14/01/19
Project workshop
Today in project workshop we talked about the aspects that make up a musical. We discussed in groups what a musical is and how it is created to make an engaging story with music and dance. We were then asked to create our own musical. My original idea for my musical was based on a party I had been to, which ended in disaster. I came up with a basic story outline, so I could explain it easily to my peers. I was then put into a group with Alex and Rina. We joined our ideas together; mine and Alex’s ideas were similar, so we decided to go with the party theme. We devised a basic outline of the plot and even came up with songs for each scenario that would happen in the show. We came up with the title: ‘Party People’ , with the tag line: ‘You’ll go nuts for.... PARTY PEOPLE!!’ We used this tag line as it made our title more interesting and also gave away part of the plot line, making it more comical. We then presented our idea for the production to the rest of the class and we got positive feedback. Many of our class mates said our story line was very detailed and relatable for young people, which was what we aimed to show. I loved our idea, as it was funny yet still a believable and likely musical to be on Broadway or west end stages.
15/01/19
Project Workshop
Today we assigned parts for our Little Shop of Horrors performance:
Me - Audrey
Alex - Seymour
Tilia - Chiffon
Leah - Ronnette
Nehemie - Crystal
Rina - Mr Mushnik
Bethany - Wino and The god like voice
Ghazall - Wino and customer
Then we decided on rolls within theatre that we wanted. We were split into 2 groups, either doing costume and makeup or set, props and lighting. I immediately chose the costume and makeup roll, as I have done this before in the past, so felt I knew what I would have to do to create effective looks. We then each were given a song from the section of the show we were performing. Me and Alex were partnered together and were given ‘Grow for me’ and we had to think about how we would choreograph the song.
At the end of the lesson we watched clips from the 60s B movie and 80s musical version of Little Shop of Horrors, so that we could see the narrative and how our characters behave and how our song fits into the musical.
21/01/19 & 22/01/19
Project workshop
Today in project workshop we got into our pairs and started choreographing ‘Grow for me’. Me and Alex started by listening to the song and analysing the lyrics so that we understood what the song was about so that we could choreograph it accordingly. We then made a floor plan of the stage and used arrows and symbols to show how we wanted the chorus and Seymour to move around the space. We briefly outlined how we wanted Seymour the move around the stage so that he used the whole space and told the story in the song effectively. Our feedback taught us that we need to include the chorus more in the song. At the end of the lesson we updated our plans so we could remember what we had done in the lesson.
28/09/19
Project Workshop
This lesson we started by warming up so that we could get ready to choreograph our songs from Little Shop of Horrors. Alex and I started by recapping what we had worked on last lesson and then we developed the chorus sections of Grow for Me, we adapted the ending of the piece so that we could show the plant growing and Seymour watching it. We discussed how the props would work on stage and how we would incorporate them into the song.We decided to have the chorus on stage as well as Seymour, so that the song was more exciting. We had the chorus doing subtle movements, but from the feedback we have received we realised we need to make the chorus' moves more exaggerated. We stood up and practised the piece a few times so that we knew exactly how it would work in the space we had. We then updated our plans and scripts so that they were easy to follow. We then learnt Skid Row which was directed by Nehemie. She taught us the basic outline of the routine and where we would be standing on stage.
28/09/19
Project Workshop
This lesson we started by warming up so that we could get ready to choreograph our songs from Little Shop of Horrors. Alex and I started by recapping what we had worked on last lesson and then we developed the chorus sections of Grow for Me, we adapted the ending of the piece so that we could show the plant growing and Seymour watching it. We discussed how the props would work on stage and how we would incorporate them into the song.We decided to have the chorus on stage as well as Seymour, so that the song was more exciting. We had the chorus doing subtle movements, but from the feedback we have received we realised we need to make the chorus' moves more exaggerated. We stood up and practised the piece a few times so that we knew exactly how it would work in the space we had. We then updated our plans and scripts so that they were easy to follow. We then learnt Skid Row which was directed by Nehemie. She taught us the basic outline of the routine and where we would be standing on stage.
