We had a fabulous meeting on Monday at our lovely friends cafe Crafty Cwtch, with the amazing local inclusion project The BIG Social- the intention and hope is to link to our theatre buddies inclusion project- both we and The Big Social aim to make events more accessible for people struggling with loneliness and isolation; and we are looking to provide just such increased access to arts and culture with our buddy scheme (info at https://www.southdevonplayers.com/buddies.html). We then met with a lovely lady joining the fledgling theatre buddies volunteer team, Vikki.
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We are are working on a project for post-covid, that we have called Theatre Buddies, to increase access to the arts and combat lonliness/ isolation, in our own small way. It is especially aimed to help people who feel they cannot attend events like theatre shows or other live entertainment because they do not have someone to go with.
We are gathering feedback and information to help us develop the idea, and we would be enormously grateful for any time or thoughts anyone would want to put into our research survey! The survey is at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VQ3MXC6 and takes about 3 / 4 mins to complete. (Project details explaining the idea in full are at https://www.southdevonplayers.com/buddies.html) As we look towards busier times again after the pandemic, we are also looking for people who would like to get involved with us, behind the scenes, to help create shows, and increase access to our work. The roles we are looking to fill vary hugely in commitment and theme, but as long as you are based in the relevant area, are reliable & communicative, and love the arts, then we should get along very happily indeed. Please read on to find out what we are looking to fill. If you would like an informal chat about any of these roles, do please drop us an email on southdevonplayers@gmail.com, at any time. *NB, at the moment, due to lack of funding, all of these roles are voluntary. We hope, eventually, to be able to make all of these roles paid positions by dint of raising the funds to do so! Sadly with the Brixham Pannier Market being permanently closed by the town council, we have lost our large second-hand book stall, meaning that we are having to create new sources of fundraising even for basic things like rehearsal space, from scratch. COVID NOTE We would also like to be very clear that we take Covid-safety extremely seriously. While some roles can be done, or at least prepared for, from home and can therefore start sooner rather than later, any roles that involve working out and about with others/ in groups will only begin when it is safe to do so - we estimate August onwards. In the meantime, training and preparation, as far as can be done remotely over Zoom etc, will happen for those roles in preparation. All of our "face to face" work in groups will have Covid-safety measures in place.
Have you wanted to create voiceovers or demo videos for a product? Connect with audiences using video and voiceover? If so, we have a fantastic team of professional male and female actors, all with their own home studios, and recording equipment, who are available to record for you. During the Covid pandemic, we are all accustomed to working online and creating from our home studios. We can do the same for you.
Our team members are happy to audition so that you can find the perfect fit for your requirements. If you feel we can help, and would like to discuss further, please email us on southdevonplayers@gmail.com to discuss. We must apologise for the quietness over the last few weeks - lots of things have been happening! Taming of the Shrew news First of all, we must apologise for the cancellation of The Taming of the Shrew. Due to illness in the team, it was impossible to continue to the deadline. (for the record those affected are recovering well!). The team behind that project plan to resurrect it in the future, timing to be decided in that team. Sir Walter's Women On the plus side, the performance of Sir Walter's Women went very well, with great feedback from the author - we certainly hope to work with Rachel again, especially when shows come back to the live stage in the future. It is wonderful to find a playwright who, like us, loves researched historical plays.
