Not just creative tasks, but a full creative week!

I've been in rehearsals for a new musical as director, which has been such a wonderful experience. The show is one act long and has two actors (plus a fab band) onstage, playing the same characters throughout. In some ways, it's a lot more straightforward than some of my recent shows.

It's been a while since I worked on a musical, and so it's been good for me to learn the specifics of managing this type of material. When to set a specific shape for the blocking directly, and when to give space for the actors to work it out in line with the character's intentions. Where we can alter musical elements to match my onstage ambitions, and where it makes more sense for me to adjust. The best bit about the job has always been collaboration.

I have been blessed on this show with some brilliant collaborators. Bart, the writer, is generous and open. He welcomes my creative voice and is excited by the layers of storytelling I can bring with my skillset. It gives me a lot of confidence to operate. The actors, Jamie and Matty, are enthusiastic and insightful. They've jumped straight on board with my vision and have put in heaps of work to enrich the characterisation. They're also always up for giving it a go if I suggest something a bit wacky, and I deeply appreciate that.

Obviously, this blog post is going to end with a plug for the show, but I do genuinely hope this show finds it audience because I've found it really powerful. We're at Platform 9, Brighton from 21st - 24th May (https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/have-you-met-stan-a-new-musical/) and King's Head Theatre, London from 26th - 28th May (https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/31/by-bart-thiede/have-you-met-stan-a-new-musical).