Design Workshop

Saturday 11 am - Grove seminar room, Magdalen College

Run by Emma Glaser (credits in Oxford as a designer include Dangerous Liaisons and Another Country at the Oxford Playhouse and Bloody Poetry in the O’Reilly). This will be an informal passing on of student knowledge, tips and recommendations for designing in Oxford. It will include topics such as set building, budgeting, lists of good contacts and places to go to, notes on who’s who at the Oxford Playhouse, etc. It will also be an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about designing in Oxford (and as much as possible an attempt to answer them). This is open to anyone interested in designing student theatre in Oxford, in particular but not only at the Oxford Playhouse. It could also be of interest for production managers.

THE PRODUCERS - Assistant Director + Costume Designer

The Producers at Oxford Playhouse

Michaelmas Late Slot 2013

Accountant Leo Bloom and faded Broadway producer Max Bialystock hatch the ultimate scheme: find the worst play ever written, the worst director and the worst cast, raise the money and let it close on opening night. It’s sure to work! But not everything goes to plan…

DEM Productions are looking for an assistant director and a costume designer to complete our team. Email theproducers2013@gmail.com if you’re interested.

    Librettist

Kyle Barnes, from the Royal College of Music is looking for a librettist with script-writing experience to pen the book for a new short form musical. Due to time constraints, Kyle is specifically looking for an adaptation of a public domain short story, or an original short story/play that the librettist has already written.

If you’re interested, please take into account that you must be:

- Studying in England and available to work on the project through June 2014. 

- Have significant experience in creative writing, script writing, or musical theatre

- Be available to meet weekly during initial planning stages (and potentially more as the project progresses) but distance from London should not keep you from expressing interest.

-  Plan to stay with the project from start to finish, and meet the following target dates: book and lyrics should be written by December 2013, allowing for: all scoring, arranging, and editing of both lyrics and music to be completed by June 2014.

Kyle would appreciate reading any writing samples the student may provide, and would be happy to share samples of his music.

Get in touch on: kyle.barnes@rcm.ac.uk if you are interested!

    Film-Maker sought

The National Theatre of Akkad are putting on ‘Ashurbanipal: The Last Great King of Assyria’, a new tragedy, in Fourth Week of Trinity at LMH. With stylised sets, costumes and movement, accompanied by a heavy metal soundtrack, this will be an innovative production of Selena Wisnom’s powerful reconstruction of the decline of an ancient civilisation. We’re looking for someone to make a short film about the production process, to be screened during the interval (they would be welcome to help with editing it), and also for someone to film the finished production. Anyone interested in doing either should email anahita.hoose@some.ox.ac.uk.

    University Drama Officer applications

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

UNIVERSITY DRAMA OFFICER 2013-14

Applications are invited for the one-year fixed-term post of University Drama Officer from self-motivated, recent graduates or soon to be graduate. Applicants should have extensive experience of university student theatre and a broad range of theatre skills.

Duties include helping to programme student productions at a number of performance venues across the City of Oxford including the Burton Taylor Studio, college venues, and the Oxford Playhouse; helping students to plan and publicise their productions; and arranging drama workshops. The appointment is for a period of 12 months, starting in September 2013.Salary: £17,014 p.a. (at time of advertising)

Further particulars can be obtained from Gary Crocker, University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD (tel. 01865 270012, e‑mail: Gary.Crocker@admin.ox.ac.uk). The closing date for receipt of applications is Tuesday, 30 April 2013. It is anticipated that interviews will be held in late May 2013.

Producer wanted for new Lewis Carroll musical

“How strange it is, to be anything at all.”

When Alice steps through the looking-glass, she enters a world of chess pieces and nursery rhymes, where time runs in reverse, and all is not as it may first appear. Alice’s journey through this strange and fantastical land soon becomes one of self-discovery, as the imagined and the impossible start to become real, right before her very eyes…

I am aiming to stage my own musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Through the Looking-Glass’, bidding for a slot in either the Keble O’Reilly or Corpus Christi auditorium in late Michaelmas Term 2013, and I am looking for a Producer.

This exciting new musical project aims to revisit Lewis Carroll’s classic story in new and interesting ways, incorporating an eclectic mix of different musical styles and genres, and calling for actors of varied skills: whether it is singing, dancing, character acting or even playing their own musical instruments. And where better to stage it than in the historic city where Carroll himself lived, studied and taught?

If anyone thinks they might be interested in producing this show, please do e-mail me: stephen.hyde@merton.ox.ac.uk

    ARCADIA - Assistant Director wanted

Arcadia is looking for an assistant director!

Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia is on at the Oxford Playhouse in the early slot of Michaelmas, and we are looking for an assistant director, to help in auditions, rehearsals and show week. No previous experience is necessary, and if you’re interested, please email hannah.hurley@exeter.ox.ac.uk for further information by the end of this week. 

  Student Photo-Shoot

We are planning a two-day undergraduate student photo shoot in order to build up a new and vibrant selection of images for general use and for the undergraduate prospectus in particular. We are looking for a range of students and I wondered if any of your Oxford Imps would be willing models. In particular we would like them for the second day shoot, around and about in Oxford.  This is provisionally planned for Thursday or Friday afternoon of 1 week of Trinity Term (25 or 26 April) - weather permitting. 

