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Inspiration!
What was the one experience that completely changed your life? What happened? How did it change your life?
SPECIAL EFFECTS
The art of special effects and theatrical makeup is one that is often taken for granted. Some of the effects are very familiar: the pantomime dame, with a face that sinks a thousand ships, or Dr Who monsters that cause children to hide behind settees.
CAKE Productions has worked with a makeup and special effects artist on both their productions: to create a mask to enable an immediate transition from one character to another in ‘Devon and Demelza’, and, more recently, the scarring that results from self-harm injury.
To learn more about how these effects are achieved, take a look at our makeup artist’s website blog:
http://www.nataliefearnleymua.co.uk/#/blog/4571554698
Trial by Audition?
As invitations to audition for CAKE’s new production – ‘Hammering Near Glass’ – are set to be emailed, the team here at CAKE are taking a moment to reflect what it really means to ‘audition’, According to the Merriam Webster dictionary:
Definition of AUDITION
1: the power or sense of hearing
2: the act of hearing; especially : a critical hearing <an audition of new recordings>
3: a trial performance to appraise an entertainer’s merits
For the actor, it means having little more than a few minutes to convince a few people, often complete strangers, that you can turn yourself inside out to be what they need you to be.
If it is a well-known role – Lady Macbeth, Vladimir or Estragon, Willy Loman, Medea – then you have history, literature and probably experience to draw on. But what if it’s a new play? It will never have been performed before. The playwright may be unknown. The actor may not have seen the whole script. How does an actor get to grips with this challenge and then manage to impress in a ten-minute slot? Would any other job interview expect so much?
At CAKE Productions, where we favour new writing, enabling actors to make the most of their audition opportunity is something we take very seriously. We see audition not as a one-off event but as a process.
We take account of the actor’s first response to the expression of interest, we look at their CV, we study their showreels. Sometimes we invite them for a coffee and chat prior to the audition. How we get to know individual actors often varies depending on their response to us at each stage of the process.
The reason we place so much emphasis on process lies in a key definition of ‘audition’: the act of hearing. As the company auditioning the actors, our responsibility is to really ‘hear’ what the actor is saying to us at all stages. Whether an actor’s training is Meisner, Stanislavsky or Method is less important than if their response shows interest, responsiveness. curiosity – and potential!
At CAKE Productions, we listen for what’s beneath the performance anxiety and fear of rejection that is an occupational hazard for most actors. What is the actor really saying to us? That can vary from: ‘I think this is a great role and a great adventure’ to ‘This’ll do if nothing better paid comes up’.
We believe our emphasis on audition process is the right one, the one that gives actors the best chance to impress.
The rest is up to them. Break a leg!
Origin of AUDITION
Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin audition-, auditio, from audire
First Known Use: 1599
A MOMENT TO REFLECT ON OUR LAST PRODUCTION
Wrapped up as we are in our new production, we are taking a moment out to reflect on our show that toured earlier this year. ‘DEVON and DEMELZA’ was a political satire inspired by the Devonwall proposal – a Conservative party attempt to transgress the Devon/Cornwall border for political gain. News in this morning:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-21251826
‘Devonwall’ constituency proposal rejected by MPs
The proposed constituency would have included both sides of the River Tamar
The ‘face’ of HAMMERING NEAR GLASS!
We are ridiculously excited, we know, but there is something about getting the ‘face’ of a new production that makes it REAL, REAL, REAL!!!
Our thanks go to makeup artist Natalie Fearnley – https://www.facebook.com/NFMUA and Fifthblade Photography – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fifthblade-Photography/113966675355785?ref=ts&fref=ts.
We will now drink tea, think calm thoughts and then knuckle down to the next step: CASTING!
Keep visiting us here for regular progress reports.
New production!
Work has now started on CAKE’s next production – a brand new play that will stun every audience that sees it.
HAMMERING NEAR GLASS will premiere on Friday 9th August at Sterts Theatre, Liskeard.
For more information over the next few months, check here and also our Facebook page!
Good turnout for The Minack
Despite some challenging weather conditions, a wonderful crowd turned out for our final performance of Devon and Demelza this side of the summer.
For a young company like CAKE, taking a brand new show out on tour was always going to be a bit of an unknown. Forget the fringe-festival-type rationalisations: ‘I’m an artist, I don’t care if no one turns up’ – we wanted an audience at EVERY venue on EVERY night.
And that’s what we achieved.
Ours was – by choice – an unfunded venture, and so we needed ticket sales to pay actors’ wages. But more than that, we wanted a RESPONSE.
We had a very, very enthusiastic audience at the Hall for Gwinear, with many audience members coming up after the show asking about the writer (for the right reasons), wanting to know where they could see the show again, and generally enthusing about the opening performance.
Opening night at BIKE SHED THEATRE, Exeter was slightly different. We had the response alright, but as half the audience didn’t have English as a first language, we had the translator giving the response – and a translation of the lines - mid-show!
Apart from the weather at The Minack, other challenges the company had to face was a fire alarm going off and the theatre having to be cleared (Bike Shed), the set remover going AWOL (without the set, fortunately), and a double booking in St Austell that meant we had to rehearse to the background of ‘Oggy oggy oi oi oi’ from dozens of rugby players (you had to be there to get the full effect of that one!),
There will be further performances of Devon and Demelza, but for now CAKE Productions is starting work on our next show which will be touring the fringe festivals next year before heading to the biggy in Edinburgh.
And we do care if no one turns up!!!
Link
Following a superb show at St Austell, DEVON and DEMELZA move on to The Minack on 7th May 7.30pm for the final show this side of the summer. Tickets selling fast!
