We had a rehearsal in the studio the day before our actors were due to come in; the director had to email Sarah Barrow, our head of media, to ask for permission to book out the radio studio at the weekend as it is out of working hours. This was granted and so we booked the equipment ready for recording. We were in Radio studio 1 for a run through. We set up the studio how we wanted it on the day, setting up a ‘dinner party’ layout. We also went into town to buy snacks and drinks for our guests. After this we then spoke to security about the car details of our guests so that they had permission to park around the back of the media building.

Props that we used for rehearsals & recording:

• Plates and cutlery to replicate a family meal
• Soft food so that the actors could eat with their mouths full
• Cups & water
• Board game
• Phone when Marvin is trying to signal

Within one of our workshops we had a read out of our script with our peers, which meant that the director could get to grips with telling the actors how to perform, and as a team we could hear how the dialogue and interaction between characters sounded. Here is a snippet…