The photographer is Phil Sills, and you can see the range of images he takes at http://www.psunlimited.co.uk/

Emma Lewis in the Undergraduate Admissions Office is coordinating the list of students and has suggested that students contact her on emma.lewis@admin.ox.ac.uk

    THE COSMONAUT’S LAST MESSAGE TO THE WOMAN HE ONCE LOVED IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

5th Week TT, Keble O’Reilly Theatre

Snatches of life on earth: intimate, interconnected. Two soviet cosmonauts, forgotten and forgetting.

It’s a small world when viewed from above.

The John Oldham Society, in association with Rough Hewn, is searching for a Marketing Manager for a production of The cosmonaut’s last message… by David Greig. 

The complicated stories of 9 people on earth are thrown into relief by Oleg and Casimir, two Soviet cosmonauts drifting in space.

A team of artists from the Ruskin School will craft a daring, abstract set, to be set in counterpoise with naturalistic acting that reflects Greig’s quiet and moving script.

The production team’s last project (The Tragedie of MacClegg) at the Edinburgh Fringe achieved 5-star reviews and won the ‘Fringe Sell-Out’ award.

With a poster design ready and a secured budget for marketing, the Marketing Manager will be required to organise the distribution of posters, contact the press, and ensure that the play has a strong online presence.

Please contact the directors, Emma D’Arcy (emma.darcy@seh.ox.ac.uk) or Thomas Bailey (thomas.bailey@seh.ox.ac.uk), if you are interested in taking up this role.

Chastity on the Verge

A secret love affair, a prying Duke, a jealous Duchess and a little white dog. The Châtelaine has found her Knight in shining armour and given her love on the condition that all must be done in secrecy. But no one can keep a secret, especially where jealousy is involved. 

And there is no happy ending for these star-crossed lovers when Medieval mischief turns into tragedy…

We are looking for a Producer for a new adaption of this Medieval French tale, bidding for Burton Taylor 5th week Trinity. This happens to be a prelims text, so this is timed perfectly for the captive audience of all French 1st year students looking for an alternative way to revise…

If interested contact elizabeth.moore@st-hildas.ox.ac.uk

AUDREYS

AUDREY — Experimental comedy night

Tuesday of 2nd week marks the return of Audrey, Oxford’s experimental comedy night hosted by the Revue. Auditions for next Audrey will be held on Sunday beginning 2nd week (28 April) from 2–5 pm in the Massey Room in Balliol College—just come along and perform 3–8 minutes of sketch comedy, stand-up, music, or anything else. For more information, see www.oxfordrevue.com.

    THE PRODUCERS

Auditions for The Producers at Oxford Playhouse

 Michaelmas Late Slot 2013

Accountant Leo Bloom and faded Broadway producer Max Bialystock hatch the ultimate scheme: find the worst play ever written, the worst director and the worst cast, raise the money and let it close on opening night. It’s sure to work! But not everything goes to plan…

DEM Productions are looking for 6 leads and a chorus of 20 for this hilarious, award-winning musical - looking for actor/singers and dancers. 1st round auditions to be held 24th April - 4th May.

Book an audition slot at www.theproducers2013.com

    AT THE HAWK’S WELL

ACTORS wanted for an avant-garde production of Yeats’ At the Hawk’s Well. We are looking for an ensemble of around six actors, with no set numbers of male and female. The performance will take place in 7th week at the Burton Taylor. Intensive rehearsal process, but length of the play (30 minutes) means the commitment will be quite a manageable one. Experience as a dancer, singer or musician an advantage but by no means necessary. Produced by the newly revived Experimental Theatre Club. RSVP thomas.s.stell@gmail.com to arrange an audition.

LOOK BACK IN ANGER

Macaroon Productions is taking John Osborne’s ‘Look Back In Anger’ to the Edinburgh Fringe this August. We have a vacancy for the main part of Jimmy Porter. If you’d like to audition, please email both isabel.marr@some.ox.ac.uk and eleanor.keel@bnc.ox.ac.uk for a slot. Any level of acting experience is welcome, but you must be free from 13th-27th July for rehearsals in Oxford, and from 3rd-17th August for the run at the Fringe.

  THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA?

Auditions for The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? by Edward Albee

We are urgently looking for an actor to play the part of Billy in Edward Albee’s ‘The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?’ to be performed in 3rd week as part of Brasenose Arts Week.

Billy is the son of Martin, a renowned New York architect, and his socialite wife, Stevie.  ‘Bright as you’d ever want, gay as the nineties,’ he enjoys a privileged lifestyle as part of a family that has accepted his sexuality. But during the play, Billy finds out that his father has been having an affair with a goat, an absurdity that brings down his own apparently idyllic homelife in a painfully real way.

 Any auditionees will be expected to do a reasonable American accent (though we will be able to develop it, so it needn’t be flawless at this stage). Please email daniel.byamshaw@magd.ox.ac.uk for more information or to arrange an audition.

      PHILOCTETES

Sophocles’ Philoctetes tells the tale of Odysseus’ attempts to bring Philoctetes back to Troy during the Trojan War, aided by the ambitious yet idealistic Neoptolemus. Affairs are complicated by Philoctetes’ hatred of the army that abandoned him crippled on the island for ten years, and Neoptolemus’ honourable conscience, both of which Odysseus must use all his legendary cunning to weave around.

We are looking for a male actor to take on the role of Neoptolemus. Auditions will be held Monday to Wednesday of 1st week, in Corpus Christi.

