by Alan Sillitoe adapted by Roy Williams Education Resource Pack By Helen Cadbury

Transcription

1 by Alan Sillitoe adapted by Roy Williams Education Resource Pack By Helen Cadbury

2 Contents Introduction 3 Tour Dates 4 Two Writers - One Story 5 Interview with Roy Williams - playwright PART ONE 6/7 Director s Thoughts 8 What Goes on in the Rehearsal Room 9/10 The Cast 11 An Actor s Life 12 Meet the Acting ASM 13 Meet the Production Manager and D/CSM 14 Stage Management Rehearsal Notes 15 Interview with Roy Williams - playwright PART TWO 16 Design by Lydia Denno 17 Devising Workshop 18 Social Context 19 Further Resources 20 This is a searing text of class, the criminal justice system and race, set in the Olympic year of 2012 in the shadow of the riots of In real time of the long distance race, we follow Colin Smith, a defiant young rebel who inhabits the no-man's land of a young offenders institution, as his steady running rhythm transports him over a harsh frost-bitten earth. During the race we will find out why, for whom and for what he is running...!! 2

3 Introduction The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a new adaptation for the stage by Roy Williams (Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads, Sucker Punch,) of the famous short story by Alan Sillitoe, which in 1962 became an award-winning film of the same name. Age group: there is some strong language but the themes and issues will be of relevance to any students aged 13 + Curriculum Links: this is a great show for all secondary students with strong links to citizenship and PHSE, sociology, politics and history. It will be a brilliant opportunity for students of Drama and Performing Arts at GCSE, BTEC or A level to experience cutting edge contemporary live theatre. It is an ideal fit for English GCSE as a companion to studying the original short story by Alan Sillitoe. And, according to TV s Jack McMullen, playing Jase, it s a cool play. The pack has been created during the rehearsal process with interviews, accounts of rehearsal room practice and links to online resources to enable students to gain an insight into the process of developing the work from page to stage and to explore the roles in professional theatre. While Pilot s Website and the brand new Pilot Extra - unique schools offer - will carry up to the minute media resources about the show. A Pilot and York Theatre Co-Production touring nationally from Autumn 2012 Workshops are available throughout the tour. Contact Pilot on Have you heard about Pilot Extra? Develop your relationship with our award winning national theatre company today, without having to leave your school. For only 150 (cheaper than a half day workshop) your subscription will give you exclusive access to: Extended resource packs Live Q&A session with a member of Pilot Theatre's creative team High Quality 'How to' videos Inside access to the working processes of a professional theatre company 10% off all Pilot Theatre workshops Online Forum Network Exclusive termly education Newsletters Rehearsal Photos by Ben Bentley The material in this pack may be reproduced for classroom use only and not for resale or reproduction in print or electronically without the prior permission of the author or photographers. Education Resources by Helen Cadbury with thanks to the cast, creative, production and admin teams, and Tom Lenham for editing the Pilot Extra films. 3

4 Tour Dates York Theatre Royal Sep 2012 The Rep, Birmingham 2-6 Oct Gala Theatre, Durham 9-13 Oct New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich Oct Nottingham Playhouse Oct Liverpool Playhouse 30 Oct - 3 Nov The Brewhouse, Taunton 7-10 Nov Theatre Royal Winchester Nov Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield Nov Sign up for our e-newsletter to stay in the loop about this and future tours. Savannah Liburd-Gordon, Eliot Barnes-Worrell and Tom Bellerby 4

