Hi all,
To celebrate the end of our run, we all went out for a curry - and Max, being the crazy fool he is, decided to take on the Kismot Killer.
Now he's dying, and we're all running around to make sure he can survive the night. You may think I'm joking, but the poor boy is in a world of pain - seriously, read about it online and weep at the thought of it.
We'll have a proper round-up of the final performance day tomorrow, and a summary of the whole run soon after - once we've all left Edinburgh.
May you all sleep well - or at least, better than Max will!
- Dan
Sunday 22 August 2010
Saturday 21 August 2010
Day 19 - And now, the end is near...
So it's a little after 11pm on Saturday, and in a little under half an hour I'll be going back out to a show. This is clearly the best possible way to prepare for our final show.
Preparation for today's show was a bit manic, what with the switch-around of roles alluded to yesterday - nails were bitten, and nerves were slightly frayed; the good news is, a supportive audience helped us on our way to a good show - after a slightly nervy start, everyone relaxed and began to enjoy performing. We had some friends in the audience, which also helped.
It made a massive difference to us not having Liz, though - it was a bit sad that she wasn't with us today, and we definitely felt that something was missing. We still want her back!
I'm afraid that I'm going to have to cut this short, as I have to make my show - but, with one show left we'll leave you with a treat. Here's a company photo (albeit sans moi, as I was talking to someone important from the industry):
Goodnight!
- Dan
Preparation for today's show was a bit manic, what with the switch-around of roles alluded to yesterday - nails were bitten, and nerves were slightly frayed; the good news is, a supportive audience helped us on our way to a good show - after a slightly nervy start, everyone relaxed and began to enjoy performing. We had some friends in the audience, which also helped.
It made a massive difference to us not having Liz, though - it was a bit sad that she wasn't with us today, and we definitely felt that something was missing. We still want her back!
I'm afraid that I'm going to have to cut this short, as I have to make my show - but, with one show left we'll leave you with a treat. Here's a company photo (albeit sans moi, as I was talking to someone important from the industry):
Goodnight!
- Dan
Day 18 - Ooops!
Howdy folks,
It appears this blog is slightly late. However, through the magic of reflective writing I shall make you believe this entry was written on Friday!
"Today has seen us wave a fond farewell to our dear Liz. It's incredibly strange to think of performing the show without her being a part of it, and we're fully aware that it's a massive loss to not have her with us for the final three performances of the run.
The company ventured to Edinburgh Waverley station after the show, in order to wave Liz off as she heads back to London - before boarding a flight back to the US. Fortunately, Norman did not go with her - so at least he's still in the show!
Due to Liz's departure, we've had to change things around a little in terms of who does what in the show. Lisa will now be 'assisting' Norman during the show in place of Liz - and Naomi will now undertake the role of narrator. Having viewed the show from the capacity of Director during the run, Naomi has seen Lisa's performance so many times she probably knows it inside out - but still, there needed to be some rehearsing to ensure everything goes off smoothly, and Naomi and Lisa have been running their respective lines around the flat most of the day. Lisa also has the added task of getting to grips with Norman, and ensuring all of his movements and gestures read correctly - Liz makes it look incredibly easy, but Norman can be a tricky customer when he wants to be, so care and attention is needed! The boys in the company still have the same roles - so we've have a comparatively easy day of it!
Yet again tiredness has been sneaking in as the day has progressed - but having been getting a decent amount of sleep, it seems as though it's mental tiredness which is affecting us (well, me at least). I must again state that not having a day off is a BAD IDEA.
We've had some lovely comments from audiences during the run, and today we had a couple of industry people we know watch the show. They had some really positive things to say, and genuinely enjoyed the show - but they also gave us a few pointers on how to make things even better. As an emerging company it's incredibly useful to be able to draw upon the knowledge and experience of others, as it can only help us improve.
Anyway, off to bed - it'll soon be Saturday!"
FIN
It appears this blog is slightly late. However, through the magic of reflective writing I shall make you believe this entry was written on Friday!
"Today has seen us wave a fond farewell to our dear Liz. It's incredibly strange to think of performing the show without her being a part of it, and we're fully aware that it's a massive loss to not have her with us for the final three performances of the run.
The company ventured to Edinburgh Waverley station after the show, in order to wave Liz off as she heads back to London - before boarding a flight back to the US. Fortunately, Norman did not go with her - so at least he's still in the show!
Due to Liz's departure, we've had to change things around a little in terms of who does what in the show. Lisa will now be 'assisting' Norman during the show in place of Liz - and Naomi will now undertake the role of narrator. Having viewed the show from the capacity of Director during the run, Naomi has seen Lisa's performance so many times she probably knows it inside out - but still, there needed to be some rehearsing to ensure everything goes off smoothly, and Naomi and Lisa have been running their respective lines around the flat most of the day. Lisa also has the added task of getting to grips with Norman, and ensuring all of his movements and gestures read correctly - Liz makes it look incredibly easy, but Norman can be a tricky customer when he wants to be, so care and attention is needed! The boys in the company still have the same roles - so we've have a comparatively easy day of it!
Yet again tiredness has been sneaking in as the day has progressed - but having been getting a decent amount of sleep, it seems as though it's mental tiredness which is affecting us (well, me at least). I must again state that not having a day off is a BAD IDEA.
We've had some lovely comments from audiences during the run, and today we had a couple of industry people we know watch the show. They had some really positive things to say, and genuinely enjoyed the show - but they also gave us a few pointers on how to make things even better. As an emerging company it's incredibly useful to be able to draw upon the knowledge and experience of others, as it can only help us improve.
Anyway, off to bed - it'll soon be Saturday!"
FIN
Friday 20 August 2010
Day 17 - Farewell, Liz!
Morning, all!
Apologies for the lateness of this blog entry - of course, we usually do these in the evening, but due to the events of last night it's had to wait.
Alas, yesterday was a sad day for EmptyBox Theatre. We're incredibly upset that Liz - our amazing puppeteer, and all round wonderful person - is leaving us on Friday afternoon; unfortunately, she has to return to the States, abandoning us for the final couple of performances.
To give her a proper send-off, we all took her out to dinner last night - we went to a nice little Italian place, where we enjoyed some continental cuisine and a couple of drinks so we could toast her properly. Max and Lisa had been given the task of getting Liz to the restaurant without her knowing - and it seems as though they probably need to brush up on their skills at keeping secrets!
However, there was a proper surprise when Liz returned to the house to find a farewell banner and some decorations awaiting her. Lisa had gone all-out in setting everything up, and I think it's fair to say Liz appreciated the effort - although there weren't any tears, I'm sure I saw some welling-up...
So were now sat at the breakfast table, going through our morning routine for the final time with Liz here. She boards her train away from us at 1pm...
DON'T LEAVE US, LIZ!
- Dan
Apologies for the lateness of this blog entry - of course, we usually do these in the evening, but due to the events of last night it's had to wait.
Alas, yesterday was a sad day for EmptyBox Theatre. We're incredibly upset that Liz - our amazing puppeteer, and all round wonderful person - is leaving us on Friday afternoon; unfortunately, she has to return to the States, abandoning us for the final couple of performances.
To give her a proper send-off, we all took her out to dinner last night - we went to a nice little Italian place, where we enjoyed some continental cuisine and a couple of drinks so we could toast her properly. Max and Lisa had been given the task of getting Liz to the restaurant without her knowing - and it seems as though they probably need to brush up on their skills at keeping secrets!
