On the Homefront- Week Nine

DRESS REHEARSAL!
Nine weeks ago we started out with only a concept for a show and our knowledge of the Second World War. A lot has happened since then; ideas have come and gone and material has been created through script and improvisation until we reached this point. Yesterday was the final week before the performance and that meant only one thing; it was time for the dress rehearsal.

Now, in order to not spoil the show before next week's final performance, this week's blog post will be quite short, as most of yesterday's rehearsal was devoted to the dress run. What we will say this week is that it is incredible to watch these guys perform a show that didn't exist over a month ago. Of course, we have been working towards this point for nine weeks, however the characters and narrative didn't emerge until halfway into the project.

In that short space of time the cast have created a show that deals with a variety of heavily emotional themes; hope, loss, brotherhood and camaraderie, all of which are handled in a professional manner.
The result is a show that is thrilling to watch. The amount of effort each cast member has put into their character is clear; all of them have their own characteristics and story to tell. There is something very touching about watching all of these young characters living in a world where the threat of war looms over them every day, and seeing them find comfort and entertainment in the company of one another.

For instance we have Paul, an older brother who is incredibly protective of his younger brother, learn to trust those around him not only to look after his  brother, but himself as well. Then you have Millie and Barbara, two girls who seem to be at constant odds with each other, learn how to set aside their differences and embrace friendship. In the midst of all this you have multiple characters who's families are overseas fighting, or on the other side of the country and how each of them deal with this concept.

All in all, the dress run went well. Afterwards we tried adding one final element to the play. During the air raid in one of the earlier scenes, when the group find themselves together for the first time and trapped in St Mary's church, we wanted to try something special to see if we could make the stage image more atmospheric and appropriate. We used special LED candles, turned off all of the lights in the room and tried the scene in complete darkness, with only these lights to illuminate the cast. Obviously we had to improvise to make the room dark and the blinds didn't block everything out, but the candles did the trick. In the performance space next week, where we can be in complete darkness, the candles will look excellent (hopefully).

And so that's that! Rehearsals are over, with the exception of a few bits and bobs next week before the performance. We will leave you now with some additional pictures from the dress rehearsal. Next week 'On the Homefront' will conclude. There will be a final post with pictures from the show and a final write up from us at Anthos. Until then!

 

 

On the Homefront- Week Eight

LESS THAN TWO WEEKS UNTIL THE PERFORMANCE!

It was week eight of 'On the Homefront' yesterday and with (then) two weeks until performance day the cast were hard at work rehearsing the show. Just because there isn't much time left doesn't mean we don't have room to continue experimenting and adding new material to what the cast already have in order to make the show even bigger and better. That's what this week was about; playing around with the scenes, having some fun trying them new ways and then adding new elements to the performance.

Before we jumped back into the thick of it though, we took a much needed break from the war and the cast's characters and had some fun with a few acting games. When planning this week's rehearsal it had occurred to us that the group hadn't had a chance to just do any acting not linked to the final performance for a long time, so this week featured some of our favourites. One of these was 'party favours' a game where one member of the group hosts a party and the others are given characters/quirks that they need to embody within that party. The suggestions can range from more common attributes, like 'someone who is always tired,' to the incredibly bizarre: 'someone who is being sucked into a black hole.' The game is always a good laugh and gives everyone the chance to be a little bit silly and a lot crazy.

Another activity we did involved splitting the group into pairs and giving them a stimulus to work with. One group was given the stimulus 'a celebration' while the other had 'a surprise.' The cast got creative with their use of space and random equipment around the room to create interesting stage pictures and some surreal and amusing scenes. One scene featured a trip into space while the other featured a previously unaired 'Dr Who' sketch involving the Doctor, a concerned Turtle Owner and some suspicious soup.

Finally we used the rest of the rehearsal to do a complete run of the play! Due to absences, both myself and Ben had to get involved and fill in for our missing cast members, however the rest of the group carried on regardless and we had a very positive run of the show. It was clear looking at the group in yesterday's rehearsal how far everyone has come since we started back in October.

So that's the roundup for the week! Next week will be our final rehearsal in Exeter Community Centre before the performance at the University of Exeter's Roborough Studios on December 17th. It's strange to think that this project is almost over and we're looking forward to putting it up on the stage for everyone to see.