Marketing Pack 2014 Page 1 Dear Venue Marketeer, We have designed this marketing pack to support your promotional activities for The Table by Blind Summit. We hope that it will provide you with all the information you need. If you have any further questions please contact: Sarah Wilson, house Marketing Support Officer. sarah@housetheatre.org.uk/01252 745 419 The Table is a unique show and thus difficult to describe! Its definitely worth taking a look at the promo video's to get a sense of the show. The fusion of the theatre and comedy allows The Table to be sold across different markets. To that end, we have provided a specific mail out for your regular attendees of stand up comedy and one that you might want to send to your audiences of theatre. We also find we have strong audiences of young people - particularly students. The show is partly about theatre and artists, so we have also included some material to help with targeting them. Contents Blind Summit Theatre company About The Table The team Marketing copy Online Marketing Audiences Press Quotes Box Office Information Template Press Release Template Mail-out Q&A with Blind Summit's Artistic Director
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 2 house with Blind Summit Theatre presents ABOUT BLIND SUMMIT Blind Summit's mission is to present new puppets, in new places, in new ways to new audiences. Founded in 1997 by Mark Down & Nick Barnes, we are dedicated to reinventing puppetry for modern adult audiences and pioneering new methods of performing with puppets. Blind Summit draws on the traditional Japanese form of Bunraku puppetry in which 3 puppeteers combine to operate one beautifully crafted puppet. The puppets communicate through finely detailed movement and gesture, creating an intimate and intense personal world where the characters thoughts become physically realised in the action on the stage. The power of puppetry is in the simplicity of their movements combined with the complexities of their implications. They live in a world where everything may suddenly come alive, or suddenly die. Productions include: The Heads (2013), The Call of the Wild (2010), 1984 (2009), Real Man (2007), Low Life (2005), Pirate Puppetry (2004), Martin s Wedding (2004), The Spaceman (2003), Mr China s Son (2002) and Tramping the Boards (2001) Puppetry commissions include: The Magic Flute (Bregenz Festival 2013 & 14), London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony (Danny Boyle), Master and Margarita (Complicite 2012), Angus Thongs and Even More Snogging (West Yorkshire Playhouse 2012), Kommilitonen! (RAM 2011), Faeries (ROH2 2010), A Dog s Heart (Complicite, DNO, ENO 2010, La Scala 2013), Puss In Boots (Gotham Chamber Opera, Tectonic Theater 2010), Shun-kin (Complicite, Setagaya Theatre Tokyo, Barbican 2010), Madam Butterfly (ENO, Lithuanian National Opera, Metropolitan Opera 2006/2007/2008/2011/2013) and Ramayana (Lyric Hammersmith, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic 2007)
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 3 house with Blind Summit presents THE TABLE Director: Mark Down Puppet: Nick Barnes Devised by Blind Summit Theatre Moses is a 2 foot high puppet with a cardboard head and a lousy temper... who lives on a table. He's always lived on the table. He's a table top puppet. Tonight he wants to tell you the epic story of the last twelve hours of the life of his namesake, "Moses". But he is easily distracted as he tries to mime the conversation between God and Moses on the top of Mount Nebo, demonstrates the workings of puppetry, shows off "the running man" and falls out with his puppeteers... As his carefully constructed table top world falls apart, will he ever finish his story? Do you want him to? This stand-up-comedian-puppet-philosopher might never come to the point, but he certainly gets to the heart of the matter.
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 4 An award winning, internationally acclaimed show from "the UK's puppet masters" (Lyn Gardner, The Guardian) Blind Summit Theatre - the makers of Low Life, Madam Butterfly, A Dog s Heart, 1984 and puppet directors for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. WINNER FRINGE FIRST 2011, GUARDIAN PICK OF THE FEST, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH TOP 5 MODERN PUPPET SHOWS, KONTRAPUNKT FESTIVAL GRAND PRIX "Dazzling" THE SCOTSMAN**** Beckett meets Tommy Cooper... Brilliantly Funny "One of the more astonishing 70 minutes of theatre, puppetry, whimsy, mischief, eyebrain-hand coordination and total brilliance" Chicago Sun-Times Photographers credit: Lorna Palmer COMPANY BIOGS Mark Down (Director and Performer) is Artistic Director of Blind Summit Theatre, which he founded in 1997 with Nick Barnes. He originally qualified as a doctor and retrained as an actor at Central School of Speech and Drama in London. For Blind Summit Mark is a director, performer and writer. Nick Barnes (Puppet daker and designer) is an Associate Artist of Blind Summit Theatre, which he originally founded in 1997 with Mark Down. Nick studied drama at Hull University in England, and theater design at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He trained in puppetry with Philippe Genty at the International Institute of the Marionette in France. Nick designs and makes puppets for theatre, opera and musicals at home and abroad, including Blind Summit. Sean Garratt (Performer) has been a performer with Blind Summit for over two years. He trained at East 15 Acting School, graduating in 2008. At that time he also took a first step into comedy, trained by the late Ken Campbell in competitive comedy improvisation. Now his work includes performing, puppetry, movement direction, sketch comedy, improvisation, television and radio. Irena Stratieva (Performer) has been a performer with Blind Summit for over two years. She started her puppetry training in 2007 at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria and continued her studies at Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Now she works as a puppeteer, puppet maker and theatre performer based in London.
