Wednesday 22 May 2013

A fond farewell

Aston Telling Tales has been a project that has provided many memories that all will cherish

We had a lovely review session with the Ageing Well group where we distributed a CD of the audio drama and certificates detailing everyone’s achievements and hard work.

Dorothy receiving her certificate


Joyce receiving her certificate

Les

Mr Kutty

All expressed their joy at being involved in such an interesting and enjoyable project and sadness that it had ended so quickly. It was agreed that it had brought the Aston community closer together and people felt a connection to Aston Hall and its rich history that they had not felt before. Those involved also felt that they had made some new and lasting friendships.
An unexpected and surprising aspect the project gave its participants was that the group gained strength from each other and became a united company, which was a joyous experience to be a part of. Many also expressed their desire to become involved in a similar project, unearthing more stories and performing at different heritage sites.   
Check back soon for videos of the performances and access to the audio drama.    

Sunday 19 May 2013

Take a bow


Today was the last of our performances and the end of our project. It was wonderful to meet such a fantastic group of people who all contributed to the making of Aston Telling Tales. Special thanks are extended to Alison Belbin, who made the project what is was and who tirelessly organised group activities, researched the seventeenth century in depth, interviewed members of the community, wrote the scripts, directed the cast and performed 
We had a brilliant time and hope you did too.


Aston's working, Aston's working,
Hear the engines, hear the engines.
Work hard! Work hard!
For your pension, for your pension...


Saturday 18 May 2013

Performances

Practise makes perfect

Cast had the opportunity to polish their performances yesterday during our dress rehearsal. There was a buzz of excitement in the air as they changed clothes and became their characters, and the run through went smoothly.
It was also a fantastic opportunity to view Aston Hall in the candle light. Though the hall at night does make for extremely cold conditions, with the last visitor gone, the hall becomes extremely still and quiet and you begin to feel extremely aware of the history, it’s almost tangible. It becomes much easier to imagine how those in previous centuries would have lived. This was a valuable experience for the cast as it helped them inhabit their roles and remember why we are creating such a project.


We're live!


The first day of our promenade performances went really well. The first show drew so many audience members that Dick’s Garret was packed to the rafters. The footballer’s wife thought there must have been a sari sale on!

It was great to see actors interact with the audience as it added an extra dimension, breathing life into the characters and the hall itself. Mildred's rendition of 'Old Man River' was so heartfelt, it brought a tear to the eyes of a few.

We recieved some positive feedback from audience members who enjoyed the mix of old and new tales and thought our concept was unique.






Our cast and creative team
 


We began in the Great Hall, with the introduction song 'Aston's Working 'and 'Elizabeth the Housekeeper's Story, 1650'.





We moved upstairs to the sounds of teenage boys chanting 'Aston Villa' and filed into the Great Dining Room for 'Mike's story, 2013'.



The teenage boys from Mike's story
 
'The Hawk's story, 1649' followed in Charles I Bedroom.


'Brenda's story, 2013' was in the Long Gallery.  




After a short walk up to the servant's quarters in the attic, the audience saw 'Henry the Farming Tenant's story, 1650' and 'Shibli's story, 2013'.





Laura, the footballer's wife, waiting for her cue

Then it was back down the stairs to the kitchen to see the 'Dairymaid's story, 1650'.


With the finale, 'Abi's story, 2013' taking place in the Great Hall, followed by a lovely rendition of 'Old Man River', sung by Mildred to close the show. 


Come and join us tomorrow for a new look at Aston's working class. Two performances will be shown, one at 1pm and the other at 3pm. We are based at Aston Hall, Trinity Road, Birmingham, B6 6JD. See you there!


Thursday 16 May 2013

All our hard work...

Claire's display is progressing nicely! We hope you will pop by and take a look over the weekend before the performances begin and get a taste of how we brought our research to life.


From concept...






to reality!


 ...well, almost. Claire still plans to add a couple more logos and a book containing Mary Collier's 'The Woman's Labour' poem. The unveiling will take place in the shop at Aston Hall over the performance weekend (Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May).   



Recording the audio drama


The Hopkins Day Centre kindly lent us some space for our makeshift studio. 
Ali’s wonderful scripts were brought to life and participants enjoyed seeing their research and interviews brought to fruition and turned into a creative piece. Many were natural actors and had wonderful tones for audio performances.
Getting to grips with the technical aspect of recording content was also an enjoyable aspect to the week, with Louise only too happy to explain the use of sound equipment and recording devices.

The audio play will be available online soon. Check back for more details.

Ali and Dorothy record their lines


Samina recording her lines as Shibli


Les recording as Henry


Joyce recording Margery's lines



Jenny recording her scenes as Brenda


Casting complete

We had a wonderful evening, casting for our performances in the sunshine at Aston Hall.



Character
Actor
Housekeeper
Kitty Ostwald
Margery
Joyce Williams
Dairymaid and Mrs Waters
Cassandra Wiggan
Mike
Denzil Peart
Teenage boys
Nathaniel Dennis and Jim Wynne-Willson, Liam   
Hawk, Shibli’s father, Dick and Sir Thomas Holte 
Pardip Kumar
Brenda
Jenny Stokes
Gaffer
Pete Wynne-Willson  (Cassandra Wiggan for live site performance)
Factory girls
Alison Belbin and Claire Evans
Henry
Leslie Smith
Henry’s mother
Jenny Stokes (Cassandra Wiggan for live site performance)
Shibli
Samina Kosar
Footballer’s wife
Laura Spooner
Mrs Pennant
Dorothy
Abi and the Ageing Well group as themselves.