Rocky 1/4/19
In the first session learning The Rocky Horror Show we all read through the script as a cast for the first time. We began looking at charactersation, experimenting with things such as who our characters were in the story, what part they play in everything tat happens as well as practical things such as the accents they have or the overall message their body language exudes. This helped us to get a feel for the story and how our characters interact with and react to the other characters in the show. My strength for this lesson was that I found it easy to get into character. My weakness for this lesson was that I don't know enough about Rocky Horror or the story-line to be as accurate to the character as I need to be. My target for this lesson is to go and research Rocky Horror so that I'll understand a bit more about who my character is and what her role in the show is.
Rocky 2/4/19
In this session we sat down as a class and we decided on what additional backstage roles we would all have and what numbers each of us wanted to choreograph. I chose to choreograph my solo song "Science Fiction Double Feature" and take on props as my backstage role.
We then got up and began to stage the beginning of Act 1 from the scene after Science Fiction Double Feature. We spent some time plotting and staging Dammit Janet which is a duet that Janet (Tilia Lawson) and Brad (Bethany Doherty) share as then we'd have an idea of how this leads them onto the next scene where everyone (except Ella as Frank) is on stage and then into the beginning of the next song: Time Warp. We learnt the choreography for the first verse and chorus of this song, up to my solo verse as Magenta. At the beginning of the song I'm draped over Brad as my character is very seductive and doesn't have much of a concept of personal space. This was at the end of the lesson:
My strength for this lesson was that I was able to remember the staging well and was able to get into character more that now the beginning of the show had started to take shape. My weakness for this lesson was that I had some trouble remembering the choreography and made quite a few mistakes whilst doing it. My target for next lesson is to re-watch the video so that I can remember the choreography without any mistakes the next time we go through the number.
Acting 2/4/19
In this lesson we went through the script without the staging so we only had to focus on our characters. Monique gave us an exercise to help with our characteristation. We were asked to write a few sentences about our character in the first person, this is to prepare us for the hot seat activity we will do in next week's lesson.
My name is Magenta, I have a brother called Rif-Raf and I am from the planet of Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania. I work as a servant for a Transvestite scientist called "Dr Frank'n'Furter". My best friend is Columbia although she can be a little too upbeat for me. I am quite serious but I enjoy things going wrong and seeing people get hurt.
Rocky 23/4/19
In this session we went through and staged every scene in the first act of the show. This was so we could start to get an idea of staging throughout the show and give us time to remember we are meant to be before we begin incorporating dance numbers. We put mats on the floor where different parts of the set would be so that even during rehearsal we'd be aware not to stand in those places. We also did this so that there was a visual idea of spacing if you were to be on the Q-build and how this would affect how you interact with people on the stage floor. We planned cues, including entrances and exits into the stage to make sure that every character was present when they should be. I noted that my character is mostly an on-looker so I need to plan different actions or reactions I can do to make sure I'm always in character but simultaneously ensure none of these change the staging. A strength of this session was that I feel confident with the staging of act 1. A weakness is that I feel as though I need to learn my lines so that all my cues, exits and entrances make more sense and have more context behind them. My target is to start to learn my lines
Rocky 29/4/19
In this session we began to stage the start of Act 2. We had a discussion with Shelley and decided that the 'sex scenes' involving Brad, Janet and Frank will be done behind screens so that the actors (Tilia,Ella and Bethany) are silhouettes. This means the show is kept more PG and it'll be lesson uncomfortable for them to perform in front of their families and peers. Tilia and Nehemie performed their choreography for the song "Touch Me" which looks really good so far although it isn't quite finished. It's more suggestive than explicit but ina way this makes it even funnier to watch as you're forced to fill in the blanks yourself. They need to finish choreographing the middle section of the song where Columbia (Rina) and Magenta (me) sing. Nehemie also started teaching 'Rose Tint My World' which I am not in. My strength for this lesson was that I was able to improvise well during the parts of Touch Me that haven't been choreographed yet. My weakness for this lesson was that the end of Touch Me is still very messy and we haven't decided what we're doing with the "Creature of the night" section yet. My target for next time is to sort this out and decide whether or not Rina and I will be on stage for this and if we are, what we will do whilst on stage.