29/01/19
Project workshop
Today in project workshop we developed Skid Row, directed by Nehemie. She taught us the choreography and we brainstormed ideas for the ending, as it had more dance element to it then the rest of the song. We then went through the piece and practised it so we knew exactly what we were doing movement wise. After rehearsing a few times we started to sing along so that we could put our singing and dance together. I felt I picked up the routine quickly and I could keep up with the choreography.
29/01/19
Acting
Today in acting we talked about our characters in Little Shop of Horrors and the parts each of us are playing. We discussed how we would play these roles effectively and then we were hot seated as our character. Hot seating is a technique where you are asked questions but you have to answer as your character. This helps you understand your character more and makes your character more believable. I completed this effectively and felt that this helped me to understand who Audrey was more than I did before. We also worked on our American accents ad how to make them more believable, I found this easy as I had already done American accents before in previous productions. We then read through the script as a group and we started to develop the acting further by standing up and using the space as the stage. We performed the piece a few times and I started to memorise my lines.
04/02/19
Project workshop
We finished 'Skid Row' and rehearsed the prologue song. Im feeling alot more confident about our performance as it seems to be going well and it is starting to take shape as a full performance.
05/02/19
Project workshop
During this lesson me and Alex taught 'Grow for me'. We taught the routine really quick and everyone picked up the choreography well. We then practised the routine a few times and then went though the song 'Da Doo'. In both of the songs I need to work on bringing up my energy so that it is more exciting for an audience to watch. After we ran through all of the songs we have learnt so far for performance.
Acting
Today in acting we went through the whole script and stopped to give notes and corrections where needed. We kept going over the performance and then at the end of the lesson we had a session of hot seating. I completely transformed into Audrey and felt confident while expressing my character.
11/01/19
Project workshop
In today's lesson we went to the prop and costume department and starting finding appropriate props for our 'Little Shop of Horrors' piece. As I am in charge of costume along with Alex, Rina and Ghazall, we went to the costume cupboard to choose some clothes with the help of Shelley. When we came back into the studio we put the props 'on stage' where we think they would fit best. Then we were each given a costume which looked like it correlated with our character. I was given a black lace Dress with a fur coat, red neck scarf and black handbag. I felt this fitted my character perfectly as it is a feminine outfit and looks suited to the era of the show.
Here is me and my class mates in our chosen costumes:
12/01/19
Project workshop
Today in project we worked on specific sections that needed to be polished and cleaned.
Acting
In lesson today we went through the whole piece including the dance,singing and acting. We did the piece a few times and then Monique gave us feedback. As a group the 2 rehearsals went well but Monique told us we need to have more energy. Personally I need to work on making myself stand out in Skid Row so that it is obvious what my character is singing.
26/02/19
Project workshop
Today we looked at which backing tracks to use in our performance. We set up the studio with our props and the set as if we were on stage and then we started to slowly work through the piece whilst experimenting with different backing tracks. We found the ones that worked best and fitted our cues and dialogue. Once we had a good idea of which tracks to use we rehearsed the full piece with high energy from beginning to end.
Acting
In acting we performed 'Little Shop of Horrors' and Monique gave us positive feedback, and told us she was excited to watch out performance.
Little Shop of Horrors Lights
04/03/19
Project workshop
We went through 'Little Shop of Horrors' twice, the first time we practised to make sure we knew exactly what we were doing and if we needed prompts for our lines. Then the second time we recorded the performance and then we watched it and reflected on another peers performance and then received feedback from another person.
I received feedback from Leah. She pointed out that i need to work on my posture and remember direct some of my lines towards the audience and open up so I am more visible. Leah also gave me some suggestions of movements: During Skid Row she suggested that when I sit on the table I hold a plant and examine it. She liked my expression on the lines regarding my boyfriend as she said she could picture him from the way i portrayed my feelings in my line. I need to think about what Audrey is thinking about and what she would do between scenes. This will make my character more obvious to the audience. I also need to pause less, and only add it on lines where it gives effect and actually adds something to the line, otherwise it can make it a but awkward. Overall she enjoyed my performance and liked my portrayal of my character.
