The Making Of:

Harold Pinter's Nine Revenue Sketches

Acting And Crewing

First Thoughts

After Reading The Breif

After reading the breif I was intrigued by what we would be doing. I liked the idea of having multiple little shows in one showcase like a variety show although these small pieces would all be the same style. For crewing I've been able to handle props and costumes before in previous units as well as knowing what to bring on and off stage for myself and others so I have no issues there. However I am interested in other opportunities this units could reveal like seeing the different roles involved backstage and getting to do new job roles too. Overall I'm interested in how this unit will unfold.

First Thoughts

After Reading The Scripts

We are performing the nine Harold Pinter sketches from the book 'The dwarfs And The Nine Revue Sketches'. We all took turns reading through each script at least twice with different people reading through the characters, switching the casting half way through each script. I found the scripts fascinating as each one was a different genre and each one could be taken out of context to switch the genre however you pleased. There wasn't much detail in the setting or character description and most characters didn't even have names. It was mostly just lines to say and the rest was up to the imagination of the actor, almost like a colour in yourself picture where you're given the outline of the image but you can colour it in any colour.

After having read through the scripts the ones i enjoyed most were 'trouble in the works' and 'new world order'.

Trouble in the works appealed to me because i loved the names of the machinery and i thought it was some good comical potential there after having learnt the lines. I think it could be very melodramatic, almost like Brekt , with the actions and line delivery. Saying the words really fast of the different components of the factory products I think would be rather humorous. I would like to play 'Mr Fibbs' the factory owner. His character really appealed to me and there's a lot of various ways i could play the character. I'm thinking of a 'John Cleese Basil Folty' type of performance personally.

'New World Order' was the other one I was interested in doing because not only would it show a great diversity in my acting range from my previous role of 'Mr Fibbs' but it's something I now know I can do well. I can do the sadistic psychopathy who finds enjoyment in torturing people. I can use similar techniques I used when playing the role of 'The Ringmaster' in order to intimidate the audience and give off a more believable performance. Personally I would prefer to play 'Dez' as he's seems like the more controlling one but also a little more psychotic than the other. I just feel like it's something I'm more confident in doing.

Casting

So i have being given three major roles in this performance as a whole. I am going to be: cast member, stage hand and marketing.

As a stage hand it's my job to move set and props on and off stage. I am doing this for not only my own scenes but ones I'm not doing too. It's a simple job that doesn't require much other than the acknowledgement of what we need to do and the memory of the ques to know when we need to do them. We all are being stage hands for each other in scenes we are not doing. It's a good idea to distribute the responsibility out between everyone in order to not cause too much stress onto one person. Having one person do it all would be unfair especially if they have a scene next.

In Marketing I have the responsibility in making posters or social media post in order promote the performance. I also need to design the posters and distribute them out in order to spread awareness. I have been given this role due to my poster design from our previous unit on the horror circus walk through. It's a job I have not been involved with before however one I'm sure I'm capable with, or at least partially. With the right information i can easily make the poster however i don't have many connections so distributing maybe a problem but i shall find a way.

As a member of the cast my roles and plays are: 'that's your trouble' 'B', 'Request Stop' 'man in raincoat', 'Applicant' 'Lamb' and 'That's All' 'Mrs B'.

In that's your trouble i am a man in a park reading a book arguing over the fact of who's right. It's a guy getting progressively angrier the longer they talk. This is something i can do using Stanislavsky's emotion memory technique to use experiences of getting annoyed to influence my action.

Request stop i have no speaking role i only get yelled at. I was given this role for my skills in mime, the director thought i could use that skill in making faces to convey my expression which is something i'm very used to doing.

Applicant is an interesting one as my character is a very nervous person and constantly getting shocked. It's a type of role I have experienced before years ago in one of my very earliest performances of 'Dig' in the play 'Mugged'. I feel very confident in this role and my ability to play it.

Finally, That's all is mostly one person talking and the other just agreeing. my only lines are 'yes'. i see this play as more of a phone conversation with my character not listening to the other.

I am a little disappointed that i didn't get any of the acting roles i wanted however i have already done the comedic character role before in previous units as well as the psychopathic one so i understand why i didn't get them. It's so that not only i can show more diversity but also so others can by doing roles they're not familiar with. I am happy with the roles that i've been given and feel like i can do them with confidence although it would've been nice to have been given at least one.

The History Of Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter was born on 10 October 1930 in the London borough of Hackney, son of a Jewish dressmaker. Harold Pinter was a British actor, playwriter, screenwriter and Director. Growing up, Pinter was met with the expressions of anti-Semitism, and has indicated its importance for his becoming a dramatist.

Pinter's career as a playwright began with a production of The Room in 1957. His second play, The Birthday Party, closed after eight performances, was enthusiastically reviewed. His early works were described by critics as "comedy of menace". Later plays became better known as "memory plays".

