Musical Theatre (40) - Pictures

Musical Theatre (39) - Evaluation

What went well:

• The lighting was very effective. We all also managed to remain in the correct places, for the majority of the time, to allow us all ot be lit.
• We all have a good relationship off of the stgae, and these translated to when we were on stage. We all worked well together and our character relationships were believable.
• The majority of us could be heard throughout the majority of the show.
• We all stayed in character throughout the entire play.
• The dancing in "Tango: Maureen" was probably one of the best times we have done it! We really worked on our character relationship and our intentions. We both also worked hard on our breathing and general use of breath, so we still had enough breath to sing at the end of the number, having done all of the dancing. 
• Although I ended up using the wrong phones during "We're Okay", I styled it out, and made it look like Joanne was getting confused on what she is talking about, rather than myself! There is a fairly long musical interlude in the middle of the song, but I filled this by pretending my father had said something amusing, and I was laughing at him. I thought this worked quite well with my character as she doesn't want to disappoint her parents. 
• Alice and I really got in to "Take Me or Leave Me". Despite having technical difficulties with the track going quiet in places, so we struggled to hear it, we remained in character throughout and really bounced off of each other. I think we used the space quite well, when going through the audience - we didn't leave our backs to one area for too long.
• I think our overall energy levels, as a cast, were really strong. 
• The audience all really enjoyed it, and we received some lovely feedback.
• We raised a lot of money for our desired charity - Royal Marsden.

What could have gone better:

• We had some technical issues with sound during this performance. Where we were playing our backing tracks through Lewis's phone, his notifications went off a few times during the performance! He had put his phone on "do not disturb" but it still managed to go off. We couldn't put in on airplane mode because this would have turned off the Bluetooth and disconnect it from the speaker. What we could have done was turn the internet off on his phone to avoid any Facebook messages coming through.
• At some points, it was difficult to hear some people, so they should have been positioned nearer the microphones.
• Where some of the cast had never done a musical before, you could tell that they were nervous. At times, they were more focussed on getting the song to sound perfect rather than remaining I character and acting the song.

What we would have done next time: 

• If we were to do the show again / what we have learned from doing this show is that we should play our music through a laptop.
• To ensure EVERYONE can be heard at ALL times, we could have done more work on positioning, to ensure that we were all near a microphone whenever we were singing. Ideally we would have all had a headset mic each, but we didn't have the budget for this!

Musical Theatre (38) - Six periods of final preparations!

Period 1 & 2:   

Mr McKay and I spent a long time having to tidy up the stage. The stage is currently being used to build the car for our school show of "Grease" - therefore there was a lot of wood, screws, tools, dust and the actual car, so we had a lot of work to do! We had to ensure that the wings were completely clear of all potential tripping hazards and sharp objects (to avoid any injuries). We also swept the entire stage and wings so that we didn't get dust on our costumes and so it didn't affect our breathing.

We also moved the wings around to ensure that the audience couldn't see too far into the wings. We had to move the angle of which the wings were positioned, but also had to un-do the top of the wings and had to re-tie it across the bar slightly. We tied it to another bar that crossed over the same bar - this meant that the wing would not turn or move at all during the performance as it is tied in place. Mr McKay also had to re-adjust some of the lighting to ensure that all areas of the stage were lit where we needed it to be.

Another job we did during the first two periods, was clear all of the chairs that were in the hall. We then moved the piano to the back of the hall, facing the back, to ensure that it wasn't a tripping hazard for the audience but also when some of us go into the audience during the show. We then set up all of the chairs and tables ready for the performance. We had to be really mindful with how we set up our cabaret seating as Alice and I move about the audience during "Take Me or Leave Me". We also set up all of the stage blocks ready for our dress run.


Period 3 & 4:

Cameron and Joe set up all of the microphones, and then we ran Act One in costumes. We worked out what parts of the show were too quiet, so we knew where we could change the spacing, so we were closer to the microphones. We also worked on our transitions and ensured that we had all the props that we needed.


Period 5 & 6: 

We ran the whole of Act Two in costumes. Yet again, we had to ensure that we had all of our props and everything. We also worked on the transitions from this Act - we had to agree whether we were going to leave the table on for "Seasons of Love" or not, as we had not yet decided this. In the end, we agreed that we would keep it on to save time. We also went over how we were going to bow. We spent the rest of these two periods doing hair and makeup. We spent a long time doing Owen's makeup and getting his wig to sit on nicely.

Musical Theatre (37) - Costumes & Lighting

In today's lesson, we all got into costume to ensure we were happy with what we were wearing and to get used to them. Everyone's costumes looked really good - however, Owen didn't have a wig today, but he shall wear it on our final rehearsals on Friday to ensure he is comfortable with it and to get used to it. I was originally wearing my heels (so I am not too short to dance with Cameron, and so I am closer to Alice's height), black trousers, white shirt, long coat and a tie [as shown in the photos]. However, my costume has now changed:

• Due to staples in the stage block I sit on during "Life Support" until "Will I?", I now have a hole in my trousers, so have had to get rid of them. Unfortunately this was the only pair of trousers I own. Therefore, I shall now be wearing black leggings instead - although this wasn't what I had originally planned, I am really happy with this as they are more comfortable to move about it, they don't fall down and still look smart. 
• I have now scrapped the tie as when it moves (due to "Tango: Maureen" mainly) it looks ridiculous and scruffy (as my shirt doesn't button to the top). Although I had planned to wear a tie, I prefer my costume without it as it guarantees that it can't move and then look scruffy, and the neck line of my shirt makes me look smart and a lot older. 
• Due to the fact that I can't tuck my shirt in (as I am wearing leggings not trousers now), I shall be wearing a thick black belt to bring the shirt in - this will prevent it from looking too floaty. It will also hopefully make me look more sophisticated and smart as the belt will add shape, rather than just wearing a shirt with leggings. This works well for me, as the shirt kept coming un-tucked whilst I was dancing, so having it out but with a belt will prevent this but still make me look smart. 

