The Waiting Room Dossier - Hijinx Theatre · The Waiting Room is the result of a collaboration...
Transcript of The Waiting Room Dossier - Hijinx Theatre · The Waiting Room is the result of a collaboration...
For more information about this production or to book please contact Clare Williams on
+44 (0)29 2030 0331 or email [email protected]
Hijinx Pod: The Waiting Room
Director: Ben Pettitt-Wade
Performers: Mr and Mrs Clark, Danny Mannings
For more information about this production or to book please contact Clare Williams on
+44 (0)29 2030 0331 or email [email protected]
Background
The Waiting Room is the result of a collaboration between Hijinx Theatre and Welsh performance duo
Mr and Mrs Clark (The Medicine Show, Nine). Created in 2013, the show premiered in June in Cardiff at
Unity Festival, performing at both The Sherman Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre, and is now
available to tour to national and international audiences
The Waiting Room plays with concepts of social etiquette when groups of strangers are flung together,
what is appropriate behaviour and what may be inappropriate behaviour, whether it is in a café,
doctor’s surgery, an airport or in the case of The Waiting Room, somewhere much odder.
Description of Show
The show is mainly non-verbal, therefore accessible to international audiences.
It is a highly interactive performance, in which nine members of the audience are chosen at random to
join our actors on stage in The Waiting Room. Audience members then become actively involved in the
action as our three actors work with them to find ways to pass the time as they wait. Eventually an
elevator door opens at the back of the space and our nine audience members are called through it,
leaving our three actors on stage. With the help of our remaining audience, our three actors set up for a
leaving party.
Suddenly a flashing light comes on above the door and disco music blasts out – the door opens and our
nine audience members enter clad in white morph suits and dance to the music. Before another morph
suited person appears from behind the audience with a large (1.5m x 1.5m) white balloon. Everyone
then follows her out of the performance space, leaving our three actors alone.
At the very end the true location of the waiting room is revealed as a sign above the set sparks to life
reading TESTICLE No 1.
To give you a flavour of the show please follow this link for a short demo video
http://tinyurl.com/lyvrbuv
A 30 min excerpt from the show can be viewed here:
http://youtu.be/wX5T_KJ6cNU
NB locations which work well for this performance include theatre foyers, outdoor/Street theatre
festivals, empty shop units or studio theatres.
For more information about this production or to book please contact Clare Williams on
+44 (0)29 2030 0331 or email [email protected]
Marketing copy
Hijinx Theatre with Mr and Mrs Clark
The Waiting Room
Join us in the Waiting Room, the setting for our newest comic Pod about the hours we whittle away
while we wait, and the games we play to whittle away those hours. Seated around three sides of the
room, audience and cast alike become embroiled in the tiny things you notice and the strange things
you do when you’re...still waiting. But where are we? And what are we waiting for?
Playing with the concept of social etiquette, the Waiting Room explores a perfectly British dilemma of
how we behave when we are thrown together with a group of strangers in an enclosed space, like a
doctor’s surgery, a café or - in the case of the Waiting Room – somewhere much odder.
Take a seat in the middle of this unpredictable, hilarious and sometimes downright bemusing show, in
which you, the audience, wait, whilst an audience watches you waiting.
Further marketing information provided on booking.
Audience Comments include:
“Loved it! My grandma was dancing – so funny!”