05/03/19
Project workshop
Today in project workshop we went into the theatre to rehearse 'Little Shop of Horrors'. We built the Q build to use as the shop to create a more diverse look to the stage and make it more obvious where the shop is. On reflection we realised we need more space in the shop as at times it can get crowded so we are going to extend to Q build in length. We also need to work on projecting our voices while in the shop as it is at the back of the stage and it is harder for us to be heard. Also we need to create a sign for the shop and collect a few more props to fill the stage and the flower shop. Overall,. the run through went well and I feel much more confident about performing next week in the theatre.
Here are the pictures from our rehearsal in the theatre. We ran the show top to bottom, the pictures got in chronological order of the songs in the show (Little Shop of Horrors, Skid Row, Da Doo, Grow for me).
11/03/19
Project workshop
In todays project workshop lesson we started by discussing what songs we were going to sing at the performance on Wednesday. I have chosen to sing 'Michael in the Bathroom' from 'Be More Chill'. We then went onto rehearse 'Little Shop of Horrors'. We first walked through the piece slowly to make sure we all knew what we were doing as some of my class mates had been off for a few weeks and missed some rehearsals. I had to teach Bethany 'Grow for Me' as she missed this lesson, she picked this up quickly and was able to slot into the performance. We then ran through the whole piece again with the dialogue to make sure we were ready for the performance. We need to run the performance in the theatre so that we can see how we will fit in among the set and props.
We then practised 'When You're an Addams'. This went really well and our teacher loved the dance and found it very funny. to make sure that we are ready to perform the dance, we need to run it again with the second years to make sure we don't clash or obstruct each other during the dance.
After this we then watched each others solo songs for Wednesday and gave feedback. I sang my song 'Michael in the Bathroom' and it was well received. The feedback received was both constructive and positive. I need to learn my lyrics better and also not pace when I am singing, as it is a bit distracting. I need to ground myself once I walk to a spot on the stage, and have a neutral stance. I am going to practise the song at home in front of the mirror and in front of my mum.
12/03/19
Project Workshop
Today we went into the theatre for a technical rehearsal of 'When You're an Addams' and 'Little Shop of Horrors', also our solo song.
Addams family and class work evaluation
Over the last term as a class we have been working on 2 numbers: ‘When You’re an Addams’ from ‘The Addams family’ and ‘God I hope I get it’ from ‘A Chorus Line’. We only performed one of the pieces as we didn’t have enough time to polish the other piece and make it performance ready, as we were focusing on getting the other dance perfected. Throughout the learning and rehearsal process of the 2 dances I had to learn the words to 2 songs; I had already performed these 2 songs before at my dance school, so I felt I already knew the lyrics pretty well. Also, I had to know about both shows that the pieces came from so that I had a clearer idea of what the dance was about and how the characters were feeling in that song. To develop my knowledge for these pieces I watched the cast of The Addams family in the West End perform at The Olivier awards. I watched the clip on YouTube to see how the ensemble of ancestors moved and how they made themselves look dead. During the process of learning the dances I developed the skill of picking up choreography quickly as I missed one lesson learning the ‘When You’re an Addams’ dance, but I managed to come back the next week and pick it up quickly and to the same standard as my class mates. I found learning the ‘When you’re an Addams’ piece really fun and I enjoyed getting to explore my character and using movements to look dead. I also enjoyed learning the ‘ A Chorus Line’ number as it was high energy and I felt as a musical theatre student playing the role of someone auditioning for a show, I could connect to my character and portray this in the class room whilst performing.
We carefully planned our costume and how we wanted to look. Shannon, our teacher, told us to wear dull colours: grey, black and white. I planned to wear all black with an old wooden shawl that I found at home. However in the actual performance I didn’t have enough time to put it on as I came off the stage from my solo song and had to go straight back on again. However, this worked out okay as I was wearing performance black so I still blended in with the colour scheme. We also discussed lighting and having a dim blue light to look smoky like a grave yard. We had a few problems with finding the perfect backing track but eventually our teacher Shannon managed to find one that worked and she cut it to fit the perfect time. We practised with this track a few times and it worked perfectly for our performance and made for a seamless sound. We chose to lay at the top of the stage on the Q build left over from our ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ performance. This worked well as we could still be seen and it looks like our ‘graves’ were at the back of the stage. In the performance I helped Dylan with his Addams family makeup and made his eyes dark and gloomy looking. This looked really effective on stage and I was proud of what I had created.
