This time last year, whilst we were all sitting at home drinking our tea, there is no-way we could have known what this year would bring; we didn't even know each others bloody names! Yet here we are...
Just look at the pure joy on our slightly chubby faces ^^^ Now the seven of us are best mates, have made a show, formed a company officially known as 'The Letter Room' and toured to some of the biggest festivals this year.
It was about this time last year that we all wrote our applications to Northern Stage to be part of NORTH - and how lucky we all feel to have been selected.
The three months that we spent at Northern Stage under the guidance of Mark Calvert, Kylie Lloyd and Susan Mulholland (amongst many many more wonderful people) was a truly brilliant experience. We worked our socks off, met inspiring people, learnt loads about important theatre things and also had many a night crying into our pillows (joking, sort of).
The support that the building gave us allowed us to grow more confident in our ability in all areas from marketing to finance and feel comfortable enough to ask for help whenever we needed it.
"Expect great things from North, surely one of the most vibrant and engaging entries into the theatre circuit in years." whatsonstage.com
One of many highlights for us was working with the lovely Rachael Walton of Third Angel and making history by not being able to stick a simple map together. However, we got there in the end and made an interesting little piece of theatre which we performed in Stage Three - we actually stole loads of Rachael's exercises in making our final show - so thank-you very much!
Another highlight was the Annual Dinner - The technical team did an AMAZING job transforming Stage One into a mystical forest and we were lucky enough to be asked by Jane to perform some music and a few monologues to the guests. Having only been together a few weeks, rehearsing songs on top of everything else was a big challenge, but after lots of practising we got some tunes together and had a fantastic evening. The people we met at this event were absolutely fantastic, including many Northern Stage board members who are still very supportive of the company.
Here we all are in action...
I shall honestly never forget the taste of Alfie's earl grey panna cotta.
The other thing I should probably mention is, our show!
THE MAN WHO THOUGHT THE MOON WOULD FALL OUT OF THE SKY
We actually did it. After many weeks stuck in a rehearsal room above The Peoples Theatre (many many thanks to The Hawk and all at The Peoples - we love you) we managed to get our little heads together and come up with a show. The devising process was not an easy one, for some of us we were losing our devising virginity, but luckily Mark Calvert was there to guide us (I realise that sounds weird now I've mentioned Mark, but just look past that, it's a good description). We also had Susan with us too (which makes this sound even weirder, like some sort of Northern Stage devising orgy... anyway, moving on). Susan was there as a writer and supported us in the development of the script. We also wrote lots of original music, created scenes and characters and ended up telling the story of a man called Ernest who had an obsession with the moon and a lover called She. Since our opening night at Northern Stage, we've had great fun performing it to many different crowds and have since then developed the show from its original form as we all felt that we didn't quite have time to finish it - and like any show, it may change again!
"North, the associate company of Northern Stage, comprises recent graduates and emerging artists. You wouldn't know it, however, each performance is flawless and a credit to an energetic and creative devising process that the company so clearly enjoys." whatsonstage.com
Creating a show that we were all so proud to be a part of was a massive achievement for us as a new theatre company - and then it got even better.
We were given an opportunity to take our show out of the North East and tour to three of the biggest festivals in the country - Latitude, Bestival and of course, St Stephens at The Edinburgh Fringe.
The feeling of walking onto a stage, in a packed out theatre tent and performing a show with your mates is one of the best feelings that we have all experienced to date. We also had an amazing time getting drunk and watching bands - Maria almost wee'd herself at the sight of Elton John - she definitely new every single cringey word.
And if you were wondering, yes Chris Slater (Production Manager) is wearing glitter and yes Emma Roxburgh (Participation Facilitator) does look amazing dressed as a shark.
"If you are a young company such as North, comprised of recent graduates and now embarking on their debut tour after a run at Northern Stage, it must be a daunting prospect [performing at Latitude].The company needn’t have worried however, as their production of The Man Who Thought The Moon Would Fall Out of the Sky launched Latitude’s 2013 theatre line up with style and kept that critical audience hanging on every word." The Public Reviews
"It’s an accomplished début production from the young company who, based on this showing, will be a name to watch with great interest in the future."
The Public Reviews
Our final stop was St Stephens, and what a stop it was. A huge thank-you goes out to the whole team, especially the wonderful Beckie Darlington for making it all happen and for making us feel so welcome.
(if you'd like to book us for a wedding or a party, then please get in touch, seriously)
During the Fringe, we were also asked to be part of the fantastic Border Ballads at St Stephens - it was amazing to feel part of the experience and sight reading a verse in front of an audience was an absolute thrill. Thank-you Lorne!
The NORTH scheme was constructed not only to enhance the creative side of our minds, but to fill up our metaphorical producer 'tool bag' as well. We met many inspiring people like David Edmunds from Dep Arts, Annie Rigby, Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh, Dan Bye, Kate Craddock and many more.
Since meeting these influential people, we've produced three of our own events, two fundraisers and one social night called 'North Night' all of which went down a storm and we managed to raise lots of money towards our summer tour. Through doing this, we also began to form relationships with other young theatre makers, musicians, artists and writers in the region which is something we are very keen to build on so that eventually we'll have a huge pool of young creatives that will make lots of work together and support each other on projects - it's already happening as we speak/write!
These relationships are still growing and just last week we were very honoured to perform at the Jabberwocky Market Festival in Darlington (Stan's home town) organised by Caroline Pearce, a contact we made through NORTH - it was an absolute blast, thank-you for having us Caroline! Will this be the last time we perform our beloved show "The Man Who Thought The Moon Would Fall Out Of The Sky?"...
Who knows? We're going to keep you guessing for now.
Here's George having a think about it...
We couldn't have got here without the support of wonderful people from Northern Stage and beyond. We are seven very lucky people to have been a part of this new scheme and we're sure whoever is in North 2014 will have just as fabulous experience as we did.
We are now ready to take on the world as 'The Letter Room' and are already planning big things for 2014.. After this years experience, we're not only thinking about 'a show' we're thinking about a future.
We're not finished for 2013 just yet though, at the moment we are curating some brilliant events for Juice Festival - a dreamy launch party and a spooky Big Read - for more information please visit the website here. It's going to be so much fun, please come along and say hello!
We would like to say a humungous thank-you to anyone and everyone who has supported us in any way over the last year, it means so much to us.
We hope you have enjoyed reading our little trip down memory lane.
Love from,
The Letter Room x
