So its Saturday morning and I have to get myself up for 6am... god thats early. I really am not a pleasant sight in the morning. Come to think of it, I'm not a pleasant sight at any point during the day... even with my new hair cut! So whats the cause? A trek into London to get day tickets for Billy Elliot. I was going to meet my friend Charlotte for the evening show and was in two minds as to whether or not I should go to the matinee performance. Part of me wanted to go see something different, but there was also something telling me that if i didn't do the Billy matinee I would be missing out... I trusted my instincts, and went with Billy. Its always a huge risk trusting my instincts, last time I did this I ended up in an ornamental pond... bad times. Anyway, on with the blog...
In part 1 of this latest series of Billy Elliot blogs I talked about roles that maybe don't get as much recognition as they deserve. I drew particular attention to the role of small boy, and in particular Eliot Carrington who has set himself out as being the strongest of the boys casted in that role. I had the pleasure of seeing him again at today's matinee, and as expected he was in supreme form. Theres so much passion packed inside this seven year old's heart and sole, you just know he is destined to go so much further in life, and who knows maybe go full circle and end up back in the show as either Billy or Michael.
I also made a very brief mention of tall boy, a role casted for a boy of a similar age to Billy and Michael. Like all the child roles there are multiple actors casted for the part, and just as Eliot stands out among the small boy's, there is a fantastic young actor by the name of Jonathan Danciger who is by far is the best tall boy the show has seen. This kid is leagues above the other boys I have seen in the role! Jonathan has an ability to express deep feelings or emotions without having to say a word. The fear he installs in the character of "the scab's" son when he is hauled from the miners social club is a picture. The use of facial expressions and appropriate body language, paints the clearest possible image of whats going through his characters mind, just as it does when he plays an upper class boy in the royal ballet scene. Again without having to say a word, his body language and movement characterises the part down to a tee.
Though the moment Jonathan really shines is where he tries to console Billy after a poor audition. Not afraid to really get into the role Jonathan takes a hands on approach, ruffling Billy's hair and putting his arm around Billy's shoulder. This all sounds really simple, but other boys in the role seem to be a bit hesitant to do this,or at least do it believably. Billy's reaction is to slam him into the safety curtain in anger. Jonathan isn't afraid to go in hard, it actually scares me a bit when he does this. It is so convincing that you almost wonder whether the move has gone wrong and he has been injured. My heart skips a beat as I wait for him to get up and run to his dad.
When i was doing some drama things in school my teacher gave the class a valuable piece of advice, which to the day I remember word for word. "It doesn't matter how big or small your part in a show is, if you give it your all people will take notice" were those exact words, and this is what Jonathan does. he may not have as much stage time as Billy or Michael, but when he is on stage he puts such an immense passion and energy into the part. He really does stand out as a star in the making. Sure his part may not be very big, but when he is on stage he makes every second count... so maybe my drama teacher was right. I really hope Jonathan decides to pursue acting after his time in this show, he is born to be on stage.
Anyway before I go on. If anyone reading this is a theatre goer, please take the time to watch some of the smaller parts on stage. Its too easy to pay little attention to the supporting roles. But if you take the time to absorb their input, i think you will be pleasantly surprised. With every blog I write I will talk about some of the smaller roles at any given show. Sometimes it will be for better and sometimes for worse. However without these smaller parts the show wouldn't exist.
It wouldn't be a Billy Blog if i didn't talk about the lead role! But you know what? This bit gets harder every time. I try to make each blog different to the last, however when there are so many about Billy Elliot it does make it a tad hard to find new things to say in order to keep the blogs interesting to read. Especially when you take into account I am not a writer, I have never studied journalism, so I honestly cannot use the same tricks they have up their sleeve to sustain readership. But sustaining readership is a bit like maintaining your viewing base on prime time television. Lets face it that can't be too difficult... after all its taken Channel 4 this long to realise that Big Brother is in fact completely rubbish! Anyway back to Billy...
Tom Holland had the job of filling Billy's shoes at the matinee performance today. Every time I see him my respect for him as an actor increases. He pulls out all the stops to ensure each audience member feels connected to Billy's story. Of the current cast, Tom is by far the best actor within the role, i think its something that comes so naturally to him. Regardless to whether he plays Billy or Michael he always delivers the goods. Ok, I admit it... I don't have as bigger soft spot for him as I do Fox, but Tom is an immensely talented kid, and I love seeing him perform. When someone gives 110% every night, you can't not be taken in by it.