However, there was a proper surprise when Liz returned to the house to find a farewell banner and some decorations awaiting her. Lisa had gone all-out in setting everything up, and I think it's fair to say Liz appreciated the effort - although there weren't any tears, I'm sure I saw some welling-up...
So were now sat at the breakfast table, going through our morning routine for the final time with Liz here. She boards her train away from us at 1pm...
DON'T LEAVE US, LIZ!
- Dan
Wednesday 18 August 2010
Day 16 - Ch-ch-ch-changes!
Crikey - is it really Day 16 already?!?
We're very much feeling the effects of doing back-to-back shows around these parts - I must remember to ensure we have a day off next year! This morning found me at my most lethargic (despite a quiet, early night before), and I needed a few prods to get my brain engaged with the show - doing it every day means you can easily go into auto-pilot mode, which is a dangerous way to work!
Kids in Edinburgh went back to school today, which has caused some fears that our audience numbers may decrease; however, I'm delighted to say this was not the case today. We had a really healthy house this morning, with a number of people booking on the day - this suggest that our flyering is working, and that people have been reading our positive reviews. Having focused largely on getting family audiences in for the show, we're often guilty of forgetting that it appeals to a wide range of ages - with many of our previous shows being performed to audiences of our peers, there's clearly a wider appeal to the show that we've not really thought about for a while.
It's great when we talk to our friends and members of other companies who have come to see the show, as there seems to be a quality to the show which allows them to awaken their inner child; I don't know if it's the simple aesthetic of the show, the simple and subtle gags contained within or just Norman himself, but we're getting lots of laughs from some pretty big kids. With the kids now back at school, it would be nice to bring that to the fore once more.
On a producery front, I've had various bits and bobs to sort out today - I've been doing stuff all day, most of which has been unplanned. Such is the life of a producer.
We've had some issues related to some online advertising, which has dragged on for ages to the extent that the end of our run makes it almost pointless - this is both annoying and ultimately a financial grievance, as I don't think we've got what we paid for. When you're working on tight budgets, it's an incredibly difficult job to work out how best to spend the little money you have - and when the decisions you make go wrong, through no fault of your own, you find yourself tearing out what little hair you have left. Bah.
Also, we've arranged some rehearsal time in the space tomorrow morning - sadly, our dear Liz will soon be departing us, and we'll have the final two shows without her being here. We're all gutted about this, as she's an absolute star - we've been so lucky to find her, and not having her around will be a loss not only to the show, but to us personally. We're trying to arrange to smuggle her back into the country as soon as we can.
On a more positive note, though - Ronan and I have been invited to go on air with Fresh Air Radio and talk about the show. Between the two of us we can probably manage to string together a few coherent sentences, so if you can listen in at about 14:10 to hear us talk! I'm the well-spoken yet cool-sounding English guy, and Ronan's the genial, excitable Irishman.
Due to the early start for rehearsals tomorrow, we're all in bed already - so I bid you adieu...
- Dan
We're very much feeling the effects of doing back-to-back shows around these parts - I must remember to ensure we have a day off next year! This morning found me at my most lethargic (despite a quiet, early night before), and I needed a few prods to get my brain engaged with the show - doing it every day means you can easily go into auto-pilot mode, which is a dangerous way to work!
Kids in Edinburgh went back to school today, which has caused some fears that our audience numbers may decrease; however, I'm delighted to say this was not the case today. We had a really healthy house this morning, with a number of people booking on the day - this suggest that our flyering is working, and that people have been reading our positive reviews. Having focused largely on getting family audiences in for the show, we're often guilty of forgetting that it appeals to a wide range of ages - with many of our previous shows being performed to audiences of our peers, there's clearly a wider appeal to the show that we've not really thought about for a while.
It's great when we talk to our friends and members of other companies who have come to see the show, as there seems to be a quality to the show which allows them to awaken their inner child; I don't know if it's the simple aesthetic of the show, the simple and subtle gags contained within or just Norman himself, but we're getting lots of laughs from some pretty big kids. With the kids now back at school, it would be nice to bring that to the fore once more.
On a producery front, I've had various bits and bobs to sort out today - I've been doing stuff all day, most of which has been unplanned. Such is the life of a producer.
We've had some issues related to some online advertising, which has dragged on for ages to the extent that the end of our run makes it almost pointless - this is both annoying and ultimately a financial grievance, as I don't think we've got what we paid for. When you're working on tight budgets, it's an incredibly difficult job to work out how best to spend the little money you have - and when the decisions you make go wrong, through no fault of your own, you find yourself tearing out what little hair you have left. Bah.
Also, we've arranged some rehearsal time in the space tomorrow morning - sadly, our dear Liz will soon be departing us, and we'll have the final two shows without her being here. We're all gutted about this, as she's an absolute star - we've been so lucky to find her, and not having her around will be a loss not only to the show, but to us personally. We're trying to arrange to smuggle her back into the country as soon as we can.
On a more positive note, though - Ronan and I have been invited to go on air with Fresh Air Radio and talk about the show. Between the two of us we can probably manage to string together a few coherent sentences, so if you can listen in at about 14:10 to hear us talk! I'm the well-spoken yet cool-sounding English guy, and Ronan's the genial, excitable Irishman.
Due to the early start for rehearsals tomorrow, we're all in bed already - so I bid you adieu...
- Dan
Tuesday 17 August 2010
Day 15 - Our humblest thanks...
 |
| (Clockwise, from top left) Max, Ronan, Lisa, Liz, Dan |
Getting 'Norman Shadowboxer' up to Edinburgh has taken a lot of hard work, and we've had a great deal of help from some lovely people; this post is dedicated to them all:
Elizabeth Fazzio - For coming up with the first itineration of Norman, and being at the centre of the company's foundation
Heidi O'Connell - Our Associate Dramaturg, for being a founder member of EmptyBox Theatre, the original narrator and a continuing source of support whilst developing the piece. Come back to us, Heidi!
The International Student Puppet Festival - For hosting the first ever showing of 'Norman Shadowboxer'
Central School of Speech & Drama - For giving us somewhere to start out, and providing us with space to start finding out what the show could be
Penny Francis - For being such an inspiration to us, and for supporting us in our work
All Saints C of E Primary School - For allowing us to come in and do our first school show (and for then getting ALL the kids to see it as the day progressed!)
Heather Young and Siva Zagel - For believing in us early on, and for persisting in trying to get us to bring the show to C Venues!
Bailey Lock and Lyric Hammersmith - For inviting us to come in for some R&D on the back of one scratch performance
Vicky Ireland - For some invaluable feedback about the show, helping us improve it even further
Linda Lewis and Emma Leishman at Puppet Centre Trust - For welcoming us into your family of puppetry enthusiasts - we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with you!
Mark Tinkler of Music Platform - For helping us have a base to try things out over the past few months
Pooles Park Primary School - For being that base, and for allowing us to trial performances and workshops with pupils
The Cochrane Theatre and Birbeck College - For providing us with rehearsal space when preparing for Edinburgh
Rymans - For providing us with 50 boxes for Edinburgh, free of charge
All of our families, friends and loved ones - For your continuing support of our work, and patience with us as we try to get things just right (hopefully we'll make a living off this soon!)
And, most importantly, to all those who have seen the show and have enjoyed it in some way. We'd never claim to have made a perfect show, but if you've taken something away from it - be you child, adult, critic, important theatre person or A.N. Other - then we hope we can continue to make work that makes you smile. We plan to be around for a while yet, so feel free to tell us what you like and how you think we can become even better!
