Well worth it!

Come on folks buy a wee ticket, grab a glass of wine, forget the television for one night and come to Terra Nova...

HAVE YOU GOT YOUR TICKETS YET???

I know you're all reading this so what I want to know is...DO YOU HAVE YOUR TICKETS YET??? Get in quick to join us!

This little diary of all our hard work has had over 1000 views so far. That perhaps might not sound much but it means a lot to us. We've worked so hard so many weeks now I've lost count. Since you've been reading the progress, come and see the final result. We'd be thrilled to see you!

Hop online for your tickets through the link below...
http://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2011/jun/terra-nova/

The Doctor is Dead

Caught, mid-rehearsal taking a nap in the tent!

Close to death Dr Wilson and his comrades were only 11 Miles from One Ton Depot. However, their suffering was too much and before they made it. They all perished from the many ailments brought on by injuries and the baron, freezing wasteland.

Snowblindness
The burning of the cornea, by UVB rays from the sun. This becomes common when spending time on reflective surfaces such as large areas of snow. Tearing, pain, swollen eyelids and headaches are all signs of snowblindness.

Frostbite
Most likely to occur in the areas of skin farthest from the heart, blood vessels closest to the skin start to constrict and blood is drawn away from the outside. Firstly, there is an itchy, stinging pain and the areas may go numb. Next the top layer of skin freezes and turns black but can look worse than it actually is. Finally the muscles, tendons and nerves all freeze. Feeling is lost permanently, and gangrene sets in.

Gangrene
The death of tissue on the body simply, a part of your body has died and therefore will rot like that of a corpse. There will be a foul smelling discharge, discolouration and a complete loss of feeling and the possibility the infected area will simply ‘drop off’.

Starvation
A reduction in essential fuel for the body, Scott and his men would have run out of food on the journey back. With no vitamins, nutrients or extra energy going into their bodies, the men would have been suffering even without the top 3 ailments. The body loses substantial fat and muscle mass as it breaks down these tissues for energy. Atrophy (wasting away) of the stomach weakens the perception of hunger and victims of starvation are often too weak to sense thirst, and therefore become dehydrated.

The Terra Nova boys fell apart literally, inside and out as their surroundings proved to be far too powerful for them.
Got the stomach for it? Come see us, Terra Nova starts next week on the 7th June until the 18th. Go to itickets.co.nz or book through The Titirangi Pharmacy Phone: (09) 817-7658.

How about some visuals?

Time for me to zip it, take a peek below. Exciting stuff!

Awkward.

Dearest loyal blog readers,

We present to you our blog writer, as a dead guy...



Love,
Liz, Rachel, Taimi and Ian.

Man vs Wild

Our last couple of rehearsals have been hard work but we’ve had a lot of fun. So, to coincide I thought I would have some fun with this post too. We are getting close to opening night and the cast are working hard on building relationships with each other and with their characters. As an exercise our cast had to think about what animal they most associated with their character. It was fascinating to find out which animals our cast members chose and in doing this it seemed to add a primal depth to their motivations, behaviour and actions. So who chose what and why?



Captain Robert Falcon Scott – The British Bulldog

Quintessentially British, robust and determined, Captain Robert Falcon Scott is an Englishman on a mission. Stubborn in his demeanour, he won’t go down without putting up a fight. Similar to the Bulldog, he will prioritize according to his own assessment of the situation, not necessarily because it is the right/wrong thing to do.



Dr. E. A. Wilson – The Labrador

With their good natured temperament their kindness and loyalty, it is easy to see why Dr E. A. Wilson could be associated with the always friendly Labrador. Always thinking of his comrade’s well-being he is dependable from the beginning to the tragic end. Man’s best friend.



Captain L. E. G. Oates – The Bear

An outwardly calm surface with an unfathomable power surging beneath, the bear is potentially explosive just like Oates, a soldier with little patience for the weak. Woe be to the one who provokes the wrath of the bear, a warrior who protects his territory at all times. Oates, increasingly losing patience with the disasters facing the team becomes a force to be reckoned with. That is until his body gives up and the fight is over.



Lieutenant H. R. Bowers – The Badger

Fiercely independent creature that will stop at nothing to gets what it wants (mostly food) which is fitting for our always hungry Bowers! The badger is unique and well equipped to meet all the challenges it may face. Although its methods might seem unorthodox, the badger couldn’t care less. Bowers, while facing the endless landscape of Antarctica attempts to hold on tight to his sense of humour in the darkness, whether the rest like it or not!



Petty officer Edgar Evans – The Clydesdale Horse

The Clydesdale horse, strong with an arched neck and a sloped shoulder is a fitting choice for Evans. Both are powerful, industrious and determined, yet no use to anyone when injured.



