Units 5 & 6 Performance

Project Workshop 14/01/19

In today's class we had to create an idea for a musical. My first individual idea was a musical about an old haunted farm. I was then partnered up with Leah, Nehemie and Ghazall where I hear their ideas. Leah had an idea to create a musical set in the future that included aliens. Ghazall's idea was about a girl who wanted to do musical theatre but her parents wanted her to become a doctor. We tried to blend all the ideas together however, we ended up settling on an idea Nehemie had.

The musical ended up being about a game show set in the future where families would end up being trapped in the game show and the only way out was to win.

Project workshop 15/01/19

In today's lesson we chose what parts we wanted to be in 'Little Shop of Horrors'.

• Alex - Seymour
• Ella - Audrey
• Leah - Ronnette (Doo-Wop girl)
• Nehemie - Crystal - (Doo-Wop girl)
• Tilia (me) - Chiffon (Doo-Wop girl)
• Rina - Mr Mushnik
• Ghazall - Customer, wino
• Bethany - The voice, wino

Next we had to decide what theatre rolls everyone would be in. It was divided into two groups, Costumes, makeup and hair and the other group was staging, lighting and props. I joined costumes, hair and makeup.

We then watched videos and clips of songs from the 'Little Shop of Horrors' 1986's film and 1960's film. This helped us get an understanding of the characters and songs.

We were also assigned partners to choreograph different songs. I was partnered with Leah to choreograph Prologue.  

Project Workshop 21/01/19

In this lesson we got into our pairs to start choreographing the songs. Me and Leah divided our roles for the planning so that we could get more done. I was in charge of the staging and who was were and when. Leah was in charge of researching doo-wop girl band moves for the dance.

Project Workshop 22/01/19

In today's lesson Me and Leah started to focus on the movements in the song. We did this by playing the song repeatedly and improvising together. We recorded the improvisations so that we could pick out moves we liked that we wanted to use in the actual dance. I was also switched onto staging, lighting and props instead of hair, makeup and costume.

Project Workshop 28/01/19

We did a short warm up to make sure our bodies were warm and ready to start the lesson. Me and Leah continued to choreograph the prologue. We set down the basic moves, mainly for the beginning.

Nehemie then started staging everyone for 'Skidrow' so that we knew where we had to be for when she started teaching us the movements.

Singing 28/01/19

We worked on our songs for Little Shop of Horrors.

Project Workshop 29/01/19

Today in class we sat down with Nehemie and she talked us through the staging for 'Skidrow' and who was where and when. We then ran through our steps to the song to help us remember where we have to be and when. We ran through the dance a few times to make sure we got it. The dance uses different techniques that we've looked at during previous lessons within project workshop such as, slow motion.

I need to make sure I remember what movements are to which words and when I need to travel.

Acting 29/01/19

Today in acting we started to work on our lines for 'Little Shop of Horrors'. As the lines mainly belong to Seymour, Audrey and Mushnik I had to focus on my actions whilst other things were occurring on stage and making sure I stay in character.

Project Workshop 04/02/19

Today in class we continued to work on Skidrow and then finish it. We finalised our movements and where to go and when. We then started working on the Prologue song. Leah started teaching Nehemie, who is one of the three girls, the dance parts for the three girls whilst I showed everyone else where they needed to be at what points.

(Prologue)

(Skidrow)

(Grow for me)

Project Workshop 05/02/19

Today we finished off working on the prologue, and I taught Ella (Audrey) who wasn't in yesterday, her parts. Once we had run through the prologue we moved onto 'Da-doo'. Rina begun teaching me, leah and nehemie the dance for the three girls. We have small simple movements. Once we had worked on this we worked on 'Grow for me'. Alex and Ella taught us the dance. Everyone is on stage for this song and they are all taking part in the dance.

