Production week tales

Best is coming into a frantic week of shows:-

Saturday 22nd - First Class showings in St Albans

Sunday 23rd- tech, dress and show TheByte's production of "This Is My Elephant"
UPDATE - have just seen the dress of this and it is SUPERB!!! DON'T MISS IT!

Monday 24th - second show of T.IM.E., 

Wednesday 26th - Best School of Acting's show 'Reality Bites' at The Maltings

Saturday  29th First class Hertford show 'Jack and the Beanstalk', and we tech dress and perform 'A Night at the Oscars' with Hertford and Best St Albans Friday schools

Sunday 30th - Tech dress and perform 'A Night at the Oscars' with Best's St.Albans Saturday schools

So I thought I'd keep a little diary so you can see what this is all like for a behind the scenes point of view!

I'm sitting in the foyer of The Maltings Theatre as the tech whizz Phil and director Lisa set things up. 

Cast member Isaac has just arrived, fresh from his first Friday at the 'Thriller' academy which seemed to go really well. What and exciting opportunity for him! And aren't we proud?

At the moment the stage is bare and for anyone in the theatre a space like that sends a thrill of anticipation.

Meanwhile, back at Best HQ (er... our house) every available piece of space has been taken up with costume and props for the upcoming Oscars shows.

This is not a fun time - all the costumes are bought in or come from our ever burgeoning store in our garage and it's very hard on the back shifting around heavy tuff crates.

We hear two of our Hertford cast now won't be there for the show. This is not the place to set down our reaction to such late news but primarily our concern is for the rest of the cast and the work they now have to do in recasting, learning new lines and resetting choreography.

On the subject of missed rehearsals etc, this is the hardest thing to communicate positively to parents. The missing cast member (although they might know their lines) has to be brought up to date with the latest changes and as we only see people once a week they lose familiarity with the blocking and choreography and we have to do it all again when they return.

And it's the remaining cast who turn up who suffer. A rehearsal where any cast member is missing is not a true rehearsal and they lose the chance as a group to take the piece further - you can only tread water as you know you will have to go back and redo the changes and cues.

But we do know we are here first and foremost to give all our students a fun time - we can't be overly worried when children miss rehearsals - they have so much on in their lives it's hardly surprising. So we take a very laid back approach to our shows knowing "we'll get what we get" and although our teachers can get stressed as they want to out on e best show they possibly can, we are happy if our students are happy.

The cast for today's show arrive soon for their tech and dress. It's an exciting play they have devised themselves which has than been scripted by local playwright Anna Reynolds. After it's run here it going to the Greenwich Young People's Festival in April where it'll be performed at The Tramshed in Woolwich.

Check back tomorrow to find out how everything goes!