Pinter was the author of 29 plays and 15 dramatic sketches and the co-author of two works for stage and radio. He was considered to have been one of the most influential modern British dramatists. Along with the 1967 Tony Award for Best Play for The Homecoming and several other American awards and award nominations, he and his plays received many awards in the UK and elsewhere throughout the world. His style has entered the English language as an adjective, "Pinteresque", although Pinter himself disliked the term and found it meaningless. Pinter's first play, The Room, written and first performed in 1957, was a student production at the University of Bristol. After Pinter mentioned that he had an idea for a play, he was asked to write it so that he could direct it to fulfil a requirement for his postgraduate work. Pinter wrote it in three days. The production was described as "a staggeringly confident debut” which attracted the attention of a young producer, Michael Codron, who decided to present Pinter's next play, The Birthday Party. Pinter's drama was first perceived as a variation of absurd theatre, but has later more aptly been characterised as 'comedy of menace', a genre where the writer allows us to eavesdrop on the play of domination and submission hidden in the most mundane of conversations. Harold Pinter is known for his magnificent use of language, thus his style of writing was named after him "Pinteresque".

His use of colloquial language, numerous clichés, unpolished grammar and illogical syntax create dialogues that reflect day-to-day speech. Is Pinter an absurdist? The early plays of Harold Pinter are often called absurdist, notably his first full-length work, The Birthday Party (1957), which is set in a dingy seaside boarding house that offers as little escape for Meg and Stanley, the landlady and her lodger, as anything by Beckett.

The History Of Stanivlaski

Sergeyevich Alexeyev, known better by his stage name Stanislavski, was a huge fan of realism theatre and believed that the actors should really inhabit the role that they were playing. He lived for showcasing reality as it was to an audience. Realism dictates that an actor shouldn’t be given multiples roles within a show in order to keep the realism alive however that doesn’t stop the genre from hoping into multiple different genres just like in real life there isn’t just one mood throughout a day. Stanislavski invented the 7 pillars of acting to help actors with their performances. According to methodactingforme.com, they are: action (simply moving something about you throughout the scene), imagination (believing what was happening was real to convince the audience it’s real), attention (to give the actors a focus point to concentrate on in order to not break the illusion of realism), relaxation (calming the nerves and being more confident to not break character), objectives (giving your character a purpose behind every action so they feel necessary), emotion memory (using your own real life experiences to fuel your emotions on stage) and truthfulness (having the capability to believe in your own actions and skills). He created technique of the Magic If which was all about the actors putting themselves in the character’s shoes and asking what they would do in real life if this situation happened to them and using that to inspire their action on stage. He also created the circles of attention which is used for line delivery. They have many different names but the are all the same circles, the names I use are: internal, dialogue, monologue. Internal is a character’s thoughts, muttering to themselves making sure no one else hears, also known as the spot light circle. Dialogue is when you’ve talking to characters next to you or on stage with you, loud to make sure people here, also known as the stage light. Monologue is making sure everyone in the whole world can hear, usually used for aggressive arguments or monologues, also known as theatre lights. Stanislavski had a desire for his work to be as realistic and believable as possible.

That's Your Trouble: first attempt

When we first started that's your trouble, much like the read through, we were mostly concentrating on reading the lines than acting it out. Johnathan was putting in effort in creating a voice for the character which was quite enjoyable. I put in some emotion memory when i got angry but our overall performance was very wooden. I recon there's definitely more potential for some more comedy in this scene and our bickering could be improved significantly.

The Applicant: first attempt

This first attempt was very 'by the book' in a sense that we had Jessy reading out the stage directions and we were following them best we could as it said exactly in the script. It was a very Brektian way of rehearsing to have a narrator and didn't leave us much room for interpretation with our actions doing it this way. I did think that Johnathan's lines should be spoken quicker than mine and that he should cut me off before i finish my line to give off the impression of impatience.

That's All: first attempt

Our first thoughts of this scene was two people in a coffee shop catching up and having a conversation. One more talkative than the other. I found it very static, not a lot of movement or interesting dialogue happening between the two, I think the most comical thing happening is that one character is only replying with "yes" but i don't think that's enough to hold the attention of the audience for a long period of time. I think we need to rethink the setting or situation of our scene to make it more visual interesting at least.

creating set

Wee had the idea of, instead of having a regular stage from one side which would make the plays rather traditional, we decided to instead have two smaller stages on either side with a small stage in the middle. This would allow us as actors to not have to worry about audiences nto being able to see us because no matter where we were someone from either side would be able to watch us act and for the audience it got them closer to the action making the plays for intimate and a personal experience. Having an opening on either side meant we had more options for taking stage and set on and off as well as exits and entrances.
The set design and the staging was done in a very brekt way, very minimalistik and leaving alotto the imagination of the audience as well as the actors. As actors we need to use the space to conivce the audience we are in a different setting rather than having backdrops. this style also allows us to not spend time in making a bunch of set or backdrops and more time learning scripts and perfecting our actions.
However as an actor the challenge to this staging style is to not favour one side over the other. to be able to act to both sides equally instead of constantly facing one angle in order to allow everyone to see you is the challenge we all need to face.