Talking of soft spots, I have just one other... Connor Doyle. I absolutely adore Connor, when I see him perform he just lights up the stage. Everyone says how wonderful Jake Pratt is in the role, but honestly I don't rate him all that much. But I will talk about Jake in part 3. Connor has so much more flare, committing himself fully to the role he has been given. He can sing well and has natural rhythm when it comes to his tap dancing. But over and above all of this he has that charm which a Michael needs. Michael is a very complex boy, with even more complicated feelings, and you need an actor who can open up and show these. That is just what Connor does at every single performance without fault. It feels like an eternity since I saw him last, in reality its probably only about a month, but thats a long time by my standards! It was great to see him again today. Along with Francesca as Debbie, it completed a fantastic child cast line up.
All that was missing from today's show was Kate Graham. I already miss her. There will be a special blog hitting your screens in the later half of this coming week which will compare and contrast the three Mrs Wilkinson's I have seen over the last few days.
You know what? Theres so much more I could tell you about this show, but I want to leave this blog soley dedicated to the child actors who make this show so wonderful to watch and be a part of. In the words of the song Shine... "it doesn't matter if you're large or small", because at the end of the day it boils down to passion, and when you have passion, you can be 4 foot 6 and still feel like a giant among men. Today was more than enjoyable, and the rumour was Tanner Pflueger would be performing the evening show... how could the day get any better than this?
Happy reading
G xxx
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Back To Billy (Part 1)
As you would have gathered by now the show Billy Elliot is rather special to me. Having just completed an intensive musical theatre course in which I had to dance myself, and in a sense find the Billy within me, I needed a fix of my favorite show in London. I was feeling spontaneous this morning and just decided to go. I landed a surprisingly good seat seeing how last minute I booked. Maybe it was an omen, a sign of good times to come as I can honestly say that tonight was probably my favorite show out of the fourteen times I have been. There were a lot of understudies on tonight, but in a sense that is what makes the show nice to watch, as their interpretation of a character will differ from the casted actor, thus giving the storyline a new dimension. Whats more It may give me more to write about.
So just to warn you its gone 3am, by the time I have finished writing this it will probably be almost 4, so quite how good this blog will be I don't know. But gone 3 in the morning, and i'm writing for you... thats commitment if I ever saw it! Well maybe not. My train home was delayed by almost an hour after somebody fell ill and an ambulance had to be called. I feel this was somewhat inconsiderate of this person. I hope as they lay on their hospital bed they are feeling deeply guilty for delaying me and making me stay up this late! My god, I really am heartless, aint I? Oh well... on with the blog...
Playing the role of Billy tonight was Ollie Gardner. Well what can I say? Ollie just gets better every time I see him. You can see he is more comfortable in the role as Billy these days which has allowed him to dig deeper into the emotional side of the character. When watching Ollie, he portrays Billy in such a genuine light. He adds an edginess, and an air of insecurity to the role which I really like. I think of all the actors, Ollie's perception of Billy is most real. Exploring the characters depths of emotion, tied in with his ability to express them, Ollie is capable of reaching out to every last audience members heart and mind. Thats quite a talent, and with Ollie building upon his already fine tuned act with every show he performs, I can't help but think this is the beginning of a huge career in acting for him.
Now for a surprise, Tom Holland who usually plays the role of Billy was casted as Michael this evening. I love Tom in this role, he is so different to all the other Michael's. He is a natural born performer, and seeing him in this role demonstrates his versatility. What I enjoyed most tonight was his on stage rapport with Ollie in the role of Billy, beyond the characters you could see that the pair had developed a strong friendship off stage, and this carries through in the energy the pair gave throughout. Digging deeper than usual to score extra laughs and extra tears the "Expressing Yourself" routine tonight was by far the best I have ever seen it performed. Tom's ability to show emotion is fantastic, he definetly delivers a softer Michael, and its when he breaks down into tears in the final scene we see this demonstrated best. This is truly touching, and i think really adds something to what already is one of the most powerful endings in a West End show.
It was a special evening too for Kate Graham, it would be her last official show as Mrs Wilkinson. She will return to the ensemble now, as Jo Ridding is bought in to replace her. I am quite reluctant to accept Jo, I know this is stubborn but I completely adore Kate, she is a fantastic actress who always gives 100%. I guess I am just opposed to change. Still I guess we should always look for positives, so will get to see another side of Kate when she returns to the show mid-September. I guess in due course i will report back on this for anyone who might be interested.
Now there are a lot of other roles in the show and I want to start talking about some of them. If not to make the blogs more diverse, It will at least give me something different to write about. Tall Boy and Small Boy are two roles I haven't really talked about before. They are so crucial to the storyline yet never normally get the mentions they deserve, as they are forever in the shadows of Billy and Michael. So I think this is where I will start... with Small Boy.