5 Two Writers: One Story Alan Sillitoe was born into a working class family in Nottingham, in 1928, where he experienced a childhood of extreme poverty. He left school at fourteen and had a series of jobs in local factories, including the Raleigh bicycle factory. Just after the second world war, he developed tuberculosis and, while recovering at an RAF base in Wiltshire, turned to books. He began to read everything he could lay his hands on, from classic literature to philosophy and contemporary British fiction. In 1952 he met the poet Ruth Fainlight in a bookshop in Nottingham and they fell in love. They moved to the Mediterranean but the stories he wrote there were still inspired by his life in Nottingham. His novel, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and the collection of stories, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, were infused with the gritty reality of his home town. Five publishing houses turned down his work, because they believed it to be too negative. In the post-war era, stories and films tended to portray British working class people as chirpy, up-beat comic characters. Fortunately the editor at the publishers W.H. Allen saw the potential of Sillitoe s work. The critics loved Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and it was soon made into a film directed by Karel Reisz, with Sillitoe as screenwriter. It became a landmark of British New Wave Cinema. In 1962, Sillitoe s screenplay for his story The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner was made into a film starring Tom Courtenay. It was another hit. He was always a political writer and was during the 1960s was invited to the Soviet Union, who celebrated him as the west s only true spokesman for working class people. In 1968 he bravely spoke in front of the Congress of the Soviet Writer s Union, in front of President Brezhnev, and denounced the human rights abuses he had witnessed in that country. He campaigned for many years for those imprisoned unjustly in the eastern bloc. Alan died in 2010 and there is a website with information about his life, events and writing competitions set up in his memory Alan Sillitoe Roy Williams photo: Juliet Vail Roy Williams was born in 1968 and brought up in Notting Hill, London. He was the youngest of four siblings, brought up by his mother, a single parent who worked as a nurse. Williams was struggling at school and began going along to watch rehearsals at a theatre company run by his mentor, Don Kinch. After leaving school at 18 he did various jobs, including working in McDonalds. At 25 he took a theatre-writing degree at Rose Bruford College and has worked ever since in writing, becoming a BAFTA winning and Olivier Award nominated playwright. (Plays include Sucker Punch, Fallout, Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads, the screenplay for Fast Girls and several scripts for TV.) Roy has adapted the story of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner into a play set in modern day London. By his own admission he has kept about 70% of the original text, but interestingly, he has found that the social and political messages, that were at the heart of both the book and the film, still apply today, especially against the backdrop of last summer s riots and the government s attempts to make social change and a lasting social legacy from the London Olympics. 5

6 Interview with Roy Williams Playwright PART ONE In April 2012 I met Roy on Skype to talk about the ideas behind his adaptation What made you want to adapt this particular story? A couple of months ago I was talking to the director and actor Sam West. He asked me what I'm working on and I said I'm doing The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and he got really interested. He was asking why I was doing it and I said the reason was that Colin, the character in my version of the story, is a socialist, but he doesn't know it. That has stayed with me and informed my thinking. He's someone who knows things are wrong, but he doesn't know how to articulate it. It says something about this generation who are growing up. They maybe don't know as much as we did, and I don't mean that in a patronising way, but I think they've been force fed a fast-food, material wealth culture. But like Colin, they know something's wrong and don't know what to do about it. So that's when you get the riots. They were angry, and they felt disenfranchised, but they didn't know what to do about it. You've written about an earlier riot, The Broadwater Farm Riot, in your play Sucker Punch. How different do think the riots of August 2011 were to those in the 80s? It wasn't originally my intention to write about rioting. After I wrote Sucker Punch, I was slightly nervous about writing about young people at all. I felt maybe I should do something different. But then I pitched the idea for Loneliness to Marcus Romer (Pilot's artistic director) and we both agreed to make it contemporary. I was slightly worried that I wasn't exactly testing myself because I've written about some of these issues before, but then August 2011 happened and I thought, no, I do need to respond to this and I really felt that the adaptation was the perfect way to tell two stories. To tell the original story but also have the contemporary story of those riots underneath. The difference in the riots 30 years ago is that it was more political. There was real anger from the youth growing up, about unemployment and racism, especially between black youths and the police. There was a lot to be angry about. But what saddened me about the riots last year, was that even though it started from a base of anger, in reaction to Mark Duggan getting shot by the police, it soon turned into something else, in which so many people saw an opportunity just to rob stores and take trainers and computers. I thought that's not anger, that's not passion, that's just lining your own pockets. That made me very upset. Much as I was angry about the David Camerons of this world and all their lies, I was also angry about those young people behaving in that way. I was thinking, come on, you're no better than he is, you're a greedy capitalist yourself. It annoyed me when they were comparing them with people who rioted in the 80s, who actually felt they had something to fight about, an establishment who hated them. It's very complex, because as much as I'm angry about them robbing stores, I'm also angry about the sentences they got. You nick a pair of trainers and you get two years and then there's the hypocrisy about phone hacking and MP expenses scandals and how those kind of people get off with much lighter sentences. 6