Directed by Natalie York (Associate Director: New Diorama Theatre, Artistic Director: Pell Mell Theatre Company, Assistant Director: New Sussex Opera, Pit Theatre Company, Quicksilver Theatre Company), a Corpus Christi student/ professional theatre director, this production will be done in conjunction with Pell Mell Theatre Company with the opportunity to transfer the show to Pell Mell’s London home The New Diorama Theatre (2x winner of The Peter Brook Award) for several performances.

Email rachel.forster@regents.ox.ac.uk for more information.

  LIFE SENTENCE (EDINBURGH)

Winner of Oxford Student’s Best New Writing of 2012, Life Sentence is looking for actors to play four male and three female roles.

The play centres around Theo, a hypochondriac who is diagnosed with immortality - a burden that he struggles to handle with from the start.

Auditions will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings of first week at St Hilda’s college.

Summer rehearsal dates are to be sorted after casting, but you must be free from 1st-17th August. Accommodation and travel costs will be subsidised, if not covered completely.

Please email beyondthebridgeproductions@gmail.com for more info and an audition slot.

      DEATHTRAP

Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers, is struggling to overcome a “dry” spell which has resulted in a string of failures and a shortage of funds. A possible break in his fortunes occurs when he receives a script from a student in the seminar he has been conducting at a nearby college—a thriller which Sidney recognizes immediately as a potential Broadway hit. Sidney’s plan, which he devises with his wife’s help, is to lure the student to his house, kill him, and take credit for the play. Thereafter suspense mounts steadily as the plot begins to twist and turn with devilish cleverness, and with such an abundance of thrills and laughter, that audiences will be held enthralled until the final, startling moments of the play.

Auditions for ‘Deathtrap’ (BT 5th week) are now open. 3M2F. Email james.lorenz@worc.ox.ac.uk.     OUDS NATIONAL TOUR 2013: ALICE IN WONDERLAND

This year, the prestigious OUDS national production will be a new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, adapted by New Writing Festival winner Matt Parvin, and directed by Josie Mitchell. The tour will begin in Oxford, and show in London before a full run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Rehearsals will begin after the end of Trinity term, and the production will run throughout the end of July and all of August.

1F / 7 ensemble (M/F)

Actors with any level of experience are very welcome to apply, particularly those with interests in physical ensemble acting. The production will be partly devised, so will be well suited to actors with creative open-mindedness.

We are also looking for a production team, combining the roles of Production Manager, Stage Manager, Designer, Costume Designer, Lighting and Sound Technician. If you are interested in filling any combination of these positions, please get in touch to arrange an interview.

Auditions and interviews will take place throughout 0^th week. Email James Fennemore at oudsinwonderland@gmail.com to book a slot, or with any questions. 

    THE COSMONAUT’S LAST MESSAGE TO THE WOMAN HE ONCE LOVED IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION - MALE ACTORS

5th week HT13, O’Reilly Theatre

CALL FOR MALE ACTORS

Snatches of life on earth: intimate, interconnected. Two soviet cosmonauts, forgotten and forgetting.

It’s a small world when viewed from above.

The John Oldham Society, in association with Rough-Hewn, is holding auditions for a production of The cosmonaut’s last message… by David Greig. 

The complicated stories of 9 people on earth are thrown into relief by Oleg and Casimir, two Soviet cosmonauts drifting in space.

There are a number of excellent character roles to be filled; most action takes place between 2 characters at any one time, and we will rehearse in these pairs (approximately 3 hours per week for each cast member) before bringing the play together as a whole in 4th week (when rehearsals will increase).

We are looking for a Scottish civil servant, a Norwegian peace negotiator, a retired French space enthusiast, and a pair of Soviet cosmonauts. Despite the variety of nationalities, not all of the characters require accents.

The production team’s last project achieved 5-star reviews, played to sold-out audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Please email emma.darcy@seh.ox.ac.uk with any questions or to arrange an audition slot. You will receive an audition script in advance, and in the audition (which should be approximately half an hour long) you will be acting with one of the team. Auditions will run throughout 0th week and Monday of 1st.

Michael Boyd workshop

Scenes from The Cherry Orchard: A working rehearsal day with Michael Boyd 

On 13th May, Michael Boyd, this year’s Cameron Mackintosh Professor of Contemporary Theatre and former Artistic Director of the RSC, will be holding an exclusive workshop for Oxford students. The workshop will run from 11-6pm at St Catherine’s College. If you are interested in taking part send me an email with your name, college, subject, year and a short paragraph detailing why you would like to come along. It promises to be a fantastic day!

Wilderness Festival

WILDERNESS FESTIVAL – Calling for bids

Live at the Ashmolean – 31^st May

www.wildernessfestival.com - 8^th – 11^th August 2013

Live at the Ashmolean

Wilderness festival will be taking over the Ashmolean on the evening of the 31^st of May, and we are looking to feature acts, installations, short plays or performance pieces. If you are interested, please outline what your idea would be in bid format, and email it to Tessa@secretproductions.net by April 30^th 

Wilderness Festival

Wilderness festival takes place every summer at Cornbury park, from 8^th-11^th August. This year, we are interested in featuring acts, installations, short plays or performance pieces and would love to hear your suggestions. If you are interested, please outline what your idea would be in bid format, and email it to Tessa@secretproductions.net by May 30^th.

