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HAMPSTEAD THEATRE 50/50 DARING PAIRINGS
 A collection of 10 short pieces, developed with, and directed by The Factory, in weekly exploratory sessions, to be presented in the main house at Hampstead Theatre as part of the Daring Pairings New Writing Festival, and the theatre’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. Each of the 10 pieces will be played at Hampstead Theatre at least twice, with different casting, allowing the unique nature of this venture to be fully realised. The casting of each piece, and the order of events will largely be dictated by chance, and the decisions of the audience. THE WRITERS’ CHALLENGE Each submission may consist of a title, character names, text to be spoken, and nothing else. may be set anywhere but must be free from description of setting outside of what is spoken as text. may be filled with physical action but must be free from stage direction outside of what might be implied by spoken text. may be deeply character specific but must be free from character description outside of what is spoken as text, and must be written in consideration of the fact that any actor, of any age, ethnicity, or gender may play any part, and that actors will do nothing to 'transform' themselves into any part. must be free from any use of costume, props, furniture, or set, and from any use of LX, SFX or music. must involve no more than 3 actors. may be as short as so desired, but must be no longer than 10 minutes. Each submission may be about anything so desired, but must in some way use one of the last 50 years as a starting inspiration. THE PROCESS AND APPROACH The nature of this project demands writing which is water tight and robust, daring and intriguing. To encourage and support the writers as they push into unusual territory The Factory has been developing a feedback system whereby Members help the writer target what they are trying to explore, and keep them from falling back onto easier options. In developing these pieces, the writers will also work with a great number of Factory actors at every stage of the writing process. They will hear their pieces spoken by a plethora of actors, from the word go, and be party to their exploration of the text, and the application of their skills. We have found this to be extremely helpful in the development of projects such as this, which are designed to allow multiple casting possibilities and permutations at each performance. Aside from the obvious benefits, working in this manner also encourages the sense of collaboration, support, and community that the company is built upon, and known for. FACTORY ACTING The Factory works it's actors rigorously to ensure the greatest levels of spontaneity and freedom in performance. No analytical decisions are made by them about a piece of writing (as regards such things as theme, subtextual meaning, character, style, genre etc) at any point in the process. In fact discussion between writers and actors on such matters is prohibited. The actors aim to breathe life into the words but allow the writing to speak for itself. They will not try to help it along or cover over any cracks. The actors focus is on being alive to the moment, and trying to imagine what it would be like, truly to mean what the writers is having them say. This is, in fact one of the central tenets of The Factory's approach to acting. WHAT IS THE FACTORY? The Factory is home to a network of artists who wish to share their skills and ideas, to stay creatively healthy, and to produce work of the truly highest quality. It not only mounts productions of classic, contemporary, and new works, but exists as a place where actors, directors and writers can hone their craft in a supportive, inspiring and exploratory environment through regular workshop sessions. Many of these sessions directly or indirectly feed into future productions, leading to fresh, progressive and challenging experiences for audiences and artists alike. PRODUCTION HISTORY The Factory was created in 2007. Since then it has played all around the UK and into Europe. Its first show Hamlet played regularly for just over a year with over 30 actors. It sold out shows in venues as varied as Shakespeare’s Globe, Whitecapel Gallery, Latitude Festival, The Secret Garden Party, Crossness Pumping Station, Wilton’s Music Hall, The Movieum at County Hall, Riverside Studios, and Ripley Castle. It also played twice as a bilingual production at Barka in Budapest, in collaboration with an Hungarian cast whom the squad had never met, let alone rehearsed with. Wherever it played its cast was decided by games of scissors-paper-stone played by each night’s audience, and it was designed to change wildly every time it was played. The Factory’s first foray in to new writing was Round One, on which 50/50 is based. It played at Hampstead Theatre and in various clubs and bars around London. Its casting and running order were selected by each nights audience. 