Everyman News issue 4

The Fu ture Beckon s

EVERYMAN NEWS ISSUE 04 may 2013

BUILDING progress

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BUILDING progress

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A NEW SIGHT EACH WEEK!

Each Friday we offer site tours for staff and acting companies to keep us all up to date and feed our hunger for news on the progress of the new Everyman.

27 SEPTEMBER 2012

11 March 2013

view from the Cranecam DECEMBER 2012

view from the Cranecam MARCH 2013

Through the inclement snow in spring and the months of below zero temperatures the construction team have been a force to be reckoned with.

At first, a visit every 4 weeks would have been enough to see the change. But now, each week brings a new delight as we watch those areas we have been talking about for so long transform into beautiful reality - from the basement bistro, the light-filled foyer and brand new stage door areas, to the curve of the new auditorium, the gorgeous original Everyman bricks, and the Youth and Community studio.

The future beckons, it’s tangible and needless to say, we can’t wait.

Photography by Steve Aland and Gilbert Ash

site tours

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“Looking forward to a beer in the bistro”

Jack and the Beanstalk panto company

“I love it! It feels like the Everyman, especially the auditorium, but a Superhero version!”

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Group from LIPA

The Misanthrope Company

“I can’t wait to get into the new YEP space” Writers on attachment

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105 Life-size portraits of Liverpool men, women and children revealed

Over the last few months Actors, YEP MEMBERS, technicians, writers and staff have been on tours of the site

“IT’S GOING TO BE INCREDIBLE!”

Portrait Wall Revealed

YEP young communicators

Last year we invited people to take part in a photography project to create a Portrait Wall on the front of the new Everyman. Designed by architect Steve Tompkins, we wanted this large-scale artwork to be a powerful visual signature that the Everyman is and always will be for everyone. Photo sessions were held at venues across the city and many hundreds came along to take part.

From thousands of photographs, architect Steve Tompkins, photographer Dan Kenyon, and Everyman and Playhouse Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz selected the final composition of 105 images that will form the Portrait Wall. Steve Tompkins said: “It has been terribly difficult to whittle these wonderful portraits down to just 105.

But the main driver for this project is an aesthetic one and so final selection was based on how the individual images related to others in the makeup of the shutters and the overall composition of the wall”.

The group together

In January we were delighted to be able to announce the people who will feature on the 105 shutters, who range from babies to grandparents and come from across Liverpool as well as North Wales, Cheshire and Warrington.

In February we held a wonderful get-together for all those on the wall to meet for the first time, get to know a bit more about us, what the Portrait Wall will be and also to learn more about each other.

On the evening everyone was welcomed

by Executive Director Deborah Aydon and Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz and able to see a shutter prototype and their photographs on display for the first time as part of the Portrait Wall. Then everyone joined a table for a drink, to chat and learn a bit more about each other and their relationship with the Everyman, and to share memories and how they feel about being on the front of the new Everyman.

“A very friendly theatre with something for people of all ages” “Brings people together, brings the community together – I’m excited for the generations to come”

Betty and Melody, the oldest and youngest on the wall

Now that they make up a special group of people forever connected by the Hope Street theatre, the evening ended with a gift from us and everyone looking forward to seeing each other again soon.

Paula Frew, has written a blog about her experience of being on the wall. You can read her blog on our website www.everymanplayhouse.com

Here are some of the things they said about what the Everyman means to them: “Thought this a fantastic opportunity to be part of the new Everyman and was proud to be so”

“Every director in the country will want to work here” The Everyman and Playhouse Technical team

“It made me feel at home in a theatre environment, performing, watching, drinking and working and participating in workshops”

The Everyman redevelopment steering group

turn the page now to see the Portrait Wall

Photography by Brian Roberts

Portrait wall

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Portrait wall

Everyman Theatre Portrait Wall

This is the final composition of 105 images, they will be turned into shutters to form the Portrait Wall.

A full list of the 105 people on the Portrait Wall can be found on our website www.everymanplayhouse.com/neweveryman

MAKING THE SHUTTERS Each silhouette created from Dan Kenyon’s photos is made by using a water jet machine.

Water and sand are combined to create the cutting agent which is fired at the metal shutters at the rate of 60,000 psi to cut the holes in the material.

Everyman Theatre Portrait Wall and photography by Dan Kenyon

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EVERYONE FOR THE EVERYMAN

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EVERYONE FOR THE EVERYMAN

Now is your chance to play your part in creating the new Everyman Since we launched the Everyone for the Everyman appeal, hundreds of theatre lovers from across the country have become part of the Everyman’s future. Now, thanks to this generous support we have just £500,000 left to raise to ensure the new theatre, and everything that happens inside it, is the best it can be.