Acting 05/02/19

For this lesson we went through mainly the first part of the show. Me, Leah and Nehemie (the three girls) were told to keep our actions to a minimum until Rina (Mushnik) acknowledges us where we can make bigger movements. To do this I'm going to do similar actions in scenes I am not in the spotlight, such as 'read' a magazine, file my nails or play with my hair. When my actions need to be bigger I'll 'talk' to the other two girls and laugh about with them.

We were then all hot seated. I was asked questions and I had to answer whilst still in character. I found this slightly difficult because I couldn't do an American accent very well however, I answered the questions quickly and how I thought my character might answer.

Project Workshop 11/02/19

Today we went into the prop and costume rooms to look for things we could use in 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Me and Leah picked out fake flowers, plants, leaves and anything that we could use as a plant or to decorate the store. We found a cash register which is perfect for the shop and a stool Rina (Mushnik) can sit on. We also found a low table we could use as one of the tables outside the shop.

The costumes for the three girls:

Singing 11/02/19

We did a warm up and then went through our dance for Skidrow whilst we sung it to make sure we could project and still sing whilst doing the dance. We also worked on the prologue to make sure we could still sing and project whilst dancing.

Project Workshop 12/02/19

In this lesson we used the time to practise smaller areas of the show, such as the three girls dance parts. 

Acting 12/02/19

We went through the whole show, including the songs for the first time. It didn't go too well because we were told we needed to have more energy and make it a lot bigger. The second time we did it was better than the first however, we still needed to make it bigger and show that we are enjoying it more.

Making Audrey 2 (the plant prop)

To create Audrey two I needed to have an understanding of how puppets worked. I researched how to create a puppet in many different ways. Most used socks. However, a sock wouldn't create the rounded, tulip shape Audrey two has. I started researching into papermache and how I could use a sock and papermache to create the right shape but still be used as a puppet. At first I tried to use a large round vase that I could use to help mould the shape of the head. This didn't work out because it was too big, not the correct shape and difficult to get off the vase without damaging it. 

I went to my dad and asked him how I could create the head of Audrey two. We worked together to create the shape of Audrey twos head out of wire. 

Once we had the shape, we papermached over the wire. Once they had dried we were able to strengthen and mould the lips of Audrey two using . . .

We cut out card to fit on the inside of each shape, making sure to leave enough room for someones hand. To stick it together we used a hot glue gun.

I then had to create a hinge so that they would move together. To do this I used red felt and cut it into strips for either side of the mouth and a larger bit for the middle.

We got a plastic plant pot and cut a hole in the bottom for the hand to go through. I also connected a green sock to the head by cutting off the end and hot gluing the edges to the head. I also added thick foam in the pot, leaving room for you to put your hand in and also securing the Audrey two in place.

Now it was time to paint Audrey twos head. I use acrylic paints, green, brown and red.

I cut out some leaves using card and painted them using acrylic paints, green, brown, green/blue. I hot glued the leaves to the foam and ot.

Project Workshop 26/02/19

Today we set up the set in the dance studio and ran through 'Little Shop of Horrors'. We ran through it a few times and made sure to fix certain areas such as the spacing for the three girls. We also had to make sure me, Leah and Nehemie (the three girls) all stepped on the same foot and moved at the same pace. We spoke about what foot to step on first and how much space we had to keep between us. 

We used backing tracks instead of the official tracks so that we could further practise our singing with the dancing.

Acting 26/02/19

(prologue)

(scene + skidrow)

(scene + da-doo)

(scene + grow for me)

Singing 28/02/19

We went through the prologue song aswell as skidrow and da-doo. We focused a lot of attention on the harmonies in da-doo.

Little shop of horrors lighting

Project Workshop 04/03/19

We ran through Little Shop of Horrors once for practice and then again whilst filming it.

We all had to give feedback to someone about their performance in Little Shop of Horrors whilst watching our filmed performance back. I think we need to make our actions bigger to accentuate the comical and dramatic effect 'Little Shop' has. This time our projection was a lot better and ques were a lot clearer. 

