Excellent Audiences

Saturday night was our last performance and the actors kept the audience on the edge of their seats until the last moments of the play. Credit to Agatha Christie for writing such a good psychological thriller. Here are a few pics from the final dress.

Dr. Armstrong studies nervous diseases

Take my hat

You don't like young people

Footling along....

Get some brandy!

I cannot remember that name

She had grey eyes...

Beatrice Taylor?

In the light of day

I'll watch it!

Many thanks to Richard Lummiss for these pics. 

Well done, cast and crew!

Exposing Wm H Blore

A scene from the final dress rehearsal. Judge Wargrave is exposing the truth about William Henry Blore.

Fireplace renewal

The sets at the theatre go through repainting for every show. This fireplace, first designed and built for Jim Alexander's show, Hedda Gabler, has been repainted yet again and "retiled" by Siobhan and Ian. 

Perry is putting the finishing touches on the floor tiles.

This Christie Classic is Launched!

 After months of preparation, the show has finally opened. Thursday night, the first performance of the play was dedicated to the memory of Jim Alexander. The cast and crew did amazingly well. Suspense reigned that night. The audience waited with baited breath to find out who the murderer was. At each intermission, lots of dialogue erupted about the clues, the characters and the plot details.

Painting the floor!

Final details

exhausted but happy set painters

Crew Shots

As the opening night looms closer, the painters have had to get busy. Perry and Siobhan painted the sky, and the crew of Sam, Yifan, Marika, Yulin and Josh got busy. Nathan came by and helped Josh with the stone wall. What an incredibly hard-working bunch!!! Many sincere thanks from Lise.... :)

Trailer on Youtube

The cast and crew have been hard at it the last few weeks, learning lines, collecting props and costumes. The set is being painted and the sky drop was painted and installed yesterday. If that wasn't enough activity, Sean Scally has put together this delightful trailer for the show and posted some beautiful pics on his own web site. http://youtu.be/uMQ18lwIt_c

Rehearsals Have Resumed

After a month-long break, the actors are back at it. Last night, we looked at the first part of Act III. You can feel the excitement on stage as the conclusion draws near. Agatha Christie has written this scene so skillfully and carefully. She plants clues throughout the play and sometimes, the dialogue is confusing for the actors who are trying to navigate. To mark the return to work, Sean Scully came last night and took some beautiful shots.You can view them all here. http://www.scallyeventphotos.

In the meantime, the set has been primed and Angela made the curtains, so things are getting done.

Designs for ATTWN over the years

The posters online are really varied. Some seem to highlight the soldiers, some the noose and others the isolated house. We will need a t-shirt design for our production and so I also found a wonderful Salamander poster that could be a starting point for a t-shirt design.

Richard, the Props Maker

Here are Richard's first soldiers for the mantle piece. 

Engaging Video About the Actor's Body

If you have some time, have a look at this wonderful video from the Chicago Humanities Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0XVLEyLB08

Movement and Acting

Add some more tools to your acting tool kit. Rudolph Laban analyzed movement and broke it down for us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-B_E3loAto

I found this summary on another blog called "Acting without the Drama":
Laban breaks down the way we move using three different areas of analysis: space, weight and time.  Space can be either direct or indirect.  Weight can be strong or light.  Time can be sudden or sustained.  When you put these all together, you end up with eight efforts that classify styles of movement, as well as something of the personality of the person making that movement.

Direct, strong, sudden--------punch (thrust)Indirect, strong, sudden------slashDirect, strong, sustained-----pushIndirect, strong, sustained---wringDirect, light, sudden----------dabIndirect, light, sudden--------flickDirect, light, sustained-------glideIndirect, light, sustained-----float

Another good movement video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBJkOBOlcf8

Emily Brent

This image reminds me of Emily's high moral ground and her old-fashioned ways.

Screens and Tile Patterns

The second image shows the effect of the screens. It is both open and imprisoning.

The floor will also have some kind of stencilled pattern inspired by these.

Ceramic Soldier Boy

One of our challenges is to locate or manufacture enough soldiers for the mantle. This example would be perfect, but where would a person locate such an item?

Using the Cyc

Once in a while, the best choice for an exterior is not a painted backdrop but a well-lit screen called a cyclorama. We are going to use the cyc to achieve a sense of air and height over the ocean. In the image below, you get that feeling of cool blue.

I love the hint of the tropics with the plant just outside the door.

Costumes to Reflect the 1950s

The period for the piece will be around 1950. The fashion for the women will vary since Vera is more up-to-date and Emily is extremely old-fashioned. I have included some WWII ladies wear also as inspiration for Emily. The men will wear high-waisted pants, shirts, ties and some will wear jackets. I love the sweater vest.