Pitches for Autumn 2018

This Autumn KDC is seeking three directors to perform in two weeks in November. We are inviting pitches for productions that you, as a director, are longing to stage. We are also seeking directors for two very dark and very different one act plays, which are being brought together for the first time.

She takes place over 1 night in a restaurant, 3 stories, different perspectives, all leading to this one moment; a simple action with violent consequences.

Stiff invites the audience to see the other side of death, set in a mortuary; how will the night shift cope when confronted with a familiar face?

We want to know what will make your production special. You can pitch for as many productions as you like and, if you can’t make the dates of this season, we would love to know what you would have pitched. After all, spring is only round the corner…

Key dates for directors

13 Sep 2018 – Season Launch Event – Hoop & Grapes, Farringdon
17-19 Sep 2018 – Auditions – Theatre Delicatessen – Deli Studios
22 Sep 2018 – Recalls – Theatre Delicatessen – Deli Studios
24 Sep 2018 – Rehearsals Mon/Wed/Sun – Various locations
6-10 Nov 2018 – She/Stiff – White Bear Theatre, Kennington
27 Nov – 1 Dec 2018 – Production Week 2 – Barons Court Theatre

Process for pitching

1. Pitches open Thurs 26 July 2018
Prospective directors to register interest by completing this contact form by Mon 6 Aug. The scripts for the two one act plays will be forwarded in response

    2. Complete questionnaire By Mon 6 Aug 2018
    Prospective directors to complete KDC pitch questionnaire (see full list of questions below)

    3. Interviews Mon 30 July – Tue 14 Aug 2018
    Prospective directors will meet with Steph, Artistic Director and Sarah, Chair. Steph will be in touch to arrange the meeting once contact form is received

    4. Decision Mid-August 2018
    Autumn productions and directors confirmed

    For information – the full set of questions are listed below, in case you would like to prepare your answers in advance of completing online.
    1. Name
    2. Email address
    3. Dates pitching for:
    a) 6 – 10 November 2018 at White Bear (directing ‘Stiff’ or ‘She’)
    b) 27 November – 1 December 2018 at Barons Court Theatre (directing my own choice of play)
    4. Name of the play are pitching to direct?
    5. * Author
    6. * Date of first publication? (This can be found on the information page at the front of the published script)
    7. * What is it about – please give a brief description of the plot of the play?
    8. How would you characterise the genre?
    9. What do you like about this play?
    10. How do you plan to present the play?
    11. Why would your production be great for KDC members to get involved in?
    12. What experience do you have of working with/managing groups of people? This can include theatre/directing experience or experience from another area of your life.
    13. * What is the approximate running time of play? Will you have an interval?
    14. Number of actors needed/sought?
    15. *What is the likely male/female split of your cast?
    16. Do you plan to work with an assistant director or producer? If so, do you have someone in mind?
    17. * If your pitch is successful, we will apply for any performance rights needed. However, sometimes the rights for plays are unavailable. To avoid disappointment, we invite directors to consider a rights free production, which could act as a back-up if their first choice isn’t available. If you would like to submit a full proposal for another play, you can complete this form again for a different play. If you already have other plays in mind and would like to let us know what they are, you can include them here.
    Is there anything else you want to tell us?
    18. Do you have any questions?

    AGM 2018 – Agenda

    Hope you can make it to the Hoop & Grapes, Farringdon Street, for the AGM. The agenda:

    1. Introductions
    2. Apologies
    3. Quorum
    4. Differences with previous AGMs
    5. Election of Trustees
    6. Proposed amendments to the constitution:
      1. Amending Membership rule at s(8)(1)(c): “… are not payable.” to “… are not payable; or
      2. Addition of Membership rule at s(8)(1)(d): “by having been appointed by the trustees to assist in the running of the charity, in a specified role, without joining as a trustee.”
    7. Proposed bye-laws
      1. Setting of subs
      2. Setting of ticket prices
      3. Permitting electronic record keeping
    8. Appointment of any other Trustees
    9. Appointment of non-trustees to specified roles to assist in the running of the charity
    10. Artistic Director plans for 2018/2019
    11. Treasurer report and accounts for 2017/2018

    Audition FAQ

    Ahead of our auditions for Future Imperfect, we have a handy FAQ of information.

