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TOUR PACK | AUTUMN 2017
TOUR PACK | AUTUMN 2017
Hello and welcome to Small Nose Productions tour pack for their new show...
Small Nose Productions began from a starting place based on Philippe Gaulier’s ideas on clown. We found it the perfect place to begin this journey with The Black Dog. Clown is at the heart of us all. It is deeply humane, vulnerable yet explosive and enlightening. It’s freedom can breath new light and magic into the darkest of corners.
The play is based on the book with the same title written and illustrated by Matthew Johnstone. The book was famously endorsed by Stephen Fry and has been seen online in its viral format by over 10 MILLION people.
Small Nose made ‘I Had a Black Dog…his name was depression’ last year and they are planning a small-scale tour in the autumn of 2017.
I Had a Black Dog is a fun filled, beautifully dark, comic story of survival. Boy falls in love with girl; girl falls in love with boy. They begin a journey together. But Joe also has a relationship with someone else. A ‘Black Dog.’ The dog just keeps turning up. It’s getting bigger and bigger. It’s taking over. It’s ruining Joe’s other relationships with the lady he loves, family, and friends and with life itself. And as Joe fights to keep his happiness, so the story unfolds…and so it goes. Black Dog is a recognizable story for everyone.
Their chaotic approach, constant search for the correct balance between laughter and something more poignant
and their audacity for things that are silly and at the heart of us all, makes this company the perfect eclectic mix for
dealing with the dark world of the Black Dog.
We are thrilled to see Small Nose Productions bring this book to life in such a vivid and faithful way…the book has
touched so many people and the play is a wonderful way to take that further. I Had a Black Dog is a moving and
inspirational story of recovery from a disabling disorder told in a completely entertaining way by this brilliant company.
Mark and Jason have been working on Black Dog for two years. They first created a scratch production funded by The Britten Partnership. Then after seeing the scratch version, various organisations aided Small Nose to making a full length version. These organisations were, The Arts Council, The New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich, Peterborough City Council, Cambs Police and The NHS. We’re also collaborating with MIND and the other Mental Health Organisations. The show opened at Peterborough’s Key Theatre for 7 performances. 2 of which were for school groups. The show achieved:
70% at the box office.
30% had never been to the Key Theatre before.
TOUR PACK | AUTUMN 2017
Duration: The show currently runs at 1 hour.Playing Space: 10m x 10m.Bad Language: Moderate bad languageTech/Lighting: Can be provided by [email protected]
We are looking for venues to support us with our dog walking with guarantees against a box office split. Please contact us for further discussions.
We are hopeful that this little tour will be the start of a larger journey. Our intention is to take this show on a national tour around the UK and then Matthew is waiting for us to bring it to his home; Australia. With this in mind we will be applying to The Arts Council for funding for a larger tour. We hope that we will continue to forge collaborative partnerships with groups and organizations who are connected, or who want to raise awareness, around some of the themes of the show. This we hope will support our application.
If you are interested in starting a conversation with Small Nose our contact details are on the last page. Joined to the show is an Outreach program that is broken down into two components.
• Outreach for the Black Dog. • Performing Arts / show based workshops.
For this branch of the Outreach programme Small Nose will be collaborating with The Britten Partnership. The Britten Partnership funded the 40 min scratch version and we wouldn’t have made it to this version of the show without their support.We plan to build on the Black Dog Exhibition, developing further outreach work for both adults and young people. This will include the Black Dog Conference featuring interactive workshops delivered by Mental Health Professionals; the Black Dog Road show, taking a version of the show into schools & community settings and The Black Dog IAG events, evening events offering information, advice and guidance on the subject of Mental Health.
At the Key Theatre we ran a pilot of the Black Dog Exhibition and we are happy to discuss the feedback this generated with parties who are interested in this event. It is our hope to run one of these exhibitions at every venue we play.
Mark and Jason have over 30 years shared experience in running workshops and bespoke projects. As well as offering a range of Clown, Half and Full mask and devising based workshops. We are creating a Show based workshop.
