REHEARSALS BEGIN!

University for the Creative Arts, Canterbury

UCA are very kindly allowing us to use the Cragg Lecture Theatre at their Canterbury campus as well as their Brewerey Tap UCA Project Space, for eight rehearsals scheduled across August and September 2022.

24th AUGUST

We are thrilled to have actress, writer and story-teller Rosanna Lowe playing the role of Vivien. Myself and Rosanna met at UCA today to discuss the script, the development of the show's back-stories, and the impact on the project of the latest biography about Vivien Haigh Wood Eliot - Ann Pasternack-Slater's The Fall of a Sparrow (2020). We had some very valuable exchanges about historical and contemporary defintions of mental health, the script's treatment of Vivien's 'madness', as well as my portrayl of T. S. Eliot.

Photographer Stuart Dodd was there to capture it all!

26th August, 2022. UCA, Canterbury.

Today we had our first production team rehearsal with Rosanna, Sam, Kristin and myself. Dramaturg Kristin is working with us to realise the script as a performance, and to identify what might need to be cut from the script in order for us to keep to our running time (50 minutes). The tweaks to the script are minor but clearly, it is not yet the finished article - with each rehearsal it reveals itself to be a work-in-progress!

Musician Sam Bailey is working with us on the live music for the show. He and Rosanna have been working out the dynamics of performance and musical improvisation.

(There will be a separate blog about the tracks selected for the show, along with audio files of music played by Sam.)

29th AUGUST, 2022

Stuart and I were on the University of Kent campus today to film a hill-rolling sequence that will form part of the show's animation work. We were joined by Canterbury-based actress Charlotte Mounter, who rolled brilliantly downhill in a white satin dress (courtesy of Canterbury College's Performing Arts Department). This sequence will establish the motif of the chaotic white butterfly that forms part of Vivien's back story in 'Vivienne Sometimes', and will travel through the show's visuals.

Photos to follow...

16th SEPTEMBER, 2022

DRESS REHERASALS

I have been busy sourcing props for the show and want to give a big thank you to the staff at Canterbury Vintage and Retro shop (Pilgrims Hospices) for finding us a tea trolley and art nouveau floor lamp. These props can be seen 'in action' below at one of our dress rehearsals at Canterbury College.

29th SEPTEMBER, 2022

PREVIEW SHOW, CANTERBURY COLLEGE

A massive thank you to Zoran Tesic for offering us the use of a studio space in Performing Arts, Canterbury College, where we performed the Preview show for A-Level drama students today. The post-show discussion was really useful ahead of our performance at Bruce Castle Museum next month, and the feedback was resoundingly positive.

Photos to follow...