Rocky 30/4/19
In this session we continued to learn the staging for the majority of act 2, up until the number "Rose Tint My World / Floorshow/ Wild and Untamed Thing". This is the longest number in the show as it is 3 songs that lead into each other without a scene to split it up. My classmates learnt the vast majority of the choreography for this number, which was done by Nehemie. I am not in this number however I was able to give constructive feedback. I noticed that their kicks needed to be on the beat of the music and more in sync with each other.
We also quickly ran and recapped the act 1 blocking we learnt the day before. My weakness from today is that I didn't remember all the blocking from yesterday. My strength is that I feel very confident with the blocking of the final scene. My target for today is to remember the blocking we have learnt so far and to continue learning my lines.
Singing 2/5/19
In this lesson we began by running through Time Warp. This included working on harmonies so the overall sound of the song is better. I sing the lower harmony on my own so I have to make sure that I'm confident enough to be able to sing it loudly and accurately enough that it sounds good and isn't drowned out by the other members of cast. We then moved on to Rose Tint My World however I was able to just listen to this number as I don't sing during it.
Musical Theatre 2/5/19
In this session we worked with our jazz and MT teacher, Shannon, to polish all the choreography we have so far for Rocky Horror. We started off by showing her what we had of Time Warp, which we went through slowly as Rina hadn't been in previous rehearsals and some of us had forgotten what order the moves in the chorus came in. We got to my solo section then stopped as that all we got up to in previous rehearsals. We then moved on to Hot Patootie that Leah is choreographing. She set us all on stage and began working on some choreography for the chorus section that both of us, Rina and Ghazal will do.
Rocky 7/5/19
In this session we finished learning the choreography for 'Time Warp'. We had to go over the movements a few times as we want them to be as sharp and in sync as they can. There is also quite a few choruses and they movements leading up to them are different each time so we had to make sure we were doing the right movement during the correct chorus. We also needed to make sure that the spacing was good enough that everyone was able to move and do the over-dramatic Rocky Horror style movements without hitting anyone else on stage. We also went over Hot Patootie to re-cap what we did on Thursday. It isn't complete yet and still needs some work however we're at a good start point. This is the video of our run through of Hot Patootie:
My strength in this lesson was remembering what we did in Hot Patootie on Thursday as I was able to do the choreography very easily as I remembered it. My weakness for this lesson was that I was still making small mistakes in Time Warp and forgetting which order the movements come int. My target for this lesson is to re-cap Time Warp at home so that I stop making mistakes by the time we do the next run through.
Acting 7/5/19
In this session we ran through the show up until 'Rose Tint my World' in Act 2. I need to be more confident with my lines as I'm finding that I keep missing cues. I also need to work on my characterisation when I'm just standing and watching the scene unfold as my character does this a lot but I still need to look as though I'm part of the scene. I need to work on the order of all the people I mention in Science Fiction Double Feature as I sometimes trip over the words which makes me lose confidence while I performing. I also need to decide whether I'm going to be singing my Time Warp solo like the actress in the live version or speaking it like the actress in the film.
Singing 8/5/19
In this lesson we ran through various different songs for Rocky Horror and cleaned specific sections so that overall the sound is much stronger. We began with Time Warp and I worked on my solo section and the few lines at the end of it I sing with Rif-Raf. We also recapped the Time Warp harmonies as in rehearsal I'd been forgetting to sing mine as I'm the only one on stage singing it. This was useful as it allowed me and Leah to make sure that when we sung parts together we sang them in the same way. For example, on the line 'and nothing will ever be the same' we agreed to speak this line to add some variety into the verse as we sing the line before and the line after. We then moved on to learning the backing vocals for 'Sword of Damocles'. We based this off what we heard in the track but it worked well and matched with the script. At the end of the session I sang my solo song Science Fiction Double Feature as my classmates sing some Doo-Wop sounding backup vocals during it which they wanted to go over. I've found that since sitting down and researching the references in the song I've found it much easier to remember the order they come in which is what I struggled with previously. I've also been working on this song a lot at home so am more confident because of that too.
