Thanks to the support of 34 separate and very generous individuals, we smashed our crowdfunding target of £800 on the 6th of May - a whole week before our deadline! We'd like to personally thank everyone who has donated to, shared the page of, and just talked about our crowdfunding campaign.
With this money we will be able to realise things that were previously unnattainable to us. We will also be able to provide new, excellent opportunities to the young creatives who work with us and hopefully develop a new platform for funny people to develop their craft and learn about how to professionally realise their ambitions.
We really are so very thankful to you all.
If you haven't donated yet, there's still time to visit our IndieGoGo campaign and give us your support. Every donation is valuable and is guaranteed to help.
Our very own lovely co-creator Ed Greenwood was interviewed by UK Blog Award winner, Theatre Fullstop. Click the link here to read the interview in which he talks about adapting The Room as a stage musical.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first performance. It was a sell-out show and a tremendous amount of fun, but I would say that. You want someone else's opinions? You can check out our 4-Star review from Nouse here and our alarmingly complimentary review from Unknown Magazine here.
And you can watch some of the reactions of our audience right here!
The Room: The Musical - What the Audience Say from Stephanie Bartlett on Vimeo.
If you would like to help us bring this level of fun to as many people as possible. You can always contribute to our Indiegogo page. We're looking for £800 and goshdarnit, we're close. £800 doesnt even cover the amount of money we've already put into the project and it certainly doesn't come near to the time and effort invested by everyone involved but it is a tremndous leg-up as we embark on a very hectic few months.
Thanks as always.
Bai effrybahdy!
"So you guys are being lions, yeah?" Ed Greenwood, director, writer, guitarist, and surrogate father of The Room: The Musical, says to Bianca and me, the two assistant producers of The Room: The Musical, the Sunday before our first performance. "Sure!" we reply, trying to hide both our confusion and absolute joy that we've been asked. Then we put the onesies on. The onesies are hot. The onesies are movement-restricting. The onesies do, however, have a tail that we can swing in a sassy fashion. We're not sure how to feel.
Cut to Thursday. It is our preview. Bianca and I are adorned with lion makeup. The lights are on, the set is constructed, the seats are full! We sold out! (Not in that way.) The show went really well, apart from some minor hiccups- we didn't run on with the projection sheet at one point, meaning that a coffee shop got projected onto Louise's face. We pretended this was intentional, edgy theatre.
Then we danced, oh we danced. We shook what our mamas gave us. And we swung those tails. We swung them for all they were worth. This is the true meaning of art.
I was so happy with everyone. There were some concerns in rehearsals, such as: "Will Zack get changed in time?" "Will Tommy Wiseau sue us?" "Will anyone manage to be as camp as Harry?!" He did, he didn't and they did. The show was great, and the audience were amazing- it's easy to relax and 'shine' when there's that much support for you. I honestly cannot wait for our next shows, and the whole month of doing my lion thang in Edinburgh. And the best thing? Nouse mentioned the 'gloriously campy lions' in their four-star review.
EDINBURGH FRINGE
LAUGHING HORSE FREE FESTIVAL
CITY CAFE
1 AM (Yes. Really)
COME AND PLAY WITH US
Oh hai effrybahdy!
Just when you thought we'd confirmed all of our performances, we only bloody go and get invited to the bloody Buxton bloody Fringe!
Buxton Fringe is the third largest UK arts festival after Edinburgh and Brighton. Buxton is also the hometwown of our lovely Production Assistant, Marcus (or 'The Crabbz' as he has come to be known colloquially).
We'll be performing at Underground Venues who have been a great bunch to deal with so far and we are so excited to be getting our show on the road - (or at least, down the road, as our premiere performance tomorrow night is but a spoon's throw from our HQ)
Buxton and Underground have kindly agreed to host us from Monday 20th to Wednesday 22nd of July. We are performing at 7pm, then 8.45pm, then 7pm again (they like to keep us on our toes).
In the meantime, you can find more about our performances and the Buxton Fringe here.
Byeeeeeee!
Oh hai guys!
