Preparing for the R&D period

Posted by: Sara Green (Marketing & Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)

As Marketing and Admin Assistant my duties have varied massively from answering the phone to going out and about with leaflets. But recently I have been doing a lot of work in preparation for The Doubtful Guest and specifically to prepare for the two week research and development period that is coming up.

I never really appreciated just how much work goes into making a production before but now it is evident that without research and meticulous planning the show would never lift off the ground.

Yesterday, Steffi, [Mueller, Associate Director of Hoipolloi and the Designer of The Doubtful Guest] was using me as a model for a mask she has been making.

For those of you who don't know Gorey's original tale, it involves a strange and bizarre creature that arrives in a family's house and never, ever leaves! The mask will eventually form part of the costume for the doubtful guest themselves!

I was standing there for ages wearing the furry headpiece as she tried to work out how it would fit on all different sized heads, including my extra small one! The mask is really impressive; it was made from a plaster mould and covered in fluff - so much so that after I'd tried it on a couple of times, I was covered in fluff too.

Steffi also showed me how to make the mask by sticking loads of ripped up bits of paper delicately around the edge of the plaster mould and then building up the layers, filling the eyes and following the shape of the head. I then spent all of this morning ripping up paper and spreading glue with my fingers. It was really fun actually and although it took me up till lunch time to finish it, it was very satisfying to know that I had done something that I’d never done before! It took me back to my Art days (not that long ago actually) which was fun. Even though Steffi’s mask is much more striking I am quite proud of my first attempt and who knows, it might even appear in the show!?

Another job that I was given today was to trawl the famous Mill Road charity shops [in Cambridge] in search of some props for next week. I literally walked the entire length of the road looking for the most obscure items, such as an old fashioned comb and brush set, and some more normal requests like plates and cutlery. It didn’t help that I forgot my glasses today and so had to ask where everything was as I couldn’t see it!

But I did manage to find everything, well almost everything, and even managed to get about 10 old fashioned books for free. It must be my charm! So we now have plates, cutlery, books, umbrellas and a kettle to make tea with during rehearsals. And I got it all for less than £20. (Although I made up for that when I bought all the tea, coffee, biscuits, sugar etc to keep our energy up!)

As well as shopping and mask-making the jobs for The Doubtful Guest are endless. However I think we are just about ready to start rehearsing on Monday. It’s been really exciting to kick start the proceedings and I can’t wait to find out how these props and masks are going to feature in the show.