That's Your Trouble: second attempt

First thing i noticed watching this back is that the audio isn't synced with the video accept from at the end and the beginning and I have no idea how or why that happened.
So the run-through isn't one I'm particularly happy with, i messed up my mini monologue to Jonathon's characters but went on like nothing was wrong. Also the hitting was not very good. I definitely wanted the comedic effect of hitting him however this wasn't good. It's something we're going to have to improve upon once we're more comfortable with our lines. I'm not entirely on board with the nasally voice Jonathon gave to his character but i guess it does help to differentiate between his multiple characters. Perhaps I should create voice for my different roles too.

That's Your Trouble: third attempt

In this rehearsal we tried switching more often in order to add some movement to the scene however I think that having so much movement makes the scene feel unnecessarily busy which may distract the audience rather than engage them. I think perhaps i get up too soon and should probably get up a little later than i do to confront Jonathan. Additionally, i noticed that i was very much concentrating on getting the lines right rather than the pronunciation of them. I found that a lot of the lines i said were very unmotivated and dull. I really need to add some emotion memory into this scene from times I've been frustrated in order to elevate the scene and my performance.

The Applicant: second attempt

In this session Jonathan and I really started to depart from what was written on script and started exploring ideas with our scene. First of all we started with the audio shocks, we imagined them more like electric shocks causing me to shake vigorously. I felt that more people would understand what was going on with an electric shock rather than a piercing sound. Also, to add comedic effect, I was trying to fall and knock over the chair as i fell but completely missed both times.
It was definitely an improvement from the first rehearsal. We have made the scene more our own by diverting from the stage directions slightly but i truly believe the scene will enhance most once we're off script as it will allow us to better explore what's possible. But definitely a big step forward from our last rehearsal.

Adam's Stanislavski Workshop

Adam's workshop was a very interesting one to do. The walking like a stereotype was actually harder than i thought it would be because it was hard to think about how to walk as a Layer or a banker without adding any characterisation to them was very difficult for me. Because my first instinct when becoming a character is usually to create a basic backstory behind the character so to not do that was a challenge.
When walking in character i chose my character from That's Your Trouble. It was fascinating walking in character at the beginning of my play compared to the end of my play because i didn't really think about that until now. Because my character does fluxuiate throughout the play doing from being laid back at the beginning to being stressed at the end. meaning him movements would be quite slow at the beginning and then quite frantic towards the end. This linked with the objectives of my character which i hadn't really thought about up until this point. I don't really know my characters goal or the mini stages he needs to take to get to that main objective. And it's something that will definitely help with character development however i think it's best to develop my characters with the actors I'm doing the scenes with so we can both get a prober understanding of the relationship between our characters.
The last task which was to observe and repeat was something i was not prepared for despite being told exactly what to do. Adam told the other group to run towards the stapler after the word GO, so i wasn't paying attention until he started getting closer to the word Go, thinking i was going to have to repeat Connor's action trying to get the stapler. However when he said "relax" i was confused before he revealed that we were supposed to be watching their movement getting ready to dive and not to dive at the object. So that was a shock to us all but made me fail the task at hand. Despite this, I loved the message he gave to us as actors that we cannot perfectly imitate real life and we will never be able to, but that's okay, because we can get really close. It actually help ease the mind of actors knowing that they'll never be perfect but they can be realistic.
Don't aim for perfection as it's unattainable but aim for your best performance possible.

Sonia's Stanislavski Workshop

During the first activity Matt and I didn't quite understand the task. We thought one of us had to count to 5 and then the other not that we had to alternate between who says the numbers. However when actions got involved we quickly understood what the task was and then were able to easily keep our concentration. I found that there were very few times where we actually broke concentration. I actually found it easier the more movements were added rather than the base numbers purely because I typically find it easier to memorise a movement than numbers or lines. It became more like a choreography which is easier to remember especially with the repetition being so frequent. This was a Stanislavski technique designed to help actors maintain their focus on the task at hand and not break character. Concentration is one of Stanislavski's seven pillars of acting. It's about keeping in character, focusing on what you're doing in the moment and ignoring everything else that's going on around you.

The touching an object game was rather different and unexpected but was yet another concentration game. Having to isolate your own voice from the voice of everyone else around you while you remember the last thing you touched and say it out loud. Then as it gets harder saying the thing you touched two rounds ago. Despite needing a few seconds to think once or twice i did rather well during this activity. I didn't find it immensely difficult to try and remember the object I had touched last round or two rounds ago. It's not just a memory game but a concentration game as to tune out the things around you. It also requires Improvisation and quick thinking in order to pin point your next target in the room in order to keep moving and never stop.

