Oh the irony...

Hello theatre luvvies,
Isn't it just too ironic that I have been too busy at rehearsals to blog about going to rehearsals... ?

Anyway its been a while since I've written but I said to myself if I don't keep this up it's going to just wither away and die..and that would be sad.  We are now about 3 and a bit weeks away from our first night of JCS and the show is coming together now.  I am always amazed at how it really does start to gel in the last few weeks - we are now sharpening up our dance steps and lyrics and I feel a lot more confident.

Costume is pretty sorted - 60s hippy is not too difficult to do.  However, I thought I would share with you my lovely fabric painted jeans - which I decorated myself!  I bought a cheap pair of jeans and some fabric paints from Hobbycraft, enlisted the help of darling artistic daughter and voila!  What do you think?

I am really impressed by the performances from our leads - one thing you have to give with this show is a lot of emotion, night after night.  Judging from the performances I've seen in rehearsals the audience are in for a treat - and will probably feel a bit wrung out by the end.

A little clue for those of you who don't know the show - it doesn't have a happy ending. Just saying.

One of my favourite parts at the moment is when Pilate (played by Gareth Cheeseman) gets into kicking Jesus around and the mob are yelling crucify him - it really gives me goosebumps everytime - especially when poor Jesus (Richard Foster) is whipped 39 times.

Here is Richard giving his all as Jesus in Gethsemane...

And here are some of our lovely cast waiting patiently for their entrance - ha ha

I also really love the Superstar number - I think when we have a live band with us, this is going to be awesome.  There will be so much going on, on the stage, that I think it will be quite spectacular. I cannot wait until we have a proper rock guitar in there...

As a soul girl in this number ( I got promoted!) I am wearing a spangly tight dress and a blonde beehive wig - here is Wardrobe Manager Charlie Tarran modelling the wig ...I last saw this look on my mum who also had a similar hairstyle in the 60s - I know she reads this blog so she won't mind me saying!

I also want to leave you with this dilemma - whose side are you on - Team Jesus or Team Judas! I know who got my vote!

You can cast your vote on our Twitter page https://twitter.com/BSMTC and also check out our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BSMTCpage
for more news about our show and to book tickets visit  http://www.rhodesbishopsstortford.org.uk/events/jesus-christ-superstar/  where you can see our amazing show trailer!

Biblical, hippy or modern - the thorny issue of costumes

Hello fellow theatre luvvies,
I was thinking what to write the blog on this week - we are now into our rehearsal schedule but as we have only been doing music so far, we have yet to find out what vision our director has in store for us, including the issue of what we are going to wear and what look the show is going to have.

So this made me start thinking about costume.  We are all aware of the time Jesus Christ Superstar is set (33AD I think?), and some companies choose to stage it in biblical dress.  I have seen an amateur production of this where this was done, and it did not do it for me.  Maybe because I feel that this limits you to a sea of sandals and beige stripes with the odd palm leaf being waved around.We have agreed our production will be in modern dress - but what does this mean?  We have all been very influenced I think by the recent arena tour, where the cast wore modern dress - the look was of protestors and was heavily influenced I think by the riots in London a few years ago, and the protestors around St Paul's Cathedral.  Doing some internet research I came across all sorts of references so thought I would share them with you.

Firstly I found this brilliant bit of video from the costumer designer for JCS on Broadway in 2012 - I really like what he did as he has merged traditional dress with but there are touches of modern fashion - so it still looks funky and cool...

Paul Tazewell: Costume Designer For Jesus Christ Superstar Broadway 2012

What do you think?  I particularly like how he dressed Herod and Mary Magdalene - Mary really stands out in that yellow dress.

Love the suit Pilate is wearing too

This last picture shows Herod's song - love the use of the white piano but also how the girls and boys are dressed - sort of camp Roman??? Bit like 'A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum? '  Look at  that guy in the red tunic!!


Here is another take on costume from another society - the Hippy look...this is another way of doing it, referencing the time it was written and first put on stage - i.e. 1970s...Not too sure about this - could be in danger of looking a bit too much of its time?

 

Touch me, touch me Jesus!

I'm sure I've seen these guys in the British legion playing ukeleles on a Wednesday night

Now in this next picture, I am not sure what the hell is going on - back to the 80's anyone?  Pink DMs - a bit Bananarama? Although I am quite liking the Angels and the white vests with diamante crosses. But what is with those grey dresses the souls sisters are wearing?  Tell me, does this float your boat?

Do you really want to hurt me?

This was the only pic I could find of traditional Biblical dress and I must say I do like the Roman uniforms, but then I have always been a uniforms girl...but no, glad we are not doing it like this.

