portsmouth

Greetings from Portsmouth and shrew towers (ambitiously described when we rented it as a holiday villa...but twill serve)! After two very long tech days in very hot sun we are all pretty exhausted...I may have had a bit if a Victorian moment and passed out...embarrassingly...but our stage manager Carrie was at least able to proudly christen her new accident book. The set looks amazing in the gardens of Portsmouth museum, and I have to say, the staff have been amazingly patient as we have to walk back and forth through exhibitions to get to our dressing rooms. I had the slightly surreal experience of warming up in the Sherlock Holmes exhibition yesterday...it was the coolest place I could find. The dulcet tones of stephen fry on loop the while. As well as our stage management team and Joe and josh (director and assistant director) we have had the designer Hannah, ping the text assosiate, Kevin our fight director, the ever smiling corin our md, wardrobe, and many friendly producing and casting globe faces supporting us. The aforementioned marvellous Martin of the voice arrived to watch our (somewhat disasterous) dress rehearsal and talked to us afterwards about the space from a voice point of view...using the audience and playing out more (essential to outdoor Shakespeare...very counterintuitive to modern actors). He also gave us a great vocal warm up, which did wonders for my tired squeaking. Somehow it was suddenly time to get ready for our first show, before we really had time to realise it. Half an hour warming up voice, costumes on, not even time to panic. How did it go? I have no idea! It went...we did it all...no major incidents...no quick change fiascos...and the audience seemed to love it. As I type torrential rain is beating down...schools matinee, our second ever show, in a few hours...this could be interesting!