24.04.13

Today we had to look back at DFTA, and we looked at the feedback from the women from the theatre. Rachel put us into groups so we can solve the problems that the women thought we had, then we would all come together and exchange notes.

These are the feedback notes:

(the writing in bold is the suggestions our group came up with and also other groups feedback)

- A bottle of alcohol (ideally plastic) rather than a bottle of water - a prop bottle has a big label saying 'wine or 'vodka' on it, so its more clown/circus like. - We suggested to take any labels off a empty bottle and write vodka in fancy writing and big and bold, so the audience can clearly see that its a bottle of alcohol. 

- Once Zack and Missy were in their normal clothes they got a little lost amongest the crowd. Perhaps their costumes should stand out more from the school group. - They should wear colourful clothes and really bright, as you would expect to see lots of colours in a circus. We said they shouldn't wear black and white, and all of the school students should stick to black and white and obviously the purple ties. Another group suggested that Missy and Zach, played by Amy and Ben, should maybe get some hoodies with the words Sparks Circus(the name of the circus) written on the back in sparkly sequins.

- Make it a little clearer that they are outside in the first scene and that it is a private area so the young people should not be there. - We suggested having projected sets and blocks at the back of the stage, for levels. Also it would be a good idea to have signs that say, 'DO NOT ENTER' and 'DO NOT ENTER, PRIVATE AREA' and 'KEEP OFF THE GRASS'. Also we thought that changing the lighting would be a good idea for Act 1, so there is more a natural light look. Spray cans was also suggested by another group, for the gang to spray on the signs.

- Costumes could be sped up by either undressing or adding velcro or poppers to the costumes. - With the clown song we thought that we could have the first two buttons done up on the shirt, and the black hoodie over the top zipped up to the top buttons of the t-shirt or the other idea was take the shirt off when we go off just before the last scene and zip black hoodie all the way up to the top, so the audience can't see the purple top underneath in the last scene, until the Clown song. With the ties we suggested having clip ties or just to as above to make the transitions quicker.

- Place the piano/keyboard on stage so the actors can be seen. - We decided to have the piano opposite the drums on stage, so its a even balance between the two instruments. Also we thought it would be a good idea to have them raised on a small blocks.

- It is important all lines are heard. The chorus reactions and interjections were brilliant but make sure it is controlled and plotted so none of the narrative is lost.- We realised we do need to project, because when we are at the theatre we will have to get used to the space, plus it will be a lot bigger. So we need to make sure we are heard from the back. We need to also make sure we hear the audiences reactions before we move onto the next line or don't interrupt people from their lines. The kids follow the 'gang' so we need to show that in how we mock the laughter.

The company should be in agreement where the circus tent is. - To show where the tent is, we suggested having signs either side and maybe using the stage blocks as an arch on the left to show the big top and then we will turn it to the shows changing rooms.

As soon as Zack and Missy at the beginning go to leave, the youths should be entering the space. -  We suggested as they start to leave the gang should poke their head out from the side and once they have gone, then walk out out into the space. The transitions for the two just need to be quicker.

- Practise rapping in to the mic. -  I think as using the mic was introduced very last minute, we hadn't got very used to it, but the more rehearse with it the more we will focus to fit it in the routine. I think alsowe need to go to the mic do our rap and then leave the mic and some people are not being heard by the mic as they start to walk away whilst still rapping. I think I was doing okay with the mic, I'll just make sure I'm heard and it looks okay.


