Off Tempo - Notice of Cancellation

Hello everyone,

It is with genuine regret that I have taken the decision to cancel the school play, Off Tempo, this year.

While I understand that this will be disappointing for many people, myself included, I have thought long and hard before reaching this decision and feel that the reasons for ceasing production are convincing enough.

Before I explain those reasons, I’d like to say that all of the work done so far by the writers and cast has been excellent and entertaining, and it is important to note that the reasons have nothing to do with any pupil contribution so far.

My reasons are as follows;

Time – we have only eleven weeks left before our performance dates. In this time we have to finish blocking more than half of the play, choreograph the dance sequences, rehearse the music, rehearse the music with the scenes, get costumes, fit costumes, organise lighting, sound effects, props, etc., put in any orders for specialty items, technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal as well as creating any multimedia resources for use in the play. Not impossible to do all that in eleven weeks, but when you take into account the pressures on the rest of us – notable 4^th year prelims – and a third year parents evening removing one of our rehearsals (as well as several other weeks where study club will not be running) and it starts to look like an un-climbable mountain of tasks. I don’t want to put anyone on stage if they’re not going to look their best, or put anything in front of an audience which is not ready.

Exams and the Curriculum for Excellence – With this being the first year of the National 5 prelims, and having Intermediate, Higher and Adv. Higher prelims approaching as well, the priority for all students should be on success in school. If the school play, as I have tried to keep it in previous years, had minimal impact on this then there is no conflict. Given the time constraints mentioned above, it would be too disruptive to the learning of the seniors to try and push on or push back the dates of the performance.

Absences – I include myself in this, as well as anyone who has been/will be absent from a rehearsal. It pushes everything back. Normally, if someone is absent without informing me, or multiple times, recasting is the result (a necessity, not a punishment) but when there is a legitimate reason, a note from a parent and I’m told in time, it isn’t prudent to punish people but at the same time rehearsals can end up behind schedule.

Please understand that this is a very difficult choice for me to make, I do not make it lightly, and I hope you can appreciate that I have made it in the best interest of you as a company.

I am not – however – suggesting that we do nothing. For some, especially the seniors, this is the last chance to perform for an audience.

I have a backup plan which I would like to discuss to provide an opportunity for producing something entertaining, engaging, pupil-devised and most importantly, possible in our limited time frame.

I would therefore like to hold a meeting on Friday 10^th January in Room 40 at 1.10pm for any actors in S4-6 who are already involved in the play (and S3 if you take Drama) and any musicians who you can bring along, to discuss this plan.

Mr. Harris

Rehearsal Schedule - Draft 1

Hello All,

Hopefully, this will be the first and final draft of the rehearsal schedule.
Obviously, history has proven that this is not the case.

However, until further notice, this is the current rehearsal schedule!

Any problems, issues or questions, write a comment on this post.

Mr. H.

School Play Rehearsal Schedule

Charley Sitter, Bronan Calder, Aileen Erginsoy, Briony Scholes, Rachel Morrison, Bethany Sargeant & Emily West are called for every rehearsal.

Date	Scenes		Actors
	3.30 – 4.30	4.30 – 5.30
20 Nov	1, 2,	10
4 Dec	3	4	Thomas Wright, Dean Pirie, Michael Laing, Leah Christie, Lesley Nicol
11 Dec	6, 7	7	Lesley Nicol, Dean Pirie, Lucinda Lock, Rebecca Finnie
18 Dec	Music & Songs Inter-scenes	Scenes 1-7	Whole_Cast
8 Jan	Scenes 1 – 7 (missing 5)		Whole_Cast
15 Jan	8	9	Molly Melville, Zoe Gordon, Linzi MacNeil, Uma Dahl, Lauren Cross, Andrew Simpson, Connor Hutton, Lee Tarling, Dean Pirie, Thomas Wright
22 Jan	11	12	Leah Christie, Molly Melville, Sasha Allcott, Andrew Simpson, Lucinda Lock
29 Jan	5	5, 13	Connor Hutton, Thomas Wright, Megan Williams, Lee Tarling, Adam Walker, Rebecca Finnie, Leah Christie, Sasha Allcott Lee Tarling, Adam Walker, Rebecca Finnie, Leah Christie, Sasha Allcott
5 Feb	Music & Songs Inter-scenes	Scenes 8-13 + 5	Whole_Cast
12 Feb	Scenes 8 – 13 (plus Scene 5)		Whole_Cast
19 Feb	1-4		As required
26 Feb	5-9		As required
5 Mar	10-13		As required
9 Mar (Sunday)	Full Technical Rehearsal		Whole Cast, Crew, Musicians
12 Mar	TBC		Whole_Cast
16 Mar (Sunday)	Full Dress Rehearsal		Whole Cast, Crew, Musicians
19 Mar	TBC		Whole_Cast
20 Mar	PERFORMANCE
21 Mar

Off Tempo - Auditions, Casting and Rehearsals

Hello all,

Auditions were held last Wednesday, Friday and Monday, and a cast list has finally been organised.
Auditioners were myself, Sasha (assistant director) and Leah (choreographer). We all put in our thoughts, and I made the final decisions... after a few last minute paniced conversations!