Tonight small boy was played by Eliot Carrington. Eliot's big moment in the spotlight is during the boxing scene. Believe it or not this part of the show is very much reliant on the involvement of Small Boy, and the innocence we automatically associate with someone so young. It is just this which adds so much humour to the scene, be it Eliot's cries of "Jeeeeeeeesus" during his press-ups or his innocent if not slightly rude parting comment as he says goodbye to George, its guaranteed to have the audience in stitches of laughter. I don't want to sound like I am knocking the other small Boy's down, but Eliot dies do this better than any of the others, i think its that devilish innocence that he uses to his advantage! Eliot is a natural and a delight to watch, he already has developed some fantastic acting skills and vocally can project himself superbly well. I look forward to seeing his future ventures after his time in the show.
I think that is a nice note to leave this blog on. I got to meet Eliot after the show and he is such a lovely kid, I love meeting new people and this was no exception. I waited around to see Kate and Barnaby also. Its not a show without saying hello to them both! Ollie, Tom and Eliot made this show so worthwhile tonight, so much so I am already looking forward to going again on Saturday! So heres a slightly different ending to a blog a photograph... well it adds a bit of colour to this rather bland page! I'll give you a clue, i'm not the adorable one, that would be Eliot! Isn't he sweet?
Well i said it would be 4 by the time i finished this.... well its 3.58am... not a bad guess eh? Please leave a comment, reading them will keep me occupied tomorrow :)
So just to warn you its gone 3am, by the time I have finished writing this it will probably be almost 4, so quite how good this blog will be I don't know. But gone 3 in the morning, and i'm writing for you... thats commitment if I ever saw it! Well maybe not. My train home was delayed by almost an hour after somebody fell ill and an ambulance had to be called. I feel this was somewhat inconsiderate of this person. I hope as they lay on their hospital bed they are feeling deeply guilty for delaying me and making me stay up this late! My god, I really am heartless, aint I? Oh well... on with the blog...
Playing the role of Billy tonight was Ollie Gardner. Well what can I say? Ollie just gets better every time I see him. You can see he is more comfortable in the role as Billy these days which has allowed him to dig deeper into the emotional side of the character. When watching Ollie, he portrays Billy in such a genuine light. He adds an edginess, and an air of insecurity to the role which I really like. I think of all the actors, Ollie's perception of Billy is most real. Exploring the characters depths of emotion, tied in with his ability to express them, Ollie is capable of reaching out to every last audience members heart and mind. Thats quite a talent, and with Ollie building upon his already fine tuned act with every show he performs, I can't help but think this is the beginning of a huge career in acting for him.
Now for a surprise, Tom Holland who usually plays the role of Billy was casted as Michael this evening. I love Tom in this role, he is so different to all the other Michael's. He is a natural born performer, and seeing him in this role demonstrates his versatility. What I enjoyed most tonight was his on stage rapport with Ollie in the role of Billy, beyond the characters you could see that the pair had developed a strong friendship off stage, and this carries through in the energy the pair gave throughout. Digging deeper than usual to score extra laughs and extra tears the "Expressing Yourself" routine tonight was by far the best I have ever seen it performed. Tom's ability to show emotion is fantastic, he definetly delivers a softer Michael, and its when he breaks down into tears in the final scene we see this demonstrated best. This is truly touching, and i think really adds something to what already is one of the most powerful endings in a West End show.
It was a special evening too for Kate Graham, it would be her last official show as Mrs Wilkinson. She will return to the ensemble now, as Jo Ridding is bought in to replace her. I am quite reluctant to accept Jo, I know this is stubborn but I completely adore Kate, she is a fantastic actress who always gives 100%. I guess I am just opposed to change. Still I guess we should always look for positives, so will get to see another side of Kate when she returns to the show mid-September. I guess in due course i will report back on this for anyone who might be interested.
Now there are a lot of other roles in the show and I want to start talking about some of them. If not to make the blogs more diverse, It will at least give me something different to write about. Tall Boy and Small Boy are two roles I haven't really talked about before. They are so crucial to the storyline yet never normally get the mentions they deserve, as they are forever in the shadows of Billy and Michael. So I think this is where I will start... with Small Boy.
Tonight small boy was played by Eliot Carrington. Eliot's big moment in the spotlight is during the boxing scene. Believe it or not this part of the show is very much reliant on the involvement of Small Boy, and the innocence we automatically associate with someone so young. It is just this which adds so much humour to the scene, be it Eliot's cries of "Jeeeeeeeesus" during his press-ups or his innocent if not slightly rude parting comment as he says goodbye to George, its guaranteed to have the audience in stitches of laughter. I don't want to sound like I am knocking the other small Boy's down, but Eliot dies do this better than any of the others, i think its that devilish innocence that he uses to his advantage! Eliot is a natural and a delight to watch, he already has developed some fantastic acting skills and vocally can project himself superbly well. I look forward to seeing his future ventures after his time in the show.