If you have an idea that would suit both events, please highlight that in your bid.

LIFE’S A DREAM Launch Party

LIFE’S A DREAM LAUNCH PARTY

HOUSE BAR

8PM, MONDAY 22ND APRIL

Get yourselves down to the launch party of Life’s a Dream, an exciting piece of theatre brought to you this April by Oxford Spanish Play.

Come and celebrate the start of a new term, the end of collections and the hard work of the play’s cast and production team with us at the stylish House Bar.
The party will take place just two days before the show’s opening night, and with six of House’s famous cocktails HALF PRICE all night long, the evening is sure to be a good one…

And as if you’re not excited enough, everyone buying a drink will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a free ticket to the play itself!

Work with Rough-Hewn

Rough-Hewn, the company that brought you Eight, Bunny and Orphans, is looking for new artists to work with. Alongside our new Associate Director Emma D’Arcy, we want to help push Oxford’s theatre scene towards something renowned not for its history and alumni, but for its urgency and desire to interrogate.

Michaelmas Term 2013 will see Rough-Hewn take its emphasis on new writing and collaboration one step further: we will produce one published play which engages with a topic we think is important to discuss, and commission a brand new piece of work written ‘in response’ to one of its themes.

We’re looking for writers and directors to take Rough-Hewn forward and keep it producing the strong, immediate and resonant work that it was created to champion. In the coming year, there are things we want to discuss: the absurdity of humanity’s place in the world, our continuing tendency to ostracise, social and mental sickness… The list goes on.

If you’re a writer who likes the idea of developing a brand new script with us, let us know. If you’re a director with an exciting play you think suits us, then tell us about it - and if you haven’t, we’ve got a pile of phenomenal ones waiting to be put on. And if you want to direct something completely different that fits with our ethos, chat to us anyway!

We also need an Executive Producer to help manage the company’s funds, working with the Associate and Artistic Director both to invest wisely in external shows and market our own productions effectively.

We’ll be meeting with prospective artists in 3rd Week to plan our season, so send us an email (info@rough-hewn.co.uk) if you’d like to be at the centre of the company’s future.

For more information, check out our website: www.rough-hewn.org. 

Review at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Be part of the edfringereview.com team at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, living in-house for a week with seven other reviewers and two editors to help shape this year’s online publication. edfringereview.com is part of Online Theatre Review Ltd. and takes student reviewers from Bristol, Cambridge, Durham and Oxford to review the more marginalised plays at the Fringe (focusing particularly on student, amateur and Free Fringe theatre productions). Throughout August we will be accommodating eight reviewers each week in the EFR house. Alternatively, those able to provide their own accommodation can apply to be an out of house reviewer. As well as writing a minimum of two reviews each day, you will be involved with flyering on the Royal Mile, updating the social media content and the day-to-day running of the house. This is a fantastic opportunity for those who are interested in theatre or writing, and for those new and old to the Fringe!

Please note that your involvement with bristoltheatrereview.com, cambridgetheatrereview.com, durhamtheatrereview.com or oxfordtheatrereview.com will be taken into account, as well as the quality of the two reviews you will be asked to submit, and your relevant skills.

We are accepting reviewers on a rolling basis, so register your interest as soon as possible. To do this, please email a blank email to editors@edfringereview.com with ‘REVIEWER - + your UNI email address’ in the subject line. We will contact everyone with details of the application procedure.

Contemporary Russian Theatre lecture - TODAY

What: Contemporary Russian Theatre as a Mirror of Social Change 

When: 22 April, Monday, 5 pm

Where: St Antony’s College, Nissan Lecture Theatre

FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/162638143896863/

John Freedman is an outstanding critic and expert of post-Soviet theatre, unrivalled in the breadth of his knowledge and enthusiasms. He lives in Moscow, where for over twenty years he has been writing weekly articles on new Russian plays for the Moscow Times. His reviews, scholarly works and many translations of Russian plays into English can be found here: http://johnfreedman.webs.com/

The talk will be illustrated with videos and photos. Followed by refreshments in Hilda Besse Building. Supported by RESC at St Antony’s.

Commedia dell’Arte workshop in Italy

Florence, Italy: June 3-21, 2013 Commedia dell’Arte with Roberto Andrioli and Marco Bendoni (1950 € euros: includes housing in an apartment and workshop) Group discounts available.

Join us for 3 incredible weeks in Florence, Italy for this Commedia dell’Arte workshop. Discover Commedia in its birthplace!

The course is geared toward understanding the theatrical experience as a fun and useful tool for developing your own creativity and expressiveness as well as expanding your artistic experience in relation to a group. This course will help to develop the exchange of physical energy and creativity amongst the students in the group. 

Geared toward understanding the historic “ Commedia dell Arte”, which was developed in Italy, this course will focus on dances from the Renaissance period with a public performance at the end of the course.

In this three-week workshop, participants will enhance their physical expression and learn the techniques of storytelling, improvisation as well as scene study analyzing the major authors within the tradition of Commedia dell’Arte.

Participants come from different countries and will live in apartments in Florence. There will also be excursions around Tuscany and a public performance at the end of the workshop.

OxStu - Short Fiction

Last term The OxStu (The Oxford Student newspaper) Arts & Literature section began publishing pieces of short fiction in the paper every week, and we’re now open for submissions for Trinity (ie this term).

The brief is very open: between 400 and 600 words of original fiction.