BSL Christmas stories We are currently working on a pair of children's Christmas stories, both spoken as recordings and recorded in BSL (British Sign Language), which will be available for free via this website, in the next few days. (The signing for the second story is being done as we speak). This project has been very kindly funded by Western Power Distribution. It is the first time we have worked with getting BSL signing (the first of many projects, and increasing the accessibility of our productions) . Welcoming new stage crew We are delighted to be welcomeing new stage crew, Sophie on tech and set design, Rebekah who is a trainee ASM and filmmaker, Pete assisting with research and digital shows, and Jean on costuming. We are still looking for a stage lighting/ sound tech to join the crew - please check our Crewing page if you would like to be considered to join our upcoming team. Next castings coming up: We have our next open casting announcements coming up. With show dates for both virtual projects and "live" shows in discussion (we have provisional live show dates booked for later in 2021, but of course physical rehearsals and shows are dependant on covid safety, and venues being able to re-open to audience numbers which makes a show tour viable in terms of ticket sales for our actors.). Please keep an eye on our newsfeed for the latest castings - we hope to announce during either December 2020 or Jan 2021. Housekeeping We are currently in the final stages of updating the company documents and governance documents. As a lot of these are the policies and procedures by which we run, we ask that all actors, crew and anyone else who works with us, pops over to the Policies page to check up on them. As always it is all just really about checking the latest best practice, and making sure that our paperwork reflects what we do anyway. We find that it is best to keep things open and clear. Next shows coming up:
Coming up next, we have two virtual shows already planned, Lost Girl and Jack The Ripper, rehearsals for both are well underway, and the tickets are on sale on our box office page With online productions continuing, as people find new ways to work, and with Covid-safe filming now happening on various features, and TV programmes, we are open once more to external castings for our actors. Every actor put forward for external work from us, has worked with us to the highest level of skill, reliability and professionalism.
If you have a casting for work that can be done from a home studio, or that is filming on location in Devon and Cornwall with a Covid-risk assessment and safety procedures, then we would lov to put forward those of our team who may fit your casting, for audition. Please send the casting details to southdevonplayers@gmail.com This is, of course, for paid work only. When you contact us, please ensure that you include details of - pay/expenses - synopsis - dates - locations - who the production company are. - Covid safety details/ risk assessment
Payments from Snow and True Spooky Tales of Brixham
Payments to cast and crew from these two productions are currently going out. All cast for Spooky Tales will have recieved their payments last night. Those whose payment details we have from Snow, also went out last night, we are just waiting on a couple of cast to let us have their payment details so that we can get theirs en-route as well. and Hello everyone!
This is our big update on our projects and what we are doing while this Covid situation continues around the world. Please read on to find out the latest on our online shows, offline shows, and other activities. As things stand, the UK goverment have just brought in what is commonly known as the Rule of Six (meaning that only six people can meet up in a space), as infections nationally are on the rise. --- Returning to live shows For now, our first returning shows are being booked for Jan/ Feb 2021, with our production of Jack The Ripper. That is, hoping that it will be safe for theatres to reopen by then. If there are delays on this, we will postpone. In the meantime, our cast are busily rehearsing and fine-tuning the show. We are currently rehearsing soley on Zoom. As things stand, physical rehearsals are not viable. We would need to be 2metres apart at all times, facing forward away from one another, which is impossible to create a natural show between different characters. While we will return once it is safe to do so (and viable to rehearse in a suitable way), at the moment it is all over Zoom. Shows for 2021 (or, once we can reasonably safely return to viable theatre where we can sell enough tickets to be able to pay cast and crew) include Jack The Ripper, Henry V, we hope a reboot of our show A Midsummer Night's Dream; from 2020, and an action drama set in ancient Rome which is currently being researched and written. ---Online shows We have a great autumn season of four shows, Tickets on sale via our box office HERE for all of the shows, with synopses, and breakdowns, with brilliant transatlantic casts. Every penny from ticket sales will be shared equally among the cast and crew of the show - after all, this is all about creating work for actors and creatives during these tough times. Should the covid crisis run into the New Year, any delays in returning to the physical stage, will lead to a winter/ spring Online Season. ---The Spooky Tales of Brixham With Arts Council funding, from Torbay Culture, our team are creating a video of local spooky ghost stories. With a Halloween broadcast, tickets will be on sale from the beginning of October, and all funds raised will go to our friends at Brixham Theatre. ---Professional actors available We have a fantastic team of actors who are available for (paid) voiceover work, home-recording for zoom projects. If you have a casting call, please email us on southdevonplayers@gmail.com. We are committed to doing our best to create work for our actors and crew. --Other activities We are using the time as usefully as possible. Studying and developing new trends in marketing theatre, creating new technology for our live shows, developing new resources to assist new actors and crew joining the company especially those without much experience; and generally sorting and fine tuning as much as we can.
