We Pulled It Off!!

Well, what can I say? Fantastic opening night.... the buzz has been fantastic.... I've been receiving texts and e mails all morning from an appreciative public. Even my son, who's my biggest critic, thought it was brilliant!! Here's one quote from an audience member, which some of you may already have seen.

"As a member of the audience, congratulations to everyone. The show was brilliant, the costumes and the set great and the performance hilarious. Speaking for myself, I certainly left Leeson Park last night with a smile on my face and a lighter step than when I entered!

Keep up the good work,

If tonight & Saturday are half as good as last night, the audiences won't be disappointed!"

Another elderly couple took me aside after the show and said it was the best night's entertainment they've had in fifty years of theatre going!!

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.... those comments are yesterdays news.... we can't rest on our laurels,because the audiences tonight and tomorrow deserve an equally good night out... and I know you're going to give it to them.

Hope you're resting up and not slaving too hard. I've just had Trixie telling me about a sore throat that she has succumbed to, so Cod Liver Oil for everyone.

Must dash, I've got a cello lesson in town!

See you all later.

Paul

Hinc Spes Effulget

Hence Hope Shines Forth!

Well that's it....I'm done! The show is now in your very capable hands.

From an audience point of view, the show looks great. The set, the costumes, the props, the lighting.... it all works really well. As regards the acting..... I couldn't be happier. Act One last night was a joy from start to finish. I watched the whole of it with a big grin on my face. Act Two needs a little stepping up in vitality, but I think the adrenaline and the buzz off the crowd will take care of that. What is up on that stage is exactly what I envisioned when we set out 12 weeks ago. I want the audience to feel that they are watching a Malory Towers book coming to life, and to give them that wave of nostalgia that brings them right back to the days when they would read those sort of books under the covers with a torch. In short, I feel that we have created a lovely piece of theatre.

So go out there tonight and bring the house down!

Break a leg, (or like Trixie, at least pretend to damage an ankle!)

Love you all,

Paul

The Roar Of The Greasepaint, The Smell Of The Crowd!

We're almost there! So close we can almost taste it!

Great rehearsal tonight, definately B plusses all round. Sort out the boxes, the second half of the hockey match, and a bit more energy at the start of each act and we're on to a winner.

The small audience of two really enjoyed the show... the laughter was genuine.... even those of us who have lived with it for the past three months were giggling like schoolgirls!!

Just to reiterate what I said at the end.... we do this because we love it; it is our passion, our joy....... show me that passion, show me that joy!!! Attack the show with verve and vitality..... I want no regrets!! You only get three shots at this, make everyone count!! And remember "No Feasting On The Second Years!!"

Must dash, there's the bell for Prep? Supper? Science Class? (Too many bells!!!!, poor Trixie!!)

7.00 tomorrow for costumes!
7.15 box run through and hockey match
7.45 curtain!!

10.45 PUB!!

B Minus For Everyone

Despite what a lot of you might think, last night went really well. It was our first time up on the stage, and that does take a bit of getting used to. There was a couple of lines dropped, a few entrances and exits could be sharper, the boxes need a bit of work, the hockey match was a bit of a damp squib... but these are all things that can only improve. Tonight you'll be a bit more comfortable and the stage will begin to feel like home... I fully expect tonight to be very good.... and then tomorrow night to be excellent, and finally Thursday, Friday and Saturday to be exquisite!!!

The costumes look fantastic, just make sure that we have the right socks (Clare) and the right shoes (Winnie). Make up was great, (Thanks Sharon). The lighting is almost there, just a little bit of tweaking.

I would normally be extremely nervous and edgy this close to a performance, but so far the top has stayed on the brandy bottle!!!

So take a B minus everybody.... I want B plusses tonight!!

See you later,

Paul

p.s. Break a leg to Adrian, who is opening in "Funny Money" in Australia tonight. Apparently they have to treat their Director like a God.....(Now there's a thought!!!)

No Mention Of Trixie

And so, here we are at last..... the week of the show!!! 23 rehearsals so far and tonight is looking like the first one where everybody will be there...... fingers crossed anyway! It's now 3pm on the Monday and there's been no declarations of unavailability as yet..... so don't even think about it.

