INTRODUCTION

The Country Players were formed nearly 29 years ago in November 1977 and since then have presented over eighty productions. Most have been performed in a village hall apart from entries in the Bedfordshire Drama Association’s Play Festival.

An opportunity then occurred to perform in The Place, a community theatre in Bedford which is the home venue of a number of amateur dramatic and musical groups. The theatre has a sizeable acting area with tiered seating on three sides giving everyone in the audience an excellent view and good acoustics. The lighting and sound are state of the art and other facilities such as front of house and dressing rooms are well appointed and a far cry from the average village hall.

Having myself appeared in a Bedford Dramatic Club production of “Ten Times Table” by Ayckbourn at The Place I had the advantage of knowing a little about the theatre. Care has to be taken regarding the timing of entrances as these are physically some distance from the acting area. Avoiding being distracted when some members of the audience are within touching distance is a new technique to learn as well as judging the amount of vocal projection in a venue with an ideal acoustic.

It presented a considerable challenge to create a production to suit the new venue, make full use of the facilities and attract our existing patrons and also a new local audience. Also our actors were used to acting on a village hall stage with the audience in front of them and mainly hidden by the lighting, so they were naturally somewhat apprehensive about appearing in new surroundings with the audience all around them!

After the usual reading and re-reading of many scripts to find one that met these requirements it was decided to present a play that would be a popular attraction and one that we could cast from within our own membership.

PLOT

“Living Together” is one of Ayckbourn’s famous ‘Norman Conquests’ trilogy that includes “Round and Round the Garden” and “Table Manners”. Each one a self-contained play shows a different angle on a week-end where the family meet-up to look after mother so her carer/daughter can take a short break. But of course events do not go to plan.

Annie in fact has been persuaded by Norman (her brother in law) to brighten up her boring life by going away with him for a weekend. He tells his wife Ruth that he is attending a librarian’s conference. Annie has asked her brother Reg, and his wife Sarah, to come and look after their mother so she and Norman can get away.

The next door neighbour Tom (a vet) is in love with Annie himself, but is too shy to do anything about it.

Sarah however persuades Annie not to go away with Norman and they then all spend the weekend together. Norman, in frustration, gets drunk and telephones his wife Ruth resulting in her coming to join them also. Norman then tries his entire range of seduction techniques - some quite subtle - to get all three women.

Over the course of three days the family are thrown together in a series of hilarious incidents and confrontations that have resonances with many people.

In typical Ayckbourn fashion, the remaining two plays in the trilogy are about events that are occurring concurrently in different rooms with combinations of the same characters - and yet are themselves complete plays in their own right. It is therefore essential to have a good knowledge of these plays as elements of the characters are revealed that are very useful to the portrayals in “Living Together”.

CASTING

The characters need to be within the thirty to forty age bracket and credible “pairs” to make the interaction between the couples plausible.

We had a very competent young actor, Peter Halpin, who had had the benefit of some professional training and was able to offer the range of emotions required of the principle character of Norman.

The other parts were played by experienced members (see below) who nevertheless had to adjust to playing a naturalistic role in this more intimate theatre.

Continued here

REHEARSALS

Twenty-two rehearsals were scheduled in the village hall over eleven weeks and three at the theatre. Owing to the area required, the floor of the village hall was used as the acting area and the direction was done from the stage!

One actress had a three-week holiday booked but fortunately her character didn’t appear until the second half.

From early-on, props were introduced to enable the business to be mastered of pouring tea, reading and sorting through magazines and playing a complicated home-made board game with all it’s cards and pieces. As soon as the books were discarded (commendable soon) the moves could be worked on and in particular the romantic moments rehearsed until they looked as if they were genuine - often difficult for amateur performers. A shouting match - verging on a fight - between two sisters, was an acting challenge and had to be choreographed to ensure the drama was maintained without injury! The intonation used to deliver many of the lines had to be just right to reveal their true meaning without an obvious pointing of the line. The actors contributed a lot to the development of the characters and before long certain small mannerisms or use of a certain body language brought out the individuality of each character. The wearing of a certain pair of shoes, a coat or a hat also helped to form the characters.

One of the attractions of an Ayckbourn play is how different facets of each character is revealed as the parts are rehearsed and you get to know the characters better and better. This is masterly writing that produces such natural dialogue that sometimes critics do not appreciate the skill that has been used. By working on every phrase and nuance, new meanings are revealed, that have audiences laughing and nodding in recognition of feelings and situations that ring true to life. Another benefit is that we continued to enjoy the play throughout the rehearsal period and never tired of it – always a good sign!

