The Bunker Returns

It is such a delight to announce our return to the Adelaide Fringe this summer (or winter if you're left behind in the United Kingdom). The Bunker Trilogy will be making its second journey to the South Australian festival - the largest in the southern hemisphere - after its success in 2014.

We'll be performing the entire run in an incredible venue just a stone's through from the city centre in Adelaide's stunning Botanic Gardens. We're the only theatre taking place in the building, but we've partnered with SA's own Blanco Food & Events who'll be running an outdoor bar/cafe throughout the festival.

The Adelaide Fringe Festival, and Adelaide itself, is fast becoming a home for the company as much as Edinburgh has been over the years. It's an experience that revolves entirely around the local community and depends on the support of this community who work tirelessly to make our time Down Under even remotely possible. This community has opened their hearts and doors to us over the last four years; sharing their tables with us, sharing their homes with us, sharing South Australia with us.

The excitement that grows as we prepare for The Bunker Trilogy in Adelaide is not that of adventure or new experiences, but that of returning to the city, to the community, and to the people who we are now honoured to call our friends and family.

Take a look at the website: www.TheBunkerTrilogy.com for booking information and keep an eye out here and on Twitter for details, updates and behind-the-scenes info.

Brief Interview with BEBE SANDERS

Here's a brief interview with Bebe Sanders, who performed in The Bunker Trilogy throughout 2014 and is currently performing in The Fronter Trilogy. 

What was it that made you realise you wanted to be an actress?

I think I just always knew I wasn't interested in a normal job... I have always just wanted to have fun with my life. And I've always loved stories and dressing up... That's basically it!

What’s been the highlight or your career in theatre so far?

I played Billy Elliot's grandma in school and quite honestly that's the most fun I've ever had. But in my professional career... Taking a bow at the National Theatre has to be up there. And travelling the world with The Bunker Trilogy. Pure joy.

You joined the company in The Bunker Trilogy once the shows had already been performed, how different is it being in a brand new trilogy?

It's totally different! Joining The Bunker was great but there was a lot that had already been established so it was strange to feel like I was filling someone else's shoes. With the frontier you know that you are the first person to be that character and everyone is in the same boat which is lovely. I love teams.

Which character in The Frontier Trilogy most excites you?

I love them all but Miss Lilly from The Clock Strikes Noon is so different from anything I've done before. She excites me the most, because she's fabulous.

Which play in The Frontier Trilogy is your favourite?

I can't choose! They are all so fab in their own way. I actually can't choose.

What’s your best experience working with Jethro Compton Productions?

Making friends that will last a lifetime.  Every day at work is like going on a play date and having the best fun and getting overexcited and silly. And spending six weeks in Australia with The Bunker was life changing.

What’s the thing about Edinburgh you most look forward to?

This is only my second time going to the Fringe! But I think I am excited about returning to that atmosphere... And I just love that feeling of something new. I'm a bit weird in that I even love the set building, the being over tired, the getting coffees for everyone. I guess it's the team spirit. The feeling that we are all doing something special together.

For more information on The Frontier, visit www.TheFrontierTrilogy.com 

Interview with our Stage Manager MAEVE BOLGER

Here's an interview with Maeve Bolger. Maeve is the stage manager for The Frontier Trilogy. This is the second show she's work on with the company, after 2014's Edinburgh and Seoul Performing Arts Festival run of The Bunker Trilogy.

1. On a project like The Frontier, what does a Stage Manager actually do?
Its a very varied job! I start out in the rehearsal room with the company and keep whats called the Book. This is a copy of the script in which everything is written from the movements the actors make to what props are needed and where they are kept. Its essentially a blueprint for the show. Once we get up to Edinburgh, I'll be helping with building/dressing the set and sourcing any last minute props. In technical rehearsals, I work with our lovely sound team, Ella and Dylan, to write down the sound cues in the Book. The same goes for the lighting cues decided upon by Jethro. This is also my opportunity to learn how to operate the shows. Once the shows are up and running, I'm in a little earlier to set the props and make sure that the cast are happy to begin.

2. How does it compare to managing a more traditional show?
The main difference is that I can't see what's happening! The nature of these shows is that the audience is totally immersed in the world of The Frontier Trilogy. The set is a room which we will build and decorate to make look like a church in the wild west. Having someone sat in a corner with modern technolgy operating the lights and sound would ever so slightly distract from this! So, I'm set up outside the room listening in for my cues whether they are on actors' lines or doors banging etc. Its very strange at first because I am devoid of one of my senses so I really need to depend on my hearing. It sounds crazy, but it works!

3. How does this affect your role?
I depend on the actors a lot more than I might on any other show. If anything goes wrong in the room like and actor injury or an audience member becoming ill, I need them to be able to let me know. In any other situation, I would be able to see what's going on first hand and make a judgement call on what needs to be done. Fortunately, the group I'm working with are more than able to deal with the worst should it happen – fingers crossed it doesn't!

