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.



On the Homefront- Week Seven

It''s week seven of 'On the Homefront' and with the final performance just a few weeks away the cast were hard at work in this week's rehearsal to get everything ready. The goal this week was to finish the remaining scenes in the play, so that for the next two weeks we can work on perfecting the material before showing it to an audience on December 17th.

As usual we had a round of Ben's iconic shape making game. Interesting items to create this week were a Coke bottle (evidence of Ben's Coke Cola problem), a porcupine and a piece of modern art with a message. The group, as always, came up with some very abstract shapes, particularly for the latter; though the prize went to one pair who created 'The Balance' a sculpture which reflected the balance of the universe.

We kicked off work on the play this week by looking at the movement section which opens the show. In this section the cast go on a journey throughout a day in the life of their characters. This means coming up with actions that their character performs in the morning, during the day at work or school, in the afternoon and then in the evening.

Next we looked at the second half of the play and what happens during the interval between scenes four and five. It was important here to pause and reflect on all of the characters, as a lot will probably have happened to them during the year between scenes. We discussed how the relationship between the St Mary''s group has developed, as well as individual character's development.

This week we also tackled one of the toughest scenes in the play. In it a secret is revealed and the characters have to figure out how to react. We rehearsed this both with dialogue and without to see which would be the most effective means of communicating the correct tone and emotion in the scene. It was a difficult exercise for the characters involved and the rest of the cast were very supportive and helpful of then whilst the scene was being played out and new things experimented with.

It is strange to think that in just seven weeks we have gone to having a concept to now having a completed play. Back when we started we had ideas, but no characters and no definitive narrative. Obviously this was intentional, as the aim of this project was to get the company to create the characters themselves based on their knowledge of WWII, but it was a huge ask all the same. Now that the play is finished we can begin work on adding more layers and depth to it over the coming weeks so that it is ready to go when the 17th comes around. It's been a wonderful ride so far and we're all excited to see where the group take this show next!

On the Homefront- Week Six

It's week 6 of 'On the Homefront!' It's hard to believe that we've passed the halfway point now. Over the past five weeks we have done countless exercises and improvisations which had lead us here. Now, with the final show just four weeks away, we have a script, we have our characters and we have our story to tell. It's been a wonderful ride so far, but the journey isn't finished yet!

This week's rehearsal opened with a production meeting. The cast sat down and discussed what needed to be done in the time they had left. The aim of the AYC is for its members to be treated as young professionals. Perhaps more so on this project, as the material for the final performance was intended to be devised completely by the cast, we have treated them like a professional cast, all of whom are part of a professional company. The meeting outlined what remained to be done for the final performance so that everyone knew and had a chance to contribute to the production side of the performance.  

Once the meeting was finished it was time to move on to our, at this point, customary round of shape making. Ben worked hard to come up with some incredibly obscure ones this week, one of the favourites being a giant crocodile. Mean as he is, Ben also demanded the group create a pentagon, fully aware that the cast has more than five people. As a new spin on the game, the later rounds required the group to make still images (or tableaus) of a variety of weird and wonderful scenes, ranging from 'a swimming pool,' a 'fire engine' and a 'traditional comic book scene.'

Once the cast were warmed up it was time to launch back into the story of Blitz-time Exeter. This week we looked at the first few scenes in detail, as well as introducing all of the characters in the story. Each character is unique and was created by each member of the cast. They are:

Barbara- 

An evacuee from London who has decided to do what she must to survive.

Paul-      

A young man who works to provide for his younger brother, whom he has sworn to protect  after their father leaves for war.

Millie-

The headstrong leader of her, Patrick and Seymour's gang. She's not afraid of a fight and (though difficult to read) secretly wants to learn to become a doctor, despite her mother's wishes.

Patrick-

Paul's younger brother. Patrick hasn't quite grasped the horror of the war and instead sees fun in it. He is always looking to cause mischief and have a laugh.

Seymour-

Millie and Patrick's friend from school. Seymour is obsessed with the idea of German spies.

Craig-

An evacuee, also from London, who has decided to shut himself off from the world; feeling angry and abandoned after he was sent away from home.

The narrative sees these six characters coming together in what used to be St Mary's church, though that's all we will say! The first few scenes not only set up the characters at the start of their journeys but several plot threads which later affect everyone, so it was important that the cast work on establishing these so that they are clear when the show is performed for their audience.

There are a lot of fun moments in these scenes, such as the introduction of Craig, whom the gang stumble upon one day, and the confrontation between Millie and Barbara over a stolen bag of sweets. The cast worked hard on bringing out both the emotion and humour of all these moments, while using their knowledge of the characters to provide new depth and meaning to the words we had given them as an outline for the scene.

And so rehearsals continue. As mentioned earlier; only four weeks now until the show and things are coming together wonderfully. This could well be one of our best yet! It's so inspiring to see the cast working so hard to make the show the best it can be, while also remembering to have a heap of fun along the way! Until next week!