Bouncers Teacher’s PackCONTENTS

JOHN GODBER2 Godber Biography3 Godber Essential Dates4 Plays by John Godber 5 John Godber’s Film and Television Credits

BOUNCERS6 History of the play7 Bouncers Facts8-10 Bouncers Synopsis11 Bouncers and Brecht12 Table of Characters13 Notes on the differences between the two versions of Bouncers14 Activity: update the play for the 21st century

DRAMA WORK15 Notes on multi-role playing and amount of characters in the play16 A quick and fun warm-up exercise17 Classroom discussion on differentiating characters18 Status exercise which illustrates physicality19 Fleshing out a character on paper20 Questions to help flesh out a character21 Creating the ‘missing scenes’22 Hot-seating characters

MARKETING23 How Harrogate Theatre’s Marketing Department Works24 Activity: Deciding on your target audience TEACHER SHEET25 Activity: Deciding on your target audience WORKSHEET26 Activity: Brainstorming Bouncers27 Activity: Picking an image for Bouncers 28 Activity: Creating a poster for Bouncers29 Activity: Creating a press release for Bouncers

PRODUCTION30 Notes on the music in Bouncers31 Activity: Creating a soundtrack32 Notes on the set design for Bouncers33 Activity: Design a set for Bouncers

POP QUIZ34 Pop Quiz on John Godber and Bouncers35 Pop Quiz on John Godber and Bouncers ANSWER SHEET

APPENDIXAppendix 1 Ghosts PosterAppendix 2 Ghosts Press Release

1

JOHN GODBER

Godber BiographySources: http://www.hulltruck.co.uk/john.asp and ‘John Godber Plays:1’, Methuen, 2001, UK

John Godber was born the son of a miner in Upton, West Yorkshire in 1956. He trained as a teacher of drama at Bretton Hall College before gaining both an MA and an MPhil/PhD in Drama at Leeds University. Prior to his appointment as Artistic Director of Hull Truck Theatre Company in 1984, he was Head of Drama at his old school, Minsthorpe High School, the school he attended as a student. Whilst he was teaching at Minsthorpe he won every major award at the National Student Drama Festival between 1981 and 1983. He has also won five Edinburgh Fringe First Awards and in 1984 won the Laurence Olivier Comedy of the Year Award for Up 'n' Under.

Godber is one of the most performed writers in the English language, and his plays are performed across the world. Bouncers was nominated for Comedy of the Year in 1985 and won seven Los Angeles Critics Circle Awards and five awards in Chicago in 1987. On The Piste was nominated for the Comedy of the Year in 1993 and April In Paris was nominated Comedy of the Year in 1994.

As well as directing all the first productions of his plays, John has directed Bully, The Glass Menagerie, Woyzeck, Twelfth Night, Gargling With Jelly, Playing Away and Sweet Sorrow.

Away from theatre, Godber has also written for television programmes including Crown Court, Grange Hill and Brookside. In 1987 he wrote and co-directed the BBC 2 six part series The Ritz and its sequel The Continental. His screenplay My Kingdom For A Horse starring Sean Bean was nominated for an alternative BAFTA award and he devised the BBC2 series Chalkface. He directed a TV version of Shakers - The Musical which was nominated Best Children's TV Drama 1993. John's first feature film Up 'N' Under was released in January 1998.

John Godber is married to Jane Thornton, with whom he co-wrote Shakers and Shakers Restirred. He has two daughters.

2

JOHN GODBER

Godber Essential Dates

1956 John Godber is born in Upton, West Yorkshire

1977 Godber writes the first version of Bouncers

1978 John Godber graduates from Bretton Hall College as a qualified teacher of Drama and English

1981 – 1983 Godber is Head of Drama at Minsthorpe High School and wins every major award at the National Student Drama Festival

1984 Godber is appointed as artistic Director of Hull Truck Theatre Company at the age of 26

Godber wins the Laurence Olivier Comedy of the Year Award for Up 'n' Under

1985 Bouncers is nominated for Comedy of the Year

1991 Godber writes Bouncers – 1990’s Remix

Godbers’s play Happy Families, which was commissioned by British Telecom for the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, is premiered by 49 amateur companies on the same night.

