Corcadorca Theatre Company

Plasticine Production Shots

2010-06-16T15:43:00.004+01:00

Conor MacNeill in Plasticine at the Savoy

Caoilfhionn Dunne, Conor Madden & Rosie O'Regan in Plasticine at the Savoy

All photos by Daragh MacSweeney, Provision

PLASTICINE TRAILER

2010-06-10T18:27:00.003+01:00

Corcadorca's PLASTICINE from Corcadorca Theatre Company on Vimeo.

Kudos to the wonderful Paraic English of Egomotion.net for putting together this excellent trailer for the show at very short notice.

We hope it whets your appetite!!

Irish Theatre Magazine Preview

2010-06-10T12:22:00.003+01:00

Afternoon all.

We're greatly encouraged by the appearance of this preview piece on PLASTICINE in the most recent edition of Irish Theatre Magazine.

Cast and crew having been slaving away till all hours, all week long, adding the highly intricate technical elements of the show to the physical drama.

We hear that there are no less than 12 (TWELVE!!) follow-spot operators - for the lay people out there, a follow spot operator is the person who sits behind a large spotlight that is used to pick out individual performers as they move through the space.

So twelve of those, not to mention the people operating the rest of the lighting design, sound design and the range of video feeds that are coming in through cameras recording in realtime during the show and through playback videos.

Put that together with 10 actors, 15 community cast and another handful of production crew working under the stage manager and you begin to get an impression of the logistics involved in the act of rehearsing and performing this show.

And we haven't even begun to count set-builders, riggers, accountants, PR & marketing people, admin staff etc.... the entire project is a massive undertaking.

The only way we can really convince you of this is if you come to see the show! See the spectacle for yourself, read the long list of names of people involved in the show programme, have a pint at the Foyer Bar in the Savoy.

YOU CAN BOOK TICKETS HERE

P.S. We have a trailer video to come later today and we're SO excited to share it with you. Stay tuned!!

Munchner Kunstler Plastilin

2010-06-04T08:27:00.003+01:00

We're going into teching next week and this is my first post on the production blog. On crew, despite my efforts to educate people, many are still referring to plasticine as mala (the Irish equivalent of play dough). Play dough is made with flour and will harden eventually when exposed to the air. Plasticine won't. It has a petroleum jelly and fatty (aliphatic) acid base which is what I believe keeps it infinately workable. These are compounded with calcium salts which must give it solidity. (This opinion is formed from experience and not from any scientific background). Whatever the reason, it is a wonderful compound. It is the oil paint of the clay world and came as a fantastic revelation to me earlier this year.

The word 'plasticine' is commonly used as a collective term to describe all non-drying modelling clays (kinda like Hoover and Tayto are used in Ireland) but Plasticine became a patented company, after it was discovered in Bath, England at the end of the 19th century.

After research, I found that the most superior of modelling clays is the Munchner Kunstler Plastilin (Munich Artists Plasticine). It had to be ordered in bulk but I was certain before ordering that the Germans would make the best. It was actually discovered before plasticine by a chemist in Munich and it really is a joy to work. It is more malleable than the english stuff but is still strong enough to keep its shape. We will be using this in the show.

Show Update

2010-05-31T15:29:00.010+01:00

So we saw a run of the show on Friday, and have been thinking all over the weekend about what to tell you...

First of all, the visual impact of seeing the show up and on its feet makes for a radically different experience to that of hearing the script read aloud. Well, of course, you might say - but it is especially true of this particular piece. Much of the script is given over to lengthy and specific stage directions - which only really come to life in performance.

Secondly, we watched the run-through lit only by the worker lights in the building and with the minimum of set, props etc. Also, many of the fight scenes were simply being marked through, such is the level of physical demand asked of the actors in these sequences.

Mark D'Aughton winches a coffin to the ground during rehearsal.

Sound designer Cormac O'Connor has put together a very atmospheric soundtrack that sounds very much at home in the nightclub setting of the Savoy. He's currently focusing his attentions on the video design for the show which involves CCTV and live video feeds on huge screens.

Basically, we really only experienced the shell of the performance, but having said that the emotional impact of the experience was very strong (some of us might have shed a tear or two, no naming names though!). Everyone from the actors to the community cast to director, stage manager, designer and the whole production crew are working tirelessly to put this show together.

A shot from the Mezz in the Savoy of the two stages in the downstairs space.

We're very excited to see the production go to the next level - opening night is only two weeks away after all!

A week in the life...

2010-05-28T12:26:00.003+01:00

Monday saw the arrival of fight director James Cosgrove to the rehearsal room and the actors have been getting to grips with the tough physicality of the play under his instruction. Although they tell me they're still notching up plenty of bruises - it's going to be action-packed alright...

