After experimenting and discarding ideas and taking inspiration from other shows, we settled on having an opening and closing puppet scene with the main body having a different style for each scene. As a team, we came up with ideas of different styles and Hope and Kay (director and writer) decided on the final five. As we already had the through line of the play, we decided what would happen in each scene, why and how it would contribute to the through line.
Once this was all sorted, it was just over 3 weeks until the performance and Kay managed to write us 2 new scenes a week, meaning we got the full script just over week before show day.
By this stage, there had been a lot of divergences from our schedules, even after revision and adjustment. We had agreed to have our script completed by the 21st of March, then by the 19th of April, then the 6th of May. We ended up with a full script, complete with edits and revisions by the 12th of May. This wasn’t anyone’s fault, as we were setting unrealistic dates. If we had no idea what we wanted to do or how to do it, how could we have a script that we were happy with? The fact it took so long to realise what we had been looking for since were started was frustrating to say the least as by the time we had finally decided on the dream structure with 6 different styles, we had 2 new scenes each week. If we had spent more time working out exactly what we had wanted rather than panickingly devising for the sake of devising, we would have had more time to enjoy the rehearsal process, rather than having to rush through it in order to have a show that was up to standard. Having said that, despite the long period of watching rehearsals and writing notes on things that never would be used followed by the short slighty-more-manic than it should be period before the performance, I don’t regret how we came about our show. Not least for 2 reasons.

Reason 1- When we finally realised what we wanted, that was when it all seemed to click.
Whether it was because we had all been through the same stresses and worries of having to change idea after idea or simply because through trial and error until we had reached an idea and style to suit that all and that we understood and wanted to be a part of (or a combination of the two) we, as a company, knew what needed to be done and how to do it. The writer, Kay, had a firm plot to go on with a clear message and wrote scene by scene with influences from the classic tale of Cinderella and conventions of each style. The actors and director were working perfectly in synch as both knew what the other had imagined and why.

Reason number 2- It showed that we were all capable of doing our jobs under pressure.
The full script was due for completion on the 6th of May and this was when my job started to get busy. I had been sitting in all rehearsals from the start and had kept summaries of what we’d been doing and what our aims were. I also kept feedback notes to refer to in our facebook group and rehearsals. This was also the case for meetings so there was a record of jobs that needed to be done and who by.
These notes, however, were moot without all the elements that create a show- lights, props and staging to name a few- and so it was necessary to keep records of and manage these.

The completed production book, in all its colour-coded glory

As we were getting new scenes twice a week, I made sure to record the props, costume and set used in each scene and checked with the director that my lists were correct. These were then put into several different spreadsheets. The first was the props/costume/set needed for each scene, in order for the actors and props to know what was needed and for when. The second was for sourcing them, organised through the traffic light system, green for free/owned by a company member, yellow for borrowed (including where from) and red for purchase needed (including price and receipt code for budgeting and claim forms). The third was the pre-set check list, detailing where they needed to be at the start with space to check them off once they were in place. The fourth was the scene order for stage left and stage right, detailing which scene and characters they were needed for and the cue that they had to be ready by. On the day, these last two sheets were very helpful in terms of organisation for making sure everything had been purchased and was present and had been placed in the right place for the scene needed and the actor using them. They were also reassuring for the cast and the stagehands helping with the transitions and passing the items onto the stage, as it allowed them to focus on getting the actors ready rather than working out what was needed for which scene.

One of my many spreadsheets, listing the required props and costume and which scene and characters, placed in SL wings

As we had several different scenes, each with expected conventions, such as costume (and props that appeared midway through a scene) the actors and stagehands only had a short period for the transitions. For each wing I wrote a list of the actors’ entrances and exits, props and when they were needed and, particularly for the puppet transitions, who was responsible for which jobs to ensure as fast and smooth transition as possible.