Doesn't Jesus look sweet though?

It thought this worked well, sort of - mix of old and new?  And that corset I bought could come in handy again...I am getting my money's worth out of that. I like Judas in black and Jesus in white.  Not sure about the guys in hats though, are they meant to be the priests or gangsters?

This is from the arena tour - hard not to copy it isn't it, as it is so good! - love the banners, love the modern look.  It would be really easy for us to do as we probably have the clothes at home - but what does our director have in mind?  I am sure he won't want to just copy it.

 

 

Gotta get my hoody out

Lastly thought I would leave you with this image of the priests - wouldn't this be great????Like something out of Star Wars???  Leather tea cosies for hats?

Got rehearsal tonight and wondering - will I ever get the notes right? The altos have got some real buggers to sing this year.

As promised in my last blog here is alto corner for JCS 2014!!  There are some more ladies but they are either on holiday or in the toilet....

The view from the Alto corner

So we are now into rehearsals for JCS - I am going to refer to it as JCS from now on so I don't have to keep typing it.  If you are wondering how the auditions went I'll tell you - true to my word I screwed it up as usual but managed to get my head back together and won the part of the Maid.  I googled this part but not a lot came up - she is referred to as Maid by the Fire - and that is about it!  Anyway, I get my 15 seconds of fame so I am happy...and hopefully I can pick up a few more lines here and there.  I am just glad to be in it and having fun again!

We had our first music rehearsal on Monday and it was great to be back with the gang again - I am an alto and we tend to be fewer in number than sopranos so we have to belt it out a bit  to be heard and stick together.  I find as an alto that we often get quite tricky parts to sing and every year we have the usual problem - can we hit the right first note?  Because if we get put off by sopranos we are stuffed and then we all just look desperately at each other and try to listen in to whoever may remotely be near the note....sometimes I just die laughing as some of the alto girls make me giggle so much - especially my theatre gal mates Cat, Carrie and Jo.

Altos often get called upon to add a bit of a boost to some of the male numbers in a show - this was the case in Fiddler on the Roof when we were on stage as 'knitting women' during the big Lachaim number.  I used to love doing this part of the show, as it was such a laugh.  There was one moment particularly in this number when we had to 'freeze' and I usually caught the eye of Jo - who always makes me laugh - so I had to look over her head every night. I didn't learn to knit but I sewed a sock to death the week of the show.

I personally love the sound of an alto voice - as I think the sound comes from deeper down - i.e. not so much your head voice...I may be wrong on that one not being a music professional! Feel free to correct me!

I researched on the internet about altos - and thought I would share with you some famous alto singers....

Judy Garland

Wow what a voice - like velvet - she had a range of two octaves.  
Although known for her emotive singing, her technique was brilliant.

Adele

Adele has brilliant control over the dynamics of her voice, being able to sing soft and airy when it suits the delivery, but switching back to a fuller tone with speed and aplomb. I like the emotion she puts into her singing.

 

 Cher

She sure can belt them out - and in true alto style she likes a crazy wig.  Apparantly in the 60s her secretary had to write to reassure fans she wasn't a man.

 Karen Carpenter

Is she your guilty pleasure?  Yes probably a little naff to admit you like The Carpenters these days, but you've got to admit she had one hell of a voice - often described as like chocolate and cream.

Kelly Clarkson

Very strong in the mid range and a true belter but she can also do a great head voice and falsetto!

I'll try and get a picture of some of us alto girls at rehearsal tonight -and maybe the Maid will get to sign her line tonight as well - you never know....

What about you? What alto signers do you like?

Auditions - make me sick (quite literally)

The nerves are jangling today as tonight we have our auditions for Jesus Christ Superstar! You can feel the tension amongst the whole company as everyone has been practising like mad.  Every year I ask myself why I put myself through it and I am sure so does everyone else - there is nothing worse than going in to a room and performing in front of a panel.  Nerves always get the better of me and I usually forget something - I actually find it worse than doing an actual performance. 

Last year I was on the committee and so I sat in on the panel for our Carousel auditions - I learnt a lot from this so thought I would pass on a few of my observations in the hope that they may help others (or not!)

1. Try to learn the piece if possible
It was noticeable from last year that people who had tried to learn the part performed better - probably because they were not hampered by holding a piece of paper and could act. We all have busy lives and its hard to fit it all in, but it definitely helps to have some idea of what you are doing without getting flustered and looking at your lines. My own personal view is that if you learn the part you really get into the character you are portraying because you're thinking about the words and the emotions more.