If you’d like to enter a piece for publication, or know someone who does please either email your entry to culture@oxfordstudent.com (or tell them to).

Look forward to hearing from you.

The Holywell Manor Festival

The Holywell Manor Festival takes place on Saturday, 27th April 2013 and is part of Balliol College’s 750th anniversary celebrations. It promises to be an exciting day of intimate presentations, discussions, and live performance – all in the beautiful surrounds of Holywell Manor, Balliol’s graduate complex. Some of the high profile speakers lined up include:

• The Earl of Gowrie PC - former Conservative Party cabinet minister, former chairman of Sotheby’s and the Arts Council of England
• Howard Marks - Writer, DJ and former drug baron
• Sir Nicholas Kenyon - Managing director of the Barbican Centre 

This will be a rare opportunity for attendees to mingle with some of the UK’s leaders in politics, business, law and the arts in an informal setting. More details and a full list of speakers can be found at http://hmfestival.co.uk/. Tickets, at a student discount, are available on the site, and include a decadent buffet lunch and discounted drinks throughout the day. 

Theatre Technician’s Prize

The Board of Management of the Cameron Mackintosh Drama Fund will award a prize of around £150 for the best entry. Further details of the prizes are available from The University Drama Officer, Burton Taylor Theatre, Gloucester Street, Oxford OX1 2BN (telephone: 01865 791577, e-mail: drama.officer@admin.ox.ac.uk), to whom entries should be submitted.

The prize will be awarded for the best overall contribution made by a student of the University of Oxford to the technical and backstage aspects of student theatre. Applications should consist of a curriculum vitae and a covering letter explaining why the applicant believes his or her technical contribution has been outstanding. The prize will be judged by the University Drama Officer and the technical staff of the Playhouse and the Burton Taylor Theatre. Previous winners of the prize are not eligible to apply. The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday of 8th Week Trinity Term.

Oxford Film Fund

The Oxford Film Fund page is now up and running! Please Like the page for updates on all things film in Oxford. Moreover, you can message the page if there is anything you would like to promote or share in relation to film at Oxford. 

https://www.facebook.com/OxfordFilmFund?fref=ts

The Oxford Film Fund (OFF), originally known as the Illyria Film Fund, is Oxford University’s first film funding body.We provide equipment so that student’s can make films. 

Please also subscribe to the mailing list for crew callouts, answers to your technical questions, and information on Oxford Film Fund activities. 

http://lists.ouds.org/listinfo/oxford_film_fund

Oxford Fashion Society

Calling all Producers and Marketing Managers…

Does your play have fashion credentials? Beautiful costumes? A period setting? Or a fashionable launch party event? If so, Oxford Fashion Society would love to hear from you!

We’re interested in interviewing designers, posting dress rehearsal photographs to our popular blog and other collaborative ventures.

Email marketing.oxfordfashionsociety@gmail.com to get in touch and find out more.

Plays Rough

Are you a budding playwright, director or actor at Oxford? Do you just want to experiment with character or even just want to see what the Oxford writing scene has to offer? PLAYS ROUGH is a group for playwrights to have sections of their work read out or performed in a friendly and informal environment, followed by critical feedback and discussion. Writers can experiment with their work without having to commit to a fully-staged production, and it’s also an opportunity for actors and directors to play around with different kinds of roles and dialogue without the pressure of an audience. If you’re interested in theatre, please come along!

Please email matilda.curtis@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk to be added to the mailing list.

Wadham Drama Society

Wadham Drama Society is a new, exciting society open to all students at the university.  We run workshops, talks, and will be putting on a number of productions this year. We always welcome new members, so if you’re a budding actor, director, producer, or if you love drama, come along to our workshops at 4pm every Friday in the Moser Theatre. Email me at oliver.forrest@wadh.ox.ac.uk to get on our mailing list, and we look forward to seeing you soon! 

LIFE’S A DREAM

LIFE IS A DREAM / LA VIDA ES SUEÑO

by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Wednesday 24 to Saturday 27 April, Oxford Playhouse

Oxford Spanish Play brings an exciting new production of Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s masterpiece, Life is a Dream to the Playhouse stage. The undisputed flagship of Spanish Golden Age theatre and considered the peer of plays such as Hamlet and Oedipus, Life is a Dream interweaves themes of power, destiny and love.

Locked up in a tower at birth by his father, Prince Segismundo’s future is doomed by a prophecy that pronounced him a disaster for the country. Now a grown man, the Prince is liberated by his father and given the chance to prove the prophecy wrong, but can he escape his fate?

This classic play was recently a sell-out hit at the Donmar Warehouse, and will be performed here in Spanish, accompanied by English surtitles.

To find out more, check http://www.oxfordspanishplay.com/

To buy your tickets, visit http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/show/?eventid=2963

REPETITION

Is repetition possible? Professor George Pattison’s new adaptation of Kierkegaard’s Repetition blends Kierkegaard’s life and work as it seeks to answer that very question.The play premieres this Thursday the 25th at 7:30 pm at St John’s College Auditorium, with an additional performance at 7:30 on Friday.

ROPE

Rope
8.00pm
Thursday 25th - Saturday 27th of April 2013
The Old Fire Station.

Autumn, 1929.