The short acting games of having to put yourself into a situation was both easy yet difficult for me to do. To put myself into a situation via a script or improv is an easy thing for me to do however i always tend to create a backstory or motive for my character. I always make a story for whoever and whatever I'm performing. This as a side effect causes me to perform, however we were told not to perform. just to use emotion memory or the magic what if into the given scenarios. For the party i made it so my character was told to meet his friend at a party but couldn't find him, so was trying to find him. Now after playing so many years so melodrama and comic relief i strangely found it rather difficult to show emotion subtly which is strange because i know that i can. It was the inner performer in me trying to be more emotive than i needed to be. The lost things scene was much easier, i relived a memory of when i lost my keys, looking through draws and bags, retracing my steps and checking the same locations over and over encase i missed something. Everything i did is what i actually do when i lose something; except i click my fingers to help me think. Stanislavski's magic if and emotion memory are his techniques to help the actor be more realistic in performances by relating the scene they're playing back to a moment in time when they felt something similar or by asking themselves what would they do if they were in this sort of situation. This helps to enhance their performance to bring more realism to their scene.

Jonathon's Meisner Workshop

Meisner is a practitioner that I know very little of and therefore was unfamiliar with him techniques. The repeat and observe task was a rather interesting one that I have never come across before. i guess it helps you stay in the moment and it was hard to try not to act but to stay the same through out. It's very much a game based on concentration constantly listening to how the other person says the sentence and then repeating it back in the exact same manor. Over time you can see the sentence changes tone.
It worked best when a theme or scenario was put in place because you could really see all the different ways a single sentence can be pronounced.
As an actor, especially a voice actor, you will be required to repeat the same sentence over and over again in different ways exaggerating different parts of the sentence in order to change the meaning so that the director can get the best take.
I think this exercise is best used for helping with concentration of the actor. You could make this more difficult by making people move around the space while the other two must stay concentrated on each other. This could even be used to help learn scripts having one person read their lines and the other repeat them to help them memorises it and developing new ways for actors to read their lines in order to change their meanings.
I think Riley and Matt could use this exercises the most for their Trouble In The Works scene repeating back all the funny little lines that the workers don't like, like "jacobs chuck" for instant. It is very reminiscent of what they do in the scene anyway but could help them find the best comedic tone fore each line.

First Full Run Through

The first thing i do in the entire showcase is between the first and second performances Connor and I move the main table from centre stage to stage right. Despite having two sides for the audience, we used the side the camera is currently as our way to decided between stage left and right.

Despite not having the staging out yet, we still went the long way round the back of the stage as if it was set up as practice for when it is. We did it unprompted as well, as if we were rehearsing every aspect of the show in this first showcase.

Request Stop is technically the first play I'm in. Despite having no lines I'm still a main character in this as the person Jessy yells at. The entire scene hinges off Jessy's aggressive performance and my reaction of her accusations against me. That being said i think i did a tremendously bad job this first run through. In my mind i went for a i don't really care attitude which made the performance feel very stale. My actions i feel were quite wooden when they really needed to be more exaggerated and expressive in order to elevate the scene. I think the 'i don't care' attitude can work in this scene but not for the entire run through of the scene. Also i left too early, i left one line too early which messed with Jessy's lines. Got to remember which line it is i leave on.

The thing I noticed most during That's All was that we both needed more projection. Especially for this scene. This is an argument that gradually escalates to physical violence, hearing what the argument is about is crucial information for the audience. Granted we do have masks on but still. However I'm glad that I am learning the lines well, and didn't look at my script for a lot of the scene. I mostly used it as a prop for the book I'm reading. During this scene i think i got up at the perfect time, so i'm not on the floor for too long but get up just as the characters are starting to get more aggravated. However i do feel like some of my lines could've been better, like the line "I'm not wrong, I'm right. You happen to be talking to someone who actually knows what they're talking about!" could be so much more condescending to give off a more superiority complex with my character. I loved the line "Get the picture?" because it was adlibbed but adds so much to my character. It's so comedic when said in that almost yelling whisper I do but also is so aggressive and condescending again. However the adlib "You wanna run that by me again?" although funny in the right context, I don't feel like it fits the scene at all. Or at least where i said it doesn't work. I was trying something new with my lines but i really don't feel like that worked at all for the scene. Also prompts for Jonathan who had no knowledge that i was going to adlib but continued with his lines like normal. An true expert in improvisation. The part when i hit Jonathan with the umbrella i do actually, lightly hit him, but because i'm lightly hitting him the scene just doesn't look, right. The hits don't look like they'd hurt because i'm hitting him so lightly. It's something we're going to have to work on in the future. I love the cocky kick swing i do with the umbrella at the end as i walk away, just adds so much to the arrogance of my character i think.

After our scene ends, Jonathan and I take the chairs from stage right to offset centre stage. This is a pretty easy que to remember as we have to walk past the table and chairs to exit stage anyway. So remembering to take them on before we go off is easy.

Then right before I start Applicant I have to take on the box that later have all the props in for our scene. Another easy thing to remember as well.