Liverpool University Drama Society were inspired to support us and have been busy fundraising for us over the last term, raising hundreds of pounds for the appeal. As well as donating £1 from every ticket sold to their original writing piece, Darkness There, as part of a university wide 24 hour fundraising challenge they have also donated the money raised through the sales of programmes at their last four main productions.

JOIN IN Leasowe Lighthouse Abseil Sunday 15 June Indulge your inner dare-devil and sign up for this 100ft abseil down Europe’s oldest surviving brick-built lighthouse.

British Triathlon Championship Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 July Want to take part in the inaugural British Triathlon Championships in Liverpool but don’t know if you could manage to swim, bike and run?

Well now you can join together with two other people and form a Team Relay – perfect for those wanting to try their first triathlon.

Tough Mudder Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October Join the toughest challenge of the lot and tackle this 10-12 mile obstacle course. Designed by Special Forces it tests your all round strength, stamina, determination and camaraderie. The location is still to be confirmed but it will be within a 60 minute drive of Manchester.

Last October a team of five plucky theatre staff ventured up to Glasgow to take on BBC’s famous Eggheads to raise some money. The result of this long and bitter battle of intellects is top secret until the show is broadcast but here is team member Sarah Kelly’s account of their quest for eternal glory and some prize money.

Our Eggheads journey began back in August when we put a team together in the hope of winning some cash for the new Everyman whilst simultaneously garnering a nice bit of publicity for the project. After a rigorous application process and an audition in Manchester, we learned that our team had been selected to appear on the show. And so it came to pass that Ruth, Deborah, Vince, Scott, Pippa and I – wittily named ‘The Understudied’- found ourselves on the steps of BBC Glasgow armed with a smattering of general knowledge.

We were taken up to the green room and met by Claire-From-Wardrobe, who asked us to lay out our selection of colourful tops for inspection, so that she could decide which items she would like us each to wear.

Several members of our team ended up in BBC standard issue shirts, having ignored clear instructions not to bring anything white, blue, polo-necked or with a logo. This did not bode well!

For more information about any of these events or to register please get in touch at donate@everymanplayhouse.com or call 0151 706 9124.

Your seat dedication could be a gift for someone special, to mark an important occasion, a memorial for a loved one or simply to celebrate your own relationship with the Everyman. Whatever your reason, by naming a seat you will be helping us to establish a Talent Fund allowing us to involve more young people, foster Liverpool’s extraordinary range of creative talent and train and support the actors, writers, directors and craftspeople who will stimulate and delight us for years to come.

“Naming a seat in the lovely new Everyman seemed the perfect way to remember a dear friend and at the same time help give others the opportunity to create and enjoy wonderful theatre.”

To name your seat in the new Everyman visit www.everymanplayhouse.com/ev4ev.

All seat dedications will remain for a minimum of ten years. The new auditorium will be flexible and seats will move around, therefore we cannot guarantee the position of your seat, but we will invite you in to explore the building before it opens to the public and sit in your special seat.

Photography by Jonathan Keenan

Anonymous donor

MORE INFO The Understudied’s triumph or tragedy is scheduled to be transmitted on 12 June at 6pm on BBC2.

After make-up, we were taken through to the studio, where everything started to look all too familiar. Whilst we were having our microphones attached, Pippa (who had come as our reserve in case any of us should faint with excitement at the prospect of meeting Judith Keppel) had a cheeky spin in Dermot Murnaghan’s chair. The Eggheads - on this occasion, Kevin, Daphne, Dave, Pat and Judith - arrived in the studio and introduced themselves. Then, after a quick briefing from the floor manager about how best to get up from a chair, we were in position and ready for battle. What happened next is a closely guarded secret.

Suffice it to say that questions were asked, answers were given and at least one of us uttered the classic daytime quiz show phrase, ‘Well, it’s funny you should ask that, Dermot...’

All too soon, we were back on a train heading south of the border and reflecting on our day. And the result? Well, you’ll just have to watch the show…”

The new seats, specially designed for the Everyman, will replace the cinema seats and hard benches of old. Covered in rich velvet, they will offer a whole new level of comfort and create a warm and welcoming glow. By making a monthly gift of £25 for 20 months, or a one-off donation of £500, you can have the opportunity to name one of these fantastic new seats.

If you want to get involved in Everyone for the Everyman we can help you plan and promote your event or, if you prefer, you can join one of these pre-arranged challenges.

(www.everymanplayhouse.com/ev4ev) for more details.

We were then ushered through to makeup to be turned various shades of orange to combat the effect of the studio lighting when who should appear? Yes, the legendary Daphne Fowler, was right there in front of me, having her hair re-set. Could the day possibly get any better?

