Last call for Pub Quiz Champion – Dev Blog 5

A scene from Pub Quiz Champion, the Studio Piece in Summer 2012

Pub Quiz Champion has its last showing this Sunday (July 20th) at 6:30pm at the Etcetera theatre.

So why a pub quiz?

The question I’ve not been asked, but I’m sure some readers of this blog have been wondering is: given all the wild and varied settings we explored in the early stages of the process, why did we take forward something as mundane as a pub quiz?

While our process focuses a lot on settings at the beginning – and that’s important to give the actors context to work in – in truth the ultimate success of the play relies on drawing the audience into the characters and their relationships with each other.

The second studio piece, Last Order, started with a single two-hander scene between a crippled husband returned from war to the wife he left behind. The third studio piece, The Words I Keep Secret, started with a simple family dinner between a mother, son and daughter in a restaurant. It was the relationships, rather than the settings, that provided our way into the story. In several ways, Pub Quiz Champion combines both the relationship hook of these pieces and the exploration of individual character that powered the first studio piece, Ups & Downs.

For the relationship we have the triangle between current pub quiz champion Steve (created by Francis Whittaker), his long-term girlfriend Alice (created by Maeve McClenaghan) and his quiz-mate / old school-friend Lauren (created by Kim Morrison). It was clear from the first improvisation that the veiled tensions between these characters had stage potential.

For the characters we have a diverse array of old quiz-hands and new talent. All drama is rooted in contrast and – after we’d chosen the pub quiz setting – we quickly established that we wanted to highlight the contrast between the characters’ professional or home lives and the people they became in the heated rivalry of the quiz. We have Donovan (created by Ivo Dinkov), a therapist who’s great at giving advice but unable to take it; Collette (created by Vanessa Okello) whose professional veneer conceals a woman of passionate determination; the fun-loving Jodie (created by Fiona Thomas) whose pranks are a release valve from her dark daily life; and the local barfly Clive (created by James Tully) who struggles between his weakness and his faded nobility.

Acting for KDC is open to anyone, irrespective of age and experience. Some of our members have had a formal dramatic training while others may never have been on stage before. Most often our members have acted at school or university before coming to London, starting work and finding that they aren’t performing any more and want to do something about it. That’s where we can help.

Every play has a week’s run, from Tuesday to Saturday night and (depending on venue) a matinee on Saturday afternoon.

Auditions take place on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings after the Newcomers meeting. Keep an eye on the Auditions page for more details. Directors will normally outline the content of their auditions at the Newcomers meeting, but typically we do not require audition pieces. Auditions are free to attend.

Callbacks are held on the Saturday at the end of the audition week. The director will notify you if you are required for a callback, but if they loved you first time round that may not be necessary.

If you are cast, then a subs fee of £70/£35 concessions is payable at the first rehearsal. This is the only charge that KDC makes on its members.

Rehearsals

We have 3 rehearsal slots per week but obviously you may not be called for every night. These are held at various central locations in London.

On Mondays and Wednesdays we rehearse from 7:00pm to 9:30pm and on Sundays we rehearse either from 1:00pm to 5:00pm or from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.

A Number Cast List

Bernard – Govind Hodgson
This is Govind’s sixth amateur production in the UK and his third with KDC Theatre. Previous roles have included Jack in My Boy Jack and Stiva in Anna Karenena, as well as appearing in KDC Theatre’s 70^th anniversary show, The Long Run. Govind has also performed for KDC at the Edinburgh Festival with Ups and Downs. For this play, Govind has had to shave his beloved beard.

Salter – Bernard O’Sullivan
This is Bernard’s first production with KDC theatre. He has trained with The Actors Company from 2005-2006. Since then he has appeared in a number of short films and plays, most recently as Doctor Wickert in Abby Msann’s Judgment At Nuremberg.

Assistant Director – Ciara Robley
Producer – Sian Wright

F**kArt Cast List

Frank/Simon – Michael Johnston
Michael was born in Northern Ireland, at a young age he started taking part in amateur dramatics and by the time he reached university he had created a backlog of amateur and semi professional experience. At university he studied drama and graduated with honours, after this he started working professionally as an actor and work shop facilitator. Two years later and Michael decided he needed a bigger challenge and moved to London where he became involved with KDC theatre, and the rest is yet to be written.

