Posted on No Comments on Ellies Bedtime Routine

Ellies Bedtime Routine

Let me start this off by saying I love sleep. I absolutely adore it. If I could sleep for 10 hours a day I would. Unfortunately, sleep does not love me. I’ve struggled with my sleep for several years, been diagnosed with insomnia and been through my fair share of sleep medication. Though my sleep is much improved I still have bouts of insomnia and I’m a very fussy sleeper.

I always try to stop doing work around 6 or 7pm, taking the evenings off in the hope that I can unwind and therefore fall asleep more quickly. Generally, I will have a shower in the evening, the hot water relaxes me and helps me to wash off the stress of the day. Around 10pm I will begin the bedtime routine. Firstly, I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth. I pass through the kitchen on the way back to my bedroom, so here I will make a stop to fill up my water bottle for the night. When I return to my bedroom I shut my door and turn on my bedside lamp on to the brightest of its 3 settings; I have one of those touch lamps with 3 settings, I don’t know what I’d do without it as dimming my room really helps to relax me and put me in the frame of mind for sleep, I warned you, I’m a fussy sleeper.

Next, I get changed into a comfy pair of pyjamas, brush my hair into a pony tail, put my large pillow on my bed and sit, with the duvet over my legs, in my bed. I then dim my bedside lamp to the middle setting. Here I take my contact lenses out and put my glasses on (always the best part of the day) and start my skincare routine. Firstly, I remove my makeup and cleanse my face (also a wonderful moment in my day) then use eye cream and moisturiser. At this point I dim my light to its lowest setting, so that the majority of my room is relatively dark and lie down with my big pillow still propped underneath me. I will normally watch a bit of Netflix after this, probably something mindless (but wonderful) such as Gossip Girl or Friends. Now, I used to always have to read before I went to bed, firstly because I enjoyed it and secondly as it was the only way I could sleep but I seem to be skipping this stage of the night-time routine at the moment as I’m so tired. However, sleep and I are once again not friends so maybe I need to get reading again!

After watching Netflix or reading, whichever comes last, I take my glasses off, put my phone on charge and lie it face down on the bed next to me (so that the brightness doesn’t wake me up in the night), throw my big pillow on the floor and and turn off my lamp. I end the evening by rolling onto my right side, tucking my arm underneath my head and most likely stressing about the amount I need to get done the following day.

So there we have it! That was my very high-maintenance bedtime routine.

Goodnight! E.W.

Posted on No Comments on Getting started

Getting started

I believe I am settling in nicely with my role as creative designer. As a group we have recently discussed the topic of sleep. More specifically looking into things that affect sleep, such as sleeping disorders, dreams and sleep myths. We found that each member had an interesting story to tell relating to sleep which then created a discussion around the importance of sleep to human survival.

Recently a few members of our theatre company attended Lincoln Performing Arts Centre to watch The Duke (2018). From the very beginning, when the audience first entered the theatre, the fourth wall was broken. Which is an imaginary wall that separates the audience from the plays action, typically used in traditional, proscenium art theatre. This unconventional style of theatre really inspired us, as the actor waited to greet every audience member, shake their hand and ask how they were, which as an audience member made me feel relaxed and part of the performance. Relating back to our own ideas around the theme of sleep, we want to invite the audience members to relax, feel involved and understand the importance of sleep. To help with this, I believe they should see that the actors are also comfortable and relaxed, and with our current ideas, I decided I would like to enhance this by having our actors in pyjamas throughout the performance.  Although I decided against the actors wearing the exact same pyjamas, as I believe that would take away from the relaxing atmosphere we want to create, as the costume would then be more of a uniform.

Throughout my individual research I found that the colour blue was related to the best sleeping patterns, as “blue is thought to slow the heart rate and even reduce blood pressure” (McCann, 2013) and “those with bedrooms this colour tend to get the best rest – nearly eight hours a night – and wake feeling happy and positive” (McCann, 2013). This particular thought is something I found interesting, because it is not usually something considered when decorating a bedroom. I know it is certainly not something I have thought about until now. I decided to incorporate this into our costumes, by introducing a blue theme with all sets of pyjamas and asked members of the company to check their own wardrobes for such clothing.

L.F.

Works Cited.

Dale-Jones, S. (2018) The Duke [live performance]. Performed by Shon Dale-Jones. Lincoln: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, 8 February.

McCann, J. (2013) Want a good night’s sleep? Find out which colours you should use in the bedroom (and avoid) for decent kip. Daily Mail, 16 May. Available from www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325476/Want-good-nights-sleep-Find-colours-use-bedroom-avoid-decent-kip.html [accessed 5th February 2018].

Posted on No Comments on Designing the Sound!

Designing the Sound!

As a sound designer, I want to make sure that every piece of audio which is used within the show related in some way shape or form to sleep, even if the track was instrumental. I want to make sure that all of the audio tracks correlate and provides a clear thread throughout the show itself, from the intro dance sequence to the bows.

 

For the role of technical designer I have started researching and listening to a variety of songs/sounds which relate to sleeping/dreaming. Furthermore, the show structure correlates to a sleep cycle which requires sound effects to distinguish between each stage. The stages of sleep are “characterized by a reduction in physiological activity. As sleep deepens, a person’s brain waves slow down and gain amplitude, both breathing and the heart rate slow down, and the individual’s blood pressure drops” (National Sleep Foundation, 2018). Therefore, I took audio which is supposed to help you sleep and edited that same audio for the five stages of sleep. I slowed stages two, three and four down and made stage five (REM) quick to match the ‘rapid’ eye movement of that stage. Below is the audio of the different stages of sleep, which represents the deceleration of brain waves through the sleep cycle.

 

– Transition for stage 2

– Transition stage 3

– Transition stage 4

– Transition for stage 5 (REM)

(MacLeod, 2014)

 

I also edited a song which is about night terrors for our night terrors scene. I made the audio disorientated in order to represent the ‘giant’ (which is told in the night terrors verbatim), by embodying the creature’s breathing and ‘growling’ and therefore manifesting the giant. This was used for the background audio within that scene, however, when hearing the subtle growls and groans it leaves you feeling eerie while being fed the description of the night terror. Below is the final edit of the night terrors audio:

(LilyPichu, 2012)

 

All sound effects and songs are edited through the use of iMovie. Within this, I am experimenting with effects on the audio which deepen the audio and also speed it up. The box in the screenshot below shows the different effects I am experimenting with.

Screen Shot 2018-05-24 at 11.53.00
iMovie application sound editing

(Apple, 2018)

 

C.D.

 

 

Works Cited

Apple (2018) iMovie [software]. Apple. Available from https://www.apple.com/uk/imovie/ [accessed February 12 2018].

 

LilyPichu (2012) Slendy’s Lullaby [ video]. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSLz6Vhl6Rs [accessed 12 February 2018].

 

MacLeod, K. (2014) Music to sleep in 5 MIN [ video]. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ldGvNwRiQ [accessed 15 February 2018].

 

National Sleep Foundation (2018) Stages of Human Sleep. National Sleep Foundation. Available from http://sleepdisorders.sleepfoundation.org/chapter-1-normal-sleep/stages-of-human-sleep/ [accessed 12 February 2018].

 

 

Posted on No Comments on Settling In

Settling In

Hey everyone!

I like to think I’m settling into the role of Stage Manager quite nicely. Having experience with the role in Shakespeare, one thing I was particular in requesting was weekly production meetings. I think this is an efficient way of ensuring that everyone in the company is aware of what they need to do and when. I also think it is extremely important for all company members to be aware of what is going on within the company, even if they do not have a production role e.g. director, dramaturg, choreographer. This is a beneficial way of guaranteeing that everyone is on the same page. I have been inspired by the Lincoln Drill Hall for this concept, they are a local theatre venue who ensure that all members of the venue are aware of everything at the Drill Hall. This is so that if any customer comes in and is curious about something any one of the staff will be able to give an answer! Although, this reasoning doesn’t directly link to why I would like to enforce this method, Larry Fazio states that “it is important and beneficial that all technical and artistic departments come together organising and getting everyone working in the same direction and time frame”. (Fazio, 2017, 143). This has been the basis for my reasoning of having all company members at weekly production meetings.

Sherbet Lemon Theatre's first production meeting... we're very excited by our sherbet lemons!
Sherbet Lemon Theatre’s first production meeting… we’re very excited by our sherbet lemons!

Hayley, our producer, and I have agreed that during our weekly production meetings we will split the responsibility. I am “in charge” of the tech side of the production meetings such as lighting, sound, set and costume & props whereas Hayley is “in charge” of the admin side of the company such marketing, fundraising etc. The reason I use quotation marks for “in charge” is because I don’t think that Hayley or myself dictate how everyone fulfils their role. I think we are sort of in a leadership position, we are the people that the company comes to when they have questions about their role if they are unsure, we are the people who ensure everyone’s voice gets heard, we are the people who set weekly targets for individual company members to meet in order to ensure both the company and the show develops at the speed we need it to.

I am extremely excited to be working on this project with Sherbet Lemon Theatre and look forward to creating something sweet and a little sour.

C.M.

Fazio, L. (2017) Stage Manager: The Professional Experience – refreshed. Oxford: Taylor and Francis.

Sherbet Lemon Theatre (2018) Sherbet Lemon Theatre’s first production meeting [image]. Available from:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Be8eKYCgsfJ/?taken-by=sherbetlemontheatre [accessed 10 February 2018].

Posted on No Comments on Dramaturg

Dramaturg

Hello everyone!

 

I’m Ellie and I am the dramaturg here at Sherbet Lemon Theatre. I know a lot of you are probably wondering what a dramaturg is, so I will try (fingers crossed!) to answer that here. Unfortunately, there isn’t one clear answer on the dramaturg’s role as people can’t seem to agree on one.

The following is my favourite definition of Dramaturgy from Helen Jaksch:

“Mark Bly says that a dramaturg questions. My professor Catherine Sheehy says, among other things, that a dramaturg is an in-house critic that is friendly to the production. Dramaturgy is generous honesty, rigorous curiosity, and passion for thoughtful theatre and theatre-making. Most importantly, though, dramaturgy is not extraneous to a creative process. It is essential.”  (Rowen, 2013)

In a devised performance, a dramaturg can be seen as a writer of sorts, they are the person who questions the structure and flow of the piece, which scene goes where and how the scenes will link together to form a cohesive performance. But of course, this is just my definition, there a hundreds out there!

But for now, I cannot wait to work with such a talented bunch of ladies on our new show. I’ll make sure to keep you all updated on my dramaturgical process!

E.W.

 

 

Works Cited:

Rowen, B. (2013) What is a Dramaturg? Huffington Post, 20 January. Available from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bess-rowen/what-is-a-dramaturg_b_2169236.html [accessed 8 February 2018].