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 5 MARKETING COPY (LONG 150 WORDS) OPTION 1 house with Blind Summit present The Table Moses is a 2 foot high puppet with a cardboard head and a lousy temper... who lives on a table. He's always lived on the table. He's a table top puppet. Tonight he wants to tell you the epic story of the last twelve hours of the life of his namesake, "Moses". But he is easily distracted as he tries to mime the conversation between God and Moses on the top of Mount Nebo, demonstrates the workings of puppetry, shows off "the running man" and falls out with his puppeteers... As his carefully constructed table top world falls apart, will he ever finish his story? Do you want him to? Virtuosic puppetry improvisation, Beckettian simplicity, wild humour and a dark edge... on a table. FRINGE FIRST 2011, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH TOP 5 MODERN PUPPET SHOWS, KONTRAPUNKT FESTIVAL GRAND PRIX "Dazzling" THE SCOTSMAN**** Beckett meets Tommy Cooper... Brilliantly Funny (SHORT 100 WORDS) OPTION 1 house with Blind Summit present The Table Moses is a 2 foot high puppet with a cardboard head and a lousy temper... who lives on a table. Tonight he wants to tell you the epic story of the last twelve hours of the life of his namesake, "Moses". But he is easily distracted... Virtuosic puppetry improvisation, Beckettian simplicity, wild humour and a dark edge... on a table. FRINGE FIRST 2011, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH TOP 5 MODERN PUPPET SHOWS. "Dazzling" THE SCOTSMAN**** Brilliantly Funny
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 6 (BRIEF COPY 50 WORDS) OPTION 1 house with Blind Summit present The Table Moses is a 2 foot high puppet with a cardboard head and a lousy temper... who lives on a table. Award winning, epic puppetry inspired by Beckett, the Bible and Ikea. Brilliantly Funny house with Blind Summit present The Table (LONG 150 WORDS) OPTION 2 Moses is a cantankerous 3 man operated puppet with a cardboard head... who lives on a table. Tonight he wants to tell you an epic story about God and Moses, life and death, and puppetry... on a table. But he gets easily distracted. Like a cross of Tommy Cooper and Eddie Izzard this table top puppet philosopher cum stand up comedian is the funniest "piece of cardboard" you'll ever meet. Just back from a sellout tour of USA, the team behind the 90 feet Voldemort in the London Olympic Opening Ceremony, brings you a 2 foot high puppet in an unforgettably unique show. If you see one puppet show in your life - make it this one! Brilliantly Funny "One of the more astonishing 70 minutes of theatre, puppetry, whimsy, mischief, eyebrain-hand coordination and total brilliance" Chicago Sun-Times "Dazzling" THE SCOTSMAN****
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 7 (SHORT 100 WORDS) OPTION 2 house with Blind Summit present The Table Moses is a cantankerous 3 man operated puppet with a cardboard head... who lives on a table. Tonight he wants to tell you an epic story about God and Moses, life and death, and puppetry... on a table. But he gets easily distracted. Like a cross of Tommy Cooper and Eddie Izzard this table top puppet philosopher cum stand up comedian is the funniest "piece of cardboard" you'll ever meet. "One of the more astonishing 70 minutes of theatre, puppetry, whimsy, mischief, eyebrain-hand coordination and total brilliance" Chicago Sun-Times "Dazzling" THE SCOTSMAN**** Brilliantly Funny (BRIEF 50 WORDS) OPTION 2 house with Blind Summit present The Table Like a cross of Tommy Cooper and Eddie Izzard this table top puppet philosopher cum stand up comedian is the funniest "piece of cardboard" you'll ever meet. If you see one puppet show in your life - make it this one! "Dazzling" THE SCOTSMAN**** Brilliantly Funny
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 8