I think that is a nice note to leave this blog on. I got to meet Eliot after the show and he is such a lovely kid, I love meeting new people and this was no exception. I waited around to see Kate and Barnaby also. Its not a show without saying hello to them both! Ollie, Tom and Eliot made this show so worthwhile tonight, so much so I am already looking forward to going again on Saturday! So heres a slightly different ending to a blog a photograph... well it adds a bit of colour to this rather bland page! I'll give you a clue, i'm not the adorable one, that would be Eliot! Isn't he sweet?
Well i said it would be 4 by the time i finished this.... well its 3.58am... not a bad guess eh? Please leave a comment, reading them will keep me occupied tomorrow :)
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Musical Theatre - Day 5
So here it is, the final curtain call, the finale so to speak. After an intense week of training this is what we were working for. The Friday night performance. But before we go there I have just read over my last 4 days worth of blogs, and its interesting to see how much my confidence has built in such a short time. At the beginning of the week I was out of my depth, now I am swimming as beautifully as a swan. Ok maybe not a swan, that may be a bit too majestic.... maybe just a duck or something. But either way I am not drowning like I was on Monday thats for sure.
I was also distinctly worried that I wasn't connecting with the course tutors on the first couple of days, but that really changed as the week went on. Both were very supportive, and I would really relish the chance to work with them again. Becky in particular was fantastic, she spent time with whoever needed it and was always happy to stay behind for a few minutes if you needed to run over some dance moves and Vicky was always there to support us in our solo songs. So what about the group? I had said that it was lacking warmth and didn't gel all that well. Even this changed tonight, there were a couple of exceptions, but we found ourselves working as a group, supporting one another and bonding how a group should. We had become a unit rather than a series of individuals on the same course, and that is something which makes such a difference, especially in a final performance.
So needless to say before the class had even started I was feeling a lot better than I was at the beginning of the week. We were to have one dress rehearsal then it was the performance in front of a small audience. By now everything should be slick and very much ready for the dress rehearsal, well it wasn't.... things were messy, and all of a sudden we had all become very nervous again. In under 30 minutes we would be performing the final show. I used this time to help that guy in front of me i've talked about previously in "One" get his steps right. With a little guidance and one on one he started to pull things together well. I think I was a bit harsh on him in the last two blogs, but thats frustration for you I guess. I was just hoping this would be enough to make a difference.
So its show time, and we start with "All That Jazz". I hate to admit it but whilst at the beginning of the week I described this dance as rather boring, but I love it now, I even like the song. I pulled this off faultlessly, as did the group. It was smooth, it was elegant it was outright sexy, just how its meant to be. We couldn't have asked for a better start. We would now move into our solo pieces, mine (which was in fact a collaboration with two course late starters rather than a solo) was three quarters the way down the bill so it would in fact be after our first group song "Seasons Of Love". This all went rather well too. In the dress rehearsal, we were all out of place and failed to deliver the song in the way we should have. But as a group we heeded Vicky and Becky's advice, and delivered the goods.
So far so good, but then came "No One But You", the song I was singing with two others. I have to be honest in every run through I had been left kicking myself because I wasn't happy. Everyone accuses me of setting the bar too high, but I set it that high because I know its what I am capable of. With this said whilst I knew singing was a weakness, but I still had to set the standard I wanted to achieve over and above what I had so far delivered. Ok, we were by no means the best of the individual performances (that goes to Jess with Good Morning Baltimore), but boy did we do well. We had far exceeded anything we had delivered before, by a long shot. This wasn't our best performance by a margin, it was our best performance to date by a mile... you have no idea how good this felt. Also there was another great feeling I had actually sung solo in front of an audience, something I feared doing. So it shows if nothing else had come of this week at least my confidence had improved. The reality was however this week I had learned more than I had in a long time. The applause at the end felt genuine and I felt good. Surly this was going too well?
So to bring the show to a close we had our last group song "You'll Never Walk Alone", we had pretty much nailed this song from day one so there were no fears here. This just left us with our finale piece "One", you know that one that always ended a mess? It had all gone too well so far, surly this is where it all goes tits up? Surprisingly not, ok there were small errors from people, but nothing overly noticeable. Remember that guy in front of me? I couldn't criticise him one bit, he delivered, as did I, well as did everyone. We truly finished the performance on a high!
What a show... what a week!!! I don't think anyone let the group down, so what better way to finish it off than with a few photo's, and a few drinks. I actually missed my last train home, and instead had to get one to a neighbouring town, from where I would have to walk. I got home at 3.20am, and had to be up little after 6 for work. But that vibe from the show made all these sleepless nights and the 5 mile walk so worthwhile. Had you have asked me on Monday I would have said this course would have been a waste of time and indeed money. Ask me now and I will happily say its been amazing, great course tutors, a great group and an amazing show to top it all off!
So anyway thats another course done and dusted, so I guess I will continue telling you about the last course I was involved with next time I write. Until then keep reading, and leave some comments! You guys have been slacking off!
G xxx
I was also distinctly worried that I wasn't connecting with the course tutors on the first couple of days, but that really changed as the week went on. Both were very supportive, and I would really relish the chance to work with them again. Becky in particular was fantastic, she spent time with whoever needed it and was always happy to stay behind for a few minutes if you needed to run over some dance moves and Vicky was always there to support us in our solo songs. So what about the group? I had said that it was lacking warmth and didn't gel all that well. Even this changed tonight, there were a couple of exceptions, but we found ourselves working as a group, supporting one another and bonding how a group should. We had become a unit rather than a series of individuals on the same course, and that is something which makes such a difference, especially in a final performance.
So needless to say before the class had even started I was feeling a lot better than I was at the beginning of the week. We were to have one dress rehearsal then it was the performance in front of a small audience. By now everything should be slick and very much ready for the dress rehearsal, well it wasn't.... things were messy, and all of a sudden we had all become very nervous again. In under 30 minutes we would be performing the final show. I used this time to help that guy in front of me i've talked about previously in "One" get his steps right. With a little guidance and one on one he started to pull things together well. I think I was a bit harsh on him in the last two blogs, but thats frustration for you I guess. I was just hoping this would be enough to make a difference.
So its show time, and we start with "All That Jazz". I hate to admit it but whilst at the beginning of the week I described this dance as rather boring, but I love it now, I even like the song. I pulled this off faultlessly, as did the group. It was smooth, it was elegant it was outright sexy, just how its meant to be. We couldn't have asked for a better start. We would now move into our solo pieces, mine (which was in fact a collaboration with two course late starters rather than a solo) was three quarters the way down the bill so it would in fact be after our first group song "Seasons Of Love". This all went rather well too. In the dress rehearsal, we were all out of place and failed to deliver the song in the way we should have. But as a group we heeded Vicky and Becky's advice, and delivered the goods.
So far so good, but then came "No One But You", the song I was singing with two others. I have to be honest in every run through I had been left kicking myself because I wasn't happy. Everyone accuses me of setting the bar too high, but I set it that high because I know its what I am capable of. With this said whilst I knew singing was a weakness, but I still had to set the standard I wanted to achieve over and above what I had so far delivered. Ok, we were by no means the best of the individual performances (that goes to Jess with Good Morning Baltimore), but boy did we do well. We had far exceeded anything we had delivered before, by a long shot. This wasn't our best performance by a margin, it was our best performance to date by a mile... you have no idea how good this felt. Also there was another great feeling I had actually sung solo in front of an audience, something I feared doing. So it shows if nothing else had come of this week at least my confidence had improved. The reality was however this week I had learned more than I had in a long time. The applause at the end felt genuine and I felt good. Surly this was going too well?
So to bring the show to a close we had our last group song "You'll Never Walk Alone", we had pretty much nailed this song from day one so there were no fears here. This just left us with our finale piece "One", you know that one that always ended a mess? It had all gone too well so far, surly this is where it all goes tits up? Surprisingly not, ok there were small errors from people, but nothing overly noticeable. Remember that guy in front of me? I couldn't criticise him one bit, he delivered, as did I, well as did everyone. We truly finished the performance on a high!
What a show... what a week!!! I don't think anyone let the group down, so what better way to finish it off than with a few photo's, and a few drinks. I actually missed my last train home, and instead had to get one to a neighbouring town, from where I would have to walk. I got home at 3.20am, and had to be up little after 6 for work. But that vibe from the show made all these sleepless nights and the 5 mile walk so worthwhile. Had you have asked me on Monday I would have said this course would have been a waste of time and indeed money. Ask me now and I will happily say its been amazing, great course tutors, a great group and an amazing show to top it all off!
So anyway thats another course done and dusted, so I guess I will continue telling you about the last course I was involved with next time I write. Until then keep reading, and leave some comments! You guys have been slacking off!
G xxx
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Musical Theatre - Day 4
Day 4 and everythings starting to click, my fear of singing isn't half as bad as it was earlier this week. Don't get me wrong I am still a pretty poor singer, but theres been some improvement all be it slight. The dancing has come along well on the whole but I made one big mistake which left me so angry, I know i can do the dances, i just need to keep my concentration. I now know why Fox Jackson-Keen was left inconsolable after he missed a flip in a show of Billy Elliot. I think I have taken in a lot so far this week, and from someone whos never danced before, I have really started to show some flair.
We had our first proper run throughs today, on the whole for about 10 hours work its all come on great. I think in honesty I would have preferred to have this course more spread out to allow me to practice a bit more in between classes. Maybe one a week for 6 weeks or something. However the intensity of it is all rather real, as you cant just do one rehearsal a week for a proper show. So there is that aura of reality there which is something I have coped with well.
There has been a lot of pressure and stress, but will it all have been worth it? I guess I will find this out tomorrow. I need to keep focused and get that winning mentality at the forefront of my mind. Or at very least I need to ignore that guy I mentioned yesterday who somehow manages to grind me every time we perform "One", he iss a nice guy don't get me wrong, its just in this dance he manages to get to me, but I'm sure it will all end up alright... well at least I hope so.
Anyhow the last update in this series of blogs tomorrow... will it be heaven or hell? We will just have to wait and see.
We had our first proper run throughs today, on the whole for about 10 hours work its all come on great. I think in honesty I would have preferred to have this course more spread out to allow me to practice a bit more in between classes. Maybe one a week for 6 weeks or something. However the intensity of it is all rather real, as you cant just do one rehearsal a week for a proper show. So there is that aura of reality there which is something I have coped with well.
There has been a lot of pressure and stress, but will it all have been worth it? I guess I will find this out tomorrow. I need to keep focused and get that winning mentality at the forefront of my mind. Or at very least I need to ignore that guy I mentioned yesterday who somehow manages to grind me every time we perform "One", he iss a nice guy don't get me wrong, its just in this dance he manages to get to me, but I'm sure it will all end up alright... well at least I hope so.
Anyhow the last update in this series of blogs tomorrow... will it be heaven or hell? We will just have to wait and see.
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Musical Theatre - Day 3
Right so its the half way mark of this intensive course, and for the first time I am starting to find some degree of comfort. Ok that doesn't mean i'm great at what we are doing, but it means I no longer fear I am the worse there! I in fact got some positive remarks from Becky one of the course leaders today. She has grown on me a lot since yesterday and I am really starting to feel comfortable taking guidance from her. She complimented me on my dance work which has inspired me to give it even more tomorrow evening to raise the bar a little further.
We finished the routine for "All That Jazz" today. Its really come together well. With a few more run through's we will have this mastered. The final part of the song is really easy to do, so as it happens we had already learned the hard bit. As for "One", which is from "A Chorus Line". We have that all finished too but if I am honest it is still looking a little messy. My frustration at this is I am stuck in a line behind someone with a limited sense of co-ordination, timing and movement. In group choreography you become very reliant on the person in front of you, as your moves feed from theirs. So this is making it doubly hard for me to make my moves right. We are going to need to work hard on this for Friday if its to be ready, thats for sure, or at very least I need to learn how to focus on my own moves without letting other peoples poor steps influence mine, but that is soooooooo hard.
The group songs are slowly coming together too. I still can't sing, but my confidence in singing as part of a group is definitely improving. Singing alone though leaves me trembling still, but apparently I am gonna spend some time with Vicky doing this tomorrow.... oh joys! (Note extreme sarcasm) I really am not looking forward to the singing!
Anyway Its been another 20 hour day so I'm off to bed!
G xxx
We finished the routine for "All That Jazz" today. Its really come together well. With a few more run through's we will have this mastered. The final part of the song is really easy to do, so as it happens we had already learned the hard bit. As for "One", which is from "A Chorus Line". We have that all finished too but if I am honest it is still looking a little messy. My frustration at this is I am stuck in a line behind someone with a limited sense of co-ordination, timing and movement. In group choreography you become very reliant on the person in front of you, as your moves feed from theirs. So this is making it doubly hard for me to make my moves right. We are going to need to work hard on this for Friday if its to be ready, thats for sure, or at very least I need to learn how to focus on my own moves without letting other peoples poor steps influence mine, but that is soooooooo hard.
The group songs are slowly coming together too. I still can't sing, but my confidence in singing as part of a group is definitely improving. Singing alone though leaves me trembling still, but apparently I am gonna spend some time with Vicky doing this tomorrow.... oh joys! (Note extreme sarcasm) I really am not looking forward to the singing!
Anyway Its been another 20 hour day so I'm off to bed!
