Monday 29th October
Season Rehearsals
Today in season rehearsals, we began the process of separating the company for the rehearsals to get individual and group work done with Han, Rob or even leading it ourselves. I was in T.0.07 today with Han, working alongside all of the secretaries, Eddie Flagrante, Eddie’s assistant, Josh and the Copy Boys. We worked on “That’s the beat for me”.
Initial thoughts:
- We worked well all together to fit the scenes with the choreography and movement.
- We focused on the choreography as – a member of the secretaries group, meaning that we had staged a great amount of the number.
- I think that we need to recap our harmonies as we have not done this song in seasons for a while. It is our own job to ensure we are on top of our harmonies and melodies ready for staging.
Breaking this down:
Good
I feel that it was very positive to work through a great amount. This means that we should be able to finish the number in the scheduled season time we have tomorrow. Additionally, I think that we all understood how to interpret our characters very well. For example, as I took upon the secretary I presented myself very well and maintained good posture throughout.
Bad
I think that we need to improve our knowledge of the lyrics. We are very confident with our tune. This means that as soon as we learn our lyrics we can perform both the choreography and sing as confident as possible.
Evaluative Analysis:
Overall, I think that we worked very well due to our determination and concentration throughout. Due to this, we managed to work through a great amount and block as much as possible. This meant that we could clean the routine the next day and finish this. Choreography and staging was our main focus. However, this was positive as we all had a good idea of how to play the secretary character and link with the principals on stage and the song. Also, I think that we all picked up the choreography and adapted to dancing with the chair very well. This meant that we can spend time on cleaning in tomorrow’s rehearsal as we are on top of the movements and what they are. Finally, I believe that as a group of secretaries we understood the harmonies very well and knew when to come in. At times we were getting our lyrics mixed up meaning that we were not 100% confident. However, as soon as we are, we can nail the routine and move on. I believe we all worked very closely and well together and made great progress, beginning a brand new routine and working through 3/4 of this. As our first rehearsal back after half term, I believe that we were on top of what we were doing here.
Action plan:
- To go over harmonies for “That’s the beat for me”.
- To ensure that all of my harmonies and lyrics are correct so that I am avoiding mistakes.
- To go over the choreography so I can perform the movements confidently tomorrow.
Tuesday 30th October
Season Rehearsals
Today in season Rehearsals myself and the four other secretaries, Eddie, Eddie’s assistant, Sheila and Josh continued to work on and stage “That’s the beat for me”. We finished the staging and cleaned our work from the previous rehearsal to ensure we were on top of what we were doing. In the final five minutes we performed our work to the company.
Initial thoughts:
- I think that it was great that we managed to finish the number in today’s rehearsal and perform this.
- I think that we all worked very well, concentrating throughout so that W could get as much done as possible.
- We were more on top of our lyrics, entrances, exits and timings today. This meant that the routine was a lot cleaner.
Breaking this down:
Good
I believe that it was very good that we managed to finish the whole number and clean the parts we staged yesterday. This shows that we are working very well and at a steady, yet fast pace making consistent progress. I also believe that we made a good start to the rehearsal by remembering everything from yesterday, allowing us to progress faster.
Bad
I think that the only negative aspect to this rehearsal is that we are not yet ready to be able to perform full out as we are concentrating on our movements and what the timings are for specific sections. However, I think that we can focus on performance more tomorrow.
Evaluative analysis:
Today was our second rehearsal of the week and our second rehearsal on the number “That’s the beat for me”. In these two rehearsals, we managed to work as a team to develop our movements, timing and performance as we finished the number. I believe that we worked so well and got a great amount of this done due to the small amount of people in this number and scene. There are 11 of us in this number. Therefore, we can work through things very quickly as there is a smaller group of people in the available space. This also means that there is space for more questions with Han and it is easier to go through individual things which we may want to recap. Also, I think that we all adapted to the chairs very well meaning that we understood how to move them and how to process this with the different timings quickly. We were able to record both rehearsals so that we can reflect on our progress and go over anything we were unsure of. I believe that finishing the number and growing in confidence in what we are doing shows great progress.
Action plan:
- To watch back our rehearsal from today and listen to the official track to make sure we are confident on the lyrics, melodies and any harmonies we have.
