Today we went to West Yorkshire Playhouse for Off Stage Choices, a day about the other jobs in Theater that aren't about acting. The planned day was as follows:
So we met up with each other inside, and then Mrs. Woffinden registered us while we went up to make our name badges so the staff could identify us. We then moved off to the Quarry theater where we were greeted and told about the day with allot of energy about it, setting the mood for the rest of the day. We were then split off into our school groups and we were taken around for a backstage tour, seeing all the behind workings of the stage. The tour lead us around the back of the stage (obviously), through to the "construction" area where they make all the sets and props for their productions. We were then taken up to the costume department, and shown the costume designs for the "Aladdin" production. We had a quick skim over one rehearsal room, then we went outside and over the road to one of the other rehearsal rooms. There, the tour ended and we moved into a near-by room for the Make-Up workshop.
The Make-Up workshop flew by, and in essence was extremely simple. The effect we were making with the make-up was bruises, and when we were shown the demo, it didn't even take too long. It was mixing and rather thinly mixing purple, red, yellow, and green in a round, but random, way to create a bruise. The woman that was leading the workshop made a realistic, authentic looking black eye. And when it came to us making them, all of them also turned out that way. It was simple, yet good looking. After this we walked round to the next workshop on Script Writing. Here we had a look at the sort of process and thinking a script writer goes through when writing a script, then we were given a scene to wright a short script for. The scene was Aladdin going to a Magical complaints department, saying there was something wrong with his lamp, so we made a short scene on that, a few groups performed theirs (including a "Little Britain" reference). After that, we were given the begging of a scene, where one person is trying to persuade the other to get a glass of water, but the other is having none of it. When we "finished" them (Improvisation required) we performed each of them to show what we'd done, and to have a bit of an amusing finish to the workshop. So, with that finished, we left for a break to get a cup of tea (or coffee) before the next workshop.
After the break, we moved into the Quarry Theater for the Sound Workshop. In this workshop, we not only went up into the technical booth to see all the buttons and nobs and screens, but we had a quick listen to some tracks to help chose the sound that would be in the market place for the Aladdin play. We also got to sit at the Sound Directors desk, and act as certain parts of the job, such as the direct itself. In that we got to shout orders at those who were on the microphones and give them inspiration on what they should be shouting into the microphones, using them to create the atmosphere of a market place, where Aladdin is set.
We then moved down into the Priestley rehearsal room for the Marketing workshop. Here we got to see what goes into marketing, which is more than I though there would be. They brain storm, plan out, and pump out events and promotions, and all of the sort to publicise what ever production is on, and after a very brief talk we spent the rest of the time brain storming ideas our selves, here is one of my groups for events: 
The two in the cloud-type things are the chosen two ideas, those which we thought would be best for promoting the play of Aladdin, and after saying our ideas we left for lunch.
After we had eaten we went upstairs for Scene Painting. We started by thinking about what the guy who was taking the workshops job actually is, and in that we drew a blank. After he explained, he leaded us over to have a look at a scale model of the set of Aladdin, showing us the design of it. We then spent the rest of the workshop working on making fruit/vegetable or lamp pictures to go on the signs that will be in the Aladdin set come day of the production. I would have had my piece on there, but I made more of a grand design than a quick, simple thing that could be done in the time given...
Then, we moved into huuuuuge rehearsal room for the "Speed Date Session", whee we moved from one staff to the next asking the questions on what there job is, what WYP is like, etc. and find out much more about the place (I got footage of all the ones I went to). That quickly ended, and we moved back into the Quarry for a small set of performances on what we'd been working it, a final good bye, and a questionnaire on the day. All in all, a fun, hectic day of nothing but information. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt allot of the jobs that go on off of the stage, out of the audiences sight.
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