Also in this lesson, we ran through a lot of Act One to set the lighting cues. Some numbers we had to keep going through to ensure that Mr McKay had got all the lighting cues he desired. A lot of us learned how to do the lighting and designed it, but Mr McKay actually set the lighting list up for us - as we were all needed on stage to see where the stage needed to be lit. Some numbers we have a lot of lighting cues for (these numbers we had to run a few times, thus we didn't finish the whole run through), whereas others we don't have that many cues for - some even have the same lighting throughout. We didn't manage to get through all of the lighting cues, so those who had frees after this lesson continued to help Mr McKay with the lighting cues we needed.

Musical Theatre (36) - Random numbers

Today we spent the lesson going over numbers that we thought needed the most work:

• "Without You":   This number went really well today. Taylor and Henri got all of their lyrics right and sang it really well. The only feedback we received for this number is that Taylor has to use her face more and we all have to really commit to our characters.
• "I'll Cover You (reprise)":   Lew sang this really well today. However, he needs to look up more during the number so the audience doesn't disconnect from him. The harmonies were really strong for this number.
• "Goodbye Love":   We now all start on stage for this number as there is no need for a scene change. Instead we all move as if about to leave but we don't as they all start singing.
• "Seasons of Love":   This number went really well. We all sang at a good confident level. Our harmonies were all strong and the number sounded fine. Although the scene before this number is quite depressing, I still believe that we should make this number more upbeat and fun, as it is the finale. To ensure that audience realises that "Goodbye Love" is the ending of our version, I think we could ask our teacher to say something along the lines of "I hope you have enjoyed the Revolution Arts production of "Rent"; to sing us out is the whole cast singing "Seasons of Love". Then would could perform the number as an uplifting inspiring piece to brighten the mood, after a depressing ending.
• "Tango: Maureen":   Apart from a few wrong lyrics in places, this number sounded quite good today. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the dance at times, as there were a few mistakes. Due to our height difference (as I didn't wear my heels today) we struggled with the parts where we go under each other's arms, and the part where I dip him before dropping him. However, these mistakes haven't happened before, and were purely due to me not wearing the heels (due to a burn on my ankle); and the lyric issues were just a slip of the tongue - so therefore, we are not really worried about this number.
• "I'll Cover You":   This number was greatly improved today. They ran it a couple twice, once for us to watch and make suggestions, and the second time to implement the suggestions. These suggestions included the point that when there is a large distance between them, they need to show even more with their body language that they love each other. However, the second time was really impressive. They were really committed and professional as they did kiss at the end of the song.
• "La Vie Boheme":   This number is definitely improving all the time now. The only real notes from this piece is that we need to ensure we use the space more to avoid us ending up in a semi-circle, and to watch our timing in places. Apart from these notes, this number is looking a lot better - our energy levels have improved.
• "Santa Fe":   This number is consistent every rehearsal now, so I am confident with this piece. The vocals sound fine and the spacing works well.

A change we made for today was that we moved our four microphones (that were on stands on stage blocks on the floor) to the stage (so they are closer to head height to pick up more sound). Although you could hear us all slightly better, the microphones on stage make the piece look messy and especially looks strange for "Tango: Maureen" when I am 'setting up a microphone' and singing in to it. Therefore, we shall have to put them back where they were but bring all of the numbers slightly further forward. We shall spend part of our last two rehearsals re-spacing a couple of numbers to ensure that whoever is singing is near a microphone. We shall also do a full run with costumes, props and set, and do a tech and lighting run.

Musical Theatre (35) - Random songs & Mics

Just prior to this lesson, Cameron set up four cbs microphones at the front of the stage on stands. We will not be using headset microphones (due to costs and our target to improve projection), but we are using these microphones to help amplify the sound we produce. We still have to project and can't be any quieter than what we have been - the mics are there just to help us. After running the first couple of numbers, we realised how we could improve our sound further - we then put a small stage block under each microphone stand to make the mics higher, and therefore closer to our head heights (rather than just reaching our knees) thus hopefully picking up more of our vocals. We have now also moved all of our solo numbers or duets down on to more of the apron, so the sound isn't lost in the wings - plus it means we are closer to the microphones. I appreciate that we want the music to be fairly loud to create the right atmosphere, but I believe it is more important for the vocals to be heard. We are all projecting as much as we can, and although the microphones have improved the volume issue, I still feel like we need to decrease the volume of the backing tracks slightly to ensure that cast members aren't straining to try and be heard (and potentially damaging their voices if the right technique isn't used and if they push too hard). Below are the numbers we ran today and what happened:

