Our final shows went very well. Good audiences for both performances and the kids did a magnificent job. Bang bang in particular was really good. They'd done it so many times that they were able to really get the rhythms down.
Writing this from the lobby of the airport, on our to London. We've got a show tonight and a full day of tours tomorrow.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Winding down
We just checked out of our flats at Hermits Croft and schlepped our stuff over to Pollock Halls - just up the street. Hermits Croft is only a weekly, Friday to Friday rental, so we had to move for the last couple days.
We've got two more performances left. Though we've had a total of seven reviewers see both shows, I've only been able to find the few we've already passed along. The List came yesterday and they requested a press photo, so I'm thinking something should show up on line today.
Shows have been good, but I can see the casts energy waning. We keep pushing though RIGHT UP TO THE END. Audiences remain small, especially for "Winner by Submission" and we still have the occasional person walk out mid performance. Wasn't exactly what I had in mind for "moving" production.
We've got two more performances left. Though we've had a total of seven reviewers see both shows, I've only been able to find the few we've already passed along. The List came yesterday and they requested a press photo, so I'm thinking something should show up on line today.
Shows have been good, but I can see the casts energy waning. We keep pushing though RIGHT UP TO THE END. Audiences remain small, especially for "Winner by Submission" and we still have the occasional person walk out mid performance. Wasn't exactly what I had in mind for "moving" production.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Really looking up!
A great day today! Got two good reviews plus additional notice on the web and both performances were outstanding. First, our review from Broadway Baby - we were actually featured on their home page!
Bang Bang You’re Dead is largely based on a shooting in Oregon in 1998, in which a fifteen-year old boy killed his parents and then two of his fellow high school pupils, injuring many others at the same time, although it also contains references to other high school shootings of the same period. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the beginnings of school violence, which are not always easily seen.
The play is about a boy named Josh who is in prison after killing his parents and five classmates. The ghosts of those classmates demand to know why he killed them . Josh refuses to answer so the ghosts seize Josh and push him into a coffin. They only let him out after he begs them and he then talks to them. They remind him of his first hunting trip when he killed a buck, even though he was almost overcome by the beauty of the animal. Afterwards he bitterly regretted killing it but at the same time enjoyed the respect he received from other hunters.
The ghosts then recount their final day at school, which ends with Josh killing his parents and the five classmates. Their stories show how the initial cause was a trivial argument between Josh and another boy, which then escalated out of control. Or perhaps it had started years before, when Josh was first bullied and made fun of, causing him immense pain which nobody had ever taken seriously.
The play powerfully evokes a sense of great loss for those whose lives were cut short – the chances of going to college, travelling the world, falling in love and having families. However, it also shows that Josh too has lost everything – he will now spend the rest of his life in prison and will never be able to do any of the things he’d dreamed about. Josh exclaims “I never thought I was taking away all that!”
The intentions of the writer are that this play will reach out to potential killers and make them pause before taking their final step and realise what it means to kill someone. It also tells us that people shouldn’t be excluded or laughed at just because they’re a little bit different or slow.
Overall, this is a very moving and thought-provoking production.
The play is about a boy named Josh who is in prison after killing his parents and five classmates. The ghosts of those classmates demand to know why he killed them . Josh refuses to answer so the ghosts seize Josh and push him into a coffin. They only let him out after he begs them and he then talks to them. They remind him of his first hunting trip when he killed a buck, even though he was almost overcome by the beauty of the animal. Afterwards he bitterly regretted killing it but at the same time enjoyed the respect he received from other hunters.
The ghosts then recount their final day at school, which ends with Josh killing his parents and the five classmates. Their stories show how the initial cause was a trivial argument between Josh and another boy, which then escalated out of control. Or perhaps it had started years before, when Josh was first bullied and made fun of, causing him immense pain which nobody had ever taken seriously.
The play powerfully evokes a sense of great loss for those whose lives were cut short – the chances of going to college, travelling the world, falling in love and having families. However, it also shows that Josh too has lost everything – he will now spend the rest of his life in prison and will never be able to do any of the things he’d dreamed about. Josh exclaims “I never thought I was taking away all that!”
The intentions of the writer are that this play will reach out to potential killers and make them pause before taking their final step and realise what it means to kill someone. It also tells us that people shouldn’t be excluded or laughed at just because they’re a little bit different or slow.
Overall, this is a very moving and thought-provoking production.
