Hello world! Welcome back to another blog! In this blog, I will be talking about how I got involved performing a reading of Act 1 of a new play called 41, written by the talented Joss Birkett and directed by the lovely Geoff Readman. So strap yourself in and enjoy this read on how I got involved in performing a story based on horrific true events in my hometown! 

How It Came To Be:

I came to this project through an unexpected moment when I was working my “proper job”. I know the writer from two previous events (one of which you can view a blog for here: LINK), and I bumped into her whilst she was doing her shopping, so it was definitely a moment where things happen when you least expect it. As soon as she told me about the project, I was fascinated and keen to take part. With my dad also explaining what it’s about, it’s made me even more intrigued about it. So I decided to jump at the chance and say yes! 

Initial Meeting:

To start with, we had an initial meeting that was held on 4th September, which was just over 1 month until we actually performed it. It was very insightful, as Joss explained the play in more detail, where the inspiration came from, how long it took her to write, and why it’s important to tell this story. I even got a glimpse of the first bit by a lovely woman called Anne (who went to watch two of the shows and is Geoff's wife) and it gave me a glimpse into the world of the play. 

Rehearsals:

The rehearsals for this play were challenging knowing we had a short amount of time to get it on stage, but also very rewarding. For the first set of rehearsals, we did some exercises and still images of different themes in the play, led by our director Geoff. Whilst it took me some getting used to, it did give me a feel of the play and the challenges that people during World War Two (both who were serving and the challenges the civilians faced) had to endure. We then did a full read through of the play, where after doing extracts of the scenes to give Joss an idea how she wanted it to be, I got the privilege of playing Ruth, a typist at a local air force station. I had such a good time exploring this character, and with some help from Joss and Geoff, this was a role that when developed into a full production (and I say that as I know this will be a success and touch people affected by this story), I’d be very excited to develop. And I’d also like to see other people’s interpretations of the character, as it’s always good to see someone perform it with different choices.

We then got to rehearsing, but we only had looking back 1 full run without stopping, and that was at the very last rehearsal. This was due to going through each section one at a time and also choreographing the movement for the bombing itself, which was very complex. I wasn’t in that section, but I could tell that with direction from Geoff, everyone in that scene all worked really hard on it! But you know what, one full run before the performances was better than none at all, so I’m glad that despite a few picky bits, we gave it our all until the very end! And as you can see below, we also got some amazing shots from the rehearsal!

Performances:

For the performances, it was a different atmosphere as we had three audiences for each night. Before each show, we did a warm up which really helped us get in the zone. I did some but skipped some of them knowing that I also needed some time to do my own preparation for the performance, and the cast were perfectly happy with that. As a whole though, I’d say that the shows we did went really well! We got the lightness where it was needed (as even though it’s a serious topic, the play needed some light to help keep the audience’s attention), the emotion where it was needed, and it definitely made people pause, and reflect on those who were affected by this tragic event. There were a few blocks we had to face, and I’ll mention it more in the “Challenges” part of the blog which is coming next, but we worked our way through them and put on a good piece of theatre! 

Challenges:

It’s safe to say that there were both challenges both behind the scenes AND on the stage. During the rehearsals, we had to look at the sounds and music for the performance ourselves, as we did have a musician in, but sadly had to drop out due to personal reasons I won’t go into. But we managed to make it work, and with a gong to add to the affect, it definitely connected the audience on an emotional level. There was also some challenges on stage as well, as during the matinee performance, there were moments where we were off piece a little bit. But like the slogan back during World War Two, we kept calm and carried on, showing that yes things went abit wrong, but we didn’t stutter and we worked our way around it, which was the most important thing. That along with the audience for that show being able to see past it and still connected to it emotionally. I think that was partly due to the first show being a success and having that extra pressure to do well. But we took our notes on board for the final show, and along with a delicious pizza express I had as seen below, it was the best one we performed. 

Overall, I enjoyed the process of when we first started to getting it on a stage. Given that we had only a short amount of time, I’m glad of what we achieved with Act 1 of this incredible piece of art. I just can’t wait to get a glimpse of Act 2 when it’s ready to go, and how this play will develop (which I will keep you all updated of course!). And I got a lovely card from Joss and a pretty flower, which by the time this is posted it has officially wilted :(, and I thought it was really heartwarming and lovely, as I never get flowers from most people. So it was the perfect gift to end a wonderful project on a high!

And that is it for my blog on how I got involved with 41. Be sure to follow Joss Birkett @josszbon on her Instagram to see her document the development of this play and see her continue her career as a writer! Also click the link below to Coreset, the place where we performed the piece, and how you can support them going forward. Not only is a creative space, but it’s also an Airbnb which is how they fund the venue. So if you ever visit Newark and need either a venue to rehearse in or a place to stay, be sure to get in touch with them!

Website: https://www.coreset.org

Instagram: @coresetuk

Finally, please also see a link to a vlog I made of the show days, which is mainly selfies of me updating you at each moment, but at least it shows I’m being creative in my own right! 

https://youtu.be/ju6sIbDeQXU?si=akFBxJ-hS0v3D5aL

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)