For Applicant I didn't use my script much at all, especially through the first section of meeting Jonathans character for the first time. It was easy to remember my lines after being prompted by Jonathan saying his. Something i need to improove on is falling off the chair to be stunned. I'm going for a more electrocution in my mind rather than a audio noise, despite what it says in the script, purely because I know how to act like I'm being electrocuted and I think audiences will be able to register that better than audio pain. But when i fall i keep aiming for the stall as it adds to the comedic effect of the scene. However by aiming the fall looks staged and therefore less realistic. I need to focus on just falling more and less on can i hit the chair. Also i eel like i got up way too easily and quickly after an electric shock of that time. During the end while being question about if i'm vergo intacta i think my delivery should be more panicked rather than given up. I think it'll enhance the performance and make it more comedic rather than being blunt. The fall at the end was much more realistic than the fall at the beginning. to cause the spastic performance i shake my body while i constantly tense up my muscles, like how they would when they are electrocuted, and then relax them constantly throughout the shaking of my body.

My bigests mistake is that i forgot my script and left it on stage when i needed it for the next scene. Something like this could happen during an actual showcase like with a prop or something and the best thing to do is to just continue like everything's normal. If you don't care about the mistake then the audience won't care or perhaps even notice the mistake.

In That's all i messed up my que to turn the board around which was just me not paying attention to Matt and being in my own world, going too far into character that i just ignored everything entirely. I think That's All was my most missed opportunity out of all of my performances. I went for a very tired performance, in my mind the character had been woken up in the middle of the night by this phone call however this creates a very dull and flat performance even if it's a somewhat realistic one. There's so much comedic potential with with scene with the contrast between the two different performances that could be done and i think we need to spend more time working on that for the future.

The last thing I do in the performance is take the board off stage right. which again is simple because we switch during the scene so it's the way i have to go off anyway.

This was a big step forward being the first time we put all our shows one behind the other in a single recording but also the first time we did the crewing, we were told what we would do but this ws the first time we actually did it so with that being said i think we did a fantastic job. It was definitely a step in the right direction however it was still only a step. Plenty more work to be done for sure to improve these scene to thier best.

That's Your Trouble From The First Run Through

The Applicant From The First Run Through

That's Your Trouble and The Applicant character development

That's Your Trouble: hotseating

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The Applicant: hotseating

That's All character development

That's All: hotseating

Risk Assessment Document

risk.xlsx

Different Job Roles In The Industry

Producer

A theatre Producer oversees all aspects of a theatre production. They are the starting point of everything. They raise investment from backers, find the venue, hire the creative team and have a say in casting and design.

Board of directors

The board of directors is made up with all the people in charge of the creation of the show. It will include all the main people in charge of their separate departments so they can communicate in order to see what is possible in each department so they can create the best piece of theatre they can.. This usually includes; the producers, the director, artistic director, managing director, stage manager, choreographer, musical director and more.

Artistic director

The Artistic director develops and oversees the implementation of the artistic vision and focus of a production and often the overall programme presented by a theatre. An Artistic Director will oversee the programme for the theatre as well as manage funding, budgets and staff

Managing director

The Managing Director is responsible for management oversight of the organization including design and implementation of all fundraising and development (audience and donor) activities; supervising all non-artistic staff; and working collaboratively with the Producing Artistic Director to ensure the financial integrity and accountability of the organization. The Managing Director works in partnership with the Producing Artistic Director to provide the vision and leadership necessary for fulfilling the mission of the organization.

Director

The Director may be a permanent member of a theatre's staff or a freelancer hired for an individual show. This person conceives, develops and implements the artistic vision for the specific performance in collaboration with designers from the different departments.

Choreographer

A Choreographer creates original dance movements and routines for performances and productions. They also develop different interpretations of existing dances for an individual dancer or group of dancers; the chorus.

Musical director

A Musical Director in theatre also known as a Conductor leads a cast, orchestra, choir and other musical groups during a performance. music directors oversee all musical aspects of a musical theatre or opera production, including casting performers, hiring the orchestra, rehearsing singers and orchestra members, and conducting the orchestra in performance.

Playwright

A playwrights job is to simple write the script. To create the story and the characters, but there’s a little more to it than just being able to tell a story through written words. Writing for theatre is much more difficult than writing a novel as you must include dialogue, stage directions, set changes, lighting ques and sometimes even song and dance numbers incorporated into the story as well as coming up with the plot line, characters and character development into the story. To add to it, they also have to comminate with the Publishers, Directors and Producers and take on board their notes and changes they may have in order to create the story they want to make. They have to stick to their given brief and work on very tight deadlines. Additionally they are also responsible for all the research done for the play as well as coming up with the character list for actors to be able to audition for.

Composer

Composer writes original music to help tell a story or convey atmosphere and emotions. They may write music for voices and instruments to perform, or it may involve electronic and digital tools. For traditional plays, a Composer would write the music that underscores the production.

Production manager

A Production Manager works with the management team, technical crew and Designers to make sure the technical elements of a show are completed safely, on time and on budget. Production Managers work on a variety of different shows for a theatre season.

Business manager

monitor and evaluate the delivery of the theatre programme to ensure it meets the needs of the overall business plan. manage the budget and ensure you meet the financial and operational targets of the theatre. lead a team of theatre staff, who may be involved in areas such as marketing, finance and administration.

