Author: Laura Murphy

Looking Back on the Process…

Overall I feel that from looking at Cage Birds (1979) originally I was slightly worried as it is very different to the type of theatre I have experience in and hence meant I was out of my comfort zone. However I feel as the direction developed to gain more physically diverse elements, I could then explore more visually stimulating design concepts for the set and lighting plan. Mitchell describes the key responsibilities of the stage manager:

 “The stage manager is responsible for the overall running of the show. They will often not be in rehearsals with you, as they are coordinating with everyone outside the rehearsal room such as production management, props buyers, designers and so on. They organise any meetings needed and communicate any problems thrown up by the rehearsal process to the rest of the creative team. When you get into the theatre, they run the technical rehearsal and they remain backstage for every performance, ensuring that everything runs smoothly” (Mitchell, 2009, p.106).

I feel this sums up exactly what my role as stage manager within the company included. I kept a folder with all paperwork and notes in one place. This organization was essential to make sure I had everything required from me, from lighting plans, set designs, the technical rider, rehearsal schedules, tracking of the budget, the technical script, company contacts, props lists, anything that could possibly be required by a member of the company, venue or potential funders needed to be in this folder and so I regularly made sure it was up to date and contained all the relevant information. This needed to remain organised, clear and concise so that anyone could pick it up and understand exactly what was happening with the production. I regularly arranged meetings with venue staff in order to keep strong lines of communication and also members of the creative team. On the day of the performance I ran proceedings for the day, working with the LPAC team to prepare for performance and then cueing the show during the dress rehearsal and then the show.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day of the performance as I felt this was a time where I was able to demonstrate all of the work I had done behind the scenes and had been doing throughout the process. The LPAC team were fantastic to work with and overall the day went very smoothly resulting in a successful performance that I feel achieved our company aims set out in our manifesto and mission statement.   

Works Cited:

Campton, D. (1976) The Cage Birds, London, Samuel French Ltd.

Mitchell, K. (2009) The Directors Craft: A handbook for the Theatre, New York, Routledge.

The Day of the Performance…

On the day of the performance I arrived at the venue at 8am in order to begin organizing the space. Making sure the dressing rooms were open and prepared for the actors, that an initial schedule was prepared and printed so that all members of the company had a rough indication of the structure of the day. This also meant as soon as the technicians arrived we were able to have a discussion about the plan for the day and get straight to work on preparing the set. Once the performance space was prepared I worked along side LPAC technician Martin in focusing the lights and then plotting the show. Mitchell claims that during a technical rehearsal “creating a clear chain of command is crucial for an efficient and functioning technical rehearsal” (2009, p.112). She later says that “In my experience it is better to let the stage manager take charge” (2009, p.208). Director Alicia Ravensdale allowed me to take charge of the running of the day. This meant that I could focus on preparing the performance space, sound and lights ready for a cue by cue and dress rehearsal and that the technicians were clear on who to address any questions. It also meant that Alicia could spend time with the actors while they were not required on stage and then when they were she was able to observe the work I had done and make any comments or feedback that she wanted addressing. This dynamic worked well and led to a relatively smooth dress rehearsal with only a few minor issues left to address.

One of my key roles as stage manager was cueing the show. “The way in which they cue will affect the rhythm of the entire performance” (Mitchell, 2009, p.106). In order to do this I needed to make sure that my technical script was clear and understandable so that it was easy to follow. I also prepared cue sheets for the technicians and to keep on hand in case for any unforeseen reason I could not follow the technical script. Despite having sat in rehearsals and run troughs’ when it came to the first cue by cue not all of the cue lines quite correlated with what was happening on stage. After realising this I made further notes on the technical script to confirm exact cues. I then while running the show was very aware to make sure I was following what was happening on stage rather than just following the technical script. This allowed me to take lead from the actors meaning that the cues came in at the correct times adding to the overall visual effect of the performance.

Works Cited:

Mitchell, K. (2009) The Directors Craft: A handbook for the Theatre, New York, Routledge.

Risk Assesment…

It is crucial to make sure all actors, staff, crew and members of the public are safe during a performance. There fore risk assesments are neccesary to make sure there are no potentially dangerous hazards. If there are hazards it allows a plan of action to avoid these hazards becoming problems. Below is the Risk Assesment for the Recent Production of Cage Birds.

 

Technical Rider…

Retold Theatre

The Cage Birds Technical Rider

21st May 3013

Brief Description of Technical Elements

 All action will take place on the main LPAC stage and immediately in front of the curtain, which will be half shut. We will be using 5 rostra’s and steps on to these (3x short legged, 2x long legged). We also require a water dispenser and beanbags from the venue which has been previously agreed.

 1.     Staffing

We require the assistance of one lighting technician to help operate the lights.

 2.     Schedule

 Retold theatre’s stage manager and creative director will arrinve at the venue at 8am on 21/05/2013 to begin the get in. Once this has been completed we will run a que by que for sound and lighting. After this allow a break for all crew and technicians, after which we will run a full dress and tech rehearsal.