1998 Godber’s first feature film Up ‘n’ Under (an adaptation of his play) is released

3

JOHN GODBER

Plays by John Godber Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Godber

A Clockwork Orange (1976, Adaptation)Bouncers (1977)Toys of Age (1979)Cramp (1981)Cry Wolf (1981) – First professional productionE.P.A (Educational Priority Area) (1982)Happy Jack (1982)Young Hearts Run Free (1983)September in the Rain (1983)Up ‘n’ Under (1984)A Christmas Carol (1984, Adaptation)Blood, Sweat and Tears (1986) Cramp – the Musical (1986)Teechers (1987)Oliver Twist (1987, Adaptation)Salt of the Earth (1988)On the Piste (1990)Everyday Heroes (1990)Shakers Re-stirred (1991)Bouncers – 1990’s Remix (1991)Happy Families (1991)April in Paris (1992) The Office Party (1992)Passion Killers (1994)Dracula (1995, Adaptation)Lucky Sods (1995)Shakers the Musical (1996)Gym and Tonic (1996)Weekend Breaks (1997)It Started with a Kiss (1997)Hooray for Hollywood (1998)The Weed (1998)Perfect Pitch (1998)Unleashed (1998)Thick as a Brick (1999)Big Trouble in the Little Bedroom (1999)Seasons in the Sun (2000)Our House (2001)Departures (2001)Moby Dick (2002, Adaptation)Young Hearts (2002)Men of the World (2002)Reunion (2002)Going Dutch (2004)

4

JOHN GODBER

John Godber’s Film and Television CreditsSource: http://www.hulltruck.co.uk/john.asp

Television

CROWN COURT - writer

GRANGE HILL - writer

BROOKSIDE - writer

THE RITZ – writer/co-director

THE CONTINENTAL – writer/co-director

MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE – writer

CHALKFACE - devisor

SHAKERS - THE MUSICAL (TV version) – director

Film

UP 'N' UNDER - writer

5

BOUNCERS

History of the play

Bouncers was originally written in 1977. The first version had only two bouncers in it (one of whom was played by Godber himself!), and was taken to the Edinburgh Festival where it played to nearly empty houses! Godber says:

“… on the first performance an audience of two made light work of the play.. One, a drunk, came on stage and started chatting with us; the second, a critic from the Scotsman, left when we started chatting to the drunk and we never saw a review. However, on the second night of the play, the actor Brian Glover and a number of his friends from Nottingham Playhouse sought out our less than perfect venue, watched the play, and gave a few words of encouragement. It was enough for me to continue my interest in drama and plays, and even though we didn’t attract another single punter for the rest of our week at the Festival, we returned to Wakefield flushed with success.”*

The first four-actor version of the play came about in 1981 when a group of actors, Yorkshire Actors, approached their friend Godber with a request that he re-work the script. This version was first performed by Hull Truck Theatre Company at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1984, before transferring to the Donmar Warehouse Theatre in London.

Later, in 1991, a third version of Bouncers – Bouncers 1990s Remix was created, and this is the version that is most frequently performed today.

On writing the play, Godber says:

“The emphasis would be on the actors/bouncers; they would play all the characters in a roller-coaster of an evening. The play would be funny, but it would also attempt to tell the truth. Like the best of lessons it would be entertaining and thoughtful at one and the same time… I wanted to make a piece of theatre that couldn’t be ignored. A piece of theatre that was robust, and vigorous, shocking and humorous. I wanted to create a piece of theatre that spoke to a generation of clubbers rather than theatregoers, and spoke to them in a language which they understood. The pace had to be fast, it had to be slick, and it had to be funny. It had to be worth going to see!”*

*Source: John Godber’s Introduction to the Methuen Drama book ‘John Godber Plays: 1’, 2001, Methuen Publishing Limited, UK, 2001.

6

BOUNCERS

Bouncers Facts – from http://www.hulltruck.co.uk/john.asp

The original inspiration for Bouncers was Kiko's in Pontefract - the only Polynesian Nightspot in Yorkshire with the bonus of fake palm trees around the dance floor.

On average, BOUNCERS is performed at least 8 times a year by small to mid-scale repertory venues, and is toured at least twice a year by various companies. Anywhere you go in the UK, whichever theatre you visit - you can bet they've produced the play at some time in their recent history.

Overseas, it still doesn't lose it's edge with productions and tours in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the USA .

If the posters are to be believed, the very first performance of BOUNCERS was 15th August 1977, 12.30pm as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, when the 21 year old John Godber performed a two hander with Peter Geeves (the orange Tang man). Tickets cost an astronomical 50p. This first showing had a massive audience of two, a critic from the Scotsman and a Scottish drunk. The critic left after five minutes and the drunk stumbled on stage for a little impromptu performance of his own.

The Bouncers performed the Bouncers Rap (to the tune of the Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight") on the Tube to a very bemused looking Jools Holland in 1984!

Warner Chappel who hold the rights for amateur productions in the United Kingdom say that there is at least one production of BOUNCERS every week of the year and that is always in the top ten, alongside or Arthur Miller's Crucible and various Ayckbourn plays.

Bouncers has been described by Lynn Gardner, of The Independent as "The Mousetrap of the Fringe".

Bouncers (winner of no less than seven Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards) has an enduring national and international appeal. It has been translated into many different languages including Flemish, Swedish, French, German, and Italian. It has been staged in Belgium, France, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Russia, Canada, America, Ireland, Germany and the Isle of Crete.

