​Well, I’m recovering from a two day hiatus where technology - although it has helped us create our work online - has also been causing us huge headaches.
 
I was appointed (I think by process of elimination?) to do the music mixing for The Crooked Spire project.
 
I had hoped to have all the singers’ files for a few days while I mixed the music and songs. I had gradually built up the mixes of the music by saving rough drafts of the Logic Pro files as each item came to me.  
However, some of these only arrived on the day I was supposed to send them to the sound mastering engineer. So, I worked until 2 in the morning on the mixes (trying to do as much as possible on headphones.)

November 7th

Harry had to change the key of “To Be A Journeyman” because young Sam’s voice is changing. He is 12 and has played in Bugsy Malone but is obviously growing up fast!

The MIDI files he had created for Paul Nash at St Mary’s and All Saints (Crooked/twisted Spire church) didn’t want to play-I think that was because of the silences in front of the input ‘data’. Harry thought they were just for notation purposes. Sam was worried about hanging on to the microphone for too long when they were asked to post it to David for his ‘finale’ rendition. Director Andrew reassured him to hold onto the microphone as long as he needed-not to rush.

Mary has come up with an idea for costumes for the ‘girls’ while Andrew is struggling with the men’s attire.

So far I have received files from two of the ladies in Dronfield Choir. We are hoping many more will make the effort before our Monday deadline. We asked a third choir but the leader has been very ill and unable to rally the ‘troops’.

​Peter has managed to borrow a Zoom recorder (not the online version) so we can visit The Crooked Spire tomorrow when the tenor bell will be rung for Remembrance Sunday. We hope to use the recording for Beth’s Lament in our musical. Peter has also been busily recording sounds of tools such as chisels, saws and even an adze (a medieval axe) to use for the ‘film’.

Welcome to our first eNewsletter.

The Crooked Spire (showcase), first shown at Buxton Festival Fringe July 2020, is currently playing at Brighton Fringe Festival online until 8th November.

The really exciting news is that we have been awarded an Arts Council England grant to develop The Crooked Spire Musical through its second stage and then into a full length musical.
 
Andrew Miller has been appointed as Director and Harry Style - Musical Director. They are assembling the company and rehearsals will soon be followed by filming. Stage Two, as we’re calling it, will tell the main part of the story and will be shown online on 9th December 2020
 
One of our actors, Clara Coslett, is performing in The Limit by Freya Smith and Jack Williams LIVE ONLINE from the Royal Central School Music Theatre on 15th November.

Best wishes,
Martin Coslett, Peter Gray and Mary Hennessy

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