Rina gave me feedback:

Project Workshop 04/03/19

Today we went into the theatre so that we could set up the stage and then run through Little Shop of Horrors so that we could work out whether we needed to move people around and make sure we had enough space. 

We did a Q-Build at the back of the stage for the shop. The Q-Build is 12 blocks however, we are going to add on 2 more blocks to add length. We also need to add 2 or 3 small blocks to display plants in the 'shop'. We used a screen to create the illusion of the door to the Shop and added the trellis in front of it.

We still need to adjust the use of the space on stage so that everyone inst clumped together and everyone's more spaced out. 

(Q-Build set)(Table)

(Whole stage so far)

(Skidrow)

(Skidrow)

(grow for me)

(prologue)

(prologue)

(prologue)

(scene)

(Skidrow)

(Skidrow)

(Pictures in the theatre)

We also made flowers out of tissue paper and wire:

Project Workshop 11/03/19

Performance and production preparation

What did you need to rehearse + refine and why in little shop of horrors?

We needed to go through 'little shop of horrors' and refine our movements and timing so that everyone was in the correct place at the right time and so that the three girls were in sync. Me, Leah and nehemie worked out when we had to spin during the prologue and whether or not to do it in cannon. We decided to do it at the same time to the right on the second 'comma'.

How well did reheasal of addams family go?

We went through 'Addams family' without the second years but we still managed to get our dancing and singing correct. We felt comfortable and ready to perform it.

What do you need to do next to ensure you are ready for performance?

We just need to do tech in the theatre and run through 'Little shop...', 'Addams family' and our solo songs in the theatre to make sure we have the correct amount of space.

What do you need to do to ensure your songs are ready for performance?

I received good feedback due to my good characterisation and generally nice sounds throughout the performance. I need to make sure I practise the middle area of the song where it gets higher to make sure I don't go flat.

Project Workshop 12/03/19

Today we went into the theatre to tech 'Little shop...', 'Addams family' and our solo songs.

How successful was the technical rehearsal today?

The technical rehearsals today went well because we communicated what we wanted to the production students and they were able to provide it for us.  

Did you need to make any addition/adjustments or changes?

No real changes needed to be made.

What do you need to do now to ensure you are ready for tomorrow? what do you need to bring?

I had already bought in Audrey 2 and my costume was in the costume cupboard however, I did need to bring my makeup and hair supplies. I put all the makeup I needed for my role into a bag.

The set and dress rehearsal

(dustbins and rubbish)

(mushnik's flower shop sign/entrance)

(tissue paper flowers and 50% sign)

(tissue paper flowers and flower of the day sign)

(table with flowers and gardening equipment)

(table where Audrey gets the roses for the customer)

(rubbish)

 Costume run videos:

(Little Shop of Horrors)

(Addams family)

(I'll be here - solo song)

Performance 13/03/19

(Little Shop of Horrors)

(Addams family)

(I'll be here - solo song)

Units 5 and 6 – Final evaluation questions 'Little Shop of Horrors'

 1.     Describe the project you have worked on over the term. What was the brief, its starting point and objective? what challenges did you foresee?

We started off by looking at the prologue song in our singing lesson and learnt it altogether as a group. In project workshop is where we begun learning more about ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. It was announced to us that we would all work together to create the choreography to each of the four songs in the first 20 minutes of the musical. First we all decided on our characters. I chose one of the three Doo-wop girls, along with Leah and Nehemie. Alexandra chose Seymour and Ella chose Audrey. Rina was Mr Mushnik, Ghazall was wino 1 and the customer and Bethany was wino 2 and the narrative voice at the beginning.

Once characters were decided, we each chose whether we would like to do hair, makeup and costume or props, set and light design. I originally chose hair, makeup and costume but later changed to props after realising that would be a better fit for me. I was given the job of creating the plant (Audrey 2).

We were put into four groups of two and each pair chose a song they wanted to work on. I was paired with Leah and we chose the prologue song. I knew creating a choreography would be difficult but I think we managed it well.

