Dame Trott's makeover - the movie!

Professional makeover for Dame Trott!

"Some people think you're scary..." goes one of the lines in a song about our pantomime dame this year.  Actually, she's not as bad as some I've come across - and played opposite - but its certainly fair to say that where makeup is concerned Dame Trott does not subscribe to the "less is more" school of beautification!

This is understandable in many ways as when you see her choice of wardrobe, not to mention hair dye palette, "understated" is not a word in her vocabulary.  Perhaps this is why Jack and Simon's father "whoever he is" ran away?  Or perhaps it was her cavalier approach to post-milking and mucking-out hygeine. Whatever the cause, the lovely people at Debenhams in Truro offered to help her out with a professional makeover this morning!

Catherine drew the very short straw of turning our Dame into a Belle and though it was a challenge calculated to test the most professional of beauticians, it's fair to say that she did an excellent job!  After some initial skepticism, Dame Trott herself seemed well pleased.

Whether this new, chic look is kept or whether she reverts to her old habits remains to be seen - you'll have to come and see the panto!

Pictures from top: (Original style, makeover x2, not too sure, final result!)

Our new Corporate Friends!

We would be remiss if we didn't properly welcome Ocean BMW on Falmouth Road, Penryn as new Corporate friends of Hall for Cornwall.  We look forward to working with Ocean in a mutually beneficial partnership as they support Hall for Cornwall in the work we do and, hopefully, develop a close interest in, and partnership with, Hall for Cornwall across the diverse range of our performing and community activities.

Ocean BMW is the home of BMW and Mini in Cornwall.

Win the last of Jack's Cows!

"Take a bit of panto land home with you!"

Most of you will have seen Jack's herd of cows around Cornwall this summer.  Most of the herd have now found new homes but the final, and possibly most "Cornish" of the lot, is up for grabs in Jack's Cow Raffle.  Tickets cost just 50p with money going to Hall for Cornwall's "Loved to bits" fund.

"Travel the Milky Way" features a cleverly painted map of cornwall with milking stools indicating the county's dairy herds.  It was designed by Tracy Sheffield who works in our Box Office.

This cow is not small - so the winner will need a large garden or, if they're feeling particularly generous, a VERY large conservatory!  On the plus-side she's remarkably well behaved for a cow and very low maintenance.  No chewed plants - guaranteed.  Sadly, though, if you're hoping to use her as an alternative to mowing the lawn you are destined to be disappointed.

Tickets are obtainable from the Box Office and we are also selling them during late night shopping evenings.

Christopher Timothy very kindly helped launch the cow raffle during his time at Hall for Cornwall with Grapes of Wrath.

Dame Trott & Simon

Introducing Jack, Simon and Dame Trott!

The Saintly One Productions have been working with Hall for Cornwall to produce a series of small comedy shorts to publicise Jack and the Beanstalk.

The interprid two man film crew assembled at St Michaels Mount to to film and produce various segments including a trailer which can be seen on the Hall for Cornwall website and on facebook. The crew consisted of Falmouth University broadcasting student Andrew Cook and Truro College sound engineering student Karl Apsitis.

The short films were made during breaks in filming the main trailer and show some of the panto cast members having some unscripted fun with their characters (these are not scenes from the actual pantomime).  They serve as a fun introduction to our talented cast and some of the colourful members of "Landsend-ia".

Professional Dance Workshop organised by Hall for Cornwall

Whilst the Hall for Cornwall Trust is perhaps best known for managing the venue and the performances we stage at your theatre, the charity uses the funds available to it to promote Performing Arts in Cornwall in a variety of ways.  Often this work goes unseen and one of the purposes of this blog will be to record some of the excellent work done by our Community and Education team to further the charitable aims of Hall for Cornwall through direct arts projects in Cornwall.

One of the most recent events coincided with the acclaimed Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company's recent performance here on the 2nd December.  Hall for Cornwall, with support from The Works, arranged for a well-attended dance masterclass workshop to be hosted by two of the company's performers for fellow dance professionals from right across Cornwall.

An event like this allows professional dancers an invaluable opportunity to exchange ideas and enhance their repertoir.  This in turn feeds out into the community via both their own dance classes and future performances locally.