- To go over my individual movements and rehearse with the track so that I am on top of what I am doing throughout.
Wednesday 31st October
Season Rehearsals
Today in season Rehearsals we joined as a whole company in E0.44. We went over our number “That’s the beat for me” twice at the beginning and once at the end of session. In between this we staged the exit of “Rules, Regulations and Respect” and the beginning of “Blast from the past”. However, due to being a secretary minutes later I am no longer in this number. We also added myself, the 4 other secretaries, Eddie and Eddie’s assistant into the finale.
Initial thoughts:
- I think that staging these parts in the middle have enabled us to see a huge shape of the performance and get a higher idea of how it all links together.
- I think that we all have a brilliant idea of how to adapt “That’s the beat for me” to a new environment or rehearsal space.
- We have worked well on the finale and managed to pick up the choreography for the first half that has been done very quickly.
Breaking this down:
Good
I believe that it is good to be working through so much. We are beginning to see the shape to the performance more and are picking up parts quickly that we are being added into. Finally, we are seeing a great improvement to “That’s the beat for me” every time we are performing it and grasping the parts we were unsure of.
Bad
I believe that we are making great progress and working very well. If we continue to go over our harmonies and watch ourselves back we will continue to progress well.
Evaluative Analysis:
We have worked well and made great progress throughout the first half of this week. Beginning new numbers, finishing these, focusing on the scenes and developing new harmonies helps us to move forward at a very good pace. We are also staging new parts. For example we staged the end of “Rules, Regulations and Respect” and most of the company did the beginning of “Blast from the past”. This gave us a better idea of how everything will link together and how we move from number to number as well as link the scenes to this. In this rehearsal we had to adapt “That’s the beat for me” to the flooring so that our chair moves in the most slick way possible. Finally, we were taught the beginning of the finale. We worked mostly on the partner work and finished this first section. There is still a small part which has been staged for us secretaries to learn. However, we picked up the choreography today very quickly and managed to move on in a very small space of time.
Action plan:
- To recap the finale so that I am very for the new choreography.
- To watch back “That’s the beat for me” and fix any problems which should not occur.
- To ensure that I am remembering the exit of “Rules, Regulations and Respect”.
Thursday 1st November
Season Rehearsals
Today in season Rehearsals I began in E0.44, working on “Where do we go from here?” adapting and changing aspects of the choreography. I then moved to E0.48 to work with Claire on the songs “Isn’t it” and “How can I say goodbye”. Finally, I moved into T.0.07 to work with some of the company on any singing parts we were unsure of.
Initial thoughts:
- I feel good that we all adapted to the change in choreography very well and worked well as a team.
- I feel that in E.0.48 we remembered the two songs that we had completed and began to learn with Han in the half term.
- I feel that we all aired any questions we had with the songs as a whole and fixed any issues.
Breaking this down:
Good
I believe that it is good to see that we all remembered what we had done with “Where do we go from here?”. This immediately allowed us to adapt to the new choreography which Han set in this rehearsal. Additionally, working with Claire gave us the opportunity to perfect any moments in the songs we were unsure of. Finally, going over harmonies allowed us to fix any problems or anything which may have been out of place.
Bad
I think that today’s rehearsal was very positive and we managed to work on many aspects and perfect a lot of the routines and songs. I feel like they’re are no negative aspects to this rehearsal.
Evaluative Analysis:
We have nearly finished our first week back after half term. This week we allowed ourselves to focus on specific aspects and parts of the performance. Therefore, we have begun splitting into groups and getting things done that are required smaller groups for. I feel that we all worked well as a team in “Where do we go from here?” as we had gone home and recapped the choreography to be able to adapt to the changes successfully today so that we were able to move I’m quicker (getting more completed). Also, I believe that working with Claire on what we had began in the half term with Han allowed us to fix anything we were unsure of and perfect the harmonies. This means that we are ready to stage these two numbers and will soon be getting these completed. Finally, we finished with Claire at 4;30, giving us approximately 15-30 minutes to go over harmonies with a small group of people. We ran the finale, “Blast from the past” and the reprise of “Rules, Regulations and Respect”. We ran these again if they were not 100% ready and went over anything which did not seem correct. This allowed us to be singing at a higher standard with any issues fixed.