Celebrity fans of Bouncers include, Stephen Spielberg, Jack Nicholson, Joan Collins, John McEnroe, Tatum O'Neal, David Steel, Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhart, Hale & Pace, Phill Jupitus and the legendary US rock band, The Grateful Dead, have seen it three times!

Famous Bouncers have been Jack Coleman (Dynasty' Steven Colby), Mark Addy (The Full Monty, The Thin Blue Line), Richard Ridings (Tom Jones, Up 'n' Under), John McArdle (AKA Brookside's Billy Corkhill, After Hours), Adrian Hood (Lloydy in Preston Front, Norman in Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies), Iain Rogerson (Bernard in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Jeff in BBC's Blooming Marvellous), Chris Walker (The Bill, The Fix, Playing Away), Michael Wattam (Uncle "Can't give Booze t' baby" Peter of Reeves & Mortimer fame).

The first review of BOUNCERS to appear in a National paper was written by Michael Billington in THE GUARDIAN 28th September 1984. He said "Mr Godber and company have evolved his own distinctive style which says something about the tinny, tacky, curiously barren-quality of disco culture"

By 1990, BOUNCERS had played to at least 50,000 people at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. At the 1996 Edinburgh Festival, there were four different productions running simultaneously. One

of these was an all-female version by students of the University of Wolverhampton. Godber himself gave the production his seal of approval before allowing the performance to go to Edinburgh.

The piece transcends all city and cultural divides. In Manchester it carried the "Manchester Sound" of The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays et al. Liverpool gave it its own Mersey beat and the Sheffield Crucible had an irrepressible "Steel City Mix". Because it is set in the ephemeral twilight of Friday night, Bouncers is constantly reinventing itself, to suit.

The official birthday is 15th August, 1977 at 12.30pm. A ticket to this show cost a massive 50p! The very first professional production was by the Yorkshire Actors Company at the Rotherham Arts

Centre, 25th March 1983.

Bouncers in French is "LES VIDEURS", in Dutch "BUITENWIPPERS", in Serbo-Croat "IZBACIUACI".

BOUNCERS

7

Synopsis - Act One

Four bouncers, Eric, Les, Judd and Ralph address the audience. They welcome the audience to the play and set the scene of a Friday night in their club using a rap.

The scene changes, the bouncers become radio DJs, broadcasting on a Friday night.

The bouncers become female customers in a hairdresser’s. They discuss their big night out, and what they are planning to wear...

The scene changes again and the bouncers become lads – Jerry, Kev and Baz - in a barber’s. Judd plays the barber. Again, they are planning their night out, and the possibility of pulling...

The lads are now on a street corner. Judd enters as Terry – he’s just finished work and is ready for action…

The scene changes and the lads are getting ready for their night out in front of a mirror – they check the essentials: hair, tie, aftershave, clean pants, breath, etc! They get the bus to town then into a bustling pub where they attempt to get served. They banter between pints, then head to the urinals…

The bouncers become the girls again – Maureen, Rosie, Elaine and Suzy. They are also in the pub, getting drunk. They put some tunes on the jukebox…

The bouncers become themselves again. They are outside the club and it is eerily quiet, they talk about the previous night as they wait for the customers to arrive. There is some tension between Eric and the others, it is suggested that his wife may have been unfaithful. A fight almost breaks out between Eric and Ralph but they back off at the last minute. Eric delivers his first speech – he talks about young girls dressed up and made up, spending everything they make on their nights out at the weekend, drinking too much and succumbing to the advances of men. After the speech, the bouncers continue bantering as if nothing has happened.

Ralph become the DJ at the club, talking to the crowd…

The scene changes and the bouncers become the girls again. They are on the dance floor. Rosie feels sick and then sees her boyfriend kissing another girl. The tears flow…

BOUNCERS

8

Synopsis - Act One continued

Back on the door, Eric and Judd are the bouncers again, the others play various punters trying to get into the club – stag parties then punks, then Ralph and Les become the bouncers and let in the lads, Terry and Baz…

All the bouncers become the lads again, they are in the urinals in the club, having downed their sixteenth pint of the night, commenting on each others’ equipment…

The bouncers are back – they consider going into the club to check out the ladies. Eric delivers his second speech, it’s on his feelings about the over-25s night and the lager louts who trawl the club, picking up women twice their age, and what he wishes he could do to them. He is on the verge of a breakdown …

Act Two

The bouncers acknowledge the audience, asking what they are laughing at…

Ralph becomes the DJ and the others become the lads, dancing drunkenly as the DJ addresses the crowd…

The bouncers become themselves again, complaining about the cold and planning to watch a pornographic film when their shift ends…

The scene changes and Judd becomes the assistant in a video shop as Les orders his film…