Four stars out of Five!!!
We also got a mention in the Scotsman
Winner By Submission |   |
By Joyce McMillan Published: 9/8/2010 |  |
For raw realism about the whole issue of the abuse of women in our mediated culture, you might as well see Winner By Submission at C, by the American student group Red Chair Players West.
In this production of William Mastrosimone's short play, the kids themselves can express how they feel about the world of abusive images - some of them home-made - that are available at the click of a mouse, and they do it with memorable passion, and some skill.
---------------------------------------
Beck Roof found this notice on the web as well. We're one of their"top picks":
Bang Bang You’re Dead / Winner by Submission
Multi Fringe First-winning Red Chair Players (East and West) return with an updated version of William Mastrosimone’s pacifistic Bang Bang You’re Dead and his new play Winner by Submission, which explores the “dark and dangerous side of uninhibited sex”. Mastrosimone fans can take them both in during a single afternoon.
Multi Fringe First-winning Red Chair Players (East and West) return with an updated version of William Mastrosimone’s pacifistic Bang Bang You’re Dead and his new play Winner by Submission, which explores the “dark and dangerous side of uninhibited sex”. Mastrosimone fans can take them both in during a single afternoon.
------------------------------------
We hope to capitalize on the good press tomorrow with stickers on our flyers and passing out a few free tickets. We had nearly 30 in for BBYD today. Only 4 for WBS, but one of them was a friend of mine from Oregon! A fellow drama teacher who's doing a show here. The cast from his show will come tomorrow and hopefully, the 3 star review from the Scotsman will push people over the edge enough to come see WBS.
Settling in. . .
We're making planned attacks at marketing now - did yesterday morning and last night as well. It was Sunday though, so not a lot of people out. That won't be the case today as the festival now is in full swing.
No other reviews published, though we did have Broadway Baby in yesterday for BBYD and I expect they'll put something out either today or tomorrow. Nothing on the web site yet. Still nothing from the others that saw the show early on. We have reviewers for Winner today and tomorrow. Can't complain about that really: many companies are lucky to get one!
Posting new photos. I have a short video of Kymm climbing a pillar to stick up a poster, but I'm having trouble getting it to upload. I'll try again later - it's pretty funny. Fortunately, she's got a good sense of humor!
No other reviews published, though we did have Broadway Baby in yesterday for BBYD and I expect they'll put something out either today or tomorrow. Nothing on the web site yet. Still nothing from the others that saw the show early on. We have reviewers for Winner today and tomorrow. Can't complain about that really: many companies are lucky to get one!
Posting new photos. I have a short video of Kymm climbing a pillar to stick up a poster, but I'm having trouble getting it to upload. I'll try again later - it's pretty funny. Fortunately, she's got a good sense of humor!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Depressing, but we're recovering
Good audience today for "Bang Bang You're Dead." About 25 people and the show seemed to go very well. "Winner..." was less fortunate: only 4 and they were all related to Ian. Not a good sign.
Also, we got our first two reviews, both from the ThreeWeeks; a daily publication that attempts to see as many of the festival shows as possible. Here's the Bang Bang You're Dead review:
Bang Bang You're Dead
The Red Chair Players West
"I wanted to kill you. But I didn't want you dead". This emotive exploration of the Columbine shootings attempts to explore and understand how a boy can become a killer. Josh - in a forceful lead performance - is tortured by the memories of his victims killed in the high school rampage. Moving fluently between childhood memories and flashbacks to the killings, there are some powerful moments (his victims slowly unravel red ribbons when they are shot and make ghostly use of torches), but the play fails to convincingly evoke the world it attempts to condemn, in a production where a strong lead is counterbalanced by a mixed chorus. 'Bang Bang You're Dead' is intelligent and thought-provoking, but won't blow you away.
C, 4 - 13 Aug, 3.40pm (4.30pm), £6.50 - £9.50, fpp 229.
tw rating 3/5
[mm]
The Red Chair Players West
"I wanted to kill you. But I didn't want you dead". This emotive exploration of the Columbine shootings attempts to explore and understand how a boy can become a killer. Josh - in a forceful lead performance - is tortured by the memories of his victims killed in the high school rampage. Moving fluently between childhood memories and flashbacks to the killings, there are some powerful moments (his victims slowly unravel red ribbons when they are shot and make ghostly use of torches), but the play fails to convincingly evoke the world it attempts to condemn, in a production where a strong lead is counterbalanced by a mixed chorus. 'Bang Bang You're Dead' is intelligent and thought-provoking, but won't blow you away.