I'm sure I've forgotten some people, so apologies - I do this not out of malice, but tiredness. Everyone we've met along the way on our journey has helped us make the show we have today, so we all owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Here's to many more years of appreciating your support.
- Dan
Monday 16 August 2010
Day 14 - Our influence spreads (well, maybe...)
Evening', all.
Today has actually been a largely uneventful day, so this blog post will be quite short (quiet, you lot cheering in the back). After running around seeing lots of shows yesterday - as you were all well informed by Naomi - it's been quite nice to have a relaxing day.
So, this morning Ronan's sister came to see the show, so there was a little family reunion there - she also used to live in Edinburgh, but I doubt she ever saw anything like 'Norman Shadowboxer' whilst she was here! Much of the day was spent flyering, and whilst the rest of the company went to see the excellent 'Bane', I spent some time updating the website - particularly to include our reviews. Huzzah!
Whilst out and about today, though, I did spot a couple of interesting things in shop windows...
The house model is made of cardboard - and inside is a lamp, incredibly similar to the shadow boxes we use in the show. Unfortunately I didn't make a note of the shop this was in the window of - but it's pretty close to our venue, so I'll pop along again tomorrow to find out, and take another look.
The cityscape is also made up almost entirely of cardboard, and is one of a number currently on display at Schop - an art gallery based just off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. The attention to detail is fantastic, and is yet another reminder of just what can be done with something as simple as cardboard.
Anyway, the reason I'm showing you all this - other than showing the amazing things you can build from cardboard - is because the childish part of me is imagining taking Norman to these places, and acting out a Godzilla-esque scenario where our hero towers above the world he inhabits. If enough of you think it's a good idea, I'll pursue it
To be fair, that's probably as good a time to end as any. Mainly because my delirious ramblings are suggesting I need to sleep. Goodnight, world!
- Dan
Today has actually been a largely uneventful day, so this blog post will be quite short (quiet, you lot cheering in the back). After running around seeing lots of shows yesterday - as you were all well informed by Naomi - it's been quite nice to have a relaxing day.
Whilst out and about today, though, I did spot a couple of interesting things in shop windows...
The house model is made of cardboard - and inside is a lamp, incredibly similar to the shadow boxes we use in the show. Unfortunately I didn't make a note of the shop this was in the window of - but it's pretty close to our venue, so I'll pop along again tomorrow to find out, and take another look.
Anyway, the reason I'm showing you all this - other than showing the amazing things you can build from cardboard - is because the childish part of me is imagining taking Norman to these places, and acting out a Godzilla-esque scenario where our hero towers above the world he inhabits. If enough of you think it's a good idea, I'll pursue it
To be fair, that's probably as good a time to end as any. Mainly because my delirious ramblings are suggesting I need to sleep. Goodnight, world!
- Dan
Day 13 - Massages and reflections (but mostly massages)
If you've followed the wise words of our producer, Dan Baker, on this blog, you'll know that he was planning to see lots of shows today - eight, in fact! Eight!! So, today...I...Naomi O Kelly...am your SPLOGGER.
- Naomi
Today we have more energy. Note to self, though: Dan and I agreed, on our wee* walk to the venue this morning, that in future a day off during a fringe run would be A Good Thing. This year, we have no days off, and it's tough. (* Note my effort to seem Scottish.**) (**We met a TV man from Newcastle today who was very proud of having a tartan print notebook.)
The show went very well. We're now using a Frank Sinatra version of "The Girl from Ipanema" for when the audience enter and exit; This is referenced when the Spanish mosquito (a character in the play) hums that tune during the story; The adults in the audience often get the joke, which is lovely!
Other lovely things:
Lovely thing: Today we discovered a wonderful review of our show, from reviewer Jo Caird for Fest magazine.
Here's the full review: http://www.festmag.co.uk/reviews/180-norman_shadowboxer"Norman Shadowboxer is the company’s debut show, but you would never guess it, such is the understated brilliance with which this sweet story is told."
Lovely thing: While we were lunching at the Udderbelly, a woman came by who is selling massages at the fringe, and massaged the bejaysus out of each of us (except Dan, who was off seeing his eight shows.) She left us light-headed (in a good way), and also told us about a clown show we should see. Her name is Lynsey Tash.
Lovely thing: Ronan (Artistic Director) and I went to a fringe symposium about children's theatre yesterday, where we listened to More Experienced Children's Theatre Makers, and where I laughed a lot with a few people over slightly too much red wine afterwards. Certain folk have promised to come along to the show and give us feedback. Fantastic.
I'm asking some soul-searching questions about our show after that symposium, including: Is Norman a children's show, or is it a show that children just happen to enjoy, along with their parents and other adults? How much does this matter? How might this affect how we market the show, and how we create our next show? Are we courting the "children's theatre" thing, or should we make a show and then ask ourselves who would like to see it?
Lovely thing: Ha ha ha, this is so funny: We (EmptyBox Theatre, except for Dan, who is seeing eight shows right now) have been in the sitting room for the past two hours, watching TV and generally relaxing; I've just realised, however, that three of us are sitting on the floor, simply because one of the two sofas is already occupied by two puppets!
Goodnight, all.
- Naomi
Sunday 15 August 2010
Day 12 - Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Hi all,
I think it's safe to see we've all dipped over the past few days - we've hit our Edinburgh wall, and we're all getting incredibly tired.
If you could see us every morning when we wake up, you'd notice the difference when we wake up - from being all bright and cheery during the first week, we're now getting more lethargic and less talkative when waking. Doing shows every day, with no day off, is getting incredibly tiring - and when you factor in the flyering and trying to see other shows, you find free time to relax is hard to fine.
Still, we're getting on with the show - and having hit our stride, we're still pulling it out of the bag. This morning's show was great - we had a really lovely audience in, and they seemed to love the show. The fantastic thing about theatre being a live medium is that you're immediately aware of what the audience may be thinking - and if they're laughing, smiling and clearly enjoying themselves, then you find it makes the performers more confident in what they do on stage. With a show that's so visual and that doesn't take itself too seriously, there's often no harm in pushing things even further if that day's audience are responding in the right ways - but you need to judge it each day, as audiences will change and will react differently with each show.
Myself, Lisa, Liza and Max finally went along to see The River People in the afternoon, to see 'The Terrible Tales of the Midnight Chorus'; we're glad we went - the show was great, and it was fantastic to see such a confident and talented company set a standard for the rest of us to strive to achieve. The delivery of their stories was supported by some fantastic live music, and having seen previous shows of theirs I had a real sense that 'The Terrible Tales...' represented them doing something bigger - presenting a range of stories alongside the actual characters of the Midnight Chorus themselves meant that there were a number of narratives, but the company switched between them with such consumate ease that it flowed wonderfully. 'The Ordinaries' - a snapshot of their debut production - is a particular highlight, being incredibly affecting and sensitively handled, whilst never comprimising the aesthetic of their work. You really should all go and see the show, to be able to witness a company who will continue their upward trajectory in the years to come.
This evening, I've been indulging my more geeky qualities by making some tweaks to the website - if you visit www.emptyboxtheatre.com, you'll see that the design now reflects that of the 'Norman Shadowboxer' flyer. I did that, I did. As an advocate of digital and new technologies as a way of promoting your work, I've really tried to increase and maintain the company's online presence during the festival (hence this blog, and the increased number of 'Tweets' promoting the show) - so I hope it's working! If you guys think there's anything else we can do to let you all know what we're doing, then please tell us!