Everyone, as with the last few plays, was excellent in the auditions. It was harder this year than it has been before, I think, but I'm happy with the final list. Remember, if you've not got as big a part as you'd have liked, casting is about who suits which role - not about who's 'best or worst'. Everyone did well.

Without further ado, here is the cast list,

Obviously, this will all make more sense once you've read the actual script, which should be printed and available to collect this week.

An audition schedule will be up before Friday, and I hope to do scenes chronologically so we'll start next Study Club with scenes 1 & 2

An important note - any future information or communication will be done through this blog, so please either subscribe via email or check back regularly for updates.

Any questions or queries, please contact me via a comment on this blog.

Thanks,

Mr. H.

Off Tempo

Writing tasks have (for the most part) been divvied up.
The deadline for first drafts is Monday, September 2nd

As always, if you want to ask any questions at all, comment on this post.

Scenes
What follows is information on what people are writing;
I am writing all of the present day scenes - basically the very beginning and very end, as well as one time-travel scene (it's a secret for now).

Time Period/ Scene                   Writer
B.C.                                            Andrew Simpson
Classical Era                                Lucinda Locke (and possibly Aileen Erginsoy)
1920's Jazz era                            Rebecca Finnie
1950's / 60's Rock 'n' Roll           Leah Christie and Sasha Allcott
1960's British (Beatles, etc.)        Lee Tarling, Ben Angus, Douglas Watt
Classic Rock (1970's)                 Leia Scott and Jordan McNaught
Michael Jackson                         Michael Laing
80's - 90's Pop                           Bethany-Ann Sargeant
90's Rock and Metal                  Forest Lawson

All scenes must follow this loose template

[ The characters arrive
(There is a problem to solve
(They learn a little about music - the technical side, the artistic side, the cultural impact, whatever you like
(Some jokes or comic events
[They leave

If all characters arrive together and leave together, it doesn't really matter in what order these scenes take place.

Characters
So that all the writers are working with the same core characters, I will give a brief outline of each one;

I will write these as if they are all female, but really they should be able to be either gender.

The Leader - Jane (or James) - She is headstrong, confident, honest and brave. Sometimes, that confidence leads to her making rather brash or hasty decisions. When this happens, she always does the best she can to fix any problems. She is always there for her friends, but is too easily distracted by other things to be a really good listener.
The Chav - Lynn-Leigh (or Kai) - She is glamour obsessed, has no taste, is not particularly clever or bothered about being clever, and honestly isn't that nice. She can be really sarcastic and bitchy. However, she is also fiercely loyal and will protect any of her friends from anyone else. She can abuse them... but that's it! She has an opinion on everything and it's usually ill informed or just wrong.
The Stupid One - Frances (or Francis) - She is very kind, very noble and always tries hard... but she is awfully slow. Sometimes taking five or six lines of dialogue to get the punchline of a joke, and never able to keep a secret, she can easilly get the others in trouble, but will then do everything Jane tells her to do to solve it!
The Tough One - Kim (or Ken) - She does martial arts. And not the little sprightly martial arts either, the full contact, Thai-Boxing, street fighting kind. She is a good person deep down, but nobody told her fists. She is strong, brave, quick to anger and likes to punch first, kick second, bite and headbutt third, and then (if her opponent is still standing) ask questions. She really wants a boyfriend, but refuses to play the simpering little woman hanging onto his arm. If only she could find a strong man who would accept her for who she is!
The Shy One - Rachael (or Richard) - She is clever, insightful and has a great capacity to problem solve. If only she could speak loud enough that anyone else could hear her. Rachael is the brains of this bunch and often solves the issues at hand before anyone else, it just takes her a while to tell them that. She is seen, but not often heard. Many times, when everyone else is distracted (or off stage) she will engage the audience in a monologue... declaring her hope that one day she will find her voice.
The Foreign One - Olga (or Simyeon) - No one knows much about Olga, except that she is friendly and brave. She seems to smile and try to take part with activities (and adventures) but he English is limited and what words she does know, she doesn't know what they mean. She can be useful in a pinch though, and mimes very well when it is essential to understand her.
The Geek - Natalie (or Bernard) - Natalie is not part of the group... she is merely a contacter who has lent them her help. When the group asked for help, she agreed if only to perform social experiements on the group themselves. She doesn't really understand social conventions, but she does try to fit in - think Sheldon in Big Bang Theory but not as unkind.

