The reason I mention this is because in writing it is has spurred me on to look at a play that Becky and I have already written, 'Pretend to Love Me'. The original was a 3 hander which attempted to recreate onstage, a fast-moving thriller. For whatever reason, the production never got to the stage, despite five weeks of rehearsal. At the time, Becky and I were very disappointed especially as Becky was also in the production. However, we always knew we could return to it and that's exactly what has happened in the last week. We talked about how we wanted to change some aspects of the three characters and even add new ones. Becky saw the West End production of 'Deathtrap' and was greatly influenced by that so 'Pretend to Love Me' has now taken on another genre...the murder mystery! Watch out Agatha Christie, Whole hog is coming for you (probably won't run for over 50 years like 'The Mousetrap' though!). So, as soon as I get back from my hols I will be finishing Beauty & the Beast, completing those lesson plans and (along with Becky) putting the finishing touches to 'Pretend to Love Me' 2.0!
After five years of staging productions throughout the summer I've given myself time off in lieu! I don't want to stop doing theatre just time for a break, and what with planning and shaping my college year, it was time to put my feet up a bit and not throw myself into intense rehearsals. I've started writing the annual New College Christmas show, Beauty & the Beast, which is a strange experience in itself as I have a deadline of 22nd August to deliver it. I find this a different way of working as I'm very much an 'organic' writer (or is it unorganised?) I write a draft and then allow things to develop and change in rehearsals, especially when collaborating with Becky Cann. But in this case, I have to deliver a fully completed script with specific stage directions, set ideas and finished text. I've devised 14 scenes , decided on the leading characters ...and now just have to write the dialogue!
The reason I mention this is because in writing it is has spurred me on to look at a play that Becky and I have already written, 'Pretend to Love Me'. The original was a 3 hander which attempted to recreate onstage, a fast-moving thriller. For whatever reason, the production never got to the stage, despite five weeks of rehearsal. At the time, Becky and I were very disappointed especially as Becky was also in the production. However, we always knew we could return to it and that's exactly what has happened in the last week. We talked about how we wanted to change some aspects of the three characters and even add new ones. Becky saw the West End production of 'Deathtrap' and was greatly influenced by that so 'Pretend to Love Me' has now taken on another genre...the murder mystery! Watch out Agatha Christie, Whole hog is coming for you (probably won't run for over 50 years like 'The Mousetrap' though!). So, as soon as I get back from my hols I will be finishing Beauty & the Beast, completing those lesson plans and (along with Becky) putting the finishing touches to 'Pretend to Love Me' 2.0!
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Well, 'Suicide Notes' is now over, and the question i knew that i would ask myself...... Did it work? and was the risk of a one woman show worth it? I can honestly say that it was the most challenging acting experience of my life, but it was a tremendous success, and the audience seemed to be thoroughly entertained, even if they didnt like the material of 4.48, they all complimented my performance.
Sat on the mattress, dress all in white, with Laurence the puppet standing by in the wings, i can honestly say that i was pooping my pants! I could feel my heart pounding, and i had to pretend to be asleep. Then the lights went down and the music began.... no going back now! The experience of trying to sustain an audience for 40 minutes was the scariest realisation for me. If i didnt start the dialogue... we wouldnt have a show. I needed to have enough confidence and self belief in myself, to think that my acting could keep an audience entertained for that length of time. The puppetry all came together in the end, and Sir Laurence was a hit with the audience. As the play came to a close, the emotion overtook me, and i deliverered a performance that i could be personally proud of. I will the first to say that i had reservations about doing a one woman version of this dark play, but i am so glad that Matt believed enough in me to let me try and succeed :) Now Funny Ha Ha i wasnt nervous about. I knew that the person opposite me aka Darren Little, is such a talented actor, that he would be on his game! And boy was he! Sat in the wings, i could hear the audience loving his cynical bitter clown act! They were loving him! no pressure then. As soon as the clowns united on stage, we definitely had the audience where we wanted them. All the gags worked, and the routines went as good as they could have, even when Darren pushed me, but had his foot on the rope...... almost killing me! And having such great feedback from the audience, we have decided to perform Funny Ha Ha in the festivalsa for next years festival season, around the county. Which of course is amazing, as i feel that it would be such a shame to stop something that could be alot of fun and good! So here's to Clown 1 and Clown 2 and 2013!! The festival scene wont know what hit them..... wellies and all :) So to sum up the double bill experience, i am immensely proud of myself for doing 4.48! Dont think i will do another one woman show in a hurry, but the fact that i managed to do one, and didnt bore the audience to tears, is always a plus! and Funny Ha Ha was such a blast! who would have though our suicidal clowns would be such a hit with the audience? So now looking forward to 2013. Whole Hog, is going to be packing in lots more plays, including Joe Orton's What the butler saw for the Isle of Man festival! But for the time being, this little actress has to be content with not being in a rehearsal room for a few months....... oh god! im going to be rehab i fear! 2013.... look out, WHOLE HOG IS COMING The Fat Director thinks on! Another Whole Hog production is over and now time to take stock and ponder a little on what’s just past, and think ahead of what’s to come. First off some thoughts on ‘Suicide Notes’ a project that has been on the cards for a year. It was always going to be a double bill on the subject of suicide but with another play in place of ‘Funny Ha Ha!’. Becky and I read Steven Berkoff’s brilliant ‘The Secret Love Life of Ophelia’ an original look at one of literature’s most famous suicides. The play takes the form of love letters between Hamlet and Ophelia that ends with Ophelia’s famous drowning, all written in Shakespearean blank verse. However, as the year went on it became obvious that the play was also very close to ‘4:48 Psychosis’ and perhaps needed a bit of variation and even Black Comedy to give the audience a diversity of emotions. The idea for ‘Funny Ha Ha!’ came from an image of two clowns joined at the end of a rope, both contemplating suicide. It is really down to the creativity of Becky and Darren that brought this one to life as only nine pages had been written and lots of those pages were filled with stage directions like ‘The Clowns do a routine’! Rehearsals were ripe with laughter and invention and in the end the audience feedback was amazing as they took to this hilarious yet sad tale of the two clowns. As mentioned in former blogs, ‘4:48 Psychosis’ was always a play that left me cold. So, having to direct it was a real challenge. Once again, it was the actor who made me start to see the real challenges of playing this type of material. One audience member described Kane’s work as a ‘21st century Sylvia Plath’. Becky’s emotional truth and courage to have held the stage alone for 35 minutes was amazing. I know I speak for her when I say it was the most terrifying thing she’s ever had to do in acting terms. Her big question was always ‘won’t the audience tire of watching just me’? Those fears were put to rest as every single audience member praised her extraordinary performance. ‘Suicide Notes’ was actually the first production Whole Hog has staged independently from any theatre festival. Any public performances we have done were always previews for the actual festival dates. But having said that, it has become obvious that ‘Funny Ha Ha!’ has 'legs' and will now go on to be part of our annual entries into festivals from April-June.Another new play will also make up our festival entries, Darren Little’s savage Black Comedy ‘Wetwork’. Think a mixture of Pinter, Pulp Fiction and plenty of laughs! I’m really looking forward to directing this one as it’s a chance to have a go at a new play that isn’t my own or Becky's, which can be a real challenge, especially as the author is also in the cast! Whole Hog will also return to the Isle of Man for the Manx Easter Festival of plays. It will be the fourth year we will have entered this prestigious festival and this time we are having a go at my favourite modern author, Joe Orton. We plan to stage his final masterpiece ‘What the Butler Saw’written in the style of a farcical comedy but underneath it is brimming with satire, dark humour and brilliant observations on human behavior. We have a cracking cast lined up including the wonderful Fenella Harrop who last worked with us on ‘Jane Eyre’, the ‘award winning ‘ Steve Sprosson, and a return of a Whole Hog founding member, Phil Regan who has been off-stage for far too long! Rehearsals will begin for all these projects in earnest at the end of the year, with the first public performance coming in February. Keep an eye out on the website for full details. End of rehearsals! Final week of rehearsals! We managed to get a run-through of both plays in as well as kept adding little ‘bits and pieces’ to help the productions develop. Not bad for just six weeks work. We are going into the technical and dress rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday night and then performances. A great time has been had by all on the project and the fact we had a small amount of time to rehearse actually allowed for intensive creativity. It would be nice to give the productions a longer life than just the 2 performances so maybe one day a revival of ‘Suicide Notes’ will happen? Look out for production photos on the 'Old Hog' page and then work will begin on the remainder of our 2012 season and the beginning of 2013. We are still finalising the productions and dates, times etc. but we will be giving out details out soon, so keep an eye out! |
Matthew Clift & Becky CannMatthew is Whole Hog's resident writer/director and occasional actor! Becky also writes for Whole Hog and is the company's leading lady on stage! Categories |