As we enter the final week of rehearsals and the start of our Edinburgh preview performances at South Hill Park I reflect on my AnimAlphabet journey so far. For me one word  sums up the journey better than any other and that is creativity.

Through necessity, people work...

Today we launched our first crowdfunding call. 

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/animalphabetthemusical

Can you help Colin the Cockatoo and my AnimAlphabet friends to realise their musical dream to perform to children and families at the Edinburgh Festival?

AnimAlp...

Mark and Dean meet with costume designers Charlotte Penn, Pam Bucket and Gill Albone to discuss their ideas and mood boards for costumes. Some great ideas are brought to the meeting; character styles are clarified and a clearer idea is formed in relation to the colours...

It is early November. Emails and Facebook messages have been flying back and forth between Mark, Dean, Alan and Sam. Changes, ideas and tweaks are made and added. Finally, the team agree this is it... the final draft version of the script. 

The musical now includes...

It's now late August, Mark is about to head off to Edinburgh to programme work for his venue and check in on a show he has co-directed at the Edinburgh Festival - 'Every Wild Beast'. Dean is about to go on holiday with his family, but there is just enough time to squee...

It's early August and Mark and Dean have taken the ideas from the session and carved them into a script that focuses on our emergent hero 'Cockatoo'. The story starts to flesh out and we are confident enough to take it to a first informal read through - just so they ca...

A group of invited children, parents, musicians, school teachers and creatives meet for a 'think tank' session about a new Children's musical theatre production. A couple of great ideas are formed including one involving a talent show and another involving a disagreeme...