INK Festival
This time last week, INK Festival was in full swing.
This year was also the first time the festival was held for three days instead of two in previous years, with over forty short plays being performed. There was also the addition of two new performing spaces including the Kings Theatre, held at the Volvo Car Garage and the Museum Theatre. Creative writing workshops were led by Greg Mosse, Robin Brooks, and Simon Nelson.
It was an early start on Friday morning. Dacre, Kitty, Elena, Felix and I arrived at The Cut at 9am to do final checks and hoover the stage in the Studio before we opened with the first show at 10am with The Ties That Bind Us.
For all the shows we opened the house 5-10 minutes before the play began for the audience to take their seats, usually depending on how long the queue was going up the stairs. Kitty would be backstage ready to stand by the actors when clearance was given. Elena and Felix would either be doing lighting and sound with Dacre or giving clearance with me when the audience were seated. During the day all five of us took turns to take a break at some point to have lunch or go and see another play being performed at another venue in The Cut. The change over for each shows had to be quick as we had roughly twenty minutes before we had to open the house to the audience. Some of the sets were heavier and more complex which had to be taken into account. When the last play of the day finished we set up for Bus Stop which was the first play to be performed in the morning.
Saturday was a later start with our first performance of Bus Stop starting at 10:50am. It was a busier day than Friday as it was the start of the Easter Holidays however we coped as we started to settle into our routine as we became familiar with the plays we were working on and how to manage them. The team and I conducted our duties the same as Friday in terms of change over and final checks of sets and props before we let the audience into The Studio.
Sunday was an earlier start as our first performance was at 10am starting with Invisible Irene. We had a special performance in the afternoon from Jemimah Foxtrot who read a selection of poems in The Studio. The festival ended with a special Q&A with Luke Wright interviewing Richard Curtis on the Main Stage where he talked about his career, what inspires him and how he writes. But it wasn't over quite yet for The Studio team as we had to move the props and sets of Invisible Irene and After Prospero to the Main Stage to eventually be taken on the tour around East Anglia and London.
For the next two week's a selection of plays that have been performed at INK will be on tour across East Anglia before going to the Tristan Bates Theatre in London from May 7th to 18th. I won't be taking part in the upcoming tour, however, if anyone would like a taste of what INK is all about, do look on the website to find out where the nearest venue is and when the performances are.
https://inkfestival.org/ink-festival/ink-festival-2019/
https://www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/feast-from-the-east
Left: The Cut main entrance Right: queue for the Kiln Room
This year was also the first time the festival was held for three days instead of two in previous years, with over forty short plays being performed. There was also the addition of two new performing spaces including the Kings Theatre, held at the Volvo Car Garage and the Museum Theatre. Creative writing workshops were led by Greg Mosse, Robin Brooks, and Simon Nelson.
Lady of Jazz
Invisible Irene
For all the shows we opened the house 5-10 minutes before the play began for the audience to take their seats, usually depending on how long the queue was going up the stairs. Kitty would be backstage ready to stand by the actors when clearance was given. Elena and Felix would either be doing lighting and sound with Dacre or giving clearance with me when the audience were seated. During the day all five of us took turns to take a break at some point to have lunch or go and see another play being performed at another venue in The Cut. The change over for each shows had to be quick as we had roughly twenty minutes before we had to open the house to the audience. Some of the sets were heavier and more complex which had to be taken into account. When the last play of the day finished we set up for Bus Stop which was the first play to be performed in the morning.
Time Lapse of us changing over After Prospero to Invisible Irene
Blood Capsule for The Ties That Bind Us that I had to fill for each time it was performed.
Sunday was an earlier start as our first performance was at 10am starting with Invisible Irene. We had a special performance in the afternoon from Jemimah Foxtrot who read a selection of poems in The Studio. The festival ended with a special Q&A with Luke Wright interviewing Richard Curtis on the Main Stage where he talked about his career, what inspires him and how he writes. But it wasn't over quite yet for The Studio team as we had to move the props and sets of Invisible Irene and After Prospero to the Main Stage to eventually be taken on the tour around East Anglia and London.
For the next two week's a selection of plays that have been performed at INK will be on tour across East Anglia before going to the Tristan Bates Theatre in London from May 7th to 18th. I won't be taking part in the upcoming tour, however, if anyone would like a taste of what INK is all about, do look on the website to find out where the nearest venue is and when the performances are.
https://inkfestival.org/ink-festival/ink-festival-2019/
https://www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/feast-from-the-east
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