 2.    How did you begin working on your ideas and who did you work with? What research did you look at and how did you use it to create your choreography and plot your scene?

As a class we looked at a few videos of Doo-wop girls singing and dancing. We noticed that they are all very in sync and use quite small movements that still appear big. Me and Leah were assigned to work on the prologue song for ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. This song is mainly focused on the three girls because they are introducing the shop. Me and Leah focused on different things. I focused on staging for the dance and Leah did more research on the Doo-wop girl’s movements and begun brainstorming what movements we could use.

We both begun improvising the dance to get a rough idea of the speed and what movements would fit well with the song. We reused movements we liked and continued to add on. We also looked at the characteristics off the characters such as Seymour, Audrey and Mushnik. We used these to create a background choreograph. We had Seymour come on stage as the first verse starts and wonder about placing plants on tables and carrying plant pots across the stage. When the three girls sing “watch them drop”, Seymour trips over on drop. Mushnik then comes on stage for “Shing-a-ling” and bumps into Seymour who is still picking up the plant pots. Mushnik ‘shouts’ at Seymour during “look out”. Audrey walks on stage the same time as Mushnik and potters about the stage with her handbag and powders her face. We have wino 1 try to steal Audrey’s bag. Both Winos act drunk around the stage and often copy the movements of the three girls. This makes sure everyone is in character and it introduces the characters to the audience.

3.       What kind of planning and additional research did you need to do to support development of this piece of work? What did you have to consider – for example; contextual background, breaking down and adaptation of choreography, appropriate dance and acting styles, adapting and learning of script, character research, songs/music, production elements such as lights, set, costume etc. How did you go about this?

To begin researching I watched the 1980's musical of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. We had to do additional research on American life in the 1960's which is when the musical was set. We also investigated the Doo-wop girls of that time and when and how they originated. Using the research, I had acquired, I used this in the way I moved as a Doo-wop girl however, I also made these movements more dramatic like how the Doo-wop girls were portrayed in the 1980's musical.

4. What were your individual responsibilities over the course of rehearsal and development and how did you fulfil them?

At the beginning we were each asked what role we would like to take on out of hair, makeup and costume or props, set and lighting. Originally, I chose hair, makeup and costume but then switched to props, set and lighting because I felt I was better suited to this. I was given the responsibilities of making the plant (Audrey 2). To do this I created a head for the plant in the shape of a tulip using wire and paper mache. I used a sock for the puppet and a plant pot and cardboard leaves. I painted the head and leaves with brown, red and green colours. I used hot glue to secure everything together. I ran tests throughout the progress to make sure the plant would hold together during the performance and also work well as a puppet.

Me and Leah designed the lighting for the prologue song. We were given sheets of the floor plan and we explained using the sheet how we wanted the lights.

 5.  How did you work with your group and in solving problems as they arose during the process? Give specific examples of development and/or production problems and difficulties that you came across and discuss how you organised and planned solutions to move forward. How well did your solutions work?

Leah and I ran into differences of opinion when choreographing the Prologue dance when it came to the other characters in the background. To resolve this, she continued working on the dance for the three girls and I was in charge of the other characters. This worked out well because it meant we could get more done.

Once we started teaching the dance to the rest of the class we came into contact with problems in the dance. I found an area of the dance too fast and so we adjusted it to make it slower. As a three we also had issues with being in sync and keeping equal space between us. For example, we had problems turning all at the same time and same direction during “comma comma comma” during the prologue. To fix this we all decided to spin to the right on the second “comma”.

As a group we all had to deal with the absence of two students and therefore we often had to step in for their parts for the sake of rehearsal. We worked together to make sure the rehearsals could still run smoothly and it wouldn’t distract us from practicing.