Nadia – Lisa Moore
Lisa spent years wishing she was involved in acting but only plucked up the courage last year, when she completing some courses with City Academy and got her first role with KDC, as cross-dressing Charlotte in She Ventures and He Wins. She’s since been in another production, Nailing Jelly to a Tree; a series of playlettes devised by the cast, where she played a number of characters ranging from a Scouse wag to a gay man. She’s really happy to have got the part of Nadia and has since been trying to explain to friends and family that F**kArt is not what it sounds like!

Eric – Nick Dastoor
Nick is quite the veteran of KDC productions now, having acted in not just one, but two productions before this: the restoration comedy She Ventures And He Wins and the portmanteau comedy-drama Summers Gone. After psychoanalytic sex comedy, he feels the time is right for a move into heavy, tragic work influenced by Ingmar Bergman … No, he is happy playing the fool.

Electra – Aruna Buchanan Brown
Ever the Drama Queen it’s no surprise that Aruna ran away to join the theatre! Highlights include Oscar Wilde’s Salome (Rock Opera) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and of course, A Clockwork Orange and Anna Karenina for KDC. Production credits include Buddy, Jailhouse Rock and Blair on Broadway in the West End. Aruna is excited for another foray into the KDC world – you know what they say “3rd time’s a prostitute!” or something like that…

Director – Juliet Colbert
‘F**kArt’ is Juliet’s directorial debut. She has worked on two previous KDC productions; as costume assistant on ‘Talking Heads’ and as assistant director on ‘Measure for Measure’ last season. Though she developed an interest in theatre back in her school days, Juliet hadn’t been directly involved in any theatre work for over 10 years before a friend introduced her to KDC last summer. Having worked as an English and Drama teacher, working on plays with many teenagers over the previous 4 years, directing was inevitably going to be the end goal and it didn’t take long to gain the experience and confidence to get there. Working with actors is not that dissimilar from working with teenagers after all, right?!

Assistant Director – Carrie Johnson
Carrie is a familiar face with KDC but has taken a break from acting this season to AD. Previous roles with KDC include; Hermia in Mid Summer Night’s Dream, Dowdy in She Ventures and He Wins, Ursula in Ups and Downs and Fran in Stags and Hens. She is also currently rehearsing for the Olympics Opening Ceremony where she will be dancing under Danny Boyle’s direction (and hopefully getting some directing tips)

Carrie’s only hope for ADing is that she doesn’t treat the cast like 5 year olds as she’s far more used to directing children’s theatre; then again…

A Number

Bernard Salter has learned a disturbing truth. He is not alone. A number of copies of him exist in the world and his own presence among them gives him pause. The only person he feels he can turn to is his father, but does he want comfort or answers. And what happens when another Bernard appears on the scene?

To put it bluntly, this is a play about cloning.
To put another spin on it, this is a play about identity.
With yet another spin, this play is about father/child dynamics.
The play itself, like the subject matter, is able to take on so many different identities.

The play debuted at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 23 September 2002 and starred Michael Gambon and Daniel Craig.

F**kArt

Sex sells and no one knows this better than Simon, cousin and silent partner in the business that is ‘Frank the artist’. Though Simon and Eric, Frank’s brother, may not approve of Frank’s questionable approach to production, Simon knows that “people like filth” and that the art world and the general public are always ready to buy into that.

F**kArt is a provocative, dark satire on the state of the art world. The play explores the relationship between art and sex and in doing so, questions the morality of the society we live in.

Summer Season Posters

Help us to publicise the summer season shows by downloading, printing and proudly displaying the posters:

A Number and F**kArt Poster

Conference Call and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You Poster

Pub Quiz Champion (The Devised Piece) Poster

Studio Piece Summer 2012 – Dev Blog 4

Arthur Zacharias as Anatole, Beril Kaya as Justine and Tracie Laurinaitis as Summer
in a scene from Last Order, the Studio Piece in Spring 2010

Guest blog – Trina Hasthorpe Assistant Director

Hi, I’m Trina. I’m the Assistant Director of the devised piece: the newly-announced Pub Quiz Champion.

