Bridewell Theatre notes (Informal Summary)

26.02.2016

Bridewell theatre (notes on the theatre itself):

1) Used to be a Victorian swimming pool; smaller width and larger depth of stage. 2) Back wall at an angle. It was mentioned that the acoustics aren't great, and this should be taken into consideration when thinking about sound. 3) Wood colour is blue; Not to be painted. however it lends itself to current show.

4) Sight line: can't see actors on balcony from back. 5) Trapdoors: use but use CAREFULLY (this was emphasised!) Entrance point behind audience seating. Centre line of theatre is slightly off centre stairs. The true centre lines up with trapdoor.

6) No use of wings, however if a back panel to the staging can be incorporated then space behind that could be used for potential storage, or temporary wings.

7) Interior scenes must be able to be moved on and off of the stage.

Notes on production:

1) Refer madness: based on awful film from the 1930s on the effects of marijuana on youth. Leads straight A students to a path of bad choices and murder and suicide etc. Attempted to be a serious film.
2) Showing world as a cartoonish musical; the world exists as a cartoon. Everything very 2D looking? Edward scissor hands type environment, meaning everything bright colours, pristine, American modern view of perfect town and community.

(Image from Edward Scissorhands, Dir. Tim Burton)
It was emphasised that boundaries should be pushed! Thinking outside of the box and going big is encouraged! My thoughts and extra details: A white card model or sculptures of potential sets would be a good next step to take, if I so choose to work/ or am assigned to this production. A stack of TVs? Tv head? Object head costumes? Look at cartoons possibly inspired by the 30s??

Costume; keep them as a separate brief. Communication of colour palette and shapes. Budget; £1000 Potential for prop costume. Show: May 14th 15th get in. Show opens on 17th.

Stage specific photos: Bridewell Theatre

Photos taken specifically with audience views in mind.
Top image in from back row seating.
Above image is taken within actors space looking into the small undercut at the back. Photos not great quality due to taking them on my phone!

Bridewell Theatre location photos.

I put together a small mood board of the photos I took at the Bridewell theatre, showing the performance space from all angles as well as taking photos from certain tricky audience sight lines, e.g. the balcony is not visible from the back row seats. Details like this must be taken into account when designing for theatre, as not all the audience will be able to see the same view depending on seating.
These images also show the kind of aesthetic that the building already has in terms of architectural design and colour scheme. These potential details could also be used to the designers advantage when considering the visual narrative of the play, e.g. The stage had a lot of depth to it, which may be used to create physical or emotional distance with the audience within the narrative.

The details of the theatre space included a trap door, a long but narrow stage, little use of wings, Victorian styled architecture from where the space used to be a Victorian swimming pool.

Building Photos

Particularly picturesque buildings on the way to the 'Reefer Madness' project briefing, at the Bridewell Theatre, 26th February 2016.

Learning Agreement.