2. To wear a costume - or not?
I think the jury is out on this one - this year I am going to wear something suitable but the main reason is to help me feel the character more.  I have seen others take this approach and I think it really does lend something to their performance - maybe it gives more confidence? However, I saw really good auditions last year where people had not worn any type of costume but they just' 'had' the character and interpreted it well.  You could almost see them transform by using their body language etc.  Some of these people were chosen for their roles too - so having a costume would not have made any difference.  I think you should do whatever you need to do to make yourself feel more confident, not because you think it may impress the director.  He/she will have a vision of what the character will wear in the final show and it probably won't be anything like you wear for your audition anyway.

You can tell me the truth - is the donkey a bit much?

3. Do your own interpretation
Forget what anyone else says to you - go into the room and present the character how you feel it should be done.  The director is looking for something different - sometimes he/she may not even know what he is looking for until he/she sees it!  If everyone went in and did the same thing it would be really boring, wouldn't it?   So if you want to slow down your singing part in places, let the MD know that you want to do that before you start.   You have control!

Yes Pilate could be this guy - why not?

3. Don't be afraid to come further forward and make (some) eye contact
The director will probably tell you where he/she wants you to stand if you ask them first - here's a little tip to our BSMTC members - our Director  (mentioning no names) likes people to come forward and not stand too far back,  he likes a bit of eye contact - he likes people to move around a bit and not stand too rigidly and forced - i.e. don't just adopt one position and stand like that for the whole audition.  He shows absolutely no reaction to your performance but he is taking it all in, and will thank you politely the end...but you will have no idea how you have done!  Also his decision is final - he does take advice from others but its totally up to him in the end.
I thought this article was good on eye contact - no-one likes to be stared down but people don't like it when you don't make eye contact altogether...the 90/10% contact rule is quite good.
http://www.ace-your-audition.com/making-eye-contact.html

Possibly just a teeny weeny bit too much eye contact

4.  Be confident when you walk in - first impressions count
Yes, you are shaking with nerves but remember you are acting a part to some extent from the moment you walk in the room- walk in confidently and say hello. Stand tall and put your shoulders back - even if you don't feel it you will give the impression of confidence. And that's what they are looking for - are you confident enough to go on stage and perform?

OK this is not confident - this is just overacting - bless Nicholas Cage he never lets me down!

I certainly do not profess to be any kind of expert at auditions and will probably make a mistake tonight but I feel it's always good experience to do them - it helps you learn and it helps the director see what you can do, so he /she may consider you for other parts in future.  Last year I auditioned for a 'Heavenly Friend' and came out as a dancer - something I had not even considered auditioning for as I thought I was a) too old b) not good enough c) not slim enough.  So that proves my point doesn't it?  You never know until you try!

Break a leg!

How to win a NODA award - and yes we did!

Hello fellow theatre luvvies,

Glad my first post was so well received - this brings me great joy folks!

Did I mention that my musical theatre company BSMTC is an award winning company?  No?  Ok well I am telling you now - we won a NODA award for best musical in District 7 South East, two weeks ago for our production of Carousel last November!!  To the uninitiated who don't know what  a NODA award is - its like the Oscars for amateur theatre. Yes it really is.  The National Operatic and Dramatic Association NODA   provides support and advice to amateur theatre groups.  Every year we invite our NODA regional rep to come along and review our performances, and we all wait with bated breath to see what they write as their opinion really matters to us.

I was especially proud that we were nominated for this award as I took on the role of Production Manager for Carousel - well actually, I was co-erced into it by our President who plied me with coffee, beer etc until I gave in.  He is very good at getting people to do things they never set out to do!  It was a very busy role and I had to learn a lot but I am glad I did it and I had a great team to help me. Although there were moments when I thought 'what the hell have I taken on'?

This is the award -shame its not a trophy!

Which brings me to the reason why I think we won this award - teamwork.  We are of course a fantastic company with a supreme amount of talent - that's a given. (I am not at all biased!) However, to make an amateur production work it involves a lot more than just the cast - you need a great stage crew, a wardrobe manager, a props manager, someone to handle publicity and marketing, front of house staff, raffle ticket sellers. I could go on....When I took on the production manager role I did not foresee the amount of work that we would need to do - and it is all done voluntarily by dedicated people most of whom have full time day jobs. It does always seem to be the really busy people who get these jobs doesn't it?

I was very lucky with this show in getting a really great team together - firstly this show had a big costume quota and a big cast including 2 sets of children ( 12 in all) . Our wardrobe manager Cat took this job on and was fantastic - she was so organised and patient - and she kept her cool at all times.  Costume is a tricky area - everyone wants to look their best on stage and so when you hire costumes as we do they can be badly fitting and in need of some work. In fact the area of costume is a whole other blog post - I will definitely write something on that.

