Round Table Readings – 6 May 2014

Our next Round Table Reading is again at the Hoop and Grapes, Farringdon.

This week we have three plays to read, details below. It’s free to attend and you can read, listen and give feedback about the plays.

THE CLUB
By MATTHEW PARTRIDGE

Tabloid columnist Alex is at war with the modern world. However, he’s in love with shallow TV presenter Celia, while’s she’s pursued by other men. A confrontation with one of them, the failed actor Grant Hughes, causes events to spiral out of control.

WHAT’s YOUR POINT GRANDAD?
by EDDIE COLEMAN

Talking with his grandson, Jim has a flashback to a time in the past when he made a life changing decision.

FISH BOWL
by SUSAN GRAY

A couple have been selected to by a corporation to bring up a child in dystopian world. But when they start to ask questions, things start to go wrong.

Halloween Writing Project 2014

KDC are gearing up to follow the success of our What the Dickens new writing project from 2012 with a NEW challenge in 2014. For this year’s Halloween season, our new writing challenge is to take a comfortably familiar bedtime story, and turn it into more of a modern, slightly grim, slight gritty campfire horror urban legend. Instead of getting lost in the wood, little girls in hoods get lost on the tube. Instead of abandoned cottages in the forest, there is the only flat in the creepy estate with a light on. “Once upon a time, far far away” becomes “Tonight, just round the corner from you, on that street you don’t risk walking down too late”.

So far, we’ve authors working away on Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. But we want more!

It won’t cost anything to submit. You don’t need to have written loads of plays before. If you want some help along the way, we can provide that. In 2013, the Dickens plays got the chance to be performed as our Halloween show. Who knows, this time next year, it might be this! And YOU have the chance to be a part of that.

How it works

1) If you’re interested contact our new writing co-ordinator, Matthew, or our Artistic Director, Andy.

2) When you contact us, you can either suggest a story you’d like to play with, or if you are open, we will give you one to play with!

3) Scripts don’t have to be long at all. We would like each one to be around the 10 – 15 minute mark. 20 minutes is ok. 25 is pushing it. 30 is the maximum really (but if you’re taking more than 30 minutes to retell Snow White, you probably have too many songs or animals doing the washing up as it is

So get in touch, and let’s huff and puff and blow this Halloween away!

Round Table Readings – Summer 2014

When: 7pm, Tuesday 29 April
Where: Hoop & Grapes, Farringdon

The New Writing Round Table Readings return in fine form for Summer 2014. As usual, there is no charge and everyone is welcome!

Last Orders by Phil Thomas

A pub at the bottom of a condemned tower block on an East London housing estate is an hour away from demolition. However, for Doug the owner, it might be last orders in more ways than one.

Terra Firma by Susan Gray

A politician and his wife are stranded in a post-apocalyptic Earth as part of a reality TV show.

New Writing Double Bill – Cast

17 – 21 June – Rosemary Branch Theatre, Shoreditch

Casual Encounters by Andy Moseley – directed by Carl Fletcher

‘Casual Encounters’ is a comedy about a middle-aged couple and their ill-fated attempt to spice up their ailing marriage by having an evening of casual sex with new partners.

James and Jennifer have been seeing a marriage counsellor, when she tells them they should try something new, James decides this can only mean one thing – wife-swapping. Not that he’d want the neighbours to know, and to keep his new hobby a secret he’s been trawling the internet to find a suitable couple for their first casual encounter.

What he and Jennifer haven’t realised is that not everyone tells the truth online. When Peter and Annette arrive, they find this out as it becomes clear that wife swapping is simply a front to get into the house. Their actual intentions are something altogether different and darker, and they know that James and Jennifer’s embarrassment at what the neighbours might think means they are powerless to stop them.

With James and Jennifer cornered in a perfect trap, one thing is certain, their marriage will never be the same again…

James – Terry Scotchmer
Jennifer – Kat Wootton
Peter – Graeme Thompson
Annette – Kim Morrison
DC Cook – Nick Edwards

Manger A Trois (The Dinner Party) by Doc Watson – directed by Caitlin Homes

This dark comedy opens as a prominent couple in the food and restaurant world, Him and Her, await the arrival of her ex-partner (He) to dinner. It will be the first time that Her and He have seen each other since their separation ten years ago.

It is also the night before the opening of He’s latest restaurant.

