17/05/11

The Day Of The Performance.

Woke up today feeling much better than yesterday which was a rather traumatic day indeed. There was much to arrange and a lot of co-ordination needed. I felt we would have been better served to have been able to rehearse this morning. However, conflicting schedules would not allow it. I arrived in college early to speak to Marlisa about how last night’s rehearsal went and also in a last-minute panic regarding Risk Assessments. I really should have been more on the ball in regards to this and dealt with the issue earlier. Unfortunately the college Health and Safety Officer was off but her colleague was extremely helpful and after slightly tweaking a pre-existing standard Risk-Assessment it was decided that all bases had been covered and the show was OK to proceed. I was still fairly uncertain as to where the production stood in regards to props. Although I had contacted my friend in the theatre it was still not 100% that the main-prop – The Bar- would arrive and this was very stressful as I felt the bar was now at this point in time pivotal to the production. As far as other bar furniture was concerned the sourcing of such items proved to be an easier prospect. I was popped into town and through my connections with the local pub trade was able to source a number of bar-stools to add to the pub-feel of the production. Back at college I then arranged getting the drinks for the free-bar. All of this had been pre-arranged with the President of the Student’s Association. However, as usual, a break-down in communication led to another minor altercation with members of the housekeeping staff regarding college licensing policy. This very nearly caused yet another element of the production which had begin essential to the performance and audience experience to nearly have to be axed also. This was all very stressful and although it was swiftly rectified only serves to further highlight the need for communication. Note to self though: Don’t ever ask for a donation for entry on the door to cover drink costs. Out of the 60 people that were there I ended up with £40 and no drink left at the end!

I feel that the last week has shown that one of the best desicions I have made regarding this production was ask Marty Page to come onboard as stage manager. Marty has been able to co-ordinate sound-engineers, lighting and projections as well as organise many other elements of the event and without his input, help and support the production would have proven even more disastrous (if that could be possible) and I would have spent this time as even more of a nervous wreck than I had already become. Although events had conspired to make the intended screen-projections that were to form part of the original concept impossible, we were able to provide some back-projection that helped to set the scene.

By the time the stage had been set up, and initial sound check carried out and all members of the cast were present we were left with very little time to run the songs or rehearse any of the linking dialogue. I decided it was best to rehearse the songs we had not managed to get through last night and go through some of the beginnings and endings of the more challenging or less well rehearsed songs from the rest of the set. I would have to rely upon my cast’s familiarity with the storyline and improvisational abilities in regards to any dialogue that would occur during the actual performance.

The performance itself went much better than I think anyone had expected given the number of setbacks that had beset the production from the beginning. The sound onstage was lacking and I found it difficult to hear anything from the piano being lost in the monitor-mix which had been fine during rehearsal but for some reason was poor during the performance. I believe I made more than a few mistakes and botched a few chords. I don’t feel that this was through lack of preparation on my own part as I am very familiar with all of the songs in the set. However, I feel that it was easy to get lost due to a combination of poor sound-quality, leading the band, keeping an eye on the singers and also nerves. I feel that the I could have rectified the first point by indicating to the sound desk that I couldn’t hear myself in the monitors. However, I was unsure of how to do this due to the theatrical nature of the show (I felt the technical side shouldn’t be allowed to interfere with the performance). I think that the other points were all down to experience and also confidence and I feel that in places the pressure got to me. I was horribly nervous. I hope that the more I become involved in shows of this nature the more my confidence and ability will grow.

I think that many will possibly question having alcohol on-stage as part of the production. However, I feel that it added to the performance rather than detracted from it and I was pleased that everyone involved was actually rather sensible with it.

Overall it is a huge relief to have the whole thing over and done with. I feel that I have made a lot of mistakes along the way and I have been disappointed that what had originally been intended failed to come together. But equally I have learned a huge amount about what is required to put together a performance such as this and have been taught some valuable lessons about myself. Could I have done more? Should I have approached things differently? Did I attempt to take on too much? The answer to these questions is most definitely yes. However, I am also proud of what was achieved at the end of the day.

