Devising (4) - Another scene?

The past two lessons have been mainly discussion based, but we have really progressed. We began the first of these lessons by discussing whether we wanted our classroom scene to be physical theatre or be a scripted scene. We are concerned that if we make it scripted it would be really cheesy, therefore (if we do go for making this particular setting a scripted scene) we would have our teacher a voice over, rather than physically there - as we want to make our whole piece abstract. We have agreed that the more abstract we make our piece, the less cliché it is likely to be.

We later moved on to asking the following questions. As a group, we have now worked out how we develop our ideas most - we have a discussion based approach that spawns from one question. Below are the questions posed in one discussion:

• Why is he so brainy?
• Why is the snapchat thing / social media thing happening?
• Could it be to do with his actual phone - rather than him himself?
• Is the software on his phone affecting his brain?
• Is he actually normal and the phone is to blame?
• Where did he get the phone from? Given it? Stolen it? Found it?

These questions developed to us thinking of a potential scene. We thought we could have a physical theatre scene showing Ollie being "influenced" and affected by the phone. The rest of us could represent / embody software. If we included this scene - we would have three potential scenes: 1) Ollie walking in and being followed by Lewis, 2) the classroom scene where we all move in then out, 3) physical theatre scene about the software.

A Motif:   We have discussed our first scene. We would like to use this as our motif. Ollie would do the same thing each time, but other people could come from different directions and do different things to or by Ollie. Ollie wouldn't necessarily start walking from off stage each time - he could start his walk from centre stage, for example. This would fit with our ideal of a non-linear structure. 

In the second lesson, we discussed our earlier idea of it being the phone that affects him. We debated whether a potential interrogation scene (After one of the motif parts) would then make sense, as it would have just been a case of getting rid of the phone. However, I still like the idea of it being the phone that affects him, but maybe not as over-the-top as we initially discussed - if we had him becoming obsessed with it and spending so much time being exposed to it that it affects him in some way, we could potentially have a moral of our story. Another thing that we shall think about before next lesson is what affect do we want our piece to have on our audience. We want an abstract style, but do we want to leave them confused (by us not answering all questions) or thinking (about the moral) or just generally entertained (by giving them a entertaining performance)?

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.).

Workshop (4) - "Opening Sequence" & "King of the World"

OS - Taxi scene:   We began this lesson by completing our first number. We firstly discussed what we were going to do to show Lewis's character. We wanted to create a taxi for Lewis to sit in, but we wanted to be quite abstract with it. As our whole song so far has been very physical and abstract, we didn't want to be naturalistic with four chairs - therefore, we first tried it with Ollie and I forming the two front seats (by going on all fours). Rob could have been a third seat in the back for James to sit on. We thought that James could be the passenger as we could go straight into his scene at the end, as we hadn't done his scene by this point. However, by three of us being seats, it looked a little bit cheesy and a little bit like a waiting room - therefore we decided to experiment more. We then considered having Ollie and I hold torches whilst being the seats. The torches would represent the headlights of the taxi. We tried this idea out, but realised it wasn't working as Ollie and I couldn't get the torches to the right heights due to how we had to be positioned to be the seats - therefore, we shall not be the seats now. Instead we shall use collapsible stools (as these aren't as chunky as chairs, and James and Lewis will be seated a bit lower, and the stools aren't visible when sat on) for James and Lewis to sit on. Ollie and I shall crouch down slightly to the outside of James and Lewis and just in front of Lewis, and holding the torches at the appropriate height. Rob shall stand centre back holding a placard saying "Taxi" to make it completely clear to the audience what we have created. We have places James to the left of Lew and back to show that he is the passenger. This scene happens during the second time we say the fast section ("You have a house in the hills, you have a job on the coast...") - this represents all the voices going around Lewis's head from all the people he has had in his taxi and all the conversations they have had with him.

OS - Lover scene:   As James is seated in Lewis's taxi, James's scene could afford to be a lot shorter. For James's scene, he gets out of the taxi and the taxi then all dismantles - we all come out of our taxi positions in a smooth transition. James sits down stage centre writing a letter to his lover, whilst the other four of us form two pairs, and look pleased to see each other and hug. We were originally thinking of doing a short duet section each, but we didn't have time for this to take place as we wanted to spend a little bit more time of the song ensuring that our transition out of the taxi positions was smooth - therefore, we all just hug instead for this scene. We are not too worried about this though, as it still gets the message we wanted across.

