Cast pages WWRY

These are the cast pages for the official Worthing College We Will Rock You Programme:

I am confident with these as they look professional and include all members of the cast. Bar one. Hopefully we will rectify this in time for the production. But It shows what we hope to achieve with the program, to make it as professional as possible. At first I was disheartened not to use a more prominent background than just pain white, however after seeing in it printed I have come to the conclusion that that we don't need to make things to difficult for ourselves and can just refer to basics.

 

21 May 2013

In today's lesson we had a full run through with the other cast. I didn't mind as this gave me opportunity to get some photos for the programme, which proved to be really beneficial.

I also read lines with Millie once again to really cement scene 9 in Act 1. I think we're at a point now where the characters are believable and the relationship is present on stage.

I also used the time available to think about my costume for Brit. As previously stated I am basing him on Queen drummer Roger Taylor as it gives me a firm target to work with. Ill be looking at key features to his rebelliousness. For example:

Hair-Throughout the Queen/rock n roll era one thing that really symbolised a rock star was his hair, it was a significant association made.  

Chains/Jewellery: As shown above many rebellious rock artists would were necklaces and rings to highlight that they were unique. Musicians dressed the same but individually. Much like the Bohemians

Footwear: Something powerful, Boots perhaps?

15th May 2013

We used this lesson to Block the entire of Act 2.
I was not required to play Brit in the lesson therefore as he is killed at end of act 1. However I will be playing a bohemian with one of the casts in order to keep myself engaged with the show. It was less about characterisation today and more about blocking so we could prepare for a full run next week.

Due to me not being a key part of this rehearsal I used my time wisely and concentrated on learning my lines with Millie. We repeated them over and over again just so we could establish the scene and add our own aspects to it, prompting one another along the way if necessary. By then end we were both completely familiar with the lines and didn't need scripts. Which symbolises the effort that went into that and the progress that we made.

14th May 2013

Today we revisted the Radio gaga dance with the year 12's whilst also working on production roles. I will be taking part as a Gaga kid in the other production so it is vital I learn it. After taking part several times I opted to also record the dance in order to help me rehearse in my free time:

After this I met with Amy to discuss the progress of the Programme, we arranged that the final page would present the collage of various rehearsal photos to show the work that led to the production. It would be my responsibilty to photograph the rehearsals and merge the selected photos into a page. I met with Rachel and she confirmed that their would be funding available for colour printing. Which primarily is our target as we feel black and white takes away the elegance. She did clarify that this meant we would have to sell the programmes rather than just give them out, as colour printing would cost more.

13th May 2013

Today I rehearsed the songs 'I want it all' and 'Crazy little thing called love with Maisie and Megan. They play Brit and Meat in the other class and I thought it would be beneficial to work with them as they had worked well on the songs and I wanted them to give me a bit of support and encouragement in order to get up to their standard. Ben would play the songs on the piano as it was easier to sing along too and helped with range, I was reluctant at first but by the end my volume was good and I was really enjoying myself.

We repeated this practice before deciding to take a look at the staging for our songs, specifically 'I want it all' I actually assisted in choreographing the piece using the girls on stage, I had a very clear picture in my head of what would look good and I think the girls agreed with me on this. The higher up they were on stage the more emphasis it gave their characters.

I think this helped all of us as we worked independently and got plenty done. The scene looked really good and we were happy to go over it several times without stopping, demonstrating how much we can achieve when we're all working together on the same wavelength. My only regret was that Milly wasn't there to work with us due to other commitments. It would have helped as I am performing with her in the show, however we'll be sure to take everything when she returns.

9th may 2013

WWRY- SONGS

Today we used the session to practice our songs for the show. We were all really nervous as we had only really practiced them in our free time and were still unfamiliar with them. What made the situation worse for me personally was that the person playing my role in the other cast was ill so the responsibility was on my shoulders. Much to my dismay!

I performed my first song and personally I think it was awful, I could hear myself singing and it just sounded completely wrong, im usually a confident performer but this was agonising and I wanted to stop, however I continued and finished the song.

By the time it came for me to perform my next song my confidence was gone, I barely projected the words and relied on the rest of the class to support me. Following the end of the session I went through some singing exercises with Kim to help me better understand the songs, we did singing back phrases and some breath control and already I felt much better. It was really beneficial I just wish Id asked her help sooner.

Personal
I think I need to devote as much as I can to learning the songs to the best of my ability. I know them I just haven't practiced them enough and this reflected today. I will make it my priority to know the songs and project with confidence and character.

Group
We all need to show character with our performance, we don't seem to believe we can interpret and perform these songs with effective characterisation. We need to all work on this if we want the production to be a success.

2nd May 2013

Today we met for a production meeting. We were tasked with imagining the various areas of 'Planet Mall' and trying to create then by using the staging blocks we had available. Things we needed to remember were:

What characters are associated with this location?
For instance, Killer Queen is an almighty leader, she considers herself invincible and therefore we must show that on stage, as if she were atop a castle perhaps?

Does some of the setting have a designated name?
The heartbreak hotel for example

How many cast members need to be on an area of stage at one time?
The GaGa kids. Big group of school children, will need space!

Amy, Josh Mortimer and myself were tasked with constructing the heartbreak hotel, we had a very firm idea of how we wanted it to appear, due to it being part of the rebellion we imagined a place that lacked elegance. We made the stage blocks uneven so that it looked mishapen and put it on the corner of performance hall to make it look forgotten and destitute. Much like the music loved by the Bohemians in We Will Rock You.