• "Seasons of Love":   Our positioning in this number was strong, as we made sure we utilised the space and were equal distances away from each other. However, our straight line was originally further back, but we have now moved it forwards so we are all closer to the microphones. This dramatically improved our sound.
• "Light My Candle":   Taylor and Henri have moved this number further forward as well now, meaning their sound now travels further. I really respect these two as they have worked so hard at this number and are projecting as much as they can. It is difficult to get the right balance between being loud enough that you are heard at the very back, but intimate enough for the song to work and make sense.
• "I'll Cover You":   This number sounded really good today as they both have been working on it outside of lessons. At times it is a little bit difficult to hear them both, but I personally thought the music was too loud anyway and could afford to come down slightly. However, I think that the volume issue can be solved by them turning out towards the audience slightly at roughly 45 degrees (rather than facing each other) - this would mean that their sound would travel outwards rather than travelling at each other and being lost.
• "One Song Glory":   Today was one of the best times Henri had ever sung this song. He projected as much as he could to be heard over the music, but yet again, I feel that the music was too loud for this song anyway. I think it would be better if the music was slightly quieter allowing the vocals to be heard clearly, rather than having loud music but quiet vocals. I respect Henri as he is projecting as much as he possibly can.
• "Rent":   The staging for this number went really well on the whole, but we think that the dance break needs to be cut (as it seems really out of place for a naturalistic and passionate number to have a random short dance in the middle). Instead, they could rip the posters off of the wall and throw them into their make-shift fire (i.e. the bin), as if they are trying to keep the fire ablaze and keep warm. We will discuss this next lesson. The other change for this number is that we shall all be on stage singing. Warren and Tyler will continue doing the blocking they have done before, whilst those of us who have been singing in the wings previously, shall now sing at the sides of the stage and just act what we sing. Also, we shall all sing the last line as otherwise it is an anti-climax - where we have all be singing together building an atmosphere, then it would just drop to two people singing and it would be quieter.
• "Take Me or Leave Me":   Alice and I now really enjoy doing this number, as we can use the space. We go down and move about through the audience. As we are both closer to the audience and are loud singers anyway (as we have both been trained, but more obviously because it is a song which requires a loud belt) it doesn't matter where we go in the space, thus meaning we can do what we think suits the number.
• "Without You":   We have now changed the blocking again for Taylor and Henri. We are now keeping them both on opposite sides as this works better with the microphones. The rest of this number was fine though. We all remembered when we had to enter and exit, plus we all acted throughout.
• "I'll Cover You (reprise)":   This was by far the best time Lewis had ever sung this number. He really got in to his character and his vocals were really strong. We all got the harmonies right and acted throughout.

Musical Theatre (34) - Costume run

In this lesson, we all got in to our costumes and ran as much as the show as we could. We didn't get to complete the entire show, due to us getting in to costumes and setting up the stage (and having to leave enough time to pack down afterwards). Below is what happened and what I thought of the dress run:

What went well:

• We all remembered our movement and spacing throughout
• The majority of the costumes looked really effective
• We remembered most of the transitions
• The singing sounded good on the whole
• We put more energy into the numbers than we had done before

What could have gone better: 

• There shouldn't have been any talking in the wings, but there was - mainly due to not knowing what came next.
• There was some crashing in the wings (though this wasn't our fault as the wings were full of rubbish and wood from where set is currently being built on stage for another show).
• The transitions took quite a long time, as we ere unsure on what number came next, and also I think some people forgot who was supposed to move what set.

What we have left to do:

• I think it would be really helpful if we put up a running order in each wing, just to ensure that everyone knows what we have next. 
• I think we should also do a full top-and-tail run just to work on transitions and get them concreted into our muscle memory. Although we have done work on transitions, we have never do a full top-and-tail run, we only discussed the last few numbers.
• We need to do a full dress and tech run (although this was a dress run, we didn't complete the show, and we haven't set up and used microphones at the front of the stage).
• We need to ensure we have all set and props (e.g. posters advertising Roger's show, a telephone on the wall, etc.).

Musical Theatre (33) - Additional rehearsal

Today we stayed behind after school for an hour to work on some numbers that we really felt needed improving before next lesson.

• Goodbye Love:   We ran this number several times today as we were really struggling with the timing. We found the track really unusual as it wasn't clear when certain parts came in. Timing wise, the first section of the song (that has everyone in) was fine, but the section between Mark, Roger and Mimi was not working. We soon realised that the track actually needs to be paused at one point before Mimi comes in. They then all worked out when they need to come in and how long they have to sing / say their parts. After the vocals and the timing was all sorted, we worked on the staging and the acting side of this number. We had to remember that this song is an argument, and we remembered our key note of acting and re-acting. We altered the blocking to make the scene work a bit better - I know stand between Alice and Will, to literally split them up, but also to show that my character doesn't want to create a scene and is purely trying to shut Maureen up and stop her fuelling the argument. When Maureen shouts back at Joanne she flips - Mimi understands how Joanne feels as she sings ("he was the same way"), therefore it works better now that Taylor and I are standing next to each other at this part of the song. We then polished the ending part of this song as well, simply re-capping the movement we had created in a previous lesson.
• Happy New Year:   We did this number once just to improve on the acting side of it.
• La Vie Boheme:   This was done with a purpose to improve the energy side of it. Alice and I now know what we are doing on the two occasions where we are "caught out", as it were, by Warren. As well as improving our energy, we also ensured that we didn't end up in a line, but also that we were acting throughout and utilised the character relationships we had built up during Act One (e.g. Joanne and Mark understand each other).
• I'll Cover You:   Lewis and Owen act this song really well and the staging looks good, but the harmonies sometimes clash - so therefore they sang this through a couple of times to try to resolve this issue. They shall also be going through this song soon with Mr Falconar (as he can help them with their harmonies).
• You'll See Boys:   I think this number is in a really good place now and doesn't need any additional work. They all act this number well and it sounds fine.
• Today 4 U:   This number is also looking and sounding really strong.

