February 23rd

Another rehearsal full of progress, fighting with recovery, risk taking, line issues, a major problem which will never happen again, wonderful moments, poor moments, scenes at their peak, scenes lost in a chasm, lines delivered with precision, lines still trying to be mastered, teas being drunk, banter and jokes being thrown around. Just another day of rehearsal for That's Lunch.

I was happy but at the same time dissapointed with the run. From start to finish it was a piece of theatre. One with a storyline, characters with fluidity and realness, and the odd twist here there and everywhere. However, at the moment, although progression was definately there, I feel it can still go up a notch. lines of course have a lot to do with it, but also nerves. The play really needs an audience now. Tuesday is a big day. The last oppertunity to run the show from start to finish. There is along weekend for everyone to think over todays rehearsal and come back stronger next week. There is a reason you have rehearsals : to eradicate the mistakes and make sure they don't happen on the night. This is something we have done well. By next week we will be there. I'm very confident of that. We have a good cast and a good script. What else can one ask for ?

February 21st

I felt that working on the second half, and the second half only was of great importance today. As I've previoulsy stated, it's very easy to get caught up in the blocking and forget about the possibility of script nepotism . The end is something we have worked on extensively, and I think we finally have it nailed. I felt, (although tedious and boring) a full read through was on the cards. At this stage going from start to finish can help one appreciate the intricacies of the whole piece, now that everyone has established their characters/individual journeys. The piece is definately set out in two halfs, both as pivotal as the other. The first half is for establishing the character, the plot and the growing relationship between Kenny and Darren. The second half is fast, exciting, objective and the poignancy is there in abundance. Not just in terms of lines delivered, but in the audience being kept on their toes until the denouement , which comes out subtly in the perfectly constructed lecture, which Archie thrives on, leading Darren and Kenny into an uncomfortable place. With the adequate space, which we have in abundance in whitespace, this could be a very special piece of theatre.

February 16th

I got the impression there was a slight air of dissapointment after Tuesdays run, and as expected, this was atoned by todays performance. Stil a bit to go, but a million miles better than Tuesday. People are starting to take more risks, feel and look more confortable on stage, and most importantly : saying their lines with confidence, as if they actually know them and are not struggling to look deep for them. The second half is weaker, but blocking chronologically means the first half has had more air time. The next rehearsal will be pirely focussing on the second half, and then hopefully Thursday run will be a success leading into show week :)

February 14th - First run

Now that everything is blocked, we had our first oppertunity to see the piece in its entirety . Cast members have fine tuned their characters throughout the process, and now was there chance to fit all the pieces together. It was what I expected. Slightly nervy, more convincing in the first half, and somewhat lacking in confidence of lines, however, when it was good it was brilliant. I was not dissapointed, because I know how hard people have worked, but in a way glad. Having another few runs ahead of us is good. Gradual progress is what we're after now, and I think that is what we'll see as show turns comes creeping over the horizon.

February 9th

Well...We did rehearse today, but believe it or not, it was a four hour camera shooting. No theatre, just hardcore filming. I have commisioned Thought out Media to make a trailer of the show for us, and we were all very impressed with Gills hard work and focus in putting this together. I hope this can help with the press release and maybe grip peoples attention a bit more when they see some of the poignant lines in the script. I'm very impressed with how all the cast handled themselves today. The professionalism was there for all to see. The production is imminent, but we're ready, and will be extra ready come 1st March.

February 7th

Today was a momentous day in the evolution of Arch in the greenhouse : The show is finally fully blocked. This of course is where the hard work really begins, however, we still have enough rehearsals to go from stagger throughs to run throughs to perfection. The journey of the blocking has been a mixture of aggrivation, fighting with visceral emotions and touching up on those things that seem meaningless, but are just another way of me striving for perfection. Let the runs commence...

February 2nd

Although I had some dissapointments with regards to the run today, there were also some outstanding moments. Lines were of course the over-riding factor that helped aid my dissapointment, but this does not mean I wasn't left satisfied. Let's not forget about the first part whilst blocking the second half. Afterall, if people don't enjoy the first half, they won't be interested in the second half.