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 9 ONLINE MARKETING Twitter: @1blindsummit @mosesonthetable #thetable #poseswithmoses - Moses meets and greets the audience after each show for photos and encourages them to send them in using this hashtag. Facebook: www.facebook.com/blind Summit Theatre Website: www.blindsummit.com Content to share: - Production images - Rehearsal images - Information on other Blind Summit shows currently being performed. - A Blind Summit guide to puppetry - information on designing and constructing puppets. - A rehearsal blog - Promotional Videos Messaging: - This is an award winning production from the critically acclaimed company behind the Olympic Opening Ceremony. - The show has toured the world and is now heading to your venue. - The show is funny - has been compared to Tommy Cooper, Eddie Izzard, Russell Brand. - Expert puppeteering from 'the UK's puppet masters' (The Guardian) AUDIENCE QUOTES: " absolutely bloody amazing" "I never saw puppetry like that before " " theatrical heroine!" "fantastic, inspirational theatre experience" "the coolest show I've seen this year" "one of the best things I've seen in my life" "I will never forget this evening"
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 10 TARGET AUDIENCES People interested in: - Puppetry - Improvisation - Stand up comedy - Physical and dynamic storytelling - Experimental Theatre - Theatre about theatre Selling points: - Award winning theatre: FRINGE FIRST 2011, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH TOP 5 MODERN PUPPET SHOWS, KONTRAPUNKT FESTIVAL GRAND PRIX - Critically and internationally acclaimed company - High quality puppetry - Very funny - has been compared to Tommy Cooper, Eddie Izzard, Russell Brand. PRESS QUOTES Beckett meets Tommy Cooper... Brilliantly Funny Blind Summit once again prove that when you re working in miniature you don t have to think small" THE GUARDIAN**** "When he made his exit, part of my heart left with him" METRO**** "Extremely entertaining... humour that hits home" EVENING STANDARD**** "Truly amazing...exceptionally funny" CHICAGO TRIBUNE**** ****The Guardian **** The Times ****The Telegraph ****The Scotsman ****The Independent ****The Evening Standard ****Metro ****Time Out No 1 in THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'S "Top 5 modern puppet shows "One of the more astonishing 70 minutes of theatre, puppetry, whimsy, mischief, eyebrain-hand coordination and total brilliance" Chicago Sun-Times
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 11 BOX OFFICE INFORMATION A description of the show in two simple lines An award winning show from the critically and internationally acclaimed company who brought you the puppetry in the Olympic Opening Ceremony. How long is the performance? 70 minutes, no interval. Are there any lighting or strobe effects? No Recommended age limits 12+ (contains some strong language) Is there any music or songs? Some music. How many performers are there? 3 performers and a puppet What does the set look like? A table centre stage How can I find out more about Blind Summit? Visit www.blindsummit.com or sign up to our mailing list by emailing info@blindsummit.com for a monthly newsletter. Who are House? house is an initiative supported by Arts Council England designed to support venues to increase audiences and improve the range, quality and scale of theatre presented across South East and Eastern England.
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 12 TEMPLATE PRESS RELEASE house with present: THE TABLE Fringe First Award Winner 2011 Winner of the Grand Prix at Kontrapunkt Festival Poland 2013 Created by BLIND SUMMIT THEATRE Inspired by an original commission by JCC/YAD Arts Supported by JACKSONS LANE Moses is a cantekerous 2 foot high puppet, with a cardboard head, who lives on a table. And he's got a problem. All he ever gets asked to perform is fairy tales or children's birthday parties, and he's fed up with it. He's an artist! He's a serious puppet! So tonight, for one show only, the table is his and he is going to perform an epic story. The final 12 hours of the life of Moses, in real time, on his table. Unique and very funny, this is improvised puppetry like you have never seen before. Our table-top philosopher explains the nature of puppetry, has disagreements with his puppeteers, shows off his dancing skills, examines the bible and has an unfortunate mishap with an invisible running machine. Along the way he gains a theatre full of fans who then watch his painful attempts to rescue his show from chaos. This is award winning, epic puppetry inspired by Beckett, the Bible and Ikea.