Two wealthy and privileged Oxford undergraduates, heavily influenced by philosophical models of intellectual superiority, contrive to commit the perfect murder. The victim’s body is concealed in a chest in their Mayfair flat. A carefully selected party of guests, including the victim’s own father, is invited for dinner – using the chest itself as their outré dining table. As a storm brews outside, can the pair keep their guilty secret or will they lose their nerve?

Inspired by a contemporary murder case in Chicago, Rope by Patrick Hamilton, achieved immediate critical acclaim in the West End and was immortalized by Alfred Hitchcock in his renowned film adaptation.

Rope by Patrick Hamilton, remains to this day one of the classics of the thriller genre.

You can book your tickets calling up 01865 305 305, in person at the Oxford Playhouse, or online via the link below:

http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/ticketsoxford/#search=rope

Quote ‘UNLOCK’ when booking at Tickets Oxford [in person/by phone] and get all tickets for £10. You can get as many tickets as you like with the offer and it is available on all three performances. Please pass on to whoever you think might be interested … which should be everyone!

Fancy working on a short? Get moving! 

Shooting will take place this Saturday in Camera, from 1 - 6 pm. Should be pretty fun, we’ve got a crane and everything. Free pizza provided. Email me asap if you’re up for it (susanna.quirke@oriel.ox.ac.uk).

Heaven sent: The Beauty of Holiness

A week of events exploring Christianity through the Arts

Hosted by the Oxford University Chaplains

Main Events

Sunday 10th February: 5.30 p.m. – Opening Service: ‘Dominus Illuminatio Mea’. Preacher: The Rev. Richard Coles.

Monday 11th February: 8.15 p.m. – Lecture by Prof. Terry Eagleton entitled ‘Jesus and Tragedy’.

Tuesday 12th February: 8.15 p.m. – Poets Nicola Slee and Michael Symmons-Roberts discuss their poetry and faith.

Wednesday 13th February: 3.00 p.m. -4.30 p.m. – Composer James MacMillan  leads a choral workshop on his Strathclyde Motets.

Wednesday continued: 6.30 p.m. – Ash Wednesday Eucharist with the Chapel Choirs of Worcester, University, Hertford and Lincoln Colleges, conducted by James MacMillan. Music includes MacMillan’s setting of the Miserere.

Wednesday continued: 8.15 p.m. – James MacMillan discusses ‘Sacred Music and Contemporary Culture’.

Thursday 14th February: 8.15 p.m. – A production of the play ‘Two Planks and a Passion’ by Anthony Minghella, directed by Prof. Elisabeth Dutton.

Friday 15th February: 8.15 p.m. – ‘Can Christian Art be Modern?’: an illustrated discussion by artists Nicholas Mynheer and Roger Wagner with Lord Harries of Pentregarth, former Bishop of Oxford.  

For more details and information about fringe events, go to

http://www.facebook.com/ChaplainsEvent2013

https://sites.google.com/site/chaplainsevent

or email: jonathan.arnold@worc.ox.ac.uk

Theatre Application Information

Oxford Playhouse - Applications for Michaelmas Term 2013

 Deadline: Thursday of 5th Week, 5pm

Oxford Playhouse is now accepting applications for productions to take place in Michaelmas Term 2013.

There are two week-long slots available. Applications should include:

- statements from the Director, Producer and Designer  (max length - one side A4)

- a one page synopsis (max length - one side A4)

- brief biographies from team members detailing year, college, subject and academic commitments in Trinity

- a detailed budget (examples available - please ask to see one)

- 1st draft of 100 words of marketing copy for the brochure

Seven hard copies (double-side printed) and one electronic copy should be submitted to the Drama Officer at the Burton Taylor Studio by 5pm on Thursday of 5th week. Interviews will be held in 6th week.

Please contact the Drama Officer (joe.murphy@oxfordplayhouse.com | 01865 791577) to discuss title ideas before applying to avoid clashes with the Playhouse programme.

I can also help by providing sample applications, advice on team members, queries about budgets, information about what interviews are like, and any ideas about what play to put on.

So if you would like any tips or advice, please do come and see me, or send me an email - I’m here to help!

Burton Taylor Studio - Applications for Trinity Term 2013

Deadline: Monday of 6th Week, 5pm

Application forms for shows hoping to perform at the Burton Taylor Studio in Trinity Term 2013 are now available from the Burton Taylor - press the buzzer marked Offices to come in and pick one up.

Bids should contain a completed application form, a detailed budget and statements from the Director, Producer, Marketing Manager and Production Manager. Two hard copies should be submitted to Robert Bristow at the Burton Taylor by 5pm on Monday of 6th week, and one electronic copy should be sent to the Drama Officer (joe.murphy@oxfordplayhouse.com).

Interviews will be on Wednesday and Friday of 6th week.

If you wish to discuss your application please feel free to get in touch with either Robert Bristow, the Studio Manager (burton.taylor@oxfordplayhouse.com / 01865 305 350) or the Drama Officer.

Vacancies   OUDS Summer Tour

Applications for the OUDS National Summer Tour are coming up. The tour can go all over England, either up to Edinburgh or around the country – it’s up to you! Directors and Producers must bid as a team, with a strong concept for a play, where you would like to take the tour, and an outline budget. Applications must be in by 5pm TUESDAY of 7th WEEK, to drama.officer@admin.ox.ac.uk, and interviews will be held on the Friday of that week.

