Thursday 9th June

There was an air of intensity in todays rehearsal . We were all aware of the significance of how important a good run was. I wouldn't say it was a great run but , I would say it was good enough to give us the confidence we need going into tomorrows show. I have utter confidence in the cast , and the people I have worked with on this production. I have always been of the moto that no one or nothing will stand in my way when putting on a play. This has been one of those processes , and I hope we can come out the other end with a positive result . Which no doubt we will...I hope

Thursday 2nd June

Well...occasionally in theatre something magical happens . Something stemming from an incongruous situation . We decided to warm up by moving about the stage saying our lines . During this Mark , very animated , put as much creche stuff etc on the stage. All of sudden it just came to life . The mess on the stage seemed to resonate with the actors . The feeling of ease seemed to come over us all . We have finally found the answer . This answer being : Kids like to creat havoc and mess . Show this to the audience . A very promising run through , and even an almost uninterupted speed read . A major confidence booster today . I think we all came together in that four hours and realised we can achieve something brilliant. Well done to all parties today...

Thursday 26th May

The third last rehearsal . It felt a lot more fluid , and there is certainly a growing coherence among the cast . Meeting up on Tuesday for a readthrough session proved very helpful . I'm glad about a few things today ; Pieces I felt a weakness were changed . I : for the first time actually felt like I was acting , and as an ensemble we managed to agree/disagree on certain things without any malice . Using the word malice in this context is of course silly and wrong but , I'm sure one gets the picture . A couple of runs over the next two weeks , and the show should be magic . Looking forward to acting again .

Thursday 19th May

It was very cathartic having Tonia and Ross present today . Their input was invaluable , and for this I am very greatful . Lines is the most important thing at the moment . We are almost there . By next rehearsal we will all be comfortably off book . It's great to have other people do a bit of directing on my play . It makes me wonder how I'd go about directing a play written by someone else . For me :It's about making the character my own . Not someone elses . Mine

Thursday 12th May

Well....this is the first journal entry that involves me saying: I was on stage today . Not directing . Acting . It was a very surreal experience for me . My confidence wasn't very good but , we got through it , and hopefully achieved what we set out to do . The importance of ensemble for the next few weeks is imperative . I feel a good coherence between us is vital now . There was a lack of energy today but , it was due to a new beginning . I need to grasp the oppertunity , and move forward with a confidence and internal feeling of being able to achieve...even as an actor . We will succeed , and we will survive . I have confidence

Thursday 5th May

Play finally and fully blocked . It's a great feeling to know the show is blocked in its entirety . We have Five more rehearsals to fine tune it . I can't remember a rehearsal that has not been arduous but , we are an indefatigable company of arts practitioners , working at our aesthetic craft ardently and tenaciously . From now : the hard work really begins . Bring it on...

Thursday 28th April

Today was predominantly about blocking . I want to have a couple of weeks of just blocking , so we can continue the flow of battering through the play . This of course will leave earlier parts feeling rusty but , the plan is : Block , then hopefully the runs will be come more and more confident the closer the show gets . I think everyones desire to put a shift in and work hard on blocking/character etc shows , in the fact that the four hours flies by every week . Even yesterday I was concsious of not wanting to take a long break . The second half of the play is no doubt more difficult to block than the first . Mind sets change in all the characters , and a lot of the blocking become physical , and with some very small important detail neccesary for getting the point accross . I think this week Anderson took a bit of a turn . It's difficult to really know what his character is going through at this time in the play , and I guess we will only really find this out once the whole play is blocked and Marc can experience him from start to finish . The confession bit is a difficult bit to portray : trying to find the fine line between satirical , sardonic , and serious is not an easy thing to do but, that's the joy of the play I think . Emotions change constantly , hopefully keeping the audience on their meatphorical tippitoes throughout

Thursday 21st April

Approaching the end of the month , I feel it is imperative I spend maybe next week solely blocking . After some sweet drama procrastination , including improvisations , and whatnot , we only managed to block 3/4 pages . Albeit a part of the play where physicality was involved in most of the dialogue. I'm very pedantic about physical theatre . I believe in the moto ' do it properly , or change the blocking ' . This is why I tend to go over and over physical pieces . Never managed to work on Andersons mono , which was dissapointing but , hopefully next week Mark will be fully offbook for that , and then we can play about with it . It's a very powerful piece , and I feel it can have a huge impact . The rest of the play is hugely important for the actors to grasp . Giving the audience the right message from now until the end is imperative . I want the seriousness but , I also want them to see the sardonic side to the play , and I hope them to leave with an understanding that there was a certain satirical nature I wanted to get accross . Approaching the end of the play , and this is when all the fun and games happen

Thursday 14th April

A good solid run of the first 40 minutes today . A great mixture of comedy , and belligerence today . Lots of risk taking , which is always a bonus for any director . It gives me the feeling that one wants to do well . Not just for themselves , but also for the sake of the production itself . Very intrigued by the response to the being planted in a room with a single object . Always fascinates me how , if you set up a dark scene , but don't actually say it's a dark scene , the actors will still follow suit . Shades of excellence today in the run . I was worried that the cast were not taking the serious parts seriously . This is what makes the play in my opinion . With good writing , and good actors : comedy is always easier . Famous last words eh...

