If this is not your first time here, you probably know that this week, The Performance Corporation is heading over the water to work with our DC friends, Solas Nua. This is the fourth time we will be brewing a Theatrical Espresso. Wikipedia informs us that due to its brewing method, an Espresso ‘often has a thicker consistency, a higher concentration of dissolved solids, and crema. As a result of the pressurized brewing process, all of the flavours and chemicals in a typical cup of coffee are very concentrated.‘ Jo, not unlike a skilled barista, will expertly operate the espresso machine and surprise the unsuspecting Washingtonians with a double shot. The pressurised brewing process will happen twice over the course of next week, ensuing a high concentration of artistic solids and crème de la crème performers.

While there is no physiological requirement for an espresso in the human diet, it will stimulate your central nervous system, increase your heart rate and relax air passages. And that can’t be bad! Another, perhaps a tad less desirable, effect is that it will act as a diuretic. Enough metaphors for several blogposts here :-)!

So, if you are or have friends who are in DC, let them know and take part - email Playroom@ThePerformanceCorporation.com or call Solas Nua on 202.315.1317 or follow us on Twitter - @PerformanceCorp or @SolasNuacht.

Time commitment on your part will be minimal and while I cannot reveal the nature of the pieces, I am allowed to mention there are goodies in the bag for all performers! Oh, how I wish I was going, too! On second thoughts, however, in the light of the recent snow storms in DC, I might be at least warmer in Castletown House after all..

Big Thank You must go to Culture Ireland for their support and making these events possible. Also, there are some rock-solid friends of the company coming to DC with us, paying their own way, and joining in the Espressos. It is a great feeling to know that they think so highly of our work to cross the ocean with us! You know who you are and we are grateful for your support!

So you may have noticed me posting the link to Pilot Theatre’s 3rd annual Shift Happens conference this July in the last week. It reallly is unlike anything that we have this side of the water and I would firstly like to remind you to have a look at the details.

Shift Happens

For arts organisations willing and eager to engage with new technologies and ideas, this really is the event for you. The UK is so far ahead in this regard. Every time we go, we feel humbled and hugely inspired by the talks and demonstrations. Its well worth every penny.

Recent statistics have reminded me how many days a year we spend trying to sort technical problems, computer issues and general How do I’s.  In the Arts we are well used to this in creating shows, the technical rehearsal nightmares etc… The Performance Corporation is no different.  We’re always striving in the office to streamline everything and make it all work slick and smooth.  Sometimes our problems are WINS and sometimes FAILS, where we lose a day and end up staying here late solving it.

We’d like to share some of the technological WINS we’ve had in the past year or so….

1. TEAMVIEWER - This is a complete gem, suggested to Jo only a couple of weeks ago by a lovely man in a Maynooth computer store. We have always wanted to access our office server remotely. But we have a combination of MACs and PCs. This programme couldn’t be simpler, it works for both platforms and makes transferring files and remote support a breeze.

2. YOUSENDIT - A really handy site for sending large files, you can even get an express application for your dock/desktop. MAC/PC compatible. File size is not huge, but you can upgrade and send up to 2GB. not bad.

3. MEMEO - a bigger version of yousendit with no max file size. Free for the first few emails.

4. Dropbox - another online store space for anything up to 2GB for free. Handy.

5. YMLP - yourmailinglistprovider. Tired of trying to send html emailouts ourselves and tired of the prices of companies like constant contact charging too much, we found this little guy. Great prices and handles all your bouncebacks and subscriptions. We love it!

6. Database - Our database is something of an elephant in the room and we always had trouble organising it properly. Until BENTO. Jo discovered this one. It makes life a lot easier. Just for MAC though.

7. Dual Monitor Adaptor - ever wanted to run two separate feeds from the same computer to different projectors, but you only had one DVI port? NO? Well we did. This guy allows you to use a USB port as a second VGA output. Awesome!

I hope they save you as much time as they took us to find!

I will leave you with this video of the brilliant future with Solid State Drives (the new hard-drives!)

The shed, owned by Jo’s dad is out in Kilcock, a good 25 minute drive from our offices at Castletown. In this cavernous place we store all our old sets, production gear like paint and varnish, props and LX cables and lights.  For the last 3 years its been impossible to find anything there. I’ve tried on numerous occasions with various people, assistant stage managers, production assistants and Kelly and Jo to create order, with little success.

Finally in the Winter of 2009, Fishamble cleared out their bay, which is adjacent to ours, and Jo’s dad was able to construct a partition. This is what there bay looks like now…

almost empty now... it looks great.

