The project on which this book is based took five months from inception to completion. The photographer, Jane Hobson, documented two National Diploma student groups as they prepared for their final major projects, shooting at least one full day a week. During this time, the theatre companies went from first read-through to performance, and Jane was witness to all stages in between. She became almost 'embedded', so much so that the students even persuaded her to join their warm ups.



In spending this kind of quality time with the theatre companies, she learned more about Stanislavski, Brecht, and other theatre theory, and saw characters born and develop in amazing ways which, in turn, gave birth to the unifying idea of the project, "The Magic If".



Jane says of the project:



"I got more out of this personal project than I ever imagined possible . I feel hugely proud of all the student actors involved and privileged to have been part of it. There was an astonishing maturity in their performances and they taught me a great deal about the nuances and complexities of actors and acting".