photos:
Top: The Main Drag - Staunton
2nd: Enjoying the local ice cream
3rd: Paul and Adam arriving this morning with a huge hamper of breakfast and lunch courtesy of their lovely hosts!
4th:: The very enthusiastic Brett - our theatre manager!
5th:: The company nervously await at the bottom of the stairs before storming the Stuart Hall school assembly at 8am!
6th:: The company flop on the stage, after completing the tech rehearsal last night.
An early start this morning, as our troops bravely rose to make a surprise and noisy appearance before 350 school students at the 8am Stuart Hall School Assembly. Following the stern and formal daily announcements from the principal, Full Tilt stormed the aisles, towards the stage where they sang and publicised the show, which opens tonight. (See video clip below!)
We enjoyed an interesting day getting to know Staunton yesterday. We were invited into the rehearsal rooms at the famous Blackfriars Shakeaspeare Theatre, to watch their touring troupe rehearse 'The Comedy of Errors' - quite surreal to see another version whilst in production for the same show, but also fascinating watching an American cast working. I have to admit, I wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of 20 actors filing into to my rehearsal, and these actors played up for our benefit - coming into the scene holding up the newspaper in which we appear, as a prop, and trying to make us giggle. The director is a British Director, Gerard Block who works at the Globe in London, and very much of the old school, a Shakespeare purist, and the rehearsals seemed to be all about the verse and the blocking (excuse the pun!).
On from there to hit the main drag, Beverley Street, to sing and publicise - all met with great interest, and 'God Bless you for coming to our town!'. A stop for ice cream in the local parlour, and then on to Stuart Hall to rehearse, get in and tech the show.
Fingers crossed that the good people of Staunton will turn out in droves, and will be open minded to this kind of modernised Shakespeare. We have had to tone down any sexual implication, and remove the scantily clad twins from the publicity image - so, let's see how the rest goes down!
Bye Y'all - Emma x
