Fleur Mellor- Producer & Choreographer

Working at Peter Corry Productions brings about all kinds of varied and interesting opportunities for me. It allows me to be a producer, project manager, choreographer, stylist and many more job titles I don’t need to go into here but, my background of being a professional dancer means choreography is always my first love. 

I’ve choreographed plays, musicals, hair shows, fashion shows, outdoor site specific work and numerous bespoke corporate events so I have a few tricks up my sleeve and a lot of experience working with lots of different types of performers from amateur to professional. 

I’m fortunate that I am able to work on independent projects outside of Peter Corry Productions that allow me to continue to connect with the broader arts community in Northern Ireland and bring my newly acquired networks, connections and experiences back into the work we do for our clients. The perfect example of this was in working for The Lyric Theatre, Belfast In 2024.  I was asked to work for them as Choreographer on two of their big annual projects over the summer and Christmas seasons. 

December saw A Christmas Carol take to the stage re-imagined by Marie Jones in a very Belfast setting and Directed by Matthew McElhinney. Having worked with them before on Stones in His Pockets, I knew this would be a lot of fun and who doesn’t know and love A Christmas Carol, whether it’s through the muppets or Bill Murray. The production was a great success and I got to work with some fantastic actors, actor musicians and even some ghosts!

Prior to that, I had worked on their summer production of A Midsummer Nights Dream. Now, I knew it a bit and had enjoyed it, having seen an outdoor production of it years ago but I’m not a huge Shakespeare buff and hadn’t worked on it before. So, what made me say yes? I was particularly drawn in by the Lyric’s ambitious staging of it which would be happening on a purpose built circular stage outdoors by the Lagan. 

Outdoor theatre in Belfast in the Summer. Mad? Brave? Or hugely optimistic? 

The challenge of mounting it outdoors as part of Belfast 2024 overruled any negative thoughts about rehearsing in the torrential rain (I’ve done it before) or being blown away during performances (I’ve also been there) that I might have had and I was excited to say yes. 

Talking to Director Jimmy Fay, he outlined the ingredients for the production, a great cast of actors plus a live orchestra with original music facilitated by music charity Beyond Skin who work with refugee musicians who are part of the asylum process. This means they are otherwise unable to work in their craft due to limitations on working permissions and Beyond Skin helps to find them creative outlets to be able to continue to share their talents. So, there would be musicians from India, Russia, Brazil and many more countries bringing their unique talents and instruments and skills to the mix. 

Fantastic.

There would also be a group of disabled young adult performers working through charity organisation, Rogue Encounters who would be bringing their own twist on movement and theatricality in the roles of the fairies. 

With such an eclectic mix of people to work with, I was in. I would be choreographing, looking at movement direction and also helping to co-ordinate the staging of the external charities and performance groups involved. This was a big jigsaw but luckily I like puzzles and am good at working out how to make pieces fit. This kind of work calls on the production skills I have as a project manager, involving logistics, people management and having a birds eye view of the wider plan to help make sure everything flows and works together seamlessly. I really enjoy helping our clients at Peter Corry Productions to work through the planning phase of new entertainment creation or in bringing one of our ready to go shows to their event so, if you’d like this kind of input into your own project then please get in touch.

Now, there was no way we would be rehearsing outdoors for 6 weeks, so the stage design was marked out in the rehearsal room floor for us to practice with because performing in a circle has lots of challenges to it, and we began with a read through of the script on day one with the entire production team and representatives from all Lyric Theatre departments there. 

It takes an army to put on any production and we also have our own invisible army at Peter Corry Productions that ensures your performances are executed to the high level we are proud to provide.

Rehearsals commenced with movement and physicality being key to character development. How would the mechanicals (the workers) stand and move differently that the high court attendees? When the cast are playing multiple different characters which was the case with this production, it’s important that each group or character has a clear physical difference to help convey the story line. 

