EVALUATION & REFLECTION – Cabaret

PART 2 (at least 1,000 words)

On this page you need to evaluate and reflect on the total production from beginning to end based on YOUR experience and engagement with it. Use your blogs to help you consider each stage of the production process and be constructively critical. Pay particular attention to your own roles, contributions and responsibilities throughout this whole process and how you have worked with others (collaboration):

• Production stage 1: Research, Blocking or Choreographing / learning chorography and Rehearsing the show / film content
• Production stage 2: Rehearsing and Refining the show / film content
• Production stage 3: Polishing the show (including production elements – costume, props, set, lighting, sound & visuals etc.) / film content
• Production stage 4: Actual performance

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My Blogs throughout the process of ‘Cabaret’

Research:

The audition process for the latest shows at Conservatoire East were contrasting to our previous term, but very similar to the format carried out for our first set (the autumn term). Each carrying out a singing, dance and acting audition meant that these were very Musical theatre orientated and gave the tutors a vast selection and understanding of everybody’s work ethic and understanding of each aspect, following the different pieces of audition material for each show. After all three auditions had been carried out, a few days later the companies were released and I had been placed into ‘Cabaret’. Feeling like I had a gathered beneficial parts of information about the show, it was clear (that due to the context and background to the show after the read-through) that a vast amount of research was going to be necessary to benefit my performance.

When gathering a higher understanding of the plot, storyline and how the show would fit together, it was clear that a lot of my information was going to be based historically (for my research page). Due to the setting of Nazi Germany in the 1930’s, my research was very deep and extremely interesting. However, due to studying this topic for my GCSE’s I felt that my basic knowledge was still there and ready to be developed through my written work for my understanding. Gathering this understanding from a new perspective, of a Musical Theatre Performer, was truly shocking and extremely fascinating, due to history already being something that I previously found interesting to study. Due to the topics within, I feel that there is such a vast amount that can be included and spoken about which is why I feel that I developed the habit of writing too much. Nevertheless, this is all analysed on my research page.

When the research process started, I found it very difficult when finding a place to start. Due to all of the options, features and aspects within the content (historical background, characterisation, collaboration and more) there is so much to be discovered. Yet, it was my job to find and choose which parts are of most relevance and will be beneficial to my ‘Cabaret’ experience. I found this part of the process got easier once I had eased myself in and found a way to begin. For me, this was picking the question apart and going through the lift I had created. Despite this, if there is anything I would change, I would have began my character research and development sooner, this is the foundations of our company work and was often a note throughout rehearsals (to bring out our individuality). I personally enjoyed using the foundations of the ‘Uta Hagen 9 questions’, giving me something to think about and build an answer upon. Once we had sat down as a company and shared our individual thoughts on these, this improved. However, this could have happened sooner and given us somewhere to work from. This showed us that explanation and communication was the best way to develop our characters and use the input of others to grab a very steady and accurate story.

On the whole, overlooking my work within research, I was very happy with the outcome and felt that I had learnt a lot myself from this. Key topics I found extremely interesting in particular were: The National Socialist German Workers’ Party’s rise to power and their effects on Germany, learning about anyone’s experience and background from the creative team of the show, the evolution of ‘Cabaret’ and the creation of the characters in the show. Next time, for a quicker finish and easier route, I will find all information and then build upon this so all my pages are in a similar place. This will prevent my work being heavy on one part.

Choreography:

When discovering that I had been placed into ‘Cabaret’, I was very excited to see what the features of dance would include. Having a strong recognition for Bob Fosse’s style, moves included in shows such as Chicago, I couldn’t wait to begin learning our content.

We had regular arranged dance sessions on both a Monday and Friday, working with Robert Andrews on any choreography and dancing in the show. As well as working with Rob we had an allocated dance captain (Izzy Osbourn) to help us all develop, direct and clean the content created. All together, we had a very flexible cast, arranging extra rehearsals in our spare time to clean, perfect and make any final changes to our content (saving our time in season rehearsals towards the end of the process). These were usually ran by our dance captain and set in place with a clear aim and target for a positive and successful outcome. I believe that we had great progression with our dances due to starting these early – on and having a very driven cast. Having a driven cast meant that everyone was putting their best foot forward when developing the choreography, even if they have not had as much dance experience previously. Additionally, we had a very helpful and supportive cast of one another, looking out for and helping each other as a resource to save time and benefit us all moving forward. Even though ‘Cabaret’ is not described as a ‘Dance heavy show’, there was a lot of movement developed for all members of the ‘Kit Kat Klub’ (6 dance numbers in total), always giving us something to work on.

