As these were developed, sculptor Frank Darnley was developing the mountain vehicle for the insects to ride in on. This consisted of a metal skirted structure built over a Land Rover with a tower built to be fixed over the engine.

Bryan Tweddle is working on this and is creating a series of metal rings that will rise as the structure rises, forming a sheath to conceal the mechanical structure of the lift.large canopy structures for two reasons - one to maximise the scale of the character and the other to maximise safety. The lower canopy sits around the wheels and keeps the audience and stewards far away from any danger.

The foam machine has had to be adjusted for Health and Safety reasons. A new nozzle jet system and cage for the spout has been added. This took a lot of research and much time was spent getting this right. The first test was somewhat disappointing as the foam was very wet and runny. Further adjustments have been made and it now produces a good bubbly foam with a strong structure. One of the 'eggs' was filled with this as a test. This was very successful - it moves beautifully. One problem on the test though - it bumped into a metal spike and burst sending foam everywhere! This bodes well for the show!

We have carried out auditions for the insect characters. We were looking for dancers with stamina and the desire to work outside of a more formal dance context! The advert, which was distributed nationally, read:

IOU is looking for dancers/performers for a large new outdoor show -
TATTOO.

The show uses big mechanical structures, elaborate costumes and specially
composed music. Towering machines move through the audience spouting
gigantic eggs. Riding a moving mechanical mountain of precarious
glasshouses, insect-like troopers enter and begin intricate choreographed
manoeuvres. The action then focuses on their attempts to harness the egg
laying machines.

TATTOO will last about forty minutes - beginning at dusk and ending in
darkness. The show will tour UK festivals in the Summer of 2003 with the
possibility of further tours in the following year, including foreign
venues.

The cast will be a mix of dancers and performers and the choreography will
be angled towards pattern and characterisation rather than pure dance
technique, working with Dutch choreographer Liesbeth Gritter. Stamina and
strength will be important attributes as you will be required to move
around large performance arenas at a fairly energetic pace - at times carrying
costume attachments weighing a few pounds. A liking for climbing over
large moving structures and working with strange mechanical devices would
also be an advantage!

The auditions identified a very strong team and we are confident that we have a good team for the tour. There is a mixture of experience and all performers demontsrated excellent dance skills as well as the ability to work in a team - this was particularly important. While we used a more traditional dance clas for the auditions, we also got them to don balaclavas and use party blowers to communicate with eachother. This was great fun, but also tested their ability to characterise as well as work in a large group and in pairs.

There was a one week rehearsal with the dancers in February with choreographer Liesbeth Gritter, who came over from The Netherlands. This was very useful with the team rehearsing a group dance for the entrance on the 'hive' and sevral short pieces in pairs that can be carried out throughout the audience in the show. Working in this way means that the dancers can pull on several rehearsed pieces to keep action going should they get stuck in a particular place within the audience.

Work on the costumes for the insects has been carried out by artist Jane Revitt with help from artist Lizzie Lockhart. Prototypes were created to see if the effect was right. These were used during the initial rehearsals with the insect characters at Square Chapel in February. The performers loved them as they are very easy to move in and remain steady as they move about. This is particularly important as the performers will be moving constantly for the duration of the show and need to be confident that neither a head-dress or back pack will move out of position. Hundreds of blank CDs have been cut into quarters to create the effect of scales on the insects. These also make a wonderful noise.

The production managment is now in place and we have decided to use a production management company. We have also carried out site visits to all the sites on the tour. We had to identify the right spoaces to both perform and set up the compound that will form the lorry park and building area on each staging of the show. We met with the festival promoters and their production teams, talking through the schedule in detail from the piint of arrival to leaving after packing away the day after the show. Health and safety staff from the Local Authority were also included to make sure that the company and the show meet local standards (these are slightly different across the country depending on the authority). We have created a Risk Assessment document and are working towards an event manual that forms the basis for information for all involved, laying out all procedures in the event of problems and demonstrating how we will manage any risks identified. We have for example decided to have a level of ambient lighting actually during the show (eg. street lighting) so that if there is a technical fault and all our lighting fails, there is enough light to clear the area. We had originally wantred the show to end in darkness. So far, each Authority has been positive about the show! We also have detailed plans for each site.

We have now identified the schedule for each staging of the show during the tour and who needs to arrive when. We have also confirmed all the dates. We have been able to confirm every gig!