    ANOTHER COUNTRY - marketing positions

Looking for students from Oxford Brookes to join the marketing team of Another Country, which opens at Oxford Playhouse on February 13. If interested, please contact Edwina on edwina.christie@univ.ox.ac.uk

  Look Back in Anger - production team

Macaroon Productions is taking John Osborne’s most famous play ‘Look Back In Anger’ to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August.

We would like to recruit the following members of our production team:

• producer
• marketing manager
• designer
• stage manager

Some of these roles can be combined or adapted to suit.

If you’re interested in joining us, please email both eleanor.keel@bnc.ox.ac.uk and lara.mcivor@magd.ox.ac.uk with details of which position you would like and why. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

  The Oxford German Play - production team

The Oxford German Play 2013 - production team

“Die Frau von früher” by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Trinity Term ‘13, bidding Burton-Taylor Studio WK7/WK6)

Frank, his wife Claudia and their nearly grown up son Andreas have almost finished packing. Andreas had to part from Tina, his first great love: Tomorrow the family will start a new life overseas.  Then, someone is knocking on the door. It is Romy Vogtländer, Frank’s long-forgotten first great love. She has come to remind Frank of his vow he made 24 years ago - to always love her.

For the first time in many years, an original German play will be performed in Oxford. The entire play will be performed in German (with English sur-/subtitles provided) and rehearsals, too, will ideally be held in German. For this project, we are looking for an assistant director, tech, costume-design and marketing. Depending on the role, very good to no knowledge of German is required. Please contact oxfordgermanplay2013@gmail.com for further information.

  DEATHTRAP - Producer wanted

In a New York City apartment Sidney Bruhl is struggling to regain his former glory as the toast of Broadway stage writers. To add insult to injury, a student of one of his writing seminars, Clifford Anderson, has just sent Sidney a copy of his latest script and - as Sidney himself admits - it is perfect. With this, Sidney breaks. In discussion with his wife, Myra, he hatches a dangerous plan to lure Clifford to their house, kill him, and take credit for the brilliant play. But once Clifford arrives we realise that all is not as it seems… Indeed, even Helga Ten Dorp, a nosey psychic from next door, and Porter Milgram, Sidney’s observant attorney, can only speculate where the line between truth and deception lies.

Deathtrap by Ira Levin holds the record for the longest running off-Broadway production, and is the winner of many awards including Oliviers and Tonys. The play was later adapted into a film starring Michael Cane. Its incredible plot twists and deep deception make it a thriller of the highest calibre.

James Lorenz (Worcester 1st year) is bidding to direct the play at the BT in Trinity 5th week. His past experience includes acting numerous school productions, as well as directing Macbeth in Upper 6th last year. This year he appeared in his college’s Cuppers production and is currently directing the Worcester College Buskins production internally. He is lookng for a dedicated producer who can bring a talented and hard working team together and make the show a success. He is grateful for anyone interested to contact him at james.lorenz@worc.ox.ac.uk

  OxStu reviewers

Putting on a production THIS TERM?

Producers, Directors and Marketing Managers - Have you told The Oxford Student about your production yet?  If you haven’t, please email us atdrama@oxfordstudent.com. 

Make sure we’ve got you covered!”

“Want to see the plays you want for FREE?

It’s never too late to get involved with The Oxford Student’s Stage Section.  

We’re always looking for lots of talented new writers to cover shows of all kinds - reviewing performances and attending open rehearsals - and to conduct interviews with the big names in national theatre.

Email drama@oxfordstudent.com to be put on our mailing list!

    1984 - Designer and Producer

We are looking for a producer and a designer for an adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 that will be performed in traverse midway through Trinity Term. The designer would be responsible for the overall aesthetic of the piece, including set and possibly costume, and therefore would be a key member of the creative team. Anyone interested in either role should email luke.rollason@mansfield.ox.ac.uk

Planning on bidding for the Keble O’Reilly Theatre, 4th Week of Trinity Term, though this may be subject to change.

    Oxide Radio

Radio Comedy and Drama

Oxide Radio is looking to expand into more comedy and spoken word. As such, we’re looking for interested writers, actors, and producers. Prior experience and knowledge of audio software is not necessary, and the level of involvement is completely flexible; if you think that you might be interested, please email oxide.comedyanddrama@gmail.com

  Cherwell recruiting

Marketing Managers! Producers! Cherwell Stage needs you.

Get in touch as soon as you can so we can organise previews and reviews: cherwellstage@gmail.com

Likewise, if you want to write for us, contact us at the same email address.

    OUDS/Thelma Holt International Tour   Applications (statement and CV) will be due into me by 5pm on Monday 11th February to begin the selection process ahead of interviews on Thursday 21st February. We will accept applications from those who were unable to attend the introductory meeting last week. No applications will be accepted after this time.

I can confirm that the Thelma Holt tour 2013 will be going to Japan, as it has often done previously. With prestigious theatre destinations in Japan, and several potential dates in the UK including Oxford, London, Stratford and Guildford, the Japan Tour is a fantastic opportunity.

Candidates for the positions of director or producer must prepare a brief statement (no longer than 750 words) on why they want the position and what they feel they will contribute to the project. The statement should be accompanied by a cover sheet with contact details and a brief CV.

Producers should talk about what they feel their role will be and how they plan to fulfil it. Prospective directors should prepare to work on one of three selected Shakespeare plays. This year the choice is between The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth (and anybody who chooses the last of these plays should have an actor in mind and guaranteed for the tour). Directors should choose one of these and go into detail about their artistic vision for the show as well as the practicalities of achieving that vision. Directorial applicants should also be aware they will be required to cut the script.