SCENERY

This called for an elderly person’s room looking out to a garden with drab brown woodwork and furniture. At first an elaborate conservatory was planned but the difficulties of erecting this when no fixings were permitted to floor or walls ruled this out. In the event it was decided to produce a bay window and doorway that would be self-standing and make no attempt to reproduce the complete room using the normal box-set (which would also have been inappropriate for this type of theatre). A drawing of the design, using a computer graphics program, was transformed into reality within a couple of weeks (see pictures). A window seat in the bay and the shape of the flats provided the stability required. When the room was dressed with net and patterned curtains, pieces of furniture, a rug and sofa plus other knickknacks - an effective room was created.

LIGHTING

General lighting was used and no special effects – apart from a practical lamp being switched off – were needed. A cyclorama was lit with blue gels and a spotlight, fitted with a tree gobo (see picture) gave the appropriate indication of the garden.

PROPS

The sofa and furniture were provided by members and friends and were chosen to suit the “brown” theme. A large carpet placed centrally under the sofa on the black acting surface gave an impression of a homely setting and focussed attention on the main acting area. A smaller carpet is supposed to cover two of the actors after a night of passion but a separate throw from the sofa proved better at maintaining decorum! A music-centre, powered by a remotely controlled mains socket, provided the gramophone music (visually) whilst a hidden speaker actually produced the sound. The ability to switch off the power ensured that the record didn’t continue rotating after the music was faded!

CONCLUSION

We were please that the attendances were very good. Many regular theatregoers attended and many of our village supporters also followed us to the new venue. Everyone loved the theatre’s excellent seating and acoustics enabling them to hear every word.

The actors found the experience very enjoyable, despite their initial apprehension, and the atmosphere certainly lifted the performances to a new level.

CAST

Picture on the left
Sarah: Karen Parrott
Annie: Caroline Forrest-Holden
Tom: Graham Cole
Reg: Graham Pavey

Picture on the right
Norman: (on floor and window seat) Peter Halpin
Ruth: (on the rug) Pauline Dolton

