Beyond the Front Line, day one

Today was the first day of rehearsals for Beyond the Front Line (henceforth referred to as 'BtFL',) were the rest of the cast and I was given an idea of the scale of this performance, and I can say that this is the biggest I have ever been involved in, possibly the biggest I would ever be involved in ever again with live theatre. As amazing as this may sound, this actually served to calm my nerves somewhat, before today I was really nervous (but excited, remember that!) about how things are going to work and whether I enough experience in theatre work to really explore the piece and give it the attention to detail it seemed it needed. Now I am not so nervous because I realise my fears were justified, which sounds like a 'backwards to go forwards' comment but actually it does make some small amount of sense, because I didn't underestimate the project, and I didn't over estimate the project, which means that so far it has met with my expectations.

So I feel a little more comfortable in what I am about to say: I think that this performance will be amazing, and I am extremely envious of the audience who are going to be taking part (read: taking part) in the production. I would advise anyone who can make it (and can afford it) to come and experience this show, because there is neither anything like it in existence, nor will you find anything else on this scale any time soon. More information on booking tickets and getting to the Lowry can be found at their website.

Its easy to spot me, just look for the purple.

Bang!.. and we hit the deck.

Today was more than I expected in that I imagined it would simply be completely administration, such as putting us into our groups, giving us numbers and roles and making sure we have a rough idea of whats going on. Instead we got a very good idea of whats going on, some concept activities, salute and drill practices, and a quick look around what looks to be a fantastic piece of on-site performance in the making that I am proud to be a part of. They did mention that there are some parts that will be specific towards certain people, for example there are some roles that are only open to girls, and obviously the more soldierly you look, the more likely you are to be near the audience, to support an immersive environment. I understand this, but at the same time I am a little bit let down that my physicality is restricting my position in the cast, but then it is totally my choice, and I am very grateful to even have the choice (a choice which I probably wouldn't have in the world of work.) Other than that, nothing to report sir!

EDIT: I am going to be using chunks of these posts in my written piece on the project, which will count towards my grade at the end, so it may sound a bit cock here or there, but I think it is all relevant (I mean everything I say, at least.) All posts regarding this project will have the 'BtFL' label, found in the 'projects' section.