Singing 9/5/19
In this lesson we began by getting the Time Warp backing track up in the recording studio. Leah worked with Charlie to edit and cut the track so it matched the length of the live performance version that we'd choreographed to as the one we were using had an extra verse we didn't want in it. We then moved on and ran through all our songs with the backing tracks that we knew worked for us. beginning to end to sort out any other technical problems that we might not have noticed before this. This also however, allowed us to see which songs needed the most help vocally.
Rocky 13/5/19
In this session we focused on The Sword of Damocles as we hadn't really focused on this previously. Ghazal set us all and then told us when we were reacting to which character. However, she allowed us the freedom to make our own character choices in how we move and how we "admire" Rocky during the song. After we'd finished we then went through it a couple of times so we knew exactly what we doing at what section of the song. This is the fimed run through we did in rehearsal:
We then ran through “Touch Me”. The majority of this song is strong however as I mentioned previously, it tends to fall apart at the end during the repetition of the line “creature of the night”. We still need to decide on what we’re all doing during this section. My strength for this session was that I picked up everything we do in Sword of Damocles quickly and easily so I don't need to worry too much about trying to remember all the movements as they're pretty simple and I've been able to incorporate my character into them smoothly. My weakness from today was the end of Touch Me as we still haven't figured out what we're doing. My target is to sort out the creature of the night section of Touch Me so Rina and I are both clear on what we are doing.
Singing 13/5/19
In this session we went through Science Fiction Double Feature and the reprise. I know this song very well now however need to ensure I focus on what I’m singing and not what my classmates are singing as during the backup sections I find that I can get distracted by them which is something I haven't struggled with before. I'm now confident of the order of all the lyrics and all the references however I am finding it difficult to quickly switch from my "chest" voice to my "head voice" during the very high sections of the song. We moved on from Sci Fi and went through Eddie’s Teddy and Hot Patootie as well as re-capped the harmonies on Time Warp which I am able to do much more confidently on my own now.
Rocky 14/5/19
In this session we began the day by working on sections of “Hot Patootie” as we haven’t done very much choreography on this yet. Mandy suggested we did some jive movements during the chorus and towards the end. We really liked this idea as this type of movement fits with the sound and rhythm of the song as well as the time period Rocky Horror is meant to be set in. Mandy taught us a jive kick sequence and we then watched a video of some Lindyhoppers performing a very impressive jive sequence and looked at which moves we would like to incorporate into our choreography. This is the video that we took inspiration from:
We finished off the chorus however still needed to work on the beginning as it was very improvised. We then learnt the choreography for Eddies Teddy for the first time, which is pretty simple but looks very effective if everyone does all the movements in sync. We then moved on and ran through the scenes in the later part of act 2. Finally, we ran Touch Me again and decided that Rina and I would go off for the end for the Creature of the night section as our voices wouldn't match all the ones that were kept on the backing track and it was better to keep the focus on Tili and Nehemie as Janet and Rocky. My strength for this lesson was that I was able to pick up all the choreography we learnt today very easily and I remembered it well. My weakness for this session was the final group scene in act 2 which is very messy as we haven't really run it before and there's a lot of people on the stage and it can be difficult to remember who is supposed to be speaking when. My target for the next session is to make sure my class and I work on this scene and make it much cleaner.
Acting 14/5/19
In this session we worked with our acting teacher, Monique, on staging and characterisation during certain scenes. We found that the final group scene of the show is incredibly messy and needs a great deal of work. We noted that this is by far the weakest section of the show as people are still very shaky on lines, the staging hasn't been finished and people are incredibly unsure of what to do. We will need to do put aside some time to work on this as soon as possible.
Rocky 15/5/19
In this session we began by running Time Warp which is looking much cleaner, very few mistakes are being made during runs now. We then moved on to recapping Eddie's Teddy and the scene before this, this is also looking much more polished and performance ready however we did get the note to make sure during the "strangling" freeze frame we include different levels to make the formation more entertaining to look at. We cleaned Sword of Damocles to make the hip movements in our line are more in sync and less messy. We then ran through Make You A Man and its reprise to make sure the "muscle man arms" were on the beat of each rest in "I can make you a ma-a-a-a-a-a-n". Finally, we ran through all the songs without movement to focus solely on our vocals. This went quite well however some sections such as the Time Warp and Eddie's Teddy harmonies needed to br brushed up on a little bit to make sure they are as accurate as possible.