 3.     Performance Area

 We will require the front rows of seating to be removed and the floor raised as we will be performing on this space. We will be hanging rope from the lighting grid which will outline the performance area. The curtains upstage will be closed over with a gap where the rostra/steps are. Behind this will be a cyclorama.

 4.     Lighting

 House lights to be controlled through the desk. We require a selection of spotlights, fresnels and profiles. We will also require one moving special. We will need purple, red, orange, blue, teal, green and yellow gels as well as broken effect gobos. There are flashing lights within the performance of which we will warn members of the public.

 Note: All lighting and sound will be programmed in to que lab on a company members Mac.

 5.     Sound

 All sound is pre recorded and will be played through the venues pa system.

 6.     Wardrobe

 We will require full use of the LPAC dressing room, accommodating 1 actor and 6 actresses.

 7.     Other

 The running time of the show is aprox 1 hour with no interval.

 Contacts:

If you have any concerns or questions please contact our stage manager:

 Laura Murphy

07766470304

laura_murphy92@hotmail.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

Meeting with the Venue Staff…

 As stage manager I felt it was important to develop a strong relationship and good lines on communication with the LPAC staff. The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education state that “[e]ffective communication is essential to successful partnerships to ensure that the needs and the expertise of different partners are compatible and matched” (1999, p.145). Having recently directed the musical Spring Awakening at the LPAC I had already built up a positive and professional relationship with several of the technicians and the front of house staff which meant I could easily communicate ideas with them and they would also provide ideas and advice of how we could put these plans in to practice. In order to keep up with this communication myself and Aidan Felis organized and attended several meetings with venue staff on a regular basis which we felt was important because as the show was developing we were getting ideas of how we could improve the technical elements of the performance. Having originally been told to keep lighting to a minimum, we felt that to enhance the visual experience of the show, we needed a creative light design. Therefore, alongside Melissa Clark and Aidan we began exploring ideas of how we could use light and in particular colour to the best effect. As these ideas developed we were able to check what was possible and gain advice on how we could improve elements by talking to the venues experienced technicians. This gave us a good insight in to what was possible and ways of overcoming obstacles. These meetings also gave us the opportunity to explore ways in which we could turn our ambitious cage design in to reality. 

 Works Cited:   

 National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (1999) All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education, May [Online] Available at: http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/pdf/allourfutures.pdf(Accessed: 01/05/2013).

How hard is it to find some rope?

As we began trying to source rope, it became apparent very quickly that for the quantity of rope we were looking for it would come at a very high price. Given our limited budget, Aidan and my self started to look at other avenues of acquiring this rope. We contacted several builders’ sites and mariners. Anywhere we thought might have some old rope. Eventually we were pointed in a direction a little bit closer to home. We got in to contact with Steve Chambers from the Theatre Royal Lincoln, who kindly donated enough rope for us to be able to create our cage. As the Theatre Royal still use rope for their lighting rigs they had plenty going spare. However we very much appreciated the kind gesture of donating this free of charge.

How to Make a Cage on the Stage…

Having explored several possibilities we have decided we are going to make our cage out of rope. There are both practical and theoretical reasons for this choice. The practical element includes reasoning that rope is easy to manipulate; we want to create a giant cage that will come from the ceiling of the auditorium, down to the floor. All action will then take place within this space. By using rope we can tie it to a central point on the lighting grid and then by using fishing wire also attached to the grid, that will remain unseen to the audience, we can manipulate the rope to take the shape of a bird cage. We intend to use seven pieces of rope to create this cage. The rope which will surround the performance space is also not thick enough that it would obstruct the audience’s view of the action, but still gives the impression of the cage. The theoretical ideas behind using the rope came from a brainstorming session where we discussed what can physically trap us. Rope was the first object that came to mind as it ties you down. Therefore in creating a cage of rope it gives connotations that the cage has tied down the characters. Aidan will be taking on the technical elements of how we actually make this structure and I will be focusing more on the interior of the cage.

 The director decided to take on the concept that the characters within the play were birds representing aspects of human behaviour, rather than the more common interpretation that these characters are humans with bird like qualities. Because of this I wanted to create the feel of a messy cage, but by using everyday human objects which are appropriate to the characters. Therefore in each characters section of the cage will be objects representing each bird’s personality. Here are my initial ideas for each characters space.

 Guzzle will be on beanbags surrounded by junk food and wrappers. The bean bags suggest a laid back attitude and the copious amounts of rubbish suggesting greed.

 Gazer will be raised higher than the rest of the birds, as I believe she would see herself as superior. She will have beauty products and an unnecessary amount of mirrors around her showing her extreme vanity.

 Gloom will be surrounded by tablets and medicine bottles. She will also have a water dispenser in her section to help her take her tablets. A bird cage would also have a water bottle in it so serves as that function as well.

 Thump being depicted as a harsh elder bird will have a large old fashioned chair. I will also place stacks of old books around him as I feel he would be extremely well read, particularly on conspiracy theories.

 Gossip as the name suggests is a gossiper. Therefore I will be placing many magazines and also several telephones around her section. Although she is constantly on her mobile, I feel the presence of these phones will add to the definition of her section.

