Show day has finally passed, and it is safe to say the whole company should feel extremely proud of their work! After a weekend of intense rehearsals, along with some last minute changes to the show (including some stressful technical alterations), we were finally ready to get the show fully up on its feet in front of an audience.

The day before the show, I sent a full day schedule to the tech staff at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, to ensure everyone was briefed on how the day should run and to make sure the tech team were available for particular times for tech runs and a cue-to-cue.

On the day, we had to overcome several obstacles, mostly to do with scheduling. Although we had timed our get-in during the tech day, other elements such as paint touch-ups meant that the assembling of our set took longer than anticipated, setting us back by about half an hour. This led to us having less time for last minute scene run throughs as well as cutting down our time for feedback. However, we didn’t let this deter us, and I shifted the schedule to allow for both the technical run and a dress run before the actual performance.

As I was both stage managing and acting in the piece, I was unable to call the show on the day, instead leaving it to be run by the tech team with it programmed on Qlab. Although I would have liked the opportunity to experience calling a show, this decision meant the show still ran smoothly, with the audience reacting to it greater than we could have ever imagined.

Although the experience has been a stressful and tiring one at times, being a member of Kick A Pigeon Theatre had been a privilege and I hope we are able to continue in the future (maybe with me just stage managing this time).

In preparation for the tech day, it was vital that not only did the company know what they were doing and were prepared, but also that the venue and tech team were also kept up to date. As stage manager, it was my job to liaise with the venue (Lincoln Performing Arts Centre) and the tech team there, in order to make sure all the necessary set and tech requirements were ready for our tech rehearsal. This involved preparing a technical rider (with the assistance of our set designer, Paige), which is a document containing all the technical specifications we would require for the running of our show, including set, lighting and sound, props and any special requirements or operations.

Since we would be having a box set comprised of flats, it was necessary for the technical team to be contacted prior to this to organise the decorating of the flats, which was done shortly after our initial production meeting with Martin Rousseau. In this meeting, we went over our initial ideas as a company for our set and technical designs in order to establish what would be possible within the venue and our budget. This was also to prepare the tech staff in case any set pieces or changes to the staging needed to be made by the team or altered on the day of the show. For example, the box set would take time to decorate and put together, most of this being done by the company (led by our set designer) in the weeks prior to the show, with the set being put up in our get in time on the day. The stage was also altered, with a catwalk added to the standard proscenium arch stage.

Figure 1 – Set Painting (Moran, 2017)

The tech day itself ran according to schedule, however due to us having a box set along with a lot of set dressing and props, the assembling of our set took the majority of our tech rehearsal. Along with imputing the sound and lighting cues onto Qlab, this left us no time for a full run or a cue-to-cue, leaving us less prepared for show day than we originally would have liked.

Figures:

Figure 1 -Moran, P. (2017) Photo of Set Painting. Lincoln.

In the early stages of the development process, we decided as a company that not only would our show be a scripted comedy, but that it would most likely be set in either the 80’s or 90’s, as these were decades we were all drawn to. Using a research technique called ‘Wikipedia Rabbit Hole’ shown to us in a workshop by Flickbook Theatre, we were able to narrow down our period to the late 90’s. We each looked into different years and topics within that in order to find a time period which had significant material on which to base our show or to use as source material. We then delivered our findings to the group by displaying our research on post it notes in order to group our findings together.

Figure 1 – Wikipedia Rabbit Hole (Bowe, 2017)

By further researching different areas such as politics, technology and music, we finally decided that 1996 to 1997 would provide a good time frame for us to set our piece. Not only was this the year of the girl band in music (for example, the Spice Girls), but it also saw the rise of New Labour, the death of Princess Diana, and an extreme development in science and technology.

Figure 2 – The Research (Bowe, 2017)

Once we finalised our year as 1997, and the fact our show would be a scripted comedy, it was time to properly begin to devise and script our piece. One of the first things we did as a group was create characters for use in improvising workshops. Then within these workshops, we would act out embarassing/funny stories we had experienced in real life for inspiration, or we were given scenarios or settings in which we would improvise a short scene. We were also paired up as our characters in order to see how they would work in a scene together, almost like hot-seating but in a scene. The writing team then used the results of the workshops to go away and create the beginnings of the script.

