“What would you do if someone told you - if you knew - if the look in some old guy’s face told you that being young was as good as it ever fucking gets?”

Proposed by Sarah Sharp, Essie Barrow and Amy Wells.

Synopsis.

Five bedrooms, five chairs and four boys. The Class of 2011 are about to graduate and Benny, Mack, Timp and Cam are due out of their flat. Stepping into a world that doesn’t want them, these boys start to wonder whether there’s any point in getting older. How will they find the fight to make it as adults? Before all that they’re going to have one hell of a party. It’s hot and there’ll be girls. Predict a riot.

Fresh, moving and true to real life this play deals with problems students face on a daily basis. It questions what students have to look forward to after they finish their degrees with rising unemployment levels providing no hope for the future. Twenty-something’s disillusioned and scared of what will happen when they have to leave university and become adults.

Boys premiered at the High Tide Festival in May 2012, in a High Tide/Nuffield/Headlong co-production before transferring to The Nuffield, Southampton, and Soho Theatre, London.

AdminRights are £69 per performance and are available from Nick Hern Books.

The running time of the piece has previously been 2hrs 15 mins but we are looking to put in various physical theatre sequences at the beginning, between some scenes and a riot sequence (a reflection of the cuts to higher education, a prevalent issue) so this may extend the length of the play as well.

With respect to week slots week three would work the best for us but we could also do week four. Due to such an incredibly intricate set it will take quite a while to source and put together. We’re not just trying to find a kitchen table and a sink we’re looking to recreate an entire student kitchen, taking naturalism to a new

level. We want this to be a completely submersive piece of theatre that when the student audience comes in, its feels as though they are coming home. Also as Boys is an extremely fresh and new play ,only being premiered this year we want maximum time to publicise it in and around the union in the weeks leading up to the show.

The play is suitable for a 16+ audience.

Cast

4 male, 2 female with a subsequent 10-12 chorus members for party/riot scenes and scene changes (mainly female).

Characters

Benny (22)Benny is arguably the most sensitive and caring character within the play. Trying to continue his life after a traumatic event (don’t want to put a spoiler in). He takes to hiding on top of the fridge, getting increasingly frustrated at the piling rubbish and ends up exasperated in a flat that avoids reality through partying.

Cam (21)A child prodigy…or not. Cam is presented as an aspiring violinist with one of the biggest concerts of his life ahead of him, but will he stand the pressure? Resentful at having to play when he could be having a party Cam seems reluctant to face his true potential.

Timp (30)The oldest yet arguably the most immature character in the play. Timp does not want his party to end and is scared that his time is running out. Working as a waiter in a restaurant opposite the flat he stays with students for cheap rent. His relationship with co-worker Laura comes under strain in the play when he is forced to face the consequences of his reckless actions.

Mack (23)First appearing as the strong silent type it would appear that Mack doesn’t have anything to say. However he is the most cynical voice in the play, arguing with Benny over what to do with the decomposing piles of rubbish and hiding his relationship with Sophie help him avoid facing what he’s really troubled by./thinking about.

Sophie (21) Southern, sophisticated and smart Sophie seems to have it all…or does she? Graduating university she seems clueless as to how to continue her life out of Edinburgh. Distracting herself trying to pursue a relationship with Mack a past relationship haunts her happiness.

Laura (25)

Living in Edinburgh all her life Laura is an innocent, bubbly, and hopeful northern girl. She feels as though she has fallen into being a waitress when it’s not really what she wants to do. Her relationship with Timp comes under strain and Laura shows her real fire but her fear is proving hard to swallow..

10-12 chorus membersto take place in the huge opening scene- opening with a bang! Also in scene changes and riot scene.

Technical Aspects Looking for an amazing set designer to create a lifelike student kitchen from tea

bags on the floor to cupboards on the walls (if possible)! This is going to be a big job and we will support the designer as much as we can and help source all materials. We want this set to be amazing and so if that takes a team of set designers then that’s fine by us.

A sound designer interested in mixing records together creating a DJ like feel to the piece, looking for a loud start to the play for the house party scene! Also thinking about having a live score to accompany the piece with a real DJ present on stage.

Also looking for a music student who plays the violin to give the actor playing Cam some basic violin lessons.

A lighting designer that can deal with the complexities of where we are at in the play. As the set never changes a large amount the time of the scenes are told through lighting. Also looking for creativity through the various monologues and party scenes!

With any aspects of tech we are looking for the designers to bring us great ideas rather than restricting them to only our creative vision, we see it as a collaborative vision that we hope they can share in.

The set will be a great challenge as we are looking to get it as close to a real student kitchen as possible! Rammed and full of rubbish!Here are some pics from the premier production of Boys at Soho theatre London so you can get the idea of how we want the set (ours will be different but still)…

The Team!

