The joy of inspiration...
By rights I should be writing this blog about Tuesday’s play in day because it’s the most exciting youth theatre thing that I was part of this week and because it was a brilliant day but James has done this admirably in his blog leaving me free to pursue a more tangential theme…
On Friday night I had the pleasure and privilege of watching an outstanding piece of theatre…it was thoroughly entertaining in the best sense of the word…the cast and company had taken the play (Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing) and used the full extent of their creative talents (which were many) and produced something utterly delightful…I left the theatre uplifted and inspired so I thought I might share some of the ways in which it’s going to influence this term at Yew Tree…
Firstly it was an affirmation that culture and company is everything in theatre, something I’m certain you’ll have heard me going on about. The cast worked as a true ensemble with an ease and smoothness that was unbroken throughout…the generosity with which they committed themselves to their joint endeavour was tangible…this wasn’t a place for ego or affectation and there was no room for uncertainty...this was a place where everyone worked together to produce brilliance and the aim was to do this as consistently as was humanly possible. What’s more it was backed up with direction that was both intelligent and aware…the directorial decisions enhanced every bit of the performances and gave the piece an infrastructure that made brilliant theatre possible. Equally the design did what good design should do and ensured that every aspect of the play had the appropriate setting and sense of place…it was simply ingenious and as such entirely in keeping with the rest of the elements making up the production.
Secondly each person played to their strengths and was placed to make the most of these…however, and this is important, they also had an absolute sense of the boundaries within which their performance was framed…the result was a sort of safe anarchy, a knowing provocation…it was magic to watch and the atmosphere in the theatre was charged with the power of it…as a director it made me consider the brilliant individuals I have in my company and how I can encourage them to explore the boundaries of their potential further…so my next ambition is to find a new balance between freedom and discipline that can really push the possibilities of the company…
And thirdly, and this is where anyone watching would have learnt something vital about theatre, every single performer was giving absolutely every bit of their energy, talent, intelligence, heart, soul and anything else they could get their hands on to ensure they gave the play to the audience in the best form it could be…it was a joy to behold that much investment being offered in such abandonment…leaving the audience feeling exhilarated and privileged to have seen something unforgettable…
So yeah…that was my Friday night, an evening that made me anticipate the start of the new term at YTYT with even more joy and excitement…so see you all this week where I can start to put all of this inspiration into practice…
On Friday night I had the pleasure and privilege of watching an outstanding piece of theatre…it was thoroughly entertaining in the best sense of the word…the cast and company had taken the play (Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing) and used the full extent of their creative talents (which were many) and produced something utterly delightful…I left the theatre uplifted and inspired so I thought I might share some of the ways in which it’s going to influence this term at Yew Tree…
Firstly it was an affirmation that culture and company is everything in theatre, something I’m certain you’ll have heard me going on about. The cast worked as a true ensemble with an ease and smoothness that was unbroken throughout…the generosity with which they committed themselves to their joint endeavour was tangible…this wasn’t a place for ego or affectation and there was no room for uncertainty...this was a place where everyone worked together to produce brilliance and the aim was to do this as consistently as was humanly possible. What’s more it was backed up with direction that was both intelligent and aware…the directorial decisions enhanced every bit of the performances and gave the piece an infrastructure that made brilliant theatre possible. Equally the design did what good design should do and ensured that every aspect of the play had the appropriate setting and sense of place…it was simply ingenious and as such entirely in keeping with the rest of the elements making up the production.
Secondly each person played to their strengths and was placed to make the most of these…however, and this is important, they also had an absolute sense of the boundaries within which their performance was framed…the result was a sort of safe anarchy, a knowing provocation…it was magic to watch and the atmosphere in the theatre was charged with the power of it…as a director it made me consider the brilliant individuals I have in my company and how I can encourage them to explore the boundaries of their potential further…so my next ambition is to find a new balance between freedom and discipline that can really push the possibilities of the company…
And thirdly, and this is where anyone watching would have learnt something vital about theatre, every single performer was giving absolutely every bit of their energy, talent, intelligence, heart, soul and anything else they could get their hands on to ensure they gave the play to the audience in the best form it could be…it was a joy to behold that much investment being offered in such abandonment…leaving the audience feeling exhilarated and privileged to have seen something unforgettable…
So yeah…that was my Friday night, an evening that made me anticipate the start of the new term at YTYT with even more joy and excitement…so see you all this week where I can start to put all of this inspiration into practice…
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