First essentials

Our first production meeting last month covered the basics. Stuff like: 'Where shall we put the interval?' (There isn't a designated place) 'What should the audition pieces be?' (The bits of the play people have to read at the audition depending on which part they want) 'How can we do this if we only have three people turn up at the read-through?' (We all have to be in it ourselves) and 'Does anyone want another drink?' (Well yes, obviously!)
We also touched on one or two more complex ideas. Director her had a pretty good sense of how she wanted the basic set to look: Two levels for Death's study & library, castle as hardback etc. Director him and producer added details as we worked our way through the script.
We also decided, after a suggestion by director him, to ditch the concept of having the chunks of narration done by individual characters during the course of the show. Instead we shall have a single narrator. The Footnote role is one that occurs in other Pratchett/Briggs plays, so there is nothing especially heretical in the idea.
Now it's preparaation time. We need audition packs to hand out at the read-through tomorrow. Our concern over the number of people turning up has long gone. During Dick Whittington more and more people, both those in the cast and members of the audience, announced their interest. So all the fun that director him and I had had in working out which parts could double, treble or even quadruple-up goes out of the window. Director him's spreadsheet was very pretty though.
Producer has been busy putting together a top strip (no top strip, not top strip) for all our documents, which includes director her, director him and producer's email addresses and mobile phone numbers. Members of the cast are always very stupid. They will lose anything. They will also email secretary constantly saying: 'Have you got the email for so-and-so', or 'Do you have x, y and z's phone numbers'. This annoys her no end as she sends everyone an email copy of our membership contacts list every month. Losing scripts is a particular passion for tha cast. This time I am thinking of putting sticky labels with 'This book belongs to ....... age ....' Not because they will stop leaving them behind at rehearsals, it will just make it easier for us and more embarrassing for them when we hand them back.
Director him is printing out all the audition pieces. Director her is currently putting together a general intro piece and producer is printing out (as I write) copies of the basic plot and character descriptions. Producer is out of the office tomorrow, so secretary will print off director her's piece. Oh yes, it's started...

Thought for the day: "Earwig O, Earwig O, Earwig O." Bad joke c1974?