Feedback from those who attended was very positive indeed, with many highlighting the ability to layer choreography and work closely with a new dance partner as a particular highlight of the event.

A telling comment was that for one practitioner, the class allowed them to "let go of original intentions/relationships to find unexpected/more exciting possibilities" which must surely be a sign of success in any creative event.

Our First Set of Facebook Winners!

We are pleased to announce that the first facebook pantomime picture is fully tagged and we have seven lucky winners with free tickets to see Jack and the Beanstalk at Hall for Cornwall.

We'll be running another compatition very soon for tickets to see the pantomime on the night of the 19th December.  Keep an eye out on our facebook page for a chance to win!

The first set of winners were:

Lucy Ahmed, Nettie Edney, William Folkes, Emily Lentz, Arwen Folkes, Penny Weston & Kirsty Bowers

Congratulations to them!

Behind the scenes - panto report!

Rehearsals for Jack and the Beanstalk are now in full swing and I was lucky enough this morning to be able to watch a full run through of Act 1 of what promises to be a very entertaining family show.

I'm not going to give too much away but I can promise you that the show is very entertaining with some great musical numbers from the cast.  A few topical, and local, jokes have been seemlessly worked in to firmly place the show in Cornwall but this is fairytale land at its best.

It is very encouraging to see the entire act running through non-stop, complete with music.  It's possible to get a good sense of how the show is going to look on opening night now though rehearsals don't start here at Hall for Cornwall until early next week.

It's fair to say that 98% percent of this morning's run-through went smoothly.  This type of rehearsal quickly highlights issues for the director and stage crew to iron out and there were a couple of these that will be worked on.  A quick costume-change, for instance, that saw an entire scene acted by a headless-cow!

Beyond such practical matters, though, the rehearsals are now at a stage where the director can get a sense for the overall shape of the performance and begin to fine-tune all aspects of the audience experience.  It's impressive to see how much is already in place, in terms of dance routines, songs, lines and delivery but the process is far from over and a lot of work will go in to the final run-up to opening night.

Speaking to Richard, who plays Dame Trott, it seems that the cast are very much enjoying the experience so far.  There is certainly a lot of energy, and laughter, going into the business of getting Jack and the Beanstalk to the stage.

I asked Richard about the stage here at Hall for Cornwall - specifically how it compared with other performance spaces he'd performed in.

"It's huge," he replied. "You do cover the stage as you would in a smaller venue but you have to speed up a bit!"  Richard also explained that Hall for Cornwall is, despite its stage size, a fairly intimate venue for performances. "You feel quite intimate with the audience. You can see all the way to the back."  This type of connection is particularly helpful for panto where audience interaction is very much part of the performance.

We'll be visiting the cast in rehearsal again next week as they have their first session here on site, complete with the set.

Facebook Panto Picture Promotions coming soon! Win Free Tickets!

As it's a giving time of year, we've decided to give away some Free Panto Tickets! We'll be posting Panto Pictures from time to time on the Hall for Cornwall Facebook Page (not the group page, sorry!).  Tag the cast members (and the cow if you're especially keen) with your name and we'll give you a ticket to see the panto.  We'll give notice ahead of time when the competition will run, what the pic will be and we'll tell you which date tickets will be for.

RULES:

1. You can only tag yourself, not your friends.
2. Ticket can only be issued to the named winner.
3. Only one tag per character in the picture will be eligible to win a ticket.
4. You can only successfully tag one picture, one time during the course of the Facebook Panto Picture Promotions. You can enter a tag as often as you like!
   
5. This competition is not open to Hall for Cornwall employees or their families.
6. Tickets offered for stated night only. We cannot substitute prizes.
7. To avoid confusion with the actors and their identities, all tags will be removed once the promotion period has passed.
8. The decision of Hall for Cornwall in declaring/allocating winners is final.

LOOK OUT FOR THIS PICTURE!

This will be the first Promotion Picture available for tagging. Keep a watchful eye on our Facebook page - it will be appearing very soon! This will be to win a ticket for the 14th December evening performance.