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MOST POPULAR LINKS... FRONT PAGE... MONTHLY DRINKS NIGHT
Controlled Chaos Hits the Fringe
This is how director Karen Harrup took her first show to the Edinburgh Fringe. Written from June to September 2006, it's her intimate account of how Controlled Chaos's On The Edge was created and performed - and how she felt when it was all over
by Karen Harrup
1 - Hatching the plans - 26 June 06
2 - Rallying the troops - 26 July 06
3 - Countdown to Ed - 9 August 06
4 – A husband adds - 16 August 06
5 – First night - 22 August 06
6 – My little secret - 25 August 06
7 – After Edinburgh - 6 September 06
1 - Hatching the Plans - 26 June 06
It all started with a simple remark – ‘Let’s go to the Fringe.’ One should never think that comments like this will be taken lightly.
As Fringe virgins, we knew it was going to be difficult. No-one told us it would be easy. We went into the project with our eyes wide open, but nothing could have prepared us for the months ahead.
It has been an exciting journey fraught with laughter, tears and much premature ageing - but we believe in the end it will all be worthwhile.
The idea to go to the Fringe came first. What followed was weeks of deliberation and decision-making. Should we do a well-known play? Classical or contemporary? Perhaps we could devise our own, write our own or improvise.
After finding and rejecting many pieces we decided on a play that was completely off the wall: On The Edge by Emelia Poulenc. The play was not finished, had no stage directions and gave the director and cast no ideas to play with. It seemed perfect for us. Why do anything too simple?
We spent a few sessions working on the opening of the play, which at that point we still didn’t understand, or have any clues about theme or subject matter.
We needed a company name - something snappy and original. Song titles, pop groups, bible chapters, theatres and other random names came to the fore, but in the end, who could be better than Antonin Artaud to give us our inspiration? Controlled Chaos became our name. What followed was certainly chaos. I don’t know where the controlled bit comes in.
Next - where does one start when choosing a venue?
All we had to go on was a large tome listing fringe venues. It had plenty of names, but with no frame of reference they meant nothing. We spent an afternoon deciding what size of venue we needed, followed by endless phone calls to venue managers.
This part of the planning process was the cause for many laughs. How do you sell a show which you know so little about? How do you persuade a venue manager that they should take you on as a new company, which is new to the fringe with a play that has never been performed before?
We need not have worried. Charles Pammant at Venue 45 was more than willing to take us on. In fact he had as much enthusiasm for our show as we did.
Casting. Auditions were held and actors were short-listed. Because the play is so random, we were looking for people who were versatile, energetic and very committed to the task in hand. It took a while and there were a few changes to the original cast - but in the end we got there. Now all we had to do was to decipher the play, get an ending, find out how much it would cost and do all the other stuff that comes with the Fringe. Let the fun begin.
(c) Karen Harrup 26 June 06
2 - Rallying the Troops - 26 July 06
Rehearsals have been going quite well for the performance but as with all productions, it seems to be dogged with traumas and troubles. What do you do with a bunch of actors who seem to have enough energy to be able to go out drinking until all hours, but can't muster up that energy on stage? The most simple solution would be to get another cast - but things are not that simple are they?
We tried playing games before rehearsals; this seemed to have the desired effect and made the cast lively and enthusiastic – until we approached the play again. What is it about this play that made their enthusiasm dwindle? We soon found out.
The nature of the play – which is about Sexually Transmitted Infections - freaked the cast out a bit. They weren't comfortable with some elements of the script and some of the things we were asking them to do. There was only one thing for it - a cast bonding session. We turned off all the lights and let them get to know each other better.
It was a difficult task for some people but seemed to have the desired effect. Embarrassment over, it was time to move on and work on some of the more complex issues of the play. It is not wise to choose a play that has no stage directions in it, leaving everything to directorial interpretation. Well, it is only wise if the director has any interpretation. Fortunately inspirtation came in the form of a bottle or two of white wine - and then it was all systems go.
You would think that just taking a play to the Fringe was challenging enough, so why do we have to make things more complicated? The answer is simple, -it is all to do with trying to be creative and put on something original. With a play, a good cast and now some directorial interpretation all we needed was an idea for a set. Children's playground was one of the ideas we came up with: slides, seesaws and random children's toys to juxtaposfe the issue of STI's. But as the budget was nil and there is virtually no storage space at the venue, this idea soon came to an end.
The next idea was in the form of no-set-whatsoever. Okay if you have some excellent inspiration, and the inspiration was good - but not that good. The idea finally came in the form of boxes. Different sized boxes that could be moved about, sat on, lain on and used as a variety of other things. What could go wrong?
Measurements are a key issue when building boxes, and finding out the width of the venue doors may have been a good idea before embarking on lots of DIY, wood, nails, paint, fireproofing material and, most important of all, valuable time. Time which was wasted when we found out that a) the boxes would not fit through our own doors once they had been built and b) there was no way they were going into venue 45 – not a chance. Still we had fun and now it was back to the drawing board.
