The Right To Write

Let's go back to this time last year. Jess and I were sat at a kitchen table in a London flat trying to find a children's story that we could adapt for the stage. It wasn't going very well. We hadn't even touched on how we would fund the show, let alone pay for copyright.

"What if we just have a go at writing our own?" 

And so we did. 'The Three Kingdoms' was written and She Productions was born. We rolled along with this 'Do-It-Yourself' attitude and we are still rolling because who else is going to do it for you? 

Of course, there's a big risk in 'DIY theatre'. You have to learn a lot. Quickly. From stage management skills to marketing strategies, not to mention the actual writing and performing of the piece. Then, after all that hard work and effort, you might have written a load of rubbish anyway. So is it even worth it? 

Yes. Definitely. Absolutely.

I salute anyone who has the balls (metaphorically speaking for us at She Productions) to create their own company and work, in whatever way that might be. The amount of time and effort it takes to 'do-it-yourself' definitely doesn't reward one financially at first, but creatively it is a breath of fresh air. Working in this ridiculously under-funded industry assures that even some of the most talented people have to give up their careers just to be able to live. Might as well live on the breadline doing what you love on your own terms than living on it waiting for the phone to ring and someone else to offer you the opportunity, right?

Or wrong. Of course it's not for everyone. But everyone does have the right.

The right to write. 

The right to play. 

The right to create. 

www.sheproductions.co.uk

@ProductionsShe

Facebook.com/SheProductionsTheatreCompany

'It's Different For Girls' so we are doing something about it...

You may think that the ladies of She Productions have mysteriously vanished over the last few weeks. But if you have been in Beverley and listened really carefully you could probably hear the faint sounds of a drum, harmonies forming and a 60's bass-line wafting through the windows of a shed, down at the bottom of a garden.

Last year, She Productions were approached by Andy Pearson, from Ensemble 52 and Heads Up Festival, to discuss a collaborative project inspired by Hull's very own 1960's girlband, Mandy & The Girlfriends. After reading, 'It's Different for Girls', an autobiography written by two of the band's members, Andy went on the search for a company who could take on the story of these girls and turn it into theatre; a story of a group of young women who had decided it was about time to get creative and not let anything stand in their way, even with the fact that the majority of them had never played an instrument before. A fact that also rings true amongst the Shes. The perfect match; and so the journey began...

In October, 5 Shes met 4 members of Mandy & The Girlfriends at the most unforgettable dinner party; 'part of our research'. Almost instantaneously, similarities between individuals in both groups became apparent. Hannah, a She who had previously decided she was going to take a step back from this particular project but came along for the free wine, met Hilary, drummer-cum-comedienne, and her mind was quickly changed as they hit it off over the cheese and crackers.

It was the absence of Mandy at this meeting that really stirred up the roots of the project. Since meeting the ladies, we steered away from using every one of their stories and created a narrative about a fictional girlband, 'Sindy & Girlfriends'.

The last few weeks in the shed has began putting the pieces of this new narrative together, glueing the cracks with a fusion of our own composition and classic 60's tunes. At a time where the demand for celebrating women in theatre is finally on the up, She Productions has set out to follow in the footsteps of these ambitious women who took the entertainment industry into their hands almost 60 years ago. The way of living might have changed since then, but the pressures on young women to fulfill expectations without having the right to truly voice their opinions, is still very apparent in all walks of life.

It IS still different for girls and so we are going to try and do a little something about it...

A little snap from our dinner with 'The Girlfriends'

We are looking to perform a first workshop of this project in October at Kardomah 94, Hull as a part of Heads Up Festival.

You didn't see this, right ?

Just a little screen-print from the super-secret website that I shouldn't have mentioned in yesterday's blog post.

Happy Friday...

Things that go bump (or chomp) in the night

Halloween is approaching faster than a hungry zombie & She Productions are super-excited !!

There are 2 spook-tacular events coming to East Riding Theatre in Beverley, with the now sold-out Halloween Treat Night providing scary fun for all the family & the terrifying Scarefest providing frolics for those 16+ (or maybe those 16+ will be providing a feast for a gaggle of zombies - is "gaggle" the correct collective term for a load of flesh-eating odd-balls ? (answers on an email please...)

Anyway, the Treat Night costumes have been made, songs written, music composed & some scary surprises hidden away. A full house at ERT will be treated to a meeting of the BanShees, who will take everyone on a fantastic journey to..... I can't say any more otherwise it will ruin the surprise.... From the team that brought you the über-successful The Three Kingdoms, Halloween Treat Night promises to be a sumptuous occasion.

Long after the BanShees, the Lightless Pumpkin (above) & the kiddi-winkles have retired to a dreamy wonderland for the night (10:45pm to be precise) She Productions' Scarefest will be upon us, and never have there been 2 more polar opposites in terms of entertainment. For those brave / daft enough to be coming to ERT on 31 October, prepare to be immersed into a night like no other. A top-secret website (very similar to Norad Santa, but one that tracks zombies instead of a present-giving Santa & his beloved reindeer) is being monitored & it looks as though the optimum zombie-time in Beverley will be just after 10:45pm that night (what a coincidence !). What are the chances of survival for those at the theatre ? Will the zombies have eaten before they get there ? Only time will tell..... Only a few tickets are left for the evening, so if you haven't booked already & fancy some late-night frights, then head on over to our website & get your tickets.

Happy Halloween one and all !!

Welcome to She Productions

Our first blog post !!!

She Productions have now added Blogger to our social media channels, which already includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Vimeo pages that tell you all about us & what we're doing (& what we've been up to).

Our website (www.sheproductions.co.uk) also contains the latest information regarding upcoming productions & details of how to book tickets for our shows.

However, our blog will offer something a little different from these other sites... Many interesting & exciting things will be posted here in the future & posts will be provided by all members of the She Productions team, which means that you'll also get to find out more about the people involved too !

So, to kick things off, here's a picture of a recent rehearsal session (with some fantastic jazz hands !) & there will be all sorts of She Productions snippets coming from the stage, as well as news from behind the scenes.

If you're interested in theatre, singing, dancing, comedy, drama, romance, laughter, tears, music & all the other things that She Productions can give you, then this blog will be sure to keep you entertained.

You can obviously follow us via any (or all) of our social media channels. However, if you want to be kept up-to-date with our blog, feel free to sign-up for email updates when new posts are submitted - just follow the details here.

Welcome to She Productions - it's great to have you with us on what will be a magical adventure together.