Taking Shape

The construction of the box began yesterday and today the structure of the box is complete ready to be decorated and furnished. The box is in the style of a large wooden packing case into which the audience enter.



Already I seem to be making progress and each day ends with a very visible amount of progress having been made.

The Poster

The initial poster design has been completed. I've also finally decided on a title: 'Dusting: An Installation'. All seems to be running smoothly at the moment, built a scale model this morning of the box that will house the installation and am currently storyboarding the video that will feature within the installation. More news to come very soon.

Building Momentum

So the ball has well and truly started to roll now and it seems the momentum is slowly building.

After having a read through of the first draft of the script I found the length of it was just about right. This is one major element I'd been worried about throughout the editing process. I didn't want to cut too much but then again didn't want the audience to become bored if it was too long.

I'm also in the process of planning and designing both the interior and exterior of the wooden box that will house the installation. I'm also starting to try and source furniture and props that I'll need to complete the installation and make sure the attention to detail is kept in mind as it'll be the little things that really make the installation achieve the desired affect that I want it to.

The First Draft

The first draft of the script is now complete so will be working on that in the coming weeks to cut the time down and get it ready to be recorded so it can be played either or speakers or headphones within the installation.

As a process this was pretty tricky, deciding which parts of the script should go and which should stay and also the length of the script was a difficult thing to decide. Currently I'm not sure of the exact length of it but after a few read throughs of it I'll know whether it needs more cuts or is ok as it is. I'm hoping for the latter!

The box is arriving the week commencing 7th March so will be able to crack on with the interior and working on how it looks from then onwards. It's coming together quickly now and just hope I keep track of it and keep the process running smoothly. Fingers crossed.

The Project

I'm currently in my third year studying Drama at the University of Huddersfield. For my final year project I'm creating a theatre installation based on the monologue A Cream Cracker Under The Settee by Alan Bennett.

The installation will feature a room sized wooden box in which the audience enter individually. The audience member will feel like they're stepping into the home of the women whose monologue they are listening to and feel like they are stepping into her world.

This blog is going to follow my progress through the whole process from planning to performance and the ups and downs along the way.

Jon Calvert

(Twitter @JonCalvert)