The ASM Diaries

Well guys, we've completed our third and final week of Funny Money in Southwold! The next stop of our Funny Money journey takes us to Aldeburgh for a two week at Jubilee Hall. Opening in Southwold on Monday is Jeeves and Wooster directed by Mark Sterling which has already had a weeks run in Aldeburgh. Backstage in Southwold What goes on backstage of a show is just as important, if not more for any production. As part of the stage management team you have to ensure the actors are ready for the nights performance, making sure they have the necessary props and costume they're required to have, and make be in the wings ready to perform. Communication is vital, if a problem was to occur during the show, the ASM would have to contact the DSM over the cans to ask about what course of action should be taken to rectify the problem. After the final performance on Saturday night, Rebecca, Charlotte and I began packing props and set dressing and moved them along with the furniture

We've finished our second week now. Things are more or less carrying on as usual, show on Monday evening, two shows on Tuesday, show on Wednesday and two shows on Thursday, it was raining for a change on Thursday instead of the heat we've been having recently. During the second act of the evening performance of Funny Money the briefcase fell off the stage which resulted in Michael having to jump off stage to bring it back on. In a show like this you can just about get away with mistakes like this but it's preferable not to happen, however it was a mistake that happened and will hopefully not happen again. Video of how the picture falls off the wall on Thursday At 1pm Saturday Rebecca, Charlotte and I had an earlier start as we had to go to the workshop to help Mark, Alan, Hannah, Kitty and India dismantle the set for Jeeves and Wooster and load it into the van to be taken to Aldeburgh where it opens on Monday. I described the set as being a "page turner"

Funny Money has completed it's first week in Southwold with the second week just about to start. The routines for each day is usually the same at the moment as coming in to do the ironing, doing the check list of props and set, re setting the picture, radio and cuckoo clock on the wall, hoovering the stage, wings, dressing rooms and checking if we have enough milk in the fridge. This time round no one in stage management walks the boards in this play, so don't expect any appearances from Charlotte and I. Tuesday was also the second time we experienced the 2:30 matinee in Southwold, so between shows there was a long enough break to go off and do things. The heat back stage for some of the performances was unbearable a lot of the time as temperatures soured in the country, as I'm aware it's likely to be hot for a while so working backstage could be like the Sahara Desert, especially in Southwold where the wing space in the Arts Centre is more compact in comparison to

We've finally opened Funny Money on Monday! After over two and a half weeks of intense rehearsal and little rest we can finally focus on working on one show as opposed to working on two. Monday was long day, the day starting with the tech in the morning, tech dress in the afternoon and opening night in the evening. The team and I arrived at 9:15 in the morning to set up the props to the wings, the actors arrived at 9:30 to get ready for the tech run at 10:30. During the tech we all worked through any difficulties that might occur during a performance such as what actors do on set, props they use etc. During the shows interval stage management have to brush up the nuts that were spilled on the floor, re set the passports back in the drawer and re cover the blanket over the briefcase by the settee. The we finished the run and stage management re set for the tech dress. We stopped for lunch at 13:15. Working Stage Right again At 14:30 we began our tech dress. While the sh

Well guys we've just completed the run of Body Language in Aldeburgh, and I won't lie it's been a tough week. We've also completed rehearsing Funny Money which we open in Southwold on Monday. While that has been going on the other cast and crew had their run of A Daughters a Daughter in Southwold for a week. Because of our busy schedule this week our FOH manager Marianne of the Summer Theatre in Aldeburgh was able to do our show washing in for the week which we are incredibly grateful for! Monday began with continuing rehearsals at the school. We went over sections of the play to fine tune and polish up what the actors have been doing. Rebecca occasionally had to prompt the actors if they had forgotten a line. That evening the company gathered to attend the opening night of Agatha Christie’s A Daughters a Daughter. This time it’s our turn to sit in the audience and watch others perform. The actors playing instruments at the end of rehearsals On Tuesday we wr

Another Day another Get- in, this time in the seaside town of Aldeburgh, famous for Benjamin Britten and George Crabb being residents in the past. Stage Door of Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh Polly, Charlotte and I were driven to Aldeburgh by Tory in one of the company mini vans at 9:15am, arriving at Jubilee Hall at 10:00am. When we got there we met up with Mark, Alan, Ross, Erin, Marks son Ian and new member Amanda who will be helping out at Jubilee Hall. This was the the team who would be working together to set everything up in the hall for this year. Our first task was to set up the marque's in the courtyard. Polly taking a photo of us at work The next thing that had to be done was to attach some of our lights to the lighting bars in the auditorium. Mark, Erin, Charlotte and I did that while Alan, Ian, Amanda, Tory and Polly continued to do things in the courtyard. Afterwards we walked round the corner to The Cross Keys to have a pub lunch.  The stage in Ju

