Creating the Program

When making a theatre program, for any performance, we believe that the design of the program should relate to the performance. Jessica Smith and I (the Marketing team) wanted to ensure that our program did this. This was through the appearance of the program – we used a simple yet interesting border which we believed seemed fitting to a fairy tale. It was essential for us that the program looked as if it would fit in with the fairy tale world rather than the corrupted fairy tale world that we were presenting on stage.

We wanted our programs to seem unique to our production – other than the information it contained. This could have been further achieved by the program containing a memento from the performance. The idea the marketing team and the Director had was to include a wax sealed latter from the count inviting the audience into his castle. However, budget restrictions we were unable to carry this idea through. If we were to repeat this process we would ensure to raise money for marketing so unique ideas, such as the aforementioned one, could be used.

The program contained, as any program would, the cast and crew, a director’s foreword, a show copy, acknowledgements and – of course- the details for the show. However the way our program differed from others was that we included a caption that was created by our competition winner. This was displayed on the front of our program underneath the picture. This was used to reward the winner, along with the free tickets; it would also encourage future participants to enter further competitions. The reason we chose to use this caption on our program also shows that Progeny Theatre Company have had an interactive relationship with the audience throughout the process and have continued to build this interaction within most areas of marketing. The program was as follows;

Program v3

Word Count – 307

Final spending spreadsheet

PROGENY SPENDING 2

 

See above the final spreadsheet on Progeny’s spending. It turns out that we did not use the whole of our £250 budget as we have money left. This means that, unlike what we thought before, the copyright for the show can be taken out of the budget instead of being paid for by the cast and crew.

As has been posted about before, our production required a lot of set and a lot of props. Luckily, a lot of these were sourced from the LPAC, meaning that the money we had in the budget could be used for more important, less easily sourced items. The crew in charge of set and props used their money successfully, sourcing the cheapest and most relevant items they could.

Just as a note – I have hold of the expenses forms which will be handed in this week (beginning 20th May).

Francesca

Word count: 147

Technical Documentation – After (and Pre-Show Checks)

I am extremely pleased with the results of our technical documentation and feel that the hours spent creating and developing them have been well spent.

We used a ‘Progeny Theatre’ layout, font and format to ‘brand’ our documentation, which gave them a professional look as well as used previous examples of other Theatre Company’s work as case studies for our own documents. The response to our documentation from the venue has been very positive and, as such, the LPAC are prepared for our arrival, which is now at 9am on Sunday 19th May.

All technical documentation can be viewed here.

Myself and the Stage Manager have produced a Performance Day Schedule which underlines the ‘desired’ performance day schedule. However, due to the recent date change (we were originally booked to complete our get-in the evening prior to performance day) we are aware that, because we are a’ tech-heavy’ group, our get-in may over-run and have planned our day accordingly.

We have completed a Pre-Show Check-list of all technical requirements and I am confident that we are fully prepared for performance day.

  • Technical Documentation – completed and sent to venue.
  • QLab file – completed 3 weeks prior to performance and has been kept up-to-date. Saved on memory stick to transfer to LPAC Apple Mac.
  • Sound – all files saved in numerous locations in case of file corruption.
  • Props – sourced and stored in venue.
  • Set – finished and stored in venue.
  • Costume – completed and stored in venue.
  • Actors – briefed on Risk Assessment and Performance Day Schedule.
  • Budget – up-to-date and with £30 left for last minute expenses.

Kate Dawson

Word Count: 251

Lighting Design.

When it came to designing the lights I began to look at the script scene by scene to decide what the mood of each scene was, for example if the scene features an argument in or if the general mood of the scene is a happy one. Once our stage was set and I knew where items were going to be placed I could begin to design the lights. One of the key themes of our play was the feeling of corruption in a fairy tale world. I wanted to contrast the fairy tale image with the use of a natural lighting state in the bedroom and piano room to give the illusion that the world of the play is not a fairy tale despite what  some characters might believe. The piano room was set up stage left and the bedroom up stage right and to link the two together, whenever a character moved directly from the two sections of the stage, a thin natural white light would act as a corridor so the character moving would be lit, and also this would give the feeling that the character is remaining within the castle. I wanted to give the middle of the stage the illusion that it was outside and not apart of the castle. To do this I used the colour green to symbolise the outdoors. The final scene of the bloody chamber I had problems with designing because the scene would be set centre stage. I originally thought to light the stage red to symbolise death and danger but decided on a natural lighting setting. I chose this because I wanted to show that the bloody chamber, in the world of the play, is a real place, it is reality and it is apart of the castle so it would have the same lighting as the piano room and the bedroom.

Progeny Theatre Company’s Press Release

Progeny Theatre Company’s A Gothic Tale.

 

Lincoln Performing Arts Centre (LPAC)
Newly formed Progeny Theatre Company’s debut performance of A Gothic Tale will be premiered at the LPAC on Sunday 19th May 2013.

A Gothic Tale is an adaptation of Angela Carter’s Bloody Chamber. This performance tells the story of what happens to the ‘happily ever after’ once corruption takes over.

Tickets are available from the box office, which is located in LPAC, for £5. They are also available online on the LPAC website. A Gothic Tale contains violence and scenes of a sexual nature and is only suitable for ages 16 and over.

About Progeny Theatre Company
As part of a module at the University of Lincoln, third years have created theatre companies. Progeny Theatre is a newly established theatre company based in Lincoln. We aim to produce children’s theatre for adults by adapting well known children’s stories and enhancing them through the use of elaborate technical elements.

Progeny Theatre Company’s mission statement emphasises that we exist to change the perceptions and perspectives of those who are familiar with children’s stories. In doing so, we hope to alter the genre of ’Children’s Theatre’, to directly encompass the adult audience. We aim to create theatre, which allows escapism for adults by adapting children’s stories. Our theatre company aspires to create that which has not been seen before through controversial and innovative means, which will be enhanced through use of elaborate set, costume and technical elements.

Contact Information
To learn more about Progeny Theatre Company and their debut performance of A Gothic Tale feel free to contact us on;

progenytheatre@gmail.com
 

 

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