Next lesson we shall be getting into costume, and seeing how much we can get through of the show.

Musical Theatre (32) - Act Two

Today we ran the whole of Act Two, as we are less confident with this act. Below are the notes we were given and what I think we need to do. The Alexi Darling number isn't in the notes below, as Warren was absent his lesson.

• "La Vie Boheme":    Timing needs care // Needs more energy (I still feel that we should add some more set movement in to the number to guarantee it doesn't fall flat) // Act throughout // We have to be careful that we don't end up standing in one line (though this would be prevented when the tables are there as we will all be around these) // Careful not bump in to each other (use our spatial awareness) // Alice and I need to decide what we are going to do before "sisters?" and before the cough earlier 
• "Happy New Year B":     Continually act (as some people tend just to act when it is their bit. We need to re-act as well as just act) // Diction needs care
• "Take Me or Leave Me":     Our harmonies worked really well today // I managed to belt a part of the song, which I've always sung in head voice // I think what we have left to do for this number is perform it in the space (as we shall be performing a lot of this number in the audience)
• "Without You":     The singing sounded really nice // Lines need o be learned
• "I'll Cover You (reprise)":     Diction needs care // Everyone really needs to get in the zone and act // Lewis acted, but don't look down all the time as otherwise the audience will disconnect // We won't move the table at all after this song, and shall instead perform the next number in front of the table
• "Goodbye Love":     We have to ensure that we act, but more importantly re-act (it's all very well acting, but we all need to respond to what other people are singing) // Taylor needs to sing "Hello disease" a bit louder (although she sang it beautifully with a lot of emotion, it needs to be projected more, as otherwise it won't be heard)
• "Seasons of Love":     Don't fidget at all // Have better spatial awareness when walking to places (to avoid bumping in to each other)

In general, our singing today all sounded pretty good, but the main note is to ensure that we all continually act. The other thing we need to be careful with are the wings as they are not very big deep and well covered - therefore there is a chance that when we are in the wings we may be seen - if you can see the audience they can see you! Therefore, we must remain in character at all times, and if we can't get far back enough in the wings that we can't be seen, we will have to stand perfectly still, and not fidget, to avoid diverting the audiences attention from the stage to the wings.

Musical Theatre (31) - Transitions

In today's lesson we almost completed a full top-and-tail run to work on transitions (although we didn't complete it, we did discuss what we shall do for the rest of the show). Below is what we worked out:

• FIRST SET - table // chair // "wood burner" (i.e. dustbin) // guitar
  • Remains for "Tune Up 1", "Voice Mail 1", "Tune Up 2", "Rent" and "Tune Up 3"
  • Cameron takes off the wood burner after "Tune Up 3" as he leaves
• SECOND SET - table // chair // guitar
  • Remains for "One Song Glory", "Light My Candle", "Voice Mail 2", "Today 4 U" and "You'll See"
  • Cameron takes table off. Henri takes guitar off. Owen sits on chair, and Lewis pushes Owen off stage on the chair. At the end I bring on the white block (used as the step to get on to the L-Shaped decking) to centre on it's side (to become the amp) and a mic stand. 
• THIRD SET - white block on its side // mic stand
  • Remains just for "Tango: Maureen"
  • Cameron puts whit block back as step and takes off mic stand. Tyler and Warren bring tableand guitar back on.
• FOURTH SET - table // guitar
  • Remains for "Life Support", "Another Day" and "Will I?"
  • Henri and Cameron turn table around (to reveal the back of it, as it has a brick wall pattern hanging down to suggest a different location). Cameron was told to take off the guitar, but as he is in the next number, and is already turning the table, I believe Taylor should take it off as she exits stage right anyway.
• FIFTH SET - table
  • Remains for the rest of Act One
• SIXTH SET - two small round tables, stage left and stage right // one large table centre stage (all tables with cloths on)
  • All is set during interval
  • Remains for "La Vie Boheme" only
  • Taylor sits on the stairs at the end, Henri sits on the edge of the stage - both for the "AZT break section". Tyler and Lewis takes off stage right table, Warren and Cameron take off stage left table. Owen and I adjust the sheet on centre table so it is only half covering the table (to become the table in the flat, looking like it is covered with a dust sheet).
• SEVENTH SET - table with sheet half covering - looking scruffy
  • Remains for "Voice Mail 3", "Happy New Year B" and "Take Me or Leave Me"
  • Warren then adjusts sheet to cover entire bed and Tyler brings on pillow - as if they are nurses at the beginning of the next number.
• EIGHTH SET - table with sheet over and pillow // chair
  • Remains for "Without You" only
  • During song, Will brings on chair. Taylor takes it off at the end during the blackout.
  • During blackout at the end of this number, Owen takes off his pillow and Cameron puts black stage block (that has been on the floor in front of the stage for the entire show - used in "Life Support" and "Will I?") at the back behind the table.
• NINETH SET - table with sheet over // black block behind table
  • Remains for "Voice Mail 4" and "I'll Cover You (reprise)"
  • During blackout at the end of this number, entire stage is cleared.
• TENTH SET - no set
  • For the rest of the show ("Goodbye Love" and "Seasons of Love")

In our top-and-tail run, we only got up until the end of Act One, but we all discussed the rest of the show. I really liked Lewis and Cameron's idea of having a sheet hanging off the back of the table with a brick pattern on the other side, as it allows for an easy set change that presents a clear change in location. Originally, Mr Webb wanted us to have three small circular tables for "La Vie Boheme" but I suggested that we have the table we shall use for the latter songs on from the beginning of this act to make set changes easier. This meant that we didn't have to change our set at all, and instead just have to move a sheet around a little bit. Next lesson, we will hopefully do the entire transition run, and then begin our complete full runs.