Back to outside the club and the bouncers continue planning their post-shift entertainment. They then have a drink and set up the projector…

Ralph and Eric become characters in the porn film and out a scene whilst Les and Judd provide a running commentary…

The film jams and the bouncers are themselves again. They discuss pornography - Eric thinks it is degrading. He goes into his third speech – he recalls being a pub at Christmastime and watching as a group of lads take advantage of a drunken girl. Afterwards he goes over to the lads and smashes their heads against the wall. After the speech, the bouncers talk about life as a bouncer and about a female bouncer that Ralph heard about…

BOUNCERS

Synopsis - Act Two continued

9

Back inside the club – Ralph and Judd become Suzy and Elaine, Eric and Les become Baz and Kev. The lads, conscious that the end of the night fast approaches, chat up the girls. Baz leads Suzy to the dance floor and Elaine asks Kev to dance. We hear their thoughts as they dance. Kev obviously doesn’t fancy Elaine and tries to escape. He ends up calling her a horrible name, at which point a fight breaks out…

Judd and Eric become bouncers again, and rush in to break up the fight. Judd wants to beat the lads up but Eric stops him by forcing him to the ground. Les and Ralph return. Eric delivers his fourth and final speech. He talks about the wet t-shirt nights at the club, and how sad they make him feel. He says he might give it all up, go home, and listen to Elvis Presley…

Ralph becomes the DJ again, he reads out a request for a couple and plays ‘Are you lonesome tonight?’ for them, and for a particular bouncer who will be going home alone…

Elvis plays, the bouncers are themselves again. The others ask Eric about his wife – we learn she has left him and taken their kids with her. Eric describes sitting at home in the dark, waiting for something to happen…

Back in the club, the lads discuss their night and about their various attempts to pull…

The bouncers are themselves again. It is kicking out time and they stand on the door saying good night to people. They play themselves and the exiting punters. Then, as bouncers, they describe what happens to Suzy around the back of the disco. She is drunk and a man takes advantage of her as she eats cold pizza, barely conscious…

The bouncers become the lads again. They are waiting for a taxi in the cold, finally one arrives and they get in. one complains about feeling sick, another urinates out of the car window. Suddenly the car screeches to a halt…

Back in the club, the bouncers survey the mess. They decide to watch their film. Eric says he is going home but is convinced to stay. They put it on – it is Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video and they become dancers in the video.

As themselves the bouncers are annoyed that the video wasn’t the nasty that they were hoping for. They go back into their rap from the beginning of the play and then blackout. BOUNCERS

Bouncers and Brecht

10

Some elements of Bouncers can be said to be Brechtian. John Godber himself acknowledges the achievements of theatre director and practitioner Bertolt Brecht in recognising the limitations of the conventions of modern drama. In his introduction to John Godber Plays: 1 (Methuen, 2001, UK), he says:

“I had become increasingly bored by the conventions of modern drama. Most of the plays I had read were set in realistic locations, and therefore fairly limiting in terms of how they could represent themselves to an audience. In some respects these plays amounted to nothing more than ‘big telly’ – true they had good stories and incisive characterisation, but in terms of their theatrical scope, the four walls of the box set seemed to limit their vision. Of course, I was not the first to recognise this: Berkoff, Edward Gordon Craig, Brecht, Artaud and sundry others had all identified this limitation, and had done work to counter the spread of this particular theatrical virus.” Source: John Godber Plays: 1, Methuen, 2001, UK, pp.xi-xii

Godber’s work often plays around with theatrical conventions and Bouncers is no exception. Some examples of this are:

1) The actors speak directly to the audience and acknowledge that they are playing various parts.

2) The quick pace and lack of realism means that the actors have only themselves to rely on in making each character and location come to life.

3) The play changes direction frequently which makes it difficult for the audience to relax. Therefore their minds stay alert and questioning.

4) Astute social commentary is veiled in humour.

5) The play mixes styles – for example, prose, verse and song are blended together. This also serves to keep the audience’s minds active.

6) The language is shaped so that it is clearly recognisable to the play’s target audience.

7) The play is an ensemble piece.

Classroom DiscussionConsider each of these elements of Bouncers in terms of Brecht’s theories andmethods. Ask questions such as:

* How does each example relate to Brecht’s teachings? * Are there any other elements in Bouncers which might be said to be Brechtian?* What other methods might be employed for a Brechtian production of Bouncers?

BOUNCERS

11

Table of Characters

Bouncer Lad Girl Other CharactersEric Baz Maureen Buxom Swede in porn film

Thriller dancerJudd Terry Elaine Hairdresser

BarberVideo shop assistantThriller dancer

Ralph Jerry Suzy The club DJWak (on Stag night out)PunkSwedish postman in porn filmThriller dancer

Les Kev Rosie Radio DJWak (on Stag night out)PunkPunter leaving clubThriller dancer

12

BOUNCERS

Notes on the differences between the two versions of Bouncers

Bouncers 1990s Remix differs from the original version in several ways:

1) Some scenes from the original script have been removed, making the script sharper and tighter.