C, 4 - 13 Aug, 3.40pm (4.30pm), £6.50 - £9.50, fpp 229.
tw rating 3/5
[mm]
I'm not sure that I agree with his contention about "evoking the world it attempts to condemn": the play isn't about condemning, it's about paying attention. This is the first critic that I know of to miss that. 3 out of 5 isn't too bad - it's basically a "good" and won't hurt our chances at the box office. However, it's not "great" and we'll need to fill in with some impassioned marketing and some clever stunts.
What's more distressing is the review for "Winner By Submission"…
Winner by Submission
The Red Chair Players West
The cast work hard here with the sensitive subject of date rape and what happens when teenage boys take things too far. Whilst it's evident that much thought and research has gone into the writing of such material, this is clumsily directed and not convincing; the actors occasionally upstage each other, hindering sight and sound, and the few humorous moments there are fall flat. The onstage stack of seemingly pointless cardboard boxes is puzzling and the constant spilling and spraying of copious beer bottles rams the teenage party setting down everyone's throats. The play descends all too quickly from banter about virginity and porn into a lumbering attempt at a gang rape. It's uncomfortable viewing, but not in a good way.
C, 4-14 Aug, 4.45pm (5.35pm), £6.50 - £9.50, fpp 305.
tw rating 1/5
[gjs]
The Red Chair Players West
The cast work hard here with the sensitive subject of date rape and what happens when teenage boys take things too far. Whilst it's evident that much thought and research has gone into the writing of such material, this is clumsily directed and not convincing; the actors occasionally upstage each other, hindering sight and sound, and the few humorous moments there are fall flat. The onstage stack of seemingly pointless cardboard boxes is puzzling and the constant spilling and spraying of copious beer bottles rams the teenage party setting down everyone's throats. The play descends all too quickly from banter about virginity and porn into a lumbering attempt at a gang rape. It's uncomfortable viewing, but not in a good way.
C, 4-14 Aug, 4.45pm (5.35pm), £6.50 - £9.50, fpp 305.
tw rating 1/5
[gjs]
Now this is a problem. A 1 out of 5 is as low as you can get. What's worse is how he dismisses the larger picture of the play and the great character work of the cast. Bill, the playwright, responded to the cast with this:
Mike and the Troupe,
In the WBS review, the reviewer struggles to grasp the essential story and characters. He does not ever touch on the personal dynamics, which make up the core of the play, which makes everything he says dismissable. It's really more unfortunate (unlucky to get him) than it is a bad review. But perhaps people will stay away by reading it, and others may come who hear word of mouth. To the troupe I would say it's important to be an artist knowing that you have given your best, period, and all else is the cherry on the cake. Too bad you didn't get a person who could get past the beer bottles. He was grasping at straws to wrap his little mind around the big action of the play. Seriously, do what you must to get past this silly review which will the lining of somebody's parakete cage while the troupe is moving audiences with this important play.
I think that summed it up nicely for all of us.
We had a good evening of "flyering" - I've recently been corrected by the group (though I would argue that busking is a universal term applied to what they're doing). The kids pulled some clever stunts, accosted a goodly number of people, and spelled out the importance of shows that deal with increasingly common moral dilemmas. We're hitting the streets again tomorrow morning and evening. We're determined to get more people in to see our shows and get past/through these reviews.
More reviews coming. Still expecting a review on "Winner…" by the Scotsman (perhaps tomorrow) and another from The List for BBYD. A critic from the Herald will be in tomorrow to see BBYD and another to see WBS next week.
I have more pictures, but may not get to posting them this evening. It's getting late and I have to escort Kiran and Sandhya to the airport tomorrow: they're staying with our relatives in London next week.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Looking up!
Shows today were much better - more like opening. We're finally getting the hang of the change overs and we even had time for a short warm-up before BBYD. WBS was much better today, but, again, only a few people in the audience. Two of them were from another show the kids had met, "Pulse" - apparently amazing. The girl, Nat, said the play was "really funny, but horrific." I may put that on the poster.
We were also visited by John and Carrie, Ian's parents, who have just arrived. Good to see familiar faces.