While Her and He are initially curious to see what has become of each other underneath the public success of their careers, Him is unhappy to have to put up with their reunion and acts to sabotage the gathering.

Their tangle of professional and personal rivalries are played out through the evening, with each course being accompanied by cutting conversation and biting revelations.

As they tussle for the continuously changing balance of power, they find out more than they bargained for: regret, jealousy and revenge are only some of the dishes served up on a platter.

HIM – Cameron K McEwan
HER – Gemma-May Bowles
HE – William Baltyn

Twelfth Night – Cast

24 – 28 June – Rosemary Branch Theatre, Shoreditch
Directed by Alex Hedges
with original rock-and-roll songs composed by Yaron Hollander

Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies. This version will be set at the English seaside, in the 1950s. To a backdrop of rock-and-roll music, the production will explore the atmosphere of a country emerging from the dark shadow of two world wars, with a focus on the change and continuity in the position of women in this period.

At the start of the play, a young man named Orsino sits on the beach listening to Elvis and fantasising about the beautiful Olivia, who has turned from all men ever since losing both her father and brother in the war. Meanwhile, Festa (Olivia’s cousin) returns to the town after many years, bringing with her her friend Viola who, like Olivia, is mourning the loss of her twin brother, Sebastian, who went missing in the war. When Festa tells Viola that an attractive, single young man (Orsino) lives in the town, Viola decides to go and meet him. She decides to go disguised as a man, hoping that this will be an easier way to get to know him.

Viola, dressed as the boy Cesario, becomes a favourite with Orsino and finds herself falling in love with him. Orsino makes Cesario his wing-man, sending her/him to speak to Olivia on his behalf. Olivia instantly falls in love with Cesario. A love-triangle ensues: Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Cesario!

Viola – Amy Wackett
Festa – Cindy Ma
Maria – Ayryn Jones
Olivia – Jasmin Hinds
Malvolio – Doug Baker
Toby Belch – Bernard O’Sullivan
Andrew Aguecheek – Olli Marshall
Orsino – Greg Robins
Sebastian – James Saunders
Antonio – Hassan Govia

Summer Season 2014 Auditions

Date: 22 – 24 April
Time: 6.30pm

Venue: Clean Break Studios, 2 Patshull Road, Kentish Town, NW5 2LB. The nearest tube is Kentish Town

Our auditions are free to attend. You can audition for all three shows on the same night, or indeed any combination you wish. There’ll be committee members on hand to help every night so we promise you’ll be well looked after!

Please come along on whichever day suits you but do bear in mind that the last night is usually very busy so we’d advise you come on an earlier night if you can.

This season’s shows are…

17 – 21 June – New Writing Double Bill

The Dinner Party by Doc Watson, directed by Caitlin Homes
Dinner with the husband and the ex – lingering emotions escalate with each course.

Casual Encounters by Andy Moseley, directed by Carl Fletcher
A couple try to spice up their life with a little experiment in swinging, but it’s far from what they’d expected.

24 – 28 June

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, directed by Alex Hedges
A fifties twist on the gender bending comedy.

Actors needed!

Plays in a Day is performing this Saturday. We are short of four men for Rumble.

Rumble is a comedy about four men who try to push a female employee out of a construction company. However, she fights back revealing a web of sexual and financial corruption. The roles are:

Russell – Allison’s line manager. He wants her fired so he can give the job to his mistress.

Alan, Benedict & Martin – The three directors. Along with Russell they’ve been taking backhanders from subcontractors.

Mr Christophe – The French owner of the firm. Has a cameo at the end.

If you know of anyone who’d like to take part, or would like to take part yourself – please let new.writing@kdctheatre.com know ASAP.

Summer Season 2014 Newcomers

Date: Wednesday 9th April
Time: Join us from 7pm for a drink. The meeting will start at 7.30pm
Venue: The White Swan, 20 Farringdon Street, EC4A 4AB. The nearest tube is Blackfriars

Each season we hold a Newcomers Meeting where the directors will tell you more about their plays and the audition process. It’s a great way to find out more about the season and of course you can quiz the directors and committee too.

Summer Season Shows

Next season we’re at The Rosemary Branch Theatre in Shoreditch from 17th to 28th June with a New Writing Double Bill and a Shakespearean classic with a twist. Click on the play title to read the audition notices.

