Process versus product...
Process versus product.
This week’s late blog (sorry about that) is inspired by the Sapphire Company; specifically last week’s rehearsal of The Princess and the Pea. Each company of Yew Tree Youth Theatre has it’s own distinct personality, and each one of those personalities is pretty complex. I like this about the youth theatre, I think it gives the whole organization a richness and I also think that it means people can enjoy different experiences. One of the things that sets Sapphire apart is the ridiculous age range with the youngest contingent being 10 years old and the oldest 17. Another feature that is incredibly prevalent in the company is that they are so very process driven.
The bonus of working with a process driven group is that we have such a nice time, they’re so happy to play and watch each others work and compliment each other. They’re so very generous with kind words and they make the most out of every moment…time in the sessions goes so, so quickly and the session is over before it really seems like it’s really started. All this is so eloquently illustrates in Danny Southern’s eloquent and engaging blogs.
The flaw in this idyllic company ethos comes in the demands of the Christmas term…it’s the only term when we prepare for a performance which I think is important to do. It’s important just one a year as a way of sharing all the loveliness of our weekly sessions and because it gives the members of the company a chance to measure how far they’ve come in terms of skills and understanding. So this year as before we started our rehearsals enjoying the script, enjoying the emerging characterisations, enjoying the process of creating a performance and also it needs to be said enjoying how much better we are at this compared to last year. However last week we had that moment, which all of you will recognise to an extent, of realising that the performance needs to ready in a finite amount of time and that although the process we’re enjoying at the moment will reap great results, it will do so in mid – January as oppose to mid –December when we actually have the theatre booked…
So from tonight a new regime will be instigated, a product driven regime getting these wonderful actors to a point where their talent and loveliness can be viewed by their friends and family in such a way that they do themselves justice…it’s not a bad thing…I’m actually really excited…but there’s a bit of me, and I’m certain the cast will echo this, that will look forward to the process driven months to come in the new year enhanced by the pride in what they achieved with Princess and the Pea.
This week’s late blog (sorry about that) is inspired by the Sapphire Company; specifically last week’s rehearsal of The Princess and the Pea. Each company of Yew Tree Youth Theatre has it’s own distinct personality, and each one of those personalities is pretty complex. I like this about the youth theatre, I think it gives the whole organization a richness and I also think that it means people can enjoy different experiences. One of the things that sets Sapphire apart is the ridiculous age range with the youngest contingent being 10 years old and the oldest 17. Another feature that is incredibly prevalent in the company is that they are so very process driven.
The bonus of working with a process driven group is that we have such a nice time, they’re so happy to play and watch each others work and compliment each other. They’re so very generous with kind words and they make the most out of every moment…time in the sessions goes so, so quickly and the session is over before it really seems like it’s really started. All this is so eloquently illustrates in Danny Southern’s eloquent and engaging blogs.
The flaw in this idyllic company ethos comes in the demands of the Christmas term…it’s the only term when we prepare for a performance which I think is important to do. It’s important just one a year as a way of sharing all the loveliness of our weekly sessions and because it gives the members of the company a chance to measure how far they’ve come in terms of skills and understanding. So this year as before we started our rehearsals enjoying the script, enjoying the emerging characterisations, enjoying the process of creating a performance and also it needs to be said enjoying how much better we are at this compared to last year. However last week we had that moment, which all of you will recognise to an extent, of realising that the performance needs to ready in a finite amount of time and that although the process we’re enjoying at the moment will reap great results, it will do so in mid – January as oppose to mid –December when we actually have the theatre booked…
So from tonight a new regime will be instigated, a product driven regime getting these wonderful actors to a point where their talent and loveliness can be viewed by their friends and family in such a way that they do themselves justice…it’s not a bad thing…I’m actually really excited…but there’s a bit of me, and I’m certain the cast will echo this, that will look forward to the process driven months to come in the new year enhanced by the pride in what they achieved with Princess and the Pea.
Comments
Post a Comment