1 How to Approach This Resource – Think like a Theatre-Maker

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Theatre is collaborative, creative, it involves problem solving and applying our imaginations. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof was created over 60 years ago and has stood the test of time, if we ask ourselves why it still matters today, what do we discover? By making the play, you get an inside perspective, and we want to share that with you to enhance your experience of the story, whether this is to help you with Drama, Theatre Studies, English Literature or your own sense of personal development, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof allows us to think creatively about ourselves and others. However, It can only really do this if we ask the first question: • Why is this play valuable to us right now? The first question leads to many more: • Why did the author create it? • What was happening at the time? • Why is it still relevant (or not)? • What have the characters got to say about being human? • What is happening for us, in the place that we live or globally, that resonates in the play? All of these questions lead us toward the creative quest; how are we going to take the text and make it a living, breathing, sensory, experiential event? We want you to experience the journey that we are on, we want you to think like a theatre-maker. Taking different perspectives from writer, director, designer and actor, we will ask you questions that will help to build the layers that make the play matter. We don’t have the answers – we want you to discover things for yourself, through the same exploratory approach that we have used in rehearsals. In this Education Pack, we are going to share some of the ideas and exercises that have helped us shape this production, as well as insights from members of our company. Most importantly, try to think like a theatre-maker; create, problem solve, imagine, sense, explore and do.