tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46243630825730542082011-09-22T06:04:44.573-07:00Welcome to the Begin/End blog. Use this blog to look behind the scenes of this brand new contemporary play as it is created. The come and see Begin/End on tour and let us know your thoughts.Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-64951669723808564272010-03-29T06:11:00.000-07:002010-03-29T06:41:41.260-07:00

So it's finally over.Begin/End - does just what it says on the tin. It began and now has come to an end. As a small theatre company Half Moon don't have a repertory company of actors who can be relied on to put on ad hoc performances, so the fantastic Begin/End company will now go their separate ways. Begin/End finished up at Oval House Theatre in London and all the team went down to give it a

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-62580143075965877572010-03-15T08:20:00.000-07:002010-03-15T08:22:13.632-07:00

So, it’s been four weeks since we left the home of The Half Moon Theatre in Limehouse and Begin/End started its national tour. We’ve been to Lough, Gateshead, Bethnal Green, Cambridge, Barking, Lancaster, Deptford and are currently playing at the Salisbury Playhouse. Our first priority was to get to know (and love) our amazingly fabulous bright orange tour van...Jessie! After loading and

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-11324338603384372602010-03-09T07:30:00.000-08:002010-03-09T07:38:01.755-08:00

First time I've been to Cambridge and the Junction in years. The venue looks absolutely great from outside and the work done on the inside has utterly transformed it. My eyes just went straight to Anna's set on stage where it looked so perfect from the height and distance of our seats, it made me say 'wow' out loud! This was the first time I'd seen it since the tech rehearsal, it was like being

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-38139068070917708502010-03-02T08:59:00.000-08:002010-03-02T09:04:57.636-08:00

Rachel, Amy and Trevor reunited again and in Lancaster - good to see the Begin/End posters up and about the town too! Thanks to all who came to see the show and for your questions after the performance.

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-75781475163826010442010-02-17T05:04:00.001-08:002010-02-17T09:56:45.163-08:00

Begin/End has received another review from Lyn Gardner at the Guardian."David Lane's two-hander maps the girls' relationship with intensity, in ­writing that is flecked with everyday poetry" The GuardianIf you missed it in Saturday's Guardian then have a look here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/feb/12/begin-end-reviewMeanwhile the Begin/End company are preparing to return to London with a

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-23685114180514276932010-02-12T06:14:00.000-08:002010-02-12T06:33:42.640-08:00

Begin/End is a beautiful story about a friendship that grows and blossoms until it changes lives and touches people.It is the tale of the trials and tribulations friendship can bring, and how to overcome them.The story is taken from two girls' points of view, and carries a beautiful storyline with it. Lili and Yaz are two lonely girls, trapped in their unfortunate lives. They they find each other

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-40235237854207177612010-02-12T06:08:00.000-08:002010-02-12T06:13:40.094-08:00

A postcard from Gateshead!

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-37229342869899363382010-02-10T08:30:00.000-08:002010-02-10T09:40:37.315-08:00

The tour is on. The van headed off into the sunrise this morning taking Amy, Rachel and Trevor off on the Begin/End national tour: first stop Riverhead Theatre, Louth. They arrived safely and the show is on as I type!Hopefully the show will be as well received across the rest of England as it has been at Half Moon. If you get a chance to see the show then do and then we are happy to post any

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-65812599866933445922010-02-03T05:18:00.000-08:002010-02-03T05:19:13.026-08:00

I have just watched the dress rehearsal. The opening performance is almost here (tomorrow at 2pm!) and everything seems to be in place. The dress rehearsal went very smoothly and the two actors have really got into their characters and are bringing David's script to life. As part of the dress rehearsal we also had the chance to see the textback in action. The textback comes after the performance

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-48617659351587770262010-02-02T19:27:00.000-08:002010-02-03T04:57:17.726-08:00

So we're now in the final week of production, and this is where it really starts to hot up for the stage manager.Up until now I have been looking after rehearsals taking notes on the action of the actors, called 'blocking' which creates a record in the master copy of the script, which we call 'the book'. Along with Anna the designer, we have been finding props for the show as they come up in

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-83784359607627909272010-02-02T05:16:00.000-08:002010-02-02T05:23:59.091-08:00

Hi my name's Lucy and I'm at Half Moon on work experience. Every time I watched a play at Half Moon I wished I could watch one in the making and luckily this week I got to sit in and observe Begin/End in rehearsals. I enjoyed it so much; it is such a powerful play and some of the lines made me shiver. The actors are so good at getting in to character even when things get really tough. I also did

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-35867235615675163292010-02-01T04:07:00.000-08:002010-02-01T04:15:04.113-08:00

The Last week!So today's 'Tech day' where all the lighting and sound and VJing come together. It's quite exciting and nerve racking to see the show in its near finished state, but it is all good preperation for Wednesday [Begin/End opens this Wednesday 3 Feb].The process for this show has been extrememly creative and it's interesting to see how far our characters have progressed from the first

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-42721239045775908552010-01-29T18:00:00.000-08:002010-02-01T04:06:42.130-08:00

Really pleased with the way the set for Begin/End is looking, and the costumes are all sorted now.This week I've been adjusting the 'paper coat', a very important item in the play. During the rehearsal process they have developed a whole sequence around this coat and now it has to come apart in 3 sections, but I don't want to give too much away...Also, I have covered all the props in newspaper so

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-80090018291655859982010-01-28T12:00:00.000-08:002010-01-29T04:06:18.687-08:00

It's been amazing to see Begin/End change week by week at each of my rehearsal visits, and watch the layers of the production build little by little. Two weeks ago the scenes were being scrutinised in some detail; there were long conversation about single pages of script, thinking associatively alongside the actors, director and stage manager to draw up images, stories, and experiences that might

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-2373250990218528962010-01-27T01:52:00.000-08:002010-01-29T02:48:06.299-08:00

This has been a very unusual challenge for me.Creating video which has to be noticed almost subliminally/subconsciously to support the emotional feel of parts of the drama, without being a distraction from the main focus on the characters on stage is something completely new to me. Usually I make very "in yer face" VJ cuts, to go with dance and electronic music! Usually I make images to be

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-86315111602713865252010-01-13T04:42:00.000-08:002010-01-13T05:13:37.357-08:00

I'm Eva and I'm here at Half Moon on work experience, I have been sitting in on quite a lot of the rehearsals for Begin/End.For as long as I can remember I have been coming to Half Moon and always enjoy seeing the plays but I never realised just how much work goes into them. I was lucky enough to sit in on the read through and see everyone's ideas for the making of the play. The actors have to

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-63034505021320850052010-01-07T04:47:00.000-08:002010-01-07T05:08:52.058-08:00

Welcome to the first Begin/End blog. We'll be keeping you updated with all the latest happenings from the rehearsal room and the development of this brand new play. So subscribe to our blog for this behind-the-scenes peek.A brand new play for 14+ audiences, Begin/End is an exciting piece of drama offering a snapshot into a moment of the lives of two teenage girls, which will be touring nationally

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624363082573054208.post-2647935665446766622010-01-04T18:00:00.000-08:002010-01-08T03:15:03.630-08:00

First rehearsal today, and the fist time I'd heard Begin/End read through since a one-day workshop as part of its development last year. The actors are great and the play seemed to read very fluidly, which was a relief! It was fascinating to hear the early contributions from Ed (music) and Paul (video) and see how far they related to my ideas about the play despite never having met either of them

Half Moonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05085674554075345107noreply@blogger.com0