Musical Theatre (30) - Act One Run

In this lesson we ran the whole of Act One on the stage. Below is how I think it all went:

• Sections of dialogue:   On the whole, these went really well, but a couple of lines need to be looked over to ensure fluency of dialogue.
• Transitions:   These desperately need work! I think that our next step should be to do a top-and-tail run of the entire show to work out who is going to move what set, how and when. Not only does the set transitions need sorting, but the literal transitions of actors from scene to scene - we need to work on how we leave the scene, as this needs to be in character and with purpose.
• Everything up until "Light My Candle":   This is the section we have done the most, so has now become consistent. These numbers all sound really good, are believable in terms of characterisation and look good in the stage space.
• Mr & Mrs Jefferson Voice Mail:   This was the first time they had done this number in front of the class. It sounded okay on the whole, but some lines were forgotten in places. 
• "Today 4 U" & "You'll See":   These two numbers are looking and sounding a lot better. The boys all really interact with each other and their character relationships are starting to become more solid and obvious.
• "Life Support", "Another Day", "Will I?" & "Santa Fe":   These numbers are now becoming consistent and look and sound how we want them to. The blocking works well in the space.
• "I'll Cover You":   This number wasn't so good in terms of vocals (due to clashing harmonies and mistuning in places), but their movement looked good and was effective at presenting their relationship. 
• "We're Okay":   This was the first time I performed this number to the class. Vocally, I think this piece went quite well (apart from the "penthouse A" line being a little bit sharp as I strained a bit, as I didn't do warm up my belt voice). I got my movement right for the majority of the time, but in a couple of places, I sang into the wrong phones - therefore, I need to really pay attention who I am supposed to be singing to, and practice more with my movements.
• "Over the Moon":     What Alice sang sounded good but she ended up giggling a lot because she felt awkward. This is understandable as it is a strange number, but needs to be avoided - perhaps by performing it more to the class and more practice in general (so she knows what movement she is going to do). Alice and I also need to practice this number together more, as I am singing the backing parts for this number. In the film version of Rent, the backing vocals are all pre-recorded by Maureen and played on various TV screens. However, when I saw it at St James's Theatre in London a couple of weeks ago, the backing vocals were supposed to be on a cassette player, which doesn't work, causing Joanne to have to sing them live. I thought this was really funny and worked really well. I was going to sing them live anyway, but I think that we should make a thing of this. I shall suggest this next time we perform the number.

Musical Theatre (29) - Random songs

Below are the numbers we went over today and how they went:

• "Without You":   This number went really well. The vocals sounded really nice and all the movement was effective. We remained in character throughout and created the right atmosphere.
• "I'll Cover You (reprise)":   The acting side of this is getting a lot stronger. The harmonies have all really improved, and so has Lewis' vocals, but his tuning is slightly off at times (but this is understandable as he has not had any vocal training, but it works well for the situation as he is supposed to be really emotional).
• "La Vie Boheme":   This wasn't so great today. Some people forgot their lines and it was just generally lacking energy. In places, the piece was fine, but a lot of it just felt awkward. We need to put so much energy in to this number to make it work. However, I still think that it would help if we had some more set movement in this number.
• "Happy New Year B":   This number was fine again. I think we are all happy with this number now as we know our blocking and are comfident with the song. However, I think to improve this number, we should work more on character relationships and how our characters would feel about the current situation - as these decisions would alter our body language and facial expressions.
• "Tango: Maureen":   Vocally, this song went really well. We did our dialogue leading in to this number as well today for the first time. Our dance didn't go quite to plan during the lesson, as we hadn't managed to meet up outside of lesson to go over it at this stage, but we remained in character and worked on our relationship. I really liked the movement that Cameron added to his character nearer the beginning of the song on the line "as she keeps you dangling, your heart she is mangling". After this lesson, we went through the dnace together to ensure we both knew it and were happy with the steps - we then did the dance with the music.
• "Light My Candle":    I am confident for Henri and Taylor with this number, as every time they perform this number it looks the same - the standard never drops. The vocals sound good and the number is entertaining to watch.

Musical Theatre (28) - "Goodbye Love" & Random Songs

To begin this lesson we sang through "Seasons of Love" as we hadn't done this for quite a long time. We then sang through "Goodbye Love" a few times. As some cast members were struggling with the timing of their parts, or they weren't confident on how they went, we sang this number a couple of times with the original track, before attempting it with the backing track. We staged the second half of this number (with Mark, Roger, Mimi and Benny), but we are still yet to stage the first half of this. We worked out where and when would be appropriate for characters to move - for example, on what line Roger should walk towards the door before he sees Mimi.

We then did "Happy New Year B". This went really well today. We all remembered the blocking and our lines. Our timing was a lot better and we all acted throughout this number. We then just sang through random numbers to see how they were getting on. Henri sang "One Song Glory" then Alice and I sang "Take Me or Leave Me". I finally got the harmonies right today but I really need to keep listening to it at home to ensure that I am confident with them. Cameron and I then sang through "Tango: Maureen". We didn't bother attempting to dance it today, as we haven't had chance to meet and go over it and perfect it - we shall hopefully do this on Monday after school. However, we both remembered our harmonies and it all sounded okay. We all then ran "Life Support" into "Another Day" and then "Will I?". These three were all okay as we remembered our directions and how we had set them previously - however, some people need to go over the lyrics for the ensemble part in "Another Day".

Next lesson we shall be doing a full run. What I feel we should prioritise is staging the beginning of "Goodbye Love" and working on the transitions for each number. We also need to ensure that everyone knows all of their lines and songs.

Musical Theatre (27) - Blocking Numbers

In this lesson we blocked two numbers we hadn't done before.

"Without You":   As we are not doing "Contact", this is the number in which Angel dies. Taylor and Henri will sing this song at opposite sides of the stage, and we shall have a bed in the middle. Lewis walks in, carrying Owen and lies him down on the table. Everyone else (excluding Benny) walks in at set moments in the song, and acts around Owen, trying to comfort him. Alice is in the scene with Collins, and then Warren and I enter a bit later. Alice and I never make eye contact in this scene, but we look at each other at different points, to create a sense of tension in the room - thus causing Maureen to walk out not that long after I walk in. Everyone exits at different points, apart from Collins. Nearer the end, Benny enters and stands a distance away from the foot of the bed. He doesn't approach until Angel smiles at him, then he shall walk to Angel and hold her hand. This was to show that Benny feels awkward and bad for everything that has happened. Benny will then put his hand on Collin's shoulder to show that he cares for him and wants to support him. Collins responds by giving Benny a hug, thus showing that he is forgiven. Benny brings Collins over a chair and places it next to the bed to show that he is really caring and is trying his best to look after Collins at such a difficult time. When Angel dies, Benny says his goodbyes to her, and then puts his hand on Collins' shoulder and walks out (but doesn't exit), as to give Collins a moment with Angel - Collins then joins Benny.

"I'll Cover You (reprise)":   For this number the table is still there (to represent the open coffin) and we all stand either side of it, apart from Collins who stands directly behind it. When Lewis starts singing, we all step out slightly and face in; this is so the attention is focussed on him. Meanwhile, at the beginning of this song, Owen is sitting down behind Lewis (but slightly to the side so he is still visible) on steel decking. When the song builds up a bit, Owen stands up and joins in. This is quite abstract but shows Angel as if he were a literal Angel, looking down upon and supporting Collins.

Musical Theatre (26) - Investigation into Musical Theatre

To prove that we understand Musical Theatre we have been asked to show evidence of a "detailed investigation into the key features of musical theatre performance". Having done my "Special Subject Investigation" unit on Musical Theatre, I have already done a lot of research into this topic! (The following is a link to my "Special Subject Investigation" unit blogs - http://lornaclarkra.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/SSI ). 

The BBC Bitesize Website has a lot of information on songs, stating the difference between action songs (which move the narrative along) or character songs ("which enable characters to express their feelings"). The song types are as follows: ballads (reflective/romantic), comedy, production numbers (ensemble songs) and rhythm songs (energetic rhythm patterns).

Musical Theatre (25) - Act One Run

Today we ran the whole of Act One from start to finish (however, we skipped "We're Okay" and "Tango: Maureen" as I have a really bad throat at the moment and am not supposed to be singing). The main thing we need to work on from this lesson is knowing our lines! Sadly, there are still some songs which we have already done where people are still using scripts.

• "Rent":   Needs more vocal energy, but movement was a lot better.
• "Light My Candle":   This was the best it has ever been today. Henri and Taylor acted throughout, their character interaction was very believable, and their vocals were strong.
• Voice mails:   These need to be really over the top in terms of characterisation.
• "Today 4 U":   Owen sings thing really well but will need to project more so he is definitely heard when we put the show on stage. 
• "You'll See":   Is getting stronger every time they perform it. Will's voice has really improved since the beginning of this unit. He puts a lot of energy into his performance (in terms of vocals and character work), however, the rest of the people in this number have to match Will.
• "Life Support":   We had to spend quite a lot of time today on getting the timing right for this number. The names were all spoken at the wrong times, meaning that the actual song itself came in late. Another thing that needed work for this number was our American accents. Throughout the entire show progress so far, our accents have been fine, but when it came to saying the names at the beginning of this song, we became quite British and common! 
• Transition:   Originally, we all stayed where we were at the end of "Life Support" in a freeze frame until "Will I?". However, we have now changed this as not everyone will be singing "Will I?" now. Therefore, everyone acts as if they are saying goodbye then walks off in different directions. However, I remain where I was and Owen stands facing the back where he was. Owen and I remain in these positions in a freeze frame during "Another Day".
• "Will I?":   This song has changed the most since we started doing it. Originally, everyone was in this number and it was performed in a round - unfortunately, we couldn't get this number to work in terms of coming off at the right time, and it was all a little bit too repetitive. Therefore, Mr Webb cut people out of this number, so only people who the song was relevant to, sang it. Mimi and Roger sing this song, as they both have AIDS and they just broke up in the previous song, so is very relevant to them. We also wanted either Angel or Collins in this number too, as both of them have AIDS. Originally, Lewis was going to do it, but he was struggling with the tuning of this number, so Owen is doing it instead. As I was singing the first solo in this song anyway, I am still in this number. Although it is not clear whether my character has AIDS or not, it is still relevant to my character as I could be singing about Maureen, or the lyrics still would make sense if I sang about my sexuality and how my parents aren't supportive of this ("for mummy's sake kitten no, Doc Martin's this time"). The staging for this one is really simple. Roger stays centre, Mimi stands stage right, I remain in my position from "Life Support" and Owen stands between Henri and I. So that the piece isn't too repetitive, I shall sing the first round (as before), then everyone else will join in with me. As we were having trouble with the timing, we shall sing in unison. The fifth time, I sing as a solo - Owen and Henri exit on this one. The final round is sung as a solo by Taylor (I walk off on this time). The fact that Taylor is left on the stage on our own emphasises her feeling of isolation and emptiness, thus foreshadowing "Without You".
• Angel discussion:   Mr Webb and I had a long debate about when Angel dies, when she should wear her wig and the staging for "Without You". Mr Webb spoke about having Angel take her wig off when she joins in with the song "Will I?" but I thought that this could either be a little bit tacky, or it would be too much too soon - this could be saved until "Without You" when he is dying. Mr Webb and I finally agreed that he wouldn't take his wig off here and would save it until "Without You" as it would be lovely (and very abstract) for him to put the wig back on during "I'll Cover You (reprise)", as it would show Angel changing from how he was when he died to how he will be remembered by everyone at the funeral. Our staging conversation was about split screening. Mr Webb was speaking about having a split screen for "Without You", but I feel like this would detach the audience from the emotional side of the piece. I agreed that it would look good to have a split screen and would work well in a play, but as it is Musical Theatre, I feel like the audience would suspend their disbelief and the location doesn't really matter. I would prefer to create the right atmosphere and a moving looking piece, rather than keeping it completely realistic and obvious. We will hopefully be staging this number next lesson.