7 Interview with Roy Williams Playwright PART ONE continued In the story, Sillitoe uses the first person to get inside the character s head. How have you tackled that in the play? That was something I was very keen to do in the play. The film doesn't quite do it obviously because it's a film. But when I read the story, I thought, that's so exciting and that was one of the first decisions I made, to make the play real time so that all the flashbacks he has are going on inside his head, as he runs this race, I thought that would be a really exciting thing to do. Let's talk about the ending (without giving too much away!) Is your ending more optimistic than Sillitoe s original story? Well where it ends in the play, is a tiny bit before it does in the book, because I want young people to come out on a high. I want it to end at the strongest moment, he's done it, and although he s got a lot of hard times to come, there's also the possibility that he's got a future. I remember the first time I watched the film and I remember the ending and how I was stunned. It made me talk about it and ask 'why did he do that?' That's what you want people to ask at the end of the play. There's a strong theme in the story about young people needing to work things out for themselves. In the book, it's as if the governor just wants the glory for himself. In your adaptation, the Stevens character also gets it wrong. Is that because he wants to change Colin, but he doesn't understand that it has to be Colin's choice? hope people agree when they come to see it, that it is very respectful to the book. It's Alan Sillitoe's story still there, we've just put a modern spin on it. So much of his language is still in the play because when I read the book, I thought, well I don't need to say it better than he does. It's all there, so why mess with it. Did you do any particular research for this play? A few years ago I wrote a play called Slow Time which is set in a young offenders prison, and I did a lot of research for that play. I went to a YOI in Aylesbury to interview the officers and the boys, a lot of that of informed this play. Do you have strong ideas about how you see the characters and will you be involved in the casting? I know Marcus is going to be auditioning soon, around the end of the month. If and when I can, I'd like to be in on the casting. He's the director at the end of the day, so the final decision is his and I'm sure he'll make good decisions, so I'm not worried about that. I'm just keen to hear it read, because I haven't heard it out loud yet. I'm really eager to hear some actors speak the words, so I know that it works. I'd really like to be in rehearsals for the first two weeks so that I can make sure we've got it right. I'll be working away on the laptop every night! Yes, that's it. Colin's saying, I'm not going to do what you want me to do; I'll do what I want. But he loves running, so that's his dilemma, he says 'this is the only time when I feel truly alive' and that makes him even braver when he has to make a decision. Should he win the race for Stevens, who he despises, or is he running for himself? We caught up with Roy in rehearsals, see: Interview with Roy Williams Part Two. Pilot Extra subscribers will be able to see a video of Roy during the rehearsal process! Back then and now, we re not doing enough, we're waving the moral finger at young people, but we're not giving them the opportunities to change things for the better. Even though I was very keen to put it into a modern day setting, I was pleased, and I 7

8 Director s Thoughts with Marcus Romer: Artistic Director and Tom Bellerby: Associate Director Marcus: The premise behind our production of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, is that the audience watch Colin Smith run the race of his life, from start to finish in real time, live on stage. As Colin runs, he is reliving how he got to this point in his life. The other actors and the video projected onto gauzes and onto the 3-D set show the audience what s going on in his imagination.the challenge as a directer is to keep all that moving. One of the principles we have in the work we do at Pilot is that we don t have robbers. By which I mean people in black who come and steal the furniture between scenes. It interrupts the flow of the piece. Anything that arrives or is seen has to happen as part of the action, by the characters you see before you. We use technology, projection, lighting, soundscapes: not for the sake of it, but where it enhances the telling of the story. For example by using gauze (which you can see through if you light behind it, but not if you light onto to it), we can play around with the idea of people appearing and disappearing like shadows in memory. We can put images at any place on the set, so we can locate what s in Colin s head. We have two projectors and a 3-D server, so we can move the images. When Colin turns round, all the objects move with him. It s great working with a writer of Roy s calibre on a new play because he s in the rehearsal room, being part of the process. It s a fantastic story by Alan Sillitoe and a great privilege to be working on this version for today. Tom: I m staff director on this project. For Marcus, Roy and I, day one of rehearsal felt like the beginning of the last stage of the project. We ve had the script for so long that it feels good to be getting going with the actors. The first day of rehearsals was August 20th and I confirmed my involvement and read the script about six months ago. It s strange to think that in six months time this show won t exist anymore. In that time time, the script has changed and gone through different drafts, but it s great to finally hear the words spoken out loud. As a director, one of the best things is knowing you ve got the right people, so we re really pleased with how we ve cast it. Seeing people working together in the rehearsal room, seeing the cast gelling together, that s great. We do a lot of character work to make sure everyone has a physical relationship before we start to delve more deeply into the text. Then we need to think about how we block the action. We don t do that in a very prescriptive way but as a directing team we have to agree on our conventions: which areas of the stage represent what; when to have Colin running and when not. And then it s about making sure things are interesting and have energy and also that scenes don t become cluttered in the space too much. Some encounters, for example between Colin and Jase, need to be free-flowing and use more movement, while others, like the scenes with his parents need to be far stiller. Want to read more about what goes on in rehearsals? Have a look at what our two student interns discovered on pages 9 and 10 Pilot Extra Subscribers can watch a video interview with Tom Bellerby 8

