited qualifications such as courses at BTEC, foundation degree and MA level. As well as working in workshops, both active and written based, students also take part in performances alongside company members.
Chickensheds values and visions can best be seen through its performances. In its current production of Pinocchio, an adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s original story from “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, it combines drama, dance and music, sign language, audio description and captioning to create an inclusive experience for both audience and cast. The ethos of inclusion can be seen in the 600+ cast, which is split into 4 rotas that perform 15 shows each throughout the run and is lead by a group of core cast who participate in all 60 shows. This allows all of the members of Chickenshed’s children, youth workshops and its students to partake in the show if they so please, without the story or quality being compromised. The involvement of sign language in the show not only allows deaf cast members to follow cues on stage, it also does not exclude certain audience member from being able to watch the performance.
So with this in mind can Chickenshed’s vision of “everyone is welcome, everyone is valued” still be seen to be working today. I feel that their latest production of Pinocchio not only shows this but also shows the potential the company has to further this vision in the future.
Writing Style 2
The stage is set with a large red and gold circus tent hanging from the ceiling. As the audience take their seats and the house lights begin to dim, three objects are dragged on stage by cast members. All is quite apart from the distance sound of whistling which becomes increasingly louder as Geppetto walks through the auditorium and onto the stage. While he whistles he removes the cloth covering two of the objects to reveal two very brightly coloured puppets. Gepetto begins to sing about carving a puppet as he uncovers Pinocchio, the third puppet hidden under the cloth and as he does so one of the other puppets begins to sign as Geppetto sings. As he carves, the puppet comes to life arm by arm, leg by leg until the puppet Pinocchio is larger than life and ruder than ever! The stage suddenly comes to life with cast members, some doing washing, others gossiping, all doing intriguing things for the audience to feast their eyes on.
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Sunday, 3 January 2010
Writing Style 1 Draft 2
Chickenshed Theatre Company would like to cordially invite you to their Christmas production of Carlo Codolli’s Pinocchio.Chickenshed are bringing this production back to life for a second time in what promises to be even better than the first. Experience the magic as the two hundred strong cast inclusively incorporate dance, drama, music and sign language to re tell an age old classic!
Follow Pinocchio along his journey as he transforms from a wooden puppet into a real life boy, from naughty to nice, and even into a donkey! Watch as the 7ft tall, hip HOPPING cricket bounces his way across the stage and marvel as the Blue Fairy enchants you with her aerobatics on the suspended circus ring.
This production is the perfect outing to get you into the Christmas spirit as the Chickenshed cast turns this fantastic classic into a truly unique and original experience for all the family. Never has a production made the audience feel so involved in a story as this one does, with characters popping up in the auditorium and magical songs encouraging them to sing and clap along.
Brought to you from their theatre in the heart of London’s Southgate, this production runs from the 9th December until 16th January.
Ticket prices:
Previews (Wed 9 – Sat 12 December):
Stalls: £12, Gallery: £10
Peak performances (Fri 18 December – Saturday 2 January):
Stalls: £19.50, Gallery: £13.50
Standard performances (all other dates):
Stalls: £18, Gallery: £12
Concessions are available for all performances.
Sign Language is integrated into all performances
Captioned performances:
Friday 18 December at 7.30pm
Friday 8 January at 12pm
Saturday 9 January at 3.30pm
Audio-described performances:
Wednesday 23 December at 7.30pm
Wednesday 6 January at 1pm & 7.30pm
Friday 8 January at 7.30pm
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