In the end we decided it was only the biggest box that we couldn’t take, so all was not lost.
Whilst we were busy with the set, what else was being done? Rehearsals were going fairly well - but not as well as I had hoped. The boys seem to be a problem. I am sure that not all boys are the same but the two we have seem to be extremely blasé about the whole experience. You would think that with six girls nagging them they would get themselves into gear, but things were getting a bit fraught. There was only one thing for it - a group discussion.
Sometimes group discussions are a worthwhile experience. But not in this case. This particular one ended in a shouting match between all members of the cast and the production team, and various people deciding that the whole experience should be more fun.
Oh dear me -possibly not one of the best decisions of my directing career, but it worked out well in the end. Lots of hugs and apologies followed by a drink in the local pub seemed to clear the air, and things were back on track. Or so we thought.
Rehearsals continued and the play was really beginning to take shape. It was energetic, interesting and gave people something to think about. The boys, however, were still being their usual unmotivated selves - it was time for drastic action. There is nothing wrong with a few white lies when trying to motivate your cast, and what could be more daunting than telling them that someone from the fringe office was going to come and see a preview of the show, to make sure that it was good enough to put on in Edinburgh? A strange thing then happened -funnily enough the cast was not too happy with this idea. They seemed to think that the play was not ready to be shown to anyone, but they weren't getting away with it. A quick phone call to a friend who no one knew, and Felicty Marshall from the fringe office was created.
With ‘Felicity’ and a few other random people, carefully selected to give constructive feedback we were all set to perform a short piece from the production. So this is what happened: they performed, the audience fed back, and the boys realised they were letting the side down. They knew they had to pull their socks up. Felicity went back to her day job, and things were looking up. Or so we thought.
(c) Karen Harrup 26 July 06
3 - Countdown to Ed - 9 August 06
1 August 06. The cast was now motivated, coming up with their own ideas – the play was going to be awesome. We felt we could relax and deal with flyers, press releases and accommodation and other important things.
No such luck. When you think you have it sorted, it crashes down. One person to be exact. The boys were not working out as we intended, and as we only had two to work with - we weren’t able to give them any slack. After another group discussion, one of the male actors left the group. No hard feelings – mutual agreement. Everything OK? Not a chance. What do you do when you only have a couple of weeks until cast members go off on their holiday and can’t meet up again until the week before the Edinburgh trip? Panic? Drink? Dress up as a boy? Give up?
You call on your son. He’s back from first year at university - studying performing arts, and coming up to Edinburgh as technical support. Forget technical support - that will just have to be another job for the director. He now has to learn 75 pages of script.
Tom slipped into the role and gave the play a renewed sense of energy. Everyone knew him, and there was no problem with cast bonding. Trouble is, mother as director and son as actor does not always go smoothly.
Why is it that the one to question everything is your son? The one who doesn’t like your idea of directing, your vision, your ideas for set, your lighting ideas - or your costumes. Oh well, he’s a good actor, so we agreed to disagree and get on with it.
More publicity. Out of our non-existent budget, we found the money for the website - www.controlled-chaos.co.uk was made, and loaded with ideas, photos and information about the play.
6 August 06. Promotion. We look at www.edfringe.com daily to get ideas. We secure a few dates performing John Lewis’s shop window – on 21, 23, 25 August 06 at lunchtime. We’ll be chatting with people who come to watch about the play, and the work we do. It will be interesting – the space is only 1m by 3m, and there are lots of old ladies to entertain. I have assured John Lewis that we will be extremely sensitive in our approach and that the issue of Sexually Transmitted Infections will not be raised.
The Fringe Festival has now started and everything is well underway in Edinburgh. But is it in the Midlands? Sort of. The play is great. The director is checking the fringe website daily. The producer is on holiday. The venue technician is on holiday. Most of the actors are on holiday. No worries with most of the issues surrounding the fringe - apart from one maximally major one - The Scotsman.
It is not recommended - as the director, and the only person not on holiday - to check the ticket and press reports. Not when you see that The Scotsman is coming to see the play on the first night. When you have lied so, so, so much to your cast, will they believe you? There is only one thing for it. Show them the ticket and press report so that they can see for themselves.
9 August 06. Everyone involved with On The Edge are really getting their act together - and making sure that this play is going to be the best thing that the Fringe has ever seen.
That is a very, very optimistic thing to say - but I have to admire them for their positive attitude. To be honest, things are getting very exciting now, and I’m really looking forward to them getting up there and giving a performance they’ll be proud of.
Apart from that – there look to be lots of great shows on during the week we are there. So if we fail, we can go out and see them. I’ve managed to book a rehearsal space, courtesty of the Eric Liddell Centre, which means that the cast can practice.