Off to bed, before a day of seeing LOTS of shows tomorrow...
- Dan
I think it's safe to see we've all dipped over the past few days - we've hit our Edinburgh wall, and we're all getting incredibly tired.
If you could see us every morning when we wake up, you'd notice the difference when we wake up - from being all bright and cheery during the first week, we're now getting more lethargic and less talkative when waking. Doing shows every day, with no day off, is getting incredibly tiring - and when you factor in the flyering and trying to see other shows, you find free time to relax is hard to fine.
Still, we're getting on with the show - and having hit our stride, we're still pulling it out of the bag. This morning's show was great - we had a really lovely audience in, and they seemed to love the show. The fantastic thing about theatre being a live medium is that you're immediately aware of what the audience may be thinking - and if they're laughing, smiling and clearly enjoying themselves, then you find it makes the performers more confident in what they do on stage. With a show that's so visual and that doesn't take itself too seriously, there's often no harm in pushing things even further if that day's audience are responding in the right ways - but you need to judge it each day, as audiences will change and will react differently with each show.
Myself, Lisa, Liza and Max finally went along to see The River People in the afternoon, to see 'The Terrible Tales of the Midnight Chorus'; we're glad we went - the show was great, and it was fantastic to see such a confident and talented company set a standard for the rest of us to strive to achieve. The delivery of their stories was supported by some fantastic live music, and having seen previous shows of theirs I had a real sense that 'The Terrible Tales...' represented them doing something bigger - presenting a range of stories alongside the actual characters of the Midnight Chorus themselves meant that there were a number of narratives, but the company switched between them with such consumate ease that it flowed wonderfully. 'The Ordinaries' - a snapshot of their debut production - is a particular highlight, being incredibly affecting and sensitively handled, whilst never comprimising the aesthetic of their work. You really should all go and see the show, to be able to witness a company who will continue their upward trajectory in the years to come.
This evening, I've been indulging my more geeky qualities by making some tweaks to the website - if you visit www.emptyboxtheatre.com, you'll see that the design now reflects that of the 'Norman Shadowboxer' flyer. I did that, I did. As an advocate of digital and new technologies as a way of promoting your work, I've really tried to increase and maintain the company's online presence during the festival (hence this blog, and the increased number of 'Tweets' promoting the show) - so I hope it's working! If you guys think there's anything else we can do to let you all know what we're doing, then please tell us!
Off to bed, before a day of seeing LOTS of shows tomorrow...
- Dan
Saturday 14 August 2010
Day 11 - The Bubble
Edinburgh is a bubble. Good god, I thought it was Wednesday for a lot of today, but no it has been Friday all day. I had to check yesterdays blog entry to see what number day we are in. We are in Day 11. That means we are over half way through our Edinburgh adventure. This gives me mixed feelings as I'm already knackered. I am desperately looking forward to more reviews coming out. We've had quite a few reviewers come and see the show and only two reviews, so it's frustrating to know that there's possible jems of quotes out there for publicity purposes!
I saw a wonderful little piece of very well performed theatre today with Dan. Bound at Zoo Southside is a must see for me. It's got drama, humour, wit, and best of all, sea shanties! It's very much my kind of thing. Looking forward to catching Teenage Riot next week at The Traverse.
This is all the blog I can muster as I have spent a lot of this evening stapling review quotes to flyers, a surprisingly time-consuming exercise.
I'm off to bed with a book on shadow-puppetry!
- Ronan
Thursday 12 August 2010
Day 10 - What else is happening on the Fringe?
Firstly, I'd like to apologise. This blog entry will be nowhere near as entertaining as the one provided by Lisa, Liz and Max yesterday. Still, I carry on regardless...
Obviously in these blog entries you've heard a lot about Norman Shadowboxer, and some insight into the happenings around the show. But what of the other things happening on the Fringe? What else does being in Edinburgh entail?
Well, lots. Lots and lots of creative, eccentric and drunk people in one place makes for a strange environment.
One of the best things about being here this year has been the number of people you bump into who you already know - there's nothing like randomly spotting friends and arranging to go and support each other's shows. When you're presenting a show for the first time like we are, it makes a HUGE difference to see familiar faces beaming back at you from the audience. It's also nice to leave the 'work' behind and go to a show/for a drink with friends whilst up here - you can go a bit mad with just how intense it gets working on the same show every day, so being able to do something else can be a Godsend.
In addition, there are some lovely new friends being made as well. We're gradually getting to know the other companies in our venue, and through hanging out on the Mile we're also meeting other companies - everyone seems so friendly when you speak to them up here, and it's nice to know you're not the only ones getting up stupidly early every morning to do your show! The locals are great here, too - when you're used to the impersonal madness that is commuting in London, being in a city where people are polite and smiling is a nice change. Norman's already been stealing a few hearts on the Mile, and has been making friends with bus drivers and staff in some of the shops...
Casual celebrity spotting is a fun past-time. Seeing Stewart Lee and Kevin Eldon at our venue one morning was a personal highlight for me, and even celebrities engaging in the most banal of acts (Clarke Peters buying a newspaper) have a particular aura about them. If any celebrities want to come see Norman Shadowboxer, then they're more than welcome to - even if it's just to add to my celeb spotting tally.
What else..? Some of the flyering has been pretty ingenious, and some downright terrifying. The crazy nazi girls in basques and suspenders leading around children looking like WWII concentration camp prisoners were...odd, and there seem to be a number of companies featuring an actor asleep on a bed/dead on the ground. The hundreds of comedy street teams showing no passion whatsoever are particularly annoying me these days. Norman's the best thing on the Mile, obviously.
And I doubt it needs to be said, but Edinburgh is BEAUTIFUL. If you've never been, then come and visit - even outside of the festival season, there's just so much to take in that it's worth a visit. We're certainly doing our best to make the most of our time here.
- Dan
Obviously in these blog entries you've heard a lot about Norman Shadowboxer, and some insight into the happenings around the show. But what of the other things happening on the Fringe? What else does being in Edinburgh entail?
Well, lots. Lots and lots of creative, eccentric and drunk people in one place makes for a strange environment.
One of the best things about being here this year has been the number of people you bump into who you already know - there's nothing like randomly spotting friends and arranging to go and support each other's shows. When you're presenting a show for the first time like we are, it makes a HUGE difference to see familiar faces beaming back at you from the audience. It's also nice to leave the 'work' behind and go to a show/for a drink with friends whilst up here - you can go a bit mad with just how intense it gets working on the same show every day, so being able to do something else can be a Godsend.
In addition, there are some lovely new friends being made as well. We're gradually getting to know the other companies in our venue, and through hanging out on the Mile we're also meeting other companies - everyone seems so friendly when you speak to them up here, and it's nice to know you're not the only ones getting up stupidly early every morning to do your show! The locals are great here, too - when you're used to the impersonal madness that is commuting in London, being in a city where people are polite and smiling is a nice change. Norman's already been stealing a few hearts on the Mile, and has been making friends with bus drivers and staff in some of the shops...
Casual celebrity spotting is a fun past-time. Seeing Stewart Lee and Kevin Eldon at our venue one morning was a personal highlight for me, and even celebrities engaging in the most banal of acts (Clarke Peters buying a newspaper) have a particular aura about them. If any celebrities want to come see Norman Shadowboxer, then they're more than welcome to - even if it's just to add to my celeb spotting tally.