 Twitting will have nothing in her section as she can not decide. She is the newest member of the cage (until the entrance of the Wild One) and so she has not settled in completely to her surroundings, which becomes apparent later in the play as she is the only one that pays attention to the Wild One, which consequently means the other birds turn on her as well for stepping out of line. Her lack of objects sets the tone early on that she does not fully belong in the cage.

 Each birds section will have newspaper covering the floor to further define each section. This definition is important as each bird is wrapped up in there own obsession and does not interact with one another. “They are contented” (Campton, 1979, p.7) and it is only when this is disturbed that they briefly leave their section in order to confront the disturbance, the Wild One. The Wild One will have no defined section as she never settles in to the cage or becomes part of its community. Therefore she will be able to roam freely around the cage in to each birds section, consequently making the other characters uncomfortable. 

Works Cited:

Campton, D. (1976) The Cage Birds, London, Samuel French Ltd.

Influences from Visual theatre…

Visual theatre is a generic term that often gets thrown about along with physical theatre which it is widely argued is “virtually undefinable” (Chamberlain, 2007, p.117). However on the V & A museum web site they claim:  

Available at http://www.gomitoproductions.co.uk/home/previous-projects/before-we-remember/

Available at http://www.gomitoproductions.co.uk/home/previous-projects/before-we-remember/

 “In the 1980s companies began to experiment with a more physical type of theatre. They wanted to get away from the restraints of realistic and naturalistic drama and create an energetic visual theatre that combined strong design with choreography and physical imagery” (2013, online).

Although Alicia is choosing to use non naturalistic direction with the actors, it is the ‘strong design’ element of visual theatre that I want to apply to this production. I think it adds something special to a producation when it is visually stimulating. This also does not need to be big elaborate sets. Having seen Cambridge based company Gomito’s Before We Remember (2009) and A Merry Little Christmas (2010) it struck me how epic they made there set appear but in fact it was simply house hold rubbish and everyday items used in collaboration with an inventive lighting plan that created visually stunning pieces of theatre. Although this style is not completely appropriate with the direction of the play, I certainly want to take in to consideration aspects of it throughout the design process.     

Works Cited:

Chamberlain, Franc (2007) ‘Gesturing towards post-physical performance’, in Keefe, J and Murray, S (ed.) Physical Theatre: A Critical reader, Oxon, Routledge pp.117-122.

Gomito (2009) Before We Remember,  Junction, Cambridge.

Gomito (2010) A Merry Little Christmas, Junction, Cambridge.

V & A Museum (2013) Modern Theatre: Physical and Visual Theatre, Available at  http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/m/physical-and-visual-theatre/ (Accessed: 17/05/2013).

 

 

Initial Thought on Set Design…

 Having read through the play, it became apparent that a lot of the production is extremely static. Because of this, after having a meeting with creative director, Aidan Felis and set designer Vicky Turzanski, we decided that we wanted to create a set that was visually stimulating and innovative. The play is very ambiguous in its setting and this therefore gave us room to experiment with concepts behind the set design. We began this process by researching previous productions of the show.

Image available at: http://allyremelle12.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/the-cagebirds/#jp-carousel-7

Image available at: http://allyremelle12.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/the-cagebirds/#jp-carousel-7

This research reiterated our initial response that the play is very ambiguous, which offers optimum design possibilities. Previous productions have set the play within mental asylums, cages, retirement homes, burlesque shows or not made it clear exactly where the play is, using more symbolic sets. From looking at these different designs we decided that we wanted to create some form of cage as we felt this emphasised the idea of entrapment. It would also focus the action to a smaller performing space which we feel on the particularly wide LPAC stage, would benefit the sense of entrapment we want to create. As Warden states “[t]here are two main functions of the cage in avant-garde: as a symbol of the captivity of the human mind or the or the imprisonment of the human body: or indeed a conglomeration of the two” (Warden, 2012). Within Cage Birds (1976) although the birds are physically trapped they also represent a metaphor of how our minds can also trap ourselves. This furthers our reasoning for having a cage on the stage.

 Our next task will be deciding how exactly we are going to create this cage on stage.

 Works Cited:

Campton, D. (1976) The Cage Birds, London, Samuel French Ltd.

Warden, C. (2012) British Avant-Garde Theatre, London, Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Laura Murphy – Stage Manager/Set & Lighting Designer

Laura Murphy Laura is the current Stage Manager and Set Designer for Retold Theatre. She has a strong interest in physical as well as visual theatre and takes much inspiration from companies such as Gomito, Complicite and Frantic Assembly.  

She has worked as both a director and actor on various productions over the last five years. Some of her acting roles include Linda in Willy Russel’s Blood Brothers (2008), Ill’s Wife in Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit (2009), Sarah in a devised performance entitled The Newspaper Boy (2009), Adele in John Godbers Shakers (2010), Ensemble in Martin Crimp’s Attempts on Her Life (2010), Madeline in Steven Berkoffs The House of Usher (2011), Michelle in Denis Kelly’s Debris (2012) and Mirriam in Alan Ayckbourn’s Snake in the Grass (2013). Her directing credits include Oh What a Lovely War (2010), The Tempest (2012) and Spring Awakening (2013) along with a variety of school productions and devised educational performances throughout the Cambridgeshire area.