Gi60 2013 rehearsals

This picture has nothing whatsoever to do with
 Gi60, but it will become more relevant as you
read further down the blog :-p

So currently part way through the rehearsal process for Gi60 (rehearsing and performing at Dean Clough). For those who haven't heard of the festival before, you will find some info here from this time last year when I first got involved. Last year we performed in the Cross Keys Gallery due to rain, but all being well this year we will be performing in the Viaduct Theatre. I am very excited to do this as it's such a cool space, but I also know there will be a lot of challenges attached to this! Firstly it is a large space with lots of concrete and will therefore involve some serious vocal control and projection! It is also at time quite damp and a bit nippy. Hehe, I might be making it sound grim but it's such an interesting theatre, I think it's really ace. I will try and take some pictures to share with you on here.

As I mentioned in my blog from last year, Gi60 uses work submitted from writers from different places across the world, with more entries often coming from the U.K. and U.S. This makes for an interesting and varied range of scripts. Some from established writers, others from people who may have never shared their writing before. Currently on the Gi60 blog various profiles of the UK Gi60 2013 playwrights are being put up each day. So have a look at that if you're interested.

As for rehearsals themselves, they are a lot of fun and I really like the team and how the rehearsal process if each day and so on...but it is a lot of work ;-) This is because you have got to keep your mind constantly focused and ready to jump from rehearsing one scene to the next. Each with it's own mood, genre, writing style, characters, set, props etc. There are a lot of things to remember - words, movements, and also set movements as the whole cast is involved in moving the set (made up of blocks) to create the scene. They are very fun though as the people are fun - as are many of the scripts - and I have a great deal of enjoyment being 'in the rehearsal process' again. :) Plus on Friday we spent some of the rehearsal period out in the sunshine learning to do Poi, and throwing glasses of water over one of the cast members (if you wanna know what that's about you'll have to come see it!) so that was a lot of fun! ;D

The cast and director Steve Ansell (centre)

Another thing about the Dean Clough that might be of interest is that it currently holds a Lego scale model of Dean Clough itself - still in the process of being built - which I got to have a peek at last week. Check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-17120836 and have a look for yourself! In March this year I went to visit the Lego Land Discovery Centre (not affiliated with the Dean Clough model) in Manchester and there saw models of Blackpool, London and other places. :) (Hence the random picture of Gareth playing with Lego at the top of this post!). Fascinating at Dean Clough though to see a model done so faithfully to the scale of the building. Many hours have been put into that!

Lego version of Dean Clough

Blackpool Tower at the
Lego Land Discovery Centre.

For now lots of line learning to do! We perform this Saturday. I'd better get on with it! ;)