Well done to everybody who helped out over the weekend..... the set is looking great, and when we fill it with actors later it will look even better!

Don't forget your costumes tonight, it is a Dress rehearsal! As it is our first run through on the stage, please bear with us as it may get a bit messy on the technical side. I trust you, the actors, to get on with what you do and pay attention to the crew, especially Noeleen, the stage manager, who will whip you into shape backstage.

The final rehearsal in room 6 was fantastic. It was a show almost ready for public consumption, unlike the rather sad cakes that Monica and Sybil had to eat!

I am very proud of this show so far....... let's really nail it over the next few days and give the audiences a real treat!!!


Cheeriosa,

Paul

Red Bull Gives You Wings

Sorry about the delay in blogging. It's been a crazy few days, winning a best Director award for my adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream at one Drama Festival and then winning a Best Actor award at another Festival for my performance in my own play "Fairy Gifts Fading Away". (God, I'm great..... he says with just a hint of irony!)

So Trixie needs artificial stimulants to get through the day, (Red Bull).... If you were anymore hyper darling, you would be airborne!! She's getting to be quite the demanding little drama queen now! Wanting holes in her doughnuts for pete's sake! Holes!! We'll do our best to get you your hole, Diane, but we can't promise anything!

Well tonight is our last rehearsal in Room 6...... it's been our home for 12 weeks, we'll miss it, but I'm sure you're all dying to get up on that stage. Apart from a few little bits here and there it's all looking really good. I am sure that everyone will be word perfect tonight. God help you if you're not. I am easy going and like to run a relaxed rehearsal room.... but God help you, if you try to take advantage of that and not put the work in that you should!!!! It's not just me that you're letting down, but the rest of the cast and crew and also all those actor's who turned up at the audition and didn't get parts. They would love to be in your uniform now! So tonight... full concentration..... and hard work!!!! 7.30 start; the play, the whole play and nothing but the play!!

Once we're up on stage, the set pieces will take a better shape, the dancing, the choir, the cliff top rescue, the schoolroom scenes, the train, the hockey match etc.
We'll hopefully run some lines over the weekend when we're putting the set together. Charles will remind you tonight of the times for building, painting etc.


Tonight, ladies and Gentlemen....tonight!!

Feasting On The Second Years!

How good was last night's rehearsal? I'll tell you, it was great! We're about 75% of the way there. And over the next 6 rehearsals we'll extract that last 25%. The secret of course is to guide the play and make sure that it peaks on opening night and then sustains for the final two performances. We don't want a situation wherby we're moaning at being either under-rehearsed or over-rehearsed! It feels like we're on the right track with everything; characterisations, lines, relationships, chemistry, movement, stagecraft, set-pieces, singing, dancing, props, costumes, lighting, set-design etc, etc.

On Thursday we will go through Act One and sort out any problems that arise. We will also go through the Cliff Top rescue, the Gay Gordons and the choir entrances. And the plan then would be to have full run throughs on Monday and Thursday!

Back to last night.... Michelle's Jesus, Mary & Joseph expletive had to be the comic timing event of the year. She says it was accidental, hopefully she will accidentally do it like that every night! And as for "feasting on the second years"? Enough said! Joan and Colette are going to bring the house down with their double act, so funny last night. I loved the cliff top rescue scene, there was literally excellent support from Dora, Belinda and Winnie!!! Irene is putting in a tour de force as Daisy. It's only when you let scenes run fully through that you realise how much she has to do! She will be drained by the end of it. I think we'll have to get Matron to dose her up on some cod liver oil! Wonderful to have Trixie back last night. Her vitality and energy add so much to the performance. The teachers are doing a fantastic job as is Mr Thompson. There was some wonderful work being done during the hockey match...yes I did notice! And how amazing is Sarah Jane....you just don't know where she's going to pop up next!

Finally, I just want to say how proud I am of all of you so far.....but don't get complacent..... we will work so hard over the next two and a half weeks to make sure that we give ourselves and our audience the most wonderful show!!

Anyway, must go, I have prep to do!