KOTW - Opening:
Rob had an idea on what he wanted to do for the opening of "King of the World". We had all agreed that we wanted this scene to be about the business man due to the lyrics. Rob wanted Ollie to run and walk over a chair whilst the other four of us threw chairs to each other and put them in a line, facing alternate directions. The purpose of throwing chairs would be to present a chaotic office environment. The chairs would suggest an office setting, but the constant movement creates the chaotic atmosphere. We spent the remainder of this lesson practising throwing and catching chairs and working out what order we should do this in and how to make it as safe as possible. To decrease the risk of injury, people throwing and catching and chairs will stand further upstage, whilst those positioning chairs in the line will be further downstage. We then worked out a little duet section for James and I, and Rob and Lewis. We do some puppetry work and supporting movements. We shall develop this properly next lesson.

Business (25) - Task G - Budget Spreadsheet

The picture shows our total expenses, potential income and potential profit.

• If we didn't sell all of the tickets and instead sold 90% ...
  
  • 90% of £3840 = £3456
  • £3456 + tuck shop £2196 = £5652
  • £5652 - expenses £5557.16 = £94.84
  • ... would still give us a profit of £94.84
• If we didn't sell all of the tuck shop and instead sold 90% ...
  
  • 90% of £2196 = £1976.40
  • £1976.4 + tickets £3840 = £5816.40
  • £5816.40 - expenses £5557.16 = £259.40
  • ... would still give us a profit of £259.24

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.

Devising (3) - An Idea!

Outside of our lessons, Rob came up with an idea and then told it to the rest of our group at the beginning of this lesson. His idea combines Lewis's idea of a school child / student and our group idea of social media. Rob said about having a child in class, being bored so he checks his phone. However, every time he opens any social media, something paranormal happens - only little things though, like something appears to be in a different place, or something falls off a shelf. Things would then progress and he would go crazy - perhaps seeing things, i.e. having visions. We created a rule in our group that we could not say "no" to something, unless we had another idea or suggestion - therefore (as none of us had any ideas and were willing to experiment) we decided to go along with this idea and began discussing what we could do for an opening.

The ideas that the other three of us got from Rob's short story were the following: Ollie mentioned imaginary friends, leading Lewis on to the idea of inner-demons. This then made Ollie and I think of mental health issues again. From this discussion we formed a short flow chart:

• He's not mental, just ultra-intelligent
• Main guy is misunderstood
• He's innocent. Brain waves are too strong.
• Brain waves cause lights to flicker and computers to go wrong.
• Everyone thinks he's mental

As we had discussed the idea of mental health, we then thought that our opening could consist of Ollie walking really slowly from one side of the room to the other. He would be followed by Lewis (the psychiatrist) and the lights would be flickering for the entire time, with a buzzing noise underneath it all. We thought it would be nice to keep the opening unexplained and quite unusual, as this would confuse the audience and hopefully intrigue them. We would not be over-whelming them with a frantic scene, but keeping it eerily quiet and slow to create a level of tension (as the stimulus "ghost stories" has connotations of tension).

We wanted to have a school classroom setting at some point in our piece, so began work on a scene that would involve this - we have decided to work on random ideas and try to put them together, rather than creating an entire story. We wanted to have an unusual structure anyway, so we thought that it would be okay to devise in this way. We set places for a school classroom to form stereotypes (but also to break them as well) - as "ghost stories" are often quite typical and predictable. We put Rob DSR to present him as a teacher's pet, Lew and I centre adjacent to each other but with a gap in the middle (to show random school children) and Ollie centre back. We put Ollie in this position to make it look like he is a trouble maker, doesn't want to learn and is a bit of an outsider. This goes against what the audience expects - as later on Ollie turns out to be extremely intelligent. The only idea so far we came up with for this scene was Ollie getting out his phone, and as he does this, the three of us suddenly lean in towards him (as if strongly magnetised) and then lean out when he puts his phone back down.