For lights, sound and other effects, I had to produce a technical rider for the technical team at Lincoln Performing Arts Centre detailing our staging, technical requirements and what we needed to borrow from the venue’s props and costume store. I also had to complete a risk assessment detailing the possible risks, how likely they were to happen, to whom and the steps we had taken to ensure that the risks were minimised. Drafts of these had been shown the technical team in our production meeting and were given the all clear and so changes to set on tech day meant only small changes were needed, rather than having to start from fresh.

As with any show, tech day was an important day for us. For the actors and director, it was their first chance to try out their work in the performance space and make sure they were happy with it. For costume it was a chance to see if their work worked with the aesthetic and atmosphere of the show. It was also a chance to see the new stage design and if it would work with the lights. Due to the new set design, props (as they were the same person) were not available for the actors to try out.
Tech day, however, was probably the biggest day for myself and the sound and light designer, Laura, and so it was important that she and I knew we wanted, could explain her ideas and we were organised appropriately. This meant that cue sheets for light and sound were needed to be completed in advance and a draft prompt script in case there was time for a cue to cue.
Doing the light cue sheets was definitely easier than sound as once lights are in a state, they stay in that state until the next cue. Sound, however, either stops as the track has run out or has to be stopped manually based on the action on stage. The volume can be increased and decreased and sounds faded in and out with more than one sound playing independently of others, rather than contributing to the state as a whole (which is the case with lights).
We met up to take notes of what lights she wanted and when and the same with sound. Neither of us had written cue sheets before but I had seen others do them and had the process explained to me. I took this as a chance to try my hand at cue sheets and so drafted (and redrafted) the sheets in preparation for going through them with Laura. This was when I discovered that sound was harder and so made sure to triple check my drafts. When I met up with her to do the sheets, I realised that even after triple checking I had missed off some sound cues or got confused, and so changing those took a fair while. Now that I had the sound and light cue sheets, I could work on the prompt book for the show in time for the programming.
When it came to programming the lights and sound, the tech team at LPAC were their usual fantastic selves. Although we managed to get all the lights and sounds programmed onto Q-lab, there wasn’t enough time to group them. The structure of the script meant that each scene ended with a duologue and a monologue that led into music and a scene change meaning that around 5 light and sound cues could be grouped together. The tech day was a delight, the set went up without a hitch and the swing looked great, both on stage and in the tech box, especially when Chloe was just sat there for certain techie’s amusement….

A view of the puppet scene set and lights from the tech box

On a high from tech day, we went into the final rehearsals with new enthusiasm. The actors had experienced the lights and sounds in the performance space and got to get familiar with the set. Props were also brought and after a final showing to Dom, costume changes were made and the actors learnt to have more fun with their characters. Not only did the cue sheets make sense and work, but I had begun to get my head around the idea of both light and sound being run off Q-lab, which meant me using a Mac, which, if I’m honest, was probably the most daunting thing for me.

When show day arrived, as stuck up as it sounds, all that was left for me to do was to print the necessary spreadsheets and lists, such as the transitions sheet and the pre-set list for checking off. The new light and sound combined cue sheets had been drafted the morning of performance day as the programmed cues were grouped. After printing off a fresh script and adding the prompts, all that was left to do was the fun stuff- cue to cue and a first full run through with costume, props and effects followed by a dress run with photographer Phil Crow.
A few small changes were needed after these. Chloe, who played Cinderella, hadn’t done stage combat before and so wasn’t comfortable with a heavy bat. A quick change to the fight routine followed the bat becoming a knife and the swinging of it became playing with it as though it were a brush or a wand. The approaching train that needed a whistle at the start was magicked in by Tom the techie.
The transitions worked, even if the tabs proved hard to stop at the right place and the props and costumes were all used to the credit of the actors. With two good run throughs under our belt and nervous poos to be done, we re-set the stage and wings, checked the stage and wings and broke for tea. The doors were opening at 7:15 with a 7:30 show start. At 6:45 the 30 minute call went out, followed by the 10 minute, 5 minute and beginner’s call. We’d sold 137 tickets and had 10 reserved. Notices about the hazer and strobe lighting had been placed and with the cast onstage and me in the tech box, the doors opened and the audience came in. 15 minutes later, we got clearance and started the show, interrupting Laura’s great choice of house music.

