Workshop (35) - Evaluation

As of last week, we finished our workshop process and performance of "Sweeney Todd". Before we did our performance, we explained to our audience what a workshop performance was, and gave them all a questionnaire to fill out. This questionnaire contained the following questions: "what was your overall view of the performance?" / "what were your favourite parts and why?" / "what stood out the most and why?" / "what should we develop further?" / "which parts would you discard?". Below is a rough outline of our show broken down into songs. In my evaluation I have included how they went and what we would do if we were to do a full scale production of it:

• The Prologue - This was effective at introducing Todd's character and the setting (in terms of dark and creepy atmosphere). To improve this number we could have added harmonies. Moreover the boat didn't work as well as we had hoped. Although some audience members picked this out, stating that they thought it was very clever, the boat has looked tidier in rehearsals. 
• No Place Like London - I think how we the two characters leaving the boat was quite effective and I don't think we could have done any more with the dialogue section. However, we could have had some movement for the actual song. We did discuss showing the flashback somehow, but we were concious that this might distract the audience from the lyrics of this song. If we were to do it as a full scale production and if money wasn't an issue, we could have had a piece of material set behind the half-opened curtains to use shadow / silhouette movement. Our transition into the pie shop was smooth but we could have choreographed some movement for this. We did think of doing some round-by-through movements but didn't have time to create any due to not being able to rehearse with our full cast. Moreover, we could have has set moving around Todd or even used the cast as if we were the location he was in - he could have stayed still whilst we moved around him.
• Worst pies -  I had some nice feedback on the forms, saying that my characterisation was strong and I performed it well. However, we could have been more 'workshoppy' with this number, perhaps including more cast members? We could have had people coming in to the pie shop and making it the exact opposite of the song "God That's Good", but we decided against this as it would take attention away from my characterisation - as this is the first time the audience meet Mrs Lovett. I don't see how we could have done the dialogue section any different so am quite happy with it. The dialogue normally leads up into the parlour, but I liked how we kept it in the pie shop, as it meant that we had more space (and also didn't need to change the chair, as Lovett comments on it later before "Wait").
• My Friends - I think for an initial idea, this was okay - it was completely different to how this number is normally done. However, to develop it further, we could have Todd interact with our additional cast for this number who represented the razors. Each razor could of had a different personality, perhaps. Judging by our audience's feedback, I think they like naturalism in a show, as three audience members said they would discard the additional cast in this number.
• Greenfinch - Although Alice sang this nicely, I feel that song wasn't long enough for her to show sufficient characterisation (as this is the first time the audience sees her, after hearing a lot about her). An audience member suggested that we had a birdcage as a prop for her to sing to. If the budget wasn't a problem, we would have had a banister around the section of the stage that was cut out (where the steps go down under the stage), for her to lean on during the song as if she is looking out of the window.
• Johanna - This song and the dialogue around it showed strong characterisation from those involved. We felt that this was the best way to stage this number as the beauty of this is the simplicity. However, care should be taken with what direction characters face, as when they face the back, the sound is lost. Another idea we had for this number was to have some shadow / silhouette work to show Turpin treating Johanna badly, which Anthony would see and inspire him to sing. This would have made this number very original but we liked the way we did it.
• Pirelli entrance - If budget wasn't an issue, we would have a sign come down to introduce Pirelli. If we had a larger cast we would put actors in the audience to aid the atmosphere - even using them as the front row of audience. It was suggested that we used someone from the audience, which we did consider but thought would be risky if no one wanted to go up. We should have got actual bottles for props (to keep the nineteenth century setting). We could have used Toby more during the contest to make it clear who he is. However, the audience seemed to love this section as it provided comedic relief. Our feedback for this was that the characterisation was strong and the audience interaction was really good. We could have made Dan's entrance more elaborate by having a lift - this is how we would develop this scene if we were to do a full-scale production.
• Wait - Our timing leading in to the song was good. If we were to do a full production, we could use the whole song and workshop some movement into it. The scenes worked well and Pirelli's death was original and effective. Although it was cramped in Todd's parlour, I think the lack of space was effective as it was more tense up there.
• Ladies in Their Sensitivities - Beadle's characterisation was strong (and complimented by the audience's feedback). Although speaking the songs did work, he could have sung them as it felt strange that he was the only character to not sing. The numbers were a bit static, but were effective in showing characterisation from both Lewis and Ollie.