In other news, one of the students who came with me to the festival in 2005 arrived today. She's tech-ing for another show. Also, ironically, a few of the kids ran into Ezra LeBank doing a show here: he was in the production of "West Side Story" I directed at LCC in 2002. Bizarre to come to Scotland for old home week.
Still no reviews yet, though we did have another reviewer today from "Broadway Baby."
New pictures posted - from the performances today.
We were also visited by John and Carrie, Ian's parents, who have just arrived. Good to see familiar faces.
In other news, one of the students who came with me to the festival in 2005 arrived today. She's tech-ing for another show. Also, ironically, a few of the kids ran into Ezra LeBank doing a show here: he was in the production of "West Side Story" I directed at LCC in 2002. Bizarre to come to Scotland for old home week.
Still no reviews yet, though we did have another reviewer today from "Broadway Baby."
New pictures posted - from the performances today.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Another day
We had our second day of performances today. Not as stellar as yesterday - I don't think there were any critics today; probably a good thing.
BBYD actually went pretty well. The venue did a nice job of organizing our set pieces so it was a bit easier to set up. We had about 16 people in attendance - pretty good for preview day. In 2005, we had four.
However, WBS was a different story. Just didn't "click" like it did yesterday. As well, I was a bit stressed out by the continued failure of the way we're hanging the upstage "Winner by Submission" poster. We had to struggle to get it tied up before the audience came in. Jonna and I think we have another solution; we're going to sneak in tomorrow morning around 9 AM. Only two people showed up. One left about half way through, the other looked like he was dozing. Hmmm. . . I really hope they weren't critics.
Our reviews should come out tomorrow. You might be on the look out for them as well. The ThreeWeeks saw both shows, The Scotsman saw Winner and The List saw BBYD. I will post the links as soon as they come out.
Keep the faith!
BBYD actually went pretty well. The venue did a nice job of organizing our set pieces so it was a bit easier to set up. We had about 16 people in attendance - pretty good for preview day. In 2005, we had four.
However, WBS was a different story. Just didn't "click" like it did yesterday. As well, I was a bit stressed out by the continued failure of the way we're hanging the upstage "Winner by Submission" poster. We had to struggle to get it tied up before the audience came in. Jonna and I think we have another solution; we're going to sneak in tomorrow morning around 9 AM. Only two people showed up. One left about half way through, the other looked like he was dozing. Hmmm. . . I really hope they weren't critics.
Our reviews should come out tomorrow. You might be on the look out for them as well. The ThreeWeeks saw both shows, The Scotsman saw Winner and The List saw BBYD. I will post the links as soon as they come out.
Keep the faith!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Opening fire!
We had a BRILLIANT opening today. Three critics in attendance and easily our best performances: Ben even cried at the end of BBYD!! Really emotional day.
The students spent the morning on our first official "busking" outing: hanging poster, handing out flyers, and in general harranging the public to garner a bit of attention. An industrious few noted that the tops of festival pillars put out precisely for this activity are not easily reached so Kymm volunteered to be hoisted to the top! I've posted a few pictures from Jonna's camera.
The kids are making lots of good connections with other festival performers - they even got invited to a C Venues party (sorry, had to put the ka-bosh on that one). There will be other opportunities. Several of them saw shows today and they all have plans for many more.
As well, Kymm dropped by her SD card so I've uploaded a few of her shots she's taken over the span of the trip so far. Check them out! Cast B BBYD tomorrow and Cast C WBS.
Hard to believe it's only been a few days - feels like we've been here for weeks!
Keep up the good thoughts. Will send review links when we get them: good or bad. Cheers!
The students spent the morning on our first official "busking" outing: hanging poster, handing out flyers, and in general harranging the public to garner a bit of attention. An industrious few noted that the tops of festival pillars put out precisely for this activity are not easily reached so Kymm volunteered to be hoisted to the top! I've posted a few pictures from Jonna's camera.
The kids are making lots of good connections with other festival performers - they even got invited to a C Venues party (sorry, had to put the ka-bosh on that one). There will be other opportunities. Several of them saw shows today and they all have plans for many more.
As well, Kymm dropped by her SD card so I've uploaded a few of her shots she's taken over the span of the trip so far. Check them out! Cast B BBYD tomorrow and Cast C WBS.
Hard to believe it's only been a few days - feels like we've been here for weeks!
Keep up the good thoughts. Will send review links when we get them: good or bad. Cheers!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Getting confused. . .