It’s Time to Take Your Seat…

As the new incarnation of Everyman’s legendary auditorium begins to take shape make sure you see your name on one of the best seats in the house by naming one!

Members of Young Everyman Playhouse are also joining our growing ranks of fundraisers by setting themselves the challenge of raising £500 and dedicating a seat in the new Everyman in memory of Young Actor, Naomi, who sadly passed away in December after a 16-month battle with Leukaemia and Lymphoma. Naomi’s friends from YEP are planning a whole host of fundraising activities over the next few months including a film festival so keep an eye on our website:

Egged on to victory?

“You’ve heard of the official secrets act? Well, the BBC has its own version and I’ve signed it. I won’t bore you with the detail, but the main thrust of the article is that if I were to reveal to you the outcome of our episode of Eggheads, bad things would happen. With that in mind, what follows is my account of the day, minus all of the important detail…

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FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO MAKE A DONATION TODAY AND PLAY YOUR PART IN OUR FUTURE

Visit www.everymanplayhouse.com/Ev4Ev Call 0151 706 9124 Email donate@everymanplayhouse.com

SUpporters THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE NEW EVERYMAN The Understudied with the Eggheads

The Monument Trust

The Wolfson Foundation

The Hemby Trust

Garfield Weston Foundation

J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust

The J P Jacobs Charitable Trust

Foyle Foundation

The Granada Foundation

The Johnson Foundation

The Oglesby Charitable Trust

The Oliver Stanley Charitable Trust

AND EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE APPEAL SO FAR www.everymanplayhouse.com/NewEverymanSupporters

MEET THE TEAM

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MEET THE TEAM from YOUNG EVERYMAN PLAYHOUSE

Although obviously a portion of the cash is to go on the completion of the actual building, after that the Talent Fund will enable the theatre to keep producing new work and supporting new talent. Alongside individual donations and seed funding from Arts Council England, YEP also has funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for the next three years, and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation is match funding pound-for-pound on the first £250,000 raised.

The Everyman Youth Theatre was famous for giving the acting bug to some of the top British acting talent of its generation, including David Morrissey, Ian Hart and Cathy Tyson.

The Everyman and Playhouse’s decade-old Young Writers programme has bred playwrights who have seen their work performed up and down the country.

YEP was launched in January 2012, with the aim of attracting young people from all backgrounds, interested in all aspects of theatre making. When the new Everyman building is completed, YEP will have its own dedicated studio and rehearsal space, as well as being able to stage productions in the main theatre.

“It’s our responsibility to match the ambition of YEP with our own big ideas,” says Everyman and Playhouse literary associate Lindsay Rodden. “The scale is huge. The future of YEP is all about finding the professionals of the future, actors that are going to be become fully-fledged performers, or the next really well-informed audiences, or those who will go on to form their own theatre companies.”

As well as comprising a number of groups of Young Actors aged from 11 to 22, the theatre’s long established Young Writers programme has now become part of YEP, and there are courses for Young Technicians, Young Programmers and Young Communicators. A trial of a new Young Directors group started just last month.

More than 700 young people are members, whether that is in an active role or just taking advantage of the benefits membership affords, such as discounted theatre tickets.

While some members see YEP as a way into drama school or a career, others come purely for fun. Some of the training runs year round, other specific courses run for a set number of weeks or months. There is also a strong element of community engagement, aimed at attracting young people from more deprived areas who might not usually consider visiting or working in the theatre.

The idea in future is for all of these groups to work on projects in collaboration. The biggest example of this so far was March 2012’s Papertown, a large scale site-specific play that drew on YEP’s actors, writers and technicians for the first time.

Other highlights from the company so far include De:Light, a work by the Young Technicians that was projected on to the Trinity Vaults building in Vauxhall in collaboration with acclaimed international artists Illuminos; and Intimate, a devised piece exploring what war means to young people.

Ownership of all projects is given over to the members – young people of each section of YEP also form part of the steering group that determines the direction of the company. This holistic offer will make YEP one of the most advanced youth theatres in the country. There’s just one snag – until the new Everyman theatre opens, they are homeless. Their work has taken place all over the city, at venues including the Static Gallery, the Playhouse Studio and Camp and Furnace.

“It has been great doing site-specific theatre for the last two years, but what is great now is that members of YEP really have a feeling of wanting to get on a professional stage,” says actor Matt Rutter, the artistic director of YEP. What began as a part time role eventually became full time as the sheer scale of the project began to be realised.

“We are aiming to make exciting shows, made by young people for young people as much as possible,” he continues. He is always keen to uncover the skills and interests of members the group and help to develop their strengths.

Appeals Manager Suzanne Treharne said: “The Talent Fund is to make sure as well as having a fantastic space we will have money to support and identify those young people who are the talent of the future. We need to make sure when the building is here that it is full of young people and they feel it is their space.