2) Some of the scenes have been extended very slightly to draw out the humour – an example is the fight that breaks out between the lads and the girls after Kev insults Elaine.

3) Many of the references in the script have been updated – for example the original script featured the following exchange:

Lucky Eric: Aftershave? Cliff Richard uses this.All: (Sing) ‘Got myself a sleeping, walking…’

Whilst in Bouncers 1990s Remix this has been replaced with:

Eric: Aftershave? Jason Donovan uses this.All: (Sing) Sealed With a Kiss…

4) The end of Act One is extended so that we find out a bit more about Lucky Eric – his second speech about the over-25s night was not in the original script.

5) The conversation in Act Two in which Eric tells the other bouncers that his wife has left him, taking the children with him, was not in the original version.

6) The section at the end of the play in which the bouncers describe the incident with Suzy around the back of the club was not in the original script.

As a result of the changes, Bouncers 1990s Remix is a sharper, funnier script, but it is also more poignant, moving and hard-hitting than the original. We learn more about why Eric is such a disturbed man, which adds another layer to the piece, and most people would agree that the sequence in which Suzy is taken advantage of behind the club is one of the most disturbing and memorable in the play.

13

BOUNCERS

Activity: update the play for the 21st century

The 1990s Remix of Bouncers re-set the play in the 90s rather than 80s by changing the references to music and popular culture to make it relevant to the period. For example, in the original script Suzy puts Sister Sledge on the jukebox and in Bouncers 1990s Remix she puts Bros on.

In his introduction to the original script, John Godber says:

“Any document about recent affairs is clearly in danger of becoming a museum piece. As a consequence, my own productions of Bouncers often change in reference, in length and in temperament. In short, Bouncers contains many truths about the nature of night life, but one need not necessarily show them all. The play can run from forty minutes to an hour and a half. Keep it alive for today.” (Source: Author’s Note to Bouncers found in John Godber: Five Plays, Penguin Books, 1989, UK)

Imagine that you are updating Bouncers, or a section of Bouncers, and setting it in the present. Find any references in the script, or in a section of the script, which seem outdated and find appropriate alternatives that will be familiar to a modern-day audience.

14

Drama Work

Notes on multi-role playing and amount of characters in the play

Table of Characters

Bouncer Lad Girl Other CharactersEric Baz Maureen Buxom Swede in porn film

Thriller dancerJudd Terry Elaine Hairdresser

BarberVideo shop assistantThriller dancer

Ralph Jerry Suzy The club DJWak (on Stag night out)PunkSwedish postman in porn filmThriller dancer

Les Kev Rosie Radio DJWak (on Stag night out)PunkPunter leaving clubThriller dancer

An actor who takes on a part in Bouncers has a real challenge ahead of them. Each of the four actors plays a bouncer, a lad, a girl, and several smaller parts as well. Because the play moves so quickly there is unlikely to be scope for more than the most minimal costume changes therefore the actor must work really hard to ensure that each character he plays is clear and distinctive so that the audience do not become confused. In his Author’s Note to the original play, John Godber says:

“The play requires strong, physically versatile and above all flexible actors.” (Source: Author’s Note to Bouncers found in John Godber: Five Plays, Penguin Books, 1989, UK)

Although one could argue that the only ‘real’ characters in the play are the four bouncers who are telling the stories and representing all the people they encounter during their night, it is still essential that every character is fully formed and different from any other. When playing so many characters it is tempting to fall back on to stereotypes but this is inadvisable if one seeks a rich and moving performance.

A series of possible exercises are outlined over the next few pages, all with the aim of creating as full performances and character understanding as possible.

15

Drama Work

A quick and fun warm-up exercise

Pick one student to be a bouncer. Create a doorway in your space, maybe by placing 2 chairs at an appropriate distance. Explain that the student is playing a strict bouncer and the challenge for everyone else is to get past the door and into the club without using any kind of force or contact. Any student who is able to convince the ‘bouncer’ that they deserve to come into the club becomes the new bouncer. Ask students to put their hand up when they have an idea and choose them one at a time to try and get past the bouncer.

Examples of ways to get in:

1) Pretending to be a VIP2) Pretending that there is an emergency which requires the attention

of someone in the club3) Pretending that the DJ is a friend

Etc, etc… Encourage the class to be imaginative in their ideas and to perform them with conviction.

Note: If the class feels that the bouncer is being unfair or not reacting to a situation in a realistic manner then a new bouncer can be elected. Alternatively, if you have a large class, pick a new bouncer every time.

16

Drama Work

Classroom discussion on differentiating characters

Lead your class in a discussion of the ways that an actor creates a character. What elements make up a character?