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 13 The Table premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2011 where it won a Fringe First. Since then it has gone on to tour the world - including the UK, Europe, China and the USA - winning critical acclaim and awards. Blind Summit are the puppetry innovators (geeks?) behind Moses. Their work pushes the boundaries of puppetry in their own productions (1984, Low Life, Pirate Puppetry) and in international collaborations (Bregenz Festival, Complicite, Barbican, Royal Opera House, MET Opera). Their work puts the puppetry centre stage and is dedicated to developing the role of puppetry in adult theatre. They have brought to life a singing dog in Simon McBurney's A Dog's Heart, a three year old boy in Anthony Minghella's Madam Butterfly, and a 18 metre high firework-firing Voldemort in Danny Boyle's Olympic Opening Ceremony. ****The Guardian **** The Times ****The Telegraph ****The Scotsman ****The Independent ****The Evening Standard ****Metro ****Time Out One of THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'S "Top 5 modern puppet shows" Press Quotes: Beckett meets Tommy Cooper... Brilliantly Funny Blind Summit once again prove that when you re working in miniature you don t have to think small THE GUARDIAN**** "When he made his exit, part of my heart left with him" METRO**** Cast: Mark Down Sean Garratt Irena Strateiva Puppet: Director: Nick Barnes Mark Down Blind Summit Theatre Founded in 1997 by Mark Down & Nick Barnes, Blind Summit is reinventing puppetry for modern adult audiences and pioneering new methods of performing with puppets.
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 14 Productions include: The Heads (2013), The Call of the Wild (2010), 1984 (2009), Real Man (2007), Low Life (2005), Pirate Puppetry (2004), Martin s Wedding (2004), The Spaceman (2003), Mr China s Son (2002) and Tramping the Boards (2001) Puppetry commissions include: The Magic Flute (Bregenz Festival 2013 & 14), London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony (Danny Boyle), Master and Margarita (Complicite 2012), Angus Thongs and Even More Snogging (West Yorkshire Playhouse 2012), Kommilitonen! (RAM 2011), Faeries (ROH2 2010), A Dog s Heart (Complicite, DNO, ENO 2010, La Scala 2013), Puss In Boots (Gotham Chamber Opera, Tectonic Theater 2010), Shun-kin (Complicite, Setagaya Theatre Tokyo, Barbican 2010), Madam Butterfly (ENO, Lithuanian National Opera, Metropolitan Opera 2006/2007/2008/2011) and Ramayana (Lyric Hammersmith, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic 2007) Blind Summit Puppetry Blind Summit's mission is to present new puppets, in new places, in new ways to new audiences. Blind Summit draws on the traditional Japanese form of Bunraku puppetry in which 3 puppeteers combine to operate one beautifully crafted puppet. The puppets communicate through finely detailed movement and gesture, creating an intimate and intense personal world where the characters thoughts become physically realised in the action on the stage. The power of puppetry is in the simplicity of their movements combined with the complexities of their implications. They live in a world where everything may suddenly come alive, or suddenly die. For more information T:020 7272 9020 W:blindsummit.com E:info@blindsummit.com facebook.com/blindsummit @1blindsummit
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 15 TEMPLATE MAIL-OUT - For Theatre audience Dear theatregoer, Re: The Table, presented by Blind Summit Theatre with house Moses is a 2 foot high puppet with a cardboard head and a lousy temper... who lives on a table. He's always lived on the table. He's a table top puppet. Tonight he wants to tell you the epic story of the last twelve hours of the life of his namesake, "Moses". But he is easily distracted as he tries to mime the conversation between God and Moses on the top of Mount Nebo, demonstrates the workings of puppetry, shows off "the running man" and falls out with his puppeteers... As his carefully constructed table top world falls apart, will he ever finish his story? Do you want him to? This stand-up-comedian-puppet-philosopher might never come to the point, but he certainly gets to the heart of the matter. Virtuosic puppetry improvisation, Beckettian simplicity, wild humour and a dark edge... on a table. An award winning, internationally acclaimed show from "the UK's puppet masters" (Lyn Gardner, The Guardian) Blind Summit Theatre. WINNER FRINGE FIRST 2011, GUARDIAN PICK OF THE FEST, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH TOP 5 MODERN PUPPET SHOWS, KONTRAPUNKT FESTIVAL GRAND PRIX "Dazzling" THE SCOTSMAN**** Beckett meets Tommy Cooper... Brilliantly Funny "One of the more astonishing 70 minutes of theatre, puppetry, whimsy, mischief, eyebrain-hand coordination and total brilliance" Chicago Sun-Times We're pleased to announce that The Table will visit [venue name] on XXX. This thrilling show is already proving extremely popular, so don't hesitate to book your seats. Tickets are X and XX and you can book by either visiting our website or calling the theatre on XXXXXXX. Thank you for your time and we look forward to welcoming you to [venue name] soon. With warmest regards, [Director name and signature]
