This week has been quite interesting in terms of Under Milk Wood.  The decision to do it as a fundraiser has been quite liberating.  It means we're all in the same boat and anybody who wants to be involved with the project will be doing it for the love of the piece and the experience rather than any hard financial reward. Any funds we do raise will go to Maverick in the hope we might be able to resurrect the youth group or The Peoples' Company.

After my last blog I had a Facebook comment that said we should let members of the audience read too if we were short of performers. I quite like that notion - a 'scratch' Milk Wood. My work with Maverick has always been about access for audiences and performers - see People's Company above! But what intrigues me about UMW is not just Dylans' obvious love of the sound of the words and his joy of alliteration, but the potential 'colouring' of the piece by the performers and the degree of humour we decide to portray. And parts are quite bawdy don't y' know! And that all needs a vision, direction and rehearsal. 

So I am meeting two directors this week who have agreed to pile in with us. I have to mention the lovely and talented Mark Rylance. He said he'd love to help out but he was away. Typically understated and gentle. It was a friend who said he's away performing on Broadway!

So the tone of our piece will be decided when I appoint a director this week. As mentioned last week I also ran the ad for actors. We've already had more than 60 applications! So we probably won't need the Audience to join in. But it has given me an idea for another event early next year. Watch this space...

Lit Pub Crawl Actors at rehearsals earlier this year. The pub before the Wheatsheaf!