July 2009 Archives

Nearly four weeks into rehearsals into Ben Hur and we’ve hit the halfway mark. Thankfully we’re told we’re ahead staging wise, but the costumes are a bit behind. I would say get their act together, but 1100 costumes clearly require more than a few talented knitters and a spindle or two. I’ve offered my crochet skills but it’s really only a hobby and I doubt they’d prove useful in the stitching of Roman garments or armour.

Some of the set has been sent back to be adapted and fitted up fully whilst new bits of set are arriving each week. The arena is now fully rigged with light and sound, replicating if not surpassing the standards of Metallica’s last tour we’re told - crikey! And so everything seems to be coming together.

One of the huge pleasures of this job is being a part of something totally new and original - nothing on this scale has ever been tried before and so how we go about creating it is also a bit of a unknown process. Timings are tight and we have an awful lot to do, so we are often reminded “we have no time to waste”.

This got me thinking.

From fringe theatre to feature films, the most recent acting graduates from LIPA are doing it all. I caught up with a few of them this week and here are just a few of the things that they have been up to since finishing their training at the end of May and their graduation ceremony last Friday.

The biggest news may be that this year’s winner of the Spotlight Prize for Highly Commended Male Actor, Robert Gilbert, will be appearing alongside Jack Black, Emily Blunt and Billy Connolly in “Gulliver’s Travels”.

Also doing some film work is 22-year-old Emily Lambert, who has been busy shooting a feature film in which she plays a 17-year-old girl. “Chatroom” is directed by Hideo Nakata and is due for release in 2010. Emily provides inspiration to all drama school graduates who find themselves unrepresented after showcase, after securing the job herself. She has since been offered representation but plans to return to her sunny roots in Texas - so best of luck to Emily in America!

Being an ex-LIPA student, I was pleased to see this week that LIPA’s Robert Gilbert won the Spotlight Prize for Highly Commended Male Actor. His prize falls amongst an array of achievements by fellow graduates, who I hope to catch up with in the next week, so expect an update on recent graduates’ work in next week’s blog.

Despite completing my training last year, I am due to graduate this year upon completion of a thesis. I was thrilled to discover I had been awarded a distinction for my MA work with puppets and actors, and slightly disappointed that I will be unable to attend the ceremony as I am away working. Other graduates will face a similar dilemma, as those lucky enough to have secured work may find that they too must miss the ceremony.

The end of the tour is in sight as I perform for the last time in Brighton this Thursday. In an effort to make us feel like we have actually become characters in Alice in Wonderland, we are staying in what may be the smallest house in the world, which also happens to house the tiniest teacups for us to drink out of. Despite the tiny proportions, I have high hopes for Brighton, in that it is rumoured that the seagulls out this way may not resort to bullying tactics all for a small taste of sausage.

Before arriving in Brighton, the weekend was spent nursing the various insect bites I picked up in Cornwall, running away from an irate drug addict and finally getting new headshots taken which I hope to upload to Spotlight/Casting Call Pro/The Stage in the next couple of weeks.

Plenty of time was spent ogling the pictures recently released for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and marvelling at the amazing line-up — Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, my idol Helena Bonham-Carter as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway, Matt Lucas, even Barbara Windsor as the Dormouse, the list goes on… I have never before been so excited for a film to come out!

I now intend to continue to dream for the rest of the week that I too am invited into Tim Burton’s inner circle and offered scores of subsequent roles most actors can only dream of!

After 6 days of sandy trainers and sweaty vests (where’s the glamour?!), it’s off to the park to enjoy the weather on our first day off — hurrah! Last night saw us all head out together and consume the vast majority of Dusseldorf’s supply of beer, but after such an intense week I think it was well deserved.

Back to rehearsals on Wednesday, blocking the opening scene with the newly arrived 70 extras - a mammoth task. Unlike staging a conventional show in your traditional proscenium arch theatre, putting 200 people in place along with 20 horses and the odd fire juggling acrobat involves considerable patience and a lot of repetition. Unfortunately, tempers did flare today and 6 juggling clubs were hurled across the arena, with the necessary profanities following closely behind. God bless those theatrical personalities!

So how do you deal with those dramatic ‘diva’ moments?

Want a glimpse into what it’s like to be on tour?

Sunday: Hop on train from Liverpool to London. Get kicked off at Milton Keynes due to “signal failure”. Finally reach London 2 hours late, meet the cast and set off for Cornwall. Drive for 4 hours then brake down 11 miles from our accommodation. Wait 1 ½ hours for breakdown recovery.

Monday: We reach the school and find that the remote control has disappeared over the weekend. This results in making several trips to and from the music system to press the “play” button… makes the workshop a bit tricky.

Tuesday: We discover our lights have been left at Monday’s school, which is about an hour away. During the get-in, we are unhappy with the position of the set and begin to move it. It promptly falls over. Enter ten children. Ten minutes later, we poke our heads round and ask when the other children are coming… major confusion ensues. (The set-up of the show requires 13 volunteers, with the rest of the audience learning some songs. With only 10 children, this becomes a little difficult.) Upon arrival of the rest of the audience half an hour later, and a little re-shuffle and re-assigning of workshop responsibilities (because of time restrictions the half hour delay has put upon us), the show finally gets underway.

Wednesday: We perform at a convent school, where I meet a nun and later get licked by a goat.

Thursday: We have to drive two hours to reach the venue. We discover that one cast member is Queen of Improvisation, when she forgets the lyrics to her song and invents entirely new ones, which not only make sense, but rhyme too.

Friday: I am bullied by 3 seagulls. One of them steals my sausage.