Company manager

The company manager is responsible for all aspects of the staff's welfare, including dealing with pay. They travel with a touring company. They are the most senior member of management backstage during a performance and are the connecting person between performance staff and the producer's office.

Stage manager

Stage managers are responsible for ensuring that theatrical performances run smoothly and to schedule. They organise all practical and technical aspects of rehearsals and shows and ensure that performers and crew are in the right place at the right time.

Lighting designer

A Lighting Designer will work with the Director, Artistic Director and/or Lighting Technicians to create the visuals for lighting, lasers, strobes, spots and sometimes video screens for a performance

Costume designer

A Costume Designer is the person responsible for designing the costumes for a production, making sure they match the time period, style and Director's vision for the piece, as well as being practical for the Performer

Sound designer

A Sound Designer in theatre is responsible for creating all sound and audio for a production. Depending on the requirements of the show, this can include sound effects, music, building atmosphere and how the performers are heard

Scene/set designer

A Set Designer creates the look of a set for a theatre production. Their role is a combination of creativity and practicality as they must create not only the design but also make it come to life alongside a team.

Technical director

As the highest position among the theatre's technical staff, the technical director is responsible for operating, protecting, and maintaining the theatre's technical assets, while also managing and overseeing the different technical departments, including set, lighting, costumes, props, sound, and effects.

Assistant technical director

The Assistant Technical Director supervises production and technical crews composed of student and temporary employees and acts as the Technical Director's representative when the Technical Director is unavailable for athletic events, shows, and meetings.

Public relations

A career in public relations (PR) involves using all forms of media and communication to build, maintain and manage the reputation of your clients. These range from public bodies or services, to businesses and voluntary organisations.

Cast

The cast is an actor, singer or dancer who was chosen for a particular role. Their job is to memorise their script, lyrics or choreography and remember all their ques. They must create a character around the script they have been given and bring the directors vision to life. In theatre the cast are the bottom of the hierarchy.

Master electrician

A theatre Electrician is responsible for all non-design aspects of the lighting in a theatre production. Inspecting electrical systems, wiring and equipment to ensure they are safe and functioning properly. Fixing electrical faults or replacing parts. Connecting sockets, switches, light fittings and appliances. Laying cables to connect equipment to power and computer networks

Shop manager

The shop manager's responsibilities include driving sales, enforcing company policies, ensuring compliance with safety regulations, and managing financial aspects such as daily revenue and salaries

Drapers

A draper usually works on fashion designs or costumes for theatre and films. Typically, a draper works with the sketches of a fashion or costume designer, creating the outfits by draping the clothing over a form.

Stitchers

Stitcher (sewer, seamstress, costume builder) A stitcher works on the actual construction of the costumes. Sews assigned costumes by hand or machine. Maintain clean and safe workspace. Assist in fitting, stitching, or other assigned costume duties. Maintain and alter costumes as assigned.

Makeup artist

In theatre the makeup Artists oversee Performer's hair and make-up throughout the run of a production, working closely with the Wigs, Hair and Make-Up Designer and the Costume Designer.

Marketing staff

The marketing manager's role is to promote and sell tickets. To do so, they manage all aspects of the theatre's publicity and advertising material which includes fliers, posters, press adverts, brochures, newsletters, websites and social media.

Prop masters

They are responsible for all props in the production—that includes acquiring them, keeping them organized, and making sure they're used safely. To do this, the props master leads a team of prop makers or props-department runners, and reports to the production designer. The prop master works with the artistic director to know what they want the props to look like as well as the director to know what props are used in which scene by which character and when. When the show is finished, they return of all hired props and organise the sale or safe disposal of everything else.

Prop artists

Where props are to be made, prop masters recruit the carpenters, artists and prop makers and manage the schedule for production. Where they are hired, they work with the prop masters to get an understanding of what props to make and the time they have to make them.

Scene change

They are in charge of changing the set to match the scene. This could be changing a screen to project the background or a physical background change. They are also in charge of raising and lowering the curtain at beginning and end of shows and well as during the intervention.

Journeyman painters

A Journeyman Painter specializes in painting walls and other surfaces according to project needs. Aside from applying paint, a journeyman painter is also responsible for cleaning and scraping off the dirt to prepare the painting procedures, identify client preferences, select equipment, and technique, and apply other finishes. They must also monitor their supplies and maintain the cleanliness of their work areas.

Carpenters

Carpenters are in charge of all woodwork done in a production. Props and staging. They are vital for the construction of set and large and small props. They often make multiple of the same exact set and props in case between shows or during a show the set or props are damaged or lost.

Stage hands

Backstage Crew members are also referred to as Stagehands and/or Stage Technicians. They help backstage at theatre productions and prepare everything before the show which includes props, scenery, lighting and sound. Backstage Crew support the Designers and Performers with the running of the show.

Box office staff

they are responsible for overseeing ticket prices, sales, orders, arrangements, schedules and subscriptions of the box office. They maintain all financial records; ensure all tickets arrive at the venue on time, and that the staff provides excellent customer service.