What else..? Some of the flyering has been pretty ingenious, and some downright terrifying. The crazy nazi girls in basques and suspenders leading around children looking like WWII concentration camp prisoners were...odd, and there seem to be a number of companies featuring an actor asleep on a bed/dead on the ground. The hundreds of comedy street teams showing no passion whatsoever are particularly annoying me these days. Norman's the best thing on the Mile, obviously.
And I doubt it needs to be said, but Edinburgh is BEAUTIFUL. If you've never been, then come and visit - even outside of the festival season, there's just so much to take in that it's worth a visit. We're certainly doing our best to make the most of our time here.
- Dan
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Day 9 - 'Three off the mile'
Three Off the Mile is an alternative column to the standard Empty Box Blog featuring the creative input of Lisa Castle (la voz) Liz Dapo (amo de la marioneta) and Max Ward (el escenógrafo de cartulina). In this weeks column the three discuss their initial thoughts on Edinburgh in general, the Royal Mile in specific, and anything else that strikes their fancy.
Edinburgh
Liz
Who would like to start?
Lisa
I brought some earrings in Sainsbury today. Because I didn't bring any to Edinburgh. What do you think?
Liz
Oh, they're nice.
Max
Okay ladies, lets focus here. What are general thoughts about Edinburgh as a city?
Liz
I'm quite a fan of the city so far. Not so much the hills. I'm a huge fan of the architecture actually. There are so many little corners tucked away and I think it's so charming. I prefer London for the rain though.
Max
What are my thoughts on the city? It's a bit more sun than I remember here, it's my third time returning to Edinburgh, my first time participating. I don't know. What do I say about this place? I could see enjoying a fair amount of time here were it not for the weather, but it's too fickle for me. It's sort of small enough that people have retained a certain amount of friendliness. It is not as dehumanizing as London.
Lisa
I like how when I am reading a 'Rebus' story, I can see the streets he is talking about....
Max
(Referencing his coffee cup) I left my teabag in there for too long...
Lisa
Uh, I don't know. It is a very pretty city. I want to go on one of those tours, you know, look at history and stuff where they take you underground and you see the plague
Max
Would you go on one with....
Lisa
I want the ones with BLOOD and DEATH and PLAGUE!
Max
They jump out at you here and stuff I think.
Lisa
I'd like to learn more about the history of the place. Until four years ago...
Max
Oh this is something fascinating we have learned. An ex Marine Scotsman, with his son, while we were handing out flyers told us: “By the way do you know the oldest location in UK is? “ to which we responded no he replied “It's in the lady's loo at the Bella Italia restaruant at the top of North Bridge. It's the place where Scotland and England signed the treaty that began what we know of as the United Kingdom”
Yeah.
But it would be a total shame if we didn't talk about Scudge.
Lisa
Yeah! Scottish Fudge. Fudgey goodness!
Max
We have learned that nuts are always a good addition to fudge. Whiskey is not, surprisingly.
Liz
Fruits have been good.
Lisa
They scored highly.
Max
Ginger however; maybe not. But putting more chocolate--
Lisa
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Max
It's...
Lisa
It's bad. It's so hard because you just can't differentiate...
The chocolate saturation point....to triple choc something
Max
Uh huh
Lisa
What if they did fudge with chocolate chips in it?
Max
You couldn't have a triple chocolate cookie...
Lisa
They do!
Max
No!
Lisa
They do! They have white choc........we also saw a pigeon throwing up blood
Max
...And that segues us into the mile...so now we are on the mile. The pigeon throwing up...the blood pigeon
The Mile
Lisa
That sort of scarred me for the day. Liz, you are being really quiet...
Liz
Actually as I was walking along the mile this morning I realized that I've been so jaded by theatre that nothing out there surprises me. There are all types of people out there doing all types of things and while some of it's interesting none of it is that surprising.
Max
Part of me — through the flyering experience — wanted to gain a certain level of appreciation for the job and the people who did it.
Lisa
Yeah?
Max
I haven't.
Lisa
Maybe we should say that we've seen some shows.
The Shows
Max
Yeah, why not?
Lisa
The Penny Dreadfuls were very funny – Boom!
Liz
There seems to be a lot of farm equipment lying around here.
Lisa
We can't just quote lines from the show, that'd be terrible...Frantic Assembly was very good.
Liz
I'm going to see that Friday. We still need to check out the Forest Fringe.
Lisa
That always sounds a bit rude. How much do we have to write?
Max
Well we've done a bit but Dan's still got to proof read this. Should we talk about shows we still want to see?
Liz
Aside from Norman Shadowboxer?
All
Hooray!
Liz
Hedwig and the Angry Inch?
Lisa
Hedwig! And we should see Max and Ivan.
Max
I'm gonna throw in Derevo and The River People.
Liz
Ah, I did enjoy the walk up the hill the other day to Arthur's Seat. And we still have to go see the big parthenon thingy.
Max
We've kind of wound down here at the end.
Liz
Do we have to talk about the show?
Lisa
No, that's the point of the blog. We're not supposed to talk about the show.
Liz
Really?
Lisa
Well, that's what I've decided.
Liz
Then that's us signing off.
Lisa
They're gonna hate this.
- Lisa, Liz and Max
Tuesday 10 August 2010
Day 8 - Hitting our stride!
Evening, all!
Time for another late-night blog entry from the EmptyBox ranch - and yet again, as I'm the last person awake I typing quietly. Either the rest of the company are going to bed far too early, or I'm embracing these Edinburgh evenings a bit too much...
After the exciting developments of Monday, today was always going to be a weird one - could we keep the energy going into the rest of the run? As we all arose for the new day, I have to say it felt more relaxed in the flat than at any other point so far - to the best of my knowledge, the rest of the company seemed to have shed any nerves and were much more relaxed about doing the show.
This morning we welcomed The River People - old friends of mine, and a FANTASTIC theatre company - to watch the show. As they have established themselves as masters of puppet theatre, it was both lovely that they came to see us - and nerve-wracking to think of whether or not they would like the show! As the audience arrived, and clearance was given, I dimmed the house lights and watched from the tech gallery in anticipation...
And I've never seen the show as good as it was today. The more relaxed atmosphere saw the guys really go for it, and they felt confident enough to try some stuff which really paid off. The audience themselves really added to the performance, as they were great - they were incredibly supportive, and really seemed to enjoy themselves. The child who told the mosquito to "go away" is welcome to come back and see the show any time, as he is a legend.
As the audience left, Ed from The River People gave a thumbs up to the gallery - and the guys clearly enjoyed the show. If they like it, then I'm happy - they know what's good in puppetry!
When I came down from the gallery Naomi was ushering people out - and as we exchanged a glance we both clearly agreed that today's performance was great. Naomi didn't give any notes as there was nothing that really needed to be said - if every performance can be at least as good as today's, then we should enjoy a successful run from now on.
With the show under the belt, the rest of the day was free for us to use as we please - after some flyering, of course! Naomi and I flyered the audience coming out of Charlie & Lola at the Pleasance Courtyard, in order to try and encourage them to see us too - why try to compete with such a beast of a show when we can try and capitalise on its success?
Personally, I took the chance to meet up with friends who are in Edinburgh, and to enjoy a refreshing drink after a week's hard work! The evening was topped off by a visit to see Clever Peter at the Pleasance Dome - and if you're looking for comedy, I can't recommend them highly enough. Seriously, go see them and expect tears of laughter to roll down your cheeks.