Internationally award-winning Brixham theatre company announce an autumn “virtual season” of plays with an international team of actors and writers bringing local creatives and international Broadway/ TV names together in a series of theatre created and performed online.
The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company, remain active through the Covid crisis, creating virtual theatre productions, as well as planning for the future. This “virtual autumn season” is a response to the Covid19 restrictions on performing traditional venue-based theatre, which have resulted, across the UK, and other countries, in very little work for theatre actors, and the cancellation of most traditional theatre shows. With the theatre industry on its knees, and no word yet (at least until November, from Oliver Dowden) as to when there is any hope of being able to return to viable physical performances; for the time being therefore, the Players have moved into cyberspace, with actors and crew joining us on screen from their home studios, in the UK, USA, and Ireland, rehearsing and performing online, where audiences all over the world can access the performance, and the cast & crew can earn equal shares of whatever is made from the online performances ticket sales (every penny goes to the actors and crew), to try to support at least a few actors, in some small way, during what is one of the most challenging times that those who work in the theatre industry have ever faced. For our online season, we have teamed up with three new writers; Ashley Griffin, Germaine Shames, and Rachel O'Neill Broadcasts of the plays will be ticketed events, via a link to a hidden area of our .com website, provided to ticket buyers at the time of ticket purchase. Tickets are on sale via our website box office, linked to our ticketsource account. https://www.southdevonplayers.com/box-office.html The first play, due at the beginning of October, is one of the most exciting collaborations in the history of The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company This show features a transatlantic cast, including high-profile Broadway actors. The show cast are Ryan Clardy (Trial); Ashley Griffin (Hamlet, The Greatest Showman); Jordan Lage (CBS’S Madam Secretary, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire); Meredith Patterson* (42nd Street (Peggy Sawyer; Broadway, ABC’s Boston Legal ) and Peter Lewis (CBBC’s WolfBlood,) . (Broadway news article about our performance: https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/Meredith-Patterson-and-Jordan-Lage-Join-Virtual-UK-Premiere-Of-SNOW-20200829) The second play, due at the end of October, is The Lost Girl by Germaine Shames, based on the eponymous novel by D.H. Lawrence. Alvina Houghton, the headstrong daughter of a widowed Midlands draper, comes of age just as her father’s business is failing. In a desperate attempt to regain his fortune and secure his daughter’s proper place in society, James Houghton buys a theatre. Among the travelling performers he employs is Ciccio, a sensual Italian who immediately captures Alvina’s attention. A celebration of freedom, however fleeting, and a testament to the power of the imagination to transform even the most mundane life. The script has been vetted by international D.H. Lawrence scholar, Catherine Brown. Jessica Levinson Young, Artistic Director of Untold Theatre, writes, “I absolutely loved this script for The Lost Girl. It has incredible pace and the dialogue simply leaps off the page!" . The script won Starlight Theater's 2019-20 Playwriting Award . Another of Germaine's D.H. Lawrence adaptations, THE VIRGIN and the GYPSY, received a reading at the 2018 Festival of New American Theatre. Then comes Sir Walter's Women, a play written by Rachel O'Neill, for 2Time Theatre in Winchester. This is a one-act drama that reimagines the life of the charismatic poet, pirate and son of Devon, Sir Walter Raleigh. The play looks at his relationships with the two most important women in his life; one domestic with his wife Bess Throckmorton, and the other political as he manoeuvres his status as a favourite of Elizabeth I to satisfy his political ambitions. His great error is marrying Bess in secret, to the great and lasting displeasure of the Queen. The play ends with Sir Walter's incarceration, trial and execution. Rachel’s plays, Tilly and The Spitfires and The Fasting Girl have had rehearsed readings at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton and her most recent work, Eager for the Air was shortlisted by the RAF for an audio drama marking the Battle of Britain. And finally – William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew . A project by some of our team members, this adaptation of the full, original text, creative challenge exploring 'further developing on the idea of creating digital performance and new techniques of expressing characters, with the roles being split between two actors. Through painstaking character development, innovative performance, video