My first producer credit

Yesterday, I achieved my very own producer credit... and I loved it!

I mentioned earlier on in the year that I was running the marathon this year, and as part of the fundraising for my charity, I was organising a concert to help raise money. So, for the last few weeks I have been working hard to produce a small charity concert at The Other Palace. I did ask for a few favours from friends to donate their Sunday afternoon, and made friends with some musicians who were willing to do the same, but it was all for a good cause and has given me a thrill that I want to experience again.

The venue completely sold out, and I couldn't be happier.

At no surprise, the production process wasn't much different from what I have experienced at work, but having so much control with the final say on many aspects of the show felt a little daunting at first but ultimately very refreshing.

I enjoyed working with the theatre to organise the event (something that I had not done before), and being much more involved with the creative technical process was new and exciting. There wasn't a huge amount of budgeting to do this time, so I would love to play around with this area more in the future.

Due to time and money (as I was trying to raise as much money for charity as possible) we didn't have time for a full technical run through, so inevitably there were some glitches and hiccoughs - luckily nothing that the audience will have noticed. I am not letting these get to me, however, I am actually fully appreciating the lesson these minor mistakes have taught me - things that I will be much more aware of next time.

Yes, I DO plan to do this again.

The whole event was for charity, so perhaps selling tickets, acquiring musicians and a cast made the process MUCH easier. So, maybe when I manage to organise this again, I should challenge myself to produce a fully profitable show and see what I am fully capable of.

Watch out for when West End Goes Acoustic returns next year!

Finding a focus

Finding a focus for this module didn't seem so difficult. When I looked back over the first module and the topics I had researched, there were some areas that caught my attention.

One of the scholars I looked into was Irving Wardle, who was a writer and theatre critic and most notable for his work at the Times, The Independent and The Observer. In his book, Theatre Criticism, he theorises how reviews should be written; he discusses their origins, the purpose they serve and whether they should be trusted. The quote below, which I used in my portfolio, was one of the main motives for this inquiry and inspired me to explore this area of the industry much further.

‘How can critics claim to know best when they cannot agree among themselves?' Wardle (1992 p.37)

Also in Module 1, I discussed how the 2nd generation of the internet, known as Web 2.0, allows the public to interact, respond to articles, videos, blogs and reviews and contribute their own opinions with the ability to create trends on social media platforms. This presents the idea that the reader could become a ‘reviewer’, and holds the potential to influence others. 

From these intriguing concepts, I started to have little wonders of my own and I decided to delve deeper into the history, ethics and literature of theatre criticism and reviews.

How much of an impact do reviews have on ticket sales?

Are the general public influenced by theatre reviews?

Which demographic tends to read reviews?

 Would the public choose to seek out reviews on a particular show before seeing it?

Are there specific sources that people trust more than others?

Do theatre critics receive backlash after giving bad reviews?

How do theatre critics feel about the development of the internet?

As I have decided to focus my inquiry proposal on this topic, I believe I could explore perspectives and challenge myself to see as many shows as I can for the rest of the year; documenting where and when I see them in a journal. I mentioned in another blog last term that my company has a scheme to allow us to see shows in exchange for writing a review - so, as part of this course, I will be writing a review for each show that I see. The next show I would like to see will be:

You Stupid Darkness, Southwark Playhouse / The Visit, The National Theatre / The Last Five Years, Southwark Playhouse / Indecent, Menier Chocolate Factory / Five Characters in Search of A Good Night's Sleep, Southwark Playhouse / The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, The Criterion Theatre / Hairspray, The Coliseum.

That should keep me going for a few months...

What shows do you plan to see this year?

New year, new term, new module... what else is new?

This year has started off with a bang - I am in the process of buying a house, I interviewed for another job this week (but unfortunately I wasn't successful), training for the marathon and, to top it off, I am producing a charity event to raise money. Things couldn't be busier and I am ready to take on the challenges of the year ahead.

How have you started your new year? And what challenges do you intend to face/overcome this year?

I applied for a Production Assistant role at another company that would have boosted my career prospects, so I was really hoping for a big break. Unfortunately they advised that I was a little too inexperienced in comparison to other candidates that also applied. However, I am not going to let it shake my confidence; as one door closes, another door opens, so I will treat this as a lesson and persevere with a new strategy and more determination.

So, how can I get more experience?

As part of my fundraising for the marathon, I have thrown myself in at the deep end and began producing my first ever concert. I didn't think I would be creating a project from scratch so soon in my career and it has already started to give me a huge sense of achievement. I thrive off working on a project from beginning to end, no matter how small, and it is this kind of thing that motivates me in this industry. This is just the sort of experience I need!

Perhaps I will develop the concept and bring it back again later in the year...

So far, this year is turning out to be a great challenge. I must admit I am a little stressed but I mustn't let myself get overwhelmed. Just remember to take each day as it comes.