A Conspiracy Of Clowns

And with that, the curtain comes down on our Baxter season.  Time really just flew. It did. Now comes the inevitable post-production blues, the tying up, the weird energy at 5pm where you start thinking to get ready for the theatre, only…you don’t have to…

We’re still sifting through the data and analysing it all. But first up, our run saw:

• 18 evening performances
• 1 matinee (for a Deaf school)
• 5 SOLD OUT shows (and a handful very full)
• 3 post-performance discussions
• 1 pre-performance discussion
• 1 opening night event
• 1 “mingles night” event (will follow up on that one soon…interesting)
• 1 Baxter Student VIP Club event
• over 1700 people
• an average of 94 poeple per night (not the best, but ceratinly not shocking)
• new audiences, returning audiences, growing audiences
• a critical slam-dunk
• tears, laughter, standing ovations, confusion, heated debate, fiery opinions, and a small amount of controversy

On top of all of this, the show shifted and changed, and we developed and tweaked it as we went.  By the end, we’d shaved 8 minutes off it, rearranged some scenes, and fiddled with other stuff.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege. Thanks to all who came and supported and chatted and cared and engaged us in conversation.

All those who missed it…not to worry, we’ll be back. Or very soon, we might just be in your neighbourhood. Watch this face for details…SSH!

This is the new National Arts Festival logo - finally rebranded after how many years of the old flags one. There’s a lot of explanation about negative spaces (there does seem to be a heart in the middle there) and the red ochre of the Eastern Cape, and hands drumming.  Or clapping. I guess both. Ismail also talks about hands reaching out to grasp “new experiences”. It’s pretty cool.

Even cooler I think is the tagline, which is “10 days of amazing!”

The NAF has been getting more and more tech-savvy over the years, and is working hard to create a lot more bang around the event.

All this pointing to it experiencing a renaissance of sorts, which is great for all of us who cut our teeth there, and still go reularly.

This year will be particularly interesting, with global recession and tightened budgets and all.  So it’s inspiring to see NAF get inventive and creative and up its game. The UCT Graduate School of Business teaches a course called “creategy” - basically, when the going gets tough, the tough get strategically creative. And this feels like that. Sweet.

It has been an exhausting 2 weeks, and it’s really hard to think we now only have 5 performances left!  Crazy.

Will write more about the promised process that got waylaid due to time demands and things, and will also talk more about what and how we did at the Baxter.

In the meantime, responses, comments, critiques, and raves keep flooding in, which is really great.  Zane Henry’s Argus review is here.  Brent Mersman’s review for the M&G is here.  Peter Tromp’s review for Next 48hOURS is here.  And Astrid Stark’s review for The Sunday Independent is here.  They’re all interesting reads.

5 more shows.  Tonight, as yesterday, sold out.  Tickets flying out the door fast.

What a trip!

They’ve sorted out the gremlins at the Fleur du Cap website, and voting is now open for the People’s Choice Award.  Got to their website, cick on “People’s Choice” tab top right, and scroll down ’til your choice comes into view.  One vote per email address.

Support your friendly neighbourhood conspiracy!  Vote for GUMBO, The Dog’s Bollocks, or Frogs.

Or vote for any of our friends and peers - Scott Sparrow’s Performer’s Travel Guide, Rob van Vuuren’s Electric Juju, Gaëtan Schmid’s Rumpsteak…plus many more.

It’s not on the 14th any more - we were going to host a Valentine Party, but then rethought the concept and went, what about a pre-valentine’s bash?  You get lucky, you might actually score a date for the day.

FTH:K believes that going to the theatre should be a social event. So, in preparation for the forthcoming Valentine’s Day, we’re hosting a Mingles Night on Thursday 12th Feb as a fun, innovative way to meet people.

Co-founder of FTH:K and organsier of the event, Tanya Surtees, says: “With sparkling wine from Distell, great theatre, speed dating and the chance to win some awesome prizes, the scene is set to maybe meet a mate! We are calling to all single people to come, have fun and meet people they otherwise might not have had the chance to meet. And to all couples we say, tell your single friends!”

Hang on. Speed dating?  Speed dating?!?! Ja, OK, but not the dodgy kind. This is FTH:K - your friendly neighbourhood innovative theatre company, after all. It’s speed dating with a twist. Of course. It’s gonna be a jol, basically.

The evening begins at 7pm with welcome drinks on arrival, followed by a range of ice-breaking games. The performance starts at 8.15pm and the evening continues after the show until 10h30.  And after that, well…hey - the rest is up to you guys.

