Chloe and the Colour Catcher | Rehearsal Diary - Week 1

As thrilled to share of the shenanigans as we are, here Stage Manager Isy Eagle-Wilsher spills all the beans as Chloe and the Colour Catcher kicks off its riotous rehearsal process.

On 12 November I had the pleasure of joining the vibrant team of Chloe and the Colour Catcher, the show taking over the Weston Studio during the festive months!

The gang had already been together for a few weeks of research and development (R&D) in June and September meaning I had to catch up quite quickly. Katie Sykes, our designer, took me through the props and costumes. The up keep of these will my responsibility once the show opens next week. The cast got straight into working through some new text that Nir Paldi, our director, had worked on after the R&D.

On Wednesday we had a group of pupils and teachers from Victoria Park Primary School to watch a run through. This was a great opportunity to see how the young audience would react to the show. We could find out what’s funny, if any moments were too scary, what made sense and if something didn’t. It went really well and the company continued to make changes and work on the particular moments of the show for the rest of the week. While they did this I kept the script up to date with all the changes and worked with Brian Hargreaves, our composer and musician, to put the sound cues into the script. Doing this during rehearsals will help massively when we get to tech week and put the lighting, sound and actors in the space for the first time. When possible I worked on small props in the rehearsal room to help Katie with the task of bringing Chloe’s world to life.

There was a production meeting mid-week, this is a chance for the departments (lighting, sound, set, costume and stage management) to check in with each other and talk to through any major points that have come up during rehearsals. This was first time we had the whole team in a room together and it was lovely to see the fantastic people who will help make the show wonderful.

This week we are finishing props, costumes and fine tuning the show as much as possible before we start tech rehearsals. We’re all very excited for Chloe to catch colours till 6 January, hopefully see you there!

Perfect for ages 4 – 7, Chloe and the Colour Catcher blows open The Weston Studio doors to families from Bristol and beyond this holiday season. For more info and to book tickets, click here.