4. What's the hardest part of the job?
In general with stage management the worst thing is the odd hours I work. My partner and a  group of close friends work outside of the industry in "normal" jobs. It makes finding time to spend with them difficult. Its important that I can find people I enjoy spending time with to work with. I can definitely say its true with these guys! One thing that leads from this is that making plans can be a nightmare! As I work freelance, I mostly never know what I'll be doing from one job to the next. But that's equally as exciting as it is daunting!

5. What's been your favourite experience as an SM?
I have been really fortunate to travel with my job and work in some beautiful places like Pieve in Italy and Paris. But my favourite has to have been when I went to Seoul in South Korea with The Bunker Trilogy last year. Having never been to Asia before, it was such a treat to be able to go there to work on one of my favourite shows. The people, the food – not the spicy food! - and the city were simply amazing and I'd go back in a heartbeat!

6. What advice do you wish you'd been given when starting out as an SM?
The most improtant piece of advice I've ever been given about work was this nugget of knowledge from Mammy Bolger - Don't expect people to coming knocking on your door to offer you work. No one knows how great you are unless you tell them so don't be afraid to.

The Frontier Trilogy opens in Edinburgh at the Fringe this summer. For tickets and more info, click here. 

Branding a Show: Making a Poster

Designing the artwork for a show can be an incredibly time consuming process, but it's something I love doing. Whilst most companies outsource their graphic design, and leave it until quite a long way into the process, it's actually one of the first things I do when starting a new project. When I'm coming up with an idea for a show, I'll often find myself sat into the late hours of the night messing around with ideas for how the artwork might look. I often feel embarrassed talking about a concept for a show, or an idea for a play; it's a mixture of worrying if the idea is any good combined with the fear that, even if the idea is great, I might never actually be able to deliver it. For some reason, once I've made a draft poster I feel that I can talk more openly about my idea. As if the (normally dreadful) draft artwork somehow makes the project more real than it was when it existed only as an idea.

I sometimes provide graphic design for other companies, but it's not my favourite pastime. Creating the artwork for a show is, for me, no different to writing it, producing it, or directing it. It's a significant part of the creative process that fills me with confidence.

Sometimes people can worry too much about a poster. The best poster in the world can't save your show if the show is no good. But a terrible poster probably could harm a decent show. I always set out to create something that I want to represent the company, the show and the brand. Something that would make me get up and go to the theatre. 

The following is a mood board of posters that I loved and felt would be a good starting point when I came to creating the artwork for The Frontier Trilogy. There's something similar in all of them, as I suppose there is in all Western posters. I enjoyed the washed-out, gritty texture of DJANGO, the sense of mystery and danger in LONGMIRE, the wanted poster paper effect in 3:10 TO YUMA, and the impression of distance and scale in HELL ON WHEELS. 

The final artwork for The Frontier Trilogy. Whilst clearly influenced by the examples above, I hope it achieves its own style and impression. 

A challenge I have always faced designing the brand for a trilogy, is that each show has its own voice, and yet the artwork must cater for all three voices in one image. Had I been making a poster for only one of these plays I imagine it would have looked very different. 

Beyond creating the image for the three shows, there is also the brand of the company to take into consideration. Our previous shows (and their posters) have been seen in Edinburgh for some years, and it's important to me that an audience can recognise our artwork in the overcrowded streets and bars across the city. But it's also vital that the image moves forward, changing and improving each year (as hopefully the shows do). Despite the similarity in branding, The Frontier Trilogy is as different from The Bunker Trilogy as The Capone Trilogy was. I trust in our audience and followers that they'll know the shows by the brand, and know that we'll deliver something even bigger and better than than we've done before.

The Frontier Trilogy opens 5th August 2015. More info here.

Brief Interview with SAM DONNELLY

Here's a short interview with Sam Donnelly, who has performed with the company since 2012 and is currently rehearsing for The Frontier Trilogy.

What was it that made you realise you wanted to be an actor?
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I realised that I wanted to act professionally but it have been when I was around seventeen and applying to university. I was originally looking to study history when I also applied for drama school.

How did you get into acting professionally?
I had quite a traditional route. I went to drama school and trained for three years, then after graduating got an agent and went from there. All of my family work in the construction trade so it was a bit odd that I chose this path but they are incredibly supportive.

You were also in The Bunker Trilogy, what challenges are there as an actor performing across three different shows each day?
Doing three shows a day can feel like running a triathlon on a daily basis. You get tired, run down, and have very little time for any sort of socialising outside your crew. But you have to embrace that with shows like we make at Jethro Compton Productions. They are detailed, intricate and you have to commit everything. I’m pretty sure I’ve knocked a couple of years off my life span doing these shows but they are worth it.

