7/9/2012
Coalescing
First time with the choir and the cast, and first time the cast have been in a room together since the read through.
It’s a delight. ‘Uncle Pete’ does his stuff with the bass and a mean Elvis impersonation, Ray does an impressive turn as Derek the pigeon fancier and ‘Lil’ Joannie obviously relishes shouting, ‘Chuff off!’
Above all, what really strikes me is the graft. A few weeks ago we asked some of the locals to be in this poem-performance, and they said ‘yes’. We tried to explain what they were signing up for, but it’s hard to convey the commitment involved to someone who’s never done anything like it before. So it’s been great watching each member of the company have that ‘ah-ha!’ moment of figuring out what this thing is, and why it works, finding the rhythm and the rhyme of Sally’s poetry. And then they have gone home and worked. As Pat said, ‘I had to draw the curtains so no one saw me talking to myself, like a nutter. But it were good, I’ve got the hang of it now.’
The choir too have been honing their performances, Cat has been polishing her sound-scape, Marie and Pat brought some photographs in and Deborah decked the hall with bunting,- the Community Centre starts to feel like it’s receiving some love.
I think every one in the room, myself included, has had that sense of stepping into the unknown at some point in the process, and also that great feeling when our trust in each other and the journey is rewarded. There’s still work to be done, but it’s lovely watching it all start to come together.
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