So, that's our first week of Edinburgh Fringe 2010 out of the way! Soon we'll be back in London and crashing to reality - but for now, here's hoping the rest of the run continues to excite and reward as much as it has thus far!
- Dan
Time for another late-night blog entry from the EmptyBox ranch - and yet again, as I'm the last person awake I typing quietly. Either the rest of the company are going to bed far too early, or I'm embracing these Edinburgh evenings a bit too much...
After the exciting developments of Monday, today was always going to be a weird one - could we keep the energy going into the rest of the run? As we all arose for the new day, I have to say it felt more relaxed in the flat than at any other point so far - to the best of my knowledge, the rest of the company seemed to have shed any nerves and were much more relaxed about doing the show.
This morning we welcomed The River People - old friends of mine, and a FANTASTIC theatre company - to watch the show. As they have established themselves as masters of puppet theatre, it was both lovely that they came to see us - and nerve-wracking to think of whether or not they would like the show! As the audience arrived, and clearance was given, I dimmed the house lights and watched from the tech gallery in anticipation...
And I've never seen the show as good as it was today. The more relaxed atmosphere saw the guys really go for it, and they felt confident enough to try some stuff which really paid off. The audience themselves really added to the performance, as they were great - they were incredibly supportive, and really seemed to enjoy themselves. The child who told the mosquito to "go away" is welcome to come back and see the show any time, as he is a legend.
As the audience left, Ed from The River People gave a thumbs up to the gallery - and the guys clearly enjoyed the show. If they like it, then I'm happy - they know what's good in puppetry!
When I came down from the gallery Naomi was ushering people out - and as we exchanged a glance we both clearly agreed that today's performance was great. Naomi didn't give any notes as there was nothing that really needed to be said - if every performance can be at least as good as today's, then we should enjoy a successful run from now on.
With the show under the belt, the rest of the day was free for us to use as we please - after some flyering, of course! Naomi and I flyered the audience coming out of Charlie & Lola at the Pleasance Courtyard, in order to try and encourage them to see us too - why try to compete with such a beast of a show when we can try and capitalise on its success?
Personally, I took the chance to meet up with friends who are in Edinburgh, and to enjoy a refreshing drink after a week's hard work! The evening was topped off by a visit to see Clever Peter at the Pleasance Dome - and if you're looking for comedy, I can't recommend them highly enough. Seriously, go see them and expect tears of laughter to roll down your cheeks.
So, that's our first week of Edinburgh Fringe 2010 out of the way! Soon we'll be back in London and crashing to reality - but for now, here's hoping the rest of the run continues to excite and reward as much as it has thus far!
- Dan
Monday 9 August 2010
Day 7 - The reviews start rolling in...
Hello all,
I apologise as this blog entry will be quite brief - I'm having to type gently as other people in the room are sleeping, and I don't want to disturb them!
Anyway, this morning saw the first of our reviews published - and I'm delighted to say that the nice people at Broadway Baby have given us FIVE STARS! You can see the review for yourself at http://bit.ly/bb_norman - but it's fair to say we were pretty happy to wake up to that! As this came out before our show, it put everyone in a great mood to start the day, and off we trooped to our performance...
The show saw another great audience in attendance, and they all seemed to enjoy what they saw. Excitingly, Jo Caird from Fest came along, and tweeted some positive words soon after:
"Norman Shadowboxer at C Aquila is a brilliantly imaginative piece of puppet theatre. Technically for kids I think, but I loved it."
Her full review will be in the next edition of Fest - so we're all looking forward to that! In addition, we are also currently the top-rated children's show on www.edtwinge.com - a site which aggregates positive mentions of the show on Twitter. Great news!
All in all, I think I may be the happiest producer on the Fringe today. This evening has been spent socialising with friends old and new, which has capped off what has been for me (and the company) a fantastic day. Sorry this blog entry hasn't been that long - but I hope those of you who haven't seen the show yet are now even more excited about coming along!
- Dan
I apologise as this blog entry will be quite brief - I'm having to type gently as other people in the room are sleeping, and I don't want to disturb them!
Anyway, this morning saw the first of our reviews published - and I'm delighted to say that the nice people at Broadway Baby have given us FIVE STARS! You can see the review for yourself at http://bit.ly/bb_norman - but it's fair to say we were pretty happy to wake up to that! As this came out before our show, it put everyone in a great mood to start the day, and off we trooped to our performance...
The show saw another great audience in attendance, and they all seemed to enjoy what they saw. Excitingly, Jo Caird from Fest came along, and tweeted some positive words soon after:
"Norman Shadowboxer at C Aquila is a brilliantly imaginative piece of puppet theatre. Technically for kids I think, but I loved it."
Her full review will be in the next edition of Fest - so we're all looking forward to that! In addition, we are also currently the top-rated children's show on www.edtwinge.com - a site which aggregates positive mentions of the show on Twitter. Great news!
All in all, I think I may be the happiest producer on the Fringe today. This evening has been spent socialising with friends old and new, which has capped off what has been for me (and the company) a fantastic day. Sorry this blog entry hasn't been that long - but I hope those of you who haven't seen the show yet are now even more excited about coming along!
- Dan
Sunday 8 August 2010
Day 6: Pixar, Plays, and the Press
I write from the couch of our appartment as the rest of the company watch "Up." I have made the point before, but it's worth reiterating, that PIxar should really one day employ me and this company to do an animation for them...they just don't know it yet! On a more serious note, as a writer, I really appreciate what Pixar do. Pixar tell good stories. That's all I ever want this company to do. It's refeshing to know that and it's comfort to know there is a massive company like Pixar making wonderful films (note "films", not just "animations" - they make excellent films).
From the big screen to the small stage. Myself and Naomi were lucky enough to catch the first performance of The River People's "Terrible Tales of The Midnight Chorus." Excellent piece of theatre, highly recommend it, some lovely ideas and the music re-awakened ideas of the idea we've been mulling over for our new show... more on that another time.
Some hard flyering today also, but managed to get lots of people to book tickets - so we should have a nice number of people in tomorrow. Considering the average audience for the Fringe is 4 people per performance, we're really proud to be beating that average by a long shot! Let's hope it continues.
Looking forward to getting some reviewers feedback next week, and if our response at the Meet the Press event yesterday is anything to go by we should get good media coverage. Fingers crossed!
Looking forward to tomorrow's performance and getting into the rhythm of Edinburgh Fringe Week One.
- Ronan
Saturday 7 August 2010
Day 5 - Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Making A Family-Friendly Puppetry Show (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Today's show was brilliant and I'm very proud of everyone involved for pulling it out of the bag...or should I say, the box. We had to dig deep after a long few days of getting acclimatised to Edinburgh and the new space. This was definitely fired up by a wonderful re-writing of the beginning of the show by Lisa, Max and Liz - which made me sad because I didn't write it! It's very good, and, as is the EmptyBox way, very clever. Thank you Max, Liz and Lisa!
Dan, our producer, has been rushing around making sure everyone knows about our show. Today he and Naomi went to "Meet the Press" at Fringe Central - apparently a number of the press representitives (and other companies!) were interested in meeting Norman, and were keen to know more about the show and the possibility of attending. Hopefully some of them will come along, and will love the show as much as we do.
A good day's flyering on the mile with Norman. Lots of wonderful and weird people wanting their picture with the star of the show! Then some exit flyering at Underbelly. We're in flyer wars with Charlie and Lola - the goliath to our David - but that's the way we like it: Epic. We're the underdog, but Norman Shadowboxer's packing a slingshot - so watch out, giants of Children's Entertainment!
