Ultimately, Rubbish Theatre’s debut performance If An Orchid Was All You Had (Brunt et al., 2017) was well received and in my opinion our ambition of aesthetically exciting an audience with our content, set and costume was achieved. The feedback from the audience was positive and the company felt extremely proud having to extend tickets from 120 to 160.

From the perspective of a performer, I was undoubtedly pleased that we had managed to succeed in all of our original aims. Rubbish Theatre’s If An Orchid Was All You Had (Brunt et al., 2017) had achieved a multidisciplinary performance that explored the consequences of madness whilst enduring a mundane, cyclical life. Rubbish Theatre had not intended on making a political statement with our debut performance but we had recognised the farcical statements our piece made about society. Furthermore, I felt my portrayal of my characters effectively expanded on the intentions Rubbish Theatre had for our performance.

Comparatively, from the perspective of producer I was ecstatic that we had succeeded in selling all of our tickets and that there were no cases of injury or harm to cast or audience. Additionally, the final performance reflected all the hard work and organisation that each member of the company contributed. At the beginning of the process I read that ‘you can’t learn how to produce solely from reading a book… producing is an instinctive business’ (Seabright, 2012, p. 11) and now that we have performed I understand that this statement is true. No amount of research would have prepared me fully for the role of producer because being a producer required me to adapt quickly in order to resolve any issue that was thrown my way. This skill will continue to develop my knowledge and varying productions will only amplify that necessity for seeking knowledge.

In terms of Rubbish Theatre’s debut performance I found that my role as producer required me to be ‘a practical dreamer’ (Vogel and Hodges, 2006). This meant that although every member of the company had the luxury of running with their imaginations, my main responsibility was to make sure that these dreams could become a possibility through logic and thoughtful analysis. This was explicit within the budget because I had to ensure that all aspirations for the set and costume could be completed with the funds we possessed.

Conclusively, my time as producer for Rubbish Theatre has been an absolutely enthralling experience that has presented me with a variety of obstacles that have required me evolve to resolve them.

Works Cited:

Brunt, E., Clark, A., Crawford, J., Crockford, K., Kay, J., Pearson, J., Skelton, J., Soyza, R., Toon, J. and Watson, B. (2017) If An Orchid Was All You Had [Live Performance]. Performed by Rubbish Theatre. Lincoln: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, 22 May.

Seabright, J. (2012). So You Want to be a Theatre Producer?. 1st ed. London: Nick Hern Books.

Vogel, F. and Hodges, B. (2006). The Commercial Theater Institute guide to producing plays and musicals. 1st ed. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.