A calm 30 minute call

I’d been told by a friend and stage manager that the mark of a good stage manager was that the show could continue with just the production folder and no stage manager. I’m not sure if I completely agree with this. Yes the production folder should be so that it can be passed on and the show continue, but my experience taught me that the book couldn’t be completed without everyone working as a team. Wonderful though a colour-coded folder with spreadsheets is, it’s not quite the same as a member of the company. Yes, there were surprises that popped up and last minute changes that could have been avoided with better communication within the company as a whole, but we still managed to work as a team.
I will admit that were several occasions when I was doubtful if we’d reach the 45 minute mark, or have a show that was of a good enough standard to be seen by audiences or if I was even needed as a stage manager, as my company hadn’t worked with one before.
These doubts were quashed as in the end, the final show was great. The actors were the funniest they’d been and I found myself laughing at old and new bits with renewed laughter. Before the show there were no last minute panics with costumes breaking or props gone missing, everything ran smoothly and we got a great audience response both during and after the show.

I don’t think I’ll be forgetting this experience in a hurry, even if just for our little bios in the programme.

It’s all true!

As a team, we came up with ideas of different styles and Hope and Kay (director and writer) decided on the final five. As we already had the through line of the play, we decided what would happen in each scene, why and how it would contribute to the through line.
Once this was all sorted, it was just over 3 weeks until the performance and Kay managed to write us 2 new scenes a week, meaning we got the full script just over week before show day. Once we had each scene, it was all systems go. First we blocked each scene, then added expression into the lines and watched as the characters developed rehearsal by rehearsal. To add character and physicality to the characters, Hope led an exercise where each actor imagined which animal their character would be and to integrate their traits into their character and performance. Belinda was a llama, Gertrude a gorilla, Cinderella a sly shrew and the Godmother a peacock.

Hope directing Belinda the llama and Gertrude the gorilla

We also had voice over monologues and duologues that would be played at the end of each scene, acting as a summation to the previous and an introduction to the following. We recorded these in the radio studios in MHT with help editing them from Paris, who features in a lovely photo below.

Sweet natured Paris, who is amazing at sound editing

Once we had the whole show blocked (and some lines already learnt) we showed Dom our work. He liked what we had and thought it had potential. The characters needed to be bigger and bolder and the monologues needed to be more and more manic as the show progressed.
We addressed this feedback by re-recording the voice overs, which were edited again by Paris, and doing more work on characterisation. The feedback that we received was what we were expecting- it needs to be more- and our rehearsals for the next (and final) focused on this.

The day before show day, we showed our work to Dom again. This is what he told us:

The characters need to be more physical.
During Cinderella’s monologues and duologues, we had the new addition of the swing to incorporate. As the swing was something we only had since tech day, we wweren’t sure how to do this. We settled on the idea that the swing was Cinderella’s space for reflection, but also a place she went when she felt lonely or disheartened. Because of this and the more manic recordings, she spent a lot of time on the swing, making the scene look static. It was suggested that Cinderella become a more ballet like character, something that would aid the aesthetics of these scenes but also the juxtaposition of her character- a sweet, innocent girl plotting her sister’s murder.
The Godmother also needed to be more fairy-like in her movements.
The sisters’ characters were larger than life and so their physicality and costume needed to reflect this- they needed to be more grotesque.

The best moments stuck to the conventions
His favourite scenes were the silent movie and the fight scene, as they were more loyal to the conventions of their styles. Although it was too late to dramatically change the script or blocking, like his first comment, with more energy and bolder characters, the conventions would be met more.

For a while, we had been resisting the pantomime genre, choosing dark comedy and surrealist aesthetic. However, the comment we received and the way the characterisation work was going, we realised if we embraced the pantomime genre, with its over the top moments, such as streams of ribbon flowing from a small cut, the comedy, physicality and characters would be stronger, helping the gelling of all the different style featured in our piece.