Talking to Leof Kingsford-Smith of "Mission of Flowers" (another show at C-Aquila) and he said about promoting a show: "ye just gotta get out there...it's hard but ye just gotta do it." He said it straight and that's just it. It's gonna be tough but when we have our puppet and hero Norman out there we're gonna get audiences in.
Excitingly, we also had a child reviewer for Primary Times come in to see our show, so we're looking forward to seeing what they say! Hopefully they'll provide us with a few juicy quotes to stick to our flyers...
Excited about tomorrow because we have a good number of people booked in, and a photographer coming to snap some nice shots of Norman. Then a few Sunday night pints! And next week we're going to start going to watch some THEATRE! Looking forward to seeing Clever Peter, Les Enfants Terribles, and Frantic Assembly next week. Bigs fans of all.
Happy that we've started to get our show to the top standard we're used to, it's gonna get better and better the more we do it!
- Ronan
Day 4 - "He's big now!"
The blog title is a direct quote from one an audience member today (Friday). Norman Shadowboxer "is big now!"... Ok, that quote may have been taken out of context but it's a sign of things to come. We had a lovely audience today. Thank you!
- Ronan
Hi there, this is Naomi, the director for Norman Shadowboxer. Today was a big day. God, this festival is so tiring! It's my first time doing a show here, and what I wasn't prepared for is how physically tiring it is. Every day we walk from our place to the venue in about 30 minutes, then literally run up and down stairs with piles of boxes (our set) for 5 minutes. Then we do the general running around that setting up entails. We welcome the audience and do our lovely show, which is tiring for me because I'm sortof mentally living through the whole thing as I watch it, and must be properly tiring for the performers - physically, mentally and vocally. Then we immediately spend 5 minutes running up and down the stairs again with our boxes, and another 5 putting things away and getting changed. No space or quiet for notes or much chat, so we leave that 'til later in the day. Lunch. Flyering. (Flyering is enjoyable because you get to talk to lots of strangers, but it takes it out of you!) Occasionally a meeting with someone - today, for example, Dan and I met Megan, who plans the events in C Venue's Urban Garden, and we arranged to lead some children's workshops in the garden over the next few weeks. Occasionally we might find ourselves walking all over the town for some reason or other! Later, 30 minutes walk home. Somebody, or bodies, make dinner for the group. (Today, in case you're interested: Fajitas.) And in the evening - so far - at least an hour talking through how the show is going and planning any ways that we can make it better.
We've always been very hands on, all of us, throughout this most loving of rehearsal processes, and we're not yet ready to sit back and just do the show, without continuing to tweak, discuss, glue, note, cut, even write. The show is really quite personal for us, and aims at an intimate, detailed experience for the audience, so we're eager to adapt to the new performance conditions - aiming to retain our intimate relationship to the audience and our lo-fi, offbeat simplicity in this new, rather formal playing space (which has a raised stage, black drapes around us, etc.). We've been doing very well, but tonight we made some changes; Max, Lisa and Liz had tentatively re-written the opening, and they read out their idea to Dan, Ronan and I. It got a serious thumbs up and some group re-jigging. And there was more glueing and clever cardboard action from Liz and Max, who seem to have mechanical reasoning coming out of their ears.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the show tomorrow.
And now, good god, I must sleep. Goodnight!
- Naomi
Thursday 5 August 2010
Day 3 - And so it begins...
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe run has begun!
Today marked the first performance of 'Norman Shadowboxer' at C aquila - a milestone for our company. We have officially begun our first run of any show, and after hitting the ground running we're looking forward to the next seventeen shows!
As morning broke over our little flat, there was a mixture of excitement and nervousness within our ranks - understandable, but nothing a little breakfast couldn't help us deal with. As the performers engaged in a warm-up, Naomi and I did an early stint of flyering on the Royal Mile - and from the looks of things, it seems that most other companies enjoyed the hospitality of this city, judging by their absence! After introducing a few families to Norman via the distribution of flyers and some brief conversations, we arrived at C aquila to be greeted by a company ready for the day ahead.
Now, for a show whose set is almost entirely made of cardboard boxes, you may be surprised at just how difficult our get-in is. The placement of our boxes is an exact science, and much time has been spent planning just how we get everything set up in the space before our audience arrives; unfortunately for me, falling up the stairs whilst carrying boxes was not part of this plan. However, this was but a small inconvenience in an otherwise smooth get-in - and with the scene set, and everyone in their starting positions, we were ready to open the house to our first audience.
Welcoming a small but excited audience into the space, we waited with baited breath to be given clearance to begin - and once this was given, the performers took control and welcomed our new-found friends into the world of Norman Baxter. As I'm undertaking the role of technician for our show - not my natural calling, but just one string to my bow - I have a unique vantage point over both stage and audience, and from where I was stood all seemed well. The performers seemed to thrive with a captive audience to perform to - who reacted in the ways we hoped they would - and in what seemed like no time at all an enjoyable first run was over. Once our audience had cleared the space, we were back to moving boxes and getting out of the space - handing over to the next company to perform.
After a brief analysis of how we thought the show went (summary: pretty well), we split up to either have some lunch, or do some more flyering. Our second flyering shift of the day seemed much more successful - both due to the increased number of people around, and the draw of actually MEETING Norman. He's a very charismatic man, is our Norman.
Having performed the first show, we enjoyed the chance to relax a bit and to meet some of the folks around the city - bumping into old friends along the way, and making new ones as we invited them to see our show. It's remarkable just how much of a family the Fringe community feels, and everyone seems incredibly positive at this early stage in the festival - regardless of sales, or how long they may have been flyering for!
Eventually we all found our way back to the ranch, for notes from Naomi about the first show and some dinner; after the madness of the past few days, it's been great to just sit back and know the first show is done. An evening of film-watching saw us end the day, and as I write this blog entry everyone else is in bed - hopefully having a good night's sleep before we do it all again tomorrow...
Until our next entry - sweet dreams, everyone.
- Dan
Today marked the first performance of 'Norman Shadowboxer' at C aquila - a milestone for our company. We have officially begun our first run of any show, and after hitting the ground running we're looking forward to the next seventeen shows!
As morning broke over our little flat, there was a mixture of excitement and nervousness within our ranks - understandable, but nothing a little breakfast couldn't help us deal with. As the performers engaged in a warm-up, Naomi and I did an early stint of flyering on the Royal Mile - and from the looks of things, it seems that most other companies enjoyed the hospitality of this city, judging by their absence! After introducing a few families to Norman via the distribution of flyers and some brief conversations, we arrived at C aquila to be greeted by a company ready for the day ahead.
Now, for a show whose set is almost entirely made of cardboard boxes, you may be surprised at just how difficult our get-in is. The placement of our boxes is an exact science, and much time has been spent planning just how we get everything set up in the space before our audience arrives; unfortunately for me, falling up the stairs whilst carrying boxes was not part of this plan. However, this was but a small inconvenience in an otherwise smooth get-in - and with the scene set, and everyone in their starting positions, we were ready to open the house to our first audience.
Welcoming a small but excited audience into the space, we waited with baited breath to be given clearance to begin - and once this was given, the performers took control and welcomed our new-found friends into the world of Norman Baxter. As I'm undertaking the role of technician for our show - not my natural calling, but just one string to my bow - I have a unique vantage point over both stage and audience, and from where I was stood all seemed well. The performers seemed to thrive with a captive audience to perform to - who reacted in the ways we hoped they would - and in what seemed like no time at all an enjoyable first run was over. Once our audience had cleared the space, we were back to moving boxes and getting out of the space - handing over to the next company to perform.