17 – 21 June 2014

New Writing Double Bill
Casual Encounters by Andy Moseley – directed by Carl Fletcher
Manger A Trois (The Dinner Party) by Doc Watson – directed by Caitlin Homes

24 – 28 June 2014
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare – directed by Alex Hedges

Keeping In Touch With Temptation Cast Biographies

sq_bradjohnsonBrad Johnson
Hi, I’m Brad and this is my second show with KDC after The Player Played last year. Unfortunately, that was not long enough ago to grow my hair into the required dreadlocks I would have liked for this play. Although The Player Played was wall-to-wall with laughs, I have enjoyed the more serious side of this play. Hope you enjoy it!

sq_cathalpowerCathal Power
My name is Cathal and I’m home to a parasitic intestinal worm named Harvey. He forces me to funnel copious quantities of whey protein isolate into my gullet. He’s usually a genial lodger, but is prone to occasional fits of malice during which he hijacks my nervous system.

 

emmasaundersEmma Saunders
So I’m 27 and a London lass. I have lived on a boat since I was small. A creative soul, I studied Architecture at university which was horrific, not for me. It was like slowly peeling off a scab, scarring me forever. Acting being something I have always dreamt of, I have only reached enough confidence to go for it in the last couple of years and am starting drama school in October at Drama Studio. I am also a freelance photographer and go out to Ibiza to photograph weddings and events in the summer. Pressure is on to save for drama school fees, but I’d rather slice off my own earlobe than not go. So fingers crossed, touching wood, I can raise the funds. Oh, and working with KDC has been a joy.

sq_frankigeorghiouFranki Georghiou
Having performed Gormenghast last year with Sedos, the door was opened for me to take part in a KDC production. And here I am in Keeping in Touch with Temptation. My favourite parts of our rehearsal process have been talking about dead mice, pretending to chop each other down like trees and demanding personal information about each other in quick fire round games! I’m really pleased to be working with a group as equally as crazy as myself with a range of tasty characters created in the midst of it all. And I look like a lightbulb.

sq_hollysparklesHolly Partridge
This is Holly’s first production with KDC.

 

 

 

sq_niamhshigginsNiamh Shiggins
This is Niamh’s first production with KDC although she has been treading the boards since before she could even spell ‘actor’.  With a string of plays, short films and even a TV pilot behind her; she is now ready to show London what she has to offer for the first time.  Hailing from Wexford in Ireland, and with a MA in Drama and Theatre Studies, Niamh pretends to be a teacher during the day and an actor at night.  She has extensive training in the Chekhov technique as well as La Coq, Acting for film and Voice which will come in very handy for one of her roles as the faceless and androgynous voice of the sadistic fan Frank.

stephenballStephen Ball
Stephen returns to the stage for the first time in ten years during which time he has worked on various drama projects with homeless young people at New Horizon Youth Centre where he develops performances from improvisation. Previous theatre includes The Marriage of Bette and Bo, Bust, Tigertree, Man of Mode and A Mad World, My Masters. Stephen has trained at City Lit and Oval House Theatre as well as working extensively with Charles Verall.

sq_tadzindiTad Zindi
Keeping in Touch with Temptation marks Tad’s first amateur performance and he couldn’t be more pleased about joining a diverse cast for this production with KDC.  Tad’s passion for drama started from a young age and has only intensified since joining KDC. Behind the scenes, Tad is a football fan with a keen interest in music, travel and discovering new experiences (Master of ceremony for a wedding 3 years ago). Being a part of the cast for Keeping in Touch With Temptation is a valuable stepping stone in Tad’s acting path and can’t wait to take to the stage. #shareyourlife

Tanya Jewth
This is Tanya Jewth’s second production with KDC, having previously appeared in Summer’s Gone in 2011.

sq_victoriaharrisonVicky Harrison
This is Vicky’s first production with KDC and in the last six years, so this piece was as surprising as a shoe-wearing iguana. Back in Worcester, Vicky performed in Popcorn and The Dresser with STAC and many a college production. Vicky studied dance and has performed in Nic Green’s Trilogy, Marie Dolaker’s Thea’s Frozen Footstep and with PrefaceMorn, Wire and Attitude dance company.

With thanks to Carl Fletcher (www.carlfletcher.org) for photos of Brad, Cathal, Franki, Niamh, Tad and Vicky.