Hi!

My name’s Carmen and this term I’m directing The Gilt Frame, a short story from Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris Priestly, which I have adapted to work as a 10 minute play!

Recently, we had the 2nd run of all the evening performances, which gave me, as the director an opportunity to see what had, hopefully improved from the last run and to see what steps I would next need to take with my actors in terms of polishing to help the process move forward.

Personally, the 2nd run was vital for my cast as it was effectively our first run with a full cast, and I was really looking forward to seeing the play as a whole. Another thing I was looking forward to watching was the other pieces. I had seen them the week prior, and was excited to see the pieces developed further. As I had expected, they were of high standard, and gave me a taster of what the audience’s experience would be like. It also showcased the variety of pieces; from in your face comedy to subtle, to thought provoking pieces about mental health, the night provides entertainment for everyone.

Overall, I was pleased with how my cast had performed. What struck me the most was how, for some, it was their first time performing in front of an audience, at least with Stage2. Yet, their high level of discipline and acting said otherwise. The areas that showed room for improvement, mainly were the technicalities of the piece, for example entrances and exits, all errors I was confident could be erased in polishing, the next step in the rehearsal process. However, I was impressed with the performances of the more ‘emotional’ scenes in the play. I thought that my actors showed understanding and undoubtedly, raw talent in these.

The 2nd run was incredibly useful for me, to gauge exactly where the play, and the actors are, in terms of the rehearsal process. It helped me plan the structure of my future rehearsals and see what I can do in upcoming sessions, to help and push my cast further.

Carmen Hutchins

Carmen is the youngest of the six directors as part of the YDF and has been in Stage2 for many years. To support her and the other directors, why not book for the YDF by phoning Stage2 at 07961 018841.