Musical Theatre 16/5/19
In this session we bean by going through specific numbers that we needed polishing ahead of our performance next week. We then ran the entire show for our teacher Shannon so that she'd be able to give us any notes for improvement. These were as follows:
Sci/Fi- Stance is samey, think about lyrics (finish research)
Time Warp-
More crazy in expression & movement.
Sing more as Magenta -> more characterisation
More energy last chorus
Shoulders need to be sharper on the “Time Warp again”
Sweet Transvestite-
Ensure characterisation is strong
Sword of Damocles-
Tighter on choreo
Make You A Man-
Stagger the staging, work on the “maaaaan” arms
Hot Patootie-
Don’t stand in a semi circle. Choreo needs to be tighter - improvised partner work with Leah.
Make You A Man (reprise)-
Go over the semi circle movements
New extraterrestrial sign - modern one doesn’t work
Final scene- complete mess - needs to be fixed
Entrances/ Exits are very poor/ missed
Singing 16/5/19
In this session we were in the dance studio that we could run through all the songs whilst running all the choreography full out. This rehearsal was extremely helpful as it enabled us to rehearse all the songs to the same degree and this meant we were able to highlight any numbers that need any work. It also gave us the opportunity to se what each song sounds like while doing all the movement and through this we can improve any sounds that sound a little weaker when movement is added. After doing this we were given notes by our teacher which were mainly focused on harmonies and timing issues that had been highlighted during the run.
Rocky Tech Run 17/5/19
In this session we had our tech rehearsal in the theatre. This rehearsal was mainly intended for the production team to block through all of the technical aspects of the show such as sound and lighting. However, it was useful for us as we were ableto walk through the show in the theeatre for the first time. This was particularly helpful for cast members like Ella who had to make sure she was confident with walking down the stairs of the Q-build with the very high heels she wears as Frank'n'Furter. We adjusted the timing for running off the Q-build for the middle of the first verse of 'Time Warp' so that it allowed more time for us to get to our positins before the dance started. Before this we were running however this made a lot of noise and was incredibly distracting from the number. We made sure to pay particular attention to entrances and exits and what cues we had to pick up on to make sure we were on the stage at the right moment. As we started running through the show we took note of any areas for improvement or small changes that we could make to make the show much more smooth.
Rocky Tech Run Cont. 20/5/19
In this rehearsal we were in the theatre and we began to work with mics. We had to speak and then sing any solo songs to see how we sounded with the microphones. We did a full run of the show and were given some notes at the end. Previously I’ve struggled with taking my character’s mannerisms on stage as I haven’t been entirely sure what she would do. Mandy helped and said she thinks I would do more with my head as I move my hands and body a lot. I still need to look over the last scene as I’m not as confident on my lines as I want to be.
Rocky Tech Runn Cont 2 21/5/19
We did a full tech run of the show in this rehearsal however the mics were playing up a little and there were other technical difficulties to get around. The tech team made the executive decision to scrap using mics during the performance. I found the last scene much easier as I looked over my lines and I didn’t forget anything, which is my prime concern whilst performing. We were given some notes at the end of the run however more will be given tomorrow as we didn't have time to go through everything. One note I got was to move my head more as previously I’ve struggled with taking my character’s mannerisms on stage as I haven’t been entirely sure what she would do. Mandy helped and said she thinks I would do more with my head as I move my hands and body a lot.
Rocky Dress Run 22/5/19
In this session we performed our first show to production arts students. It was useful to have this as our first show as it was quite relaxed and our audience were more focused on noting the sound and lights rather than our performance as this is not their area of expertise, this helped as we didn't feel as judged as they don't perform themselves. The run went very smoothly with very few mistakes and those that were made were very minor and can easily be fixed before the performance.
PERFORMANCE 23/5/19
Video:
Pictures:
Me as Usherette singing "Science Fiction Double Feature"
Tili as Janet, me as Magenta, Bethany as Brad and Rina as Columbia
Me, Leah and Rina performing Time Warp
Nehemie as Rocky performing the Sword of Damocles
Leah as Rif-Raf
Ella performing Sweet Transvestite
In the first session learning The Rocky Horror Show we all read through the script as a cast for the first time. We began looking at charactersation, experimenting with things such as who our characters were in the story, what part they play in everything tat happens as well as practical things such as the accents they have or the overall message their body language exudes. This helped us to get a feel for the story and how our characters interact with and react to the other characters in the show. My strength for this lesson was that I found it easy to get into character. My weakness for this lesson was that I don't know enough about Rocky Horror or the story-line to be as accurate to the character as I need to be. My target for this lesson is to go and research Rocky Horror so that I'll understand a bit more about who my character is and what her role in the show is.