Elements might include:

AccentStatus ClassGenderAgeDressVolume of voiceTone of voiceAny speech impediment – stutter, lisp, etcConfidenceEye contactHow happy the character is* Physicality – likely to be informed by all of the above

Encourage the class to come up with as many ideas as possible.

* You could move on to a discussion of how each element might affect the physicality of the character. For example, an older person might move more slowly and stiffly. A practical exercise that illustrates how physicality is altered by other factors is on the next page.

17

Drama Work

Status exercise which illustrates physicality

Explain that you will be working with a status scale that goes from 1 (extremely high status, very confident, very important) to 7 (extremely low status, low confidence, no sense of own worth), with 3 being average.

Ask your students to start walking around the space in a neutral manner. This will be number 3. Then call out numbers between 1 and 7 and get your students to adjust their walk accordingly.

You can develop the exercise by giving each student a piece of paper with a number on it. They should keep their number secret. This will become the status number of their character. Ask the students to improvise a simple scene in which it is necessary to form some sort of queue, such as a bus queue. Without revealing their number, the students should try to form a line so that the number 1s are at the front and the number 7s are at the back with the rest of the numbers correctly sorted between the two. Get the students to reveal their numbers once they are in line and see how well they have done.

At the end of this exercise you can discuss how status affected the way the students walked, the speed they walked at, the way they held their bodies, etc.

18

Drama Work

Fleshing out a character on paper

Get each student to pick a character from Bouncers. Ask them to use the script to write down everything that they know about their chosen character. Using this information as a starting point, ask the students to write a more complete character profile that details the character’s upbringing and current situation. If desired, you could give them the list of questions on the next page in order to help them.

You can develop this exercise by asking the students to think about what had happened to that character in the daytime before the start of the play. You could ask them to write this as a diary entry or monologue.

Practical development of exercise

Ask your students to get into pairs. They should then read each other their diary entries/monologues and decide on a way to theatrically present one or both of the pieces. They might choose to turn it into a scene and act it out, or have one person read it aloud whilst the other acts it out, or turn it into an interview. Absolutely any method works for this exercise.

Give the students some time to rehearse and then give them the opportunity to perform for each other. Encourage feedback and discussion after each showing.

19

Questions to help flesh out a character

Answer the following questions about your chosen character. Use information from the script where possible. Otherwise use what you do know about the character to make educated guesses about the answers.

1) What is their full name?

2) How old are they?

3) What do they do for a living?

4) Where do they live?

5) Who do they live with?

6) Who is their best friend?

7) What do they like to do in their spare time?

8) What is their biggest ambition?

9) What is their biggest fear?

10) What has been the best moment of their life so far?

11) What has been the worst moment of their life so far?

12) What’s their secret?

13) Do they have any brothers or sisters?

14) Are they in love?

15) What is worrying them more than anything at the moment?

16) What is their idea of a perfect night out?

17) What is their favourite outfit?

18) What is their favourite band/style of music?

19) How happy are they?

20) How confident are they?

20

Drama Work

Creating the ‘missing scenes’

Ask your students to get into groups of 4 (3s would be acceptable if there is an odd number).

Ask each group to pick one set of characters from either the bouncers, the lads or the girls.

Now ask each group to create a ‘missing scene’ for their chosen characters. This will be a scene that we don’t see on stage but which might be happening whilst another scene is occurring. For example – the first time we see the girls they are at the hairdressers, the next time we see them they are in the pub. Therefore a ‘missing scene’ might be them at their house getting ready to go out.

Give the students a suitable length of time to rehearse their ‘missing scene’ – 10 minutes should be about right.

Ask each group to perform their scene and encourage feedback and discussion after each showing.

Note – this exercise can be linked to Stanislavski’s idea that an actor should fill in the gaps in a script order to understand their character’s journey. In Stanislavski’s book: ‘An Actor Prepares’, the director says:

“ … the playwright gives us only a few minutes out of the whole life of his characters. He omits much of what happens off the stage. We have to fill out what he leaves unsaid. Otherwise we would only have scraps and bits to offer out of the life of the persons we portray. You cannot live that way, so we must create for our parts comparatively unbroken lines.” (From ‘An Actor Prepares’ by Constantin Stanislavski, Methuen, 1994 edition, UK, p.257)

21

Drama Work

Hot-seating characters

This exercise can follow a rehearsal of Bouncers or it could follow on from one of the other character developing exercises.

At the end of a scene, ask one of your actors to stay in character and take a seat in front of everyone. Ask them questions and tell them to answer as the character that they are playing. Explain that there are no right or wrong answers but that they should just try to answer appropriately for the character.