We looked back on Act 3 at our performance, so we can change anything that didn't go so well.
Act 3: In the Clown song we realised that undressing onstage was really stressful and I still wasn't undressed in time by the time the lights came and Kim couldn't wait any longer to put the lights up. The song went really well and the harmonies sounds quite good, but it could sound better if we worked on it a bit more, as it was very last minute, with the ukelele. The clown scene went really well and the when it cut to the dancing with the queen bit it looked really good. The clown bit just needed cleaning up a bit, as it looked a bit messy. When it came to the bit where Ben comes on for the animal taming routine he nearly slipped over, so we all suggested to him that he should maybe shows and not just socks. The animal taming routine went really well and almost everyone got the routine right, and the timing was really good. Everyone was really good with their different props and little routine when coming on. It looked really good because there were different things happening all at once and looked more like a circus. When the music changes we have to look confused because this is when the clowns come on and start causing havoc and tie us up. But people started talking when the music changed and we have to remember we are animals not humans. Also when we are trapped we suggested we need to make animal noises as we are struggling to get out and need to sound like it. Also when we escape we need to act more like animals and think of a way to get the rope of stage as some of us tripped on it.We suggested the clowns should pick it up, just before the run off in the pretend car. Me and Emily bumped into each other a few times as we wore masks as the eye holes are quite small. It looked really funny, but we need to solve that. I think we should cut the holes in the eyes a bit bigger. The little routine in the line looked quite good, but again timing could of been better, but we a lot more practise than can be solved. The only other thing is, we think that the ending isn't very good at all. Ae use jazz hands at the end and its too cheesy and boring. So we suggested we need to make it more dramatic and I think it would be good if we could get Amy and Ben in their somewhere(who are the people who own the circus in the play). Overall Act 3 was quite good, it just needs a few more twicks and we need to solve the points the women gave us and it will go really well in the final performance.

27.03.13 - Musical Theatre

This are our production roles for WWRY:

Production Roles:
Lighting - Megan
Sound - Stuart
Costume - Millie and Grace
Props - Josh m, Josh s, Lauren and Amber
Media - Megan and Ben
Choreography - Elle and Mel
Marketing - Maisie, Emily, Amy, Charlotte and Mel

As I was doing marketing and I decided to email the schools to invite them to come and watch our play. Also I decided to make a facebook and twitter page to promote the performance to try and get people to come. I worked on this with Ben and we set up and special email for it. We added as many people as we could, so we could get loads of people talking about it and wanting to come. We didn't write much on them, as we don't have much stuff to write on them yet. I also was en charge for writing the emailto the schools. I planned out what to write, but didn't send it yet.

20.3.13

Unfortunately today we didn't have access to the drama studio, due to exams. Fortunately we able access the music room for a little while and update our blogs. After about an hour we heard that there was a room free, which had a lot space, providing we move the chairs.

We carried off from where we last were, which was Scene 10, which was the main scene I'm in. This is when Brit and Meat tell everyone that they think they found the dreamer, which is Galieo. So did some basic blocking and it worked well. We sung some of the songs again, but everyone sort of sung them together as it was only going over them, as we weren't doing them properly yet. Rachel kept stopping us to give us pointers of where to go and where to stand. This helped a lot because then I had a better understanding of what to do.

Things I need to improve on:
I need to still research my character as once I've done that I will be able to bring my character to life and play it much better.

Things that went well:
The whole lesson went really well. We were all concentrated and the blocking went really well too. We worked well as a team, by helping each other with songs and generally supporting each other.

7.3.13

We started Scene 8 today, as we couldn't get round to yesterday as didn't have enough time. So we started to block it. This is where we are fist introduced to Brit and Meat(Me and Milly) so its a key scene. We start off by being off stage and then we come on, acting weary as we are hiding from the cops. We just went through our lines as well, so we knew where the blocking was when we said our lines. I was really confident and up for singing today, but when it got round to singing I sung the first couple of lines and my voice started going really weird, and I was getting really nervous and embarrassed, because it was in front of the class. This was the first time I've ever sung solo in front of more than 2 people, so it was hard for me. I did try but every time I did, I got embarrassed and stopped. After that scene was blocked I had to go to the toilet as I started to have a panic attack and getting myself really worked up about what happened. Grace and Emily went to the toilet with me and calmed me down and said don't worry you will get better. We'll help you and Lena can help you too. I went back and we went to start Scene 10, but unfortunately we didn't have enough time. Rachel spoke to me at the end of the lesson and said don't worry about it you can practice with Lena an really build up your confidence. Plus she said you can work with Emily and Milly a lot. She said you just have to find the break in your voice and see past that. Overall it wasn't a great rehearsal for me, but I know what I need to do now for next time we run through the songs.

