Three Cities News 15/6/2012

Tit for Tat's Three Cities news update: June 2012

Things are certainly full steam  ahead here, with plenty to organise before we even think about heading to Edinburgh! Between fundraising, press, the script and various other exciting opportunities, there isn't a quiet moment.

Official Edinburgh Fringe Festival Programme Launch

May 31st saw the launch of the Fringe programme and it we unbelievably exciting finally seeing our listing in print! The image really stands out from the others thanks to Ste's design.

The show's 40 word blurb reads:

“Stop doing stupid sh*t!” A potential Nobel peace prize winning formula for solving every problem imaginable. Three women. Three Cities. Three stories. Dare to laugh at this touching, outrageous and topical new production.   

UCD Dramsoc's official support of Three Cities

If it weren’t for Dramsoc giving emerging playwrights opportunities to test their work out on stage, Three Cities would not have been set on the road to Edinburgh as it is today. When I (Lisa) started writing Three Cities, I was always doing it with Dramsoc’s lovely little black box in mind. I visualised what it would look like in the space, tailored it to LG1’s dimensions and atmosphere. Later drafts of Three Cities were done to the deadlines of slot applications and rehearsal periods, which is to say that without having somewhere like Dramsoc to try out the work on its feet the play may never have been developed to the stage it is at now. 

Moreover, it is thanks to the 5 day stint in Dramsoc – what I think of as a ‘workshop run’ of the play - that Three Cities is embarked on the road to Edinburgh. The run reassured me that what was originally just an idea in my head or a laugh in rehearsals was actually something which audiences can follow, relate to and receive with laughter and praise. Thanks to this testing period the play has now been further developed and polished based on the audience’s reception and discussion with various professors about how to make it as good as it possibly can be.

It was following this airing of the show and the encouragement of professors at UCD that we decided to take the play up a level by taking it to a more public forum. The Edinburgh Fringe festival is the perfect place for this. I have not only gone every year for the last four as a punter, but upon leaving school at 18 I was a part of a group which took a devised play up. That is to say that I have been an audience member and a performer at the Fringe – I know what people want to see but I know how it all works at the same time. 

More recently the committee of the 86th session have shown a tremendous amount of support for the show.  The committee has very kindly offered some financial support for the show. Such an act of generosity goes to remind us again of the great and varied work that the society does to support and push its members, from nurturing them during their student days to creating a positive foundation for their careers as they develop and grow after graduation. 

All this goes to say that we would like to show our gratitude to the society for its integral role in the success of Three Cities. We look back on happy beginnings and may long the fantastic relationship we have with the society last.

Frank McGuinness' thoughts on Three Cities

At University College Dublin we are very lucky to have renowned Irish playwright, Frank McGuiness on the faculty in the department of English, Drama and Film as the head of creative writing. In late May, Lisa gave him the script of Three Cities to see what he thought in order to make it as strong as possible in lieu of the run at Edinburgh. 

Mr. McGuinness very kindly read the script and invited Lisa to meet with him about it. His comments included that the script is 'accomplished' as well as 'articulate' and 'ambitious'. Such comments put us in good stead for Edinburgh where bad reviews come in as frequent as showers of rain in Dublin. Mr. McGuinness went on to suggest a number of plays to read, avenues to pursue as well as offering some very helpful advice for the Edinburgh run of the show regarding sales and press.

Tit for Tat would like to extend thanks to Mr. McGuinness his time and incredibly helpful advice.

Elise Brennan performs as part of the Abbey's Advanced Actor Training programme

 Since January Elise has been training with the Abbey and now you can hear about it and check out her final performances later this month:


'My experience at the Abbey School of Acting since January 2012 has kept me going every Tuesday night through doing my finals in UCD. I have been a part of the 6- Month Advanced Actor Training Programme and have had the privilege of being directed by the renowned Kathleen Warner Yeates and Stephanie Courtney. We have covered many acting techniques for theatre and we presented, as a group, our devised piece in the Pearse Centre in Dublin in Mid-March.

We are now gearing up towards our end of year presentation and I am getting quite nervous about it now! We will be presenting Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream and a contemporary scene piece. For my contemporary piece I will be playing Agnes in Agnes of God which contrasts hugely to my Fairy character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as I need to be able to deliver an intense moment being a nun. I have to smile, cry, laugh and sing ALL at the same time, something that I have found quite a challenge but at the same time so empowering as I feel I am becoming a better actor.

The course is just amazing, I recommend it to anyone out there considering to pursue their acting career. Amazing instructors and a great group. Something that has opened up many doors for my future. '
Tickets are now on sale June 25-27th in the New Theatre, Temple Bar, Dublin!’

Dublin Theatre Festival's Play On Initiative

Three Cities playwright, Lisa Carroll, was recently accepted onto the Dublin Theatre Festival's initiative for emerging playwrights, Play On. Lisa used the script for Three Cities as her submission which made it through against 123 other scripts sent in.

Play On sees new writers develop a new play under the mentorship of Graham Whybrow, former literary manager of the Royal Court. After a summer of workshops and developmental meetings, a selection of these plays will recieve readings and performances of excerpts at the Dublin Theatre Festival in October.

The initiative so far has been amazing. Graham is incredibly knowledgable as well as helpful in his coaching and assistance in crafting new work.

Play On Call for Submissions

Photoshoot with Ste Murray

 

In late May we had a photoshoot with Ste Murray who did some fantastic company shots for us to use as well as throwing in a couple of creative ideas of his own! More to come in that with his very own dedicated blog post but for now check this out!

Fundraiser Gig

The 14th May saw the Three Cities FUN-draiser gig at The Workman's Club, Dublin. The line up was fantastic, featuring Clare Hyland, Taylor's Lane, Mongoose and Kalaedofolk.

A huge thanks goes to Jack Somers for helping to co ordinate the event, as well as The Workman's Club for hosting.

Of course, we must also extend a huge thanks to those who came to the event, we had a huge amount of people and the money raised will make a huge difference in making our way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012. 

Like Mah Page

In late May the three of us from the Three Cities cast got together to film some material to supplement the show throughout the summer. Some of that footage has gone towards our Fundit campaign video, but there are many more surprises in store!

The latest release we have for you is a spoof of the popular video, Like Mah Status, with our very own Like Mah Page video. So be sure to watch and 'like' our Facebook page as soon as you've stopped laughing!

Three Cities 'Like Mah Page' Video

Previews at the Exchange

We would like at this point to also invite you to the previews of Three Cities which we are holding in Dublin, prior to taking the show over for its run in Edinburgh. 

Previews will be held at The Exchange, 2 Upper Exchange Street, Jamestown, Dublin 8, Ireland. The venue is easy to find at the edge of Temple Bar. The previews will be on Thursday August 9^th at 2pm and 7pm, and on Friday August 10^th at 2pm and a late night showing at 9.30pm. 

The show itself runs at an hour and the tickets will be available on the door. We hope to see you at the previews so you can have a look at this exciting new play and see what we will have spent all summer rehearsing and working towards!

So . . . that's it for this month! Over and out for now!

 Thank you all for your support and I look forward to seeing you at the show!