    Want to act in the show?

    Auditions will take place Monday 23rd – Wednesday 25th April at Clean Break (2 Patshull Rd, London NW5 2LB) from 6.45 – 9pm each night, with recalls at the same venue on Sunday 29th (Invite only). You just need to attend one night.

    Audition FAQ

    Do I need to register ahead of the audition?
    No, just turn up and fill out a form when you get there.

    Do I need to pay?
    No, all our auditions are free.

    Will I need to pay if cast?
    Yes, you pay for performance roles so we can keep on making theatre.
    Full price membership: £70
    Concessions: £35

    Please note full price membership means you have no fee to pay if you get cast again within the next year.

    Do I need to prepare anything in advance?
    For Future Imperfect you will not have to prepare anything as it will be a workshop audition.

    What about doing tech/design/stage managing?
    If you would like to take a role that is not on the stage, it would be free, just drop an email to publicity@kdctheatre.com.

    Othello Director’s Note

    Duncan Moore writes:

    My introduction to Othello was walking into the living room where my older brother was watching a TV broadcast of a stage production. Onscreen was scene 5.2, in which Othello kills Desdemona. At the time I was a lippy, anti-Shakespeare teenager and so I merely dissed the production and did not admit the powerful effect the scene had on me.

    Fast forward to adulthood, and Othello became the Shakespeare play I really wanted to direct. Upon first reading, its misogyny jumped out at me. Maybe my take on it was strongly influenced by that first introduction, but for me the play is chiefly about how some men irrationally fear and hate women. Yes, Othello is also a play about racism, but I see it as a play about how women are treated: at its most basic level, it’s a play in which two husbands murder their wives.

    Even before #MeToo and #TimesUp – movements which have brought these issues into sharp focus and which have provided us with a wealth of examples to draw on (e.g. the recent Presidents Club horrors) – we were pursuing this take for our production, set in modern-day Britain. Why this setting? Because racism and misogyny are prevalent here. If they weren’t, hate crime would not have risen by 57% in the four days after the EU referendum. If they weren’t, an estimated 6,000 girls would not currently be being sexually exploited in gangs across the UK. If they weren’t, Reker Ahmed, a young asylum seeker, would not have been attacked and left for dead on 31 March 2017 by a 30-strong mob, simply for being a refugee. If modern-day Britain was not misogynistic, more than 113 women would not have been killed by men in 2016 alone. Two-thirds of these, just like Desdemona and Emilia, were murdered by their partners.

    So when you watch this play, be aware that its narrative is not dated; that Shakespeare’s heroines stand for women from this day and age. Women such as Stacey. In 2014, Stacey mentioned to her friend Angie that she didn’t think a guy Angie knew – who was in a gang – was very nice. Angie reported this to the guy in question, so he rounded up three mates and together they gang-raped Stacey after school. Then they rang more friends who also came and joined the attack: nine of them in total, all assaulting one girl for the ‘crime’ of one ‘offensive’ remark.

    The real crime is the fact that what you see tonight is happening tonight, for real. Women are still being silenced, slandered, sexually harassed and slaughtered. Shakespeare’s play, written over 400 years ago, is tragically more pertinent than ever.

    Othello Cast Biographies

    Billy Knowles – Roderigo
    This is Billy’s fourth production with KDC after appearing in Stags & Hens, Bones and most recently Den of Thieves. Previous shows include The Magnetic Lady, Boom Bang-a-Bang, Bacchus In Rehab, Amore the Merrier and Shopping & F***ing at the Edinburgh Fringe. Billy has also performed in several shows with ARC Theatre Ensemble and as part of The Works, a choir ran by the ENO. Billy has recently returned to touring with Rainbow Theatre London playing various characters in rep, which he’s really enjoying. Othello is Billy’s first ever Shakespeare production and he’s very excited to be part of it and to join a talented cast and crew.

