Half term happiness and hyperlinks...

-
Some people who are lucky enough to be able to take a holiday at this point in the year like to spend their February half term week resting, others go away to foreign climes, still others enjoy daily excursions to enjoy the coast or soak up one of the many local cultural diversions whilst many more use it as a chance simply to catch up on all of those tasks and jobs that get left behind in the hurly burly of term time life. 

Not me and not the cast of Hacktivists.  We grafted hard…six hours rehearsal every day…fuelled by far too many portions of chips from the shop across the road and an excessive amount of confectionary…seriously we were living the dream…all in the name of creating a National Theatre Connections production to be proud of…

Monday was all about consolidating the work done since the play was cast last November.  It was in pretty good shape by the end of the first day but there were still aspects of it that needed creative solutions and the tasks for the rest of the week were clear…we also had the joy of a visit from some of the What’s Next team who have been busy with auditions this week. Finished off with a Nando's and a trip to the cinema for the majority of the cast it really was the perfect start to the week.

Tuesday was a day of discoveries – a movement sequence here, an extension of a scene there and the staging of a clear and concrete ending and we had our play.  I left feeling very excited about the theatre that we were making.  Hacktivists is very different to any of the Connections plays we have done.  It is incredibly wordy, lots of fast paced dialogue, it’s challenging and contemporary but also entirely relatable to…it’s been a joy to work on.

Wednesday was a full on festival of off text improvisation, character work and getting to grips with the scene that had eluded us up until this point.  By the end of the day the cast had added significant definition to their characters by exploring moments talked about in the script but not included in it.  Each actors character history had become clearer and I looked forward to seeing the richness it would add to the play in the following days rehearsal.

Thursday we really started to see the fruits of our labours…the run we did in the afternoon watched by special guest Hannah was so close to what we are aspiring to that we left feeling accomplished and ready which meant that on…

Friday in addition to running the show we were able to think about how we could ensure we got as many people to watch as possible and the click the link videos were created – there are three (one, two, three) out there already look out for the remaining four released one each day up until the first show…


And so Hacktivists is ready – performances are this week – we’re both excited and nervous about sharing it with you…hope you enjoy it…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrating the past in the present...

-
  Next year Yew Tree Youth Theatre will be 30 years old.   We haven’t quite decided how we will celebrate - any suggestions would be gratefully received. No doubt there will be some nostalgic perambulating down memory lane and some haphazard but joyous celebrating of three decades of creativity we have shared.   Some variation of those two themes would feel fitting. This blog however is something different. This blog is a celebration of the present of those who attended YTYT in the past. Alumni, graduates, previous members – I can never seem to find the right term – but whatever word is chosen I know for sure they are part of the fabric of the youth theatre and I’m grateful to have known all of them, mainly because I have learnt so much from them.   I also can’t put a number on how many people have spent significant time with YTYT over the last 29 years.   I know we started with a group of 8 and now have about 80 members, I know at our peak just before COVID w...
Read more

Yew Tree Youth Theatre. 2024 - Fred

-
What a year (That's a good thing, by the way). My favourite shows, my favourite rehearsals, my favourite year; so you can hopefully gather that I've enjoyed it all.  But in all reality, my blog should start in 2023, as National Theatre Connections began then.  I had been cast, along with Izzy, in the role of Noush, which quickly I became attached to. As the rehearsal process continued into the year of 2024, I only grew to like the role even more. Kiss/Marry/PushOffCliff - as the play was called - soon shaped up to be a fantastic show. The year before (I know, this is meant to be 2024, but everything, after all, is interconnected) I'd shown interest in NT Connections but had shied away, thinking I was not capable enough for such a task. This time, however, I was prepared - or brave, or optimistic, or however you could describe it - and chose to take part. It was indeed the right decision. Never before from a show had I received such enjoyment, even from rehearsals. Every tim...
Read more

Robin's Connections Blog

-
 Kiss / Marry / Push off a cliff was my second connections play that I have done with YTYT. As soon as I read it, I fell in love with the script. Although it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, it drew me in with its pure weirdness and mystery. I was so intrigued as to how we would tackle many of the problems that were initially presented to us. After all, showing someone getting pushed off a cliff while inside of a sleeping bag in a youth theatre production isn’t a simple task. However, with the combined effort of an equally talented crew and cast, I believe we were able to do a pretty good job. I could ramble all day about how much I love characters as a whole. In truth, they are what drew me to connections in the first place. I love being able to delve into their motivations and fears in detail and develop a whole other being rather than myself. I remember there was one character that stood out to me in my first reading. I knew from the start that Marco would be a tricky character. B...
Read more