Actors Required for Hard Times

We are pleased to announce that our next production will be an original adaptation of Charles Dickens' great novel 'HARD TIMES'. More details about the production will be given over the next few weeks but it is hoped that the play will open in late March/early April 2013 and tour to a number of local venues throughout the Spring and Summer.

The adaptation and direction for the production is being undertaken by Stuart Davies who directed our well-received productions of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' and '1984'.

We are looking for two male actors with a playing range of 20+ to be part of the cast. There is a large number of characters to portray in the piece and so we are seeking character actors who can multi-role, are comfortable with movement and physical approaches to acting, are armed with a sense of humour, and who will commit to the production process.

Unfortunately, as we are entirely self-funded, we cannot pay but we will cover reasonable travel expenses during the production's performance phase. We can offer a friendly and collaborative experience where ideas are welcomed, and your time is valued. We also have a really good laugh!

The audition will take place from 6.30 pm on Thursday 18th of October 2012, in The Old Building of Bradford College, Carlton Street (off Great Horton Road), Bradford. BD7 1 AY. Please come to the reception area where we will meet you. There is no need to prepare an audition piece.

If you would like to attend the audition, please email stuart@paperzootheatrecompany.co.uk
Alternatively tweet us on @PaperZooTheatre

Thank you.

PZ

Decisions, decisions...

We may have been quiet here at the Zoo blog over the last few months but don't go thinking that we have been hibernating.

Dave has been gallivanting around the stately homes of England in a very well-received open air production of Black Beauty.

Associate artist Emily Thornton has moved down to London to take up her place at the Italia Conti Theatre School whilst founder member, Ben, has returned for his second year at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

The rest of us have been busy working on ideas for future shows. We have read a number of stories and scripts, as well as workshopping some original ideas. There are several favourites on the table at the moment, but we should be able to announce our next production soon.

Thanks for your patience whilst we have been away.

D

Seven Go Mad in The Lakes

Well, we had a great time at In The Pines; two days of fun, frolics and fabulous music courtesy of the lovely guys from The Doghouse ,the Halifax-based music promoters of the event.

The weather stayed well-behaved on the whole (apart from the rain getting in to a couple of the tents) and the scenery was stunning. The Saturday saw us getting settled in and enjoying the relaxed and friendly vibe. As the sun dipped behind the mountains, and the lights twinkled along the shore of Lake Windermere, the company gathered fire wood and had a collective meal around the campfire. Not only the kids got high on toasted marshmallows and woodsmoke. 

Despite a rainy night (and soggy sleeping bags for some of us) the Sunday brightened up and at 2.30pm the 'children of the Forest of Dean' began to emerge from the trees and make their way down to the stage.

Some of the audience had not expected to see live theatre at a music festival, and were perhaps a little bemused by seven grown adults playing cowboys and indians. But soon they were engrossed in Dennis Potter's tale of children coming to terms with war.

Although we had not had chance for a full run-through of the play in the space, and we had to think on our feet at times, the show worked really well in the rural woodland setting. The fab technical team managed to appropriate some lights and the smoke machine from the main event which made the barn fire at the end of the play especially effective.

We had lots of very positive comments about the show, and hope that we can do something similar again next year.

In a weekend of great music it is, perhaps, unfair to single out any one band, but everyone of the Zoo creatures agreed that the fantastic Hope and Social were the perfect way to end a wonderful weekend. Please check out the band's website here.

Back On The Island

After a break of some four weeks, we are back in the rehearsal room for The Tempest. The show went well at The Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds back in March, and we have been re-rehearsing Blue Remembered Hills for our outdoor performance in the Lakes in June. But now we are back on Prospero's Island and running through the scenes.

In a momentary lapse of concentration someone spoke their lines in the Forest of Dean accent we use for BRH and we all fell about laughing. So now we have decided to do the whole run-through in the style of adults playing children!

This may seem like a frivolous waste of rehearsal time but, actually, it can be very useful as a way of hearing the lines in a fresh way. Changing the rhythm of delivery allows an actor to find new things in their lines, the others in the scene can react differently, and everyone 'lives' the text anew.

News Update 2

This weekend sees the presentation of four one-act plays by new writers at The Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds.

One of the plays, Motherly Love by Catherine Long, features our very own Julia O'Keeffe in the role of Elaine. Rehearsals have been going very well and the shows on Friday and Saturday evening (27th and 28th of April) are selling well.

Julia will post a blog about the play soon.

News Update 1

Our lovely associate artist, Emily Thornton, has recently been given a recall audition at RADA. Emily has written about her experiences as a drama school auditionee and if you scroll down a couple of entries, you should be able to read it!

We are all immensely proud of Emily and wish her the very best of luck!

Paper Zoo in The Pines

We are very pleased to announce that we shall be performing our successful production of Dennis Potter's BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS one more time!

Paper Zoo Theatre Company have been asked by local music promotion company, The Doghouse, to perform the show as part of their early summer festival IN THE PINES.

The Doghouse has built up a reputation for promoting a range of well known artists as well as supporting up-and-coming talent. Full details of the festival and the Doghouse monthly music gigs can be found on their website at www.doghouseuk.com

This promises to be a very special and intimate festival in a stunning location overlooking Lake Windermere. With only 200 tickets available for the event expectations of a sell-out are high. It is advisable to book early to avoid disappointment.