Sorry I haven't posted sooner guys! My time has been taken up this week and haven't really had time to give you an update of whats going on. So far the last week has gone like this. On Thursday morning Rebecca, Charlotte and I had an early start as we had to go to southwold to swap the washing over before we went started our first day of rehearsals for Funny Money . After we did that small task we headed back to St Felix to get ready to start the read through for our next play. All our cast from Body Language is involved with this production and this time we have Andy Powrie as our director. We started the read through at 10:15 and finished it by 12:30 which is when we started blocking the first 19 pages of the first act. After rehearsals I cycled to Southwold to start ironing the shows costumes. When Rebecca and Charlotte arrived we got on with the pre set. The performance seemed to go well with no obvious problems occurring. The rehearsal room in St Felix Friday

Well guys, we’ve had quite a day. We had the tech dress in the afternoon and the shows first night. Before the half we managed to catch England score against Croatia. Then we found out during the performance that we lost the match so we’re not through to the final. Tonight’s dhiw went well. A few technical things but nothing that couldn’t be sorted. Afterwards people were commenting on how I walked into a chair in a blackout but hey mistakes happen and you learn from them. Blog post may be scarce for s while as my schedule become a lot more buisier, but when something comes up I will let you know how things go. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us. I’m usually writing my posts on a computer which I won’t have while I’m at st Felix. Tomorrow we begin rehearsals for Funny Money by Ray Cooney. Looking forward to it!

We had our tech run this afternoon. The reason why a tech run is done is to see what problems and obstacles are encountered so we can practically solve them before the show opens. Unlike most days we've been having the past two weeks we didn't have an early start as we started at 12:30pm to set up our props in the wings. When we arrived Mark and Ron were already in the process of doing the lighting plot for the show so the stage was dark at times. Rebecca gave me a torch to use when the lights were out as we couldn't switch the workers on (main lights). Alan was doing some maintenance to the set, Tory and Polly were there too watching and to touch up the set. The set up for this show isn't too complicated as it isn't that prop heavy in terms of how many props the it has in comparison to shows I've worked on in the past for the company, some of which have had countless props with never ending lists to check to ensure nothing goes wrong in the show. Although it

We've been making great strides in rehearsal last week. Friday When Rebecca and Charlotte and I arrived we began setting up for a stagger though of Act Two. For those who are familiar of the play already Ron has made a few edits re writes to the ending which should be interesting to see when we open. At lunchtime EE was down so some of us couldn't use their phone for six hours (Except me as I'm with O2). After lunch we re set ready for a run of Act 2 which went smoothly. That evening the cast and crew of the current company attended an event run by FESPA (Friends of East Suffolk Performing Arts) mingling with members talking to them about the upcoming season and what our role is in the company. Our friend and company stalwart Sidi Scott even managed to attend! Saturday We had a slightly earlier start today as Ron wanted to begin a dress run of Act One and Two at 10:00 so Charlotte, Rebecca and I had a 9:00 start, the actors arrived at 9:30. Charlotte and I even

Hi guys! We're now into our second week of rehearsals and all seems to be going well so far. Our actors are now off book with Ron continuing to fine tune certain parts of the play in terms of interplay, interpreting the nuances of the dialogue and character development. As an ASM I'm continuing to observe the action taking place while taking note of props and set that are being used. In other company's ASM's aren't usually involved this stage of rehearsals which makes this company unique as they usually start rehearsing later on to learn their track for the show. Rebecca continues her role as a DSM by writing and re-writing the blocking in the Prompt Book as we develop the play, as well as giving the actors their calls to rehearse. Occasionally she'll have to prompt the actors when they've either forgotten or paraphrased a line. Charlotte is more or less doing what I'm doing in terms of observing and note taking. Selfie of Me, Rebecca and Charlotte

The following three days more or less carried on the same way as they did in days one, two and three with more observation and note taking in rehearsals. The process can be long and repetitive however this is necessary for the actors and stage managers to learn how to work the show to a professional standard. The next few days more of less went like this. A leaflet I saw in the Co-Op this evening on day 5 while shopping. Day 4 When Rebecca, Charlotte and I arrived at the guide hut we began by trying to attach foot rests to the wheel chairs with no real success, so Rebecca contacted Mark to help solve the problem. After that unsolvable problem we continued rehearsing from page 17 picking up from where we left off. Day 5 We began by talking about last nights game, England 0 Belgium 1, England go through anyway so it didn't really matter if we lost anyway. Mark sorted the problem with the wheelchair foot rests, apparently it was one of those simple things you don'

Day Two The day was more or less the same as yesterday in terms of blocking. We started at 10am continuing blocking through the rest of Act One and most of Act Two while Charlotte and I jotted down our props list. Ron gave Charlotte and I more to do with our Acting ASM roles adding lines for us to say and more stage directions. We had a tea break at 11:45 then resumed work at 12:00. That was then followed by a lunch break at 1pm resuming back at 2pm, continuing to block through the first three scenes of Act Two. Line changes and cuts aren't unheard of depending on what the director wants for their production and a few of those have been made already, not suggesting anything bad about it, it's just something that is done in productions. It was pointed out that the wheelchairs we are using could possibly obstruct the view of some audience members in the front rows of the auditorium, hopefully this is a problem we can easily find a solution for. We wrapped up the rehearsal at 5

Today was an early start. I cycled over to Southwold for 9:30 to set up for the read through at the guide hut where our rehearsals will be taking place for the next two weeks before we move to the workshop where the set is in development. When everyone arrived and had been tea'd and coffee'd up we began with Mark welcoming us followed by information about company vehicles and where you have to go to borrow a bike for the summer to get about locally. Our Director Ron then gave us an introduction to the play Body Language which was written in 1990 by Alan Ayckbourn, followed by Tory who showed us a miniature cardboard cut out of what the set looks like. After introductions the actors began reading Act One which took about an hour followed by a 15 minute tea and coffee break. After reading through Act Two we stopped for a lunch break at around 12:30 . At 13:10 we began blocking (stage directions) the first 17 pages of the play. Charlotte and I were given blocking for our Actin

Well guys, we've just had our first company meet up of the season and all seemed to go very well. I cycled over to the Blythe Hotel for seven o'clock where the meet up was for the first cast and crew of the company before we begin rehearsals for Body Language tomorrow morning. As always there is a mixture of new and old faces. This year we are pleased to welcome actors Harriet , Charlotte and Lee , and ASM also called Charlotte (we may need nick names to differentiate). Old faces and stalwarts back again include actors Michael , Clive , Claire , Richard , Darell is joining us tomorrow as he couldn't make it tonight, Rebecca our DSM and her boyfriend Will who's worked with us in the past, our set designers and props  Tory and Polly (Who I apologise for not including in my last post as she had taken part in the get-in as well, sorry!), Miri our costume designer and her boyfriend Joe , Mark and Peter the company managers, Alan our carpenter and director for th

Well folks, I've just completed day two of the main get in at Southwold Arts Centre. Here's how the day played out. I arrived at the workshop at 9:30 to meet Mark, Alan, Ross, Polly and Rebecca. We then drove back to Brampton in two company vehicles to pick up rostrum for the seating for the auditorium. We met up with Erin, Tory and Miri while there to load the vehicles. The photo above is one of two vehicles we loaded rostrum into. After loading up we returned to Southwold to unload, this time there was no mother and toddler group to help clear away and no cupcakes as a reward. The afternoon was spent assembling the rostrum for the raised floor for the auditorium seating. There has recently been a redecoration in the arts centre so everything was looking a little red. Rebecca and Erin went under the stage to pass us up the seating where it is stored all year round. As they passed us the seats from under the stage we placed them in rows arranged alphabetically

Well I’ve just done the first of two days preparing the auditorium for the Summer Theatre and Southwold Arts Festival which happens from 23rd-30th June. The day started at 10:30 this morning. Mark, Alan, Ross and I drove to Brampton to pick up some of the components for the rostrum used to assemble the auditorium seating ready for tomorrow. Erin joined us at Brampton to help. When we drove back to Southwold, and after a brief coffee break we helped a mother and toddler group move their toys and play equipment out of the arts centre that took place earlier that morning. As a reward we were treated to cupcakes by one of the mums, I had chocolate flavoured, Yum! After helping the play group we then got on with unloading the vans and cleared away chairs and tables for the main seating to be brought up from under the stage where they are stored all year round. Mark and Alan had to wear helmets while blacking out the windows on the roof because of nesting seagulls in case they were att