So we thought we’d follow suit with Fishamble and PanPan…

pan pan. so tidy...

and make a concentrated effort once and for all to gain control of our gear.  I was dreading it. But for the first time in my 3 1/2 years with the company going out to the shed was not the most horrible, depressing task in the world.  Thanks to the wonderful new partition, constructed using old Fishamble set and parts of the Yokohama Delegation set, we can organise properly… There was still a huge amount of tidying to do, but I gone down and dirty with it all. Marketa and Jo spent 4hrs tidying through old costumes we’ve accumulated and I organised all my production gear on shelves.

We got about 2/3 of the space done and I can’t tell you how relieved I am. The shed has been hanging over my head since I started with the company, shoved messily under the proverbial carpet. I’m the happiest production coordinator around at the moment. God I’m such a nerd…

Here’s a look at what shed looks like now. To anyone who had seen it before the mess, sigh the sigh of relief I know you all feel. For actors its the daunting audition, for producers its securing the funding, for directors its the challenge of realising your artistic vision, but  me as a production coordinator, its the organisation of the shed…

look at that !

Happy New Year everybody! Above is a photo from my time off - christmassy Old Town Square in Prague. Coming back from the holidays was not without obstacles, largely due to the wintery weather in Ireland, but after a little bit of delay (four days) I have made it safely back to Castletown House.

The time off was brilliant, but I must admit I am glad to be back. The first working week of 2010 was about prepping for two theatrical espressos in Washington D.C., in cooperation with Solas Nua, following through on the revival tour of Power Point and attending For Impact Training facilitated by Business to Arts.

I will stay (wo)manning the office when Jo, Tom and Irene head to Washington in three weeks’ time. Watch this space for more info on the two secret performances in mid-February. By then we should have a pretty good idea how this year is going to pan out in terms of our new show, a revival tour of Power Point and this year’s SPACE Programme.

The Business to Arts For Impact training was uplifting and energising. Actually, it was full of happy memories of Power Point premiére, as the setting was the same - the Camden Court Hotel conference suite! Tom Suddes is a brilliant coach and if you ever get a chance to participate at his seminar, I greatly recommend it.  Lots to digest from the two days and looking forward to implementing Tom’s tips to The Performance Corporation. Possibly the first concrete outcome from the training might be our message (still in progress):

Memorable Experiences through Theatrical Adventures in Surprising Spaces.

What do you think, does it convey what the company is about?

Since the beginning on the year, The Performance Corporation’s performances were seen by approximately 1,650 audience members, our videos were viewed 6,200 times online and we have cooperated with 172 artists across various disciplines. The company’s work was shown on national television four times. I am very proud and happy to have been a part of this.

It is hard to believe that it has been five months since I joined The Performance Corporation. Today is my last day in the office before Christmas hiatus, the list in my diary is all ticked off and my desk is cleared, so I thought I might indulge in a little nostalgia and look back at the past 22 weeks I have spent with Jo, Tom and Irene.

When I started, the production of Power Point was in nappies, with the cast and venue just coming on board. The first four weeks were all about contracts, initial design meetings and planning for the show. Then came four weeks of rehearsals where Jo Mangan and the stellar cast of Clare Barrett, Alan Howley, Lisa Lambe and Hilary O’Shaughnessy brought Tom Swift’s script to fulll bloom.The opening night on Sept 7 was a blast. Two wonderful weeks followed of great reviews and full houses, blown away and intrigued audiences and lots of hard work from all the crew.

Three weeks after Power Point was put to sleep, a collaborative piece Cool Fresh Milk received its national premiere. After music and theatre lovers in Berlin, Irish audiences had a chance to see the piece as part of Darklight Festival in early October.

The weeks after that saw us pursuing national and international touring opportunities, Paper Balling, workshopping, planning for next year’s SPACE Programme, Athy Project X and two Theatrical Espressos in coproduction with Solas Nua in Washington DC. We have also had a development of Slattery’s Sago Saga, Arthur Riordan’s new play, which culminated in a staged reading in Castletown House just last weekend. The audiences seemed to love it and so did we - I can’t wait to see it as a full-fat, large-scale production.

Theatre producing is a long distance run and not all the projects mentioned above have a clear future at this point in time. We know for certain that February will see the company surprising the unsuspecting Washingtonians with two Theatrical Espressos, there will be a brand new production sometime during the year and Power Point will have a stab at catching Finnish hearts, minds and imaginations in August. Many other things are still up in the air so I feel I should not talk about them just yet - wait and see what the new year brings.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy 2010 (I refuse to give into the bleak economic prognosis!). See you in January… after I come back from this: