Educating Rita - Director's Diary

Rob Joyce - Director of Educating Rita (11th - 14th October 2006)

With the summer almost ended, it’s time for the rehearsals for Educating Rita to start up again. We managed about two before the summer break, so to be fair, it’s almost like starting from scratch! Progress so far:

• Act One is blocked. That’s two thirds of the play.
• Craig and Laura have started to learn their lines. (Good job too!)

When put in those terms, it’s clear how much is still to do! Rehearsals for the next few weeks are at Craig’s house, to try to keep the cost down. This will inevitably mean me sitting in the hallway while Laura and Craig go for it hammer and tongs in the lounge with all the furniture pushed against the wall. It’s a glamorous life…

For all of you who were a bit worried, Laura’s scouse accent is coming on a treat. We’ve managed to eliminate all traces of Welsh and South African from her speeches, and she’s now talking in a lower pitch that the rest of the world and dogs can hear!

Craig’s growing his hair from now on. He needs to look like a geriatric hippy. ‘Nuff said…

You will get another exiting edition from Diary of a Director soon! Thanks for your support – we’ll be relying on you, not only to watch, but also to get lots of tickets to friends and enemies sold!

Volume 2 - September 6th 2006

When I started out on this venture, I had so many grand ideas about what directing would be like. Several weeks in, I’m starting to be a bit concerned about the lack of respect that I’m receiving from my actors. They have nicknamed me “Titty Titterer”, which, as well as being incredibly alliterative, I fear is a little insolent. I maintain that it’s a good sign that I think their performances are funny. The play is meant to be a comedy afterall…

The entire play has now been blocked (hooray!), and several bits are starting to take shape nicely. Laura and Craig are doing brilliantly with their characterisation, and Frank and Rita are becoming more solid and believable characters with each rehearsal. We’re having long discussions about lines and how to deliver them (my personal favourite so far has been the fifteen minutes we spent last week on “And why don’t you?”). I suppose this is a luxury of there only being three of us.

All three of us are going a bit stir crazy with the lack of social interaction (the downside of a two-hander, I suppose) but it’s not long until 19th September, when we resume the traditional Tuesday – Thursday – Sunday rehearsals in the Drama Studio. Hopefully we’ll get a few of you visiting then to show off to!

Anyway, I’ll be off now. Thanks for reading – I hope you don’t mind these messages appearing every so often. Another will arrive soon! Thanks also for your support, it’s appreciated.

Oh, good grief - just realised that opening night is four weeks away today. This is a bit of a scary prospect. The play’s looking good, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

This week has seen several exciting developments. Firstly, Alison has started regularly attending rehearsals, lending her moral support and not inconsiderable expertise. Secondly, Craig and Laura and myself are starting to work out what the lines are really about, and seeing levels of meaning hitherto unseen! Last night, for example, there was a nice bit of whiskey acting on the line “inevitably treading his path to doom”, and we realised that Rita saying “amateurs need to be given a chance” echoes her own plight. Clever…

In The Company tradition, we’re still planning on not having a prompt. Given the enormous amount of lines, I’m not too concerned that they are not all memorised yet. I’m sure they’ll get there. I hope… Craig, whose hair seems to be growing very slowly (I think he’s had a crafty trim), says that it’s Laura’s fault he doesn’t know all his lines yet. Apparently, she’s not making him feel guilty enough.

At last night’s production meeting, I heard the wonderful news that we have sold our first tickets! Only two, but it’s a start. So, two down and several hundred to go. We’re relying on all you Company members to come along and also bring your friends and family in vast numbers. Go on - everyone likes Educating Rita!!! Tickets can be booked by e-mailing tickets@thecompanysheffield.co.uk or phoning Neil (0114) 201 0900.

We’re back in the Drama Studio rehearsal rooms from Tuesday 19th. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30pm and Sundays at 10am. Please come along and visit us. We’re also having a post-rehearsal social at the pub (Club 197) on Thursday 21st September. Come along and say “hello” after the long summer break and get enthused about next month’s production.

Oh, and by the way, when I said in the first diary that Laura and Craig were “going at it”, I didn’t mean anything rude (as they have suggested everyone would think). I’d written it after an argument scene. Just in case you were wondering! Some people…

Thanks for your messages of encouragement.

Volume 4 - 18th October 2006.

Or should that be "diary of an ex-director"? This is the last of my diary entries, and I think it's fitting just to sum up my experience.

I didn't really know what to expect when I was selected as the director for the October slot. I guess the last few months were characterised by the huge amounts of hard work put in by both actors (and sometimes the director), and also by my enjoyment of the whole experience. Sometimes I laughed so hard in rehearsals I couldn't breathe!

For a play with two cast members, I was seriously worried at times that we'd have tiny audiences. I needn't have worried - thanks to the publicity (Suzie and Erica helping out a stressed Laura) and generally the members supporting us, there were nearly 100 people at each performance! Neil says we've made money on Rita, which is (I think) the first time an October production has done so. Excellent news!

Thanks to the Front of House team - Sharon for being FoH Manager every night as well as her army of FoH ushers. Thanks also to everyone who turned up for the Get-In and the Get-out. Many hands made light work. Thanks too to the technical and back-stage team.

Mainly, though, I must thank The Company members in general for supporting the play and coming along in whatever capacity to watch or help. I feared that it would be a very lonely few months, but it really wasn't. I know that Craig, Laura and I really appreciated your words of encouragement, and also your enthusiastic praise. You lot should be actors...

Now - the time off is over - I'm off to sink into an unconscious heap and wonder what to do with my time!