House manger

A Front of House Manager (sometimes shortened to FOH Manager) is responsible for the day-to-day operation and management of the reception and seating area of a theatre. They are responsible for supervising the Front of House staff.

Ushers

An Usher is responsible for the customer service of the audience before, during and after a performance and is mostly situated within the auditorium.

My Job Roles In Our Showcase

Director

Jessy was the director of our showcase. She designed all the set, costumes and was in charge of casting. Any and all creative choices went through her. She helped create the set for each mini play however we were in charge of blocking it ourselves. If there was something that she did want to add to the scene then she did but mostly it was the cast coming up with our blocking. Her role as director vanished once the performance date rolled around as there was nothing the director can do during the performance.

Stage manager

Jess was stage manager. She was in charge of everything that Jessy wasn’t in charge of. She was in charge of making sure we had all the props and costumes, a list of what ones we needed and which side of the stage they were needed on. She checked to see what was available to use for our showcase lighting and set. Jess made sure everything was done so that when the show came to be performed it would run as smoothly as possible.

Light designer

Jessy and Jess worked together to design the lighting in each scene. By reading through the script after coming up with set design. They came up with simplistic lights for the scenes which was very much in line with Brekit’s style of keeping things minimalistic. We added coloured lights in some scenes to give an illusion to being outside for That’s Your Trouble and Request Stop. The biggest lighting issue was for Applicant as in the script it said that the lights turn red during one of the monologues where Mrs Piffs integrates Mr Lamb. Jessy changed it slightly having the red flash while Mr Lamb gets electrocuted to add intensity to the scene. And at the end having spotlight leading to the middle slowly and suddenly turning off one by one gives off the same uncertainty to the audience. The most common lighting technique used was slow fades out to indicate transitions between scenes.

Sound designer

Jessy and Jess were both the sound designers figuring out what sounds to be used in each scene only if necessary. We all chose songs that we said best suited our characters during a Stanislavski character development workshop so they had the idea to use those songs for the intro and exit music for the audience to come into and leave the show to just to make our performance more welcoming. It also help the audience know when the show is about to start as when the music faded away the audience knew to quiet down as the show was about to begin. They also incorporated background noise to outdoor scenes like That’s Your Trouble and Request Stop to make the scene feel livelier. The most prominent sound was the sound of the phone ringing during the transition between Applicant and That’s All, it was important to set up the scene as the entire sketch is a phone call. This also gave me more time backstage to change costume.

Set designer

Jessy designed the set and staging for our production. She wanted something different and simplistic to match our budget, She was a big fan of Brekt’s simplistic designs so was heavily inspired by him. She chose to have audiences on both sides so that no matter where the actors were on stage they could always be seen by one of the two sides. It also made the performance more intimate with the audience making them feel closer to the action. The simple set and props were done due to budget but were used effectively with the design set up. Then having three boards at each corner, minus the corner audiences came through, was used for back staging. The wall paper designs and the vines could be used in every scene. If it was outside the actors typically acted towards more of the vine covered board whereas inside was towards the wall papered walls.

Costume designer

Jessy came up with the designs for all the characters based of the actors performance and interpenetrations of the characters as well as what was said in the script. She tried to make use the items of clothing she requested would be easily accessible to everyone in order to not go over budget. Of course the actors used Jessy’s designs as guidance adding additional items of clothing if they felt like it would add more to the character. For example: Jonathan wearing heals, me wearing glasses, me wearing top hat and scarf, Matt’s tie being undone.

Lighting and sound technician

Rich was in charge of the light and sound department. He listened to what had been said by light and sound designers, Jess and Jessy, and the brought their visions to life. He changed the old outdated spotlights for brand new ones just for our production. He programmed all the lights and sound to come on during the correct scenes. He made sure all lights and sound worked for the performance in line with the director's vision and made all transitions work smoothly.

Makeup artist

Jessy was in charge of makeup for this production. The only use of make up that was required was for Riley in New World Order, the director wanted him to look bloody and bruised as he was being tortured during this scene. They needed two white shirts so that he didn’t get fake blood over the clean shirt that was required for other scenes during the next shows of this production. They had plenty of time to apply it backstage and it was easy to remove before the next show began with the use of makeup wipes.

Cast

Matt, Riley, Connor, Jessy, Jonathan and myself were all part of the main cast for this production. Our job was to create believable characters and perform them onstage. What we did wis we read through our scripts and what they told us about our scenes then we came up with our own blocking, presented it to the Director to use as inspiration to how she wanted the scenes to play out. We of course had to memorise learning lines which was harder in some scripts than others but we all got there in the end. After some run throughs and workshops we read back through the script and talked with the other actors we shared scripts on to better develop our characters. We did hot seating and movement workshops to develop the characters and then performed them on show day.

