Preparing for a play: Ski lessons, falconry and Elvis impersonators…

Last week a reporter from Oldham Chronicle came to interview the cast of Dumb Show for a feature in the paper. However, we all ended up interviewing her. For those of you that don’t know, Dumb Show is about the relationship between tabloids and celebrities. With that in mind the cast and I had a fair few questions to throw at the reporter about press ethics, how journalists get hold of a story and where that fine line is before breaking the law.

So far I have been researching entrapment law, legality issues and the Press Complaints Commission but being able to talk to Helen from the Chronicle is even more valuable as we got an understanding of what motivates journalists and where they draw the line.

Researching for each production has changed over the years, when I first started work at the Coliseum I spent a lot of my time down at the reference library reading up about the background of playwrights and productions. Now I mainly research on the internet but there’s still a lot of other ways to get more keyed into the atmosphere and feel of a play.

For example, for The Road to Nab End, Philip (writer), Alison (designer) and I took a Nab End tour of Blackburn (where the play was set) by historian Simon Entwistle, taking in many of the places described in the book from which the play is adapted.

For Kes a falconer spent a day with the actor playing Billy and a kestrel teaching him how to handle the bird. Although we didn’t have a real bird on stage this really helped understand how the bird would move and react.

The cast of On The Piste took regular skiing lessons over at Rossendale ski slope ready for when they skied down the fully functioning ski slope on the main stage; Nick who played the Elvis impersonator in Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis actually met a professional Elvis impersonator; the cast of Brassed Off all visited the local bands in their band hall where they practiced and last summer’s production A Fine Bright Day Today was set in a fictional northern coastal town so the writer and I went to Fleetwood to get a feel for that type of location and community.

All of these things – which are unique to each production – help get a real sense of the various different aspects the play (such as the characters, their occupations and where they live) The web is a great resource but you simply can’t beat the knowledge and experience from meeting a professional and visiting real locations. All of this is essential to help bring the world of the play to life. 
See you out and about.

Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director

“There was much shock from the audience at the final kills on the stage.”

I rarely watch every single performance of each production that I direct. I’ll usually watch the first few shows and see it a couple more times throughout the run to make sure it’s still looking good. After each performance of each production the stage manager will produce a show report documenting anything that shouldn’t have happened during the show. This could be a missed lighting cue or an actor stumbling over their lines, you never know what’s going to happen and that’s one of the joys of live theatre.

Most of the time the audience will not notice that anything has gone wrong but it’s important to keep a record of what happens to see if there is anything that needs addressing (for example if there’s a cue that keeps getting missed is there a reason behind that? How can we prevent it happening again?). These reports are a way that I can keep track of what’s going on during the run of the production.

The reports are always formal in tone and refer to the actors as Mr Smith, Miss Jones etc. They will reference lighting and sound cues by number and reference the point in the play by the page in the script. These reports are then looked at ahead of the next night’s performance.

Sometimes, however, the report can be a lot funnier than intended. The audience has just as much of a role to play in live theatre as the actors on stage, take a look at a few examples:
“As Mr Bowerman fell to the floor during the diabetic episode a female member of the audience could be heard saying “Oh Dear!” very loudly.”
“There was much shock from the audience at the final kills on the stage.”
“When Mark hugged his dad there was an audible ‘aaah’ from the audience.”
“When Ms Alshibaya stepped forward to do the curtain speech a man in the audience shouted “Not in French”, she told him he had ruined her joke.”
“At the top of Act 1 Mr Healy delivered his line “Good evening Werneth, how ya doing?” and a man in the audience replied “Fine thanks”.”
“Honey the guide dog was sitting in her normal spot at the front of the stalls and was clearly quite alarmed at the garroting sequence and the log attack. She did however like Helga ten Dorp.”

Sometimes the stage manager will comment on how well a complicated sequence might have gone:
“The blood bag in the garrote sequence was excellent tonight.”

And of course, there are also little slip ups on stage, but a professional actor knows how to recover:
“Pg. 24 – Ms Matthews fell over onstage just before her exit, she ad-libbed “that floor’s a bit slippy Mavis”. She was uninjured.”

Panto has a mind of its own – it’s our most complicated production of the year so there’s a lot that can go awry. But sometimes it’s not the set, props or cues that malfunction, it can just be a member of the company:
“Just before the safe scene – Sarah the Cook made the ad lib as she left “This next bit’s a bit dull but don’t worry we’ll be back on in a bit”. This derailed Dick. The audience loved it as she found it impossible to compose herself. We did eventually get back on track.”
Of course, the preferred words on any show report would be: “A good, clean show.”

See you out and about.

Kevin Shaw
Artisitc Director

It's gazebo time...

As the summer is fast approaching we’re getting ready to appear at the first of many events that are happening around Oldham over the spring and summer.

On Saturday members of the Coliseum team will be heading to the Failsworth Carnival to pitch up our new branded gazebo. They’ll be providing some great activities and workshops for kids and there will be lots of staff on hand to talk to the public about what the Coliseum is up to. We’ve recruited the valued help of volunteers, ambassadors and members of the youth steering group to help at the event.