    Martin Shaw – Iago
    Martin studied Drama many miles away and many years ago at a University far away up North. Since then he has worked in the book trade and acted in several theatre companies around the UK. This is his fourth show with KDC, where he reignited is love for acting 8 years ago at the Barons Court Theatre after a 12 year hiatus. Previous Shakespearean roles include Claudius in Hamlet (KDC), Touchstone in As You Like It, Tranio in Taming of the Shrew and most recently Don Jon/Dogberry in The Tower Theatre’s tour to Paris in 2017. Martin hopes you find the character of Iago just as fascinating, ambiguous and as beguiling as he has bringing him to life here. He hopes above all you can forgive him for what he is about to do…

    Stephen Reimer – Brabantio and Ensemble
    Stephen is excited to be a part of this KDC production, his UK theatrical debut no less! Previous credits include HMS Pinafore and The Mikado (G&S), Entertaining Mr. Sloane (Orton), The Bear (Chekhov), and High School Musical on Stage! (he’s not so proud of that last one to be completely honest…) Stephen is from Canada and makes a point of telling everyone about it.

    Ian Green – Ensemble
    Ian is delighted to be returning to KDC. Previously he was Paris in Romeo / Juliet, in which he failed to get the girl so hard it killed him. Other performances include Bob Acres in The Rivals (Sedos), where he barely survived his inability to get the girl, as well as various (sometimes human) characters in the improvised Dreaming on a Midsummer’s Night and the devised Otherworldly (both KDC). Will any of his four (count them!) characters get the girl tonight? You’ll have to wait and see!

    Eddie Coleman – Ensemble
    Eddie has been involved in amateur theatre for the last 18 years, working both backstage and on stage. He has acted, and directed, for KDC Theatre, and was the Artistic Director for KDC Theatre for several years. He is delighted to be back working with Duncan and KDC Theatre in Othello. He also writes and his next play, Fan Girl, will be part of the Edinburgh Fringe this August

    Elliott Bornemann – Othello
    This is Elliott’s third outing with KDC, his second time being directed by Duncan and his first Shakespeare lead. Elliott trained at Rose Bruford graduating in European Theatre Arts. Past credits include Aladdin in a school panto tour of Aladdin, new writing political satire Lottery (Pleasance Theatre), multiple roles in All in the Timing (Edinburgh Fringe) and Judas in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Barons Court Theatre).

    Nick Edwards – Cassio
    Nick has been a member of KDC for almost 10 years and has been involved in 10 productions in that time including directing Breathing Corpses. Other acting credits have been: Bones, Disappeared, Six Degrees of Separation, Casual Encounters and Well Dressed. Nick is very excited to be in his first ever Shakespeare play!

    Helen Jackson – The Duke
    Helen knew she was destined for the stage following her first acclaimed theatrical role as ‘Tree in a Forest’. Since then she has played a tree on two other occasions. Luckily she has also enjoyed some slightly meatier roles where she has (hopefully) been less wooden. This is Helen’s 8th KDC production. She has previously appeared in A Clockwork Orange, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tamer Tamed, Electra, Blood Wedding, Well Dressed and Romeo and Juliet.

