*Appendices The Gothic Revival: From Context to Contemporary

This week we have been exploring the short Gothic stories of Angela  horror, specifically her adaptations of fairytales in her 1979 work The Bloody Chamber. The potency of the Gothic genre has extended from the Gothic revival of the eighteenth century to twentieth century modern fiction. In this blog we aim to establish context and inspirations from the Gothic genre which we can build through our theatrical adaptations of  fairytale.

Goya_-_Caprichos_(43)_-_Sleep_of_Reason752px-John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare

(Goya’s ‘Sleep of Reason’ and Henry Fuseli’s ‘The Nightmare’)

Angela Carter – Gothic horror and conventions are taken to the extreme, the pinnacle of heightened emotions contrasted with childhood innocence. This links to the context of the eighteenth century Gothic revival, where “middle class readers, safely tucked into their stable and unthreatened the social positions, could feel secure enough to cultivate imaginary fears and fantasies, in the same way that a child may do, reading horror stories and experiencing the delicious thrill while apparently immune from real danger.” (Gothic Tradition, David Stevens, p10)

This ties in with the genre of sensibility which ran parallel to the Gothic revival. This was the move away from rationalism and  towards heightened emotions concentrating on fantasy and escapism. There was a sense that “over-reliance on reason could rob human experience of its essential flavour.”(Gothic Tradition, David Stevens, p10)

Gothic and the Child

“The link between the Gothic and the experience of childhood is, perhaps, an especially strong one … many adults remember formative reading experiences in which fear played a compelling part, at once terrifying in its intensity and strangely fascinating and attractive. So-called ‘fairy tales’, clearly, are  excellent examples of this perennial fascination – it is hard to think of a fairy tale which does not feature some form of darkness or evil” (Gothic Tradition, David Stevens p32-33).

(Word Count: 314)

 

Works Cited:

Stevens, David (2000) The Gothic Tradition, Cambridge University Press.

Carter, Angela (1995) The Bloody Chamber, London: Vintage Classics.

 

What is a Production Manager?

Creating a successful technically demanding performance requires its production team to not only be versatile but also dedicated and organised contributors to the production. In order for these production processes to run smoothly, one member of the team must act as chief organiser; the Production Manager.

The roles which a Production Manger undertakes vary from show to show; however an efficient Production Manager must be an approachable and organised individual, capable of managing a substantial production team. According to Gail Palin’s Stage Management: The Essential Handbook, a Production Manager has numerous roles to play:

Production Manager (PM)

  • Employs and supervises all production staff.

  • Liaises and agrees the budgets and design deadlines with the director and designers.

  • Prepares and distributes the provisional schedule and budgets to all production departments.

  • Oversees all ordering of materials and building work.

  • Manages and controls the production budget.

  • Chairs design and production/progress meetings.

  • Prepares the production risk assessment and advises on action to be taken.

  • Schedules and oversees all work during production week.

  • Contributes to the technical rehearsal by taking technical notes and scheduling their completion. ((Palin, Gail (2010) Stage Management: The Essential Handbook. London: Nick Hern Books Ltd. pp. 14-15)).

According to this list of numerous tasks and responsibilities a PM must undertake, I enter this experience with a slight hint of uncertainty. Previously, my roles within a production have had much less responsibility and, being that this production is already destined to be ‘tech-heavy’, it is a major undertaking agreeing to the role of Production Manager. Nevertheless, I am determined to succeed in this role and produce a technically spectacular performance comparable to those produced by some of the other theatre companies I have previously reviewed and by whom I am inspired.

Kate Dawson

Word Count: 291

Works Cited

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

Filter and the Lyric Hammersmith’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Filter Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith are two theatrical organisations who combine forces to produce innovative and exciting theatrical productions. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was directed by Sean Holmes and created by Filter Theatre, who are said to “create new work and interpret classic texts” ((Filter Theatre (2013) ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. (Accessed 30 January 2013) Available at: http://www.filtertheatre.com/page/Coming_Soon/)), and was performed at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre in October 2011. This production was particularly inspiring due to its unique adaptation and modernisation of the classic Shakespeare text, which they describe as ” a magical and fast-paced version of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy” ((Filter Theatre (2013) ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. (Accessed 30 January 2013) Available at: http://www.filtertheatre.com/page/Coming_Soon/)).

FilterThis production particularly stood out to us because of the innovative way in which the company produced their own sound effects. The concept of producing live music and sound effects on stage, while the action takes place is very inventive and creates a further component to the performance. As well as watching the action, the audience can experience the delights of live and ingenious music creation. This impressive form of sound production was very complimentary of Filter theatre’s modernised version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as it enhanced the magical element of the theatre experience.

As well as providing Progeny Theatre Company with inspiration in terms of technical production, it also grants us insight into how to adapt an original text into a unique and thought-provoking format, which both engages and ‘wows’ its audience.

 

“One of the pleasures of theatre is its capacity to surprise, and Filter is a company that delights in dumbfounding audiences. This condensed interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is joyously unorthodox” ((Hitchings, Henry (2012) ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lyric Hammersmith – review’. London Evening Standard. (Accessed on: 30 January 2013) Available at: http://www.standard.co.uk/arts/theatre/a-midsummer-nights-dream-lyric-hammersmith–review-7446903.html)).

In this video, the cast and creators discuss Filter’s production of  A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Kate Dawson

Word Count: 313

Works Cited

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

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