Prepare and then prepare to ditch it all

Thoughts from preparing our trailer

Preparation is the key to everything when it comes to producing theatre, from writing, to funding to rehearsals to touring. ‘Prepare not plan’ is a personal mantra of mine i.e. have lots of ideas and information to hand and then see what is needed when the times comes. Work in the moment, as there are always others around you with equally good (and often better) thoughts and ideas and that, when melded with your own, will create something utterly unique; a genuine team effort. This is very apparent when making a trailer for a theatre piece.

• The ‘business’ we had prepared, was minimalised and made specific; general ‘largeness’ on a stage is hard to replicate on a small screen. 
• The story we wanted to get across using small sections of the scenes was able to be covered through small and accurate images.
• Long sections do not work, in fact much over six short lines unbalanced the trailer. Keep it brief. Pithy. 
• How you tell a story on stage is very different from on camera. Prepare the sequences or images that give the essence of your piece when seen in a theatre setting, then allow the film director to adapt them for the small screen. With their skills they can get the same sentiment across but in a filmic form. 

Don’t be proud, this is about getting the piece ‘out there’, allow others to help realise that in a different medium.