You can ask them questions about the scene they have just been involved in – open-ended questions are best. For example “how did such-and-such make you feel?” or “why did you do such-and-such?” You can also ask questions about anything else that the scene brought up. For example, if you are hot-seating Eric after one of the scenes in which his wife is mentioned you might ask where they met, how old they were when they got married, why he thinks she left him, etc. Finally, you can ask other questions which are unrelated to the scene – things like “how old are you?” “what’s your favourite film?” etc.

Repeat the exercise with other students.

You can also ask your students to help you ask questions.

This exercise should help the actors feel like they know their characters much better and thus help them give much fuller performances.

Note: if you have time you can develop any interesting stories that come out of the hot-seating exercise into new scenes.

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MARKETING

How Harrogate Theatre’s Marketing Department Works

* The marketing department usually begin planning 4/5 months before a show opens. * The first thing they do is read the script so that they can get a feel for the play. They then talk to the Artistic Director about her thoughts on the show – how she is planning to direct it and what her vision is.

* The Artistic Director may also be involved in discussions about what sort of people the theatre might like to target the show at, and how this might be done.

* An important role of the marketing department is Audience Development – this can mean either attracting new audiences to the theatre or encouraging existing audiences to come and watch something they wouldn’t normally book for – this is known as ‘crossover’.

* Harrogate Theatre’s marketing department then have a brainstorming session, which is open to all staff, in which they imagine they have unlimited budget, resources and time, and come up with as many ideas as possible to sell the show.

* The marketing department then come up with a realistic campaign plan that will be manageable within their budget and time restraints. A typical campaign plan may include the following:

1) Choosing an image – this will be used on the posters, fliers, etc. The marketing department, together with the Artistic Director come up with a design brief, which explains what they would like. This is then given to freelance designers, who present various ideas. The image is tweaked until everyone is happy.

2) ‘Print production’ - creating posters and fliers3) 2 months before the show opens a hardcore campaign begins in which the

marketing department writes to various people to let them know that the show is happening. They use their database to target people that they think would be interested in the show, and write appropriately worded letters

4) Distribution of posters and leaflets 5) Contacting schools and groups that the theatre has links with to let them know

that the show is happening6) Come up with ‘gimmicks’ – unusual ways of selling the show such as beer mats,

stickers, etc.7) 1 month before – the press campaign begins. This involves sending out press

releases to relevant publications (normally giving the local papers the news first!), arranging radio and newspaper interviews, scheduling photo shoots, etc.

8) Creating the programme9) Inviting the press to the official ‘Press Night’ so that they can review the show in

their publications.10) Writing more letters to potential audience members.11) Arranging opening night!

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MARKETING

Activity: Deciding on your target audience TEACHER SHEETImagine that you are working for the marketing department at Harrogate Theatre. Write down all the groups of people who might be potential audience members for Bouncers. Which groups might you use the database to contact – they might be people who live in a certain area, or people of a particular age, or people who have come to see certain shows at the theatre in the past.

People who came to see Teechers – another John Godber play that Hannah directed last year. Targeted via direct mail letters.

People who come to see a lot of productions at the theatre – our core audience. Targeted via direct mail letters.

People who have come to the theatre for events such as our Music Party or to see one night events such as tribute bands, etc but whom haven’t ever come to see a play before. Targeted via direct mail letters.

Now select a group of people who might not have been to the theatre before but whom you think might be tempted by Bouncers – given that you don’t have their addresses, decide on ways of reaching them. For example – where might they go where they could pick up leaflets or see posters?

A younger audience – the under 30s, club and pub goers. Targeted by putting postcards in clubs and bars and by having ticket offers for the under 30s.

Come up with an unusual method of drawing your new group’s attention to the show. Be creative!

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MARKETING

Activity: Deciding on your target audience WORKSHEET

Harrogate Theatre has a database of people who have visited the theatre in the past. It contains contact details and the specific shows that the person has seen. Imagine that you work for the theatre’s marketing department. Write down all the groups of people who might be potential audience members for Bouncers below.

Now select a group of people who might not have been to the theatre before but whom you think might be tempted by Bouncers – given that you don’t have their addresses, decide on ways of reaching them. For example – where might they go where they could pick up leaflets or see posters?

Come up with an unusual method of drawing your new group’s attention to the show. Be creative!

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MARKETING

Activity: Brainstorming Bouncers

Harrogate Theatre’s marketing department always brainstorms a play before developing a comprehensive campaign plan. This helps them to find selling points and images for their marketing campaign. Use the below to create a spider diagram of any images, objects, themes, locations, etc, etc, come to mind when you think about Bouncers.

BOUNCERS

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MARKETING

Activity: Picking an image for Bouncers

Use your brainstorming exercise as a starting point for deciding on an image for a production of Bouncers. Draw or describe your image in the box below:

Explain why you have chosen your image, what it says about your production of Bouncers and what kind of people it is likely to attract.

