Hiya, it’s Emma Fretwell and I'm blogging about what it’s like to be part of the Connections project this year
Usually at Yew Tree we devise lots and lots based on a story or a stimulus and then Sarah or Gemma will write it up into something sensible that we can perform back properly… but it isn’t like that with Connections. You’re picking up this brand new play that has been written especially for young people, a play that hasn’t been performed ever before and you have to put your stamp on it. A playwright (whom you’ve never met) has written a play about characters that you’ve never even dreamt of, and you get to put your claws right in. Connections is the only project that you have to properly audition for at Yew Tree because it’s the most professional process you can be a part of. I found the auditions fairly nerve-wracking, but it’s so worth doing – getting cast feels fab, and then you get the opportunity to undertake this incredibly intense journey and perform an excellent play.
Next week is Connections week! In February half-term, we rehearse every day and you’ve got to be on top of your game: I’ve done Connections before and I’m anticipating that for the actors, this week is going to be a riiiiiiight slog! (I’m going to bed when I’ve written this blog, hehe)… Yesterday’s rehearsal was super-duper productive and I hope that half-term week will follow suit! I like a good rehearsal where you leave thinking ‘I’m shattered, I can’t possibly do anything except sleep.’ Because it shows that you’ve reaaaaaallly worked hard. It’s the hard work that goes into Connections from all avenues (Sarah and Danny and Oz and the techies and the actors) that makes the performance really really worth watching.
This year, we’re performing Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy by Jonathan Harvey. It’s about secrets and friendship and love and hate and individuality and about being a human being. This is the grittiest play I have ever been in and I play the part of Joanne. The goings-on in the play are so far removed from what I have done (and will ever do) in my life, so I’m finding it interesting to explore situations in the context of the play. I have to admit that Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy took some time to grow on me, but I’ve now fallen in luuurve with it, and by the time it comes to the performances, I plan to know my character inside out and back to front.
With Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy, we’ve had a challenge. Previously we’ve done much lighter plays about dragons, about witches… but there is some incredibly controversial content in Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy and it has put all kinds of pressure on the actors. I know that some of the content has made me think “Arrrrrgh” … and some of it I didn’t even want to think about in the first place. But plays like this make you step outside of your comfort zone, and that’s what Connections is about: pushing yourself to your limits - and then some.
Come and see this play please. It’s going to be a brilliant, brilliant thing. It’s £5 if you’re not a member of Yew Tree, but if you’re a Yew Tree-er then it’s completely free!!! As long as you’re 14 or over you should bring your family, bring your friends, your neighbours, your aunties, your uncles, your cousins and see this play, because the message of Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy is something that everyone should be thinking about.
Usually at Yew Tree we devise lots and lots based on a story or a stimulus and then Sarah or Gemma will write it up into something sensible that we can perform back properly… but it isn’t like that with Connections. You’re picking up this brand new play that has been written especially for young people, a play that hasn’t been performed ever before and you have to put your stamp on it. A playwright (whom you’ve never met) has written a play about characters that you’ve never even dreamt of, and you get to put your claws right in. Connections is the only project that you have to properly audition for at Yew Tree because it’s the most professional process you can be a part of. I found the auditions fairly nerve-wracking, but it’s so worth doing – getting cast feels fab, and then you get the opportunity to undertake this incredibly intense journey and perform an excellent play.
Next week is Connections week! In February half-term, we rehearse every day and you’ve got to be on top of your game: I’ve done Connections before and I’m anticipating that for the actors, this week is going to be a riiiiiiight slog! (I’m going to bed when I’ve written this blog, hehe)… Yesterday’s rehearsal was super-duper productive and I hope that half-term week will follow suit! I like a good rehearsal where you leave thinking ‘I’m shattered, I can’t possibly do anything except sleep.’ Because it shows that you’ve reaaaaaallly worked hard. It’s the hard work that goes into Connections from all avenues (Sarah and Danny and Oz and the techies and the actors) that makes the performance really really worth watching.
This year, we’re performing Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy by Jonathan Harvey. It’s about secrets and friendship and love and hate and individuality and about being a human being. This is the grittiest play I have ever been in and I play the part of Joanne. The goings-on in the play are so far removed from what I have done (and will ever do) in my life, so I’m finding it interesting to explore situations in the context of the play. I have to admit that Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy took some time to grow on me, but I’ve now fallen in luuurve with it, and by the time it comes to the performances, I plan to know my character inside out and back to front.
With Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy, we’ve had a challenge. Previously we’ve done much lighter plays about dragons, about witches… but there is some incredibly controversial content in Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy and it has put all kinds of pressure on the actors. I know that some of the content has made me think “Arrrrrgh” … and some of it I didn’t even want to think about in the first place. But plays like this make you step outside of your comfort zone, and that’s what Connections is about: pushing yourself to your limits - and then some.
Come and see this play please. It’s going to be a brilliant, brilliant thing. It’s £5 if you’re not a member of Yew Tree, but if you’re a Yew Tree-er then it’s completely free!!! As long as you’re 14 or over you should bring your family, bring your friends, your neighbours, your aunties, your uncles, your cousins and see this play, because the message of Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy is something that everyone should be thinking about.
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