I guess in all the excitement, I got confused about our dress rehearsal times - swore it was tomorrow and too tired and stressed to question it. Turns out that they were TODAY! Crap!! So, we missed the final dress for BBYD, but we did manage to catch the mistake in time to do WBS. Which actually went pretty well, despite being stressed and tired. We're still having unsolved tech issues, but Jonna is being creative and we'll meet tonight to get better organized.
Jonna took some pics during the dress rehearsal today, so I posted them. We open tomorrow with Cast A in BBYD and Cast A in WBS.
Jonna took some pics during the dress rehearsal today, so I posted them. We open tomorrow with Cast A in BBYD and Cast A in WBS.
Getting it together
"Winner By Submission" tech this morning. Went ok; everyone is very tired and a bit cranky, so there wasn't anything that you could much call acting. However, we did get the big upstage poster worked out and Jonna managed to find a "hideous couch - perfect for the show" for 25 Pounds. So, despite sleep deprivation, we're getting ready for our final dress rehearsals tomorrow.
We're trying to take it easy today, rest, get in playing shape for tomorrow. We've sold 30 tickets to "BBYD" already and 15 or so to "Winner By Submission"; a good start considering that we haven't even had a performance yet and no reviews. I'm not expecting many to attend our first couple of "preview" performances as the festival really doesn't get under way until Saturday & Sunday. Hopefully, we'll get a couple of good reviews and we'll see good size houses.
We're trying to take it easy today, rest, get in playing shape for tomorrow. We've sold 30 tickets to "BBYD" already and 15 or so to "Winner By Submission"; a good start considering that we haven't even had a performance yet and no reviews. I'm not expecting many to attend our first couple of "preview" performances as the festival really doesn't get under way until Saturday & Sunday. Hopefully, we'll get a couple of good reviews and we'll see good size houses.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tech & Tour
We arrived in Edinburgh around 11:00 AM and, after a bit of searching and scrambling, we managed to get all cozy in our dorms. Most of us took a nap or went in search of a bit food.
We had our first tech rehearsal, for Bang Bang You're Dead, at 10 PM till 2 AM. The theatre is very nice and it's well suited for our show. Kymm and I focused lighting and wrote cues for a couple of hours and everybody else joined us - groggy and cranky - at about midnight. We did a quick tech run and were out by 1:30. I've posted some pictures that Jonna took on the Scotland 2010 photo blog at http://gallery.me.com/mbfisher62#100128.
The next morning we met up with our tour guide, Andy Middleton who took us on a tour of Edinburgh castle in the morning and that afternoon, to Stirling castle. It was a full day of walking and learning. Andy is a fountain of amazing information and stories - we had a grand time. I've posted pictures that both Jonna and I took on the photo blog. Check 'em out.
We have the Winner By Submission tech tomorrow morning at 5:30 am till 9:30 am. We've got a few more things to scrounge up tomorrow plus we need to get our company IDs so we can see C Venue stand-by shows for free!!
All is going well! I'm amazed that the airlines didn't loose anyone's luggage and, so far, we chaperones haven't made anyone cry yet. But we're working on it.
Will post as often as I can. Cheers!
We had our first tech rehearsal, for Bang Bang You're Dead, at 10 PM till 2 AM. The theatre is very nice and it's well suited for our show. Kymm and I focused lighting and wrote cues for a couple of hours and everybody else joined us - groggy and cranky - at about midnight. We did a quick tech run and were out by 1:30. I've posted some pictures that Jonna took on the Scotland 2010 photo blog at http://gallery.me.com/mbfisher62#100128.
The next morning we met up with our tour guide, Andy Middleton who took us on a tour of Edinburgh castle in the morning and that afternoon, to Stirling castle. It was a full day of walking and learning. Andy is a fountain of amazing information and stories - we had a grand time. I've posted pictures that both Jonna and I took on the photo blog. Check 'em out.
We have the Winner By Submission tech tomorrow morning at 5:30 am till 9:30 am. We've got a few more things to scrounge up tomorrow plus we need to get our company IDs so we can see C Venue stand-by shows for free!!
All is going well! I'm amazed that the airlines didn't loose anyone's luggage and, so far, we chaperones haven't made anyone cry yet. But we're working on it.
Will post as often as I can. Cheers!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
In London!
We landed in London and are now waiting for our flight to Edinburgh. Everyone's good, though a little flight-ridden. Next stop Scotland!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)