“Unexpected, unpredictable, comical and honest performance. Didn’t expect to spend my Thursday
evening dressed as a “Power Ranger” dancing around the Sherman Theatre”
“This is F***ing brilliant”
For more information about this production or to book please contact Clare Williams on
+44 (0)29 2030 0331 or email [email protected]
Technical Specifications and Fees
Target Audience: Suitable for everyone
Cost per day: One show: £950/ Two shows: £1400/ Three shows: £1700
(Maximum 3 shows per day)
Additional costs: Travel, accommodation and per diems (or meals where appropriate)
Touring Party: 8 Adults (6 Performers, 1 Stage Manager/Director, 1 Support staff)
Marketing: We will provide photos and promo films as required
Duration: Approximately 45mins
Performance Area: Minimum of 5m (width) x 7m (Depth) x 3m (height)
Audience: Seated/standing to front of performance area
Get in: 3 hour
Get out: 1.5 hours
Technical requirements:
PA with capability to play off a laptop via a soundboard
We can provide our own sound equipment for gigs in the UK if required
Power minimum: 2 x 13 amp sockets (230V EU, 120V US)
Booker to provide:
2 tech crew to help with get in/out
24 chairs
Other requirements: Secure changing area for performers
Bottled water in changing area for performers
Access to toilets
NB If we are traveling to your venue/event by air you will need to provide:
1 x HASVIK Pair Sliding Doors in red (UK Price £85) This is the only item of our set which will not fit in a
suitcase – find product on this link:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30223061/#/30223061
For more information about this production or to book please contact Clare Williams on
+44 (0)29 2030 0331 or email [email protected]
For more information about this production or to book please contact Clare Williams on
+44 (0)29 2030 0331 or email [email protected]
Workshops
We can also offer the following workshops additional to the show
Hijinx Theatre workshops
The Waiting Room Workshop
One day/5 hours
£600
20 Participants (designed for directors, practitioners, actors, clowns or teachers)
A chance to unpick the hidden games and exercises used in our devising process which form the
backdrop to The Waiting Room. Led by director Ben Pettitt-Wade, with performers Mr and Mrs Clark
and Danny Mannings.
Inclusive Theatre workshop
One day/4 hours
£300
12 participants (designed for mixed groups of performers/practitioners/educators with and without
learning disability)
Led by Ben Pettitt-Wade, an exploration into Hijinx Theatre’s working methods when working with
integrated casts.
For more information about this production or to book please contact Clare Williams on
+44 (0)29 2030 0331 or email [email protected]
Principle Performer Information
Mr and Mrs Clark
Mr and Mrs Clark are Gareth Clark and Merega Palsa, a performance duo based in South Wales and real
life husband and wife. They have specialised in a very physical brand of performance, live art and dance
theatre since 2002. Often their work has a playful and interactive element inspired by happenings and
live art events that bring art forms and people together.
Previous shows include:
The Medicine Show – "Together, they will rock your world as they haul you from the audience,
challenge you, straddle you and take you right out of your comfort zone."
Edinburgh Evening News
And Nine - "Nine is innovative, unpredictable, and faultlessly performed. This is physical theatre at its
best"
Buzz Magazine
Danny Mannings
Danny joined our Hijinx Academy, a training course for actors with learning disability, in February 2012.
Since then he has taken part in a number of intensive residencies run by some of the most respected
theatre companies and practitioners working in the UK today – these include Complicite, Hoipolloi, John
Wright, Cardboard Citizens and Ockham’s Razor. Two of these residencies, led by Spymonkey and
Frantic Assembly, finished with performances at the Unity Festival in Cardiff in June 2012 and 2013
respectively. The Waiting Room is Danny’s first professional production with Hijinx.
Director Information
Ben Pettitt-Wade
Ben has over 12 years’ experience working in theatre, specialising in creating interactive theatre working
with integrated casts with and without learning disability. For the past 7 years he has been with Hijinx
Theatre where his role includes directing all Hijinx Pods, Assistant Directing on Odyssey productions, and
running the Unity International Arts Festival based at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. To date Ben’s
Hijinx Pods have performed at Wales Millennium Centre(Cardiff), The Senedd (Cardiff), Maindee
Festival (Newport), Escena Mobile (Spain), Watusi Festival (Wales), Fadoli Circus Festival (France), and
Rue de Scenes Festival (France) . Ben is also experienced in theatre of the oppressed techniques and an
expert in creating Forum Theatre working with inclusive casts.
For more information about this production or to book please contact Clare Williams on
+44 (0)29 2030 0331 or email [email protected]
Company Information
Hijinx Theatre
Hijinx Theatre is one of the UK’s leading professional inclusive theatre companies. All our productions
involve actors with and without learning disabilities. To support this, the company run an on-going
performance training programme, the Hijinx Academy, for their learning disabled actors. In addition to
this training our actors have the opportunity to join intensive residencies which we host, led by some of
the leading theatre and dance companies working in the UK – previous residencies have included
Complicite, Spymonkey, Frantic Assembly, John Wright and many more.
Our Hijinx Pods are short, small scale productions, created to be adapted to any space and ideal for
festivals and events. All our Pod performances are showcased at Unity, our own international inclusive
arts festival which takes place in June annually.
Further information on the company, including on all our Hijinx Pods currently available in Rep can be
found at www.hijinx.org.uk
Hijinx Theatre is proud to be supported by: