Download Choir Invitation Master 120713

April 2013
Hello,
It’s Ramin Gray here, I’m a theatre director and I have huge envy for what you do: singing. It’s
something I adore and which seems to express a fundamental human drive for the beautiful. And of
course, when it’s done, as you do it, in a group, as a choir, then it expresses another fundamental
human truth, which is a common desire to be together in harmony.
And it was this second aspect, the drive towards harmony and community that struck me and
playwright David Greig most palpably as we sat in a school hall in Oslo one foggy autumn evening in
2011 attending a choir rehearsal. I’d asked David to come to Norway with me to explore the
aftermath of the terrible events of July 22 when Anders Behring Breivik killed 79, mostly young,
people. It seemed that here, gathered together in a hall, was the clearest riposte to Breivik’s act: a
disparate group of people, bonding themselves into a community through the shared activity of
song. And it was halfway through the rehearsal that David and I turned to each other and said: this is
our play, isn’t it? It’s about the choice between working together to make something or ripping it
apart, between creation and destruction, between harmony and discord.
And so, after much work, The Events, as our play is now called, is coming to fruition. David has
written a text that explores that choice, the dynamic between someone who wants to leave their
mark on the world in a terrible and unforgettable way and someone who wants to understand, to
empathise and to heal.
And that’s where you come in: by putting a choir onstage, we want to really focus minds on what is
at stake, to see – and hear! – what that means. We will weave the play around you, often you will
act as spectators but sometimes you will act like a Greek chorus and of course, at other times you
will sing: songs dear to your hearts, songs that we will write for you. And we will even create
opportunities, entirely voluntary, for members of your choir to participate more actively, as
individuals drawn from the choir. This is all a work in progress and ideas will naturally develop over
the coming months but we are really interested in your thoughts as we make this unusual piece of
theatre together.
I look forward to welcoming you to The Events,
Ramin Gray
Artistic Director, Actors Touring Company
The Events, by David Greig
Screams echo through corridors. A forest echoes with the sound of gunfire. Terrified children are
led across a playground.
At Claire’s choir rehearsal, one of the singers is missing.
David Greig’s urgent new play asks how far forgiveness will stretch in the face of atrocity.
Featuring local choirs and a soaring soundtrack, The Events tells of tragedy, obsession and our
destructive desire to fathom the unfathomable.
Greig’s recent plays include Midsummer, Dunsinane, The Monster in the Hall and The Strange
Undoing of Prudencia Hart. He has written the book for the new musical Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory opening in June 2013.
Actors Touring Company, led by Ramin Gray, presents the best of international contemporary
theatre. Recent shows include The Golden Dragon, Wild Swans, Crave and Illusions.
ATC’s forthcoming project The Events, which premieres at The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh
this August before a UK wide tour and London run at The Young Vic in the autumn.
John Browne, Composer for The Events, studied under Gerald Barry in Cork and, as a Fulbright
Scholar, in NY at the Manhattan School of Music. He has composed operas for the Royal Opera
(Demon Juice and Babette's Feast) and English National Opera (Midnight's Children and a trilogy
called The Early Earth Operas). Other work includes visiting Rwanda in 06/07 to create The
Mother's Ring a music-theatre piece made with genocide survivors and creating choral
arrangements for the band Elbow.
The Events and the Choirs: Project Ambition
As Ramin Gray outlines at the beginning of this document The Events is a daring and ambitious
project. ATC, in partnership with all tour venues, will meet the challenge of finding a different choir
for every night the play is performed. When The Events is housed at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
and the Young Vic, London ATC may well be able to offer choirs the opportunity to perform more
than once within the run.
Every choir taking part in the project will be unique and each will have their own individual style.
Although the choirs we work with will be incredibly varied (in size, in gender split, in repertoire, in
age range etc.) all will be united through their love for singing!
In total we expect to work with over sixty choirs, approximately two thousand singers at ten
different locations around the UK – and we want your choir to a part of this incredibly exciting
project…
What we are looking for
We are looking for committed, enthusiastic and dedicated choirs who will view this project as an
exciting opportunity for all its members. The Events is a ground breaking piece of theatre and it asks
much of the choir who is central to the performance.
We hope the choirs we work with will rise to this challenge and fully engage with the content of the
play, the cast members and audience.
We would like to work with choirs who will embark with us on this journey of exploration and help
shape the unique theatrical event which will be The Events.
A few requirements
 The choir size can range between 17 and 30 people. Larger choirs may wish to put forward a
smaller group as a representative
 Members of the choir must be over the age of 16
 The choir will need to have been together for a minimum of three months
 The choir will need to have a vocal leader who will champion and lead on learning of
material
 The choir will need to commit to the performance date at least two months prior to
performance date
 The choir will need to commit to at least 6-8 weeks of rehearsal time. This can of course be
combined with the choir’s weekly rehearsals for other performances. It is thought 20
minutes additional learning over 6-8 weeks will suffice
 The choir will need to nominate a group contact leader (perhaps a Choir Secretary) who will
liaise with ATC and the venue regarding any choir concerns and questions
 Choir members will need to agree to being filmed and photographed
 The Choir will be asked to take part in ATC’s evaluation process
If you are interested in being a part of this project please contact Sally Christopher, The Events Choir Coordinator for the Actors Touring Company.
Sally can be reached on [email protected] and 020 7930 6014.
Tour Schedule
Please note this schedule is subject to change
Dates
Friday 26th July
Venue
Holt Festival
Notes
Special Performance
W/C 29th July
W/C 5th August
W/C 12th August
W/C 19th August
Traverse, Edinburgh
Traverse, Edinburgh
Traverse, Edinburgh
Traverse, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
W/C 16th September
Tron, Glasgow
W/C 23rd September
North Wall, Oxford
W/C 30th September
Dublin Festival
W/C 7th October
W/C 14th October
W/C 21st October
W/C 28th October
Young Vic, London
Young Vic, London
Young Vic, London
Young Vic, London
W/C 4th November
Hull Truck, Hull
W/C 11th November
Bristol Old Vic, Bristol
W/C 18th November
Birmingham Rep, Birmingham
W/C 25th November
The Drum, Plymouth