Alice in Wonderland- Week 7

IT'S THE DRESS REHEARSAL!

It's incredible to think that we've almost arrived at the end of our fantastic 'Alice in Wonderland!' project! But, unbelievable as it might seem, this morning we had the penultimate session with the Chameleons, which meant it was time for...that's right; the dress rehearsal.

Dress rehearsals are always good fun. It's a chance for the cast (and us) to not only see all of the props and costume in action, but also see the show through for the first time. Sure, in previous weeks we have run scenes together, but today marked the first time we watched the show from the beginning all the way to the end; and it was wonderful!

Before all of that though; there was time for a game of shapes (because what would a rehearsal be without the shape game?). Today we decided to throw some abstract ones at the group, such as creating the elements, water, wind, earth and fire. There was lots of fantastic movement by all and some cool interpretations of all these.

We decided to go a fit more iconic with the latter shapes in today's game, such as create the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Egyptian Pyramids and Big Ben. Once again, working as a team the group were able to come up with some very convincing physical images!

Once everyone was warmed up we had just a couple of bits to work on, such as going back over the puppetry. Practice went well, the cast have become very good at steering and manipulating the puppets for the show and it all looks great!

Then we began. With props, sound and costumes the Chameleons dived into the dress rehearsal for the show. At the risk of spoiling next week's big performance we'll skip ahead to after we finished the run. What we can say without spoiling anything is that it is clear the amount of effort that the Chameleons have all placed into it. We're so proud of each of them and cannot believe how far we've come since first hearing the story seven weeks ago. The cast drive the play. They are fantastic and we are very lucky to have them.

After the dress run was finished we decided to do something fun; a complete speed-run of the play. Speed runs are fantastic; they are almost always hilarious to watch and take part in, and help everyone remember where they come in and leave and what is said during the scene. Within the final ten minutes (that right; we did the whole thing in ten minutes) this went from mad to downright bonkers; characters were dashing in and out, shouting what they were doing and then everyone was in fits of laughter. A fantastic way to end the week.

So we're almost there. Next week will be the final rehearsal for 'Alice in Wonderland!' followed by the actual performance of it. The cast are excited and so are we; it's going to be fantastic and cannot wait to see everyone in action once the audience are sat. Until then enjoy some of the snaps taken from the dress run.

Alice in Wonderland- Week 6

It's hard to believe that we're already in the sixth week of 'Alice in Wonderland!' It's been quite the ride so far and everyone has been working very hard to put the performance together. This week was no exception. With just two weeks until show day the Chameleons were hard at work this morning as we staged the last few scenes and began the final approach.

We played a fun game this week to help everyone think about status and the personalities of their characters. Everyone was given a card which either had the number two or a king on the face of it. Then they had to walk around the room and act like someone who had a matching status; with two being someone who holds a low status (and might be shy, quiet and timid for example) and king being the opposite (someone who might be confident, controlling, with a large personality).

Everyone was then asked to stick a different card on their forehead and walk around the room. They had to guess whether they were a king or a two from the way people treated them.Afterwards to discussed how the activity might link into the characters in the play. What status does Alice have? Does the Cheshire Cat have a low or a high status? What about the Rabbit or the Queen? We also talked about how someone who is a King may not have a high status, or that it is not class that determines it. For instance the Cheshire Cat, we decided, had possibly the highest status in the play, as she is always in control of events and never intimidated.

Next we moved onto the moment we have been waiting for; Alice's meeting with the Queen of Hearts; the notorious ruler famous of taking the heads of her subjects when she doesn't get what she wants. It was fun exploring the dynamic between these two; with Alice being somewhat afraid and confused by the Queen and the Queen of Hearts herself being overbearing, demanding, loud and powerful.

What was also a lot of fun was exploring the Cheshire Cat and the role that she plays in Alice's adventure. Within the show we have two different Cats. One version is acted. The other is the disembodied head which floats around the stage causing mischief. It was brilliant to play with both, switching between the two as the Cheshire Cat plays her tricks on the Queen and causes a lot of trouble for Alice.

We looked at some of the different tricks the Cat could play by switching between puppet and person. It lead to some very funny moments that made everybody laugh. With all of the puppets present in the show it's lovely to see the Chameleons really coming into their own puppeteering each and every one.

So with that the play is finished and now begins the process of final rehearsals before the big show on Saturday 24th June. Time has gone so quickly but it sure has been a lot of fun! Next week we will be attempting to have our dress run of the show! It will be exciting to (hopefully) see everyone in their costumes! Until then! 

May/June 2017- A Month of Events

May has been an exciting month for Anthos Arts. Specifically, it has been an exciting month for events. Since taking over the company in 2015, we have been lucky enough to run and be involved with a good deal of exciting events, such as our touring production of Romeo and Juliet, a linked project with Exeter University looking at memory and dementia, an interactive Christmas story-time with Friends of the Exeter Children's Library and, among others, our fantastic Anthos Young Company and Chameleon Groups, the latter of which we continue to run and absolutely love. However, May 2017 was a very special month for us as, after a long break from day-events, we had not just one, but two brilliant ones in Exeter.

The first of these was our wonderful 'Discover Storytelling' day at Exeter Library. This event was a monumental achievement for us, as it not only marked our first fully-fledged Arts Award project, but also our first ever joint Arts Award project. Working alongside the lovely team at Exeter Library, we were able to arrange a day for children 5-11 to come along, have fun doing some acting, puppetry and craft, and engage with the Discover level of the Arts Award.