9 What Goes on in the Rehearsal Room through eyes of Millie Romer, studying GCSE Drama Being in the rehearsal room, I've been able to see how the whole team comes together, how they form a 'family', make new friends and work together to create a believable and exciting piece of drama. One of the most essential parts of the rehearsal period is to find the character that you are playing and how that may evolve throughout the production; what their past might have been or what they may be about to experience. Why does your character do certain things during the performance, and what do they think? You have to be confident with who you feel the character really is, especially if you are playing multiple parts and you may have to suddenly dive into playing a different role. To do this the directors, Marcus Romer and Tom Bellerby, did a range of workshops. Hot-seating was one of them. This allowed fellow cast members to ask one of the actors questions, in character, allowing them to further explore who they are playing and their relationship with the person who is, in a way, being interrogated. A lot of improvisation was included, using the idea that you can have a phone call with anyone else, a family member, a friend, someone that we (as an audience member) may not even know about, but you are still using that person as inspiration. It could be the school bully having a phone call with his mum and actually showing that he isn't very tough, but just wants that tiny bit of attention that he can only get when he is hurting other people. Or it could be that the shy young girl is talking to her best friend about her new crush. All these ideas add another angle to the person you are playing. Other exercises were aimed at stirring and digging up hidden emotions which a character may have experienced: Happiness, Anger, Sadness, and Feeling Scared. Not soon after all of those character building exercises, the cast started working on the scenes one by one, getting to grips with how the play might be put together, working on entrances and exits, blocking and at certain intervals someone would come up with ideas of how the lighting might look, or what the projections may involve, how they could integrate certain images. The projections are used as if they are in the headspace of Colin, the main character. They overlap and create a mirage of memories. The cast started off working without props, allowing them to be free with what they were doing and then gradually props were added into the rehearsals. There are very few props in fact, as sometimes it can take the audience's attention off the acting. Once the cast and team had done a staggered run through up to certain points, eventually getting to the end, they went through all of the scenes again, working much more thoroughly to get them closer to how they will actually look on stage. The rehearsal space seems like a very relaxed and enjoyable environment, however, there is also a large amount of commitment. You can make mistakes and you can give your own opinions about how you feel that the scene may go or whether the line feels strange and whether it's possible for the line to be adjusted a little bit. The play is not only created by the directors and the writer: the actors' input, the crew's input, are all important. There are so many people working on the production - making amendments, changing things, sorting out the lights, the stage design, the costumes, working backstage - all of those people who work behind the scenes, without whom the show wouldn't be able to go on. Regularly, people come into rehearsals for a little while to watch, for work experience, as Pilot's productions are aimed at young people, so the company find it really positive to welcome those who are eager to find out more and participate in rehearsals. It's a great privilege to be able to do that. 9