If I could change anything throughout the choreography process, I would choose to focus on both characteristics and precision when dancing. A common occurrence for myself was focusing too much on my accuracy, therefore meaning my characteristics were not coming through to an audience. I believed that if I would have relaxed a little here my character could have shown from the beginning, due to precision being something that will develop alongside this. Additionally, focus was something that could be easily lost at times, leaving frustration for some and a negative atmosphere. However, this was a rare occasion and was something with the possibility of slowing down our progress, which was not wanted. Finally, I would have chosen to have rehearsed in my heals sooner, to benefit the adaption of time and learning placements of the movements differently, a solution to this would be learning the choreography in our character shoes.

On the whole, this was one of my favourite parts of the process, gaining confidence with my own choices and pushing myself to adapt the movement and content to suit my character.

Blocking:

At the start of the blocking process, Han was mostly working with our principals within the cast, specifically on a Tuesday. As a company this stage was very much going to be revealed near the end of the process, due to our rehearsal spaces and arrangements changing in comparison to our performance space. All members of the Kit Kat Klub knew that we would be dressing the sides of the stage, always in character and creating the atmosphere of the Klub when necessary. This was something that grew harder (holding our posture and character on the sides without letting it slip). However, it was important that this was rehearsed during the refinement, with blocking, to adapt to this as well as giving Han a visual representation. We continued to block group scenes and go through the ensemble’s stages closer to the end of the period (when we had all discovered what the set would be specifically). However, before this, most of our blocking was carried through the choreography as we staged what we would be doing.

The biggest changes were made with blocking when we had our first run in the theatre (Saturday 18th May), this also gave the Kit Kat Klub accurate representations and a real life perspective of the different levels of seating and where their placements would be. As most of the ensemble’s blocking for the whole show was carried out closer to the end of the process, focus and interest was necessary throughout to ensure that nothing was being forgotten, it was highly unlikely that we would be able to revisit these (which would be a less beneficial use of our time). Changes were made as soon as possible, leaving less to be changed in production week. However due to the changes, this also meant that we had to be aware of the props and next scenes.

Some of the biggest blocking changes were made to ‘Tiller Girls’ (choreographically) and ‘Willkommen’ (visually). Our main reason for these changes were the changes in space and receiving the specific music scores. Due to most scenes being more simplistic and movements very natural, because of the context, most dramatic and vast use of movement was used in the dance numbers. These problems were looked at as soon as they arose, leaving us to restage ‘Tiller Girls’ towards the end of April and to fix the staging of ‘Willkommen’ on the first day in the theatre. As a company this ensured that no time was wasted and everything was sorted for a smooth running week. During that week, we all needed to be on top of what we were doing as well as acting in a flexible manor, to benefit the flow and any adjustments made through our performance.

 Refining the show:

Most of this process was carried out in the final weeks of our rehearsal period. As a member of the Kit Kat Klub, most of our refinement and polishing lied within the dance routines. At this point, as a company, our professionalism increased majorly. It became much more apparent that our time was limited and that extra rehearsals are going to be necessary. From this point onwards, we had lunchtime and morning rehearsals, tailored towards the cleaning of set choreography. Personally, I found these very beneficial to our progress, saving time in scheduled rehearsals with Han. On the other hand, I found that they only worked best when everybody needed was present and on top of what they were doing. But, this is not always possible due to unavoidable scenarios (such as illness).

Another large aspect of refinement was the running of both Act 1 and 2, individually and together. For the ensemble, this provided a routine and a way of familiarising ourselves with the order and our placements. I found that this increased our awareness and meant that in our next rehearsals (tech and dress) we were focused on any new elements being added to our performance and not worried what comes next. This took a weight off our shoulders and avoided stress. Additionally, remaining focused and on top of what we were doing meant that our goals for the sessions were all achieved and we were walking into our production week with strong confidence.

However, refinement was still carried out at points within production week. After our technical rehearsal on Monday and first dress the following day, setting and blocking was covered whilst appointing cast members duties on stage. This was a very helpful element to our process and helped the further running of our second dress rehearsal, speeding up unnecessary pauses within the show and increasing the fluidity. Without this process, I feel that we would have ended up with a contrasting outcome. I found this the most helpful process and feel that we made great progress here, allowing success when moving forward.