G xxx
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Musical Theatre - Day 2
So its day two and I practiced hard on my day off from work today. I know I will never be a great singer, so I didn't put too much emphasis on learning the songs, I figured I would just go with the flow and focus on dance. I have never done any work in dance before, so this is all completely new to me. Yet somehow I am picking it up rather well. Ok I am not the best at it, but Rome wasn't built in a day, well at least thats what they say. But this isn't Rome, its North London, so I guess things are different here, especially seeing as we all have to be up to scratch for Friday's performance.
The only problem is, that whilst I am picking this up reasonably fast, Its not particularly enthralling. Well at least the routine from Chicago isn't. I did go to see Chicago back when Jerry Springer was staring in the show. I can't say I enjoyed the show all that much and the theatre itself was nothing special. The choreography is good for the show, the storyline is all over the place and the set.... well it doesn't exist. I'm in no hurry to see that show again, but at the same time, now I am performing a routine from it, I do feel a little more attached to the show... well just a little bit!
The choreography for "All That Jazz" is rather simplistic yet very dramatic. Its not about big moves, more about the symbolism that each move carries. Its a very sexy dance routine, which I guess makes me entirely the wrong person to be performing it.... but oh well.
We started work on the finale piece too which is a song called "One" from some show I cant remember and have never seen. We get gold shiny hats... gotta love it. Only thing is there are two moves I am struggling with. This dance is a lot faster, a lot more up beat with bigger moves. Its much harder to get right, and with my limited experience is pushing me further that maybe I would like, or at very least am comfortable with.
Either way I quite like the dance element of all this and whilst the singing isn't really for me at least I get some benefit out of this. I am still not feeling a great group rapport and our course leaders, as nice as they are have failed to inspire me in the way Jenn had in the other classes I have been telling you about. I am not overly confident in my ability on this course, but theres improvement. Guess we just have to wait and see what day 3 holds.
Anyhow its late and I am only gonna get 4 hours sleep again, so i'm outta here until tomorrow!
G xxx
The only problem is, that whilst I am picking this up reasonably fast, Its not particularly enthralling. Well at least the routine from Chicago isn't. I did go to see Chicago back when Jerry Springer was staring in the show. I can't say I enjoyed the show all that much and the theatre itself was nothing special. The choreography is good for the show, the storyline is all over the place and the set.... well it doesn't exist. I'm in no hurry to see that show again, but at the same time, now I am performing a routine from it, I do feel a little more attached to the show... well just a little bit!
The choreography for "All That Jazz" is rather simplistic yet very dramatic. Its not about big moves, more about the symbolism that each move carries. Its a very sexy dance routine, which I guess makes me entirely the wrong person to be performing it.... but oh well.
We started work on the finale piece too which is a song called "One" from some show I cant remember and have never seen. We get gold shiny hats... gotta love it. Only thing is there are two moves I am struggling with. This dance is a lot faster, a lot more up beat with bigger moves. Its much harder to get right, and with my limited experience is pushing me further that maybe I would like, or at very least am comfortable with.
Either way I quite like the dance element of all this and whilst the singing isn't really for me at least I get some benefit out of this. I am still not feeling a great group rapport and our course leaders, as nice as they are have failed to inspire me in the way Jenn had in the other classes I have been telling you about. I am not overly confident in my ability on this course, but theres improvement. Guess we just have to wait and see what day 3 holds.
Anyhow its late and I am only gonna get 4 hours sleep again, so i'm outta here until tomorrow!
G xxx
Musical Theatre - Day 1
So I am gonna leave talking about the other course for a week or so, to do a live blog of whats going on this week. Remember that course that I told you Janet had talked me into doing? And how stupidly despite knowing I would be out of my depth, I agreed to do it? Well thats this week. And you want the truth... I'm shitting myself. I can't sing all that well, I know that. i've never danced before in my life. I am completely outside of my comfort zone of plain old acting in this course. I haven't felt this much fear since it was announced that Big Brother was returning for yet another series. But I guess you need to be outside of your comfort zone to better yourself at a skill... right?
I was first to arrive at Sadder's Wells where the course was taking place. Its rather daunting being the only person in a huge well equipped studio, well alone bar the two course tutors. It wasn't long though until some other faces started appearing. i know its wrong to make judgements so soon, but I instantly felt that this group wouldn't get as well as the previous set of classes I had. Maybe it was my fear of being well out of my depth that was withdrawing me from the group, I don't know... but there was a certain warmth lacking from this group that had been prominent previously.
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this course, well not specifically. The criteria on the course outline is a bit vague, but I had expected a gentle smooth introduction to musical theatre. Rebbecca the course leader instead threw us straight in the deep end. there was no zip-zap-boing or name games for this group. We were to get straight into the nitty gritty of it all. I guess on an intensive course this is just the way it had to be, but it did nothing at all for my nerves.