We're finally getting to the very exciting stages of finalising all of our 2015 tour dates and, boy, is it going to be a doozy (Note to self: never use that phrase again, it doesn't suit you).
Our latest performance announcement is that we have been booked to perform a one-off show in our favourite city, the Motherland, the Little Apple, York. This will be part of the FIRST EVER Great Yorkshire Fringe and we're truly honoured to be involved.
We will be performing in the Teapot (not an actual teapot, that would be nuts even by our standards, plus Ben is too tall) on the 31st of July at 4pm. Tickets are £7 and all of the information is here. We're listed under theatre, quite bafflingly but hey, it makes us feel legit.
There are a whole load of great names that are going to be performing there so it should be a really smashing event. Hopefully the summer weather will hold out so we can all have a lovely time and go for an ice-cream afterward.
Sounds good to me.
Bai effrybahdy!
Hai everybody; Bianca here, or as you may learn to know me, BJ, the slightly less talented half of BJ and The Crabbz (but who is the Crabbz? Read on to find out...)
So I’ve been asked to write about how I am getting on with this project. For those of you who like their blogs concise, to the point, but as FUN AS POSSIBLE, here we go:
There once was a musical named The Room (the musical),
Which was going boom, boom, boom (yes, we want you in our room).
Because rehearsals were great,
No one was in a state,
And we’re yet to experience impending doom.
Okay, that excellent piece of poetry was concerned more with just one of our TWO SHOWS, so here is a list of my feelings about being a production assistant:
1.) Because of this role, I have discovered an unnatural desire to watch The Room continuous times.
2.) I am SO EXCITED to finally go to the fringe, but I am also pooing myself (not literally).
3.) I like being a production assistant because there will be lots to do and it will be challenging but I like a challenge and I am happy about being challenged because this is just one of life’s many challenges.
4.) I also like being a production assistant because I don’t have to use many words.
Those are my feelings. I hope you like them. Goodbye for now.
What can you buy for £4 these days? Not an awful lot EXCEPT a ticket to the most hotly-anticipated comedy double-bill premiere of the year. That's right, tickets are now on sale for our performances of The Room: The Musical and Clandestine Sketch Show (in a saucy double-bill) and they are as cheap as chips.
Click here to buy your tickets. And here to join the facebook event.
One of my most successful facebook statuses to date reads simply "There is every possibility that I am currently in legal discussions with Tommy Wiseau directly. What a time to be alive."
That was posted on the 14th of November 2014 and even now, almost three months later, I'm still a little baffled by the whole experience. This series of posts will hopefully uncover a little more about the walking mystery that is Tommy Wiseau and my odd adventure of trying to unravel the man a little more.
It all started at the end of October 2014. An amendment to UK rights laws was passed which meant that rights on original work did not need to be obtained if the adaptation was in the spirit of parody. It's basically the big golden thumbs-up that we here at Two Spoons had been waiting for. I'd heard that Tommy was a particularly litigious type and without the amendment to the law, he probably would have quite happily ripped us apart for the fun of it - something that we weren't too keen on.
Nonetheless, I was brought up to believe in manners and politeness so I still dropped an email in to the only address given on The Room's official website. The email detailed our plans, explained how much we admire the film and asked, very politely, for well wishes from anyone involved in the original, whoever we could get our hands on.
Now, if you've never visited The Room's website, you simply must. It's a treat for the eyes and the ears and here we have done our best to emulate it but our websites simply pales in comparison. I think one of my favourite things about it is how's the 'News' section hasn't been updated since about 2004. So having sent my email, I didn't really think any more on it. The address I'd mailed to was probably backed up by a decade's worth of unanswered fan letters, hate mail and spam. Our little email would have probably quietly sat unopened gathering Internet-dust for the next century.
Then two and a half weeks later I was woken up at 6:30 in the morning by a ping from my smartphone. An email? Who would be emailing me at this time? Hold on, THE ROOM?!
More next time.
Oh bai effrybahdy!
