Part of the Etc.
It’s show time at Stockton Riverside College as enterprising students Dynamic Infinite make a return to the College stage.
The Performing Arts students run their own small theatre company as part of the College’s work with the Enterprising Stockton initiative.
An initial loan of £100 from the College scheme saw the group of enthusiastic performers kick-start the company with their first production, Chatroom by Enda Walsh, taking to the stage in November last year.
This month will see the curtains go up on their second and most ambitious project to date, The Show Must Go On.
We caught up with Dynamic Infinite student Lucy to ask about their enterprise experience so far and what we can expect from the show.
Tell us about the show?
Our next project is a big step up from our last. Obviously with Chatroom we were putting on a production of somebody else’s script. This time we’re doing our own devised physical theatre piece so we’re completely writing the show ourselves and it involves a lot of physical work that we’re putting together ourselves too. It’s been in the works for quite some time. It is a twisted circus show and the whole concept centres round a time loop. We can’t really give too much away but it’s exciting.
What was your inspiration?
We chose to do this quite literally because I had a dream that I got really excited about. It was around October time just before we did Chatroom and I immediately messaged some of the group and said, look I’ve had this dream about a circus story - this is how it goes. They immediately got super excited about it and we got to work trying to put bits of it together.
Any clues to the plot?
The Show Must Go on is about a circus based in 1944 and it’s got a twisted back story and there’s not a whole lot we can tell people without giving away the whole story but it’s really exciting and a bit different to anything we’ve ever done or even seen in some cases.
It’s going to be really challenging because we’re creating everything ourselves even down to the costumes but we have a lot of supportive people behind us helping us out and giving us advice.
What do you hope to get out of the show?
We really want to enjoy it more than anything. But we want to show people that we can do a range of different styles of shows and we have more skills than just acting. But we can write and devise as well as it’s something that we all enjoy doing.
What are you looking forward to most?
The reactions of our audience. We’re trying to go really authentic with everything and we want people to feel truly immersed in the story we’re telling them. We’re also looking forward to just doing it and learning new things as we go along. Every time we perform and do new things, it’s a learning experience for us.
How was Chatroom received?
Better than we could have ever imagined. We were really worried and nervous about the way the show would be perceived especially because it was about cyber bullying and depression which is a sensitive topic. But we were so passionate about it and knew it was something we really needed and wanted to do. We’re still exploring that first show and looking at doing it with schools and keeping the momentum of it going. It’s an important message and we believe the way we did it was simplistic and allowed the message to shine through.
What did you learn from that experience?
We learnt a lot about what it takes to put on a show on. The whole technical side and budgeting side. It’s helping us a lot with this show as it’s a much bigger show than the last and not as simple. It also taught us a lot about what each of us are capable of together and individually.
And as this is an enterprise initiative, can we ask did you make a profit?
We broke even on the first night of the show which was a huge accomplishment for us and it meant that any money we made on our second night was profit which made it even more exciting as we were worried about making the money back.
Are you enjoying being part of the College’s enterprise initiative?
It’s amazing. We have so much freedom to explore what we would like to do as a group and really get what we want out of the experience. It’s taught us so much about the industry we want to be a part of and I think the experience really is priceless.
It must be hard work alongside your studies, what do you get out of it?
Experience. That’s the reason why we did it and it’s teaching us so much. We’re also getting a better feel for managing larger teams of people and working independently. There’s a lot of work that goes into putting on shows like this and it gives us a better respect for our tutors who do it multiple times every year.
Dynamic Infinite’s performance titled The Show Must Go On takes to the College’s Margaret Armstrong Theatre stage on Tuesday June 26th at 7pm. Tickets are £6 adults and £4 concessions available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/stockton-on-tees/the-margaret-armstrong-theatre/the-show-must-go-on
The Performing Arts students run their own small theatre company as part of the College’s work with the Enterprising Stockton initiative.
An initial loan of £100 from the College scheme saw the group of enthusiastic performers kick-start the company with their first production, Chatroom by Enda Walsh, taking to the stage in November last year.
This month will see the curtains go up on their second and most ambitious project to date, The Show Must Go On.
We caught up with Dynamic Infinite student Lucy to ask about their enterprise experience so far and what we can expect from the show.
Tell us about the show?
Our next project is a big step up from our last. Obviously with Chatroom we were putting on a production of somebody else’s script. This time we’re doing our own devised physical theatre piece so we’re completely writing the show ourselves and it involves a lot of physical work that we’re putting together ourselves too. It’s been in the works for quite some time. It is a twisted circus show and the whole concept centres round a time loop. We can’t really give too much away but it’s exciting.
What was your inspiration?
We chose to do this quite literally because I had a dream that I got really excited about. It was around October time just before we did Chatroom and I immediately messaged some of the group and said, look I’ve had this dream about a circus story - this is how it goes. They immediately got super excited about it and we got to work trying to put bits of it together.
Any clues to the plot?
The Show Must Go on is about a circus based in 1944 and it’s got a twisted back story and there’s not a whole lot we can tell people without giving away the whole story but it’s really exciting and a bit different to anything we’ve ever done or even seen in some cases.
It’s going to be really challenging because we’re creating everything ourselves even down to the costumes but we have a lot of supportive people behind us helping us out and giving us advice.
What do you hope to get out of the show?
We really want to enjoy it more than anything. But we want to show people that we can do a range of different styles of shows and we have more skills than just acting. But we can write and devise as well as it’s something that we all enjoy doing.
What are you looking forward to most?
The reactions of our audience. We’re trying to go really authentic with everything and we want people to feel truly immersed in the story we’re telling them. We’re also looking forward to just doing it and learning new things as we go along. Every time we perform and do new things, it’s a learning experience for us.
How was Chatroom received?
Better than we could have ever imagined. We were really worried and nervous about the way the show would be perceived especially because it was about cyber bullying and depression which is a sensitive topic. But we were so passionate about it and knew it was something we really needed and wanted to do. We’re still exploring that first show and looking at doing it with schools and keeping the momentum of it going. It’s an important message and we believe the way we did it was simplistic and allowed the message to shine through.
What did you learn from that experience?
We learnt a lot about what it takes to put on a show on. The whole technical side and budgeting side. It’s helping us a lot with this show as it’s a much bigger show than the last and not as simple. It also taught us a lot about what each of us are capable of together and individually.
And as this is an enterprise initiative, can we ask did you make a profit?
We broke even on the first night of the show which was a huge accomplishment for us and it meant that any money we made on our second night was profit which made it even more exciting as we were worried about making the money back.
Are you enjoying being part of the College’s enterprise initiative?
It’s amazing. We have so much freedom to explore what we would like to do as a group and really get what we want out of the experience. It’s taught us so much about the industry we want to be a part of and I think the experience really is priceless.
It must be hard work alongside your studies, what do you get out of it?
Experience. That’s the reason why we did it and it’s teaching us so much. We’re also getting a better feel for managing larger teams of people and working independently. There’s a lot of work that goes into putting on shows like this and it gives us a better respect for our tutors who do it multiple times every year.
Dynamic Infinite’s performance titled The Show Must Go On takes to the College’s Margaret Armstrong Theatre stage on Tuesday June 26th at 7pm. Tickets are £6 adults and £4 concessions available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/stockton-on-tees/the-margaret-armstrong-theatre/the-show-must-go-on
