Our Productions – Page 6 – Sherbet Lemon Theatre

May 1, 2018Eloise Grace White No Comments

The Jigsaw Puzzle

Hi everyone!

The last couple of weeks have been intense but the show is really coming together now and we are so excited to perform in a few weeks. I wanted to write about the structure of our show today, and how I have attempted to turn into a jigsaw puzzle master in order to piece the show together.

Very early on I decided that the most logical, and interesting, way to structure out show would be using the five stages of sleep. Our amazing set designer Amanda has made a clock that reflects these stages, the following image is of this clock.

Throughout the performance we will use music and this clock in order to transition from one stage of sleep to another. The tempo of the music will reflect the speed of brainwaves during each stage of sleep, which I think is so cool!

When sorting all of our scenes into a stage of the sleep cycle I have had to think about both where these scenes would sit logically, and how the scenes in each stage would work together to bring light and shade throughout. I decided very early on that I would not move the sleep disorder sections around as most of these occur in a certain stage of sleep, for instance sleep paralysis occurs during REM sleep. Therefore, every sleep disorder/verbatim scene has remained in its correct stage. The issue then came with fitting the rest of the puzzle around the verbatim.

The structure of the show has changed many times as the scenes have evolved, but now that we have a full show the structure has been set. In order to fit this jigsaw puzzle of a performance together I have had to write down what happens in every scene and try and pair light and dark scenes together, for example night terrors (arguably our darkest and most emotive scene) is in stage three, followed by one of our comedy bedtime stories. The reason for this is that our show is designed to represent different experiences of sleep; some people love the idea of sleep, others dread it. Not only this, but the mixture of scenes and rapid transitions mimic the structure of a dream. In combining the light and shade I hope to provide the audience with an accurate representation of experiences of sleep.

Finally, the show is cyclical. It both starts and ends with Emma struggling to get to sleep. This cyclicality mimics the sleep cycle, as when your body finishes REM sleep (the final stage) it begins the cycle all over again.

Though solving this jigsaw puzzle, and fitting all of our scenes together, hasn’t been easy, I am now confident that the structure of our show is cohesive; both accurately and interestingly representing a good night’s sleep.

E.W.

Works Cited:

Mason, A. (2018) The Truth About Bedtime Clock. [photograph] (Lucy Farrell’s private photograph).

May 1, 2018Emily-May Liddle No Comments

Networking!

One vital contributor to our marketing strategy was the amount of networking we did as a company. From the very beginning we wanted to establish our place within the arts community in Lincoln and in doing so meet some extremely valuable contacts. We immediately signed up to attend the WITA event on the 8th of March 2018 and that was the beginning of a great relationship! Through WITA, we have since formed relationships with poets, musicians and other artists who have inspired our process and performance. This networking has allowed us to become involved within many community groups and given us a wider base to promote through. I believe this involvement with other artists and collaboration with Women in The Arts would allow us meet Arts Council England’s criteria on Public Engagement as we are forming relationships within the community. Through these relationships we are striving to bring art to the community on a larger scale through hosting events and campaigns to promote performances on a larger scale. We have also commissioned other artists and photographers to contribute towards our marketing materials which I believe would demonstrate to Arts Council England that we are committed to spreading the awareness of work of local artists within the community. The relationships we have developed have provided us with options to continue our theatre company post graduation. We have received invitations to perform at the next WITA showcase and have welcomed a tremendous amount of support throughout this process. This partnership would also be a contributor to our ACE funding risk assessment as they question whether “appropriate partnerships in place to support the activity” (Arts Council England, 2016). WITA are a fantastic networking group that have allowed us the opportunity to meet fellow artists and supporters of the arts. This extended marketing platform also offers a more sustainable approach towards our future campaigns, standing us in good stead with ACE’s marketing policies. We are hugely appreciative for all the support we have received and are excited to see where this takes us in the future.

i support WITA — I Support WITA (Liddle, 2018)

E.L.

Cited

Arts Council England (2016) Appraisal Process For Grants For the Arts. Available From: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/Appraisal_process_for_Grants_for_the_Arts_AUG2016.pdf [accessed 3rd May 2018].

Liddle, E. (2018) I Support WITA.

April 30, 2018Emelia Hutchinson No Comments

Bleeding Edge

This past Thursday (April 26th) together with our fellow theatre company, Bleeding Edge we each presented to each other a work in progress of our performances in order to give each other effective critical feedback. First they presented their performance: Inka and we followed with The Truth About Bedtime…

It’s been a highly effective to get detailed and critical feedback from Bleeding Edge and since discussing it as a company we have decided that it is feedback we are keen to add into our performance and already we are seeing the effects of this work in progress ahead of our showback to those who gave us sections of verbatim.