In this session we sat down as a class and we decided on what additional backstage roles we would all have and what numbers each of us wanted to choreograph. I chose to choreograph my solo song "Science Fiction Double Feature" and take on props as my backstage role.
We then got up and began to stage the beginning of Act 1 from the scene after Science Fiction Double Feature. We spent some time plotting and staging Dammit Janet which is a duet that Janet (Tilia Lawson) and Brad (Bethany Doherty) share as then we'd have an idea of how this leads them onto the next scene where everyone (except Ella as Frank) is on stage and then into the beginning of the next song: Time Warp. We learnt the choreography for the first verse and chorus of this song, up to my solo verse as Magenta. At the beginning of the song I'm draped over Brad as my character is very seductive and doesn't have much of a concept of personal space. This was at the end of the lesson:
My strength for this lesson was that I was able to remember the staging well and was able to get into character more that now the beginning of the show had started to take shape. My weakness for this lesson was that I had some trouble remembering the choreography and made quite a few mistakes whilst doing it. My target for next lesson is to re-watch the video so that I can remember the choreography without any mistakes the next time we go through the number.
Acting 2/4/19
In this lesson we went through the script without the staging so we only had to focus on our characters. Monique gave us an exercise to help with our characteristation. We were asked to write a few sentences about our character in the first person, this is to prepare us for the hot seat activity we will do in next week's lesson.
My name is Magenta, I have a brother called Rif-Raf and I am from the planet of Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania. I work as a servant for a Transvestite scientist called "Dr Frank'n'Furter". My best friend is Columbia although she can be a little too upbeat for me. I am quite serious but I enjoy things going wrong and seeing people get hurt.
Rocky 23/4/19
In this session we went through and staged every scene in the first act of the show. This was so we could start to get an idea of staging throughout the show and give us time to remember we are meant to be before we begin incorporating dance numbers. We put mats on the floor where different parts of the set would be so that even during rehearsal we'd be aware not to stand in those places. We also did this so that there was a visual idea of spacing if you were to be on the Q-build and how this would affect how you interact with people on the stage floor. We planned cues, including entrances and exits into the stage to make sure that every character was present when they should be. I noted that my character is mostly an on-looker so I need to plan different actions or reactions I can do to make sure I'm always in character but simultaneously ensure none of these change the staging. A strength of this session was that I feel confident with the staging of act 1. A weakness is that I feel as though I need to learn my lines so that all my cues, exits and entrances make more sense and have more context behind them. My target is to start to learn my lines
Rocky 29/4/19
In this session we began to stage the start of Act 2. We had a discussion with Shelley and decided that the 'sex scenes' involving Brad, Janet and Frank will be done behind screens so that the actors (Tilia,Ella and Bethany) are silhouettes. This means the show is kept more PG and it'll be lesson uncomfortable for them to perform in front of their families and peers. Tilia and Nehemie performed their choreography for the song "Touch Me" which looks really good so far although it isn't quite finished. It's more suggestive than explicit but ina way this makes it even funnier to watch as you're forced to fill in the blanks yourself. They need to finish choreographing the middle section of the song where Columbia (Rina) and Magenta (me) sing. Nehemie also started teaching 'Rose Tint My World' which I am not in. My strength for this lesson was that I was able to improvise well during the parts of Touch Me that haven't been choreographed yet. My weakness for this lesson was that the end of Touch Me is still very messy and we haven't decided what we're doing with the "Creature of the night" section yet. My target for next time is to sort this out and decide whether or not Rina and I will be on stage for this and if we are, what we will do whilst on stage.
Rocky 30/4/19
In this session we continued to learn the staging for the majority of act 2, up until the number "Rose Tint My World / Floorshow/ Wild and Untamed Thing". This is the longest number in the show as it is 3 songs that lead into each other without a scene to split it up. My classmates learnt the vast majority of the choreography for this number, which was done by Nehemie. I am not in this number however I was able to give constructive feedback. I noticed that their kicks needed to be on the beat of the music and more in sync with each other.
We also quickly ran and recapped the act 1 blocking we learnt the day before. My weakness from today is that I didn't remember all the blocking from yesterday. My strength is that I feel very confident with the blocking of the final scene. My target for today is to remember the blocking we have learnt so far and to continue learning my lines.
Singing 2/5/19
In this lesson we began by running through Time Warp. This included working on harmonies so the overall sound of the song is better. I sing the lower harmony on my own so I have to make sure that I'm confident enough to be able to sing it loudly and accurately enough that it sounds good and isn't drowned out by the other members of cast. We then moved on to Rose Tint My World however I was able to just listen to this number as I don't sing during it.
Musical Theatre 2/5/19
In this session we worked with our jazz and MT teacher, Shannon, to polish all the choreography we have so far for Rocky Horror. We started off by showing her what we had of Time Warp, which we went through slowly as Rina hadn't been in previous rehearsals and some of us had forgotten what order the moves in the chorus came in. We got to my solo section then stopped as that all we got up to in previous rehearsals. We then moved on to Hot Patootie that Leah is choreographing. She set us all on stage and began working on some choreography for the chorus section that both of us, Rina and Ghazal will do.
Rocky 7/5/19
In this session we finished learning the choreography for 'Time Warp'. We had to go over the movements a few times as we want them to be as sharp and in sync as they can. There is also quite a few choruses and they movements leading up to them are different each time so we had to make sure we were doing the right movement during the correct chorus. We also needed to make sure that the spacing was good enough that everyone was able to move and do the over-dramatic Rocky Horror style movements without hitting anyone else on stage. We also went over Hot Patootie to re-cap what we did on Thursday. It isn't complete yet and still needs some work however we're at a good start point. This is the video of our run through of Hot Patootie:
My strength in this lesson was remembering what we did in Hot Patootie on Thursday as I was able to do the choreography very easily as I remembered it. My weakness for this lesson was that I was still making small mistakes in Time Warp and forgetting which order the movements come int. My target for this lesson is to re-cap Time Warp at home so that I stop making mistakes by the time we do the next run through.
My strength in this lesson was remembering what we did in Hot Patootie on Thursday as I was able to do the choreography very easily as I remembered it. My weakness for this lesson was that I was still making small mistakes in Time Warp and forgetting which order the movements come int. My target for this lesson is to re-cap Time Warp at home so that I stop making mistakes by the time we do the next run through.
Acting 7/5/19
In this session we ran through the show up until 'Rose Tint my World' in Act 2. I need to be more confident with my lines as I'm finding that I keep missing cues. I also need to work on my characterisation when I'm just standing and watching the scene unfold as my character does this a lot but I still need to look as though I'm part of the scene. I need to work on the order of all the people I mention in Science Fiction Double Feature as I sometimes trip over the words which makes me lose confidence while I performing. I also need to decide whether I'm going to be singing my Time Warp solo like the actress in the live version or speaking it like the actress in the film.
Singing 8/5/19
In this lesson we ran through various different songs for Rocky Horror and cleaned specific sections so that overall the sound is much stronger. We began with Time Warp and I worked on my solo section and the few lines at the end of it I sing with Rif-Raf. We also recapped the Time Warp harmonies as in rehearsal I'd been forgetting to sing mine as I'm the only one on stage singing it. This was useful as it allowed me and Leah to make sure that when we sung parts together we sang them in the same way. For example, on the line 'and nothing will ever be the same' we agreed to speak this line to add some variety into the verse as we sing the line before and the line after. We then moved on to learning the backing vocals for 'Sword of Damocles'. We based this off what we heard in the track but it worked well and matched with the script. At the end of the session I sang my solo song Science Fiction Double Feature as my classmates sing some Doo-Wop sounding backup vocals during it which they wanted to go over. I've found that since sitting down and researching the references in the song I've found it much easier to remember the order they come in which is what I struggled with previously. I've also been working on this song a lot at home so am more confident because of that too.
Singing 9/5/19
In this lesson we began by getting the Time Warp backing track up in the recording studio. Leah worked with Charlie to edit and cut the track so it matched the length of the live performance version that we'd choreographed to as the one we were using had an extra verse we didn't want in it. We then moved on and ran through all our songs with the backing tracks that we knew worked for us. beginning to end to sort out any other technical problems that we might not have noticed before this. This also however, allowed us to see which songs needed the most help vocally.
Rocky 13/5/19
In this session we focused on The Sword of Damocles as we hadn't really focused on this previously. Ghazal set us all and then told us when we were reacting to which character. However, she allowed us the freedom to make our own character choices in how we move and how we "admire" Rocky during the song. After we'd finished we then went through it a couple of times so we knew exactly what we doing at what section of the song. This is the fimed run through we did in rehearsal:
We then ran through “Touch Me”. The majority of this song is strong however as I mentioned previously, it tends to fall apart at the end during the repetition of the line “creature of the night”. We still need to decide on what we’re all doing during this section. My strength for this session was that I picked up everything we do in Sword of Damocles quickly and easily so I don't need to worry too much about trying to remember all the movements as they're pretty simple and I've been able to incorporate my character into them smoothly. My weakness from today was the end of Touch Me as we still haven't figured out what we're doing. My target is to sort out the creature of the night section of Touch Me so Rina and I are both clear on what we are doing.
Singing 13/5/19
In this session we went through Science Fiction Double Feature and the reprise. I know this song very well now however need to ensure I focus on what I’m singing and not what my classmates are singing as during the backup sections I find that I can get distracted by them which is something I haven't struggled with before. I'm now confident of the order of all the lyrics and all the references however I am finding it difficult to quickly switch from my "chest" voice to my "head voice" during the very high sections of the song. We moved on from Sci Fi and went through Eddie’s Teddy and Hot Patootie as well as re-capped the harmonies on Time Warp which I am able to do much more confidently on my own now.
Rocky 14/5/19
In this session we began the day by working on sections of “Hot Patootie” as we haven’t done very much choreography on this yet. Mandy suggested we did some jive movements during the chorus and towards the end. We really liked this idea as this type of movement fits with the sound and rhythm of the song as well as the time period Rocky Horror is meant to be set in. Mandy taught us a jive kick sequence and we then watched a video of some Lindyhoppers performing a very impressive jive sequence and looked at which moves we would like to incorporate into our choreography. This is the video that we took inspiration from:
We finished off the chorus however still needed to work on the beginning as it was very improvised. We then learnt the choreography for Eddies Teddy for the first time, which is pretty simple but looks very effective if everyone does all the movements in sync. We then moved on and ran through the scenes in the later part of act 2. Finally, we ran Touch Me again and decided that Rina and I would go off for the end for the Creature of the night section as our voices wouldn't match all the ones that were kept on the backing track and it was better to keep the focus on Tili and Nehemie as Janet and Rocky. My strength for this lesson was that I was able to pick up all the choreography we learnt today very easily and I remembered it well. My weakness for this session was the final group scene in act 2 which is very messy as we haven't really run it before and there's a lot of people on the stage and it can be difficult to remember who is supposed to be speaking when. My target for the next session is to make sure my class and I work on this scene and make it much cleaner.
Acting 14/5/19
In this session we worked with our acting teacher, Monique, on staging and characterisation during certain scenes. We found that the final group scene of the show is incredibly messy and needs a great deal of work. We noted that this is by far the weakest section of the show as people are still very shaky on lines, the staging hasn't been finished and people are incredibly unsure of what to do. We will need to do put aside some time to work on this as soon as possible.
Rocky 15/5/19
In this session we began by running Time Warp which is looking much cleaner, very few mistakes are being made during runs now. We then moved on to recapping Eddie's Teddy and the scene before this, this is also looking much more polished and performance ready however we did get the note to make sure during the "strangling" freeze frame we include different levels to make the formation more entertaining to look at. We cleaned Sword of Damocles to make the hip movements in our line are more in sync and less messy. We then ran through Make You A Man and its reprise to make sure the "muscle man arms" were on the beat of each rest in "I can make you a ma-a-a-a-a-a-n". Finally, we ran through all the songs without movement to focus solely on our vocals. This went quite well however some sections such as the Time Warp and Eddie's Teddy harmonies needed to br brushed up on a little bit to make sure they are as accurate as possible.
Musical Theatre 16/5/19
In this session we bean by going through specific numbers that we needed polishing ahead of our performance next week. We then ran the entire show for our teacher Shannon so that she'd be able to give us any notes for improvement. These were as follows:
Sci/Fi- Stance is samey, think about lyrics (finish research)
Time Warp-
More crazy in expression & movement.
Sing more as Magenta -> more characterisation
More energy last chorus
Shoulders need to be sharper on the “Time Warp again”
Sweet Transvestite-
Ensure characterisation is strong
Sword of Damocles-
Tighter on choreo
Make You A Man-
Stagger the staging, work on the “maaaaan” arms
Hot Patootie-
Don’t stand in a semi circle. Choreo needs to be tighter - improvised partner work with Leah.
Make You A Man (reprise)-
Go over the semi circle movements
New extraterrestrial sign - modern one doesn’t work
Final scene- complete mess - needs to be fixed
Entrances/ Exits are very poor/ missed
Singing 16/5/19
In this session we were in the dance studio that we could run through all the songs whilst running all the choreography full out. This rehearsal was extremely helpful as it enabled us to rehearse all the songs to the same degree and this meant we were able to highlight any numbers that need any work. It also gave us the opportunity to se what each song sounds like while doing all the movement and through this we can improve any sounds that sound a little weaker when movement is added. After doing this we were given notes by our teacher which were mainly focused on harmonies and timing issues that had been highlighted during the run.
Rocky Tech Run 17/5/19
In this session we had our tech rehearsal in the theatre. This rehearsal was mainly intended for the production team to block through all of the technical aspects of the show such as sound and lighting. However, it was useful for us as we were ableto walk through the show in the theeatre for the first time. This was particularly helpful for cast members like Ella who had to make sure she was confident with walking down the stairs of the Q-build with the very high heels she wears as Frank'n'Furter. We adjusted the timing for running off the Q-build for the middle of the first verse of 'Time Warp' so that it allowed more time for us to get to our positins before the dance started. Before this we were running however this made a lot of noise and was incredibly distracting from the number. We made sure to pay particular attention to entrances and exits and what cues we had to pick up on to make sure we were on the stage at the right moment. As we started running through the show we took note of any areas for improvement or small changes that we could make to make the show much more smooth.
Rocky Tech Run Cont. 20/5/19
In this rehearsal we were in the theatre and we began to work with mics. We had to speak and then sing any solo songs to see how we sounded with the microphones. We did a full run of the show and were given some notes at the end. Previously I’ve struggled with taking my character’s mannerisms on stage as I haven’t been entirely sure what she would do. Mandy helped and said she thinks I would do more with my head as I move my hands and body a lot. I still need to look over the last scene as I’m not as confident on my lines as I want to be.
Rocky Tech Runn Cont 2 21/5/19
We did a full tech run of the show in this rehearsal however the mics were playing up a little and there were other technical difficulties to get around. The tech team made the executive decision to scrap using mics during the performance. I found the last scene much easier as I looked over my lines and I didn’t forget anything, which is my prime concern whilst performing. We were given some notes at the end of the run however more will be given tomorrow as we didn't have time to go through everything. One note I got was to move my head more as previously I’ve struggled with taking my character’s mannerisms on stage as I haven’t been entirely sure what she would do. Mandy helped and said she thinks I would do more with my head as I move my hands and body a lot.
Rocky Dress Run 22/5/19
In this session we performed our first show to production arts students. It was useful to have this as our first show as it was quite relaxed and our audience were more focused on noting the sound and lights rather than our performance as this is not their area of expertise, this helped as we didn't feel as judged as they don't perform themselves. The run went very smoothly with very few mistakes and those that were made were very minor and can easily be fixed before the performance.
PERFORMANCE 23/5/19
Video:
Pictures:
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| Me as Usherette singing "Science Fiction Double Feature" |
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| Tili as Janet, me as Magenta, Bethany as Brad and Rina as Columbia |
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| Me, Leah and Rina performing Time Warp |
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| Nehemie as Rocky performing the Sword of Damocles |
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| Leah as Rif-Raf |
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| Ella performing Sweet Transvestite |
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