6.3.13 - We Will Rock You

As we pretty much finished DFTA last week and wont be coming back to it for another month now, as the final performance is on May 1st, we can now start WWRY!! First of all we got into our casts and had a complete read through of the play, or as much as we could for the first hour or so, just to get to grips with it. I found this really useful as I could see who I was working with and start coming up with ideas of what I could do for the blocking.

We started off right at the beginning as we haven't even started blocking it yet. Unfortunately we didn't get round to blocking any of the scenes I was in. So as me and Em both play the same part, we went through our lines together and helped each other out. We had a look at the songs as well. I decided what I need to do next is make sure to research Britney(my character a bit more) because in the west end, its played by man, but I'm playing a lesbian, but with masculine qualitys, so it would be good for to research into it.

26.02.13

Today was the day we were performing to the people from The National Theatre. They were planning on coming in at 1:00pm. So we all came in at 8:30am and focused on Act 2 the most, because we knew we had to work harder on Act 2. We made sure everyone knew there lines really well. About an hour before they were due to come, I made sure I had all my props ready for the show, so I didnt have to rush around last minute to find them. I needed to make sure I had my mask for Act 3, in the animal dance. Thats the only prop I needed.

As me, Lauren, Charlotte and Amber had to go straight into singing the song Clown, after Act 2, Rachel suggested we have our purple 'The Peoples Circus' tops on underneath our school uniform costume. So we stay on stage(with the lights down)when everyone else walks off and we take off our tops to find our purple tops on underneath. This worked really well in rehearsal as we didn't need to rush off stage in a hurry. In rehearsal I panicked, because I couldn't take my shirt off, but Rachel said don't panic, just do it in your own time and Kim wont put the lights up until she can see we have our hoodies on.

When it got to 1:00pm we all took our positions behind the stage ready to come on. Overall I think the performance went really well. Some people forgot their cues or lines, but as a group we know other peoples cues and lines, so if we knew someone forgot it, we would step in. So thankfully there were no lines missing. I think I did really well. I remembered all of my lines and cues and felt like performed fairly well. The things I need to improve on is maybe interact a bit more with the "gang". Also when it got to the bit to sing Clown and we had to take off our school uniform tops, unfortunately the lights came on too early and I was still putting on my hoody. I spoke to Rachel and she said that they couldn't of waited any longer, as we were standing in the dark for ages. It wasn't really anyones fault, but as group we need to come to a clear decision on whether we will carry on getting changed in the darkness and wait till everyones dressed OR if we will just get changed with the lights on, so the audience can see us transform/change.

The two ladies from The National Theatre said to us that it was really good and we just need to make sure to look on the things that need to be improved the most, make some twickes to it and it will be fine.

25.02.13

It was our last day of rehearsals, before we showed the two people who were en charge on the competition. We had to make sure we worked really hard and concentrated. We first went through a complete run-through of Act 1, 2 and 3. It didn't go very well, because people kept missing their cues and lines. We figured that the worst run through act we did, was act 2. So without any pauses we ran through act 2 once more, to make sure we knew it and helped each other with the cue lines, making sure they know them. A lot of people accidentally cut some of peoples lines too, so we went over those cues with the people we needed too. After a run through of Act 2 we felt a little more confident about performing tomorrow.

Rachel then spoke to me, Charlotte, Lauren and Amber about singing the song 'clown' by Emeli Sandi. Rachel has mentioned it on numerous occasions, but no one has actually done anything about it. Rachel sent us a video yesterday of the song on youtube, but with a ukelele. As Ben can play the ukelele, he was happy to try to play it whilst we sung. We all came together to give it a quick go and it worked quite well. We then added harmonies in. I did the melody with Lauren and Amber and Charlotte did the harmony and went higher. It went really well, considering we've only just tried it and put it together today.

This is the video Rachel showed us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvt0ukL6_Ok

It's a good slow cover and we think it's good to start off Act 3 with it. Then everything gets really mental, so it will build the tension up.