10 What Goes on in the Rehearsal Room through eyes of India Smith, studying a degree in Theatre and Performance It's amazing how much can be learned from simply watching and listening. When rehearsals began on The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, I pulled up a chair in the rehearsal room and sat and observed everything around me, from the basic warm up, right down to the interpretation of a particular spoken line or word. Straight away I noticed how the cast and crew were all working as one. There would be moments when the writer, Roy Williams, would sit with the cast and ask what they thought, whether a phrase or word was up to date, would it sound better another way? The sound designer might ask what sort of music inspires or motivates the cast, especially if they were in the same situation as their characters. The director would listen to an actor and vice versa, so there was always room for change and interpretation. There were discussions with everyone, reflecting what is out there in the real world, and how we are dealing with it in the play. Above all, there was such great respect for every particular person and the job involved in bringing it all together. While watching, I've learned how useful and powerful improvisation is in terms of building characters and relationships. Seeing characters grow out from the actor through controlled situations, or even out of the blue moments, was phenomenal and at times both powerful and moving. It was about creating a story for every character outside of the script and painting the bigger picture. A particular technique I picked up on was a phone call to someone elsewhere, whether it was a character from the play or an imagined character, like a spouse or a parent. It was interesting to watch each of the characters develop, as they became an actual person with family and feelings, not merely someone who happens to be in the story of the protagonist. The cast discussed how these techniques benefitted them: It's so easy to play it two dimensional, but it's nice to explore my characters. I can take my time for conversation. I never thought about him much as a character. When it came to situations between characters, even those who never cross in the story, it allowed the actors to find out what they would say in situations beyond the ones written and establish where they would stand in relation to everyone in the play, both verbally and non verbally. Allowing the improvised situation to move around, or stay still, created different relationships and different reactions. It was interesting to watch as the character had to make decisions. Introducing the treadmill in order to explore the mind of Colin created a whole new pace of thought. A lot more passion and true feeling came out, which was honest but at times so much more gritty and hard hitting It all comes out when you re running, you know, physically - Elliot. Direction with blocking has been interesting to watch too. In this particular play the actors immediate instincts are used, then modified to adjust to the staging and visual effect. Then by looking more closely at how they would react and respond, modified again. I hadn t realised that there would be such a high level of attention to detail and I've loved how the script wasn t overly read into, but was instead physical and active from the word go. The progression from the beginning to the middle, which has developed into a fully blocked play, still with room for nips and tucks, is really quite stunning and the depth of character that has been found throughout has been almost overwhelming for me as an onlooker. The opportunity to watch and even occasionally contribute has opened my eyes to a particular way of working, and especially working with people in a physical, verbal and visual way. Another lesson I have learned is how different the rehearsal process and cast relationships can be from play to play, company to company, theatre to theatre. Something I will need to consider from this is that being flexible, adjustable and openminded will be a very useful skill to have in this particular business. I have to admit, I have been inspired. 10

11 The Cast Elliot Barnes-Worrell Colin Smith Doreene Blackstock Mum Curtis Cole Luke/PC Dominic Gately Stevens Savannah Gordon- Liburd Kenisha Luke James Gunthorpe/ Prison Officer Jack McMullen Jase Richard Pepple Dad/Trevor 11

12 An Actor s Life So you want to be an actor? What does it really involve? Most actors work from job to job, with periods in between when they are unemployed or take on temporary work outside theatre. When they come to together as a cast, often they have never met before and yet they will immediately work closely in a high pressure environment to get the show ready. They will stay together as a team while they take the show out on tour for several months. On the first day of rehearsals, everyone comes together at a Meet and Greet, followed by the first read-through. The atmosphere is up-beat and there are lots of smiles. First impressions are going to count for a lot and will lay the foundations for the working relationships of this new team. What s the most exciting thing about starting a new job? Alix: Thinking about getting out on stage! When it all comes together and you start to feel the rhythm of doing the show every night. What s it like working with people you ve never met before? Richard: It s a bit like the first day of school! Dominic: Nervous! Whatever your level of experience. (BTEC Performing Arts/Business) What s it like working away from home? Alix: I come from South London, so I m a few hours from home. I ve worked abroad before, so I m okay about that, but I still feel it when I leave for a substantial amount of time. I call it living in Narnia, this unreal world which exists for a short time, you almost forget the people back home. What s the biggest challenge of this show? Eliot: I m running for about 60% of the show, so I m going to be covering about 50K a week, doing 8 shows a week. I ve had energy bars and extra water in rehearsal to keep me in condition. What are the pressures just before the show opens? Dominic: You start dreaming about the script. The hours are long in the last week, with technical rehearsals and dress rehearsals, but you have to be patient and stay focused. Over to you: 1. List the personal qualities and skills which you think make a successful professional actor. 2. Make a list of targets for yourself, which will help you on you own journey to become an actor. 12