The completion of the wonderful new building is not the end – it’s just the beginning.”

DE:light March 2012

Matthew Xia is the Everyman and Playhouse’s current director-in-residence, a post he will hold for the next year. He comes to Liverpool from Stratford East, where he himself came up through the youth theatre to become an associate artist. He has also worked on projects at the Royal Court, Young Vic and Barbican. He will be working directing a debut play by a graduate of the Young Writers programme in the Playhouse Studio next year, in the same way Held by Joe Ward Munrow premièred in 2012.

“Youth theatre is so important,” he says. “It is where people find their confidence and voice, and what they want to say about the world. It makes young people feel empowered, and that only comes from them owning their decisions along the way. YEP is a safe place for them to grow and go out into the world in confidence.”

Matt Rutter, YEP Director; Vivien O’Callaghan YEP Administrator and Mentor; Chris Tomlinson, Young Actors Director

“For some people, they do join YEP to learn the skills that might get them into drama school. For some, it is a confidence-building thing, and for others it is about being sociable in a group in a way they might not be in school. It is about so much more than just being on stage, and eventually I’d like to see a little off-shoot of YEP in every department of the theatre.”

YEP will be able to stage at least two of their shows on the Everyman main stage a year,

aside from using their own young peoples’ space, which will be used as a soundproof rehearsal room as well as studio space for their productions.

There are plans for an outdoor production of Wind in the Willows in the summer, before work will begin on what will become YEP’s first show in the new Everyman. A schools tour of YEP’s promenade play You Are Being Watched will take place throughout May. Matthew Xia, Director in Residence; Suzanne Treharne, Appeals Manager; Lindsay Rodden, Literary Associate

NEW TALENT The Talent Fund has allowed us to create the Playhouse Studio design prize. The first recipient, Katie Scott, won the Liverpool Post Arts Award 2012 for Best Set Design for Held.

Papertown March 2013

“Katie Scott’s ingenious setting, dominated by an institutional armchair that seems to have erupted with Mary’s cobwebbed grey matter, exudes both the whiff of a care home and the magic power of maternal love” The Stage

Photography by Dominic Beaumont, Christian Smith and Brian Roberts

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The future of YEP is being ensured by donations to the Everyone for the Everyman fund, now just £500,000 off its target.

By Vicky Anderson

And now, there is YEP – Young Everyman Playhouse – which is well on its way to becoming a young people’s theatre programme like no other in the country.

meet the team

Held, November 2012

STILL TO COME At THE PLAYHOUSE

Northern Stage Presents

Northern Broadsides present

Tom O’Connell for QNQ present

Tue 14 to Sat 18 May

Tue 21 to Sat 25 May

Tue 28 May to Sat 1 Jun

BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS

RUTHERFORD & SON

A Complicite co-production with Bristol Old Vic, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Oxford Playhouse and Warwick Arts Centre

BEAUTIFUL THING

LIONBOY

Tue 4 to Sat 8 Jun

The Everyman and Playhouse Beyond Liverpool A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg

Forget Me Not

Tue 30 Apr to Sat 18 May

Belvoir, Sydney Australia

Sat 20 Apr to Sun 19 May

Rose Theatre, Kingston

www.belvoir.com.au

www.rosetheatrekingston.org

Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse present

THE KITE RUNNER Fri 13 Jun to Sat 6 July

Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse presents

ALADDIN

The Rock ‘n’ Roll panto Fri 29 Nov to Sat 16 Jan 2014

The Match Box

The Misanthrope Currently half way through a national

Thu 2 May to Sat 1 Jun

Tricycle Theatre, London

tour with ETT

www.tricycle.co.uk

For venue dates visit www.ett.org.uk

Find out more about the new everyman For updates on the redevelopment of the Everyman please email ev4everyone@everymanplayhouse.com Follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/LivEveryPlay

The Ladykillers Returns

The Vaudeville Theatre, London from Sat 29 Jun to Sat 26 Oct www.theladykillers.co.uk

New casting announced: Simon Day, John Gordon Sinclair, Ralf Little, Chris McCalphy, Con O’Neil and Angela Thorne

Join us on www.facebook.com/LivEveryPlay

Watch videos on www.youtube.com/everymanplayhouse To see the redevelopment as it happens, watch our live stream on our website www.everymanplayhouse.com (Sponsored by NW Systems) View our photo gallery at www.flickr.com/LivEveryPlay

HOW TO SUPPORT Call 0151 706 9124 Email donate@everymanplayhouse.com Visit www.everymanplayhouse.com/Ev4Ev Or pick up a leaflet from the Box Office

Find out more about the new Everyman

Support the new Everyman