Makers Diary: More bloody problems

LOADS happened today but some how have not really managed to move forward..I am pulling my hair out.

Okay goodness first...Joe Harris has agreed to do my sound production...yeah...I am so pleased he is the best man for the job. I told him my ideas and gave him the examples of Glorybox by Portishead only more abstract...he knows what I mean..always just seems to get what I am getting at, can’t wait to get stuff coming through on that front......that’s it for the good news though....

Badness....
Sharon asked me to hold off still on doing a casting call...which is frustrating and she is waiting for confirmation from Olu before she can go ahead and book staff for the events....So I will get on to chasing up that as well....i e-mailed Sharon to ask if the uni have any links with external venues that i could take advantage of...waiting back on that front.
I sent an e-mail to Liz and Olu outlining my concerns and asking for some advice...went something like this:

‘Okay this is where I am at with my PARiP project at the moment and I am in quite a pickle to be honest!!

I have been offered dates and a performance space in June (9th & 10th), however, there are several difficulties:

The dates that I have been offered are smack bang in the middle of the undergraduate assessments, which in itself is not a problem but it means that there are lots of restrictions placed upon how I can use the space. (see the e-mail that I have pasted in below). I am not able to move or change the lighting and layout of the space. This means that creatively my hands will be tied, which makes things awkward for me in being able to achieve some of the things that I need to achieve in the performance.

Because of the timing, it also means that I will have to pay for a casual technician, which is a cost that I had not factored into this set of performances. ( I am still waiting to find out what the exact cost will be) The timing also means that I will not be able to even start trying to recruit performers until the end of April (a process which in my experience usually takes a couple of weeks) because the students are on their Easter break. This means that i will have a very small amount of time to actually work on the production itself, which is just not going to be long enough to produce a piece of theatre to a high enough standard. Also all the students will be involved in assessments at this time and may not be in a position to participate or commit. The hectic undergrad assessment schedule also poses rehearsal space issues.

I am not really sure what to do! I would like to be able to accept the dates but I am very concerned that I will not be able to deliver in the short time scale (if it wasn't for the holidays it would not be an issue really) Also I am committed now to giving a paper about my PaR in June.
If I do not take the dates it means that I will have to push back my VIVA (which I don't really want to do) but it means I will have the time and facilities to develop my work in a more satisfactory way. I need to produce a quality piece of participatory theatre in order for my PhD to achieve its aims.

I really need your advice before I can make a decision about how to move forward. I need to let Sharon know ASAP because of the technician being booked ect. Let me know what you think.’

I am feeling very stressed about all of this and I don't mean to be a pain, I just want to get things sorted and move forward in the most appropriate way.
I guess now I just need to wait and see what they say.....