Canberra Dramatics' production process is under scrutiny in an article in the Spring 2009 edition of See Canberra titled Bringing a show to life by Bron Vickers.

If the image is too small to read, it has been transcribed below.

As an audience member at the theatre you're absorbed by the story the actors are telling and the 90 minutes or so of a show seem to speed by. But while you're watching and taking in all the elements of the spectacle, have you ever wondered what's gone on in the many months leading up to opening night; who the puppet-masters in charge are; who else has been involved; and how those perfectly cast actors have been chosen?

Take Their Life: Romeo and Juliet reimagined is the end of year production for amateur theatre company, Canberra Dramatics. By the time opening night comes around, a whole 18 months will have passed since director Trevar Alan Chilver had the inspiration for the show.

Trevar first had the idea of re-working William Shakespeare's original play Romeo and Juliet a few years back, but it wasn't until there was a lack of local plays to work with, that he decided the time was right to bring his idea into existence. The original Romeo and Juliet never sat right with Trevar, or at least the ending didn't.

"I like to refer to this production as a bastardisation of Romeo and Juliet &8212; so I will apologise profusely to Shakespear if I ever meet him," Mr Chilver said good-naturedly.

The Take Their Life synopsis reads: With her new husband Romeo banished from the city for murdering her cousin, and her parents baying for his blood, Juliet is desperate to escape with Romeo...the question is, will their marriage be a happily ever after?

You can understand Trevar's cynical point of view about the whirlwind teenage romance, especially when he points out that, while it might have been one of the greatest love stories ever told, it did only last two days.

And so, the first dab of paint had been splashed on the production planning palette. With the help of his production manager, Samantha Barrett[sic], Trevar began the search for his creative team who would assist him in workshopping his script.

Last year, while Trevar and Samantha were auditioning hopefuls for another of their productions, they also put the call out for those who would be interested in being involved in the scriptwriting process for Take Their Life.

During auditions, in the improvisation section, Trevar looked for people who had that "spark of creativity to tell a story" as he chose his creative team to help him develop his script.

About three to four months before show night is when the key artistic people are sought, and about six weeks out from opening night, discussions about set, era, costumes, lighting and so forth take place.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the pre-production process for Trevar is finding his cast.

Auditions for the cast of 15 characters were held over two days, with a third day dedicated to callbacks.

"Every script and every director has a different need for the audition process," Samantha said.

However, auditionees for Trevar's productions need not fear the often nerve-wracking monologue delivery, with the director claiming to have "a bit of a reputation around Canberra for having the most fun auditions."

In the audition sessions for this production, Trevar asked hopefuls to be familiar with Skaespeare's story and be apt at expressing Middle English dialogue. Other qualities taken into consideration included directability, performance instinct, physical attributes, vocal qualities, availability, training and experience.

Once the cast has been selected, it's pretty much all systems go.

"In relation to other amateur theatre companies, we have a really tight turnaround from auditions to starting the show," Trevar said.

"We've found that it works better. We've auditioned a month out and then that person is suddenly not available by the time the shows starts."

With a rehearsal pattern of about either hours a week from August 31, by opening night on November 5, you can be sure that all the hard work the cast and crew have put into the production will culminate with the delivery of an innovative story and a spectacular show. Take Their Life: Romeo and Juliet reimagined is sure to delight audiences, especially the ones who now know the intense pre-production process that has gone on prior to the night the curtain lifts.

By Bron Vickers