15-16/05/11

Oh my word. What a couple of days it has been. Sunday was entirely taken up with finishing The Dissertation from hell. I think that when all is said and done it could have been better and it could have been worse. Again, I ran into time management issues. I seem to always leave everything to the last minute. I am not sure whether I allow this to happen because I work better under pressure but it seems as though the this deadline period over the last 3 years has seen me attempting to herniate my brain in getting work in on time. Every time I say next year I must be more prepared. I must use my time wisely. I must start earlier. Why do I never take my own advice? However, I feel that this year has been an unmitigated ball of stress and I have absolutely no desire to undergo this whole fiasco again and therefore I have contacted a friend who is a trained life-coach. Hopefully she will be able to help me become more organised and goal-oriented. For honours year I will be aiming to have at least a rough draft of my dissertation done before Christmas.

I am still a little bit in awe that my dissertation was written, printed, bound and delivered on time.

As far as organisation of the musical is concerned having had only 3 hours sleep in the last 48 I was a little on edge to say the least during rehearsal tonight. The hall was not set up this afternoon and the engineers I had hoped would be able to help were not available. Therefore myself, Marty and Nick began to organise the stage set-up with Mark McClymont taking over a little later. This was not the original plan (that being that we would all be able to do a full run-through in the hall that night). However, we started the rehearsal in the practice rooms and then when the stage was ready moved to the hall. The rehearsal went much better after this. I also think that having 16 people in a small room is stressful in any situation let alone when there is singing and playing involved. All in all I am a bit worried that everyone is still singing from lyric sheets. With this in mind I wonder if there was ever going to be any hope for the script ever!? Although the thought of tomorrow is more stressful than mere words can describe I feel that having gone through the majority of the songs relatively hitch-free I just might be able to get a decent sleep tonight.

09/05/11

It has been done. The script has been pulled and I have also had to cut songs. Rehearsals yesterday and today have been painful to say the least. I have resigned myself to the fact that SOMETHING will happen on the 17th. What that exactly will be is anyone’s guess at the moment! At the moment we are sitting at a set that will consist of 22 songs. I think that this is enough to still get two acts. I am hoping that if the stage is still set up theatrically to reflect the setting that the cast will feel comfortable enough to still adopt some of their original character as set out in the script. I feel that it is still possible with the correct staging to make the production still retain a feeling of spectacle rather than just a straightforward gig. No point in flogging a dead horse as they say.

In other news I am still ploughing away at the dissertation of doom. I feel that I have been able to now work out a coherent structure and valid route of argument. I feel the jist of the investigation is to answer the question as to why when Britpop was not a politically vociferous movement that it seems always to be discussed within a political context. I pose that this is because when commentators discuss Britpop they are really referring to Blur. There are lots of parallels that can be drawn between New Labour and Blur, explaining the seemingly inseparable nature of New Labour and Britpop. In order to argue this I must firstly justify that Blur are the Quintessential Britpop Act and then go onto describe the similarities mentioned above. And all in 5000 words or so.

6/5/11

Today was the culmination of practices for JP’s Reggae Project. Brilliant fun. We spent the morning in the theatre having a run through of a few songs and then retreated to a rehearsal room to run through few dance steps with Marlisa. I had brought my face paints along and some costumes. Only performing backing vocals made me actually quite nervous. I’m very used to hiding behind my piano so being up front of stage with nothing acting as a barrier between myself and the audience was a little odd. But also liberating - You can’t really dance with a piano! I think this experience has been a very enjoyable eye-opener. I’m sure I was a bit atrocious in places but the whole spirit of the set and performance has attracted some very favourable feedback and I’m really happy and proud that JP asked me to be a part of it as it has provided some much needed relief from the ‘For Tomorrow’ debacle!