Paul

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

What an absolutley top hole rehearsal tonight. It was a joy from start to finish. Here we are just three weeks away from opening night and we're still finding the script as funny and fresh as we did at the first reading, and of course this was despite the fact we were missing the brilliance of Trixie, Claire and Dora..I think the audiences are in for a real treat. The pity is of course is that you guys aren't seeing from the front all the hilarious stuff that the audience are seeing. Perhaps we should get it videoed!!

Tonight I especially loved, the choir, (Charles was very taken with Irene's suggestive actions during Cherry Ripe). I also loved Joan munching on that massive cream cake and not being able to speak properly for 5 minutes. And guys at the next rehearsal check out the wonderful off tune humming of Sybil Burlington during Daisy's solo song. It is simply priceless.... I was nearly on the floor tonight. And of course how good was Colette tonight. Knew all her lines in one week and making a great effort at the accent. What a trooper!

Finally, congratulations to Michelle on finding the Fanny she was looking for.

Well anyway, must go for my cocoa before it gets cold,

See you all Monday, have a good weekend!!

CSI Leeson Park

Hello Babes and Kiddies,

Was out at Dianes play tonight (Fast Times at Teachers Club until Saturday)..and she was giving out about the lack of blogging, and she's right, so I have accepted the slap on the wrist and promised to get on the old Interweb thingy. She's great in the play by the way, and the outfit was mmmmmm....interesting. We nearly had a "Britney" moment at one stage!!!!! Anyway, she'll be back to LPP on Monday...Hurrah!!

The title of the blog is in respect of the fact that we have a Forensic scientist in our cast. Colette worked on crime scenes in Washington, before moving to the violent slums of North County Wicklow. Her detecting skills should come in very handy. She discovered Andrew's missing hat.... she found out that I have a pet dog, based on fibres attached to my clothing.... she is currently trying to find Michelle's missing Fanny. After that we will give her the job of discovering what happened to all those girls that Charles kept bringing along and then we'd never see them again!!!

As regards the play, Monday was a big improvement on Thursday...although I hope this wasn't due to the fact that 6 of the cast were absent. The few props and the knowledge of lines, the use of the boxes etc, is really making it all come alive. The next few rehearsals should be wonderful. And thank you to Noeleens brother Steve for supplying the boxes. They're so big that after the production we're thinking of selling them off as Starter Homes.

Time for lights out,

See you all tomorrow.

p.s. A big Hi to Rachel, if she happens to be reading this in the jungle. Watch out for those Monkeys!!

Counting Down The Days

Well here we are...into November. The countdown to the show has started in earnest. Only seven more rehearsals in the small room before we hit the main stage. After the run through last week I must say I am getting very excited about the production. Characters are great, lines are getting learnt, costumes and props are coming together, set pieces look good and the fun in the rehearsal room is still vibrant and exciting. (And that was even without Trixie)

For those who missed the schedule, here it is....

Thursday 1st Full Run Through (Scripts Down)

Monday 5th Full Run Through (with basic props)

Thursday 8th Full Run Through

Monday 12th Act One and problem scenes (act one)

Thursday 15th Act Two and problem scenes (act two)

Monday 19th Full Run Through

Thursday 22nd Full Run Through

Saturday 24th Set Construction (Time to be confirmed)

Monday 26th Dress Rehearsal

Tuesday 27th Dress Rehearsal

Wednesday 28th Final Dress Rehearsal

Thursday 29th Opening Night!!!!

Unless you’ve already told me of unavoidable absences, please, please, please have respect for the rest of the cast and do not miss any more rehearsals!!!

We won't have our Head Girl for the next few rehearsals as she is off getting her eyeballs licked by monkeys in Africa. But it will give one of our amazing understudies a chance to read in. May I take this opportunity to say how blessed I feel to have had such amazing understudies in this show. It is a thankless task but Colette, Sarah Jane, Jane and Claire have been absolutely top drawer in their enthusiasm and commitment.

As it is supposed to be scripts down for tonight, we should be in for some fun!!!!
Just make as good an effort as you can!

Cheeriosa,

Paul