On Tuesday we had the official press launch for Plasticine. The foyer at the Savoy was full of camera flashes, Russian Standard and Stolichnaya vodka shots and actual lumps of plasticine!

The wonderful chefs at An Cruibin prepared a Russian-themed spread and following a speech from the Chair of our Board, Catherine Kirwan, we toasted "Vashe Zdorovie!" - which roughly translates as Slainte!

Needless to say, Wednesday had distinctly vodka-tinged edge. While looking for inspiration on how to make it through the vodka haze, we came across this interview with playwright Vassily Sigarev printed in 2003 in The Guardian. We suspect, having read it, that Vassily's advice would be MORE VODKA!

Our intrepid Production Assistants Joe McNicholas & Anna Byrne brought us up to speed on Thursday with all of the weird and wonderful things they've been making, doing, sourcing, discovering such as:

- Distressing props and furniture to make them look old/ugly/unpleasant/lived-in

- How to make wax look like lead? ( We've also discovered that the number of people who like the smell of melting beeswax versus those who don't is about 70/30)

- How to make a bath look full using only a small amount of water?

- Where to find stainless steel urinals? (In a Dublin salvage yard, Anna discovered, on this slightly unsavoury quest...)

- Making knuckledusters from lead, wax & plasticine ("Melding lead is a lot easier than you'd think - I want people to know that." - Joe McNicholas)

Now here we are again at Friday, three weeks in (!). Going to see a run in the Savoy after lunch today - might see if we can get a few sneaky snaps...

Next Monday we're blogging about what's exciting various people working on different aspects of the show - stay tuned!

First Plasticine Photo Shoot

2010-05-21T12:27:00.003+01:00

Caoilfhionn Dunne as Maksim & Conor MacNeill as Lyokha in Plasticine. Photos by Michael Mac Sweeney, Provision.

These shots were taken earlier in the week at the first Plasticine photoshoot. The costumes are suggestions at the moment and have yet to be fully signed off on.

Two weeks in and the show is already being run in its entirety. The cast are looking forward to the arrival of Fight Director, Paul Burke (who also worked on Corcadorca's Woyzeck), next Monday - although there are already bruises aplenty, as this is such a physical show.

We had a sneak preview of some of the score that's being created for the show by Sound Designer Cormac O'Connor - it's quite hypnotic and designed to be played good & loud! Maybe if we ask Cormac nicely he might let us play you a snippet...

Tickets for the show can now be bought in person or over the phone at the Cork Midsummer Festival Box Office which is located in the foyer of Cork Opera House on Emmet Place. Book tickets on the phone by calling 021 427 1160.

Till next time!

2010-05-20T10:00:00.003+01:00

We're almost finished the second week of rehearsals and everything is taking shape.

One of the highlights of this week was when myself and JMac met with a very nice Russian man to pick his brain about all things Russian. He brought us to Litunaka, a shop selling Russian, Lithuanian and Polish food, just off Oliver Plunkett Street, and learnt about some favourite foods of the Russian people. For any of you wondering - a pickle, a slice of pork fat and a shot of vodka is a little taste of Russian heaven! Maybe we'll try it out at the launch next Tuesday...

In the office admin were busy getting the finishing touches completed on the Plasticine programme (this included hunting down those who still didn't have their photo's and biogs in) which is going to look fab.

The Cork Midsummer Festival are launching tonight at Bodega on Cornmarket Street, so hopefully the cast and production team will head there after rehearsals and have a well deserved bevvie!

Stay tuned - there's a rumour that some photo's from rehearsals will be winging their way to this very blog soon!!

2010-05-13T10:42:00.003+01:00

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Corcadorca's first week of rehearsals for Plasticine at The Savoy Theatre!

Doing a run through of the scenes on Monday was an eye opener - for the few people not aware of the Savoy, it used to be a huge old cinema and is full of features from another era; plush red velvets, dark heavy wood and a great theatrical stage. Couple that with Corcadorca's unique style of production and let your imagination run riot!

On a production level, we hit the ground running....by scouting for the perfect coffin...! Eerie, but it's all good; we also have to research Russian beers (Well, someone has to do it!)

Stay tuned for more insider details on what promises to be an amazing production.

Hello!

2010-05-07T12:43:00.001+01:00

Hello world!

Corcadorca here, making our first foray into the blogosphere - you'll have to have patience with us, we're new to this.....

What you can expect to find here over the coming weeks are updates direct from the rehearsal room on the progress of our forthcoming production PLASTICINE, as well as diary updates from some of our community cast members - giving an alternative perspective on the rehearsal process.

See our Flickr photostream below for photos of previous productions to whet your appetite...

Sign up to our Facebook group for news & updates as well as special offers on tickets and more!

Rehearsals begin next Monday morning, May 10th - more news to follow...

Till then, have a great weekend!