Now... for a real summary/update/review of Stageworks first tour!

As I probably said earlier on in this, this Blog of a true champion, the Arts Council was very keen on us staging our first tour on our own, to show "willing" I think, or to show we were/are commited to the company.

Well, let me tell you this... staging a theatrical tour with no more money than the company heads can afford to chip in is no small deal. It's hard. Really hard. We've worked our fingers down to rusty looking, smelly stubs... we've argued, fought, fell out, or "loudly debated the facts" as I like to call it. We've lost hours at work in the "real world" losing us money... we've missed social events because all our cash has span away into this cheap looking 60's B-Movie black hole spiral that was the tour. We had to build the bar for Shakers out of a fire door, and some old stage blocks for God's sake.

It still looked pretty good though.

We played Howden, Scarborough, Leeds, Filey and Selby. Sawden and Terrington were on the list, but I think the Earth cracked open and swallowed them both, or at least their BT lines. York was also in there, but the venue... well, the less said the better I think!

So we managed five shows, which were - in respective order... Good, Good, Horrible, Amazing, Great. Let me tell you, playing a show in the city centre of Leeds to NINE people? Not an experience I would ever want to repeat. EVER.

For Shakers we had our very own Cat Moss and Beth Stephenson, as well as Jade Celeste and Dominique Epton, who are sisters. Yes, I got a bit confused as well! Dominique was cast from the Westwood rehearsals which now seem an utter age ago, and Jade was cast in a blind panic on the monday morning of the rehearsals when the girl originally cast had to drop out of the show! Jade's "straw sucking face" will stay with me forever and ever... and Dominique's pervy old men characters haunt my dreams still. The girls worked together incredibly, although the mass panics and "it's not my bloody line" moments were a little scary to see fifteen minutes before the curtain went up!

For Bouncers we had myself, our work experience boy Nathan Bottomley, Alistair Reith and John Forde. John never got the opening dance sequence right. Once. Alistair and Nathan's Gay Disco Cowboys are immortalised in my fragile mind for the rest of eternity. Damn you.

There's a chance that Bouncers will resurface in September to do a lightning tour of colleges and universities... I hope it does. It was a very, very sweaty play, but it was a very, very fun play.

Now... it's all settled. The set is packed away (the fire door bar is in the skip...) and the costumes are getting a damn good dry cleaning. Ew. Ew. Ew. I'm currently surrounded by invoices, bills, receipts, and cash... a reasonable lump of cash that is slowly dripping away into the plughole of theatre. Noone is going to get rich off this tour, but at least we had a laugh, and it didn't cost us anything to put on, and I think that's one of the important things!!

Christmas Carol next at the Castle Museum in York, followed by... let's just say something a little bit special for Summer 2007.

Next time I update this... it'll be Chapter Two - The Perils of Funding.