We all worked together in singing to perfect the songs. I worked with Leah and Nehemie on the harmonies for ‘Da-Doo’. Leah was the high harmony, I was the middle harmony and Nehemie was the lower harmony. I also worked alone at home to practise my parts of the songs. Me, Leah and Nehemie each recorded our harmony so that we could practise without each other.

 6.       How effectively did you apply your practical and performance skills in rehearsal, development and refinement of the project?

I made sure I knew the songs well, even other people’s parts so that I could get my timing correct. I spent time learning the songs with my classmates but also made sure to practice them at home and listen to them. By knowing the songs well this also allowed me to connect dance movements to words and therefore, getting the correct timings.

 7.       What did you take into account when planning production elements of your piece? For example, how did the original production inspire you? How did your decisions link to the narrative and communication of your piece? What strategies did you use to plan lighting and indicate cues for the production team? How did you arrange cutting of music, use of sound effects ect?

When we were planning the lighting for the prologue, we had to take into account what should be highlighted and what shouldn’t. Leah and I decided that Bethany, who was playing the narrator at the beginning, should be in the spot light in front of the three girls. This gives off a dramatic affect and leaves the three girls in a silhouette. Once the song starts, the lights snap up on the three girls and the rest of the stage slowly fade up to the same brightness. This brings the focus to the three girls who are opening the story and introducing the shop. Throughout ‘Little Shop…’ the back of the stage (the shop) has a green tinted light, further amplifying the fact it’s a flower shop.

To make this easy to explain to the production students, we were given sheets of the floor plan so we could draw and write down where we want light what colour we want the light, and how bright we want the light. We could also write down exactly when the lights needed to do a certain thing during a song. For example, during ‘Da-Doo’ the lights were to get brighter and redder throughout the sentence “total eclipse of the sun”. We also had a chance to speak directly with the production students and explain exactly what we wanted.

We needed backing tracks and sound effects. As a group we tested out multiple backing tracks, but many were too fast or slow. We eventually found suitable backing tracks and these were sent to the production students. We also asked the production students to provide us with a ‘strange humming sound’ for ‘Da-Doo’ and a loud crashing nose for when Seymour is off stage making a mess.

We also had to think about the space in the theatre and the set. Although the studio and theatre are the same size, we still had to make sure we had enough space to do what we had rehearsed. This is because this was the first time using the Q-builds and that meant we could lose space. We originally started off with 12 blocks of the Q-build however, we were concerned this was not enough space for the people on the Q-build to move around safely so we added on an extra two blocks. We also changed the step on either side of the Q-build to smaller blocks instead of a small step.

 8.      How successfully do you think production elements met the demands of the scenes/song and dance sections you performed in terms of communicating theme, context, mood and atmosphere?

For lighting, a green base was used to create the atmosphere of the flower shop. This was further highlighted by the multiple fake flowers and plants around the stage, especially in the shop area. This was done successfully because it created a clear understanding for the audience.

We often used spotlights throughout the songs and dances to highlight a key character, such as Seymour and Audrey during ‘skid row’ and Seymour and the plant during ‘grow for me’ at the end once the plant starts growing. This created a dramatic effect that ‘Little Shop…’ has.

For the prologue song, Leah and I designed the lighting to create a dramatic atmosphere by putting a spotlight on Bethany whilst she spoke. Because of our previous research on b-movies, we knew how dramatic they were meant to be. This inspired the dramatic lighting and poses of the three girls behind.

The costumes used were based on the fashion and style in the 1960's and the 1980's musical of ‘Little Shop…’. This worked well to compliment the theme and context. All three Doo-wop girls wore dresses which was the typical style of Doo-wop girls and females in the 1960's generally. Each girls dress was different and this highlighted the fact that each girl was an individual character. Audrey also wore a dress. Seymour and Mushnik’s outfits were also based on the male fashion in the 1960's and they were also heavily influenced by the 1980's musical.

 9.       How successfully do you think your performance met the demands of the scenes/sections you performed? – how would you evaluate the quality of the final stage performance and the use of your performing skills within the final work, particularly in communicating your piece to an audience?

