SF 11 Week 2 ... is over! Already?!

Hi everyone, hope you're enjoying your Saturday night off from rehearsals.

Week 2 is now at a close; so that's two weeks down for Performance & Production and Technical participants, and the end of week 1 for the Glasgow Foundation Course.

Things are getting exciting as the Glasgow Foundation Course prepare for their performance at Lansdowne Church on Saturday 23 July and the casts and crews of both Born Bad? and Prom Night are starting to run shows through, start to finish.

I was lucky enough to see Prom Night Act One on Wednesday and scenes from Born Bad? on Friday. The musical numbers in Prom Night are big, bold and fun, with the script flipping between downright funny to really poignant. If you haven't already, check out the pictures here. One minute, full-on musical numbers with catchy lyrics and even catchier beats (thanks to Ross Brown) have everyone smiling and ready to dance. The next, high school students are morphing into terrifying creatures with even more terrifying accents to match. Mary came back from London last year and said she'd seen this amazing play that she'd like to include in the festival: "It's kind of like Grease meets Night Of The Living Dead. Oh and there's werewolves, witches and monsters in it too". At the time, hard to imagine! Now that it has arrived in Glasgow ... well, let's just say it was a very good choice indeed.

And then there's Born Bad?, a play that couldn't be more different from Prom Night - but let me tell you, it's just as compelling. The subject matter is serious and so the script reflects this; I watched director Fraser MacLeod run through a very intense scene with Calum Johnston and Jamie Morrison in the Gold Room. Even just watching in the rehearsal room you feel very involved. Within a very short time of being in the Brian Cox Studio, with the full cast, I was completely gripped too (and forgot the reason I was there was to take photos!). I also had goose bumps all over my arms when the cast started making these eerie, whispery sound effects. I won't spoil too much, but there's some pretty cool sound scaping going on in this show.

Do you have your tickets yet? Why not?! Book online with our friends at Tron Theatre.

Below are some images from Born Bad? rehearsals and the Glasgow Foundation course. For Prom Night rehearsals at Limelight Studios, check out our Flickr page.

Of course, I'm biased but it really looks to me like The Summer of Horror has something for everyone: an all singing, all dancing rock musical with heart; a serious, gripping, moving and challenging play about nature versus nurture and then a devised piece about Zombies - which could go in any direction at all! Why are you still reading?? The Tron Box Office is this way!

Emma Dunipace,

SYT Senior Marketing Officer

Glasgow Foundation Course.

SF11 guest blog no.3 Emma-Jane Granger

Ok so hi, I'm Emma-Jane and, like Calum, I'm part of the cast of 'Born Bad?'. I play 'girl one' who I've renamed Daisy (Princess Banana Hamock) and I'm also part of the chorus who kind of tell Ella's (the murderer) story.

Today we blocked the second half of the show and now we've pretty much finished the outline of the play and all we need to do now is go back and tighten up some of the scenes so they will flow together. For me the best bit is seeing it all come together, our musical director (Ross Ramsay!) is awesome and has put together a chilling soundtrack which gives me shivers every time I hear it.

I can't wait to get the costumes, especially for the wee girls cause we have to be dressed up to look like our mums with over sized heals and huge dollies, but I have grown attached to the one I have now called Bridget so I'll be sad to see her go, le sob :(

Anyway I better go I can hear Fraser's cheery call of 'Lets do it again, this time with talent!'

careful though cause........ ELLA'S GONNA GET YOU!

SF11 guest blog no.2 Calum Johnston

OK i dont really know how to start this, but i guess by saying that i already have. So yeah, im Calum, im in the show "Born Bad?". I am Billy who is "the wee brother of the Girl who killed" The whole show is about the affect of a killing on each side of the event, the victim's family as well as the Murderers family. Its a very dark play that deals with very deep issues and one where the audiences reaction to it wont be unanimous.

The best part of 5 week so far is slowly seeing the set and music being made. Its all going really well and the music especially gives what we have done alot more energy and makes you feel as if you are in the scene not just performing it. The movement pieces have been alot of fun to do and it gives the show a really energetic start and makes the show start with a bang.

Im really looking forward to when the set an costumes are all done and we can actually have a feel for the space and we can really get into charater. Everyone is putting there full potential into the show so, i feel, its going to be really good. we have already blocked half the show and progressing fast, only a few more chorus things to do and then we are done and can fix small details. Fraser has done really well with what he is doing and with is constant phrase "less is more" he has made the show very stylised and what we have done looks great.

This is a really strange question... Um i dunno who would play me in a film? I've been told that i look like many people; Aaron Johnson is prob a good bet but i look like him so i would play him coz he is older :/ Sid from skins looks like what i used to look like, but again, he is older. But i guess if age is no object Ian McKellen or David Tennent would be my dream actors, maybe they could do a whole Dr who or james bond thing where they change ever so often... I dunno. anyhow i better go or Fraser will kill me :L Bye xx

SF11 guest blog no 1. Ethan Greig

I am in Prom Night of the Living Dead and play Shape one of the evil witch Morgan's henchman.
Today we spend the best part of the day running through act one in its entirety and blocking the first scene of act two, after we had done our daily physical and vocal warm ups.

My favorite part of the course this far is definitely the character development as it really does help you connect with the role you will be playing in the show. I am looking forward to being able to perform in front of the audience and also seeing everyone truely become their characters.

I think that I would like James Franco to play me in a film of my life because he is a really good actor and people have said in the past that I look slightly like him.

SF11 Official Launch Party - scary clip

SF11 - Week 2

sneak peek at the big underground posters artwork!

Summer Festival 2011 - end of week one

Hi there! Week one is now officially over and what a week it was. As well as rehearsals there was a packed week of evening workshops in games, dance, video-making, stage-make-up (below) plus performances from The Lab (first event sharing from them) and Zombiism director Tom Hobbins (he performed GROW, previously reviewed here by The Herald).

As for me, this was my first taste of Summer Festival at Scottish Youth Theatre, and now, at last I can see what all the fuss is about. Roll on the next bits!

Iain Findlay-Walsh
Marketing
Scottish Youth Theatre