A very hard working week this week : battered on for two hours solid today, before even switching on the kettle. Very nearly completed blocking.  A trailer being made for the show next week, which is rather exciting. Hopefully this will help with the promotion. February now...onwards and upwards me hopes

January 31st

A real breakthrough day for me today. Not just a coincidence that todays rehearsal was the half way point, because this is usually the time this cathartic feeling kicks in. I deployed a more pragmatic approach tonight. Spending a bit more time blocking, and a bit less time being pernickity. Allowing people to express is imperative. There was a real feeling of concentration and belief when we ran what had been blocked. It's amazing what a few focus exercises can help you achieve. January over . Satisfied : Fuck ye

January 26th

Very impressed with the commitment put in this week, considering we were a man down. A lot achieved today . again. Now feel like we can go into Month two with more of an open mind, and a far better picture of the piece as a whole. 500 tetley teas down....500 to go

January 24th

This week was always going to be difficult. Only 66.6% of the cast are here Tuesday/Thursday, and being the type who thrives on blocking chronologically, because I feel it helps with emotion, we were alays going to slightly struggle.

Fortunately, the next scene doesn't involve Archie, so we managed to batter through that. Apart from this, we drank many cups of tea and had deep discussions about the intricate details of the script.

January 19th

Reheasing Tuesday, Thursday is really good when it comes to the Thursday, because their is still a freshness in the vicinity due to a very small interlude between rehearsals.

We battered, succesfully through another 6/7 minutes of script, bringing the current running time to 24 mins. The plot really begins to thicken at this point, meaning a deeper focus was needed today. A focus which thankfully this cast seem to have taken in their stride

Let's not get too complacent, and ensure the hard work stays at an optimum level

January 17th

Great rehearsal today. Very entertaining, and a huge amount achieved in only three hours. Around twenty minutes blocked. Great progression from all involved . The fun element was there tonight and everyone is bonding really well. Always good for the equlibrium, demeanor, countenance, disposition and all those other words that will make people think I'm a clever bastard.

January 12th

It's a while since I enjoyed a rehearsal as much as I enjoyed today. The success rate of the requisite excercises was very high, and we battered through about 10 pages of blocking. The final run through was about 14 minutes.

I do feel a slight ambivalence and ambiguity about the fact there is a lot of physical adlibbing . This is obvioulsy due to a lack of props/set at present. This will of course be rectified as soon as possible, and although we will never have a full set, one always has to adapt to their surroundings when moving to the actual performance space.

Everyone is still finding their feet and evidently still searching for their characters, but this is normal, and of course neccesary to achieve maximun performance. A definate progression from Tuesday, and let's hope this flow continues.

January 10th

Excellent feeling being able to start blocking, and although we only managed the first five minutes, this is what I will come to expect of the Tuesday night - being the shorter rehearsal .

Archie doesn't have a huge amount to do in the early parts of the play, however, he is still evident on stage and adds to the building poignancy surrounding the predicament both Kenny and Darren find themselves in.

I feel cronologically is the way forward when blocking this piece. Characters grow with time, and the cast need to feel this journey as show times approaches ever closer.

January 5th

I think everyone involved will have taken a huge amount from todays rehearsal. Discussing the script in great detail is very cathartic, and at the same time imperative for character building. I think we all have a better picture of the role Kenny, Darren and Archie all have to play to make this piece complete .

The group as a whole seemed relaxed and comfortable in each others company. Being able to transcend is something every actor yearns for, and I think we have a more than capable cast. The fact that everyone had their own opinions on every scene was very pleasing for me. I like to elicit as much as I can . I feel listening to each other is key, and this involves me listening to the actors as much as them listening to me.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out on the stage, having a lot of physicality to deal with, not to mention subtext. But with some catchy lines and poignant moments, I'm sure we will find the middle ground with regards to comedy/serious. I've been wanting to produce the show for a while, and am delighted to have started.