A busy day of rehearsing - 10/04/2008
Charlie and Lola
By Mohsen Nouri
Today was a very busy day. Karina and I spent more time talking about all the ideas that we have for the shadow scenes and deciding which ones we want and how we might do them. It was important that we should do this now so as to give enough time for all the puppets to be made and so that we know where to begin rehearsing those scenes. And then in the afternoon we practised the whole show from beginning to end for the first time. I am happy that we did this because up until then we had only rehearsed each scene individually, but by putting them all together I now have a better idea of how the show flows. Also practice makes perfect. There is a lot to remember!
Read this blogBeth's trip to China - 09/04/2008
General
By Beth van der Ham, Associate Director, Education
I'm Beth van der Ham, one of Polka's Associate Directors and the head of Polka's Education Department, but I'm on maternity leave at the moment. I am returning to Beijing after visiting 5 years ago, this time with my baby girl. We're going to visit my sister who lives and works in an international school there. The man on the airplane laughs and tells me that I won't recognise it; that Beijing is changing monthly at the moment. Day by day, more and more buildings explode onto the scene.
Read this blogReturn to Polka! - 09/04/2008
Charlie and Lola
By Susan Harrison - performer
My name’s Susan and I’m one of the cast of Charlie and Lola. I was in The BFG at Polka over Christmas so it’s really nice to be back. In the BFG I had to operate a puppet version of the character I was playing which I really enjoyed, but in Charlie and Lola we use puppets throughout the whole play so it’s even more of a challenge.
Read this blogThe first day of rehearsals - 31/03/2008
Charlie and Lola
By Jonathan Lloyd - Adaptor
The first day of rehearsals is always very exciting. It’s a chance for the actors to meet each other, and the team of people who will work with them to put on the show. This morning they all met and read through the script. They also looked at a model of the set, which shows you what the stage will look like when the play is performed.
Read this blogAnother update from India - 18/02/2008
General
By Layne Harrod - Freefalling and Workshop Leader
For the second week, we continued to work in the two orphanages, MDM & Alaigal. We introduced shadow puppetry and using this form we were able to hear and learn from the children some common Tamil tales, often with a moral embedded within the story.
Read this blogNews from India - 15/02/2008
General
By Janna Feldman - Education Officer
We are driving along the chaotic streets of Thiravannamalai.Shiva our tuk tuk driver swerves to avoid cows, naked children, colourful pedestrians, monkeys, dogs and motorcycles jampacked with entire families. The smell of cowdung, rotting rubbish, incense and spices inject the overwhelming heat and Mount Arunachala is visble from every bustling street corner.
Read this blogPolka really is 'writing the world' at the moment... - 15/02/2008
General
By Jonathan Lloyd - Artistic Director
Our new story-writing competition has got off to a great start. Jamila Gavin is busy working on her story inspired by China, and after last week's Chinese New Year, we are delighted to post over 30 messages from students at Shuiguohu Number 1 Middle School in China. They each give a brief introduction to themselves, their family, the things they love doing - they are a fantastic way to find out more about what life is really like for a child in today's China.
And Polka's Education Officer Janna Feldman is currently working out in India. Read her blog to find out what she's been doing and why she is out there...
Nearly the end of rehearsals! - 11/02/2008
Secrets
By Kate Copeland - playing Moya Upton and other parts
Hello, I’m Kate Copeland and I’m playing a few parts (ranging in age from about 18 – 90!) but my main character is Moya Upton, India’s self-absorbed Mum.
Read this blogRehearsing asthma attacks - 06/02/2008
Secrets
By Kerry Gooderson - playing Treasure
Today we fitted in a pacier run in preparation for when Jonathan Lloyd, the Artistic Director of Polka came to see us in the afternoon. The run went well and gave us a good idea of what needed changing. We got a chance to discuss our characters in more depth as well as picking out some general themes that needed addressing. The scenes in which I suffer asthma attacks needed more panic and we established the different bonds between the various characters. By the need of the day we felt we had achieved a lot. Our run-through was fluid and there were all sorts of new layers developing, it set us in good stead for the rest of the week.
Read this blogAdding movement and music - 05/02/2008
Secrets
By Kerry Gooderson - playing Treasure
We managed to fit in a run of the whole show today and we really got a chance to incorporate Steve Markwick’s musical score as well as the sound effects we recorded in the studio the week before. It gave the whole run a more realistic feel. We finally felt that scenes were set and we could really play with the space we have on stage. The space is quite compact so if there are any scenes in which we have to travel, we really have to spend a lot of time choreographing our movements. It can be very time consuming but it pays off in the long run. I particularly felt that Steve’s music really adds to the quality of the show.