Additionally in our signing lessons we have been working on songs for our rep. We have been researching songs from old musicals and bringing them into Charlies lessons and working on them each week, to warm up our voices. Some of the songs we have been working on include: Do Ray Mi, Anything Goes, Wouldn't it be lovely and Somewhere over the Rainbow. I have really enjoyed working on these songs as they were songs that I previously knew but had never thought about singing before. I found learning these useful for my rep and they have expanded my knowledge of older musical theatre productions .
Over the last term in my own time I have been working on the song ‘Michael in the Bathroom’ from ‘Be more Chill’. I have been practising the song and making sure I know the lyrics and the character's feelings perfectly so I can translate them into my performance. I felt that in the performance in front of an audience it went the best it had ever gone, as I felt pressure to impress and show my character's feelings to the audience. However the song also went well in the rehearsal process and when I performed it to my class mates. The only feed back I received in my rehearsal process was to not pace as much and learn my lyrics.
rehearsal
performance
My performance definitely improved in the real performances. I found that performing in front of an audience pushed me to perform more to impress them and make them believe the story going on within the song. In the dress rehearsal I found that despite me being in character and costume I didn’t perform and use my face as much I did in the real performance. I think that overall the piece went really well and we all performed to the best of our ability using our facial and body expression effectively to create dead ancestor characters.
dress run
performance
Over the last term we have been working on devising our own version of the musical: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. We were given an extract from the show; from the opening song ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ performed mainly by the 3 Do Wop girls to the song ‘Grow for me’ performed by Seymour. The piece was split into 4 sections: Little Shop of Horrors, Skid Row, Da Doo and Grow for me. We were then put into pairs in order to choreograph a song; I was partnered with Alex and we worked on 'Grow for me’. We were told we had to choreograph the songs and also design the set, lighting, makeup, costume and hair. We spilt ourselves into 2 groups; one group focusing on the set and lights whilst the other focused on the costume, hair and makeup. I was placed in the second group and I was excited to start designing character's overall appearance, as this is something I think I am quite good at. The objective of our performance was to entertain the audience and impress them with our performance and devising skills. Initially we faced a few challenges regarding giving out parts as we were not sure how we were going to give everyone equal roles. However we overcame this by our teacher sitting with us and asking who wanted each part on a ‘first come first served’ basis. I offered to take the part of Audrey, as it is a role I have always wanted to play and I was looking forward to playing around with how I could present the character in different ways.
We started by splitting up into our pairs and working on planning our assigned song. Before we could start writing about our own interpretation and how we were going to choreograph the piece, we watched clips from the 1960 B movie and the 1986 musical film version to get inspiration and ideas for our own piece. We took notes on what happened in each song and scene so we had a better understanding of the story and characters in the show. Alex and I started devising ‘Grow for me’ we began by making a floor plan of where we wanted people to move to on the stage. Pictures of our floor plan can be found on my blog. We developed the floor plan over a few weeks and changed it to fit problems we faced. For example we originally had Alex walk off at the end but then we realised the plant was going to be attached to her hand and the audience wouldn’t be able to see the plant growing, so we adapted the plan to show Alex staying on stage. We also annotated a copy of the lyrics of the song with potential moves we could do to correlate with the lyrics. Pictures of the annotated lyrics can be found on my blog. We used the research we did (watching clips from the film) and took inspiration from the way Seymour moved in the song to make our moves close to this so that it fitted the style of the piece.
I completed additional research about America in the 1950s, as well as B movie research and Doo Wop girl research. This research helped me to understand the political and social issues happening at the time. I used this research to help me draw on inspiration for movement, acting and characteristics. From this research I knew that the acting would be over the top and exaggerated like the B movies but that the moves would be subtle and not overpower the story line, as I felt that knowing the story behind Little Shop of Horrors is more important than having big dance numbers. Also this research helped me to develop my character of Audrey, as I looked at women’s position in society at the time and looked at stereotypical female characteristics. For example, wanting children and to stay at home cooking/ cleaning. I had to take all of this into account when building my character and working on the song, as it would make the story more believable and realistic.