I believe my performance met the demands of the areas I performed because I stayed in my character throughout the play, even when I wasn’t directly performing. Whilst me and the other two girls sat on the steps outside the shop I made sure to ‘talk’ to them, read a magazine or play with makeup. I also had the job of ringing the bell whenever someone entered the shop. Whilst ringing the bell I needed to stay in character and make sure it wasn’t obvious.

I felt that my movements in the actual performance were a lot more dramatic and bigger than they were in rehearsals. I tried hard to stay in sync with the other girls however, I didn’t find this very difficult seeing as we had practised so much. I believe I projected well and used techniques I had learnt in class, such as breathing more through my rips.

 10.   What do you think you have learned about developing work for stage performance? What might you do differently next time? How could the work be improved both personally and in your group in terms of the collaboration process, planning and organisation and performance skills?

I’ve learnt that you need to consider multiple options and try out lots of different things to find out what works best. For example, whilst choreographing the prologue with Leah, we tried out multiple different movements before we decided what movements we would use. This also applied to the backing tracks.

I think it could have done better if I had rehearsed the dances more so that I knew exactly what direction to go or move my arm, etc. As a group we could have been more open to other ideas. As one of the three girls, I think we should have rehearsed spacing and direction more to make sure the three girls were perfectly in sync.

 Evaluation of other performance pieces(Addams Family, songs and classwork not necessarily performed)

1.       What other repertory pieces have you worked on this term and what practical knowledge and skills did you use and develop as part of these projects?

We worked on a song/dance from the Addams family musical with the second years in our musical theatre lesson. We also started working on ‘god I hope I get it’ from ‘chorus line’ however, we were not able to finish this in time for the performance, so we ended up only performing ‘Addams Family’ which was already perfected.

We were all given the option to sing either a duet or solo during the performance. I chose to do a solo piece from a musical called ‘Ordinary days’. The song is called ‘I’ll be here’. I decided to chose this song because I already knew it well as I have worked on it for a long time and even performed it before.

 2.    What kind of planning and additional research did you need to do to support development of the pieces?

To research the ‘Addams family’ I watched the first two Addams family movies. This gave me good information on the characters of the actual family however, it didn’t help with my part as an ancestor. To help this, I watched videos from the ‘Addams family’ musical so I could get a rough idea of how the ancestors moved and how they looked.

For my solo song ‘I’ll be here’ from ‘Ordinary Days’ I did research on the musical so that I could portray the character correctly. Once I knew the basic story of the character I was able to use my characterisation skills more effectively. The song is about a woman whose husband dies in the 9/11 attack and she’s explaining what happened to her new boyfriend who had recently asked her to marry him. To further my understanding of the emotions she might be feeling I saw a musical called ‘come from away’ which is another musical about 9/11.

 3.      What had to be taken into account in deciding production elements of the different pieces? Consider lighting to create mood, atmosphere and context, music, costume set etc. how successfully do you think these elements met the demands of the pieces you performed?

For the Addams family we used a white/blue light to create an eerie atmosphere that sort of resembles a grave yard. Our costumes (for the ancestors) was black and grey old clothing. I wore some black leggings with a grey sweater. We wore these colours to give the impression of dirtiness and zombies. The Addams (second years) wore clothing that matched their character.

For my solo piece I stayed in my costume from ‘little shop…’ however, the characterisation was completely different. I had a spotlight on me whilst I sung. This put all of the focus on me.

4.      How successfully do you think your performance met the demands of the different pieces? How would you evaluate the quality of the final stage performance and the use of your performing skills within the final works?

I believe our performance went well because we all made an effort to stay in character and sing, act and dance to our best ability.  

My solo song didn’t go great on the first performance because the music was too low and I couldn’t hear it properly which meant I couldn’t pitch it correctly. However, my second performance was much better because I spoke to the production students and asked them to turn it up louder this time. This meant I could pitch the song correctly.