Figure 3 – Improvisation (Wood, 2017)

As Stage Manager for Kick a Pigeon Theatre, part of my job involves me making sure communication is clear between all members of the company throughout this development process, as well as organising rehearsals/meetings and knowing all production aspects of our show in order for the process to run without a hitch. For this to happen, I am present at every rehearsal and production meeting, and have made a clear rehearsal/meeting schedule with our Producer and Director to keep everyone on track. It is also important for me to keep notes for both the company and myself, ensuring that everyone is on the same page regarding the show making process, as well as making sure everyone has the correct information so deadlines can be met in regards to the technical and production elements of the show.

After an initial meeting with both the Producer and Director, a rehearsal schedule was formed around the company members’ availability, which was shared with each member on our private Facebook group. As well as this, all documents relating to script work, research, and production roles are uploaded and kept up to date, enabling all members access to them when they are needed.

Figure 4 – Rehearsal Schedule (Blench, 2017)

Figures:

Figure 1 – Bowe, K. (2017) Picture of Wikipedia Rabbit Hole Display. Lincoln.

Figure 2 – Bowe, K. (2017) Picture of 1997 Research. Lincoln.

Figure 3 – Wood, E. (2017) Picture of Improvisation Workshop. Lincoln.

Figure 4 – Blench, A. (2017) Screenshot of Rehearsal Schedule. Lincoln.

In our second theatre company session, the formation of our group was finalised. As a new company, it was important for us to establish a hierarchy with set roles early in the process in order for both the creative and production process to run smoothly. It was also necessary for us to begin thinking about the kind of company we wished to form, as well as the type of performance we wished to produce.

We are quite an eclectic group of people, and having not worked with half of the group in a creative capacity before, it proved interesting to learn where each person’s interests lay in relation to what we want our company and our show to be. We learned early on that we all wanted to create a traditionally scripted play, and that we are all interested in different forms of comedy, especially that of a dark and farcical nature which led to us unanimously agreeing upon this being the basis of our show. However, as a group we were split when trying to decide on a theme within this – a few members of the group wished to create a politically charged piece of theatre, with the other half wishing to do something less political and more light-hearted. As this was an initial meeting with the whole company, we chose to think over the type of comedy we wished to create, leaving talk of politics and social themes aside for our first devising session.

We also used this session to assign roles and establish a hierarchy. This was a key milestone in the formation of our company. Although we had agreed that our show would be created by us as a collective, with each of us having input towards scenarios for the script within devising sessions, we also needed a sense of order within the company. A hierarchy would provide us with a clear set of roles, along with who each role is answerable to, as well as telling us who has final say in the event of a disagreement within the group. It was agreed that the Director would have final say regarding all creative decisions, but the Producer would have final say overall, especially regarding anything which affects budget or how we run as a company.

Figure 1- Heirarchy (Bailey, 2017)

I am acting as stage manager within the company. This means I act as “the channel of communication between all the people and departments contributing to [the] production” (Hawkins and Menear, 2011) as well as “[having] overall responsibility for the stage management team” (Pallin, 2010). The stage management team would typically consist of Stage Manager, Deputy Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager, all of whom would oversee the different technical and production roles within the company. However, within our company each production and technical role has already been assigned, meaning only one Stage Manager is needed. It was also decided early on that I would have another role as a performer. Stage managing and performing are not usually roles which are paired together, so it will most likely be a challenging task juggling both roles. Having never before stage managed, it will also be exciting to experience a different side of a show from a production role, as well as pushing myself by placing myself in a position of organising a group.

Works cited:

Hawkins, T and Menear, P. (2011) Stage Management and Theatre Administration. London: Phaidon Press limited.

Pallin, G. (2010) Stage management: the essential handbook, 3^rd edition. London: Nick Hern Books Limited.

Figures:

Figure 1 – Bailey, N. (2017) Screenshot of Heirarchy. Lincoln.