Greetings, Cyberspace...

Hi.

Well, I suppose I should tell you who we are...

We are the St. Leonard's College 2010 Year 12 Theatre Studies Class, and our aim for this year is to put on a successful production of Caryl Churchill's challenging play; Cloud 9.

I'm Chloe, and as well as playing Ellen/Lin, I have the job of promoting the show. This blog will become the main place that we document our rehearsal process - from Day 1 to opening night. Everyone in the class will be able to upload posts/comments/photos for your reading/viewing pleasure - so stay tuned.  

But who else is in the class, you might ask?

Greg - He's our resident VCE director, and also plays Betty/Edward.

Carolyn - Our I.B Director (for those of you who don't know what I.B is... you shouldn't... haha I'm only kidding; it's a high school diploma program much like VCE, however it is 'internationally recognized'... so they tell us). Carolyn also plays Mrs. Saunders in the first act.

Rhys - Rhys has the sought-after role of being the class dramaturge. Is that even a real job? Who knows. He's also working with me (Chloe) on Props and playing Harry Bagley/Martin.

Cal W - Cal thought of the clever title for our blog, and is playing the Soldier in act 2. He will become our stage manager throughout performances. He does I.B.

Meg - She's in charge of costumes, along with Tally. Meg plays Maud in the first act, and Victoria in the second.

Tally - As mentioned above, Tally is working with Meg on costumes. As well as that, she's co-ordinating make-up. She also plays Edward/Betty, respectively. 

Henry - Henry plays Clive (the man of the house) in act one, and Cathy (Lin's 5 year old daughter) in act two. He's in charge of set-design.

Bas - Bas does I.B too... He sometimes falls asleep in class, but is happy to stay awake in order to work on lighting and sound. He's playing the black slave; Joshua, in the first act and Edward's lover; Gerry, in the second.

AND

Mr Tudor - Our brilliant teacher and friendly neighbourhood Buddhist. He will be the one guiding us through the year, with ice-packs, inspiration and invaluable support at the ready. 

P  H  E  W.

That took a while! 

So, What is the play about?

To help you understand the beautiful mess that is act one, we drew this handy mind map on the whiteboard...

M = married, L = love, F= ...duh

Got that?

Yeah, I thought so.

Alright pretty much it goes like this:

Act 1 is set in Colonial Africa, and revolves around the story of Clive and his family. Clive is married to Betty, and has two children; Edward and Victoria. Betty is played by a man, as she is 'everything a man wants her to be'. Victoria is played by a dummy and Edward is played by a girl. Ellen is the children's governess, but she is also secretly a lesbian (and in love with Betty). Joshua is the family's black slave, but is played by a white man as he is 'everything a white man wants him to be'. Maud is Betty's mother... She's quite senile. Mrs. Saunders is a neighbouring widow, and Harry Bagley is Clive's famous explorer friend who comes to stay. Within the house, crazy love triangles begin to emerge (as shown on our love map), and life is revealed to be not as perfect as Clive believes. Will Clive uphold his household? Is Harry Bagley really as brave as he appears? Is Betty really the loving, perfect wife? Will Edward save his Father in a time of need? All will be revealed by interval at Cloud 9.

Act 2 is set in London, in 1979. Betty, Edward and Victoria return from the first act, but despite the obvious large jump in the setting, they have only aged by 25 years. They are all now played by their correct sex. Lin is a lesbian who falls in love with Victoria, and has a 5-year old daughter named Cathy. Victoria is, however, married to a man named Martin, and has a son of her own; Tommy. Tommy is played by a dummy in the same way that Victoria was played by a dummy in act 1. Edward has obviously now grown to be a man, and is in a relationship with Gerry, who is also a homosexual male. The characters grow closer and become even more interconnected, as they each try to find themselves. The act closes with each of the characters acknowledging their former selves, and thus finding closure.

Making more sense now?

Good :)

So... That's us in a nutshell. Small group tackling big subject matter. Can we pull it off? I suppose you'll have to wait to find out.

Keep checking back for more updates, rehearsal reflections, pictures, videos etc. 

But in the mean time, let us know you care by sending us a comment beginning with the phrase 'I'm on Cloud 9 when...'. Best answer will win... A virtual hug...

Tempting, I know.

Until next time!