Limited plugs and a tea urn – The Production blog on tour

28 October 2011

It was with some guilt I stood at the serving hatch of the kitchen of East Garston village hall last week, as a procession of people thanked me for the “Sugary treat” they had all just been served.

Not that this was a trial for The Great British Bake Off but the opening night of Some like it Hotter. Having lit every Outreach touring show The Watermill has ever  done,  I am a familiar face in the local village halls, hence was receiving the praise deserved by  all those involved with the production.

The comments were all very positive and followed with “Why is this show here?  It should be on in London”. Certainly the production deserves a future life and makes a mockery of the funding cuts to rural touring.

But we were all very happy to be in Garston, from the cast who had that sparkle in their eyes as the audience were giving the show a standing ovation – to the rest of the creative team who were just proud that we had made all this happen in a village hall.

I’m sat now in my office doing the lighting focus plots for the show which our Stage Manager, Nick, and Deputy Stage Manager, Victoria, will use as they continue on the road with the tour.

Which reminds me of the days when I was a young Lighting Assistant in the West End. When the shows were being given out, I was assigned to a show on Shaftsbury Avenue and given a plan the like of which I had never seen. There were with so few lights on it compared to all my other colleagues’ plans, which were littered with equipment. The Lighting Designer I was assisting was a true gentleman by the name of Michael Northern. I was lucky enough to work with him on several occasions and he was one of our greatest designers. Every light had at least one purpose and every colour could be blended with a second to create a third.

Which is why I love the challenge of an Outreach tour, we only have eight lights pointing at the stage from the front, normally very limited power (even less when the urn is on for the interval!) and still try to achieve all the atmosphere required for the show.  It is made much easier with a Director like Karen (Simpson) who can understand why an actor’s position must move by a few inches at every hall to be lit. So the plot, which describes what each light is needed to do, varies  for every venue and effects where the cast may have to be positioned to achieve the best results.

Why was I at a serving hatch? You may ask well! With the joys of an Outreach tour the control position can be anywhere, and in this case the kitchen!

Lawrence T Doyle
Production Manager