Why is it that the cast don’t worry, but the director has become a walking nightmare - and virtually has no hair or nails left?
(c) Karen Harrup 9 August 06
4 - A Husband Adds - 16 August 06
Karen Harrup’s husband David Harrup writes:
16 August 06. It all started at Edinburgh Fringe 2005. Karen and our son went up or a few days. Karen came back enthused and keen to take a group of dramatic youngsters from her college to Edinburgh 06. They would see a few shows. The idea quickly lost control - and chaos ensued. Karen said 'Why don't we do a play?' What play? What subject? On the Edge. Decided. Christmas passed.
In February 06, Karen emailed a few venues, asked for their brochures. One of them replied, interested, asking more about the show and the group performing it. They liked the subject of the play (sexually transmitted infections), and that the group was new to the Fringe. They offered them a space. Karen and her colleague, discussed, delayed, then accepted. Venue 45. Suddenly we had Controlled Chaos.
It quickly took over our lives. It started with Karen - and spread throughout the cast, our friends, our family, our lives. We needed an Easter break – a few Fringe-free days in the Lake District. At the first road sign for Scotland on the M6, Karen said 'Oh, is Scotland that near to the Lakes?’ That was it - so much for the break from it all. Soon we were trying to capture the perfect photo to put on the flyers. Something on the edge of something, for 'On the Edge'. I joined in with enthusiasm - not that I had much choice - and came up with some cracking photos. They were all rejected.
How to get the cast and crew up to Edinburgh and where to stay? The travel was easy. The cast chose to fly from East Midlands to Edinburgh. Fine, apart from having later to cancel and rebook as the cast changed - and the later tickets cost more. Accommodation was found in student halls, within walking distance of the centre.
The boxes niggled. The play uses 2 sets of 3 boxes, and the biggest is 3 x 3 x 3. How were they going to get to Edinburgh? As I wasn’t booked to fly, I guessed this would involve me.
Rehearsals were underway. People had volunteered to help with promotions. More flight tickets were booked - but not for me or the boxes. Having made the plans and committed to paying out a lot of money, Karen announced: ‘We need to fund-raise'. Some donations came in. Word about the play was starting to spread, bringing interest and a bit of funding. Flyers were designed with the wonderful strap-line: ‘Don’t come without protection’.
Boxes. Did we need to hire a van? Could the boxes be transported for us? Could we use the college minibus? We found that the boxes could fit into the boot of my estate car. So, I was driving up to the Fringe.
Our son was back from university for the summer. As well as being drafted into the play because one of the lads had to drop out, he also assumed responsibility for the street theatre. Part of this was the creation of six 2-metre wooden people. Yes, they wouldn’t fit into my car.
It’s Wednesday 16 August 06. We all travel up on Saturday 19 August. A minibus sits outside my house, crammed with boxes, wooden people, flyers, props. And I have an escape plan. By train on Tuesday to Fort William - for 3 nights of solid sleep and a walk up Ben Nevis.
(c) David Harrup 16 August 06
5 - First Night - 22 August 06
I ask the cast to make sure they have looked over their lines for the three days of rehearsals. Maybe half will look over their scripts. I know that once they find out that The Scotsman is reviewing on the first night, they will be worried, motivated, optimistic, bothered? None of these - they are excited. Excited that the Scotsman is even bothering to come. Excited that they are going to be reviewed. Excited that their names will be up in stars.
How many stars do they think they will achieve on their present performance? At least four, says one person. Five says another. I say two. Two? How come? The next thing is to let them read some of The Scotsman’s reviews. This particular journalist has yet to give more than three stars for anything she sees. But that doesn’t count for our production does it? It is good, it is funny, it is educational. And we are living in a fantasy world.
We rehearse for three solid days. I don’t know what has happened, but whatever it is – I like it. The first day sees the cast just being excited about going to Edinburgh, what colour suitcases they are going to take, and whether or not they will have time to see any shows as soon as we get there.
I am concerned. But something happens on the second rehearsal which seems to bring about dramatic change. I am not there for the first few hours, and when I turn up I feel something different. They are all sat in the theatre, no one is talking, everyone is looking subdued. I come in bright and breezy - they all grunt. I say I want to see the whole play. So what has happened? My son. In the absence of my directorial presence, he has taken it on himself to give them the ‘talk’. The talk consists of telling them that they aren’t bothered about the play, that it is not performable, and that no one cares.
They can either say ‘Who is he to tell us what to do?’, or they can prove him wrong. They prove him wrong. I am subjected to an hour and fifteen minutes of pure entertaining and very focused theatre. The lines are spot on, the movements are excellent - I have difficulty finding something to criticise. At the end there is a brilliant feedback session. The whole cast and crew leave the rehearsal knowing that there is a fantastic piece of theatre that will be worth people going to see.