Director - Sarah Sharp

I have been heavily involved in SuTCo from the moment I arrived at university! By the end of fresher’s week I had been cast in King Lear and I’m so happy that I did. I next went on to act in both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan. After my first year getting to grips with acting in plays I decided as a second year that I’d like to be more involved with the other aspects of putting on a production, so I stage managed for Punk Rock and I absolutely loved it! I enjoyed seeing how the play was put together from the more technical side of things and I think this will prove to be essential to the role of director. Outside of SuTCo I attended a local drama school for many years, studied drama up to A-level, got a place at the National Youth Theatre in 2011 and attended NSDF this summer. This constant involvement in theatre has been invaluable to my gaining not just acting experience, but also of what goes on behind the scenes of a production. I have written, directed and staged my own drama performances in the past, working with lighting technicians and sound operators and so I feel confident in these areas. From this, I feel I am able to help everyone involved with a production to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. I aim to be considerate, reliable and enthusiastic as every director should be and I would really love this opportunity to see if directing is something that I can successfully do and is something I am considering as a career. I have been eager to direct since first year and feel I am now fully ready to take on all of the challenges it may entail with confidence and enjoyment.

Producer- Amy Wells

I have really enjoyed getting involved in SuTCo this year and hope that I can have the chance to produce this show and further my involvement within the society. I have acted in Punk Rock which I felt has provided me with an insight into the mechanics of how a SuTCo show is put together. I’m currently in my second year studying English and Theatre and also acted in The Rover last year which was a collaboration between the university and the Crucible. I am extremely excited about finally becoming involved in SuTCo as a producer, and hope to make ‘Boys’ a roaring success. In terms of experience and suitability- I spent a couple of years prior to University gaining theatre experience and training. This included Stage Managing for a touring theatre company, a year of acting training and a three-month internship at a Media Arts Collective in Nepal. I am committed to all projects I undertake, opting for a methodical and creative approach to ensure that all tasks are completed to the best of my ability. Recently I have worked as a Stage Manager for Sheffield Doc/Fest, which meant I oversaw and managed a whole team of volunteers. Additionally, I worked at Warp Film’s Ten-Year Anniversary which I again Stage Managed, making sure the backstage area was ran efficiently. I feel I am confident in managing a considerable workload along side my degree, whilst also being able to delegate and lead a team.

Stage Manager- Essie Barrow

I’ve been involved in SUTCo from my very first weeks at University when I performed in King Lear, as well as playing Helena in the school of English’s The Rover last semester. I’m currently in my second year on the Platform committee, last year as part of the Creative team and this year as Publicity. As a 2nd year English and Theatre student, I have been given all the basic training vital for the role of Stage Manager, and have learnt to apply and hone these skills through each performance assessment. I also gained experience through DSMing for the (last years) 2nd year’s final assessment, where I receiving full training from Rob. As well as taking part in workshops at The Crucible such as one with resident director Jonathan O’Boyle and a Movement and Text workshop, I have also done two weeks work experience at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London where I gained a good understanding of the workings of a professional theatre. All of these experiences have taught me how to cope with the demands of being a stage manager and I feel I confident in my ability to communicate ideas clearly and efficiently in a team. I can’t wait to have to opportunity to put all my skills into practice.

Selling the show…

‘Boys’ is a relatively new play, thus securing an audience and marketing will be extremely important. However, the play’s subject matter will resonate with a University audience and therefore publicising at the University will be the main focus of the campaign for example, we have enquired about performing a short extract of the play in ‘The Zone’ in the Union. We will also have the regular rally in

the city centre and I’d like to organise a similar rally outside the union. I’d also really like to get the message out to Hallam Students and suggest a trip to see one of their shows and visa versa. As always, the poster and video will be extremely important when promoting ‘Boys’, as the majority of public will not know what the play is about. I have proficient understanding of Photoshop, and hope that with some extra help from another designer, I can produce a slick poster.

Having such an innovative regional theatre like Sheffield Crucible is extremely useful, and needs to be maximised. I hope to contact their marketing team and ask for advice and guidance on how to approach the promotion of the show. I would also like to talk to Grace Darbyshire to create some new workshops for SuTCo in association with ‘Boys’.

We are looking to really actively publicise this show and it’s going to be an extremely fun process. Every member of our team has experience in publicity, Sarah as head of publicity for Platform Festival and Essie in her team, and Amy has been on various film making courses and studied photography. This involvement and experience in publicity also shows we enjoy the task that publicising events brings! We aim for the second slot so as to provide enough time to fully market our show, as the play is so new a buzz needs to be created about it and we have loads of great ideas how to do so in the weeks leading up to the show, we just need the time to do so and we know it will pay off!

Why SuTCo should put on Boys

Its new! Its fresh! Its great! But seriously…Student theatre should face the issues that young people are dealing with in today’s economy. Supporting new writing is also very important with the arts facing large cuts which also means that becoming a successful playwright is becoming an even bigger challenge. Boys is for our generation, about our generation and so should be put on by our generation. It is a protest in the form of a play and shows how we cannot continue the party in a time when gaining employment is increasingly difficult. As students facing uncertainty when we leave university we can ensure our message is heard, we can at least be certain of one thing, that by choosing to put on Boys we can voice our ideas and give them an importance once again.