THE PLAY PRODUCED LIVING TOGETHER by Alan Ayckbourn Alan Hawkins discusses this production of the classic comedy which he directed for The Country Players in Bedford. This article was published in AMATEUR STAGE February 2007.
			CREATING THE SET FOR "THE MISER" by Giles Dixon Read this article by clicking here WHY DON'T WE ENTER A FESTIVAL? by Colin Dolley (GODA) Read this article by clicking here
INTRODUCTION The Country Players were formed nearly 29 years ago in November 1977 and since then have presented over eighty productions. Most have been performed in a village hall apart from entries in the Bedfordshire Drama Association’s Play Festival. An opportunity then occurred to perform in The Place, a community theatre in Bedford which is the home venue of a number of amateur dramatic and musical groups. The theatre has a sizeable acting area with tiered seating on three sides giving everyone in the audience an excellent view and good acoustics. The lighting and sound are state of the art and other facilities such as front of house and dressing rooms are well appointed and a far cry from the average village hall. Having myself appeared in a Bedford Dramatic Club production of “Ten Times Table” by Ayckbourn at The Place I had the advantage of knowing a little about the theatre. Care has to be taken regarding the timing of entrances as these are physically some distance from the acting area. Avoiding being distracted when some members of the audience are within touching distance is a new technique to learn as well as judging the amount of vocal projection in a venue with an ideal acoustic. It presented a considerable challenge to create a production to suit the new venue, make full use of the facilities and attract our existing patrons and also a new local audience. Also our actors were used to acting on a village hall stage with the audience in front of them and mainly hidden by the lighting, so they were naturally somewhat apprehensive about appearing in new surroundings with the audience all around them! After the usual reading and re-reading of many scripts to find one that met these requirements it was decided to present a play that would be a popular attraction and one that we could cast from within our own membership. PLOT “Living Together” is one of Ayckbourn’s famous ‘Norman Conquests’ trilogy that includes “Round and Round the Garden” and “Table Manners”. Each one a self-contained play shows a different angle on a week-end where the family meet-up to look after mother so her carer/daughter can take a short break. But of course events do not go to plan. Annie in fact has been persuaded by Norman (her brother in law) to brighten up her boring life by going away with him for a weekend. He tells his wife Ruth that he is attending a librarian’s conference. Annie has asked her brother Reg, and his wife Sarah, to come and look after their mother so she and Norman can get away. The next door neighbour Tom (a vet) is in love with Annie himself, but is too shy to do anything about it. Sarah however persuades Annie not to go away with Norman and they then all spend the weekend together. Norman, in frustration, gets drunk and telephones his wife Ruth resulting in her coming to join them also. Norman then tries his entire range of seduction techniques - some quite subtle - to get all three women. Over the course of three days the family are thrown together in a series of hilarious incidents and confrontations that have resonances with many people. In typical Ayckbourn fashion, the remaining two plays in the trilogy are about events that are occurring concurrently in different rooms with combinations of the same characters - and yet are themselves complete plays in their own right. It is therefore essential to have a good knowledge of these plays as elements of the characters are revealed that are very useful to the portrayals in “Living Together”. CASTING The characters need to be within the thirty to forty age bracket and credible “pairs” to make the interaction between the couples plausible. We had a very competent young actor, Peter Halpin, who had had the benefit of some professional training and was able to offer the range of emotions required of the principle character of Norman. The other parts were played by experienced members (see below) who nevertheless had to adjust to playing a naturalistic role in this more intimate theatre. Continued here	REHEARSALS Twenty-two rehearsals were scheduled in the village hall over eleven weeks and three at the theatre. Owing to the area required, the floor of the village hall was used as the acting area and the direction was done from the stage! One actress had a three-week holiday booked but fortunately her character didn’t appear until the second half. From early-on, props were introduced to enable the business to be mastered of pouring tea, reading and sorting through magazines and playing a complicated home-made board game with all it’s cards and pieces. As soon as the books were discarded (commendable soon) the moves could be worked on and in particular the romantic moments rehearsed until they looked as if they were genuine - often difficult for amateur performers. A shouting match - verging on a fight - between two sisters, was an acting challenge and had to be choreographed to ensure the drama was maintained without injury! The intonation used to deliver many of the lines had to be just right to reveal their true meaning without an obvious pointing of the line. The actors contributed a lot to the development of the characters and before long certain small mannerisms or use of a certain body language brought out the individuality of each character. The wearing of a certain pair of shoes, a coat or a hat also helped to form the characters. One of the attractions of an Ayckbourn play is how different facets of each character is revealed as the parts are rehearsed and you get to know the characters better and better. This is masterly writing that produces such natural dialogue that sometimes critics do not appreciate the skill that has been used. By working on every phrase and nuance, new meanings are revealed, that have audiences laughing and nodding in recognition of feelings and situations that ring true to life. Another benefit is that we continued to enjoy the play throughout the rehearsal period and never tired of it – always a good sign! SCENERY This called for an elderly person’s room looking out to a garden with drab brown woodwork and furniture. At first an elaborate conservatory was planned but the difficulties of erecting this when no fixings were permitted to floor or walls ruled this out. In the event it was decided to produce a bay window and doorway that would be self-standing and make no attempt to reproduce the complete room using the normal box-set (which would also have been inappropriate for this type of theatre). A drawing of the design, using a computer graphics program, was transformed into reality within a couple of weeks (see pictures). A window seat in the bay and the shape of the flats provided the stability required. When the room was dressed with net and patterned curtains, pieces of furniture, a rug and sofa plus other knickknacks - an effective room was created. LIGHTING General lighting was used and no special effects – apart from a practical lamp being switched off – were needed. A cyclorama was lit with blue gels and a spotlight, fitted with a tree gobo (see picture) gave the appropriate indication of the garden. COSTUMES Appropriate costumes were mainly provided by the cast and posed no particular problems. MUSIC A jaunty tune was selected for the curtain music and “Girls were made to Love and Kiss” by Richard Tauber, needed for the gramophone playing sequence, was purchased for 79p on the Internet! PROPS The sofa and furniture were provided by members and friends and were chosen to suit the “brown” theme. A large carpet placed centrally under the sofa on the black acting surface gave an impression of a homely setting and focussed attention on the main acting area. A smaller carpet is supposed to cover two of the actors after a night of passion but a separate throw from the sofa proved better at maintaining decorum! A music-centre, powered by a remotely controlled mains socket, provided the gramophone music (visually) whilst a hidden speaker actually produced the sound. The ability to switch off the power ensured that the record didn’t continue rotating after the music was faded! CONCLUSION We were please that the attendances were very good. Many regular theatregoers attended and many of our village supporters also followed us to the new venue. Everyone loved the theatre’s excellent seating and acoustics enabling them to hear every word. The actors found the experience very enjoyable, despite their initial apprehension, and the atmosphere certainly lifted the performances to a new level.
		CAST Picture on the left Sarah: Karen Parrott Annie: Caroline Forrest-Holden Tom: Graham Cole Reg: Graham Pavey Picture on the right Norman: (on floor and window seat) Peter Halpin Ruth: (on the rug) Pauline Dolton
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