What was wonderful about the workshops on May 20th was that we were able to offer everyone the chance to engage with their creativity. Many people attended and some people didn't like acting, some people didn't like drawing, and...well, everyone seemed to enjoy the craft. By being able to utilise the library's space we allowed children to connect with art forms that appealed to their preferences; nobody was forced to do anything. One of the best aspects to the Arts Award is that it can be adaptive and so everyone had the chance to enjoy something they loved and be rewarded for that with their Discover Arts Award.

The other lovely thing about the Discover Storytelling day at the library was that with such a large group of people attending we had an immense pool of creativity to swim about in. The focus of the workshops was on thinking about how we can tell stories in different ways. Sometimes this can be done through acting, sometimes through print or illustrations; and sometimes through puppetry, to name a few. The craft section of the workshop, where everyone had the chance to make their own puppets to tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood with saw some fantastic creations!

Creativity glowed even bright when, after creating their puppets for the Red Riding Hood story, everyone had the chance to create their own character and a puppet to go with them! Using just simple craft supplies such as tissue paper and feathers, everyone managed to create some outstanding original characters and designs to go with them. Both workshops were a massive amount of fun for everyone and seemed to fly past. Upon reflection one of the best parts was that there was nothing too serious or intense about the day; everyone came, played games, had fun acting their stories through drama and with puppets, and earned their certificates while doing so.

Our second event followed a similar theme, exploring storytelling through puppetry, only without the Arts Award element. It was a rainy Friday in St Thomas Exeter, but inside the Family Garden a lot of fun was had, as we were joined by some new faces and some new ones. For those returning to Anthos Arts after being unable to join us for our regular Chameleon group sessions it was wonderful to catch up and work together again. We played many drama games and created some truly wild original stories, featuring a tale about a terrible storm and even one about a cat who lets her pet dragon loose on the world because they don't think she is cute.

Again we told each story through acting and then through illustration and puppetry. Our group for this workshop contained some very talented and very creative artists who produced some lovely illustrated work to share with the group. The illustrations then gave birth to ideas for the puppets and what they might look like. Everyone had a fun time creating adaptations of their stories in groups and watching each other's at the end.

All in all, it has been a wonderful month for us. Our Chameleon group and all of its wonderful members are working on their production of 'Alice in Wonderland' and we have also been lucky enough to work with some incredible children and witness their creativity unfold. It has felt incredible to be able to offer the Arts Award for their efforts as well. Over the coming months, probably once our 'Alice' project has finished, we hope to host more events such as this and offer more and more people the chance to come get creative and let their imaginations loose!

Alice in Wonderland- Week 5

We're past the halfway mark now! Where has the time gone? That's right; today was week five of our Chameleon's 'Alice in Wonderland!' project! Over the previous weeks there has been one thing that the group have both loved doing and which has helped further along the development of their characters and the show overall. Playing. It might sound simple, but playing with characters is one of the best ways for an actor to get a better understanding of who or what they are playing. That's what this week was about: playing with the show and everyone's characters.

With our numbers reduced due to half-term we had to adapt our plans; as such we let the Chameleons choose their own games this week (they're somewhat experts on our drama games at this point). We decided to go with Party Quirks in the end, which briefly appeared last week. Once again our party hosts had very interesting guests, including; a butterfly, Puss in Boots, Dorothy and characters from the Wizard of Oz, and an elite Stormtrooper.

Then we did a fun exercise called Mirroring, where everyone has to work in partners (this week I got involved-see horrific image above) and copy everything the other person does. The exercise comes from physical theatre and is very useful when working closely with a specific partner or person. Things start out slow, say with person A moving their arm and person B copying them, and progress to the point where person A may roll around on the floor or lift their leg up very high, while the other person copies as best they can. It is a lot of fun and there was a good deal of laughter involved this morning as we played the game.

Then we moved onto our first scene of the week; Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Shortly after arriving in Wonderland, Alice comes across the Tweedle siblings; a playful pair who love their games. Here is where the mirroring exercise helped; the siblings like to move, but often they act as reflections of each other. That means when one of them moves, the other usually does the same. When Alice first enters they decide to play a trick on her and pretend to be statues; only when she's not looking they strike a different pose. The Chameleons had a lot of fun striking silly poses behind Alice's back.

We then moved onto the Forest of Flowers scene, where Alice wanders into the Flower Forest and meets some rather unpleasant blooms. The focus on this scene was how can we move like flowers? Obviously flowers are quite far removed from regular human characters, so we had to think outside the box about how we could combine the personality of a flower into the way we move. We also thought about voice and personality, again not something you associate with flowers. What is our flower like; nice or nasty? What might it sound like; gentle voiced or loud and snappy? Rose and Lily, our two flower characters are very different from one another; so we had fun playing with the lines and making them sound different enough that this was clear. Again a lot of fun was had as we played around and tried to be a little bit silly and see where that lead us. It is Alice in Wonderland, after all, it should be a little silly.

We then had a look at the Caterpillar, this time without the puppet. We thought about how he might sound and act like towards Alice. There are many different versions of the Caterpillar and so we decided that our version would be smart. Arrogantly so. After having a play around with some different voices and movement we ended up with a very nice scene.

To bring the rehearsal to a close we played another round of Party Quirks (which apparently was this week's favourite game). The last round featured various Pokemon, a rabbit, Emperor Palpetine of Star Wars fame and a growling Bear. All in all another fun rehearsal. It's only three weeks until the performance now and we're very pleased with how things are coming together and excited to be able to show everyone on the 24th June. Next week we will hopefully get to work on Alice's meeting with the dreaded Queen of Hearts! See you then!