Despite a fabulously frosty morning a party of children arrived on foot, having come up the hill to the theatre, breath steaming, to sit red-cheeked in the auditorium excitedly waiting for The Wizard of Oz. Thousands of children have seen it in the past few weeks and it’s been tremendously gratifying to know that, for many of them, this will be memorable as their first ever experience of theatre.
I’ve had a treat myself. With more time on my hands now that this huge task is completed, I’ve been able to take a trip round the country to see the Christmas productions of other theatres. It’s been a fun few weeks; and valuable not only to see the shows but also to sit front of house and engage with the whole experience, including eating a meal prior to the show. It’s always good to get out and see how other people do things, and hopefully borrow their good ideas to implement at the New Vic.
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I have been reworking Great Expectations. Having had a week at home to write the first draft, when I was able to work in a very concentrated way from nine in the morning to nine at night and hold all the thoughts in my head at once, this second draft has been very different. I’ve been doing it in bite-sized portions, snatching ten or fifteen minutes in between other tasks – though it’s not a bad exercise to really focus in on one small moment and polish it till it works.
Having been so aware of the scale of the task of adapting a long and complex novel into a stage play that is as animated and enthusiastic as the original, the first draft was all about finding the style of the narrative and the shape of the story. This second draft has benefited from the comments of others and the input of designers, so now I’m working through scene-by-scene, taking time over Dickens’ humour and characters. He’s such a theatrical writer and creates both place and atmosphere with a dramatist’s awareness of variety and texture – a real pleasure to adapt. I’m trying to make sure the script is all his own words, and, thanks to a little borrowing from Our Mutual Friend and the Pickwick Papers, I’m achieving that ambition.
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My next big project after The Wizard of Oz is to write an artistic policy. This is such an important document for the organisation to have, setting down in words what we do and why we do it.
Articulating it is a difficult task, but that process, together with the discussions I’m having with other members of the team, makes this a really useful time to spend looking at the big picture.
This morning the Education and Borderlines Directors and I sat down to look over my first draft of the policy and start thinking about articulating policies for their departments, and we had a fascinating talk about how our in-the-round space is at the heart of everything we do – sometimes without realising it.
As well as producing theatre in the round, they talked about how they carry that format out with them as they work in the community at large.
Whenever they arrive in a new place to deliver a workshop, one of the first things they do is rearrange the room so that all the participants sit in a circle.
The Borderlines Director talked about how the circle, or round, is a symbol of the kind of cohesion we try to promote both in the theatre and in the communities with whom we work.
The Head of Education talked about the educational value of sitting in the round, which enables a number of different viewpoints, each as valid as the other.
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Last week’s technical rehearsals were lengthy – and no wonder, with so many songs, costumes, quick changes and scenic magic to rehearse in. But they were notable for the immense good nature with which every member of the team approached them. Technicals are always difficult: not least because the theatre has to close for them to take place, so the period allotted always seems too short. To make the most of the time, the team works three or four 13 hour days in a row, and the lack of sleep, together with the tremendous pressure – not to mention the anxiety as first night approaches – can make everyone a little touchy and short-tempered. For The Wizard of Oz we spent six days ‘teching’ and dressing, but it was a surprisingly pleasurable experience. During the whole time I heard only one cross word – addressed not to a person, but to some tangled cabling.
The opening performance took place on Monday afternoon. I’d popped Front of House to buy a bottle of water and immediately wished I hadn’t. A crocodile of excited schoolchildren were marching through the front doors and up the stairs, marshalled by their teachers and our stewards. Seeing them, my first night nerves set in with a vengeance.
I used to have nerves of steel at first performances. But rather than finding opening each show easier and easier, I find I’m more anxious each time – perhaps because, with every production, the list of what could go wrong gets longer! Certainly, The Wizard of Oz is so packed with theatricality that there are manifold opportunities for things to go awry, from Toto’s first entrance, through the appearance of the Emerald City, to the melting of the Wicked Witch.
So I was relieved when the band struck up on Monday and a sudden hush descended on the audience, broken only by a uniform gasp of delight as the miniature farmhouse swung out of sight beneath the stage and Dorothy ran on. The actors were as delighted to meet the audience as the audience were to be seeing the show, and it turned out to be a rewarding afternoon.
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A tough week ahead as we embark on technical rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz. We’re well prepared, but there’s a lot to do and little time to do it in – and our deadline is the first performance at 2.15 on Monday, which can’t be changed whatever happens, so we have to meet our target however difficult it is.
The week began badly for me before I’d even left the house: I woke up with a cold, the central heating hadn’t come on, the car wouldn’t start when I got in to it, and the cat was about to make her final journey to the vet.
Happily, once I’d got to work things began to improve. The band arrived for the first time and worked with the cast and children going through each song in order. Our Musical Director has been doing a sterling job at the piano these last few weeks, but it was a delight to finally hear the timpani and the piccolo and the many other instruments these talented musicians play.
In the auditorium some of the team had worked a long Sunday to get the stage set up and the lighting in. Wardrobe had also been in, moving costumes into dressing rooms and making everything ready for the actors to wear them for the first time. The props department were finishing off a table loaded with magical spells when I arrived and the sound team were setting up speakers and microphones. I’m not the only person with an illness, unfortunately, so we will have to navigate a difficult week in the hope that the actors don’t catch any of the coughs/colds/stomach bugs that are meandering around the building. It feels like it’s quite a mountain to climb – but hearing the band kick into the Overture reminded me what a thrill it’s going to be.
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