Starting to make The Giant and the Bear

Tuesday, 11th October, seemed like the first day, although we arrived on Monday bleary eyed, from all over the country. I left Edinburgh at 6.25 am. Dawn didn't break until Newcastle, which meant that I didn't see the amazing coast around Berwick-upon-Tweed. There's something about leaving home at night that makes the day weirdly insubstantial. Still, on Monday we met and I watched as 'the playground' was rigged on stage. 'The playground' is a variety of machines that allow you to fly. I say 'you', but I mean incredibly skilled and very fit performers use them to look like they are flying and dancing high above the ground.

We also spent Monday remembering the structure of the show we're going to open in June next year and worked out what we want to achieve this week. The Giant and the Bear has three elements…circus performance, story(telling) and games. The exciting challenge of this show is that we are going to open up a lot of choice for the audience. The audience will be able to make lots of choices about what they want to see or take part in. But we also want everyone who takes part to also have a coherent and satisfying experience of the world of the Giant and the Bear: We want to tell a good story. So, we're going to be bringing some of these different elements together through playtests on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

 Clare

I left Walthamstow in the dark on Monday morning pushed out by the words of my son, 'you have to go mummy or you will miss the train!'

It was great to have a long train journey to gather my thoughts about this ambitious and playful project we are building together. I am excited that Unlimited have so committed to the idea of creating a circus story, it is a wonderful feeling to be able to fully explore the artform you know and love with focus, dedication and a skilled team of writers and theatre makers. When we met at 10 am we refreshed ourselves with more coffee and spent some time catching up before we began to fill the courtyard stage of the west Yorkshire playground with, trapezes, ropes, hoops, counterweight and lifting systems to allow us to try out various ideas which explore the relationship of the Bear and Ballerina within the Giant's circus. During this week I hope to find the starting points for the marriage between the forms and the content we are working with to tell the story of these characters and to create rich contexts for choreographies.

Music is always a vital part of making movement so we set up a PA on stage with a couple of microphones to play with, and we have already heard some great tunes and microphone voice action from the music maestro, Unlimited's ownChris Thorpe.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a day filled with physical play, character work and lots of  great discoveries. Working with fantastic performers Madeline Mcgowan and Sebastian Lawson who threw themselves straight in with wonderful spirits; skating and flying to make these ideas come to life.

Layla

Tuesday, 11th October, seemed like the first day, although we arrived on Monday bleary eyed, from all over the country. I left Edinburgh at 6.25 am. Dawn didn't break until Newcastle, which meant that I didn't see the amazing coast around Berwick-upon-Tweed. There's something about leaving home at night that makes the day weirdly insubstantial. Still, on Monday we met and I watched as 'the playground' was rigged on stage. 'The playground' is a variety of machines that allow you to fly. I say 'you', but I mean incredibly skilled and very fit performers use them to look like they are flying and dancing high above the ground.

We also spent Monday remembering the structure of the show we're going to open in June next year and worked out what we want to achieve this week. The Giant and the Bear has three elements…circus performance, story(telling) and games. The exciting challenge of this show is that we are going to open up a lot of choice for the audience. The audience will be able to make lots of choices about what they want to see or take part in. But we also want everyone who takes part to also have a coherent and satisfying experience of the world of the Giant and the Bear: We want to tell a good story. So, we're going to be bringing some of these different elements together through playtests on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

 Clare

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I left Walthamstow in the dark on Monday morning pushed out by the words of my son, 'you have to go mummy or you will miss the train!'

It was great to have a long train journey to gather my thoughts about this ambitious and playful project we are building together. I am excited that Unlimited have so committed to the idea of creating a circus story, it is a wonderful feeling to be able to fully explore the artform you know and love with focus, dedication and a skilled team of writers and theatre makers. When we met at 10 am we refreshed ourselves with more coffee and spent some time catching up before we began to fill the courtyard stage of the west Yorkshire playground with, trapezes, ropes, hoops, counterweight and lifting systems to allow us to try out various ideas which explore the relationship of the Bear and Ballerina within the Giant's circus. During this week I hope to find the starting points for the marriage between the forms and the content we are working with to tell the story of these characters and to create rich contexts for choreographies.

Music is always a vital part of making movement so we set up a PA on stage with a couple of microphones to play with, and we have already heard some great tunes and microphone voice action from the music maestro, Unlimited's ownChris Thorpe.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a day filled with physical play, character work and lots of  great discoveries. Working with fantastic performers Madeline Mcgowan and Sebastian Lawson who threw themselves straight in with wonderful spirits; skating and flying to make these ideas come to life.

Layla