To give you some idea of how many costumes there were including a bear - a BEAR people - this is the opening number with the whole cast on the stage..

  and here are a few more images to show you including the boys as sailors...

I had a brilliant props team - my lovely mum Diane and a lovely lady called Jenny. Now my mum never does a job by halves -she has to do a job well or not at all - which is why I asked her to do it!  She still has not forgiven me!  Anyway as you may or may not know Carousel features a lot of clams - a huge amount of clams - as we all go on a clambake and even sing about it.  So where were we going to get that many clams?  Answer - my mum made them from Fimo and painted them...definitely worthy of a NODA award all by themselves I think you will agree?

You would never know these were not real clams would you?

Our other amazing team members were our stage crew and I was lucky to find a set of people with experience who were willing to get stuck in. We handled all the publicity ourselves and the programme and flyer was designed by the son of one of our members.

Of course you cannot win a NODA award without a great director and MD - and we have both. Boy, do they work us hard sometimes but it is sooo worth it. We started our run feeling confident and we all knew what we were doing, plus the singing and music was fantastic.  Some members of the audience said 'You'll Never Walk Alone', sung in the last scene gave them goosebumps and made them cry.

So to finish this post I thought I'd share with you the picture of us all at the NODA awards - we did a NODA selfie!  This was after we won and we were on a massive high...tonight is our AGM and we are going to show the award to our members so we are feeling very proud of ourselves.

The theatre luvvies celebrate their win

First ever blog post - why I love being in an amateur theatre company

Hello there fellow theatre lovers! 

Difficult to know what to start writing about first - as I have so many things I want to say, but as this blog is about amateur theatre I thought I'd kick off by telling you why I got into it in the first place. I'm a member of Bishop's Stortford Musical Theatre Company www.bsmtc.org.uk and joined up about 6 years ago. I'd always loved acting and singing but somewhere along the way after university I stopped doing anything - I was trying to establish my career, then I got married and had my lovely daughter Olivia.  I think I lost my 'mojo' and felt I did not have the talent or confidence to get up on stage. I left it for about 15 years! It all changed when I started working part time as a marketing manager in a local theatre. The venue I worked in was a council run place, and local groups hired it for shows etc so we played host to a lot of local theatre and ballet etc.  I got interested in one group, BSMTC as they were putting on a production of My Fair Lady and it was selling out - I managed to get a couple of tickets at the last minute, went along and was so impressed by the talent.  I sat in the audience wishing it was me up there in the costumes and under the bright lights -most of all it looked FUN. I really felt I needed something that was just for me - where I could be myself - not mummy, wife or career woman.

So I sent off an audition form and was asked to prepare a piece to sing and perform a poem or piece of text - I was so nervous I went and got singing lessons. I chose to sing a piece from Les Miserables - no, not I Dreamed a Dream,  I chose On My Own instead and a speech from Shakespeare.  My audition was on windy, cold night in a football club - I'd prepared the whole song, but when I turned up was asked to do only a section of it.  It was so cold my teeth were chattering so it was not the ideal audition environment, but somehow or other I got in.

My first steps back onto a stage were in a Spring Cabaret in a village hall which the company do every year as a fundraiser - I thought to myself -' I'll just stay in the background until I get my confidence back', but everyone was so welcoming I started to really enjoy myself from week one.  I soon started to see that other people were not afraid to get up there and really give it everything, so I felt - why not?  You can do it too!!  I think the closet diva started to emerge there and then - secretly I am a total show off!  After that  I got a part in Little Shop of Horrors which was my first big production in a proper theatre - I played Mrs Lucie the 'editor's wife' and was also in the chorus.  A soon as I stepped onto the stage on our first night I was hooked - I had the biggest surge of adrenalin and happiness ever.

Since then I have not looked back and my confidence has grown and grown.  I can honestly say have met the nicest people - I feel I have finally  found my 'tribe'.  They love acting, singing, dressing up, being crazy and having fun.  I have never laughed so much as I do sometimes at our rehearsals and I have made the best friends.

Joining an amateur theatre company was the best thing I ever did - I got my mojo back.

Here I am in my first ever big show Little Shop of Horrors as Mrs Luce with my fellow cast members behind the curtain on the last night - I am top row 6th from the left in the red hat.  That yellow thing is Audrey the man eating plant from outer space!

And here is another backstage pic from the same show...

Happy Days! 

What about you? Do you act and sing and how did you get into it?