13 Meet the Acting ASM Spotlight on Luke Wright - Day One of Rehearsal What s your role in the production? I m playing the part of Gunthorpe and a prison officer and I m also the company ASM. What does being an Acting ASM involve and how did you become one? It means being an assistant stage manager but also having an acting role. It s the first time I ve done the job and it can be very varied, so I m still finding out! But basically I will be supporting the DSM (Deputy Stage Manager) on tour. To find out more about the role of an ASM and the ways it varies in the different kinds of theatre, go to: We meet Luke again on Day 4 of the rehearsal process It s been going very well, we re progressing! After the read through we did a few warm up games, because no-one in the company knew one another, so it was a question of getting ourselves comfortable as a company. On the second day we went through some improvisation exercises in groups and as individuals. My character doesn t particularly interact with the other characters until the end of the play so I ve been thinking about who he is, what his backstory is and what he s like as a person. During the rehearsals I m focused on the acting at the moment, but I m also taking notes on the stage management aspects and the role I ll have on tour. The challenge of getting the set into and out of each venue will be interesting! I ve done various different roles in theatre, working my way up to this stage. I ve been working as an actor and recently I ve had the role of producer with York based company, the Flanagan Collective. I think developing my experience in stage management will be really helpful to augment the producer role. Pilot Extra subscribers will be able to see a video of the first day of rehearsals and watch interviews with the actors. 13

14 Meet... Production Manager: Mark Beasley and D/CSM: David Dunnachie First of all, Mark, Can you tell us a bit about your role on this production. Mark: I m Pilot Theatre s Production Manager. I m responsible for the tour, so I liaise with all the different venues and make sure the set is going to fit. I m also responsible for hiring and firing our production staff (hopefully not firing!) In this instance. I m also lighting the show. As lighting designer I m involved in rehearsals and collaborating with the other designers, Lydia Denno who is designing the set and costumes and Sandy Nutgens who s designing the soundscape. Lydia and I are working on the video projections together. She s creating the graphics and I m working out how we actually project them onto the set. David, what is your role? David: In rehearsals, I m the Deputy Stage Manager. I look after the cast, make sure everyone's here, make sure everyone s safe. Also I take notes to keep a record of everything that happens in rehearsals. That s useful if the show is ever revived again, then we ve got a note of where everything goes and how everyone moved. I send all the rehearsal notes to the production departments every day, which updates them about things, for example sound effects that are needed or costumes that have been changed. How does your role change on tour? I ll be calling the show, so giving all the cues for the lighting and sound and for the travelator. I ll also be Company Manager on tour, so making sure everyone's safe and happy and everything s going to plan! This is a question for both of you: what skills to you need to work in the production side of theatre? Mark: A sense of humour! David: Yes, definitely! You have to be able to work with all sorts of different people, co-ordinate lots of different things that are happening at the same time, so you have to be very organised. That helps! Yes, I d say you have to be a people person and organised. Mark: I think you have to be good at problem solving as well. Especially on the moves, because you ve got to fit in with all the different venues. It s about coming up with solutions all the time, rather than obstacles. Can either of you think of anything you learned at school which you find useful now in your career? Mark: That s a tough one! I don t know... A lot of it s been life-taught. Communication skills I suppose, they are key. David: Definitely communication skills, being able to think while under pressure, dealing well with stress! Over to you: 1. Write an advertisement to recruit either: a production manager or a DSM/CSM role. 2. Role play an interview in pairs, try to find out if the candidate has the required qualities and experience. Left: David writing up the rehearsal notes (see following page for the real notes David was writing.) 14

15 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner: Rehearsal Note 5: 24 August GENERAL / COMPANY 1. We had a stagger run from the beginning of the play up to page 46. This ran at 52 mins. WRITER 2. In the scene with Chicken Cottage, where Colin and Kenisha are sitting talking,the line I read the tweet, got the IM like everyone else..., Mr Romer would like to change IM to BBM (Blackberry Messenger). 3. Mr Romer would like to cut Colin s line There s a window left open... on page 36. PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT 4.Are the posts of the set stable enough for cast members to lean against? STAGE MANAGEMENT 5. Please see wardrobe note 13 below. 6. Kenisha (Ms Gordon-Liburd) will chew gum. 7.Jase (Mr McMullen) will use a mobile phone on page 42. TECHNICAL STAGE MANAGEMENT 8.No notes today, thank you. LIGHTING/PROJECTION DESIGN 9. Lighting - a special will be required for Kenisha / Greg in the DSL corner of the set. PRODUCTION DESIGN 10.No notes today, thank you. SOUND DESIGN 11. In QLab, the Cameron mute/turn-up/mute doesn t seem to be working. I ve been manually fading in rehearsals. PRODUCTION ELECTRICS 12.No notes today, thank you. WARDROBE 13. Mr Pepple (Trevor) would like a gold chain, wedding band and watch as part of his costume. Do wardrobe have these items in stock? Thank you, David Dunnachie D/CSM The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Over to you: Create rehearsal notes for you next production following this model. Even if you are creating a devised piece, you should get used to making notes of any changes you have made or any props or costumes you need and who is going to find them 15

