Tonight, the one and only performance of horror opera Fright Fest.
A group of young people has been working here for a year, creating a horror story with the assistance of our Borderlines practitioner and Artistic Director James Redwood. He’s been working with similar groups at the Regent Theatre in Hanley, and the Garrick Theatre in Lichfield. This week the three grisly tales have been brought together by the production team here at the New Vic.
The opera makes for fascinating viewing. The young people themselves have devised the stories, lyrics and melodies, giving a moving insight into the world of children and adolescents. The recurring motif in all the plays is change – from a child into a doll; from a child into an adult; from a child into a ghost. These young people, undergoing a rapid change from childhood to adulthood, have a heightened awareness of the potential for further change: its logical extreme being a sudden and total disappearance. The ghost story makes a perfect vehicle for exploring such fears.
The Artistic Director has arranged the music and produced a witty, atmospheric score played expertly by four professional musicians. The whole event is well designed and produced, leaving me feeling very proud of our team for their dedication and commitment to all the work we make at the Vic.
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We are poised for next week’s big Youth Operatunity production.
Groups of young people have been rehearsing across Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent, and next week they’ll come together to present a horror opera devised by the young people with the help of directors from the New Vic, the Youth Music Action Zone Make Some Noise, the Victoria Hall and Glyndebourne.
In the best tradition of horror, Fright Fest is a nasty tale featuring sinister children and demon toys – with lots of singing.
The set and costumes have been designed by our resident design assistant, and our wardrobe and workshop teams are hard at work producing spooky things like dolls with mirrored faces.
Our resident lighting designer has been out watching run-throughs; our marketing team has worked with Make Some Noise to produce suitably grisly posters and programmes.
I’m looking forward to seeing it all when it comes together next week.
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Finally, the first night of my first show in my first season at the New Vic.
When I was starting out as a young director I thought first nights would get easier to bear, but in fact I get more nervous every time – perhaps as I gather more experience of all the things that can possibly go wrong! Some directors don’t even make it in to the auditorium on the first night, and I’d certainly love to feel I could avoid it too. But I feel that, having been fine-tuning the show for weeks, it’s my job to tell the team why it worked if it was a success – and to be a support if it’s not.
As it turns out, it’s a great night. We had a good sized audience, including a number of significant people I’d been looking forward to meeting. The actors loved having an audience for the first time, and it was evident that they really enjoyed the show. As did the audience, who laughed in all the right places, applauded all the songs, and clapped deafeningly at the end.
The next day, a good review in our local paper, another good show and good audience. Now I can catch up with all the things I’ve let slide during rehearsals, program the next season, catch up on the next production – oh yes, and relax!
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The first technical rehearsal for The Glee Club last night. We’ve moved out of the rehearsal room into the auditorium for the first time. The technical involves working slowly through the play, adding sound and lights, listening to the actors’ volume, getting used to new entrances and exits, rehearsing quick costume changes, flying in scenery for the first time, working with props.
It will be a busy few days, and it’s often a fraught time, but I’m glad to say last night everyone was pleasant and positive. Today, though, we’ll be doing scenes involving frenetic backstage activity, so I expect stress levels to go up.
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The last performances of Oliver! It has been the most popular show the Vic has ever produced, and I’m sorry to see it go. The two groups of children, the cast and many of the stage crew have been with us for three months. There will be tearful goodbyes after tonight’s performance – then tomorrow the production team will work all day, taking out the set and replacing it with the next show.
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