As an individual my responsibility was to choreograph ‘Grow for Me’ and also design hair, makeup and costume. I found these roles challenging to step into but enjoyable. I had previously designed makeup, hair and costume for another production at my dance school, so I knew I could excel in this. However I had never choreographed a song before and found it tricky to teach to my other class mates. I found the choreographic process easy but when it came to teaching this to others this was harder, as I didn’t want to teach it too fast so that my class mates couldn’t keep up, but I didn’t want to teach it too slowly and bore them with the same routine multiple times. So to overcome this I took a relaxed approach and split the class up so that they came on from each wing of stage left and right, and I taught each side separately, along with Alex showing everyone the moves while they watched.
During the process of choreographing, teaching and rehearsing a few problems did get in the way. For example, a few of my class mates were not present for a month or so. This created problems as we had to fill in for them in rehearsal and then when they came back we taught them anything they had missed or gave them any notes we had been given in previous lessons they had missed. Although this was a problem initially, they fitted in well to the piece and it was seamless, as if they had always been there. Another problem that came up was in ‘Grow for Me’ and how we were going to make the plant grow. At first we came up with the idea of having the plant on the table and someone underneath the table making it grow. But we developed this idea into making a hand puppet for Alex to wear. We passed our ideas onto the props and set team; Tili, who was working on props offered to make the plant. The model of ‘Audrey 2’ turned out to be perfect and in the performance we had no problems with making the plant grow and look as if it was alive.
In rehearsals my class mates and I applied our performance and practical skills well. We performed like we were on stage in every rehearsal. We received good feed back but the constructive criticism we received was to project more to let ourselves be heard and let the audience hear the words more clearly so they could understand what was going on. I already knew the story of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ and knew the songs so instead of focusing on learning that, I looked closely into the choreography and how I was going to adapt he choreography to suit my character. For example I made my moves very feminine and cute/ dainty to fit the character of Audrey and how I thought she would move.
When it came to planning the production elements of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, I looked at some off -Broadway productions, as well as the 1980s film to draw on how they created an atmosphere and matched the lighting to the mood of each song. For example, in ‘Grow for me’ in the 1980s film Seymour sits in a dim lit room, and then when the plant grows the light focuses in on the plant. Alex and I adapted this in our own way. We created a lighting plan using notation to give to the production students so they could understand it more easily. However on the day of the tech rehearsal we ended up explaining our plans and simplifying it for them so they could write it down in chronological order of the songs. We also sent the production students our tracks and sound effects and gave them copies of the script so that they could annotate them with cues and directions. In our tech rehearsal the sounds and cues were spot on and I felt confident that the cues would be on time and not confuse us on stage.
I think the production elements worked really well, in my opinion, especially in ‘Grow for me’ when we had the sudden red light on the lyric ‘blood’. This made for an effective lighting cue as it reflected the lyrics and gave a creepy atmosphere, as red had connotations of blood and death. Another effective element was the sound effects at the start of the piece. These were suggested by our teacher and they worked really well as it was a shocking opening and made the audience instantly focused on what was happening. It also made the scene more comical and fitted to the exaggerated style of the musical.
I felt that our piece was communicated well to the audience and that they enjoyed what they saw. I made sure that I stood out and was confident on stage. I did this by revising my lines of script and singing and also practising the movement at home so that I was sure of what I was doing. I gave a confident and powerful performance. I projected well and had good diction so everything I said/ sang to the audience was clear. The final performance was a success and I think my class gave a professional performance and we developed our devising skills throughout the planning process.
Throughout this process I have improved my team work skills as well as my devising skills. I have learnt so much about what goes into creating a production and the backstage elements of a production. I found the process difficult to keep my work organised and keep on top of updating my plans and adjusting them to fit new changes we would make in rehearsal. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this process and the final performance as it pushed me into trying new things like devising and also designing lights as well as costume, hair and makeup.
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