16 Interview with Roy Williams: Playwright PART TWO Roy Williams, who has adapted the story of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, spent the first four days of rehearsals with the actors and directors, fine tuning and honing the language and the structure of the piece. He worked every evening to get it right for rehearsals the next day. Then it was time to leave them to it. At the end of week two, Roy came back to watch a run through of the play. At this stage there were two weeks left before first night. What did you think of the run through that you've just seen? I thought it was tremendous. It was a really pacey, energetic run. It's exactly where I was hoping it would be at the end of the second week. But also there's a lot more than I expected. The actors may still be stumbling over the odd line but they've got the story, and that's the most important thing. As a writer, is it strange to see things happening that perhaps you didn't predict? Yes, it's strange but it's also delightful. At the end of the day, they can't read my mind, they can't interpret how it plays in my head and they're not supposed to. They should make it their own. And that's always what a writer wants to see. That's the moment you want from rehearsals, when the actors make it their own. You've made a few changes to the script during the first two weeks. Will you be making any more changes now? Yes, I think there will be. Nothing major, but some small significant changes. Nothing the actors can't handle. It's all about helping them and tidying a few things up here and there. It's all par for the course but they're good changes, which are there to help them, not to hinder them. What are you most looking forward to on opening night? Seeing it in all its glory. The set, the costumes, the lighting, the sound! We've had little tasters of it in the rehearsal room but I'm very excited to see how it's all going to work, especially the treadmill, that's really exciting. So, bring it on! Rehearsal Note 7: 29 August On page 7, Colin talks about going round the back to break in. Line change suggestion (because he doesn t go round the back) is: It was boarded up. I prised open the boards, went in and raided the office, found some money. 4. Page 12. Do Colin and Jase actually steal a car? I m serious, over there, no word of a lie. You see it? Kenisha which one, Jase Merc /Colin Audi, Sandra McAudi? (or similar. Please discuss!) 5. Page 11: can we change Man U to Liverpool? 16

17 Design by Lydia Denno Lydia designed the costume and the set and also the graphics for the projections.. My process begins with the script. I read it several times then draw my first impressions. I share these ideas with the director and then I modelmake and do more research, until I come up with the white card model and eventually the final model box. The general concept behind the costumes matches the mood of the projections - the idea of a largely greyscale palette which is representative of Colin's mindscape, with vivid colours that jump out at you at particularly iconic moments/encounters in his life. You can see my costume drawings below. I suppose the difficulty has been between wanting to communicate enough of 'real life' -eg the fact that each character spans a period of months and so would obviously change/develop and the obvious specificity of the Young Offenders Institution, while at the same time allowing for this idea of what happens in the mind, (blurring of memories and mis-matching details). Initially I wanted it to be more surreal, with the characters who double up having two costumes which barely differed - eg the female officer being dressed in Sandra's aztec leggings, but in the end we decided it would be too confusing to the audience and actually become a distraction to the ultimate need to tell the story. The research is sometimes interesting: I had to try to find out what kind of pants the boys would wear in a YOI! Over to you: Read Marcus s notes in Director s Thoughts to find out more about how the design concept fits with the director s ideas. When you come to see the show, notice how the set has come to life from the model box stage. Pilot Extra features an interview with Lydia 17