Musical Theatre (24) - Act Two & Audacity

In this lesson we ran the whole of Act Two from beginning to end. What we desperately need to do is learn the dialogue between all of the songs to ensure that the songs flow better from one to the other. By having the appropriate dialogue between musical numbers, not only does the audience get a better understanding of the plot, but this also enables us time to move any set on or off stage.

Our feedback from Mr McKay about "La Vie Boheme" was mainly to do with movement, and that we need to keep the energy going the entire time. However, our other note for this number was to ensure that we know all of the words for the "bisexuals, transsexuals" part. I also feel like we need to articulate more here to make sure that the lines are clear.

Our main note from the teachers was to ensure that we know all of our lines and how the songs go! We also have to set "Without You", "I'll Cover You (reprise)" and "Goodbye Love" still, but apart from these three, I think we have pretty much staged everything else. Mine and Alice's note for "Take Me or Leave Me" was "boom". They said that they were really happy with how we acted it and the energy we had put in to it - they liked our character relationship too and how we varied our proxemics when our emotions and intensities of emotions changed dramatically. However, I am still not overly confident on the harmonies for this number, so I need to listen to them more.

There is a section of dialogue in "Goodbye Love" between Maureen and Joanne. Due to us cutting a lot of Act Two, I personally felt that this was really not necessary; I also feel that it takes away from the main action. It was not used in the movie version of Rent so it is clearly not essential to the story. Therefore, I explained my thinking to the class and told them that I would edit the backing track on audacity so we don't have a long section of music in the middle. The top left image shows me putting the track on to audacity, whilst the top right image shows the track after I made the cut in the track. I halved the instrumental section in the middle which the dialogue is spoken over. I thought this would be appropriate as I left enough music for the characters that are not needed in the rest of the scene to leave on. As Alice and I aren't doing the dialogue, I thought that we could look at each other (whilst still being emotional from the funeral), make a smile to comfort each other, and then hug to show that we have forgiven each other - then we would leave, before the next part of the song. The bottom left image print screen shows me fading out the instrumental part to ensure there isn't an abrupt stop before the next part of the music comes in. The bottom right image shows that the track was saved and exported successfully.

Musical Theatre (23) - Random Songs & New Song List

"Happy New Year B":   Today (28/11/16) we began working on "Happy New Year B". We began by singing through the song. The majority of the cast didn't know this song, so we listened to it for a few times first. We then sang it with the backing track a few times. We have been finding this song quite challenging as the song is quite conversational, so we have to fit a lot of lines in to not a lot of music. Also, some of the lines overlap. Thankfully though, there are no real harmonies for this song, thus suggesting that the group is all together and creates a real sense of unity. However, once we got fairly comfortable with the song, we then staged it. The first section of the song is a conversation between Joanne, Maureen and Mark about making another protest. This will be done on the L-Shaped decking, stage left. We then jump down to the actual stage to join the rest of the cast on the first "Happy New Year". By singing the first part on a different level and section of stage shows that we are in a different location at that time. On the first "Happy New Year", we all greet each other with celebratory hugs etc. Will then enters stage right and we all just stare at him. We have left a gap between Benny and the rest of the ensemble. The use of proxemics here makes the situation more awkward for Benny and shows everyone's dislike for him. We don't have any other set movement, but we just act and interact with each other. On Owen's solo line of "it's gonna be a Happy New Year", he pushes Taylor towards Henri (DSR) in an attempt to get them back together again. We then all leave stage right to leave Taylor on stage with "The Man" - i.e. her drug dealer.