editing, and use of online media tools, this production is going to be one which presents a traditional comedy, in a very new, modern way. As is widely known, the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, caused postponement and cancellation of live shows for several months, for every theatre in the UK. During lockdown, the South Devon Players decided to resist the trend of companies closing,and the Players decided to create online performances, in which the actors come together to perform online from the safety of their own homes. This in itself has not been easy, as many people in the team, have had to learn new technology & software, and find ways to make it work on household electronics, with the cast and crew working from their lockdown locations mainly in south Devon but also sheltering in place spread across the UK, as well as the Republic of Ireland, and the USA. . The South Devon Players Theatre and Film Company, are developing a proud tradition of creating world-class historical and classical dramas. In 2019, their production of Macbeth, was booked for a second tour and won an international theatre award in New York for its professionalism and creativity. Laura Jury, the director of that production of Macbeth, & many of the Player's shows, and founder of the theatre company, has returned to lead this new project. Laura has also recently been selected to appear in an online Shakespeare project by the Globe Theatre. With lockdown, the Players have been using the internet to perform and livestream digital theatre from Brixham, around the world to global audiences The South Devon Players were founded in the winter of 2005-6, on the proceeds of a carboot sale, to create professional opportunities for local actors, and has flourished ever since; previously winning national and regional arts awards, including the national Epic Award 2017 for England, a national arts award celebrating creativity and innovation in grassroots arts. Based in Brixham, the Players primarily specialise in researched historical theatre productions and old “Classics”. Hello all!
This is just an update with news all in one place! Overall, the news on theatres reopening remains the same. While some theatres are able to put on subsidised performances, it is impossible for most of us, sadly as outlined in our update on the subject, to return to distanced physical shows, for us and very many theatre companies. Most of the UK theatre industry is awaiting the announcements due in November from the UK government's Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, as to when theatres can re-open. With vastly reduced audiences due to (the very sensible!) distancing, it is impossible to run shows viably, and make enough from sales to pay for a venue and also to pay cast/ crew. Jack the Ripper We are now rehearsing over Zoom each Sunday afternoon for this show, with plans for an online performance if the physical shows end up delayed. Jack The Ripper will return to the physical stage as soon as theatres are able to reopen (all being well, our bookings are for the end of January and early Febuary, with ticket sales going live once we know more from Mr Dowdens announcements in September. The production team are really pleased with how the rehearsals are progressing, with this Sunday being a characterisation workshop session. Our return to the physical stage, in 2021, will also mean that at least one performance of each show run, will be livestreamed to audiences who either are unable to access the venue, or who may still not wish to attend theatre in person after the pandemic. Shakespeare in 2021 Our 2021 Shakespeare show will be Henry V, as is already being booked for summer 2021. We are also hoping to finally get to tour our production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was postponed due to the pandemic, subject to cast and venue availibility, as it now appears highly unlikely that we will be able to tour the show this year. Virtual Season Casting announcements will go out within a few days for the first of our Virtual Season, the dark adaptation of Snow White, by Ashley Griffin. There have been a few delays while the cast are being selected, but we will have that sorted out by the end of this coming weekend. Tickets have already begun to sell, and as soon as the casting announcement goes live, we will be able to send out press releases, distribute posters and online events listiings to really push for the ticket sales. The ensuing plays, The Lost Girl and Sir Walter's Women, will be cast during the later part of September. Spooky Tales of Brixham This project telling of our local town's folklore, is well on track, with a release date of Halloween. We have acquired a wonderful collection of Victorian images of Brixham, for some backdrops and intro cards, and are currently in talks with local filming locations. All filming will be socially distanced, and outdoors in a Covid-secure envriroment. |
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