18 Devising Workshop - pre or post show "It's the grafting and hard work. 120 miles, week in, week out long distance is a lonely event." Mo Farah after winning the 10,000 m Gold Medal in the 2012 Olympics Introduction Running has a rhythm like a heartbeat. Writes and scientists often say they get their best ideas when they re out running, Maybe that s why it makes interesting theatre. In this workshop students can explore other sports and how they might be used to tell a story. Warm-up Ask students to lead in turn with an exercise from a sports warm-up, or what they imagine a sportsperson might do to warm up. This could be done individually standing in a space or in a circle, depending on the group. Taking the Space The group should then move around the space, first walking neutrally, avoiding contact with each other, respecting a bubble of personal space around each other which must be maintained. Then, as they move, they should emphasise a part of the body associated with a sport: e.g. the teacher calls out football and they need to focus on their feet leading their movement with their feet, dribbling an imaginary ball. Change this to hands, gripping a parallel bar or holding a racket, or arms, swinging a hammer. Focus on the movement and rhythm of each sport. Before changing to something with a different pace and rhythm. Ask students to suggest ideas once they ve got the hang of it. Group Work In small groups students should choose a sport from the Olympics or Paralypmics. Focus on the movement and rhythm of that sport and how it can be shown in stylised movement. Then consider the characters involved in that sport. Are they a team or are they rivals? Individual work On paper, sketch a brief backstory for each character, what brought them to the point they are at today? Devise a short scene which includes the sport itself being played but also lets us into the backstory of the characters. Use different techniques to let us hear their thoughts: asides/ freeze-frame and monologue/ subtext revealed only through facial expression or small talk/ Rehearse and show. If possible choose suitable music to help the rhythm of your piece. Evaluate: what techniques were used? Which were effective? When you see the show (or if you ve already seen it) compare the ideas you came up with in the classroom with the ideas in the production. What similarities and differences were there? Further exploration Find out about other plays and films about sport. How is sport used as a metaphor? Discuss: What do actors and athletes have in common? Get into running! Here s how Eliot Barnes-Worrell, playing Colin, got involved: 18

19 Social Context THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER: EDUCATION PACK Curriculum Links A level and beyond: History, Politics, Citizenship, Sociology, Drama and Theatre Discussion Resources 1. The Riots: BBC report August 2011 Roy Williams began writing his adaptation in the summer of This page will give you some insights into the contemporary events which influenced his writing Rioting Grips Cities all around the UK! A peaceful protest demanding justice for a man shot by police was the catalyst for the violence that has spread across the country. Mark Duggan was killed in Tottenham, London, on Thursday 4 August after police stopped the car in which he was a passenger. Saturday's protest march sparked unrest and by the end of the night Tottenham was ablaze, with cars and shops set on fire and looters running free. More disturbances took place on Sunday night, but it was on Monday afternoon that they began to escalate. The violence spread first to Hackney, then to Lewisham, Peckham, Woolwich, Ealing, Clapham and then to major cities outside London. On Tuesday, an extra 10,000 police meant the streets of London were quieter but rioting and disorder took hold in Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Liverpool. Go to for a video timeline and in depth description of each stage of the riots. 2. Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions by Paul Mason (2012) publishers blurb. Our world is changing dramatically. The global economic crisis has given way to social crisis: corrupt and dictatorial politics enmeshed with a global financial elite - and an ever-widening gulf between the haves and have-nots. In 2011 this profound disconnect found expression in events that we were told had been consigned to history: revolt and revolution. In this compelling new book, Paul Mason sets out to explore the causes and consequences of this new wave of struggle. From London to Cairo, Wisconsin to Tehran, he charts the new forms of collective action: fluid networks of agile, Twitter- and Facebook-savvy networks of youthful protesters who understand how power works. The events, says Mason, reflect the expanding power of the individual and call for new ways of thinking about political alternatives, elite rule and global poverty. Over to you - Explore the causes of the Arab Spring and the August riots of Discuss whether these events are related. Consider the similarities and differences between their causes and their effects. - Discuss how this issues can be explored culturally, in theatre, film or fiction. - Pick up today s newspaper and circle all the stories which you think could make a play. - Start writing... what are you waiting for? 19

20 Further Resources Get Ready, Get Set... Find out more about the original writer The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, Nottingham writer Alan Sillitoe, from the fantastic website dedicated to his memory. Watch the film of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (BFI Films) which has its 50th anniversary this year. or the trailer of the original 1962 film of A Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner or the trailer for Fast Girls, for which Roy Williams co-wrote the screenplay in Visit Pilot Theatre s Facebook page where you ll find news and links to trailers and further interviews with the actors. for more information on the 2011 riots: and Join us in our regular live-stream broadcasts at Pilot Live Sign up for our unique education content with Pilot Extra. An opportunity for teachers and schools to subscribe to special access to directors, actors and the whole play-making process. Keep up to date with news of the show and the tour from the Pilot Website by scanning the QR code 20