Best thing - it’s no extra cost.  Tickets to Mingles Night at Pictures of You on Thursday 12 Feb are still only R65 and can be bought at Computicket or any Checkers/Shoprite store.

Styling!

We more or less survived the curse of second night. It always amazes me  - there’s such an energy output on opening night that it carries the show along with it on a rushing wave. And then second nights crash. Everyone knows it. We talk about it, devise strategies to deal with it, make vows and promises, warm up a little extra, focus profusely…then out we go, and crash! - it happens anyway.  Crazy.

So we didnt get off totally free. The show dragged its heels a bit, energy was definitely down, even in the lighting box I felt low. So we had a long detailed notes session afterwards, to nip little indulgences and habits before they blossom into something worse. And hopefully we can keep on our upward trajectory.

Responses coming in thick and fast - both good, and critical. Marianne Thamm wrote a very cool review here, which muses about silence and interpretation. We’ve had very moving and supportive feedback on how the show sticks in people’s minds and hearts. We’ve had highly critical responses from industry people who I guess work with masks differently. And we’ve had responses like one guy who really displiked the show, and wrote something like: “take away the actor’s words and expressions and what do they have left? It’s certainly not acting. All they did was stand up and sit down at various intervals…” It’s kind of both funny and scary at the same time.

But I think the best response so far has been from this married couple who, the day after watching Pictures of You, sat down and had a long loving conversation about their lives and their marriage. And actually used the show to analyse their situation. And apparently managed to feel closer to each other than they have in a long while.

That’s pretty cool.

Phew. Opening nights are exhausting - such a blast of adrenaline and nerves and people and catching up and schmoozing and hatching plans…no time to have much more than a glass of the wine sponsored so generously by Distell.

But what a great night. People were out in force and flying their support flag - we even had a few friends who happened to be in town from Joburg, heard we were opening, and managed to sweet talk their ways in. Thanks for all the support and well-wishing.

The show continues to grow - one of the best things about a season is the opportunity to really get into the meat of the performance, and Liezl and Dorian are starting to tuck in. Apart from a bizarre day yesterday when the puppet’s arm broke a few hours before the show, and then Dorian’s pants split, and then the puppet’s (her again!) neck wire snapped in the last scene…we were helluva lucky Janni was in the audience so she whisked her away to do emergency surgery today.

We’re getting the most interesting and detailed feedback. People are being very forthcoming with opinions and their interpretations, and that’s great. We wondered if the silence of the show builds up so much in the audience, that come the end, they have to talk immediately, specifically, and with much vigour. Pop! Just like that. Pop goes the word.

There’s a review clip of the show on Bizcommunity here, and Megan has blogged about the show again here, which is a rare honour.

Onward to the dreaded second night…

And so here we are - we have arrived at Opening Night. The theatre’s full, the performers are ready, we’ve been steadily building up over the last few nights, we’re about as ready as we can be. Here beginneth the next phase…

And we got prizes! Yep - Coffebeansroutes, those amazing guys, have generously sponsored a lucky draw prize tonight of a double ticket for their Cape Town Jazz Safari. It looks fab…but unfortunately not up for us thespy people, but for you guys out there.

And buying a ticket to Pictures of You enables you to enter our Grand Prize of a weekend away for two to Buffelsdrift Game Lodge. Wow! All you have to do is fill in an entry form - draw takes place when our season ends on 21 February.

See y’all at the theatre…

That crazy guy, Gaëtan Schmid, features again on these pages. He’s just been nominated for a Fleur du Cap award for Best Performance in a One Person Show in Rumsteak, posted on this blog here. I think it’s flippen great for judges to nominate someone way off centre. And a show that also performed not in the major theatres, but in Kalk Bay Theatre. Way to go for the independents!

He’s in stiff competition in his category with Susan Danford for her roles in the mask play, I, Claudia, and the two Shirley Valentines/Valentyns, Anthea Thompson and Shaleen-Surtie Richards.  Tough call to make…

Congratulations to all the nominees!  We’ll check you there at the ceremony!

Full list of nominees is as follows:

And so, with the butterflies in full flight, and excitement fuzzing our eyes, we set off on our biggest adventure with Pictures of You yet - moving into the Baxter for our premier season! It’s gonna be 3 weeks of testing this awkward, strange little child of a play against the big boys in the industry backyard, and see what local audiences make of it.

But in spite of the nerves, we are in a good place having done two shows at Suidoosterfees - good houses, great reception, and we’re confident that the new bits and the tweaked bits are playing smoother and adding their texture to the narrative. James has tweaked the sound as well, and it’s a delicious new monster to discover all over again.

Phew. Eyes on the prize and realise that challenges come in all shapes and size. Here we go…