The minibus is filled with random street-theatre props and huge wooden 2-metre tall men. Cases are packed - the excitement begins. We are on our way to Edinburgh on Saturday 19 August 06. Our first performance is Monday night 21 August, and we are looking forward to all that the Fringe has to offer. Edinburgh here we come.
22 August 06. We’re here. We thought our street-theatre was original - so it’s a seismic shock to see hundreds of others on the Royal Mile doing the same things to promote their shows. But we have a good day. We see some shows, then it’s time for the technical run-through. It’s a late night, followed by a couple of glasses of wine in the pub, endless cups of tea in the flat and back at three in the morning. Never mind, early night tomorrow. No such luck – first night is upon us. The cast are enthusiastic, motivated, and give a cracking performance. The Scotsman and Three Weeks are there.
We wait for the reviews - nothing on the websites yet. But we get two 5-star reviews on www.edfringe.com from people who come to see it, which is exciting. And now – time to sleep.
(c) Karen Harrup 22 August 06
6 - My Little Secret - 25 August 06
23 August 06 The Royal Mile is – extremely busy – and full of opportunities to sell the show. We’ve been in Edinburgh for 3 days, and 2 performances. The first had a good-sized audience of 30 or so. Last night 4 people came (around the Fringe average, apparently). You’d think the cast would be motivated to go out and sell the show. But they’re tired – we’re not getting to bed till 3am . We head up to the Royal Mile complete with men on sticks, flyers and a little bit of enthusiasm. But we’re completely side-tracked with the other street-theatre, and start to watch that. Next year we must rethink how we promote the show.
We are all having a great time, though. The accommodation is good. We’re having some excellent cast-bonding sessions. No one is homesick - so far. Back to handing out flyers. And lying in the middle of the street to attract attention: I’ve done some things in my time - but this is special.
25 August 06. It’s 10.30 in the morning - everyone is in bed. The Fringe has fully caught up with us – we’re exhausted. There have been a lot of emotions. The reviews came out yesterday.
One star from The Scotsman was not what we’d hoped, but we took the comments on board, and decided we could use them positively. Three Weeks wrote us a lovely review, and made many comments which as director I fully agree with. The cast took the reviews really well, and decided that it was just one person's opinion.
Other issues today. Living with different people is not easy. Last night was tears and tantrums. Someone using the last of the milk in the fridge triggered an uproar. I’ve been doing my motherly bit. Hopefully they will all have a good night’s sleep, and be happy and jolly this morning.
We are off to perform in John Lewis’s shop-window this morning. The store is at the far end of Edinburgh from the venue It’s a strange experience. Performing in a carpet department isn’t something I’ve ever done until this visit (and not again, I think). But there’s a good response from shoppers.
All in all, things are going well. I am enjoying it immensely, and it’s a fantastic experience for everyone. I do, however, have a little secret that has yet to be revealed to the cast. The play being performed has been written by me under a different name. I’ve told them that the writer is seeing it tonight.
(c) Karen Harrup 25 August 06
7 - After Edinburgh - 6 September 06
28 August 06. I told them that I had written the play. Some of them didn’t believe me; others couldn't understand why I hadn’t told them in the first place. The final performance was awesome - the best they have ever performed.
6 September 06. Lots of favourable comments on the website have led to people being extremely interested in the play itself. Several schools and colleges in our area want the piece as an educational performance, and there is quite a strong interest from local media.
I’m feeling a bit more like my old self now. We’ve been back for just over a week and finally come down to earth. I don’t know why I didn't listen to people. They said we would be tired and have a real come-down at the end of the Festival. They were right. I cried a lot last week, I don’t know why. I think it’s being tired and absolutely mentally exhausted. Maybe it comes of being 40-something and trying to do such a mad project. The cast have taken it in their stride. They are buzzing; they will never forget it. We’ve had a fantastic, positive, experience - and it seems to be carrying on.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I’d love to do it again. One day. Karen.
END
(c) Karen Harrup 2006
Karen Harrup directed On The Edge, from Controlled Chaos Theatre Company (www.controlled-chaos.co.uk), at Edinburgh Fringe 2006. Venue 45, 21-26 August 06, 22:30 (1 hr 15 min). Controlled Chaos Credits (source http://www.controlled-chaos.co.uk/ 22 August 06) for Edinburgh 06 included: Cast (alpha order): Adam Dunmore. Grace Gardiner. Tom Harrup. Danielle Holder. Amy Julian. Caroline Tart. Brioney Worthington. Kirsty Wray. Production Team (alpha order): Mitchell Hubbard. Leah Kelly. Terri Musson. Natasha Talbot. Company Credits: Karen Harrup - Director. Producer - Jamie Henshaw. Company - Controlled Chaos.
article subeditors - Sarah Shavel, Mary Paterson, John Park
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2010