Good luck everyone, and if you can keep me updated on your progress.
Thank you, and have a great summer,
Mr. Harris

Announcement - "Off Tempo"

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Here we are again!

After a brief break of Easter Eggs and Exams, it's time to start looking to the future and planning next years Play.

There have been loads of ideas - loads of really good ideas - thrown about, and I think one of them has landed. It came originally from Mr. Mackay and has been expanded by myself. I don't want to start publishing plot details yet, but its going to be fun. The working title is "Off Tempo".

As with "What you do not say" in 2011, I intend to have a portion of the play written and possibly directed by senior pupils. It worked extremely well having Gillian Lambie take the lead with the writing duties, and I'd like to see many more pupils given the opportunity. Most senior pupils have been told what this involves, and have expressed interest, and this post can act as a forum for any discussion you want to hold about it (over the summer holiday's for example). Don't forget, if you do want to take part in the writing process, the deadline is TODAY, July 1st, to claim your scene(s).

There will be a meeting on Wednesday 3rd July for anyone interested to come and "put their names down" to show they're committed to taking part, although we won't be auditioning until August/September.

This post, the first for "Off Tempo" can also be used by any member of the company to communicate with me, either over the Holiday's or afterwards, for any and all questions related to the play.

Mr. Harris

24 Hours to go...

I hope everyone is as excited as I am (and a little nervous. Good nervous though!)

One day to go!

The call is for 5.00 tomorrow please - I'll be in school right the way through, as will a whole bunch of pupils. Feel free to disappear, or stay in school. Make-up will begin at five, and we'll be doing warm ups and costume from then too.

See you all tomorrow!

Mr. H.

Sunday 10th March - Good job folks!

Today's rehearsal went very well - we got a lot of costume and prop stuff done in the morning and a full run through in the afternoon.
While there are still a handful of things to think about (volume is a note for everyone), I think it was a very successful first run. Whilst those delivering dialogue have all been doing their best work,I think it's worth noting especially that the ensemble are doing really brilliant work at keeping those scenes alive with subtle facial expressions, body language and very entertaining improvisations.

Anyway, Wednesday is our next rehearsal and I think I'd like to focus on performance skills rather than any actual scenes (though I'll probably change my mind - you know what I'm like), projection being the main one. Also, final costume and prop requirements as well as notes from todays rehearsal.

Once again, good work today from everyone, and I hope you're all as excited as me for opening night.

Mr. H.

Sunday 10th March - Rehearsal

Hello all,
Just a quick note to remind anyone who needs reminding that tomorrow's rehearsal is from 10am until 4pm
I am giving a lift to Connan M. and Rachel F.
You should bring a packed lunch or money, as the School Canteen will not be open.
Please bring any and all costumes or props which you know you are bringing.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow - I hope you all are too!

Mr. H.

Down the Line Poster

Hello everyone,
Here is the poster for our school play, DOWN THE LINE.

There are copies in Room 40 for cast and crew to collect - I'd be really happy if everyone could take them and place them all over Speyside this weekend; In shops, library's, community centre's, village and town halls, churches... anywhere and everywhere (that's legal).

If you're not in the cast or crew, but are still viewing this blog - please come and see our play, and email this poster to all your friends so that they come too!

- Mr. H

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

There will be a further change to the rehearsal schedule to accommodate some pupils’ commitments elsewhere;

• The 6th February rehearsal (“The Last Book”) will be switched with 13th February Rehearsals (“The Plan”).
• So, if you are involved in the storyline with OLIVIA, you’re now rehearsing on 6th Feb, and if you are in the storyline with JACK and his CLASS, you’re in on 13th February.
• If there are any issues with this, please see me or leave a comment on the blog on or before Monday 28th January (7 days from this posting)
---
• ENSEMBLE – Every cast member in the ensemble will be required for every rehearsal from 30th January onwards.
• Some Ensemble parts still need alteration. We will do that at the 30th January Rehearsal.
• REMEMBER – If you miss 3 rehearsals without informing me first, your part will be recast. There is an updated cast list on the notice board – if you have any issues or questions, see me during break or lunch, or leave a post on the blog.

Mr. Harris