the unexpected role of shower curtains in the magic of theatre
July 11th, 2008 • production process
Occasionally, my family ask me what I actually do as one of the producers for a comedy troupe. I’m not an actor, writer or director, roles that are seemingly transparent or identifiable. The idea of production seems be rather more nebulous, particularly when working in a small team where the production team are the jacks and jills of all trades: press agents, business managers, web and print designers, or stage-managers with occasional responsibility for catering.
But, in the pursuit of the zen theory of production, I find myself thinking of production work as planning plus the real world scramble to solve problems when the plan trips and falls on its face. What’s the proverb? Production schedules do not survive the first encounter with theatre venues?
All of which explains why, a few Fridays back, the realisation that we were short a projection screen for our shadow puppets sent me out into the streets of Greenwich (and after realising that Greenwich only has fine boutiques, restaurants and bars - the streets Deptford) to find a shower curtain which could be pressed into service. And that’s the magic of theatre right there.
Not looking too bad, actually.