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 16 TEMPLATE MAIL-OUT - For Comedy audience Dear comedygoer, Re: The Table, presented by Blind Summit with house. Stand up comedy with a twist. Moses is a 2 foot high puppet with a cardboard head and a lousy temper...who lives on a table. All he ever gets asked to perform is fairy tales or children's birthday parties, and he's fed up with it. He's an artist! He's a serious puppet! So tonight, for one show only, the table is his and he is going to perform an epic story. The final 12 hours of the life of Moses, in real time, on his table. This stand-up-comedian-puppet-philosopher, who has been compared to Eddie Izzard, Ricky Gervais and Russell Brand might, never come to the point but he certainly gets to the heart of the matter. Unique and very funny, this is stand up like you have never seen before. Like a cross of Tommy Cooper and Eddie Izzard this table top puppet philosopher cum stand up comedian is the funniest "piece of cardboard" you'll ever meet. Beckett meets Tommy Cooper... Brilliantly Funny "exceptionally funny...70 minutes of big laughs" CHICAGO TRUBINE**** "One of the more astonishing 70 minutes of theatre, puppetry, whimsy, mischief, eyebrain-hand coordination and total brilliance" Chicago Sun-Times We're pleased to announce that The Table will visit [venue name] on XXX. This thrilling show is already proving extremely popular, so don't hesitate to book your seats. Tickets are X and XX and you can book by either visiting our website or calling the theatre on XXXXXXX. Thank you for your time and we look forward to welcoming you to [venue name] soon. With warmest regards, [Director name and signature]
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 17 Q&A with Mark Down, Artistic Director of Blind Summit You first premiered this production in 2011. What has been the journey of this production? The Table premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2011 where it won a Fringe First. Since then it has gone on to tour the world - including the UK, Europe, China and the USA - winning critical acclaim and awards. What was your process for creating The Table and Blind Summit shows in general? We wanted to do a show with a puppet on a table. We usually begin with a theme and an image rather than a story and then there is a process of improvising and stretching. But the intention was always to create a show about a puppet on a table. Moses was stuck in the wilderness for 40 years, so we thought the metaphor of a puppet stuck on a table would be interesting. The death of Moses in the Bible and in Jewish Midrash and Caballah is an existential examination of life and the mystery of death. There is a clear separation between God and Man, which is a rich idea for puppetry where you can see the puppeteers and we wanted to see if we could do a show which was just a puppet on a table. We also create puppets and puppet sequences for other companies including Complicite, ENO and the National Theatre. We created a whole menagerie for His Dark Materials, a hauntingly fragile puppet child for Anthony Minghella s production of Madam Butterfly, and a terrifying skeletal canine for an opera based on Bulgakov s A Dog s Heart. The process is similar to when creating our own material, it just exists within a bigger process. Collaborations are a chance to use what we know. Though with our own work there s the luxury of getting into the room and going I haven t got a clue how we re going to this but with other companies you can t do that. That said, the collaborations we tend to take are the jobs that we can t resist and the jobs we can t resist are usually the ones were we have no idea how we re going to pull it off. How would you describe The Table? The Table sits somewhere between a funny play and a serious comedy. There are elements of Pinter and Beckett in there, but it also has the feel of stand-up at times; the character of Moses is funny, sharp and self-aware with the earthy charm and slightly smutty sense of humour of an old school entertainer. There s a dash of Tommy Cooper in his delivery, and he has Eddie Izzard s capacity for digression. The
Marketing Pack 2014 Page 18 challenge is keeping him in check. There's always a danger of the puppet taking over - he's a monster! How did Blind Summit start making work? Blind Summit was formed in 1997 by myself and Nick Barnes. We specialise in Bunraku-style puppetry, a traditional Japanese form of puppetry given a contemporary twist. I trained as a doctor and then retrained as an actor at Central before falling into puppetry by accident really. It wasn t until I met Barnes and collaborated on a piece called Mr China s Son that it clicked. Together we devised material using the five extraordinary puppets which Nick had made, and half a ton of rice. Afterwards we continued to work with one another and we wrote manifestos for the future of puppetry and made silly websites. Slowly it took over more and more of our lives The name comes from the signs on the road to the Edinburgh Fringe, says Barnes. It s a hill where you can t see the top until you are on it, and then everything is clear, he continues. It seemed like a good metaphor for the creative process. There seems to be more and more puppetry appearing in theatre now, what are your thoughts on this? It s extraordinary. Even five or six years ago that was very different. The challenge is whether puppetry can address more than the fact that it s puppetry. We re familiar with the idea of the puppet as a Poor Theatre tool, but to put the puppets front and centre, to put on a play would be more of a challenge. It would be interesting to do a Noel Coward play or a kitchen sink drama or a Chekhov something set in a drawing room.