After a few vocal warm ups with Alex, we were all to do a bit of singing individually to find our range, which in turn would help the course leaders work to our strengths. Or in my case what would make me sound least bad. I was actually shaking, I was petrified! I have been through what on paper was a lot worse than this, yet I can comfortably say standing there I was terrified. As we went round the circle there were distinct mixed abilities, though I feared I would be the worse. The one line we had to sing in different keys was "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high". I have quite a deep voice so there is no way that I would reach the high notes that some others were managing. Rather Alex suggested I should see how low I could go.... i did alright I suppose, but to say I am comfortable singing would be a massive lie.
We went on to do some other singing exercises. We focused on "Seasons Of Love" from Rent, and "You'll Never Walk Alone", which off the top of my head is in Carousel, (someone correct me if I am wrong). Either way it is better known in football as Liverpool's anthem. I am more comfortable in group singing as I am less conscious of my contribution, and safe in the knowledge it would be difficult for an audience member to hear me specifically. I think we did ok at these two songs. Alright we picked them up a bit slower than maybe one would have liked but we were sounding half decent. But my fear was my duet performance for the end of the week. Even now I am dreading it. But more about that some other time.
So on to some dance. We will be doing a group piece. This will be "All That Jazz" from Chicago. Its not too difficult actually. Well the movements aren't, mastering the timing is a tad harder. As one bad move and the group choreography can look all out of sync. As a group we somewhat excelled. It needs work, and we have only done the first two verses, but its getting there and with some practice will look good. Or at very least it will make up for my terrible singing!
So that in short is my first day, its noon on Tuesday as I write this, so my next class is in a few hours, so I best go get some practice in... as I need to blow some people away tonight. The thought of not being in the top portion of the class is enough to inspire me to keep trying, but I am gonna need an awful lot more will power if I am to sing on friday!!!
So thats me done until tonight or tomorrow whenever I manage to update you next. Until then, happy reading.
G xxx
I was first to arrive at Sadder's Wells where the course was taking place. Its rather daunting being the only person in a huge well equipped studio, well alone bar the two course tutors. It wasn't long though until some other faces started appearing. i know its wrong to make judgements so soon, but I instantly felt that this group wouldn't get as well as the previous set of classes I had. Maybe it was my fear of being well out of my depth that was withdrawing me from the group, I don't know... but there was a certain warmth lacking from this group that had been prominent previously.
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this course, well not specifically. The criteria on the course outline is a bit vague, but I had expected a gentle smooth introduction to musical theatre. Rebbecca the course leader instead threw us straight in the deep end. there was no zip-zap-boing or name games for this group. We were to get straight into the nitty gritty of it all. I guess on an intensive course this is just the way it had to be, but it did nothing at all for my nerves.
After a few vocal warm ups with Alex, we were all to do a bit of singing individually to find our range, which in turn would help the course leaders work to our strengths. Or in my case what would make me sound least bad. I was actually shaking, I was petrified! I have been through what on paper was a lot worse than this, yet I can comfortably say standing there I was terrified. As we went round the circle there were distinct mixed abilities, though I feared I would be the worse. The one line we had to sing in different keys was "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high". I have quite a deep voice so there is no way that I would reach the high notes that some others were managing. Rather Alex suggested I should see how low I could go.... i did alright I suppose, but to say I am comfortable singing would be a massive lie.
We went on to do some other singing exercises. We focused on "Seasons Of Love" from Rent, and "You'll Never Walk Alone", which off the top of my head is in Carousel, (someone correct me if I am wrong). Either way it is better known in football as Liverpool's anthem. I am more comfortable in group singing as I am less conscious of my contribution, and safe in the knowledge it would be difficult for an audience member to hear me specifically. I think we did ok at these two songs. Alright we picked them up a bit slower than maybe one would have liked but we were sounding half decent. But my fear was my duet performance for the end of the week. Even now I am dreading it. But more about that some other time.
So on to some dance. We will be doing a group piece. This will be "All That Jazz" from Chicago. Its not too difficult actually. Well the movements aren't, mastering the timing is a tad harder. As one bad move and the group choreography can look all out of sync. As a group we somewhat excelled. It needs work, and we have only done the first two verses, but its getting there and with some practice will look good. Or at very least it will make up for my terrible singing!
So that in short is my first day, its noon on Tuesday as I write this, so my next class is in a few hours, so I best go get some practice in... as I need to blow some people away tonight. The thought of not being in the top portion of the class is enough to inspire me to keep trying, but I am gonna need an awful lot more will power if I am to sing on friday!!!
So thats me done until tonight or tomorrow whenever I manage to update you next. Until then, happy reading.
G xxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)