• Pretty Women - The atmosphere was good. The lack of space was restrictive but it added to the tension. The tension before the first shave perhaps could have been heightened, but it was well sung and the dialogue was strong.  If we were to develop this further, we could add a flashback, perhaps the same as the one we would use in "No Place Like London", to show Sweeney remembers what the Judge did.
• Epiphany - Rob sang this well and his characterisation was strong. Our idea with the whole cast on stage worked but it would have been more effective if we had a larger cast. As this number is followed by "A Little Priest", we could possibly have had the characters mentioned in that song shown in this number. If money wasn't an issue, we would have loved to have a revolve during this number - everyone could stand still but Todd could walk forward through them? (The revolve would also have been great for set changes throughout the show - there would be no need for changes as the whole show would be done on the revolve?).
• A Little Priest - This number got mentioned in a lot of the feedback forms for being funny, having good characterisation and for good movement / choreo. Others mentioned that the chemistry between the three of us was good. If we were to do it again, we could have used different props to dress Dan in to present the different characters? What we would probably do is have more dancers in this scene and create a sort of ball, for which Lovett and Todd would move about in.
• Johanna reprise - The double time section was a bit messy in terms of beats. If we were to do it again we could use Johanna more, perhaps adding and developing the dance we originally had for this number. However, the majority of our audience really liked this number as they thought that the soundscape was clever and very original. To develop it though, we could use different props to make different noises and perhaps make our movement mre naturalistic and choreographed (rather than all sitting down trying to make sounds). Contrastingly, some audience members didn't see the relevance of this number as both Todd's and Anthony's feelings for Johanna are clear anyway.
• By the Sea - This number didn't go as well as it has done in rehearsals. Unfortunately the swing didn't work very well and the whole thing was a little bit messy. Although the number was effective in showing Lovett's delusional state of mind, it didn't fit well with the rest of the show - it used to make sense with "God That's Good" just before it, but because we cut that and the dialogue before this number, some of the audience were a bit confused by this number. If we were to do a full production, we would keep but the dialogue and "God That's Good" and thus this number would make more sense.
• Nothing's gonna harm you - James sung this with a lot of emotion and feeling. Although it wasn't workshopped in terms of movement, it was in terms of music as we cut a lot and James spoke a section.
• Beadle scene - I think our staging was good here, however, we could have added a bit of physical contact between Beadle and Lovett. Beadles death could have been a bit clearer as it happened so quickly. This physical contact could have been inspired by Frantic Assembly or DV8 to increase the tension between the two characters.
• Where's Toby? - We could have showed Toby hiding whilst we're looking for him so it is clear that he has escaped. If we were to do it again, we would have some music to allow Rob and I to leave and get to the back of the hall, so we could enter from the back - maybe with low lighting, carrying a candle to add to the atmosphere. Toby could be shown hiding and then running away. I think the beggar woman entrance was effective and the fact that her death was so quick and sudden was ironic (as he hadn't seen her for fifteen years and was so longing to be able to see her again).
• Pretty Women Reprise -The scene and song were well performed, but we wanted to make the judge's death bigger. We made the judge's death the same as everybody else's by using ribbon, but the boys did act this out really convincingly. We had intended to use other people in this to show the death, but we were unable to do this due to a lack of space. To develop this we would use clever lighting to make his death more dramatic.
• Final song - I was proud of our choreo for this number, as we included a Victorian move to fit the time setting of our piece. Todd's supposed forgiveness could have been a bit clearer perhaps, but both mine and Rob's characterisation here was complimented by the audience as this number was very emotive. I think my character's death was effective and original - one audience member commented that it was very shocking and well done. I really like how Todd handed Tobias the razor without looking as it was very emotive and powerful. 

Overall, our feedback was very positive and we were rather happy with how our show came out. Our audience said that they loved our use of stage space and said that we had a good blend of comedy and darkness. We liked that we wore all black clothing for this production as we were able to multi-roll and be part of the ensemble. If we were to do it again, we might use a representational costume item to show when we are our main characters, but we wouldn't wear full costumes. We would also create a clever and elaborate lighting plan to help aid our atmosphere. Also if budget and space wasn't an issue, we would create a slide arrangement for those who get killed to go down. Moreover, instead of using backing tracks, we would want to use a live orchestra (as we couldn't get backing tracks for everything) and we would all have head-set microphones (as some audience members said it was difficult to hear everything). One audience member also said about using fake blood instead of ribbons (although they did clarify that they liked the ribbons). I liked the idea of using fake blood but it did work better with ribbons for our workshop performance.