Roald Amundsen – The Lion

The King of the Jungle and long thought of as an animal of balance, composure and sound judgment. Also, Lion statues are traditionally used to guard doorways and offer protection. Amunsden as the Lion, guards the door of the South Pole but isn’t afraid to use his teeth to stop his prey.



Kathleen Scott – The Kitten

Playful, energetic and excitable Kathleen adds a colourful, teasing bohemian edge to the male dominated play. Just like a kitten she is rarely afraid of anything and likes to examine everything around her in great detail. Curious as to why people do what they do Kathleen explores and learns about her world through close observation and uses her furtiveness to get what she really wants.

21 days to go folks, best start looking into purchasing some tickets! Check out Titirangi Theatre's website for more details.
http://titirangitheatre.co.nz/

Diary

Had we lived, I should have a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale.
- Robert Falcon Scott, 1912

Scott kept a diary of his expedition and we are keeping a diary of our production, this seems to be a nice mirror from the story to reality.

Scott’s last entries in his diary document their horrific journey back from the Pole. It becomes obvious he knows there is no hope of survival, Scott praises his men and writes letters to his family and friends. He also writes a message to the public on the planning and execution of the sledge journey. He reflects on the legacy of the trip which maintained a scientific purpose throughout. Scott’s men on top of carry supplies also hauled 35 pounds of geological specimens until they died.

Writing in his diary remained one of Scott’s priorities to the end. Considering how hard it must have been for him to keep writing as his body and mind suffered, his dedication to the expedition is astonishing. Bearing this in mind, this diary will remain one of my priorities until our last night. Let’s face it compared to Scott I have it easy!

Check out our event page on Facebook folks and note the dates in your diary...
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=209211512437077

A Killer

After our folly around the dinner table it was inevitable the laughs would fade and the real tragedy would rear its ugly head once again. It had never occurred to me that I might feel a tad light-headed during a rehearsal. However, this was exactly the effect the above scene induced in not just me but a few of us watching from the audience on Thursday. We are all used to taking copious notes, drawing diagrams and focusing on the paper as well as the stage, yet at this rehearsal we were all considerably distracted from the task at hand. We had to go through the agony of watching Evans die time and time again as we worked out the logistics of just where his dead body should end up. We had to watch him brandish a rather dangerous sharp knife around, convulse violently, fall sharply and die quietly all the while trying to make sure he didn’t end up on the laps of the audience in the front row.


Robert Falcon Scott and his crew did not make it back to One Ton Depot alive. They were frozen, exhausted and defeated on their return journey. Edgar Evans, having suffered a cut to his hand which did not heal properly began to deteriorate rapidly both mentally and physically. He suffered from frostbite to his nose, cheeks and fingers. It was also thought that he may have endured a serious bout of concussion which would have added to his misery. On February 17th, Edgar Evan died at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier. Other members of the group began to die and they set up their final camp on March 11, 1912 only 11 miles from One Ton Depot. A raging blizzard kept them from the depot, and the remaining crew died at this camp. They were found dead in their sleeping bags by a rescue party on November 12, 1912.

Above, a memorial stained glass window in Binton church, Warwickshire, England.

Dinner Time

A little light relief for the men as they toast Captain Scott!
We are having fun playing around with this scene, as it is a nice contrast to their impending doom. Act 2 Scene 1 has the men taking seats around a very formal dinner table and their characters ‘let loose’ a little more than in the rest of the play. Menus are misread, French is mixed with Scottish and our Welshman gets mixed up with just about everything to hilarious comic effect.
You’ll just have to wait until June 7th to find out why the men are so jovial and just how long it lasts…

Nemesis

One of the most powerful relationships within Terra Nova is the relationship between Robert Falcon Scott and his nemesis Roald Amundsen. Amundsen appears in Scott’s imagination in Terra Nova as a formidable force of condemnation for the way Scott handled his attempt at his expedition. Almost like the devil on Scott’s shoulder, Amundsen turns up throughout the play to point out his weaknesses and mistakes which inevitably will lead to his death. Over the weekend rehearsals we discussed how smart we believed Amundsen to be. Rather than depend on good old ‘sportsmanship’ Amundsen did whatever it took to get his men to the Pole and back safely, including eating his own dogs for sustenance.

Amundsen initially wanted to explore the North, but after hearing of others claiming the North Pole already he had a change of heart and headed South. He misled Scott (and his own team by all accounts) by not making this fact known.

After his ship Fram arrived in Madeira he informed his men where they were going and sent a telegram to Scott, it said simply:

BEG TO INFORM YOU FRAM PROCEEDING ANTARCTIC - AMUNDSEN.

