On Monday 18th May 2015, Forefront Theatre Company stepped out onto the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre stage and performed Shoes to Fill for the first time. The verbatim and physical theatre workshops, the creation of characters, experimenting with shoes and taking inspiration from other companies; everything we had ever done in rehearsals had led our company to this point!
If I am being honest, I did not have a clue how the audience would react to the piece they were about to see. Then I heard the first laugh, less than two minutes into the performance and my worries went away. Whilst I am aware, as a director, there were weak areas in our final performance; I am also aware that our piece had a through story, it delivered our message and it made the audience laugh on multiple occasions.
Cast Warm Up from Webley (2015)
Having previous assistant director experience, whilst amazing, it could not have prepared me for the challenge of directing a fifty minute performance. With eleven company members, nine of which performed on stage, we were the biggest Theatre Company within the module.
As a result, at times, it was challenging but we got through it together! We became a stronger company as the module went on, especially over the last few weeks! We put in a lot of hard work, determination and started working better as a team! Whilst watching the performance from the gallery, it became very clear to me that each and every member of Forefront Theatre Company should be proud of their performance on show day!
Pre-Show Run from Webley (2015)
If the process has taught me anything, it is that as a director whilst it is important to take a leading role, it is also crucial that you work collaboratively with your performers. I could not have put a performance of this scale together without the amazing work of all my performers, my choreographer and my assistant director.
Tamsyn.
Work Cited:
Webley, T (2015) Cast Warm Up
Webley, T (2015) Pre-Show Run