Room 29 Go Online

Jun 15 2020 | By More

New show to replace postponed EdFringe production

Edinburgh’s Room 29 Theatre has today, Monday 15 June 2020, put out an open call for an amateur production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, to be staged online at the end of July.

The production will be cast and rehearsed digitally then performed live online from the cast’s own homes. This replacement for the planned production of First Date will be live-streamed at 7.30pm on Friday 31 July and remain online for 24 hours.

Ailsa Mackintosh and Neil Lavin of Room 29 Theatre

The show, with book and lyrics by Joe Di Pietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, takes the form of a musical revue which explores the truths and myths behind that contemporary conundrum known as ‘the relationship.’

It was first staged in 1995 and opened Off-Broadway in 1996 running for 5,003 performances. After several international revivals it was “revised for the 21st century” in 2018 with two new songs and updated lyrics and dialogue throughout to reflect dating in modern times.

Under the tagline “Everything you have ever secretly thought about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit” it explores the journey from dating and waiting to love and marriage, before going on to reveal the agonies and triumphs of in-laws and newborns, trips in the family car and pick-up techniques of the geriatric set.

expanded casting

Room 29’s artistic director Neil Lavin told AE: “Originally the show is written for 4 actors, but with 54 parts we’re hoping to explore a more expanded casting, and keen to hear from performers of all ages.”

Potential auditionees are invited to visit the show page here before filling in the online GoogleDocs application form here. Applications will be open through to this Sunday, 21 June 2020.

A scene from Room 29’s EdFringe 2019 production of  The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Lavin added that he has no qualms about taking the audition process online: “Due to non-COVID issues we ended up doing digital auditions for our cancelled Fringe production, so we’ve luckily had a bit of a trial run in the process and have managed to perfect our set up so the casting process itself is as close to normal as possible!”

For the production, director Lavin will be joined by producer Ailsa Mackintosh in her first project since joining the company in late 2019. Musical direction will be by Steven Segaud while professional stage manager Georgina Niven will be taking on the tricky task of ensuring the live streaming works smoothly and effectively.

Lavin told AE that I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is a show he’d always had an eye on but was never quite sure how he’d approach directing it beyond the typical format of four actors which, while certainly fun, would not be as exciting as project he could really make his mark on.

digital production

He said: “When it came to choosing material for our digital production, all along we kept coming back to questioning if it was going to work in this platform, or if it would be compromising the story – when we looked at Love, Perfect, Change it seemed to tick all the boxes.

“The show is made up of little snippets of stories and doesn’t revolve too heavily on big dialogue scenes. Also, given the complications of dating during lockdown, we saw a lot of potential for incorporating trying to date digitally into the story – but I don’t want to ruin some of the fun ideas we have in store for the finished thing!”

Listings and Links

Production page: http://www.room29.co.uk/productions/loveperfectchange
Audition application form: https://forms.gle/GTKebjtC26ULUvjk7
Room 29 Theatre Facebook page: @Room29Theatre.

Auditions are open from Noon, Monday 15 June through to Sunday 21 June 2020.

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
Friday 31st July
Streamed online at 7:30PM
The production will remain available online for 24 hours.
Access to the stream will be by a ticketed link, with a minimum donation of £5.

The OST and vocal selections of the show are available from Amazon. Click the images for details:

ENDS

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