How very unsporting of him.

Several other techniques were used by Amundsen which ensured his trip was a successful one. He used Eskimo skins rather than wool, dogs hauled his sledges instead of the men and he set up a line of supply depots south of the pole. Starting their journey on the 19th October 1911 with 52 dogs they got to the Pole on December 14th 1911, 35 days before Scott’s team. When they returned to their base camp on the 25th January 1912 there were only 11 dogs left. 41 unlucky dogs had been turned into dinner.

Scott’s tragic journey was hindered by his preparation, equipment, bad luck and occasionally (in my opinion) his very British ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude. A gentleman does not eat dogs, how barbaric!

Barbarian perhaps but Amundsen made it, alive.

Rehearsals are taking shape nicely now. We managed to run through the whole of the first act last night, with costumes too. However, they are making the boys on stage rather hot and sticky so we’ll to combat the heat somehow. We can’t have our men sweating in the Antarctic!

Opening night is the 7th of June and we’ll be running the play for 2 weeks, join us! I’ll be keeping you thoroughly updated on where to get tickets so keep following us on our adventure…

Look who's back!

Our very own Evans has arrived safely in NZ and is back to work...
Looking miserable as he should be, his hand is badly frostbitten and ready for amputation!

Blocking

The process is long, complicated and exhausting, perhaps mirroring some of the aspects of Scott’s own journey in the Antarctic. Last night we began the process of blocking Terra Nova. The props were gathered, the sledge was dragged, a make-shift slope was built and copious amounts of notes were taken. So we begin to form a shape of things to come…




Whilst the photo quality isn’t good, I was taking these ‘on the fly’ as I didn’t want to disturb our hard working cast.

I heard somewhere along the line I’ll be filling in as Petty Officer Evans this week as Karlos is out of town for a trade show. Better brush up on my Welsh accent to help out properly!

Fact: Robert Falcon Scott had actually intended to use the ship he had used in his first expedition to the Pole, the ‘Discovery’. However, the admiralty had sold it to the Hudson’s Bay Company and they refused to sell her back. After looking at some other ships Scott purchased the ‘Terra Nova’.

Read Through

It has been a long time since I have been involved in a Theatre production. In fact if I were to count it, it has been exactly 6 years since I last did any work for the stage. After graduating from Uni with a degree in Theatre Studies I left Scotland and never looked back.

However, after travelling and essentially living life like a gypsy for a good number of years I have finally settled. Here, in fine little New Zealand. I gained my residency got a good job, made lots of amazing friends but always felt there was something missing. I knew after a while what it was, the Theatre and all things that go with it, great writing, amazing actors, brilliant set designs, costumes and the pre-opening night jitters. I missed the magic of it all, I missed the lights, the anticipation, the audience and the natural high of being on stage. However, as I said it has been a while. I approached Titirangi Theatre with the view to volunteering but having no real clue as to what I wanted to specialise/volunteer for, I just knew I wanted back through those doors.

Terra Nova the next production in the 2011 programme needed new people to help and I'm here, I'm involved and I'm excited! Liz Watkinson, well respected and long-time Titirangi Theatre director has asked me to be her PA and stage manager for the production and I couldn't be happier. Whilst attending rehearsals, taking notes and filling in for different parts I will also be updating our Facebook page and keeping this blog along the way, just to add even more pressure to the mix!

We have completed our read-through and first rehearsal so far. The read-through was was intense. Huddled around the table in the basement of the Lopdell House we listened to Scott's story unfold. Ted Tally's script is beautiful and despite the male goading, fierce competition and the ultimate tragedy (we all know this doesn't end well) it is also full of hope, love, bravery and strength. I sat with baited breath all the way through the second half of the read through. Although I already knew the outcome of the expedition, there was something special about hearing our newly appointed actors and their characters bringing it to life. This is one to watch, make sure you have the dates in your diary folks, I'll be on your case for you to get tickets 7th to 18th June at Titirangi Theatre!

The Beginning

Their journey is now our journey. Terra Nova by Ted Tally is the latest production under way at Titirangi Theatre. Directed by Liz Watkinson and with a strong dedicated cast we are gearing up for an exploration of the heart, soul and mind somewhere deep in the Antarctic.
Come with us from the beginning, with this blog my intention is to follow our journey as we recreate Robert Falcon Scott's expedition for the stage. While I don't want to take away the magic of the final product, I think of it as more of a diary to track our progress and to build excitement for our audience along the way.

So pull on your long johns and your Nansen sweater, batten down the hatches, grab some hoosh and come with the Titirangi Theatre on our adventure to the South Pole.