Last year we had a pitch at both Oldham Mela and Oldham People’s Carnival. The Coliseum is a vital part of the community and therefore support these local community events.

After the Failsworth Carnival we’ll be at the Saddleworth Show on the 9th June and at Whit Friday on 1st June (a date is everyone’s calendar I’m sure). We’ll be doing something exciting at separate contest throughout the day; Uppermill, Diggle, Dobcross, and Delph. I can’t say much more than that but if you’re going to be there make sure you look out for us. Delph and Lees bands will be part of our outdoor production Star Cross’d that will be in Alexandra Park this summer.

We’ll also be at the People’s Carnival again on the 24th June which has been taking place since the 1900s and always raises huge amounts of money for charity; it’s one of those events you simply have to be part of.

And on the 8th July there’s the Oldham Mela at Alexandra Park which is a Sanskrit word meaning “to meet”, which is exactly what the Mela offers; a great opportunity for communities to come together in a festival atmosphere to enjoy food, music and dance. They’ll also be extracts of Star-Cross’d on the main stage.

The Coliseum team including volunteers will be at all of these events with a variety of activities. If you’re off to Failsworth on Saturday then make sure you come and find the Coliseum gazebo and say hello. There will also be someone from box office on hand if you would like to buy your tickets there and then.

In the meantime, rehearsals for Dumb Show started this week and the play is already starting to take shape. I also held auditions for Star-Cross’d last week and that’s coming together nicely. There are lots of things to juggle at the moment; brass bands, community chorus, new drafts of the script, Dumb Show rehearsals, signing off the new season brochure, organising season launch and the small matter of making sure the refurbishment is on track. Phew.

See you out and about.

Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director

Young hearts, run free...

Preparations for Star Cross’d are really getting going now. For those of you that don’t know what the play is about, it’s a modern re-telling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set in Oldham. The writer, Ian Kershaw, is from Oldham and has found the perfect tone for the production.

This will be the Coliseum’s first ever large-scale outdoor production – it will be performed in Alexandra park and the audience will follow the action promenade style from scene to scene. The logistics of staging an open air production – let alone one that moves around – is quite complicated. A lot of the production team (myself included) have worked on outdoor productions in the past and we’re having to approach it all from a completely different angle than our usual main house productions.

All of the lighting, sound and other electrical equipment needs to be fully weather proofed as they’ll be exposed to the elements for two weeks. The path that the audience follow through the park needs to be full accessible for everyone and very clearly lit. There’ll be ample parking and numerous ushers to make sure everyone knows where to go. Because of the promenade aspect the audience won’t have set seating to watch each scene from so – while they’re welcome to bring a fold up chair or cushion – the company and cast will make sure they are led in the right direction but anything could happen!

We also have to take in to account the time of the sunset each day, factoring in when the light will fade and whether the action will face towards or away from the sun etc. The weather will play a major role in the production. In fact Shakespeare mentions weather throughout a majority of his plays and this was because they were often performed outside (The Globe in London is an outdoor theatre) so he would factor in the weather so that it formed part of the dialogue.

Last week we booked two local brass bands who’ll be playing dance music or acoustic versions of modern songs in the play, the casting process is also in full swing and we’re putting together the community chorus from talented young people from across the borough.

This is going to be a fantastic production – unlike anything we’ve done before. If you’re unsure about any aspects what an outdoor promenade production will be like just get in touch with the box office on 0161 624 2829 or at boxoffice@coliseum.org.uk.

See you out and about,

Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director

This week's news from the Coliseum...

As well as a board of trustees (a group made up of professionals with specific skills that guide the decisions of the theatre), the Coliseum also has a youth steering group which is made up of 15 under 26 year olds. The group is a key resource that influences the way in which the Coliseum attracts young people to the organisation.

The steering group was formed just over two years ago when the Coliseum received funding from the Big Lottery for a three year project to support the ideas and creative direction of young people in Oldham. The funding focused on ensuring young people influence the development opportunities available to them at the theatre. Our drama group TheatreLAB and digital theatre group DigiLAB were also a result of this funding as well as the steering group as well as Pathways, our career service for people looking for a job in the arts.

The group meet twice a month to talk through all aspects of the Coliseum, examining every element including production, education and outreach, front of house and marketing. It offers young people a platform from which they can voice their views about how the theatre works. Their ideas feed into the way we operate with the overall view of attracting more young people to the Coliseum.
All of the members of the steering group are involved in the Coliseum in some way or another – members of DigiLAB and TheatreLAB etc. As part of the group they attend the opening night of each production and talk to the audience about the steering group and how they’re involved in the theatre. Two elected youth reps also attend the organisation’s board meetings where they can offer advice on the strategic development of the company and also feedback their ideas directly to the board.

Different departments in the theatre also regularly consult with the group for their views on certain aspects of their own work. Last week the marketing team went in to speak to the group to get their opinion on the season brochure – whether it appealed to young people, what they thought of the front cover, what do they think of the content etc. This is really useful information that will inform the marketing team when they start putting the next season brochure together.

The steering group is a really valuable part of the Coliseum and as the funding from the Big Lottery comes to an end this year, we’re looking into ways to make sure the group is part of the Coliseum’s future.

See you out and about

Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director