Musical Numbers:   We have cut a couple of songs from Act One, as they are not really needed, but a lot of songs from Act Two have now been cut, due to our performance date fast approaching. We have also changed where our interval will be due to the two acts being completely different lengths. I think that this was a good decision (to cut songs out) as we are running out of time, so it is better to perform less of the show to a high standard, rather than trying to do the whole show and it not be great. We have been careful about what songs we cut out to ensure that the show will still make sense. The difference with our version is that Mimi doesn't die and come back (i.e. "Your Eyes" and "Finale B"), and instead we don't see Mimi and Roger get back together.

• Our Act One is now as follows:
  
  • "Tune Up #1" /// "Voice Mail #1" /// "Tune Up #2" /// "Rent" /// "Tune Up #3" /// "One Song Gory" /// "Light My Candle" /// "Voice Mail #2" /// "Today For You" /// "You'll See" /// "Tango: Maureen" /// "Life Support" /// "Another Day" /// "Will I?" /// "Santa Fe" /// "I'll Cover You" /// "We're Okay" /// "Over the Moon"

• Our Act Two is as follows:
  
  • "La Vie Boheme" /// "Voice Mail #3" /// "Happy New Year B" /// "Take Me or Leave Me" /// "Without You /// "Voice Mail #4" /// "I'll Cover You (reprise)" /// "Goodbye Love" /// "Seasons of Love A"

05/12/16:   We began this lesson with a vocal warm up and then Henri and Taylor sang "Without You" a few times. Taylor knew this song, but Henri wasn't overly confident with it so they sang through it a few times. After this we all sang through "Happy New Year" again to ensure that we remembered it. The first time we sang this today, the vocals were a bit out of time in places and the acting was a bit flat. We did it again but put more energy into it thus creating the right atmosphere and mood for the piece. Afterwards, we then sang through "Goodbye Love" for the first time. We hadn't sung this through before, so we sang it a few times. We didn't bother staging it as a lot of people didn't know the song well enough yet. Therefore, we moved on to "I'll Cover You (reprise)". Lewis knew this song, but the majority of the cast didn't know the backing vocals, so we worked on the harmonies for this song. The backing vocals are important in this number as they are symbolic of how everyone is supporting Collin in this tough time.

Musical Theatre (22) - All songs so far

In today's lesson we sang through all of the songs we have done so far (apart from a couple due to running out of time) in order. Below, I have written down what has changed for some songs.

• "Tune Up #1"
• "Voice Mail #1"
• "Tune Up #2"
• "Rent"
• "One Song Glory"
  
  • Henri sang this today better than he ever has done. // He knew almost all of the words, only stumbling on what section.
• "Light My Candle"
  • Henri and Taylor have changed the blocking on this to make her character seem more flirtatious and also to make it clearer when Mimi takes her drugs back at the end of the song.
• "Today 4 U"
  
  • Owen walked really well in his heels and did more during the song. He could still interact a bit more with the others but he did well bearing in mind he didn't get to do it with them last lesson.
• "You'll See"
• "Tango: Maureen"
  
  • Cameron and I got the vocals right but are still finding it difficult to do the dance as well. Therefore we are going to simplify the dance. However, the bits that are not danced, and are "just acted," as it were, were a lot stronger as we really thought about our characters, their situation and their relationship.
• "Life Support"
• "Another Day"
• "Will I?"
  • Although we still didn't get the ending right, we have worked out that the first group sing the verse four times in total, holding the note of the final word on (the "mare" of "nightmare"). The second group would hold on the word "from" (from the line "From this nightmare") and the third group would hold the "row" of "tomorrow".
• "Santa Fe"
• "I'll Cover You"
• "We're Okay"
  
  • I worked out what I shall be doing in terms of props - i.e. what phone I need to use and when. I knew almost all of the lyrics but stumbled on some of the final lines as the timing is awkward and it is very wordy.
• "Over the Moon"
  
  • Alice sang along to a track of this song. This confused her as she sang it differently in places, but this didn't matter as the song is sung a Capella. I learned when I needed to do the backing vocals. What's left for this piece is for Alice and I to do this piece without the track.
• "La Vie Boheme"
• "Seasons of Love"
• "Take Me or Leave Me"
  
  • Apart from me struggling with the starting note of the final harmony, this was the best time we ever did this piece. This was because we really got in to our characters and thought about our relationship at this point. We did whatever movement came naturally and it seemed to really work. We need to keep this up every time we sing it now.

Musical Theatre (21) - Random Songs

Below is the list of songs we sang in this lesson and how they went:

• "Today 4 U"   -   Vocally, this piece was really good but was very static. Therefore we spent some time with Owen to give him ideas on what he could do. I also helped him walk in his heels and walk like a woman. The next thing we have to do with this number is do the blocking with Lewis, Cameron and Henri, so Owen can interact with them all.
• "I'll Cover You"   -   Harmonies still need to be worked on for this number but the staging is really starting to take shape and thus their character work and relationship is developing really well.
• "Will I?"   -   This piece looked good and sounded fine, apart from the ending. We still need to go over the ending of the song. We all discussed the ending and now know when we need to sing our final note, but we still need to actually do this.
• "Life Support"   -   This number went really well.
• "You'll See"   -   We spent a long time going over the vocals, first with the original track and then with the backing track. We also staged the number today. In terms of staging, all they have to do is stand in certain places and Benny move between them.
• "Another Day"   -   For this number, everyone in "Life Support" freezes, whilst Taylor walks out of the freeze frame and goes over to sing with Henri.