Over the past few weeks, our workload here at Two Spoons HQ has ramped up enormously. It seems like every day is another deadline and we are slowly chipping away at the rock face of this great enormous task we've set ourselves. It's very good fun, of course, but there is only so much time in the day and sleep has been seriously neglected for the longest time!
It is with that in mind that we've made our final expansion to the team for the time being. On Saturday 31st of January, Ed and I met up with Marcus Crabb for a spot of tea in a very lovely cafe. We'd met Marcus before at rehearsals and cast him as our understudy for Denny. He expressed an interest in joining the team and, we must say, upon meeting him again, he seemed like a perfect addition.
Marcus, much like Bianca, is by no means work shy and, more importantly, is one of the loveliest and gentle people you could ever wish to meet (with a cracking sense of humour and gin habit to boot). We are utterly delighted to have him as the final piece in our jigsaw puzzle of a team and we are sure he'll very quickly become a member of the Two Spoons family.
Plus, he also works for Buxton Fringe, one of the festivals we are considering on our preview tour. It's always good to have some insider knowledge! And we have been comforted that Buxton, much like York, will be able to furnish us with more pleasant chats over a lovely cup of tea.
Marcus will be providing us with technical and literary support and seems very happy to get stuck in where he can. That's what we like!
Welcome to the team, Marcus!
By no means is this it for the team now. Keep your eyes peeled for more news about opportunities to work with us!
Oh bai effrybahdy!
For the longest time, Two Spoons has been solely been the endeavour of Ed, Charles, Shaun and myself. This weekend, we found a cast and a band, almost tripling the size of our team. On top of this, we also found ourselves a new production assistant, in the shape of Bianca Jenkins.
A couple of weeks ago, after throwing a cursory shout-out for help on our Facebook page, and not really expecting much back at this stage, we got an email from Bianca. If there's one thing that could be said, she seemed very enthusiastic. After meeting her, we clicked right away and knew instantly she would fit into our team perfectly. She has a brilliant balance of organisation, willingness to help and a great sense of humour. Already over the past week she has proven her worth by offering her help and keeping us laughing and focussed through some particularly tricky times.
If the past week has been anything to go by, Bianca will be a huge asset to the company and we are so happy to have her on board. In addition to assisting on The Room: The Musical, she will also be helping us with this year's other production, 'Clandestine Sketch Show'.
Welcome to the team, Bianca!
If you are interested in being part of the team, like Bianca, drop us an email at productions@two-spoons.co.uk. We can tailor the role to suit your needs and we would love to hear from you.
Oh bai effrybahdy!
Some of you may remember that this is a musical and, as such, we need a band and following out auditions weekend, we found one. And what a band!
Those of you that saw the original will remember our little house band of three musicians, well we've expanded. We know have a four-member band; an unconventional quartet of guitar, bass, piano and melodica. So let me introduce you to them.
On GUITAR we have our noble leader, Mr. ED GREENWOOD. Not only has he composed and written all the music, written and adapted the script and taken on the role of directing, he's also going to be in every single performance, plucking away at his six-string. Where was your live band, Mr. Wiseau? Hmm?
On BASS we welcome back ED WILLIAMS who was part of the original band, adding his expert bass licks to Ed Greenwood's score. He comes from a strong comedy background and is currently P&P Officer for the University of York's Comedy Society and a member of York's premiere improv troupe, "The Shambles".
On MELODICA (a most fantastic contraption) we have JAMES GAMBLIN who is the final member of the original band line up. The melodica is a kind of wheezy kazoo with a keyboard that provides all of Ed's score with an iconic sound and is just one of the instruments James has mastered in his time which is not taken up with responsibilities as Chair of the University of York's Comedy Society or Director of The Shambles.
Finally, in a great musical development, we have added WILL EATON on PIANO. Will originally auditioned to be in the cast at which point he casually mentioned he was Grade 8 Piano and we couldn't resist snapping him up. Will similarly comes from a strong comedy background and is our very own mini-Stephen Fry.
These four heroes will be developing the musical brand of the show over the next few months and will also be providing live backing during the season, so do look out for them!
We haven't currently got a name for the band so if you have any ideas, you can drop me an email on stephanie@two-spoons.co.uk, tweet us @theroommusical or even message us on our facebook!
