Sunday, April 24, 2016

Presentation Presented, 8Squared Space Search and Shakespeare Celebrations

And we are off! That's the first week of the new term complete. Monday we ran through our research presentations for our advisors, received our notes and then worked like mad to implement the notes and final changes in time for Wednesday's delivery date. We feel good about our work and hope the marking panel did as well. We await the score. I learned quite a bit about marketing imagery and how to tell a story through a single advertising poster. I'm sure it will come in handy for my future work.

The production team for 8Squared: A Night of New Writing reconvened to plan our next show. We face a few extra challenges this time around. Mainly because the school has denied our request for a performance space. Apparently there isn't a studio available. This will be a good exercise for Trish and me. We are the two from the producing course on the production team. The venue conundrum is an ever present issue for producers. Unless a theatre company has a permanent building of their own, there is always a search for a space. Heck, even with those that do have a home, many are constantly looking to renovate it or move to a new space. As producers we need to get comfortable and learn how to navigate through a venue search. We have already made some enquiries and I have confidence in our innovation and perseverance.

Yesterday the theatre and literature worlds paid tribute to William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death. A few of us from my course went to the local cinema to watch the live streaming of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Shakespeare Live!. The RSC showcased scenes from Shakespeare's plays as well as opera, musical theatre, music and dance performances that were inspired by Shakespeare and his works. We saw a bit of West Side Story which is based on Romeo and Juliet. We saw a duet from the opera Beatrice and Benedict by Berlioz that is inspired by Much Ado About Nothing. Duke Ellington's Black and Tan Fantasy based on Othello was represented. And many, many more. It was a delight to see so many stars participate in the show. David Tennant and Catherine Tate were hosts and Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, David Suchet, Harriet Walter and Ian McKellen were just a handful of the talents featured.

This week is a full schedule. The first musical theatre writing class is coming on Friday but before that, I've got tickets to shows, meetings to attend and most importantly, a performance space to acquire. I'll let you know how it goes.
In the meantime, have a look around your community and see what options are available for where can a performance group present a show.

Take care!
-m

Sunday, April 17, 2016

New Term, New Decisions

Tomorrow we begin our third term. We kick off with a week of research presentations and then settle into a routine schedule. Thursdays will be various lectures for our producing course and Fridays will be something called Options. On Fridays all the Masters students from all courses will engage in an elective class that was selected last term. 

I will be in 'Writing for Musical Theatre'. We will focus on the craft of book writing for musicals. The book of a musical is the text script of dialogue that is spoken between songs. Writing a book for a musical requires a set of techniques that are not usually needed when writing a non-musical. There are special considerations for how to transition into songs and how to deliver plot information quickly between songs. This will be a unique class, rarely available, especially to those not specifically geared to a career as a script writer. Good stuff!

On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays we will work on placement assignments with production companies or on our own independent projects. I'm looking at a few projects on which I would like to focus but I will certainly keep my eyes peeled for exciting placements that might be available. 

This term is going to be crucial because in many ways, it is the last term. Come June, when this term ends, the baby birds will be forced out of the nest. Our MA classmates will be done with their course. Those of us on the MFA track will move on to our second year, which is independent study. No more classes. The MFA students will have the support of our school and its resources but we will gain our credits by working in the field and submitting written assignments regarding the work.

Therefore, this term will be a time of great reflection and decisions. I will be taking the time this term to set myself up for all of next year. I will need to decide what exactly I want to accomplish and how I wish to document my journey. I will need to decide where I wish to work and how I wish to work and with whom I would like to work. There is still much to explore in the theatre scene here in London and also throughout the UK and Europe. All this knowledge awaits me and I am excited to dig in and examine my choices.

For now, I must focus on the marketing research my team and I will deliver this week. 
In the meantime, go see some theatre!

Take care!
-m 




Sunday, April 10, 2016

Return to Research

We have one week left of our glorious term break. However, the work has already begun. Today I met with my research group and we revisited our project to prepare for the first week of term. All the Master's students will present their research in a week long forum the week we are back.

Preparing this research has been a journey for us. We started by looking at what happens to marketing and production when traditionally male characters are converted to female in adaptations of classic literature. Our focus was to be the Sherlock Holmes series. Where did we end up? Analyzing the graphic design on the poster marketing campaign for two different adaptations of Alice in Wonderland. It seems a logical metamorphosis, no?

Here's the trick. Scope. We had to keep checking in with the scope of the project and what we could actually accomplish and access in both the preparation time and parameters of the assignment. It was necessary to focus in on a manageable topic that we could adequately cover. We only have fifteen minutes to deliver the dissertation and there is actually quiet a bit to discuss on the topic. Graphic design for marketing campaigns is a vast subject with lots of history and method behind what goes on to a single print advertisement for a product.

Melanie, what does that have to do with producing theatre? Everything. Marketing is absolutely crucial. It does no good to have an incredible product if no one knows to come see it. Posters are very often the initial calling card for a show presented to a potential patron. Jane Patron sees the poster in a shop window, on the subway train or on the theatre building as she walks by. The images and information must make her stop, view the poster and then compel her to buy a ticket or at the very least find out more about the show.

The graphic design in the marketing campaign is the very first step in the storytelling for a theatre piece. Through it we can let the patron know what kind of show it will be, the genre, if it is a musical, what type of venue, what time of day and year and maybe who is in it. Colors, pictures and fonts will convey mood and topic. The combination of all the elements will give the potential patron a sense of what to expect and thus if it is something they should like to experience.

For a producer, understanding how the graphic design represents your show is critical to making sure you are representing your show and company the right way and to the right audience. It is the packaging for your product and it needs to communicate what you offer.

My team and I have a few more work dates before we present in two weeks. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, check out show posters for local productions in your area. Do they make you want to see the show?

Until next week...
Take care!
-m







Sunday, April 3, 2016

Ovations and Olivier Awards

Tonight the London theatre community gathered together to celebrate another season of fine work for the stage. The Society of London Theatre presented awards for Best Play, Musical, Actor, Actress, Costume Design, Set Design, Lighting Design, Director and about 18 more awards for exceptional work in London theatres. The Olivier Awards are London's answer to the Tony Awards, which are the awards given to the best Broadway contributions of a season. Many an aspiring theatre maker wishes that one day they could take home that very special accolade.

In 1976 I, along with the Olivier awards, were born. It was a good year. In the beginning they were called the Society of West Ends Theatre Awards and the 12 winners took home Wedgwood urns commissioned for the occasion, nicknamed Urnies. In 1979, Lord Laurence Olivier received a special honorary award from the Society for his contribution to London theatre. It wasn't until 1984 when the Society renamed the awards the Olivier Awards and a new design for the award came about. 

During my recent work at Hampstead Theatre, I had the pleasure of holding an Olivier Award. The Hampstead earned one last year for Best New Musical for Sunday Afternoon. The Oliviers are heavy trophies made from bronze and featuring a bust of Olivier as his incarnation of Henry V.

Laurence Olivier is one of the greatest actors to ever grace the stage and I might add, he is a Central graduate. Go team Central! He died in 1989 but he and his contemporaries set the bar in our industry hence, the Olivier Awards.

Tonight Judi Dench made history by beating her own record. Dench has more Oliviers than anyone else. She now has 8 Olivier Awards in her curio cabinet. 

Hangmen by Martin McDonagh won best play and Kinky Boots by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein won best musical. 


This coming week I hope to get out and see some of these shows. I'll let you know how I do. In the meantime, have a look in your region and see what kind of awards are available to local theatre makers. 

Take care!
-m

The Olivier Award