These workshops are centered on developing images from the book. They’rePhilippe Gaulier and Michael Chekhov exercises (exactly the process we used in making the show). It will be a bespoke package in terms of length and can be made specific to fit into an educational context and qualification offer.
Jason has an MA (Distinction) in Education (Drama) and currently teaches to dissertation level. So the workshops are also available to a HE setting.
These workshops are good for everyone’s mental well-being - We have had many discussions with professionals working in the Mental health area – it’s a fact.
[email protected] / www.benjamincallanan.com / www.alexberry.co.uk / [email protected]
Opening Night Project: Devised performance – Working with Family Care Peterborough to develop a drama group based in the Welland area.
Aesop’s Fables: Devised and Performed in Aesop’s Fables, Key Theatre & mini tour / Summer School at Chichester Festival Theatre. / Clown and Commedia dell Arte. / Philippe Gaulier Clown Workshop, based at Trestle Arts Base / 2014 / 2015 and next year Buffoon & Commedia. / The Holocaust Memorial Day School’s project. / Lewisham: 2013 – 2016 (Supported by Lewisham Council) / Peterborough: 2014 -2016 (Supported by Peterborough Regional College)
His work as an actor includes: Wolves in the Walls (TMA Award) Lyric Theatre & Tour: National Theatre of Scotland. / The Firework Makers Daughter Lyric Theatre & tour: Told By an Idiot Theatre Company. / The Stoneheads: The Lyttelton Theatre: Trestle Theatre Company. / Slice of Saturday Night – National Tour. / Tango of the End of Winter –Piccadilly Theatre / At the Key Theatre: Macbeth (Title role), Godspell, Chicago, Cinderella and Robin Hood / Jason gained his MA in 2014 / He has taught Performing Arts at Peterborough Regional College since 2007.
Mark first came into contact with a Black Dog when he was born. Ironic that it was a black labrador called Jason. His work has developed over the years to bring him to this point and Small Nose with his friend Jason Mitchell. Aside from Small Nose Mark works all over the place. Most recently he has been developing ideas for on a new show for young people based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. ‘Yorick’ is set to tour the UK in 2016/17 for ‘Dot and Ethel’ Theatre company and is being produced by Theatre Royal Bath. It is already generating interest from the RSC and the National.
Mark delivers workshops for various companies and theatre organisations like Trestle Theatre and The New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich. He is also hoping to build on his existing relationship with Philippe Gaulier with the creation of an out and out ‘Clown’ show that would see Monsieur Gaulier over see the development of the work.
Mark has had his own Black Dog following him around for a number of years. He says...
“We came to Black Dog because of personal experiences. Mine wasn’t so much a Black Dog, more a shadow. I just felt sad all of the time and in an effort to get rid of it, I did some silly things. A shadow is for life. But the great news is, today I am in control of it. I hope this work will enable others to be in control too.” Xxx
Stephen is an actor, director and teacher. Recent acting credits include Don Quixote with Little Soldier productions, War Horse and Theatre of Blood for the National Theatre, A Mouse and his Child and Merry Wives of Windsor for the RSC. He has worked at The Sheffield Crucible, West Yorkshire Playhouse and for Trestle Theatre, Brouhaha and The English Shakespeare Company.
Stephen is an associate of Told by an Idiot Theatre Company. He has devised and performed in six of their productions recently Never Try this at Home and Get Happy and has collaborated on many more.
Stephen’s directing credits include Hellcats for 4th Monkey, Flat Pack a stage version of the Buster Keaton film One Week, Crowbar Hotel at Rose Bruford, An Estonian Comedy of Errors and a Hungarian Midsummer Nights Dream and has directed two mask shows for Facepack Theatre. He has worked as a slapstick consultant on Pippi Longstocking (City Theatre Reykjavik) and on The Twits at the Royal Court Theatre.
Although we will be going back into the rehearsal room for more tea and biscuits (…and to develop the show further OF COURSE!!)
we have prepared a short DVD to give you a flavour. Hope you like it! If so please get in touch.