After a brief analysis of how we thought the show went (summary: pretty well), we split up to either have some lunch, or do some more flyering. Our second flyering shift of the day seemed much more successful - both due to the increased number of people around, and the draw of actually MEETING Norman. He's a very charismatic man, is our Norman.
Having performed the first show, we enjoyed the chance to relax a bit and to meet some of the folks around the city - bumping into old friends along the way, and making new ones as we invited them to see our show. It's remarkable just how much of a family the Fringe community feels, and everyone seems incredibly positive at this early stage in the festival - regardless of sales, or how long they may have been flyering for!
Eventually we all found our way back to the ranch, for notes from Naomi about the first show and some dinner; after the madness of the past few days, it's been great to just sit back and know the first show is done. An evening of film-watching saw us end the day, and as I write this blog entry everyone else is in bed - hopefully having a good night's sleep before we do it all again tomorrow...
Until our next entry - sweet dreams, everyone.
- Dan
Wednesday 4 August 2010
Day 2 - Settling in...
So, we’re into Day 2 – and things are really beginning to take shape...
EmptyBox Theatre are just winding our evening down with some dinner in our flat, to end our first full day in Edinburgh. After the mad rush of arriving and going straight into our tech yesterday, it was quite nice to be able to wake up and head off full of breakfast and coffee for our Dress Rehearsal – but it’s been a long day!
We headed back to C aquila first thing to do our dress rehearsal, and add the finishing touches to Norman Shadowboxer ready for opening our run tomorrow morning. I had to pop into Homebase en route for supplies, and for what I imagine will be the only time I was in the queue behind a woman whose face was covered in tattoos and piercings; I think that’s the moment I truly realised just how unique being a part of the Fringe is!
The team at C aquila have been incredibly helpful over the past couple of days, and around the various jobs they’ve had to do they’ve made sure we feel welcome and supported. It helps put everyone at ease when your venue staff are so friendly, and we’re looking forward to spending a month with them! After finishing up our dress run, I headed to Fringe Central to pick up our performer passes and learn more about what they do – and to flick through the programme of events they organise. There are so many things we want to attend, but it’s proving difficult to schedule our time efficiently!
The afternoon saw the company putting some finishing touches to our set and design elements, which has left the floor of our living room cluttered with cardboard, scalpels, glue guns and – strangely – socks. It feels like a true artists community here, but whilst the other guys have been doing their arts and crafts I’ve been doing some producing – sorting out ticketing, flyering and press stuff. With all the madness of the past 48 hours, it’s actually been quite nice to just be able to sit at my laptop and play around with some spreadsheets!
With things winding down here, I’ll take the opportunity to say goodnight – the next time we post, we will have completed Show 1!
-Dan
EmptyBox Theatre are just winding our evening down with some dinner in our flat, to end our first full day in Edinburgh. After the mad rush of arriving and going straight into our tech yesterday, it was quite nice to be able to wake up and head off full of breakfast and coffee for our Dress Rehearsal – but it’s been a long day!
We headed back to C aquila first thing to do our dress rehearsal, and add the finishing touches to Norman Shadowboxer ready for opening our run tomorrow morning. I had to pop into Homebase en route for supplies, and for what I imagine will be the only time I was in the queue behind a woman whose face was covered in tattoos and piercings; I think that’s the moment I truly realised just how unique being a part of the Fringe is!
The team at C aquila have been incredibly helpful over the past couple of days, and around the various jobs they’ve had to do they’ve made sure we feel welcome and supported. It helps put everyone at ease when your venue staff are so friendly, and we’re looking forward to spending a month with them! After finishing up our dress run, I headed to Fringe Central to pick up our performer passes and learn more about what they do – and to flick through the programme of events they organise. There are so many things we want to attend, but it’s proving difficult to schedule our time efficiently!
The afternoon saw the company putting some finishing touches to our set and design elements, which has left the floor of our living room cluttered with cardboard, scalpels, glue guns and – strangely – socks. It feels like a true artists community here, but whilst the other guys have been doing their arts and crafts I’ve been doing some producing – sorting out ticketing, flyering and press stuff. With all the madness of the past 48 hours, it’s actually been quite nice to just be able to sit at my laptop and play around with some spreadsheets!
With things winding down here, I’ll take the opportunity to say goodnight – the next time we post, we will have completed Show 1!
-Dan
Tuesday 3 August 2010
Day 1 - Hello, world!
EmptyBox Theatre are excited to be heading to Edinburgh, to perform at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. We're taking our debut show, 'Norman Shadowboxer' - and to mark this historic occasion, we've decided to blog daily and let you know all about our adventures!
So, a brief introduction for those of you who don't know us. EmptyBox Theatre are a new company who use puppetry, shadows and storytelling to create work for audiences young and old. Since our formation, we've been working on developing 'Norman Shadowboxer' for performance - and the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe will be the first full run of the show we've had. This is both incredibly exciting, and slightly nerve-wracking...
I'm Dan, and I'm the Producer. Although this does mean my job entails lots of paperwork, spreadsheets and marketing, I'm also very much part of the process of making our work - the whole company have creative backgrounds and work together to devise and develop ideas. You're as likely to find me in the rehearsal room coming up with ideas and offering dramaturgical input as you are at my laptop.
I'll be the main blogger here, but other company members will also contribute. Don't worry - we'll sign off our entries, so you know who's writing each entry! Other company members include:
Ronan - Artistic Director, Writer of 'Norman Shadowboxer' and performer
Naomi - Director and (occasional performer)
Lisa - Performer/Narrator
Max - Designer and performer
Liz - Puppeteer/Performer
With such different roles within the company, we'll each have our own take on things - which should make entries much more interesting!
We're currently all relaxing in our flat after a long day of travelling and teching - and we'll be up early tomorrow for our Dress Rehearsal, where the fun shall begin again...
Hope you're already looking forward to our next entry - see you folks soon!
- Dan
So, a brief introduction for those of you who don't know us. EmptyBox Theatre are a new company who use puppetry, shadows and storytelling to create work for audiences young and old. Since our formation, we've been working on developing 'Norman Shadowboxer' for performance - and the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe will be the first full run of the show we've had. This is both incredibly exciting, and slightly nerve-wracking...
I'm Dan, and I'm the Producer. Although this does mean my job entails lots of paperwork, spreadsheets and marketing, I'm also very much part of the process of making our work - the whole company have creative backgrounds and work together to devise and develop ideas. You're as likely to find me in the rehearsal room coming up with ideas and offering dramaturgical input as you are at my laptop.
I'll be the main blogger here, but other company members will also contribute. Don't worry - we'll sign off our entries, so you know who's writing each entry! Other company members include:
Ronan - Artistic Director, Writer of 'Norman Shadowboxer' and performer
Naomi - Director and (occasional performer)
Lisa - Performer/Narrator
Max - Designer and performer
Liz - Puppeteer/Performer
With such different roles within the company, we'll each have our own take on things - which should make entries much more interesting!
We're currently all relaxing in our flat after a long day of travelling and teching - and we'll be up early tomorrow for our Dress Rehearsal, where the fun shall begin again...
Hope you're already looking forward to our next entry - see you folks soon!
- Dan
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