a sad day for BCT...

Tis the last day of my work experience! Sad times, fellow Black Coffee Theatre fans and supporters…

However tis also my birthday today - joyous times! – And this morning I was surprised by Luke and Maria when they came into the Playhouse with a splendid cake in tow.

(I was treated like a princess!) However, whilst the gesture was lovely and more importantly tasty, the cake itself did serve 18 people and sadly Maria can’t have wheat products so me and Luke had the nigh on impossible duty of finishing the cake. This meant that whenever anyone wandered within a ten meter radius of our little work table one of the three of us would grab the unsuspecting visitor whilst another would cut a slice, and the other would forcefully hand them a piece of cake akin to a reasonably sized meal upon a paper plate. With no fork. We forgot cutlery is generally needed when it comes to eating. But no matter!

Anyhow after cards were opened – I’m not kidding, Luke and Maria put in so much effort - Luke departed to an audition – good luck! – Maria and I got down to business. Whilst she tackled the tricky business of filling out an employer’s liability insurance form which required her to answer such dubiously worded and fun filled questions as:

“Will any of the employees be hypnotised during the process?”

and

“Will there be any inflatable play equipment?”

 - (I want to see THAT show!) – I went and attempted the task from hell for someone socially awkward and went to hand out flyers in Alnwick. Luckily I’m not socially awkward and if anything it was the tradespeople of Alnwick who looked somewhat perturbed when I came in at rush hour lunch time service to ask a) if I could hang posters up and b) if they had anything with which to hang said posters as I was frankly lacking preparation and materials to carry out my duties. (Oh, and quick update from yesterday about the flyers and the search for a photocopier, apparently Alnwick has one colour photocopier available to the public and charges £2 per sheet to use (and seeing as we needed 100 sheets that would deplete our entire marketing budget) much to  Luke’s visible and audible horror. After he had recovered from his heart attack and had regained some of the colour to his cheeks, Nicola from the Playhouse said she’d print the flyers for free. Hazar!)

So around 80 flyers later, Alnwick was well and truly decked out with advertisement for the production. I only got distracted from my task once, I swear. Unlike the last time I didn’t need to fill out a rather lengthy form. This time a friend of mine told the town crier it was my day of birth. And after an earth shatteringly loud announcement, things escalated quickly, resulting in the entirety of the Alnwick market place singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. (It’s my birthday today by the way, did I mention?

Anyway after my little excursion I believe Alnwick now is aware- like it or not- of the upcoming Black Coffee Theatre production. Job done! 

I made my way back and got on to writing this blog. Next we’re going to film a short interview with me. Because Maria and I both want too and definitely NOT to satisfy the Arts Council educational outreach programme.) anyway so check that out and feel free to laugh at my silly face.

Anyhow since this is my last day – WAAAAAAAA – this will be my last blog until the 19^th when I revisit the world of Black Coffee Theatre and help – hopefully not hinder – with the dress and tech rehearsals of ‘Found’. I’ll get to meet the other actors and see the finished set and final product! Luke and Maria are also doing a workshop with the local school, Duchess’s Community High School – my sixth form no less! – which coincidently we wrote the plan for yesterday. It’s going to be fun. We’ll have question and answer sessions, and vocal and physical warm ups and drama games which have dubious and intriguing names such as “Eye Roulette”, “Who killed King John?” and “Damsels, Knights and Cavaliers” – which is basically where you walk around the space and on command suddenly run and hurl yourself towards the nearest person in a damsel like way, hoping that they will see you running, realise what you are doing and catch you as you jump into their arms seconds later. The alternative and probably more likely is that your partner will panic and promptly run and hurl themselves at you also, resulting in broken noses and minor concussion.

But in all seriousness in my work experience week I have learnt loads of inside info on the sometimes stressful but always rewarding business of running your own theatre company. I want to take this opportunity to say thanks to Maria and Luke for having and putting up with me.  It’s been so much fun and I’ll see you at the dress and tech rehearsals soon! 

And remember – 19^th and 20^th of September, Alnwick Playhouse, 7.30 start.

I’ve already got my tickets!