Thursday 7th April

How liberating it was to be in the big hall today . It meant we could get a real grasp of the stage and the approximate space everyone would have to play with . It's also the first time we have set it up proper , and it certainly looks packed with things . I feel it needs to be slightly more messy , because although it looks like a nursery , it all seems a bit symetrical. Got a fair amount blocked today . Felt a new surge of energy in the new space , and everyone seemed to up their game somewhat . We have reached the halfway point in terms of blocking and I feel more confident of slowing things down and fine tuning certain areas . Not really any complaints from todays rehearsal

Thursday 31st March

End of month one : Progress is steady . Dissapointing to not run fully off book but , still a decent flow to the performance . Lacking a slight piece of resonance as of yet , and at times I feel a little ambiguous about the juxtaposition of emotions at times , especially in Moffat . The thing that carry this though , is Marks ability to play the character and recognise what needs to be done in these parts . A lot of small , silent ,physical moments in this piece . These are something we will have to work on and perfect in the coming weeks . I've never produced a piece with such a packed stage . The table and three chairs effect is definately out the window on this one . Apparently we are getting access to the bigger room as of next week . This will be vital in the progress of the show , and I think the cast will be very happy once they have the freedom to enjoy more movement in a bigger space : A space similar in size and length to the actual space we are using . More believable characters today . This is key . Target for March Achieved . Good

Thursday 24th March

Producing a show with a cast of three always always on stage , it's always going to be difficult to orchestrate an interlude rehearsal plan . Credit to the guys though , we managed to batter threw with some interesting improvisations . We talked about these indepth a bit to much though . I feel it's easy to over analyze ones character and begin making up things that could be irrelevant to the character . The main focus of today was to read through a good few pieces , and vaguely walk through them , tentatively blocking them . We did manage to block page 18 because We didn't need Mark for that . Working on the physical pieces proved trickier than first assumed but , between us we got there in the end . I want to write a play about lycanthropy but , have no idea how I'd stage it . That was a joke . I am just acting tough because I learnt a new word today

Thursday 17th March

Assiduous and industrious : Probably the two best words to describe todays rehearsal . Finishing off with a 19 minute , very enjoyable and fluid run .The guys should be proud of what was achieved in only four hours . I tried a new focus excercise today . One which I read in a boal book . I learnt a lot from it . Mostly that these things need more time and excuse the pun - more focus . Something I have installed more into the process this time round is , inprovisaton . I feel right from the offset this has given everyone a chance to feel the edges of their character and delve into parts current unknown to the script . A lot of experimenting today , and thankfully most of it worked . I like this in our group . Noone is feared to voice up and say what they feel .

Thursday 10th March

Great to get the show up on it's feet . Felt a good vibe from the first half of rehearsals today . Everyone keen to get in and about the new script . Battered through the first 13 mins of the piece , and although a bit rusty , it will be the part that gets the most air time  dur to me blocking it chronologically . Being a packed stage , it's hard for the actors to take full advantage of this in the rehearsal room , because we have limited resources , however , they both done very well to adapt to the surroundings . Putting on the spot must have been a toughy today . Especially this early in the process . Felt a bit reticent about the blocking of the start , but this always happens when scripts are in hands . It's not just a myth the saying ' shows only come to life when actors are off book ' . Once Anderson enters next week , we will have a better picture of how everyone will look and converge together on stage

Thursday 3rd March - Readthrough

The thing that amazes me most about theatre , and also life : Is just how time flies . I remember the start of Robin Red Breast vividly , and now my brain is having to comprehend the beggining of yet another production . The readthrough went really well today . It clocked at just over an hour , but of course this is entirely innacurate , as readthroughs always are . The thing that amazed me most about this production is how well everyone suited their particular parts . There is more scope for humour in this piece . Not that this is neccesarily a good thing , but just good to know that it fits into the theme I am aiming for in both Leith fest and Fringe . It is possible this could be our most visual set . Trying to find the middle line between looking like a nursery and also looking like a stage will be interesting . I want people to get that homely sense of being in a nursery , maybe mores so than other shows . I feel it will help set the tone and make people realise more and more the relevance of what the play is actually about . There is never much to say after a readthrough , except , the journey begins again....