3/5/11

Awful awful day. I believe myself to be in the midst of a major cast up-rising (Ok, slight exaggeration.) I won’t say too much about the ins and outs of it but practice today went terribly. After shifting everyone down to the dance-studio I hoped that we would be able to work on the staging. Although it has been nigh on impossible to get full rehearsals I thought that at least, as most of the cast were friends with at least one other member that rehearsing and familiarising the lines in the mean time would have allowed us to get on with blocking the scenes. We got to about scene 4 before members of cast started dropping like flies. I think I have probably tried to incorporate too much when we have such a short space of time. However, I’m finding it really hard to let go considering that this should have been a viable production given the amount of time that has passed since it was first written and cast. I have a really important decision to make in regards to how this project can go ahead. It seems to me that the options are to cut portions of the script or to pull the script all together and just do the songs. It’s really sad to have to go this way but I feel that the latter option will be the best when it seems that even learning lyrics is a struggle. I asked everyone tonight to pull together just for these 2 remaining weeks and to prioritise this production as it was going to be a struggle but I felt that everyone was more than capable and talented of making it a brilliant show. In doing this I have been accused of attempting to blame members of the cast for this production failing to come together, of holding unproductive rehearsals or cancelling rehearsals all together and also of guilting people into missing rehearsals for other people’s shows. I would be the first to hold my hand up and say that I have been too ambitious with this production and better organisation would have benefitted the whole project. It is, however, almost impossible to hold productive rehearsals when a vast number or the cast are unable to gather together at the same time and attempts at holding script-rehearsals when main cast members have not been able to make it have led to frustration and are not just a waste of their time but also a waste of mine. It also is unproductive when nobody pays attention and acts as though they would rather be doing something else. I should have stuck to my guns regarding rehearsal times. Having a definite set rehearsal time every week for both the band and cast and sticking to it would have been the best thing to do. If people weren’t able or willing to make a decent proportion of these times then I should have tried to recast the roles. Instead I tried to accommodate everyone else’s priorities and allowed this project to fall to the back of the queue and for that I am obviously a poor manager and quite possibly unfit to direct! However, I think that everyone is aware that a project like this where no one is being paid is a labour of love and requires team-work and dedication and at times I don’t feel that this production has received that. If (and that’s a big IF right now) I ever attempt a similar project in the future I will be firm with my rehearsal and production schedules and set firm deadlines. I need to remember at the end of the day that this is MY degree and I need to do whatever ever it takes to succeed in it. That is all...Rant Completed ...Over and Out.

28/04/11

Yesterday was Alex’s Lord Of The Bling’s project for which I arranged the props and the make-up. I really enjoy working behind the scenes as part of a team to help a production come-together and it was a great feeling to be part of this production but also not to have to experience the nerves and stress of being on-stage for once.

There was quite a lot of running about involved today trying to source last minute props (which I am discovering I have a knack for) and scheduling time in which to ensure everyone had their make-up, props and costumes organised. I have realised from watching how this show has come together how important it is going to for my own show to have the support of a stage manager and production staff if everything is to come together.

26/04/11

This is the proposed rehearsal schedule. We have less than 3 weeks to nail it and this is the minimum rehearsals I think we can get away with if we are to pull it off.

SINGERS STILL TO LEARN SONGS - Thurs 28th - Early afternoon
BAND - Monday 2nd-evening + any cast who want to go over songs
CAST - Tuesday 3rd - evening til 9pm
CAST - Thursday 5th - morning/afternoon,
BAND - Thursday 5th - evening
BAND - Sunday 8th - anytime - with Rob ?
BAND & CAST Monday 9th - rehearsal with cast - OFF SCRIPT
BAND AND CAST Tuesday 10th - Marlisa to be there
BAND & CAST Wednesday 11th - rehearsal with cast
BAND - Sunday 15th ... (hopefully fingers crossed .. blitz the set?)
BAND & CAST Monday 16th - technical rehearsal
BAND & CAST Tuesday 17th - afternoon - full dress rehearsal
BAND & CAST Tuesday 17th - 7.30pm performance