Polishing the show:

Costume

Costume was a production element that we discussed very early on, giving us the opportunity to find something which strongly contributed to our characteristics, setting and time period. We gathered ideas in one of our first sessions, with the chance to gather Han’s opinion and grasp help from other cast members. When our first costume session was appointed, mine had not arrived yet due to postage. This was quite disappointing as most of the company had the opportunity to display costumes in person. However, I still had the chance to show Han digital images of what I had ordered. This was a very simplistic process, due to the ensemble only having one main costume. Although, something we forgot about was an outfit for our party scene, meaning a lot of us had to venture for these later on. Luckily, someone from the cast had brought in some dresses for us to try, I found a perfect fit here (meaning I was sorted). A struggle which occurred with my costume was fishnet tights. Due to the structure of my costume, a specific type had to be worn. But, I gathered these with time remaining and found success and failure with the trial and error process here.

When moving onto hair and makeup, we had a of helpful guidance from our director. This was also a trail and error process and very crucial that we took in great details when finding what was suitable for our character. Every company member sent in hair ideas for our director to have a look at, giving us guidance on what is best for the styles we are trying to achieve. After trying out two makeup styles, I found which worked best with the hairstyle and costume I had chosen. These aspects helped to develop my characterisation, helping me to visually feel like ‘Shelley Nightingale’ as well as mentally. Towards the end of the process, confusion and stress was avoided due to our strong ideas for the characters physicality, saving time on Monday morning and on preparation before our Dress Rehearsals.

Lighting and Set

The setting of our production had an industrial feel with very simplistic features. However, this meant that all focus was drawn to the performers on stage and those of us dressing the sides. I really enjoyed this style as it was very contrasting to our first musical ‘Zombie Prom’. On the other hand, I found this style more challenging; it meant that any subtle movement or anything out of context was immediately recognised (this links strongly to our upheld positions when dressing the stage). I really enjoyed this way of setting the show, as well as the idea of not leaving the stage, this enhanced the feeling behind the Kit Kat Klub.

The lighting was a very important feature when contributing to the style and atmosphere we were trying to create. We had aspects which complimented our initial goals for the lighting including: Follow spots, A Kit Kat Klub sign and hanging pedants. These meant that we had a lot of choices and could be very versatile. There were a lot of lighting changes decided in our Technical rehearsal, leading to the new atmospheres created in a scene change and helping us to visually take our audience members on a journey.

My Character Development

Character developments were a crucial aspect to our company progress as well as something which helped our creation of individualism (a major factor in a show like ‘Cabaret’). I found that this was a longer process than I initially expected. Personally, my character developed mostly throughout the cleaning and refinement process, due to the factor of confidence growth with all routines and movement content. This gave me a chance to develop and focus on my character whilst performing the individual numbers, due to no longer worrying about my accuracy with the content. Other aspects I found very useful were ‘Character development sessions’ and the ‘Uta Hagen’s 9 Questions’. These allowed for an extension with our thought processes, allowing us all to dig deeper with our choices and push these into our work. However, I would change my placement of this if I could, completing this sooner may have prevented our regular cast feedback of ‘looking the same’. Our dance captain (Izzy) carried out a regular exercise with us (when this feedback began to occur) involving walking around the room and gradually developing yourself into your Kit Kat Klub character. The regular occurrence of this meant that we were more adaptable as performers and knew how to change into this style of performance with certainty. Hair and makeup was also a distinctive feature between us all and was something that visually developed our individuality on stage, this was the last and one of the most important aspects towards the end of the process.

Before completing our first show, we received very detailed and helpful notes from our director to benefit our performance.

TUESDAY 21ST MAY

• Make sure we are all aware of the order and what the correlation needs to be between us all on the hip bumps in ‘Don’t Tell Mama’.
• Make sure our facial expressions and movements are full of energy in ‘Money, Money’.
• Watch our facial expressions when we sing any backing vocals, as well as ensuring we are singing out to the audience.
• Watch our leg positioning when sat on a lower platform, keep the upright and strong position.