Oh bai effrybahdy!
So unfortunately we have a little bad news. Owing to a tiny administrative accident, we got to our email offer of performing at Brighton Fringe a little too late and by the time we replied, our slot had been given away. Therefore, I unfortunately have to announce that The Room: The Musical will not be going to Brighton Fringe this year. Sorry for any disappointment. However, we are now completely on top of all our email accounts to try and ensure that nothing like this happens again.
In the light of that bad news, we do have some good news. We are delighted to announce our first official performance date of 2015. On Thursday 16th April, we will be performing in a double bill with Clandestine Sketch Show, Two Spoons' other 2015 show, at Basement, underneath York City Screen (http://www.thebasementyork.co.uk).
There are more details to follow about price and time but we couldn't help stop ourselves from telling you the good news! We promise to keep you posted about any updates and hopefully you'll be able to join us!
Oh bai effrybahdy!
We here at Two Spoons productions are utterly delighted to announce our official cast for our 2015 season! After a fun-filled weekend of auditions, Ed and I painstakingly whittled down the enormous amount of talent on offer and have found ourselves not only a full cast and band but also a wonderful production assistant.
So without further ado, here's the line-up.
TOMMY will be played by JOE BEAUMONT. Joe joins us from the original cast from our preview in Summer 2014. His audition went completely unrivalled and he is delighted to be reprising his role in 2015. Despite being able to give a pretty perfect impression of Tommy Wiseau, Joe hadn't actually seen 'The Room' until after he had performed in the musical to a standing ovation.
LISA will be played by LAURA ANDERSON. Laura is also a member of the original cast and was more than happy to continue being an integral part of the cast as we enter our first official season. Laura is also half of funny lady sketch duo 'Hurt & Anderson' who are currently doing intermittent previews in London before heading up to Edinburgh for the Fringe.
The role of MARK is to be taken over by our first newcomer, BEN PEARSON, who is very excited to be a new part of the team. Ben has just spent the last few months at Aarhus Universitet in Denmark so should not be daunted by all the travelling The Room: The Musical will be doing this year.
CLAUDETTE is reprised by our final original cast member, LOUISE JONES, who was unable to attend our auditions so had to privately audition for Ed in their front room. Over the past few years, through the University of York's Comedy Society and Pantomime Society, Louise has proven herself to be a triple threat of comedy, singing and dancing.
DENNY is being taken up by newcomer HARRY ELLETSON, the youngest member of our company, who is, by his own admission, excited and honoured to be part of "what looks like the funniest shows in existence". Harry, coincidentally, is the younger brother of one of Stephanie's favourite actors to work with but, nepotism aside, Harry wowed us with his confidence and talent, especially as he's never seen the film (a fact we will shortly rectify!)
MIKE is being taken by another newcomer, ZACK SIZER, who we can thank Ben for. Zack will be spending most of 2015 pulling that iconic 'Mike Face', and couldn't be happier! Zack amazed us with his versatility and presence and is a very welcome new addition to Two Spoons.
This cast will be supported by SOPHIE COLLERTON and MARCUS CRABB.
SOPHIE has collaborated with Stephanie before as the puppeteer in Stephanie's 2012, five-star production of 'Little Shop of Horrors'. However, in 'The Room: The Musical' she will be a vital member of the support cast, utilising her well-honed comedy and vocal skills which she has developed through shows from pantomimes to operas.
MARCUS, a theatre student and new member of York's Comedy Society, will also be supporting the cast. Marcus similarly brings a wealth of humour and confidence that we are honoured to have in the company. He is also interested in training up as a production and technical assistant in the company and we are more than happy to give him that experience.
There we go! Expect to be seeing these funky monkeys very soon. We couldn't be more proud of our cast and we are SO unbelievably happy to have a team who are brimming with talent and loveliness.
Once again, thank you to everyone who auditioned, we were completely spoilt for choice and loved every second of seeing you all.
We're starting rehearsals in the next few weeks. Over a year's preparation and we are so close to actually putting this onstage. May the gods look kindly on us.