Marketing

I was in charge of creating a poster to promote our production. I knew what I wanted, I wanted to have a boarder on each side of images of us in costume of the scenes we were doing to perform. However, we only just had performed our first full run through in costume meaning that was the only footage I could work with. What made it worse is due to covid, one of our actors couldn’t be in so I couldn’t include her in the poster. I went for a black background to match the black box theatre we used for our performance and the white text made it look old fashioned; like a black board and chalk. I was required to put on an age rating of 15, so I looked at real life age rating simples and made my own in the same design as the rest of the poster. I also needed to add trigger warnings for strong language, violence and flash warning. I put this text in red to stand out, making sure before read it showing it’s importance but it also added some needed colour to the poster design. I then forwarded the poster design to Sonia who had connection to a wide variety of people so was able to promote the production and get the poster wide spread. She also used the poster I had made to create a program for people to have as they walk in, to know the order of the sketches, and who was in them.

Prop master

Matt and Connor were both in charge of props. They were each dedicated a side of the stage and created a list of all the props that should be on each side before the play begins and when the play ends. This helped keep track of where everything was and made sure nothing was lost during or before a performance.

Stage hands

Jessy, Matt, Riley, Jonathan, Connor and myself were all stage hands. We moved set on and off stage between performances. We set up stage for sketches we weren’t involved in ready for when the actors came on and we also took props off stage after finishing sketches we were involved in. This allowed actors in the next scene to get ready, made sure the stage was clean and nothing got left behind and made the performance run smoothly throughout its run time.

Title

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The Creation Of The Poster

Combat workshop

Pinter Sketches: Final Performance

Part 1: Trouble In The Works, Black And White, Last To Go, Request Stop, That's Your Trouble, Interview, Applicant.

Pinter Sketches: Final Performance

Part 2: Applicant, That's All, New World Order.

Pinter Sketches

Final Review

I think our performance went well, we got a lot of positive feedback from the audience; especially in our final performance. Everyone remembered all the ques to enter and exit, and there was only one incident where someone forgot their lines but that actually benefited the show. I think this was one of if not the smoothest production we have ever had. I liked the different roles I got to play. I think I've improved as an actor, learning different techniques to deliver dialogue with the circles of attention from Stanislavski and Pinter's scripts and characters were interesting to explore and develop.
Although I would be remised if I didn't mention some of the mistakes that did happen that actually enhanced the scenes. Unfortunately both happened during performances we didn't record which is unfortunate.
So during applicant right at the end when I was supposed to be shocked for the second time, one of the lights had broken during the show. Now no one but the stage manager and the light technician realised this so we carried on as usual. However the broken light for some reason caused a delay in the program so when Jonathan pressed his buzzer to shock me, there was no change in the lights. We both sort of paused while we looked at each other in confusion. However we stayed in character. Jonathan started bashing his buzzer as if wondering why it wasn't working before pressing it again. I was relived to not be shocked and even pointed and laughed at Jonathan for it. As soon as I laughed, the lights came on and I instantly went back to being shocked on the floor as planned. It was really just the most perfect comedic timing I had ever seen; just as Jonathan pressed the button a second time and just as I laughed.
The second accident that happened was in That's All. While we were talking on the phone Matt accidentally actually tangled himself up with the phone wire. It wrapped around his neck which was slightly dangerous but his slight choke sound made people laugh. Thankfully he was unharmed and able to quickly untangle himself. Matt then because of this forgot his lines and in character asked down the phone "oh where was I?". I said in dread "oh please don't start again" like my character would as she really wants to end the phone call. I was repeating his last line back to him to remind him but in character so it seemed like she wanted this story to be over. But the audience went crazy over it and loved that scene the most because of Matt's little accident.

Crewing

Final Review

Stage Hand

Stage hand was something I was experienced in already coming into this show and therefore I don't feel like I've learnt anything new. Much like the actors the stage hand is all about remembering ques for when to bring set and props on and off as well as what to bring on. It's more or less following instructions for what, when and where to put something. And in the showcase it ran very smoothly. The only person who forgot one of their ques was Jonathan who went straight off stage after That's Your Trouble to get ready for Applicant and forgot that we were both supposed to grab the chairs to bring them on ready for Interview. Luckily I had enough time to go back and set up his chair just as Matt and Connor was bringing on the table so nothing harmful was done. I think I could handle perhaps a slightly larger back stage roll than this put I do fear too much responsibility over other people but that just adds to the challenge and experience

Marketing

Marketing was something I did for our previous show Cirque La Fragure. For it I created a poster design that I wanted up for the show and the marketing team the decided to use it for the promotional posters too. So due to it I was then tasked with creating the poster for this showcase. It wasn't as much work required for this poster as my previous one however this time I had things I had to include. I had guidlines and was required at least three times to add aditional information to the poster such as; warnings, company, an age rating. I pretty much knew how I wanted tohe poster to look and it turned out exactly how I imagined. There is of course more I can learn with marketing, coming up with new inventive way to market shows and different ways of photoshopping and editing images to make good looking posters. My skills in this arena are not complex or advanced in the slightest and I would say I was only at a beginners level with how good my editing skills are. So if there's anything I would love to improve it would be this.

I loved doing all the back stage roles and learning about behind the scenes as well as getting the chance to do it myself live in an actual showcase. However I think I would much rather be in front of the camera than behind it.