50/50 will form part of its relaunch. Its latest experiment is The Seagull which, so far, has been played about half a dozen times in different venues around London. It is entirely improvised and its casting is selected each night by flips of a coin. This production is about to start playing every Sunday. As well as this work The Factory is currently creating audio drama in collaboration with BBC Radio, has created a live audio drama on Radio Three’s The Verb, played A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Living Willow Theatre with no rehearsal, and continues to run myriad workshops and sessions. THE TIMELINE Writers are invited to join The Factory this summer for ten evenings of collaborating, bouncing ideas, exploring and generally playing around. It is a chance for writers to get a taste of the Factory way of working, but also for The Factory to be inspired and spurred into action by some great ideas. Writers can start to work on short pieces as early as they wish to during this period. We will ask for submission of final drafts in September, but the hope is that writers will be developing pieces of work as the process goes on over the summer: the weekly sessions will give the opportunity for writers to work with the Factory actors to refine, re-jig, pull around or completely transmute their works-in-progress. It is not obligatory for writers to attend every single session; but we will expect the final pieces submitted to have been through the developmental process with The Factory. Being involved in the summer sessions does not guarantee each writer that their piece will be performed on the main stage as part of the Daring Pairings Festival. We hope that at the end of the process writers will feel that their involvement in the sessions with The Factory has been an end in itself. Our idea is that a main stage showing would be just one of many possible outcomes for a continually-developing piece of writing; though selecting ten, we would hope to have jump-started as many new stories as possible. Workshop schedule Monday 13th July, 7-9pm – Hampstead Theatre rehearsal room Monday 20th July, 7-8:45pm – Rehearsal Room 6, Central School of Speech and Drama Monday 27th July, 7-8:45pm – Rehearsal Room 6, Central School of Speech and Drama Monday 3rd August, 7-9pm – Hampstead Theatre rehearsal room Monday 10th August, 7-9pm – Hampstead Theatre rehearsal room Monday 17th August, 7-9pm – Hampstead Theatre rehearsal room (TBC) Monday 24th August, 7-9pm – Hampstead Theatre rehearsal room (TBC) Monday 7th September, 7-9pm – Hampstead Theatre rehearsal room (TBC) Monday 14th September, 7-9pm – Hampstead Theatre Michael Frayn Space Monday 21st September, 7-9pm – Hampstead Theatre rehearsal room Writers are welcome to drop in to sessions, however we would encourage them to let us know in advance when they are planning to attend, so we can keep track of numbers: by emailing daringpairings@hampsteadtheatre.com. For sessions at Hampstead Theatre, please congregate in the theatre’s lower foyer just before 7pm, where you will be met and taken through to the space being used. For sessions at Central School, please congregate in their main foyer next to reception just before 7pm, where you will be met and taken through to the rehearsal room. For the three dates in August for which the workshop space is TBC, we will confirm the location with you in good time. Performances Performance 1: Friday 30th October, 9:30pm Performance 2: Friday 6th November, 2:30pm Performance 3: Friday 6th November, 9:30pm Performance 4: Saturday 7th November, 9:30pm Performances will take place on the main stage at Hampstead Theatre. Each performance will feature 5 of the 10 pieces, with the audience helping to decide which 5 – creating a different running order for every show. WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THIS UNIQUE PROJECT. ONWARD PAIRINGS. With best wishes from Hampstead Theatre and The Factory The Factory: Tim Evans, Artistic Director Alex Hassell, Artistic Director Federay Holmes, New Writing Associate Tim Carroll, Associate Director Liam Evans-Ford, Producer Hampstead Theatre Daring Pairings team: Neil Grutchfield Zoë Cooper Corinne Salisbury |
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Latest page update: made by TimEvans
, Jul 20 2009, 11:39 AM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| JohnnyDonnelly | Friday and Saturday | 0 | Nov 5 2009, 10:47 AM EST by JohnnyDonnelly | ||
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Thread started: Nov 5 2009, 10:47 AM EST
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Ladies and gents, men and women, boys and girls –
Sadly (for me) I won't have the pleasure of your company Friday and Saturday. I'm watching a relative get married in Nottingham. I hope the pieces go well and much is learned. I hope you all have fun. But not too much fun. Especially the actors. You've all got lines and that to remember. Have a great party too. x
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Keyword tags:
HAMPSTEAD THEATRE
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| NAlderton | Some 50/50 Thoughts And Reflections | 2 | Sep 10 2009, 9:29 AM EDT by SteveBloomer | ||
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Thread started: Sep 7 2009, 4:44 AM EDT
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Over August we were asked to blog some reflections on the recent 50/50 sessions at the Hampstead Theatre. I'm not sure how to post it in here so for the time being, feel free to read it over there:
http://www.nicalderton.com/index.php?n=Blog&p=1_Factory_5050_August_Sessions |
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| aprilsmall | Workshops How can a actor get involved? | 0 | Sep 8 2009, 5:43 AM EDT by aprilsmall | ||
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Thread started: Sep 8 2009, 5:43 AM EDT
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How can I get involved in the Factories workshops?
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