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MARKETING

Activity: Creating a poster for Bouncers

Look at the poster for Harrogate Theatre’s Ghosts poster (Appendix 1). Consider: what is the function of a poster? What information must it contain and what must be prioritised? Imagine that you are putting on a production of Bouncers at your school – design a poster that may be displayed in school in the box below. Make sure it contains all the relevant information and that it is eye-catching and appealing.

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MARKETING

Activity: Creating a press release for BouncersLook at Harrogate Theatre’s Ghosts press release (Appendix 2). A press release is a document that is sent to newspapers, magazines, radio stations, etc, which lets them know that a production is happening at the theatre, what it is about, when it is happening, etc. It also aims to pick out any interesting information that might single it out for press attention. For example, if there is going to be a famous actor in the production, or if it is the first time the play has been produced outside of London. A press release should grab the attention of the journalist it reaches, and get them interested in finding out more.

Imagine that you work in Harrogate Theatre’s marketing department. Write a press release for the upcoming production of Bouncers. Make sure it contains all the necessary information but also try to make the release interesting and appealing.

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PRODUCTION

Notes on the music in Bouncers

Music is an important element in Harrogate Theatre’s production of Bouncers.

Obviously, as the play is set in a nightclub, music is vital in creating the right mood.

The music in a production also gives clues as to the period in which the action takes place.

The artistic director at Harrogate Theatre decided to keep the production’s exact time period fairly ambiguous. It was decided simply that it would be set ‘in the nineties’.

On the first day of rehearsal, the director and actors talked about songs that reminded them of being out drinking and clubbing in the nineties.

Some of those songs made it into the final soundtrack of the production, others were added throughout the rehearsal process.

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PRODUCTION

Activity: Creating a soundtrack

Imagine that you are responsible for creating the soundtrack for your production of Bouncers. Decide on the era that you would like to set the play in and then choose songs that you think will be appropriate. Write your list of songs below. If you have the time and resources, you could create a compilation that contains your chosen songs.

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PRODUCTION

Notes on the set design for Bouncers

Lots of different locations are alluded to throughout Bouncers.

However, as the action moves very quickly and some ‘scenes’ are very short indeed, most designers would decide that it would be impractical to create full naturalistic sets for each location.

Instead, one basic set is usually created which can be altered slightly using lighting, simple props, etc.

Because of the quick pace of the piece, a stylistic set in which things are represented rather than faithfully reproduced is generally easier to work with.

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PRODUCTION

Activity: Design a set for Bouncers

Imagine that you have been asked to design a set for a production of Bouncers. As a starting point write a list of all the locations that are alluded to in the play in the box below.

Now design a set that you believe will be flexible enough to work for all of these scenarios. Either draw or describe your set in the box below, or on a separate sheet of paper if you prefer.

Taking the exercise further: create a model box of your set design.

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Pop Quiz on John Godber and Bouncers

1) What year did Godber become Artistic Director of Hull Truck Theatre Company?

2) What was Godber’s first feature film?

3) What are the four girls in Bouncers called?

4) How many actors performed the very first version of Bouncers?

5) At what school was John Godber Head of Drama?

7) Name three of John Godber’s television credits.

8) Which of Godber’s plays was premiered by 49 amateur companies on the same night?

9) Which of the bouncers plays both a hairdresser and a barber?

10) Which bouncers’ wife left him?

11) What town was John Godber born in?

12) Does John Godber have any children?

13) In what year did Godber write Boucers 1990s Remix

14) With whom did Godber co-write Shakers?

15) Which of the girls in Bouncers tries to pull Kev?

16) What is ‘bouncers’ in French?

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Pop Quiz on John Godber and Bouncers ANSWER SHEET

1) What year did Godber become Artistic Director of Hull Truck Theatre Company? 1984

2) What was Godber’s first feature film? Up ‘n’ Under, released in 1998

3) What are the four girls in Bouncers called? Maureen, Rosie, Elaine and Suzy

4) How many actors performed the very first version of Bouncers? Two

5) At what school was John Godber Head of Drama? Minsthorpe High School

6) Name three of John Godber’s television credits. Crown Court, Grange Hill, Brookside, The Ritz, The Continental, My Kingdom for a Horse, Chalkface, Shakers – the Musical

7) Which of Godber’s plays was premiered by 49 amateur companies on the same night? Happy Families in 1991

8) Which of the bouncers plays both a hairdresser and a barber? Judd 9) Which bouncers’ wife left him? Eric

10) What town was John Godber born in? Upton, West Yorkshire

11) Does John Godber have any children? Yes, two daughters

12) In what year did Godber write Boucers 1990s Remix 1991

13) With whom did Godber co-write Shakers? Jane Thornton

14) Which of the girls in Bouncers tries to pull Kev? Elaine

15) What is ‘Bouncers’ in French? Les Videurs

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