THE SWANAGE WEEKEND!

Saturday

Arriving at the campsite at two pm a small group of us set about pitching our tents before the actors were set to arrive at three. We had decided to camp as it was the most cost effective way to house our actors for the two night's neccessary for our production. With the show starting at half 7, and set-up at the venue starting at 6, we had ample time to get all the actors split into the sections of the tents they would be staying in. For modesty/health and safety reasons we had the men and women separated - with two large two section tents, providing four large compartments, one compartment went to the women and the other three went to the men.

On the arrival of Tanya, wardrobe mistress, at the campsite I found that her dress had not been fitted yet and as such was very large on her. With not enough time for a proper fitting and alterations, we turned her dress inside out and I pinned the sides of her dress so that it was more fitted. Due to health reasons with her allergies I also found that she had added a drop waist to her dress, which did make it more difficult to fit.

 After Fitting

 

                      During Fitting

Tanya's other dress - the Rosaline costume - was a point of contention, as myself and Tanya had planned after discussion that the Rosaline dress would be the same as the Lady Montegue dress with inter-changeable sleeves and front panel. However, for the Lighthouse show Tanya had unfortunately been unable to complete the dress and therefore we had to buy a dress last minute for Rosaline from a local costume shop and cut Lady Montegue from the show. For the Swanage shows, the dress was meant to be made as discussed, however I was again told that the dress would not be completed in time, and so Tanya had to wear the same bought dress again.

The rest of the costumes were completed with Tanya with our making assistants Nell Rogers, Zoe Tweedie, Alee Brucato and Emma-Louise Michaels having made the Nurse, Gregoria, Juliet, Lady Capulet and Lady Montague and myself having made the doublets for Tybolt, Lord Montague, Benvolio, Mercutio, Romeo and the Prince and the cloak for Balthazar/Apothecary. The shirts, the apron for the Nurse, the buckles and the doublets for Lord Capulet, Paris and the two for Sampson being hires.

After the actors had arrived and everyone was settled, we headed down to the site to begin setting up. After further consideration of the space I had decided to move the costume tent to the bottom of the hill. This saved the actors from having to run up and down the hill in the heat and also meant that the changes were easier and faster. Thanks to the layout this meant that with the drop created behind the stage we could use the space between the wall and the tent as a backstage area. One problem with the heat and the tent that was caused was that while the costumes and the actors belongings were safe the heat made the inside of the tent incredibly hot, so that while it was good for changes it was impossible to stay in there for any length of time, however with the space and limited budget there was no alternative.

The set was minimal, the importance more on the use of the available then on outside set pieces. The only set pieces that were brought in for this venue were the two benches and the cordon to block off the area to allow for ticketing. The cordon that we used was bunting strung along poles, with the bunting being made out of the spare fabric left over from the made costumes. This created a bright and interesting barrier.

The performance went well, the actors happy and comfortable in there roles and the audience very receptive to the performance!

Here are some of the initial production photographs that I was able to take during the performance;

With the peformance done, packing out from the venue took 45 minutes with everyone pitching in - not at all bad for getting all the actors out of costume and getting the costumes packed, collapsing and packing the costume tent, gathering all props, dismantling the benches for travel and taking down and packing up the cordon. With all of that done it was time for a much deserved rest before the matinee the next day!

14 hours until the next show.