    Keir Mills – Lodovico
    This is Keir’s sixth production with KDC having previously exacerbated a family feud as Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, been caught in the middle of one as Dr Cardin in The Children’s Hour, hamming up his Tony Soprano vernacular to its upmost as Sal in Den Of Thieves and most recently laying down some choice ideals in Stuart Slade’s BU21.
    Alongside his stage work, Keir’s on-screen credits include the feature films City Rats and Shaun Of The Dead and acclaimed shorts, Honeymoon, The Outcasts and Green Means Stop. Not forgetting TV Shows including Channel 4’s Teachers and Messiah and the usual rounds of The Bill (R.I.P.) Holby City and Casualty amongst others. Keir is proud of the fact that Charlie Brooker once called him the biggest c**t in advertising for a truly appalling Coke Zero commercial.
    Previous to this, the most amount of times Keir had written ‘Keir’ in any singular piece of writing was five. So Keir is proud to have taken the opportunity to beat this record… comfortably. Keir is pretty sure bio will be cut.

    Izzie Price – Desdemona
    This is Izzie’s second production with KDC, having played Rosalie Wells in The Children’s Hour in 2016. Other theatre includes playing Sara Crewe in A Little Princess (Theatre N16/Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Athena in The Furies and Sybil Vane in The Picture of Dorian Gray (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). She read Theology at Durham University and recently completed a History of Art course at The British Institute of Florence, Italy. Izzie is loving every minute of rehearsing this amazing play, especially with such a talented cast, and hopes you all enjoy the show!

    Graham White – Montano and Ensemble
    Graham is delighted to be making his KDC debut in this sexy production of Othello. The show also marks Graham’s first Shakespeare play, having got a taste for historical dramedies whilst appearing in Sheridan’s The Rivals with Sedos last year. In his spare time, Graham enjoys cutting the McDonald’s coupons out of the Metro and working towards his goal weight of ‘Kim Kardashian West’ (one kilogram to go!)

    Julia Pagett – Emilia
    Julia graduated from Drama Studio London in 2014 after having attained a degree in French Studies from Warwick University. She is currently represented by Inspiration Management.
    Julia is both a stage, screen and voice-over actress. Immediately before this production, Julia finished up a run at The Brockley Jack Theatre, performing in The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, which received 4 Off-Westend nominations.
    As well as acting, Julia is an avid writer, singer and poet with a passion for learning – she is currently using the majority of her free time studying for a diploma in Digital Marketing, her mantra being: ‘Never judge a book by its cover!’

    Lene Kqiku – Bianca
    This is Lene Kqiku’s second production with KDC. She trained as a contemporary dancer in Finland, but after moving to London in 2013 has been actively pursuing her true passion for acting. After studying with a range of acting schools, she has wrapped on a number of short film projects, including the upcoming sci-fi Opus One, drama Brexit and psychological horror thriller Carcera, with more in pre-production.

    Upcoming auditions

    Future Imperfect:

    KDC’s summer show is the return of last summer’s new writing success, What Keeps Me Awake, with the same format and a new theme.

    Until the end of March 2018, writers from across the globe are submitting short plays written for KDC. Writers have only two words to guide them, the title: Future Imperfect. Last year over 130 plays were submitted. From these, 5 directors chose the best 12.

    Auditions
    Mon-Wed, 23 – 25 April 2018
    Registration: 6.40pm. Audition: 7 – 9pm
    Venue: Clean Break studios, 2 Patshull Road, London, NW5 2LB

    Recalls (by invitation only)
    Sun 29 April 2018
    Time: 12 – 4pm
    Venue: Clean Break studios, 2 Patshull Road, London, NW5 2LB

    Performances
    Tue-Sat, 19 – 23 June 2018
    Time: 7.30pm
    Venue: Lion and Unicorn Theatre, 42-44 Gaisford St, Kentish Town, NW5 2ED

    Dress and tech
    Mon 18 June, all day

    Rehearsals
    Rehearsals will be mainly but not exclusively on Monday and Wednesday evenings, and Sunday afternoons. Rehearsal venues are in central London, often at the Hoop and Grapes pub (80 Farringdon St, EC4A 4BL) and Theatre Delicatessen (2 Finsbury Avenue, EC2M 2PA).

    Budding writer?
    Find out how to submit your short play for ‘Future Imperfect’ here.