Read this blogRehearsing the part of Treasure - 04/02/2008
Secrets
By Kerry Gooderson - playing Treasure
Monday
Today’s rehearsals started with a 30 minute warm-up before we focussed on any scenes or moments we felt needed tweaking. A few of Treasure’s scenes were running awkwardly so we ran them at speed as well as discussing how important the music is to creating an emotive atmosphere. We ran through Act One for the first time in a while, after spending all last week on Act Two. We ran the first act for a group of young reporters. They gave us some useful feedback about the issues covered as week as wells as an opportunity to perform to children.
Micci's first entry - 04/02/2008
Secrets
By Micci Gorrod - playing Loretta and understudy for other roles
Hello Micci here. This is my first blog as a member of the ‘Secrets’ cast. I’m playing Loretta and understudying for various other roles in the show. We’re concentrating on reworking Act 2 mostly this week and today we all had our first costume fittings… Hmmm I’m not going to win any Miss Norfolk beauty competitions in my police uniform or as my stylish line dancer, but the designers are spot on for the characters. It’s always exciting when you first see the different design aspects of the show as they begin to come together.
Read this blogChanging characters - 29/01/2008
Secrets
By Charlotte Allam - playing Wanda, Headmistress and Tammy
A day of many personalities… we picked up where we’d be left off; this meant a quick change from drippy Aussie, middle-aged Headmistress (one of my three characters). It’s quite a complicated little scene – staging wise – and we spent a chunk of the morning working on it. I’d no sooner got to grips with tweed suit, shampoo and set than I was down under again for my final appearance as Wanda – poor old Wanda ... it goes from bad to worse. After lunch, I morphed into a line-dancer. We spent a couple of hours learning a routine – fortunately, I like dancing – and then jumped back to the play, where I became ‘Tammy’, Treasure’s Mum. We did a final line dance and called it a day.
Read this blogLine dancing and cake - 28/01/2008
Secrets
By Charlotte Allam - playing Wanda, Headmistress and Tammy
Some of the group went to a local line-dancing class this morning (not me!) so the first few minutes of the day were spent hearing about the teacher, Sylvia and her troupe, and checking out a few of the moves. After a warm-up, we went back over Friday’s work – more vomiting and depression – it’s not all glamour! We also discussed the plan for the week; we have a choreographer coming in tomorrow to teach us line-dancing, costume fittings on Wednesday, and a trip to the recording studio on Thursday. That’s about it really. Oh, I’d made a carrot cake to take in – seemed to go down well. Much better than pop tarts…!
Read this blogLine dancing and peroxide! - 25/01/2008
Secrets
By Nicky Goldie
Tuesday
Today, Nick, our Stage Manager, showed us around the theatre for the first time. We stood on the stage and tried to imagine what it will be like performing the play in front of an audience and with a proper set; in the rehearsal room, Nick has marked out where the walls and doors of the set are going to be with tape on the floor, but we still walk through walls quite often. He also showed us the Adventure Theatre downstairs which is lovely, and we looked around the backstage area. Polka is such a magical place, not just for children but for adults as well.
End of week two - 24/01/2008
Secrets
By Charlotte Allam - playing Wanda, Headmistress and Tammy
I spent most of today feeling depressed, being sick, and eating pop tarts (the latter, as I’ve discovered, successfully induces either/both of the former…). One of my characters in Secrets, Wanda, is the Upton’s Australian au pair and she is not blessed with a sunny disposition ...
Read this blogSarah-Lee's first week of rehearsals - 22/01/2008
Secrets
By Sarah-Lee, playing India
Hi, I'm Sarah-Lee, playing India in Secrets. Here's my diary from the first week of rehearsals.
Read this blogSecrets rehearsals begin! - 17/01/2008
Secrets
By Vicky Ireland, Director and Adaptor
We started rehearsals on Monday by the actors reading the play and talking to each other. They also met Nick, our Stage Manager. Then in the afternoon, we read the play again, but this time there were lots more people there, including the Designer, the Lighting Designer, the Composer, the Costume Supervisor, the Production Manager, the Props person and the Education Department. They all needed to hear the play so they can think about how to produce it on the stage and how to sell it.
Read this blogWriting the World Launch - 07/01/2008
General
By Jonathan Lloyd, Artistic Director
Happy New Year! It’s now exactly a year since I started as Artistic Director here at Polka; I can’t quite believe it.
Read this blogThe BFG Dreamcatcher Project - 06/12/2007
General
By Fran Chabrel, Education Officer
Monday 3rd December was performance day for an inclusive project involving pupils from three Merton Schools: SS Peter and Paul’s Primary School, Cricket Green School (with Jade class from SS Peter and Paul’s) and St Ann’s School (with Emerald class from SS Peter and Paul’s).
Read this blog