WEDNESDAY 22ND MAY

• ‘Willkommen’ needs more energy. This is our opening number and needs to bring excitement to our audience.
• Remember not to make any noise when in preparation for a song.
• Turn our heads at the end of ‘Mein Heir’ when we are walking backwards and singing the final verse.
• Sing into the couple and look faithfully at them in the ‘Pineapple Song’

These notes and pieces of feedback gave us all something to work towards in our next performance, opening night!

OPENING NIGHT

Han’s feedback:

• We gave a very strong performance.
• As we are now progressing to our second night do not get over confident and cocky, this could lead to a drop in our focus levels.
• To have a look again at some of the movements in ‘Don’t Tell Mama’, they were not in sync.

I believe that we had a very strong show in our opening night, receiving successful and positive feedback from our audience. However, as Performing Arts students we are aware that nothing can ever be perfect and that there is always room for improvement. As a company we were very pleased with our delivered performance and extremely flattered by the kind feedback.

Personally, I feel that this was the most successful run of the show we had carried out so far. I was very excited to perform this show to a full audience for the first time. I had a great level of energy and adrenaline and felt that from everyone this contributed to our success. I was also focusing and working with a high level of concentration, consistently recapping what was going to happen next. I feel that this positively impacted how my confidence benefitted my performance. I was very happy with my delivered performance and couldn’t wait to perform the following evening, with the hopes of the same level of performance.

NIGHT TWO

Han’s Feedback:

• Act One was lacking a little energy. However, this was picked up again in the following act.
• All ensemble who remain on the side of the stage must not unnecessarily or discreetly fidget as attention will be drawn.

Unfortunately, when listening to feedback and reaching the interval of this nigh, we realised that our opening was lacking energy. As a company we were unsure as to how this was happening without an explanation. This meant that it was our job for the following act to put in more energy and enthusiasm to bring these levels up and give a noticeable difference from the first act.

I felt myself very nervous for this show. I believe that this was due to some members in the audience. However, I thought that this was a very positive aspect in which I could use to boost my energy and adrenaline levels. I was very pleased by the end of the night that all my nerves were used in a good way and did not effect my performance or the running of the show. We had very high hopes of the energy and performance levels being exceptional on Friday after a drop in energy tonight.

NIGHT THREE

Han’s Feedback:

• You all gave the best performance of the show yet.
• The criticism in ‘Don’t Tell Mama’ from previously had been fixed.

We received extremely positive feedback from the performance we gave tonight, which everyone felt was the strongest yet. Our director and principal ‘Nikos’ were very appreciative of our hard work and spoke to us as a cast on how we performed. This was a very proud moment for the whole cast, this was a very memorable moment that gave us the opportunity to reflect on the joy and love that our performance is giving an audience for theatre.

As a cast, but specifically Cara and Max, we had to deal with an unexpected occurrence. During the scene in which Sally reveals she has an abortion, the character Cliff very powerfully reacts and slaps her. A couple of audience members vocalised their reaction to this and gathered other reactions from their statement made. As a company we remained very professional and blocked this out. However, both Cara and Max were performing a very moving and crucial scene and dealt with this very well in the moment. In a way, this has showed us what to do in a circumstance like this again. Our director was very proud with how we dealt with this.

CLOSING NIGHT 

All together, we were very proud and overwhelmed with the performances we gave and all feedback received. On the whole, tonight’s performance was very strong and gave an excellent goodbye to those who performed their final show at Conservatoire East tonight. The energy levels were very high and we received our fourth and final standing ovation. This is very overwhelming and something to show that our hard work is much appreciated.

On the whole, I could have never imagined a better show to have been placed in. I have been exceptionally happy with how our process has developed and learnt many new skills and things a long the way. I am going to be very sad to be leaving this show behind but feel very excited to start my process as a year two.

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Evaluation and Reflection

UAL definition: the application of intellectual curiosity and rigor in making judgements and establishing meaning and values, and the level of contemplation and deliberation necessary to progress and achieve identified goals

Fail Insufficient evidence of ongoing evaluation, lack of or only basic analysis and little or no justification for ideas.

Pass Clearly communicated evidence of valid evaluation and realistic analysis independently used to inform and develop ideas.

Merit Effective communication of analysis and interpretation, independent synthesis of information and application of reasoned decision making to inform development of ideas.

Distinction Accomplished and professional communication of perceptive analysis and interpretation, demonstrating clarity and sophistication in thinking and maturity in decision making to progress ideas.

The above statements show how evidence for the final unit will be assessed.