Action plan:
- To go over my harmonies for “Isn’t it” and “How can I say goodbye?”
- To ensure that I am feeling confident with the lyrics to be able to progress and perform the choreography full out when we perform it.
Friday 2nd November
Season Rehearsals
Today in season rehearsals, we began the opening of the second act. We opened with the song and any dialogue within this. We managed to work through a considerable amount of the score for this. Rob ran the rehearsal and we worked with him throughout.
Initial thoughts:
- We all worked well and concentrated our best to work through as much of the opening as possible (of act two).
- I was happy that we performed well when rehearsing and picked up the choreography well.
- I believe that we are working at a great pace in every rehearsal for opening night in three weeks.
Breaking this down:
Good
I think that it is good to see us all working hard and concentrating well in every rehearsal. This ensures that we are working at the best pace possible and trying as hard as we can to be on top of everything at all times and in every rehearsal. Finally, with just over three weeks till opening night, we are working well inside and outside of rehearsals for the best preparation possible.
Bad
I think that we worked through a great amount in this rehearsal. We need to keep up the high standard by practising at home continuously and going over everything we have done.
Evaluative Analysis:
We have now finished our first week of rehearsals after half-term. We managed to work through so much. This was the first time we had begun to split the company up to work on individual things. I believe that this works best as we have more opportunities and chances to work through things which require smaller groups. This gives anyone not involved in this the chance to work on anything else. I believe that we worked particularly hard to be able to work through as much as we can. We are aware that there is now under a month until we open and we need to fill any gaps within act two. Additionally, as we are working hard we are picking choreography up very quickly to be able to move on. If we are confident with this it can be cleaned in lunch times or other scheduled rehearsals. I think that it is important to have things done before cleaning them as we then know what we need to work on. Everybody is still taking it upon themselves to ensure we have video evidence of the rehearsal to benefit ourselves if we ever want to go over anything or watch ourselves back. Finally, we are continuing to work as a team throughout rehearsals and selling tickets, with very few left.
Action plan:
- To recap my parts throughout the whole of act 1 so that I am ready to run this Tuesday knowing where each number fits.
- To sing through all my harmonies so that I am strong and confident on my part for every song.
Technique class
Thursday 1st November
Voice Ensemble:
Today in our vocal ensemble class with Claire we began our Christmas songs which will be performed on the 19th December. We sang “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” and “Baby it’s cold outside”. We mostly worked on the first song as it was more complex with the harmony work and then moved on to the other.
Initial thoughts:
- I feel that we managed to work through the first song very well. However, at points we struggled with our harmony lines as they were very complex and featured a lot of semitones.
- I feel that we worked through “Baby it’s cold outside” very quickly as we were all familiar with the tune of this.
- I believe that we all picked up the harmonies very well and will recap what we have done here at home.
Breaking this down:
Good
I feel that it was very good to see that we were all on top of our harmonies even if we struggled to get our starting notes. This shows determination to want to get it right. Also, I think that it was good to see us working well in our parts to help each other if we were very stuck. Finally, knowing one of the songs beforehand allowed us to work on the complex song more (as we were already familiar with the tune of the other).
Bad
I feel that we need to go home and recap our harmonies for the first song we sang so that we are very confident with the parts that we may have struggled with today.
Evaluative Analysis:
I think that we worked very well in our harmony groups. This allowed us to help each other out if we were ever stuck or could not find our starting note. Additionally, I believe that we managed to work on both songs as we had worked hard enough to move on. Completing enough of “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas”, meant that we could move on and work on “Baby it’s cold outside”. For both of these, I am in the alto harmony line. For the first song, the alto line was very complex, I think that this was due to our jumps between each note and what we begin on and end on. Once we had our start note and managed the jump, we found it easier to complete our melody for the whole part we had covered. Then, we all knew “Baby it’s cold outside” . Being familiar with the tune meant that we could pick up any harmonies at a fast pace and get everything covered through the song. I believe that the faster we go home and work on our complex harmonies and listen to the track, we will be able to move on quickly and not have to go over what has already been done. Overall, I think we worked well.
Action Plan:
- To go over my harmonies that we have covered today so that I am confident to carry on next time.
- To listen to the rest of the song we have not done so that I am familiar with how the tunes fit in together.
Emily Gordon Year 1 