Ramin Sabi (producer)
People are often confused as to what exactly a producer does. It’s a difficult question because the producer’s role changes from production to production depending on the crew, the scale of the show and the obsessiveness of the producer. This is my last play in Oxford before I sink into the pandemonium of finals and it really is an excellent one to go out on. The cast and crew are an eclectic mixture of first-timers and extremely experienced people, which gives a great dynamic to the project. For this show I leave what is probably my favourite 20th century play script in the hands of the very competent director and march on with the other tasks that form my personal checklist: develop a marketing aesthetic sufficiently hot enough to make people sweat when they look at the poster (I have high hopes); haphazardly organise a schools’ programme; produce two, maybe three, cinematic trailers; make sure that the design is the most ambitious ever attempted at the venue; check that we actually have the two hundred or so props that will litter the stage; and do all this within budget. I feel that Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is going to be the most dramatically powerful and the most professional production I have ever been involved in.
Nick Davies (actor)
I’ve been focused on comedy since I escaped the mirthless frozen lakeshores of Canada, so it’s been two years since I last attempted a “serious” play. Thus I find myself returning to the wisdom of my acting idol, Daniel Day-Lewis, in putting the finishing touches on Big Daddy (note to therapist: putting touches on Big Daddy?). DDL’s twin dicta: (1) one must totally immerse oneself (1self) in one’s (1’s) character; and (2) when in doubt, scream all lines in a funny voice. I’ve got the latter down pat, so I’ve set aside the next few days for wandering up and down Cowley Road, telling lewd anecdotes in a Mississippi accent to passers-by, buying land, attempting to grow cotton on said land, dying, and refusing to blow out the candles on any birthday cake I happen to be offered.
Alex McCormick (marketing manager)
Imust confess, I never intended to be marketing manager for this play, I just sort of fell into the role. Having said that, my first experience of being on a production team has so far been a lot of fun.This week I’ve been rushing round the city distributing posters to numerous colleges: getting the chance to talk to many of Oxford’s helpful, friendly porters, and also a few slightly less so charming ones.I’ve also spent a good portion of my time developing our online presence. On Facebook for instance, the play has its own page and around ten separate events (a main one and one for the respective colleges of each cast and crew member).So, thanks to our beautiful posters, flyers and all out domination of the internet (almost), I doubt there will be a student in Oxford who hasn’t heard about this play by next week. Which is great, because it’s going to be an excellent play, and well worth the trek up to LMH to watch it.
Illias Thoms (director)
This is turning out to be harder than I thought. Why does Tennessee Williams feel the need to specify almost every single bit of blocking and movement and then decide to abandon us for a few pages before stating the character is suddenly in a new part of the set? Is it really necessary for people to enter and leave the room with such alarming regularity? These are all questions regularly posed in the minds of all directors in the world tackling Tennessee Williams plays and I’m no exception. The combination of accent work, complicated blocking over the five separate levels used in our set and of course the genius language of Williams himself which covers just about every dramatic theme under the sun including, but not limited to, deception, homosexuality, age, death, illness, inheritance, greed, jealousy and love means that this is proving to be quite a handful. Encouragingly, mainly thanks to my amazing team and cast, it all seems to be coming together. Golden rule of theatre: make sure you surround yourself with people who are more talented than you…
Georgia Luscombe (designer)
I’ve been working on the flats this week, so it’s been a case of sawing, sanding and painting most days – I look forward to having a nightmare with tea-stained wallpaper next Sunday. After a slightly stressful production meeting where we all realized how many bits and bobs are needed for this fiddly naturalistic play, we’ve actually been really lucky with finding props so far. Thank god for the Gloucester Green market! Getting very excited now about seeing it all come together in one place; at the moment the Pollitt family’s furniture is residing in bedrooms all over Oxford…
Jonathan Oakman (Production Manager)
This is my first proper production job in Oxford and it’s shaping up to be a really great one! Lately, we’ve been trying to source all of the props and get the set ready – everything from a 1950s telephone to laminate flooring. It’s all pretty stressful but definitely worth it. It’s a very elaborate build – but all the more realistic for it.
