Author: Robert Bull

Being a Deputy Stage Manager

As well as co-writing the script for the company, I have taken the role as Deputy Stage Manager. I decided to work within the technical side of the show as this is where I am looking to pursue my career after finishing University. In my role as Deputy Stage Manager I will be required to help prompt the actors throughout the rehearsal process and also to cue them where to restart from during the rehearsal process within scenes if the director wants to stop at any point.

Throughout the rehearsal process it will be my job, as we do not have anyone specifically designated to the prop department, to source props and acquire them for the show.  I will also look to help the Production Manager, Stage Manager and Director at any point and with anything that may be needed throughout the process.

Robert Bull

The Bloody Chamber and The Snow Child

We are discussing the possibility of merging two stories together that have already been written as dark fairy tales to give us a platform to begin our script with. The Bloody Chamber and The Snow Child are the favourite stories within the group to use for our story. Due to the lack of characters within the two stories it would require us creating new characters that would be essential to the story and also have intended interaction with the characters already within the story.

After deliberating we came up with the idea that we would adapt The Bloody Chamber to show that there isn’t really any type of ending within reality. So there is no happy ever after and that actions will generally lead to a new story within life. We decided to use the characters; The Count, The Countess, and The Piano Tuner and in put The Snow Child into this story which will then lead on to expanding the story surrounding The Bloody Chamber.

We are intending on producing two new characters that will both be integral to the story and its content. Firstly we are toying with the idea of developing a character that is the all seeing eye within The Counts castle who witnesses all that happens there and all that is said. We are thinking this could be a Housekeeper or Maid type character that will be devoted to serving The Count.

We are also contemplating developing a character that would be an escapee from The Counts chamber who is in the story to warn The Countess of her husbands vile tendencies. This character could be an ex-wife of The Count, who has obviously been affected by what she has seen in her past. The two characters are characters that can be essential to the story but also characters that the actors can work on to make their own and over the coming months can experiment on.

 

Robert Bull

Being a Scriptwriter

As we were wanting to devise our performance ourselves from a known fairytale, we thought it would be necessary to produce our own script so we could put across the message that we were initially intending. Having previously studied the Off the Page module, myself, Hannah Smith and Lewis Chanel decided that we would use the knowledge we had gained on the art of writing and developing a story to create our own, darker look on a children’s fairy tale.

Robert Bull

Difficulties Facing the Script

TIME

As we are devising our own script, a huge difficulty we will face with creating the script is time. As devising a script can take time from the first moment you think of an idea to the final script that you are happy with, we are going to  have to work quicker than we would intend to work through a script. The quicker we are able to have the script finished the more time that the actors will be able to learn the script and begin developing their characters.

 

STORY

Although we will be adapting a story that is already written, we will be creating our own storyline from this basis. The story must flow, have an understanding and also stick to the type of theatre we are wanting to create, therefore children’s theatre for adults. As we have looked at The Bloody Chamber and The Snow Child which are both written by Angela Carter I feel that my best script work will be produced by creating the images I envisage whilst reading the stories, while also maintaining the language that she uses within the stories.

 

CONTINUITY

As we were having three members of our team write the script, it will be the first time that we as a trio have written a script together and as a team. As we all have different writing styles, ideas and imaginations this could lead us to develop a difference of opinions in terms of where the story will lead and to what may happen within the script.

Robert Bull

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