As I write this on the 192 bus (hopefully I won't get mugged for my laptop!) the clock is ticking until the metaphorical curtain rises for the first performance of Marina and the Clone.
It's such a privilege to have been part of this process. Richard Douglas wrote Barbara The Zoo Keeper 4 or 5 years ago and we produced it for the stage 2 years ago. He wrote it through the Intro and Advanced courses, where we developed the characters, the story and eventually brought it to life. The script is now available for purchase through WriteForTheStage Books.
Richard joined the Advanced course a second time to write Marina and the Clone. He said that it was useful to have the structure of the course and to have the deadlines inherent as part of the process. It was read at Development Week, the audience gave feedback and the script developed as a result. He entered it for BBC WritersRoom and it was long listed from over 2000 scripts. Richard later did the WFTS Producing course where he learned all about the skills required for a fringe theatre producer and as part of that course, he wrote his Arts Council application and the funding came through.
So, after another process of development, taking into account the feedback from the BBC, Richard wrote another draft of the script which is what we started to work with 3 weeks ago.
Rehearsals are a journey in themselves. Everyone goes through a really intense process of questioning, experimenting and evaluating. I like to work with a collaborative focus when I'm directing. I like to encourage playfulness, especially when the text is comedy. We did a load of exercises to find the ridiculous which was a starting point for the character development. It's been such a great experience - the actors have been amazing, totally accepting and willing to humour my pushes towards silliness and they've responded with a piece of work that, I think, will make the audience laugh a lot. Just as I have in the rehearsal room.
So, now the get-in looms. I'm just on my way to the Kings Arms now. We have just over 6 hours to get the piece together in the space.
We open tonight at 7.30pm. Friday has sold out, but there is still availability Wed, Thurs and Sat. Book online here.
We hope you can make it!