Applicants must be free for the long vacation as rehearsals take place all summer long. Due to limited resources, only about 20 people may actually go abroad with the tour and this includes the production team, so the maximum number of actors in the production is typically around 13.

For more information contact Joe Murphy at joe.murphy@oxfordplayhouse.com

Auditions     Spoken word art

I require a female actor, who wants the experience of something a little different, and who is willing to perform alone in a small gallery for a group of people. 

The artwork is a performative piece of spoken word, so the focus will be on your pronunciation, intonation, volume and pace of your voice, etc, rather than expression or gestures because you will be hidden from view (at the moment I envisage you will be behind a curtain but with strong lighting so that your silhouette will be visible). 

There are a lot of lines but as you will be hidden you can use prompts/a script  so you don’t spend your life having to learn a script off by heart for me! 

Please check out Samuel Beckett’s “Not I” on Youtube for a general idea when I mean spoken word piece (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8C4HL2LyWU) to see if you’re interested. My artwork won’t be so feverish or fast, but it gives you an idea of the kind of work I’ve been looking at. Also Sue Thompkins, who is specifically a spoken word artist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Beaf9PovFyA).

You must be willing to be recorded to be included in my Portfolio that I submit for my finals - and you of course can have a copy of the video for your own Portfolio. 

I am aiming for the performance to happen on Thursday 28th February or Friday 1st March.

I am really looking forward to making this piece and working with someone new and enthusiastic! I’m very normal, friendly and open to any suggestions about the work if and when we work together, so whilst I have a strong vision for the piece, there is room for some improvisation and creative input if you so wish to give it.

Please do get in touch with me if you would be interested, or if you have any questions at all. My email address is claire.davis@lmh.ox.ac.uk. If you want to get involved then we can meet and discuss it further whenever is convenient, and I can send you the script.

    THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

Synopsis:

Opening for the part of Lorenzo Email erika.pheby@ccc.ox.ac.uk to schedule a time. 

No prior experience necessary. 

Auditions will be held in Corpus Christi College on Saturday and Sunday, 2nd and 3rd of February from 1pm-4pm

Please send an email to erika.pheby@ccc.ox.ac.uk if you are planning on auditioning with the approximate time you are coming

Auditionees should come prepared with a monologue of Lorenzo’s, such as
Lorenzo Act V, Scene i, Line 63

A traditionalist production of one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragicomedies which touches on themes of anti-Semitism, sexuality and the intersection of rhetoric and logic, all set against the opulent backdrop of 16th century Venice.

Bassanio, a young Venetian, needs 3,000 ducats to woo Portia, a wealthy and sharp-witted heiress. In search of help he goes to his great friend Antonio, the merchant of Venice. Yet Antonio’s wealth is currently invested in his fleet away at sea. They turn to Shylock, a Jewish money lender, who is filled with a suppurating resentment for Antonio and his anti-Semitic behaviour. He agrees to lend the money on the condition that if the loan goes unpaid, Antonio must pay with the money’s weight in flesh. Interwoven are tales of young love, disguise and a jocular heiress eluding loveless marriage. The play has a deeply ambiguous meaning, its interpretation dependent on our views of race, religion and human character.


 

  Guys and Dolls

Auditions for 6 performances of Guys and Dolls at the professional Pegasus Theatre August 2013

Auditions open to OU students aged 21 and under

Seeking cast and band of >50

Auditions taking place Feb 9th and 16th: details : Fbk RicNic Oxford 2013 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ricnic-Oxford-2013-Guys-and-Dolls/448378321889072?fref=ts

All rehearsals and performances Aug 5th - 31st: Oxford accommodation a possibility

contact: isabel@ricnic.org.uk

    The Oxford German Play

“Die Frau von früher” by Roland Schimmelpfennig (3 female / 2 male, Trinity Term ‘13, bidding Burton-Taylor Studio WK7/WK6)

Frank, his wife Claudia and their nearly grown up son Andreas have almost finished packing. Andreas had to part from Tina, his first great love: Tomorrow the family will start a new life overseas.  Then, someone is knocking on the door. It is Romy Vogtländer, Frank’s long-forgotten first great love. She has come to remind Frank of his vow he made 24 years ago - to always love her.

(For more information about the play see http://www.goethe.de/kue/the/nds/nds/aut/smp/en5049595.htm)

For the first time in many years, an original German play will be performed in Oxford. The entire play will be performed in German (with English sur-/subtitles provided) and rehearsals, too, will ideally be held in German. For this project, we are looking for enthusiastic actresses and actors. No previous experience is required; non-native speakers are encouraged to audition, provided a very good command over the German language.

Auditions will be held in Corpus Christi College Saturday WK 2 - Wednesday WK 3, please contact oxfordgermanplay2013@gmail.com if you have any further questions and to book an audition slot. 

Wadham Drama Society

Wadham Drama Society is a new, exciting society open to all students at the university.  We run workshops, talks, and will be putting on a number of productions this year. We always welcome new members, so if you’re a budding actor, director, producer, or if you love drama, come along to our workshops at 4pm every Friday in the Moser Theatre. Email me at oliver.forrest@wadh.ox.ac.uk to get on our mailing list, and we look forward to seeing you soon!