Which of The Frontier Trilogy plays is your favourite?
Its hard to say which of the Frontier shows is my favourite as they are all great stories. But I do have a slightly more invested interest in Blood red Moon. I have a younger brother myself and can’t imagine finding myself in position so far removed from his that the sort of conflict that happens in the show would drive us apart so its fun and interesting to play out that possibility.

What’s the best show you’ve seen at Edinburgh?
Two shows stick out to me from what I have seen at the Fringe. They are ‘Missing' by Gecko Theatre that I saw in 2013 and 'Young Pretender' by Nabokov which I saw in 2011. Both wonderful stories and strong performances. I'm also a big fan of Camille O’sullivan who works the Cabaret scene each year.

What’s the thing about Edinburgh you most look forward to?
Edinburgh has an energy that I’ve not experienced anywhere else in the world. Everyone is hopeful and optimistic and the festival atmosphere is so contagious. It's exciting.

Click here for more information and tickets for The Frontier Trilogy.

Our First Adventures in Cornish

In autumn 2014 I moved back to Cornwall, where I spent the first eighteen years of my life – a place that is still very much my home. My plan was to lock myself away in the attic and write as much as I could before spring. Most of what I’ve written has been set over a hundred years ago in the American West, but a handful of the stories, plays and ideas have gone back to the routes in my life by the sea.

It was when writing one of these plays, Sirenia, set in a lighthouse off Cornwall, that I started thinking about Cornish culture, heritage and, most specifically, the Cornish language. Before last week I spoke only a handful of Cornish words; ‘Kernow’ meaning ‘Cornwall’, and my old school motto, ‘Fast Yn Mesk Tonnow’ – ‘Firm among the waves’.

Cornish isn’t taught in schools; it’s barely known by more than a few hundred speakers, but it is a language that is heavily embedded in Cornish culture, in our names, and our history. The brutal past that surrounds our former language, Kernowek, is a story well known to all the Celtic nations – a tale of English fear that turned into a vicious, blood soaked quest to crush a people’s independence.

There are a handful of people working in Cornwall who are fighting to bring the language back to life, to ensure Kernow’s past is not buried, that its culture is not forgotten. I approached one of these people, Pol Hodge, at the start of 2015 with the idea of developing Sirenia as a play spoken entirely in Cornish. Pol is a writer, poet, performer and Cornish Bard. His work is ‘living proof, if proof were needed, that Cornish is a living, breathing language.’

This month, with the support of Hall For Cornwall’s development scheme ‘Creation Space’, we spent a week developing the play at Sterts Theatre near Liskeard, in the heart of Bodmin Moor. With Pol’s translation and expert guidance, we worked with two actors, Rob Pomfret and Evie Tyler, who had never spoken a word of Cornish before, to stage the first Kernowek drama, performed to an audience of non-Cornish speakers, using English subtitles.

I didn’t know if the project would work, if we would be able to achieve something truly dramatic in a language we were barely able to speak. At the end of the week, we presented the play to a small audience of theatre people from around the Duchy. What started as an ambitious and potentially unachievable task, I’m thrilled to say, turned into something truly magical. To hear ancient words not only spoken, but performed, transcended the story’s limitations in English and created a sense of stepping back through time to witness some enchanted moment.

I don’t know what the future of the project will hold, but I can say for certain that it will have a future. Kernowek is an exquisite language, powerful to speak and magnificent to hear. It is the language of Cornwall and our ancestors, and with the incredible work from people like Pol, it can become part of our vocabulary again. I feel incredibly privileged to have had the chance to learn from Pol, and I can’t wait until we can share what we have created with the people of our proud and ancient nation.

Sirenia will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer, where it will be spoken in English with songs performed in Kernowek from Pol’s translations. Alongside our main season, we are hoping to present two late night scripted readings of the play in Kernowek.

For more information on the show, visit our website.

The Chapel of Emmanuel

Here are some basic images of the first set design plans for The Frontier Trilogy this Edinburgh.

The Chapel, known in the plays as The Chapel of Emmanuel, will house all three of the Frontier plays as well as our Mentorship Programme show, The Night Watch.

Those who have seen our work in Edinburgh over the last couple of years will recognise much of the layout. As with The Bunker, the audience will enter the Chapel and sit within the action of the stories. 

The basic structure was built of the set was built in 2012 when we produced Belt Up's Fringe Season, The Drawing Room Trilogy. Since then we have transformed the timber frame into the walls of The Bunker and the set has journeyed up and down the UK.

Throughout July our team will be working in Edinburgh to transform the build once more, transporting it into the 19th century in the dust of the American West.

For more info on the shows visit www.TheFrontierTrilogy.com