Staring at the web of multi-coloured scrawl on reams of A3 that are the fruits of our labour from the first devising session, I had my doubts. Reading through the character descriptions, setting notes, questions, answers, demands, and trying to follow the arrows that snake between them had me thinking – How could these disparate ideas generated by 7 strangers possibly evolve in a few short weeks to be a script – let alone a staged show?

At the halfway point now, with first draft in hand and a full run scheduled for our evening rehearsal, I am absolved of all doubt. In fact, my doubt dissipated weeks ago as I watched the actors, guided by Richard, bounce confidently and skilfully between a multitude of diverse and largely off-the-wall scenarios: bourgeois households to alien territories to lands of talking animals to the behind-the-scenes of a comedy club. I’ve seen reluctant farmers feed guerrilla armies, innocent husbands poisoned by spurned lovers, backroom witches tempt lonely priests and the elusive Danny Jones break more hearts than you can poke a stick at, but finally our story has found its home – in the more conventional yet highly entertaining setting of a local pub quiz.

The devising process that Richard has developed can be frustrating: having to let go of particular ideas about stories and characters is difficult at times, but the process relies on relinquishing control of the direction of the plot and dialogue decisions in order to give the actors free reign. And it pays dividends – the resulting script is funny without being affected, heartfelt without being cliché and honest without being boring. What was once scrawl is now a play – and a bloody good one at that.

Summer Studio Piece: Pub Quiz Champion

KDC announces the summer devised piece
After weeks of devising, KDC are proud to announce the title of the new Studio Piece for this summer season. Two performances only on Sunday 15th and Sunday 22nd at 6:30pm at the Etcetera Theatre, Camden. See it for less if you’re watching another KDC show this season (details below).

Pub Quiz Champion

Nothing much happens in the quiet town of Ansoforth. The height of excitement is the weekly pub quiz, billed as a good-natured, relaxed affair where taking part is more important than the win.

That’s what it should be. But that’s exactly what it isn’t.

As the answers go in, the knives come out. Dirty tricks, swiping team members, nobbling the barman, it’s all fair game as the quizzers’ game-lives and private-lives collide in the quest for the title of Pub Quiz Champion.

Cast:

Fiona Thomas
Francis Whittaker
Ivo Dinkov
James Tully
Kim Morrison
Maeve McClenaghan
Vanessa Okello

Directed by Richard Williams
Assistant Director Trina Hasthorpe

Tickets £12 (£8 conc.) (Etcetera Theatre Club members £10.50/£6.50)

Two performances only, 6:30pm Sunday 15th July and Sunday 22nd July

Etcetera Theatre
265 Camden High Street
London NW1 7BU

Important Booking information
Booking is open now on the Etcetera Theatre website listed as ‘Studio Piece’
Book online for 6:30pm, 15th July or 22nd July through Ticket Web

http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user?query=search&region=xxx&category=misc&search=studio+piece&x=0&y=0#

Or book for either performance over the phone on 020 7482 4857

If you’re coming to see another show in the KDC summer season _before_ Pub Quiz Champion then you can get the Etcetera theatre member price (which is £1.50 less than regular ticket prices). When you come to see your first KDC show this summer season (or any Etcetera show in the last year) make sure you pick up your Etcetera Theatre Club membership card (the cost of the membership is included in a regular ticket price). Take that card along to the box office when you come to see Pub Quiz Champion and buy your ticket at club member rates.

In short:
1) Buy a regular ticket for your first KDC show of the season
2) Get your Etcetera Theatre Club membership card when you come and see it
3) Book your ticket for your second KDC show over the phone
4) Pay the Etcetera Theatre Club membership ticket rates in cash at the box office.

Please note:
If you want to use the Etcetera Theatre membership discount, you must book over the phone rather than TicketWeb. The Box Office are not able to refund or reduce a TicketWeb ticket.

Phone bookings will require you to pay cash at the box office. There’s more information about phone bookings here: http://www.etceteratheatre.com/index.php?id=7