It's all about the process

We are now coming to the end of our second phase of exploration and development in the rehearsal studio, and we have all benefited from Wendy Richardson, who has taken the lead on developing the ensemble of players. Wendy has imparted and shared her knowledge of Brian Astbury's techniques in her work, Brian being one of Wendy's mentors as well as being the founder director of Space Theatre in South Africa and author of Trusting the Actor - a copy of which I now have on order...

Each rehearsal session started with a warm up. The intention being that of preparing the mind, the body and the voice for the intended work of the day.

Engaging all of the senses, stimulating the imagination, provoking the grey matter as well as developing physical connections and intimacy were all early objectives, and involving every member of the ensemble was integral to building trust; a prerequisite for the safe exploration of ideas and the risk taking that was going to be required in practical exploration...

Working on an expenses only deal for the development and rehearsal phase of the project was always going to throw up variables, but has acted as a fuel to the creative process, because problems which we have encountered have had to be resolved. Having travelled down from London, Wendy camped out in my flat for three nights at a time, and each evening we would identify our rehearsal development objectives by chewing the cud on what had been discovered from each preceding session.

We have now said a fond farewell to Melissa Sharp, who with us from the beginning, felt that she was unable to make a commitment in the longer term, and who didn't want to let us down further along the line, and Nicole Rose who unfortunately beset by a diagnosis of glandular fever, left to focus on her recovery. In turn, we welcomed Dayna Johnson into the fold, along with Robert Bartholomew, Jake Robinson and Sophie Roberts.

Creating a text framework for the piece threw up as many problems as it did possibilities. Four drafts later, practical rehearsal was punctuated by sessions of reading, considering sub-text, discussing themes and mooting possibilities.

Having created the characters of Ben and her foil Tasha, an off text improvisation led to discoveries which hadn't been considered and moments like those in a rehearsal process always provide impetus - especially when the coffee is running out!

Each character's back story was being discovered and understood, and the issue of line learning took care of itself through the use of a technique called 'under reading' - Not only does employing this technique mean that the actor exploring a character never has to have a script in their hand, and thus a prop to hide behind, it is a time efficient way for the entire company to understand the development of each and every character in the play, and thus the story to ultimately be shared with an audience...

It's great when a rehearsal process leaves one feeling inspired, energised and alive! For now, though, it's back to replenishing funds...