During the devising process, I saw two shows that had elements that were very similar to what out show was shaping up to be. These were Shakespeare Untold and Cell

Shakespeare Untold followed the story of two of Shakespeare’s play- Romeo and Juilet and Titus Andronicus. The piece had two sets, one for each story. The first was a strip of floor that looked like grass, some chairs, a ladder and a wall with a window. The second was a different floor, a table and the interior of a kitchen. Each act had a different story and therefore set.
During the interval, the set was struck: The top floor was rolled up and put in the wings, the props were taken off stage and replaced with the table and the box was turned 180o to reveal the kitchen. As we were intending to have a number of quick scene changes, the idea of a versatile set which was pre-set as much as possible seemed like a very practical way of designing our set.

Both stories were solo performances but the actors played around 7 parts, including the narrator, whom mentioned in the plays, but didn’t feature in them. To represent which character they were playing, each had a part of their costume that could rearrange- a scarf and a tea towel. When they weren’t being used, they were kept around the actors’ waists. Each characters they were being to portray had them being worn and used in a different way. This was also the case for the props. Certain props were used to represent different characters during narration to avoid confusion and help the audience keep track of the events and characters.
Both these devices were relevant to our ideas.
As we use ‘everyday objects’ to help our message and story which was quite fast paced, our props would have to be minimalist so they were suitable for quick changes, but objects that could be interpreted by both performers and audience members.

Cell was a three person puppet show that followed the life of Ted, a man diagnosed with MND. Ted was played by a puppet and featured no speech, just sounds. Other characters were puppets or by the cast, distinguished by one prop or costume element.
Upstage there was a three sectioned shadow puppet screen, with all props on the floor in front of it. Transitions in this piece were done through shadow puppetry. Like ours, characters had their own shadow puppet. Unlike ours, they had movement and interacted with shadow set, such as boats.
As an audience decides within the first 30 second whether they will like a show or not, Cell seemed like a good show to take inspiration from as the whole show was so simple but so engaging through the fantastic puppets and puppetry.

Regardless of whether these devices were used in our piece, the inspiration and ideas that they provoked hopefully would be.

One of the joys (or horrors) of dreams is that the world that you visit in your sleep is entirely of your own creation. Even if the place is somewhere you have been before and the people are the people you see every day, they have been selected by your brain to feature in its own display of creativity. And whether you’re aware of it or not, your unconscious mind is entirely in control of what happens.
Our ideas have changed a fair bit by now. We started with the idea of Cinderella’s bed being her safe space in a forest that represented her mind. As her mind became more twisted and her thoughts more sinister, what started out as pretty forest would become littered with rubbish and become dark, broken with a creepy atmosphere.
This was still the case with our current ideas- her world becoming more and more sinister, but we wanted to change how the progression was shown in a way that was more true to the surrealist aesthetic and dark comedy we wanted to keep.

This was the idea that drove our newest scene.
Taking into consideration what we had previously devised (the long table) we thought the table could be made of several different blocks that were independent of each other. We decided that these blocks could be used as different stations. These were:

1- Cleaning (products)
2- actual bed
3- sewing
4- dinner table
And each station would represent different parts of the Cinderella story.
Cleaning would be Cinderella doing her chores and cleaning
Bed would be to show her standard of life and her ‘safe space’ in the real world and her mind
Sewing would be where her sisters would do her bidding
Dinner table would the end scene where her mind and her twisted thoughts came to climax

In Cinderella’s dream, just as with anyone else’s dream, her mind was what controlled the action. Therefore, we decided to have Cinderella in control of the events and her two sisters, who were in the world, but not a part of it. To show the difference between the control levels of the sister’s and Cinderella, we had Cinderella learning how to control her world. When she clicked, the sisters, powerless, did her bidding and when they rebelled, she punished them with a click of her fingers. For Gertrude, she began mooing instead of speaking and Belinda lost her sight, but only realised when it was pointed out to her. We still wanted to keep the surrealist aesthetic and a dark comedy about the piece and so we decided that Cinderella would start the scene cleaning the house, but for a party of her, rather than as a chore. She would be doing this with a mop with a doll’s head as the mop top. We rehearsed this a few times, adding more comedic elements that showed Cinderella’s more twisted side.

