Meeting with Orchestra and AST Team

Today was an official meeting for all involved with the making of A Soldiers Tale, including members of the film course who will be making a documentary about Stravinsky and the making of AST, a student from make-up, Orchestra members and the University Principle. It was suprisingly laid back as we ate lunch and discussed arrangements such as budgets, future meetings, general organisation, performance dates as well as me sharing my designs with the group. I was worried about how daunting this might be but due to the nature of the meeting there was no need for the aprehension! The designs were very well recieved especially by the Orchestra members who had no problems with being dressed in full WW1 gear which is great! Doug was also happy with the design decisions particularly with the Devil since we last spoke. The Narrator's costume we both agreed should be a suit, as well as giving the character a real sense of being a storyteller and try and build this into his costume -by giving him props such as glasses, books and possibly a pipe. It was great to see how enthusiastic all members involved were and I hadn't realised quite the extent to which the film was involved. However, it seems a fantastic idea as it will be used to give context to the performance production to the audience before they watch it. This brought about some set issues as this will need to be projected - using a sheet was suggested to be in keeping with the era but perhaps also with using fabric to transform settings throughout the play. This is something I nees to further consider when creating my set design. Concerning set also, the idea of a false proscenium arch was also popular as it will give the production balance but not detract from either the players of the orchestra. I have arranged to go and meet the Orchestra tomorrow during their rehursal to disucuss the space they need and see how they operate. I will also take photographs of all the players for the make-up student so she can begin plans for them. There was discussion about making them look as authentic as possible such as false moustaches etc. which would look fantastic.


Reflection:
This meeting was great to understand the amount of in put from each member and the effort and communication needed to put a production together. I feel I have gained some confidence in myself being able to present my design ideas to a large group who I am unaquainted with, a task I find quite intimidating. I look forward very much to being in contact with both make-up and film as the project progresses as collaboration is something that particularly drew me to this project. It also appears that is essential to meet with people as opposed topurely contact through email/ over the phone to really get things moving. The passion that each person had towards this project was unbelievably clear and its that passion for music and performance that I want to not only drive my work but match it to their ambition to create a truely stunning and individual performance.