Beyond the Front Line, day four

Today was slightly disappointing, although it was brief so I suppose its unfair for me to expect the roller coaster of excitement I've experienced the previous rehearsal days.

Blue company was practicing drills in small groups to be performed where we are stationed, and in our small groups we were given the chance to take a look at where we will be stationed throughout the course of the show. I don't want to say too much at this point for the people who intend to come and see the show but where I and the rest of Blue company are stationed is quite an experience in itself. With only four days remaining until our first performance evening (next Monday,) tensions are beginning to rise, collars are beginning to heat up and my legs are beginning to ache.

At this point the challenge is sticking with it. The temptation to do 'just enough' is really high at the moment and I refuse to bow to it, and have already started my extra curricular research. I would say one difficult aspect of today was communicating and coordinating with other people in my group over the maneuvers we will try while we are at our stations. It would look daft if we were just to stand still, and perhaps it would be better for our over all experience to have at least some amount of pre-arranged choreographed maneuver we can do while it is our time to shine. But communicating your ideas to twelve people who all have their own ideas is difficult, especially when those people are as close to tired as you are, and have already shown signs that their enthusiasm has gone AWOL (see? now that's topical!)

All in all I would say it worked out and to be honest, I am really glad it did. Tomorrow will probably be starting all over again with our routines considering we changed groups at the end of yesterdays session, chances are it will probably be a lot like today. I am going to get lots of rest, make sure I have a good lunch prepared to take with me tomorrow and give it my all, in fact I will let the army be my guide on this one, its all or nothing for me and to hell with my tired little legs!

Beyond the Front Line, day three

Today was another interesting day. Blue company spent the morning doing research in the Imperial War Museum across the way from the Lowry, which I really enjoyed because I have always been interested in the wars of the early nineteen hundreds, having read quite a bit of literature on the subject already I was able to experience what I really wanted, which was witness accounts of what life was like during wartime.

The research was very useful to me in that it brought home the thoughts and feeling one might experience not just when going to war, but having someone you know and love go to fight somewhere they have very little control over. Of course we have the choice to go to war now, as we did during world war two, people sign up for combat when they are needed which is both rewarding and daunting at the same time. During World War II, in some areas of the country, if a man that was of combat age did not enlist to the war effort it could have spelled social ruin for them, for example if they were to order a pint of beer at the local blacked out, tape windowed pub, the landlord (if he/she was particularly nasty) would place a white feather on the head of their pint, a cowards sign.

But perhaps I am drawing too much from history on this one, or maybe concentrating too much in the wrong direction, still some research is better than no research, and I really do feel that I understand the concept behind the piece, which helps me to appreciate the gravity of what we are doing and therefore convinces me to take it with as much enthusiasm and professionalism as I can. I know I entered uni to work on the skills which will support me as a comedian, but I am also an artist, and can appreciate this performance for what it really is. Yes the tickets cost money, yes there is money being pumped into advertising and yes I will be stood on a roof looking down at the Lowry for about three and a half hours but despite all that, I feel that it means much more than a simple theatre performance designed to make money, and that is worth at least the full attention and effort of Sye.

Beyond the Front Line, day two

Second day of rehearsals went much like the first with the exception of being separated into groups. These groups (or companies) were categorised as Blue company which was the people who make up the soldiers on the roof, Red company I can't really remember the function of, Yellow company were the Nurses I think and Green company are the people on the Plaza in front of the Lowry.

I'm part of Blue company, which means I get to see everything from on top of the roof looking down at the Plaza, and I get to hold a gun... ..good times!

We also did a few more exercises which supposedly highlighted our strengths and weaknesses (although there was only ever one member of the Slung Low team observing a group of fifty or so people, so it wasn't as if absolutely everyone was given fair play.) This experience is rapidly moving to the top of my list of experiences which give the feel of the 'world of work' as far as the business called show entails. I am very pleased with how its going, both the ups and the downs! for example: I wanted to be one of the soldiers on the roof, and give a largely visual performance and contribute to the overall spectacle as a team member, which is good because a downside would be that the members of Slung Low have clearly stated that essentially their word is final, and there will be very little exceptions to that fact. This again might seem like a bad thing, but it isn't! It more than demonstrates the kind of attitude one might experience if they were to pursue a career in theatre, maybe I am bias because I got a part I like and wanted, but it has come up roses for me.

I wouldn't say today was really challenging, tiring would be more appropriate. Walking forty minutes to the Lowry at the start of the day, all the theatre workshops, administration of 'this group and that group' and then walking back to my Halls of Residence is very very tiring work, I actually can't wait until we are performing, not only because I am excited to see the show come together, but because it will actually be less strenuous than this week!

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.

My first assignment; Beyond the Front Line

Ok so today I got a full brief on what is to be expected in the coming month, on my first semester here on a HND Media Performance course at the University of Salford, and boy... its big.

As far as my experience with performing arts goes, I have only ever been involved with small scale theater work, as in some presentations/public speaking here, a bit of entertaining there, mostly just theatre. All next week I will be rehearsing at the Lowry in Manchester from 11am til 7pm everyday (and maybe Saturdays, that wasn't clear) for a large scale, on site (as in, outdoor, not-in-the-theatre/studio) performance of a military invasion of Salford. It is being produced by Slung Low and its pretty much their ball game, with the Lowry supplying some funding and a setting, they are doing most of the work, Salford University are supplying students... lots and lots of students. Almost all of the students under the umbrella of 'performance' are to be taking part in this venture, although I am still unsure how everyone will be worked (my guess is that they just need a shit-ton of soldiers.)

Wow..   ...I know right? that's big, here is the website that Slung Low have thrown up if you want to take a look, it looks like it could be quite intense, I know it will be a grueling task (not just the rehearsals and performance, but getting to and from the Lowry from my accommodation everyday) not to mention if it spills out over the weekend I won't be able to go home, which means I'll be missing work and the chance to earn some lolly. I'm not sure how I feel about it actually, I mean on the one hand its an amazing thing to be a part of, and while it really is asking a lot for a first year HND student, its what I wanted really, to be challenged. That and I'm not one to shy away from an adventure, regardless of how much hard work it is. On the other hand, it does seems like they are taking the piss. I've been here a week, I was in hospital on Monday for kidney pain, missing my induction as a result of that, and not only am I paying to be at university, but I will be losing money doing this assignment by:

a) Not being able to work at the club, and b) Possibly spending my money on buses/taxis to and form the Lowry everyday.

Another thing which is a general worry about the course is that, it seems to have a very little amount of academic pieces which are highly assessed (for example, my first assignment up there is marked using a percentage system, 50% process (rehearsal,) 25% performance and 25% written evaluation.) I'm not used to this! I studied psychology, which you may have heard of as an almost completely academically assessed course, its all essays, worksheets, exams with a few presentations and seminars in there. I've spent a year on access preparing for an entirely different course, of course I understood that psychology and performing arts would be worlds apart but I was hoping my experience in theatre would be enough. Maybe I was wrong...