INKBLOC Ensemble Rehearsal Diary - Week 1

As they approach the tail end of their year in residency with us, and their debut performances, the newly-created INKBLOC Ensemble give us a weekly insight into their rehearsal room. This week, director Claire Crawford talks us through the beginnings of the Research & Development process.

We’ve reached crunch time in the INKBLOC rehearsal room, and that can only mean one thing… we’re ready to roll and start developing our show!

Back in April we had a fantastic week of R&D, where each day a company member brought an idea to the table for exploration and conversation with the team. These ideas, after their time in the spotlight, were then whittled down to a final two (no easy feat - we think there could have been about 100 shows with the amount of material generated), and we finally arrived at a decision. Our story will stem from a real life abnormality, when a container ship spill dumped 4.8 million Lego pieces 20 miles from Land’s End in a freak storm in 1997…

To say that the last few weeks have been jam packed and fun filled is an understatement, but it really feels like we are kicking into gear now as a company as we hurtle towards the show and the end of our time as Made in Bristol. Alex and Genevieve have been hard at work creating our social media channels (catch us on Facebook and Twitter, even Instagram), along with marketing concepts for our poster and flyer design. While Producer Amy is beavering away with schedules and logistics, Associate Director Krista and I have been mapping out our rehearsal plans, and as a whole ensemble we’ve started playing with, developing, and generating material for the show itself.

I’m so looking forward to creating and shaping our first production, and seeing where it takes us. As we’ve seen, things that go to the bottom of the sea don’t always stay there, and we want to dig far below the surface, delving deep into the murky depths of it all…

With Lego as our linchpin, stay tuned for INKBLOC updates from a different company member each week… enjoy!

INKBLOC Ensemble are this year's resident company with Made in Bristol - Bristol Old Vic Young Company's theatre training course for ages 18-25. For more information about the programme, click here.