by Barry » Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:38 pm
Sunday 12th October 2014
There we go, the musical Gypsy that I designed, is all done and dusted after seven amazing performances, everyone a powerhouse of energy and imagination and sheer professionalism. This ad Hitchcock Blonde, earlier in the year and also at the Garrick, have proved to be hugely rewarding experiences, and immensely satisfying for both me and the packed houses and the cast. but oh it is hard work getting chums to come and see these shows. Yes everyone has lives, and sometimes I'm not able to support friends when they have spent a long time on projects, but I get frustrated when I know what a good time they would have. The 'I'll come next time' rather drives me mad. This is not a DVD. Anyway I managed to bring a few theatre virgins, and they were truly blown away, as I think they had come expecting some village hall affair, not the staggering standard that was Gypsy. On a theatre forum I open a can of worms Imelda Staunton is in this musical in Chichester, and I happened to mention that if anyone was wanting to se the musical and could not get tickets, a darn fine production was up here. Well there was barrage of snide, uninformed remarks along the line ' oh do come and see my production, aunties cat is playing momma'. I remember talking to the resident director of a huge touring show, mentioning that one performers actions were pulling the focus from the main action. Again, a sneering ' oh and you must know, do you.'. Well, he was pulling focus, simple as that. Anyway, Gypsy, was an amazing achievement, and really could have happily graced more prestigious stages. I'm gutted though that a film about Florence Foster Jenkins has been announced, with Meryl Streep as Florence. I'd had such fun with Florence in Glorious, and had hoped one day to revisit her. Trumped again. But oh I love doing these shows as I really get to understand the brilliance of their construction, and Gypsy is a masterpiece.
A finally, the series that we have been working on for the last year, has been announced. Do look on the net for Twirlywoos. There are no clips yet, just a few photos of the characters.
I'm still working away on my feature script, and another new element popped into text, changing everything bt improving it, and making it almost watertight. but how long will it keep evolving. I'm just trying to get my head round Final Draft.
There has been a tentative request about gathering all the puppets I have worked on together....sadly I don't think that is practical. Dear latex puppets have, as they should, a limited life, and most of my puppets that still exist are scattered all over Europe and the logistics of getting them together would be extraordinary. Interesting that it emerged that some of the puppets for Boxtrolls were not stop motion but CG characters given a stop motion look. Some sort of fuss aboutall that, but it's all about the technique needed to get the shot, and in one scene in question, animating dozens of dancing characters, it must surely have been impractical to use puppets, not just for the sheer numbers but for physically getting one's hands in to the puppets. By preference, I am a purest, but we have all resorted to tricks. The whole process is a trick, so yes, go for whatever tells the story, as long as it works and is good. Though there was something in the paper today about some animation that was so realistic as to be pointless. Yes, I like to see the trick, and with Gypsy and Hitchcock Blonde, the audience were certainly part of the trick.
A good week, and I shall miss Gypsy Rose Lee and her sassy ladies and lads. But I can rest content knowing it was a job well done.