Once movement and choreography has started to settle in, bringing rehearsal shoes and costume elements into the space is really important to check that everything works, that the actors can move and that wardrobe are happy with the way the costumes and movement work together. A great example of this was a rave that we held as part of the chase sequence in the forest in act 2. One of the actors was tasked with dancing through the space with bubble guns. To emphasise his stature (he was tall!) and his ever escalating movements, conversations were had with the costume department around creating a gold tasseled look that would whirl and twirl with the actor as he travelled through the space. In the outdoors at dusk, with the lights changing, bubbles flying and tassels spinning, the energy and visual fun in this look really helped bring another level to the movement, upping the drama and intensity. This was definitely one of my favourite moments in the play. 

I also attended and worked with the fairies who were made up of the performers from Rogue Encounters. Run by their movement director David, these sessions were very much games based and facilitator led to help find a movement language for these young artists that told the story of the scenes they were in, but that we also felt would be achievable for them to excel in, taking into account that performing outdoors is much more tiring when you are fighting the weather and changing temperatures. For many of these performers they also have to be accompanied onstage with their facilitators, partly to ensure there are always those onstage confident of any scripted or musical cues the group needs to react to and also to keep an eye on any individual’s particular physical needs for safety. For example, one performer struggled with depth perception and so it was essential they not be left or directed anywhere towards the edge of the stage without being accompanied. 

David is a wonderful facilitator who works passionately with the group, and with the devised material from these sessions, we were able to knit these into the tapestry of the wider show. It was my job to bring this information into the rehearsal room with the principal actors and work with them so that when Kids In Control would join later in the schedule, all the transitions and interactions with the principal cast would be clear, understood and fun to do! Hats off to them for being so professional and enjoyable to work with.

Once rehearsals indoors were completed we then had to have our technical rehearsals on the outdoor stage and get used to this new space. As mentioned, performing and working outdoors can be really tiring and so the stamina of the cast needed to be able to manage this environmental change. We held our warm up sessions outside and had been working towards the amount of running up and down stairs and through the playing space during rehearsals so that the upped physical requirements and energy levels wouldn’t be a shock. The cast did a great job, rising to the challenge and leaping up and down the steps where the audience would be seated like mountain goats. All through tech, the weather was kind to us and allowed us to get through our schedule without interruption (which was unexpected) and with having rehearsed everything with lights, sound and costume, the show was ready. 

One last thing to knit into the show was a procession that would travel along the bank of the Lagan with 2 floats holding 2 of the main characters. Arts Ekta had provided a number of drummers and dancers from many community backgrounds to dance and animate the procession. Lyric Theatre studio actors (who were part of a training course) were costumed and given bicycles to join in. All these performers needed to be organised and their entrances into the performance space had to be timed with the music and made to work with the opening of the play. It was my job to make sure all the timing and movement held together for dramatic impact and created a trampoline of good vibes for the audience, whipping them into a festive mood for the entrance of the actors. It worked a treat which was fortunate because as soon as the procession started at the first show ,it started to rain and then rained for almost every single show so we needed smiles on the audience’s faces and plenty of good will. 

We had slip tested all the performers’ shoes on the staging so we knew they could all perform safely and had lots of wet weather plans in place for during the show to help the actors. They LOVED performing in the rain and wind, finding it really empowering and connected to the nature of the space. So the weather actually brought with it plenty of drama to elevate the play in a totally unexpected way. The audience were brilliant, laughing as they put on poncho’s and toughing out getting wet. It really was a unique experience and created a lot of magic and a bond between audience and performers. 

It was all a little bit special and I was delighted to receive this news…

2024 Broadway World Ireland award winner for:

Best choreography Of a Play or Musical

Fleur Mellor – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Lyric theatre, Belfast. 

So, how do you win an award? I’ve no idea because that’s never what I set out to do, I just set out to do as good a job as I could but, I’m going to suggest with a lot of hard work, passion, planning, an invisible army, talent upon talent on stage, an audience who are on board for the ride and… a little bit of magic.

If you’d like to discuss bringing some magic to your entertainment, get in touch with me here.