The showback came at a time when we were all beginning to lack confidence with our performance and the feedback from Bleeding Edge has given us so much to work on and improve. Similarly, the feedback we gave to Bleeding Edge has given them a lot to work on.

As two companies it has been important to both groups that we maintain a strong working relationship. They have been such a valuable asset throughout our creative process ad know exactly how to compliment and criticise in equal measure. I’m certain the Bleeding Edge are a company we will continue to have a strong relationship with should we decide to continue.

(Regan, 2018)

E.H.

Works Cited.

Regan, M. (2018) Inka [photograph]. Lincoln.

Regan, M. (2018) Insomnia [photograph]. Lincoln.

April 26, 2018Lucy Alice Farrell No Comments

Props where it is needed

I’ve mention costume in my last few posts, but my role also includes sourcing all props used throughout our productions. Within theatre this role is usually known as ‘Property Mistress/Master’. It is suggested that in theatre “we often underappreciate stage props and prop design” (Todd, 2012).

I recently watched a production called, ‘Education Education Education’ at Lincoln Performing Arts Centre. I was inspired by how much the production relied on props to convey the narrative and personality of each character. There was a scene where the actors were playing teachers in a staff room and each character held a prop, such as a newspaper, clipboard and a tea mug. Each prop was used subtly, not to distract the audience or steal the attention, but help the audience understand the group dynamic. The clipboard helped to convey, that the character, had a more authoritative role.

In our upcoming production ‘The Truth About Bedtime’ we rely heavily on props because “props assist imagination and play” (Todd, 2012). Throughout our production props help enhance the energy and fun throughout the scenes. As Sherbet Lemon Theatre, we like to offer a little bit of sweet and sour. Props really support us in delivering that sweetness and laughter that we hope to provide our audience.

This photo is from our exercise scene, in which I sourced neon sweatbands for, they help to reinforce the fun and energy we hope this scene provides.

The role also involves clear communication with our Stage Manager, Director, Set Designer and Producer. Developing good working relationships will maintain continuity throughout our devising process.

As we have a lot of props it is vital that they fit in with our set. This is to ensure the performance area does not look messy when the audience are entering, and also to ensure the safety of performers and audience, so that they do not trip over anything. Therefore, all our props will either be on the performer themselves or in a laundry basket, that fits into our set, ready for the performer to collect when needed.

L.F.

Works Cited

The Wardrobe Ensemble. (2018) Education Education Education [live performance]. Performed by The Wardrobe Ensemble. Lincoln: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, 16 March.

Todd, B. (2012) Time to give props to theatre props. The Guardian, 15 May. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2012/may/15/theatre-props-stage [accessed on 18 April 2018].

Figures

Exercise Scene Rehearsal : Sherbet Lemon Theatre (2018) Exercise Scene [image]. Available from https://www.instagram.com/p/BgMpY8FhQ53/?taken-by=sherbetlemontheatre [accessed 18 April 2018].

April 25, 2018Lauren Jade Randles No Comments

The Importance of Filming Material

With such a busy schedule as ours, it wasn’t always guaranteed that movement rehearsals would follow one another. Sometimes there would be several rehearsals in between teaching choreography for the same scene. With this in mind, I decided that at the end of each movement rehearsal the movement that had been created would be filmed and posted on our private Theatre Company page. This enabled the ensemble to have easy access to the video that they could look over in their spare time, so as to not forget any choreography I have taught them, and to enable a smooth transition from one movement rehearsal to the next. In addition to this, it was also an extremely useful way for me to take an outside perspective on the movement that I had created. The inspiration to film any created material came from Frantic Assembly’s video camera in rehearsal technique. Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett explain how “the video camera is not just for capturing and documenting what you know is there. It is also for capturing all the possibilities that emerge by accident” (2014, 26). As I was in most of the movement sequences, this was an opportunity for me to see what it actually looked like, whilst still being able to rehearse with my peers. If there was anything that needed adapting, filming the sequence meant I was able to pinpoint these moments, and allows me to see how I could change material in order to improve the quality.

L.R.

Works Cited

Graham, S. and Hoggett, S. (2014) The Frantic Assembly book of devising theatre (Second Edition) New York: Routledge.