Oh bai effrybahdy!
Well hello there!
Enormous apologies for the radio silence you've experienced on this blog over the last few weeks, it's been a combination of working our theatrical fingers to the bone and also falling out with the website. Basically, I wrote a HUGE blog all about my interactions with Tommy Wiseau and then I accidentally clicked a button. Who knows what button it was or where it took me but when I got back to the upload page, my beloved blog-baby had been taken by Internet dingoes with no hope of rescue.
But here I am, back after what has been an incredible few weeks for the company. So what have we been doing? It feels like everything! We had our first full production team meeting since we set up and over around 48 hours punctuated by pizza, sleep and wine, we managed to finalise all of our festival applications, come up with a set design, plan all the tech, make a new marketing plan, and much more!
We're still waiting to hear back from festivals but our fingers are firmly crossed (which admittedly makes it a bit harder to drink our theatre-wine but we must fight in the face of adversity).
So we had a heavenly week for admin. What is more exciting, though is that, as of yesterday, we now have a full cast and band! (Plus a bonus prize in the shape of our new Production Assistant, the lovely Bianca Jenkins - finally, another girl! Things might actually get done around here now). Unfortunately, we can't announce them officially yet because we're still waiting to see whether they want to spend the next eight months on this crazy rollercoaster.
Auditions were wonderful. Not only did Ed and I ruin our health with crisps, cookies, Jaffa cakes, wine, chips and cider and have a little dance party to the Pet Shop Boys in the downtime, we also met a whole host of wonderful auditionees. Every single person that turned up brought so much enthusiasm, Ed and I couldn't help but beam. We had all the laughs and giggles and were treated to some very interesting accents and characters and were also given a lovely rendition of 'Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay' which I almost requested an encore of. It got me right in the feels, as the Internet would say.
We've been waiting for a cast for so long it doesn't feel real that we've got one now. You know what this means, though? We get to start rehearsals soon in preparation for our preview shows in York and Leeds at the end of April (dates TBC).
I'll be releasing the cast announcement soon enough, so you just hold on there until then. I'll also be regaling you with my tales of Tommy though hopefully without the intervention of accidental button clicking.
Oh bai effrybahdy!
Well hello there! I'm Steph, the enigmatic and oh-so-charming producer of The Room: The Musical. I'm mostly going to be taking charge of our blog posts on here so you better get used to me!
Although I'm writing this in December, so much has already happened on this project. I was fortunate enough to join the team after the show had its first outing in May 2014 when I was a lowly audience-member and much beleaguered housemate of our leader and saviour, Ed Greenwood. I witnessed Ed painstakingly adapt the cinematic wonder that is Tommy Wiseau's The Room for weeks. I saw him conjuring songs and making props into the wee hours – it's fair to say that this was a labour of love. I, in turn, was regretfully unable to take part in this first incarnation owing to my jetsetting lifestyle but that meant that I got to see it with completely fresh eyes as it was first performed. I was astounded.
I had only seen The Room fully once before, and that was during a rather inebriated evening which is not fully formed in my memory (I blame the Scotchka). Nonetheless, when I first saw the musical, I laughed from start to finish and knew I had to be involved.
Above the shoddy costumes, questionable dialogue and nonsense plots, The Room: The Musical has immense heart. It was like the most inclusive in-joke you can imagine. I'm starting to weep all over the keyboard now, so I'll get back to my original point.
The Room: The Musical has actually been in progress for well over a year now. Heck, I've been involved for at least six months already. The script is written, the songs are done, the band is rehearsed and we are literally and figuratively ready to take this show on the road. For me, this blog is going to be a bit like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or rather, Stephanie's Adventures in Wiseau-land. I'll be talking about research, project goals and even my attempts in contacting the man himself (bewildering, successful ones at that).
Right, that's me about done for tonight. Hope you enjoy everything that's coming up.
In the words of Mr. Wiseau's Twitter:
“How can you walk in someone else shoes? You don't have same feet! Use your own shoes. Shoes don't get you where you want. Feet do”
Oh bye Mark.
