Archive | April, 2011

An afternoon in the garden office – with Harpo

21 Apr

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The weather has been spectacular all this week. As such I have made my office in the garden. With help from Harpo.

It is the first time since Christmas that all the family has been together. A feat in itself. Just realising the amount of travel this year has shocked us. Susie had been to India twice, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand and Singapore for work so far this year. I have been to the States and Christy has been in London all this term. So for the first time – family Romer take a breather – and mostly in the garden. Not even travelling into town.

I have been reformatting and backing up my hard drive – in more ways than one…

Am back after Easter where I will be picking up with the amazing response we had for TEDxYork – all the first wave of tickets were gone in 40 minutes.

We have some work to do in finalising the schedule and capacity, and I will be checking with Science City York next week about final numbers.

Also we will be putting together details for a new post to work with us at Pilot – as we draft details for the position of Digital Producer – more details soon….

Meanwhile back to the garden office.

And all have a great Easter break…

Mx

Video on my blog from the #TEDActive Social Network project

16 Apr
via video.ted.com
#TEDActive Social Network project I was part of this year at TED in California

Jonathan Harris : Today : #shifthappens

14 Apr
via youtube.com

The ‘Today’ Photo Project by Jonathan Harris – see if you can spot the images he took when he came to York last year for our Shift Happens conference…

Romeo & Juliet backstage view #kissbythebook

13 Apr

Photo

My daughter took this last week in Buxton during the actors’ warm up session from one of the final performances. A great image that captures beautifully the view from the DSM’s desk – one of those pictures that encapsulates a great project. I hadn’t seen it until today, and it brought back memories from the show. Nice one 🙂

Arctic Monkeys – new track ‘Don’t Sit Down Cos I’ve Moved Your Chair’

11 Apr
via arcticmonkeys.com

First readthrough of #WhatLight

11 Apr

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Always an exciting time hearing a new piece of work being read for the very first time by a new team of actors.

Today is day one of What Light rehearsals. Yes I know we only finished the Romeo and Juliet tour on Saturday, but this is what we do here at Pilot.

So a new script, by Richard Hurford and Giuditta Mingucci took to the floor today, under the expert guidance of our Associate Director, Katie Posner.

It is a real privilege to be able to commission new work, and to work with a writer in the rehearsal room. So today is a special day for the company as we head off on the journey of creating a brand new piece of theatre.

This will run in York and then head off to Milan and Dresden as part of our EU Platform11 project.

In partnership with Teatro Elsinor in Milan, the RSAMD and York Theatre Royal we are starting this project today.

The company are keen to blog, tweet and audioboo throughout the whole process, and will be using the #WhatLight hashtag on twitter too

So feel free to get involved and feed into what is happening.

Thanks

Marcus Romer
Artistic Director
Pilot Theatre
@Marcusromer

Pink Magnolia

7 Apr

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After a long harsh winter there are some sights that really lift the spirits. One is the magnolia tree outside our kitchen. It lasts for maybe a week, and the tissue paper blooms are fragile and delicate. A strong wind or rain shower are enough to take all the flowers from the tree. So when it comes into bloom and the light is bright, it is a thing of transient beauty, and deserves to be photographed and shared. Seems more appropriate this year than ever before…

In Planning Mode for @pilot_theatre

6 Apr

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Just taking a break outside for the first time in the garden this year. This new financial year – which here in the UK is just over 12 hours old. So happy new financial year

In all seriousness though, we have been putting plans in place for our new programme of work. Also taking time to reflect on the recent changes to the funding landscape.

We also say goodbye this week to our Romeo and Juliet touring team. 8 actors and 4 stage managers have been with us since August last year. An amazing run, of 22 touring weeks, over 130 performances – to audiences of thousands and thousands.

Thankyou – and enjoy the last week in Buxton at the Opera House – we will see you all on Friday. The show finishes on Saturday – and on the Monday we start rehearsals for our next show – What Light – directed by Katie Posner

In other news TEDxYork as part of our Shift Happens programme will open for booking in 2 weeks. An amazing lineup already and a few more surprises to follow
Http://TEDxYork.com

So whilst putting my feet up in the hammock for the first time I have been able to write this. More info soon on our new website and our drama on demand project…

Til later

Onwards and upwards…