We showed this scene in our second work in progress meeting. The overall response was positive and our change of style was well received. Our storyline was liked and the comedy was both funny and effective in showing Cinderella’s character.
The advice given to us was to build on this idea of the mix of styles and rather than the piece getting more and more surrealist as the play went on, to have each scene a different style. If we were brave enough, the suggestion was that we could have each scene scripted and the lines and basic blocking learnt, but for the audience or a wheel of chance to decide the style for each scene seconds before we did it. We were excited by this idea and each had a list of different styles that we wanted to experiment with, however, we decided to have the style for each scene to be present in order for light and sound effects to be designed and to avoid the risk of the performers being flustered by large changes.

Our director had already researched surrealism and knew what she wanted to do it. Others hadn’t and so hopes of devising a surrealist piece were low. So we decided to use our workshops to look at surrealist theatre and films. When watching these, we found that they were more interpretative than we wanted. We then began to watch clips of film, TV and theatre that we had seen that we thought had the same sort of atmosphere that we were hoping to create. This ranged from ‘Tellitubbies bear and lion sketch’ to ‘return to Oz’ Wheeler scenes and ‘American Horror story’ clown scenes. These clips had the aesthetics of surrealism in that the images were illogical and contradictory. Watching these and discussing ideas made us realise that what were after was in fact the surrealist aesthetic, rather than the style, meaning we wanted a series of scenarios and images that only made sense in terms of the whole piece, rather than as individual items.
Taking this into account, we then started some exercises based on the surrealist notion of random, illogical combinations. One of these that stood out in particular involved us writing three lists- one for actions, one for an animal and one for an object. We then picked one of each out at random and used them to improvise a short sequence. Although some members were willing to try this out, others were more reserved and questioned its usefulness. We decided that without a plot or a reason, we had returned to just surrealism, rather than surrealist aesthetic.

What better than a mixed cat pancake made by a mouse at the hands of a heavy vehicle?

In the story, Cinderella yearns to go to the ball and meet the prince while having one night of luxury and fun away from her life as a servant. As we wanted to portray a more objective fuelled Cinderella, we decided that the ball would be a good point to start off our newly styled improvising and devising process. With idea of contrasting images in mind, we thought of having a buffet with meals cooked by Cinderella, which ranged from meat balls made from eyes to real life gummy worms. Known for their greed, the sisters could probably be found at the buffet, stuffing their faces on the lavish food prepared for them, so it only made sense for them to be at the buffet, gorging on the foods without realising until the final dish what was really being served. As with the list exercise, it was met with a mixed response. Some liked the way it brought out a new, more sinister side to Cinderella, others felt that the idea of a creepy feast was overdone and others felt, although it worked in terms of the plot of the increasingly abusive Cinderella, the staging and props needed would become the driving force behind our performance, rather than our ideas.
So far, we had come up with ideas that either didn’t suit the story or that others didn’t understand. This only led to confusion and to meaningless ideas being tossed around. We began stressing about how little work we had and how lose our next work in progress was, leading to more panicked ideas which, in turn, led to stress. It was clear that we needed to return to basics if we were to get anywhere with our style or even piece. We had to ask ourselves ‘What was it that we wanted to convey and how could we do this?’
We left our first work in progress meeting with the advice to ‘experiment and discard’ and not to hold onto ideas for the sake of having ideas in our minds. Although it was hard at the time to admit defeat for that rehearsal and idea, we agreed to come back with a clear head and new ideas.
As much as we liked the dark twist on the ball, we felt that it was out of place and needed to be contextualised. Although we had agreed against it, we kept finding our way back to surrealism. So maybe the key was not to ignore surrealist style in favour of its aesthetics, but to take an idea of surrealism, namely, dreams.