When the staging was complete it established the ideas we had when discussing the layout, Killer Queen's empire one side and the Bohemians rebellion the other. The juxtapositon of both forces throughout the show will hopefully entertain an audience who fall in between the contrasting foes.

I was really reflective in this lesson. I put forward my ideas and engaged myself, which in terms of contribution this year is quite out of character. It was nice to be listened to and we all had great fun putting the set together. Despite losing a few screws! Enjoyed it very much.

WWRY Programme

Creating the programme

The programme will be including a full synopsis of the musical and will give a brief overview of the history of how the show came to be, the influence of Queen and so on. Below is the synopsis of the show that will be used.

We will rock you- A synopsis

Written and produced by Ben Elton and Brian May, We Will Rock You is a futuristic Rock fest, originally including over 20 of Queen’s most loved songs. Brian May speaks about the creation of the musical: ‘This show is all about legend…We take the legend of Queen and our own fantastical story of young kids battling the might corporations who want to suppress their individuality and their love of music. They need a hero who can help them in their struggle, and we have two – the dreamer Galileo and the sassy rock chick Scaramouche.’

Under the harsh and precise rule of Killer Queen and Commander Khashoggi, Planet Mall’s citizens (GaGa Kids) dress the same, think the same and upload the same, regulated music. Everything is controlled, vetted and planned in advance – until the Resistance uprising challenges this strict way of life: the Bohemian rebels who live under the city, out of sight, want to understand and re-introduce a ‘Golden Age’ that was lost long ago when kids were allowed to make their own music, experiment; a time where real musical instruments were legal.

A young man called Galileo has confusing visions, dreams and snippets of forgotten songs and phrases from the Golden Age spinning round his head which he cannot understand. He befriends a young woman, Scaramouche; another rebel who wants to escape from the suffocating rule of Killer Queen and the rest of the GaGa Kids. Fleeing to the underground city, they meet similar Rebels and Bohemians: Britney, Meat, Poppy and Big Macca who teach them about a prophecy that was once told of a hero who would find the answer and reveal the forgotten world of the Golden Age – could Galileo be the one? Killer Queen and Commander Khashoggi are hot on their heels, determined to never allow the Golden Age to be remembered and silence the Bohemians and Rebels while they still have the chance.

Resources: http://www.wewillrockyou.co.uk/#/news

http://www.metroradioarena.co.uk/news/913/queen-and-ben-elton-s-we-will-rock-you-cast-and-preview-with-brian-may

Cover Design

Here is the final cover design for the official Worthing College We Will Rock You Programme:

Production Role

I had initially volunteered to do props for my production role in WWRY. I made this decision with little enthusiasm as I think I was more looking forward to the performance and unfocused from additional roles.

I had to take a step back and think about what I could apply myself to in order to get the best out of myself and help the rest of the group. I have a history of working in a business environment and a firm knowledge of advertising and due to that I became attracted to the Marketing Design role. This can include posters, programmes, tickets and so on. I spoke to Amy about offering her assistance with the program to which she responded very enthusiastically, I began meeting with her regularly to discuss ideas and review how we wanted the programme to be.

The first big issue for the both of us is the front cover. I was very keen to have a photograph-perhaps slightly edited- of the entire cast at the end of Radio gaga as I felt it really symblolised the show in an image of Victory and defiance and it would be an opportunity to have the entire cast on the cover. The problem with this is some members of the cast don't perform radio gaga in the show and therefore the audience may be confused by this if they see them on the program. Also rehearsals currently don't include costume so the photo would've the cast in their everyday clothes, which would take away some of the vivacity for the production.

Amy had an interesting idea of using a pair of double casted characters for the front cover (e.g. 2 Galileos, 2 Scaramouches etc) they would be facing each other for dramatic effect, it would symbolise the similarity and yet the contrast. Each program would have a different pair on it. What we pointed out on was that some members of the audience may not be comfortable with that-having their child on the front cover-and would we be able to design a programme for each cast member? Or would it take up time? It was interesting to explore these further.

Other things we will be wanting to include in the programme will be:

History of the show
Cast Bios
Cast list
A photo collage of the rehearsal stages
Info on the tech team

18th march 2013

WWRY- Radio gaga

Dance


In today's session we tackled the dance for radio GaGa with Sam. We had a look at the opening dance from the stage show for inspiration and another from a school production, these are credited below.

We began with a stretch and warm up. Sam then began with a short isolation routine which gave us a vivid into the Radio gaga style of dance, it consisted of sharp movementsand swift turns with a robotic effect. We developed corner routines in the form of contemporary dance. I struggled with this as my timing and footwork were really poor and I found the change in direction hard to follow. I hope to improve my dance by the end of the course to a point where I feel confident with what im doing.

We were then split into groups of 4 and assigned with choreographing a verse of the song. My group was given verse 2:

'No need to think, no need to feel,
When only cyberspace is real,
It makes us laugh, it makes us cry,
It makes us feel like we can fly,
We can fly.'

We chose to stick with choreography similar to the videos above. Especially similar to the west end production. It was difficult to establish and was far from compact, each move was like a seperate sequence and had it's own specification. I found myself trying to predict the next movement in my head so I could give a good delivery, much like an Actor thinking his next line or a singer preparing for a change in key. I think the struggle was a good learning experience and I am keen to see how I progress with the dance...

17th January 2013

WWRY Read through

We thought it would be best to establish our characters by having a read through of the scipt.

Duu it to being a short lesson we were unable to finish the entire script but I felt we started to really sink our teeth into our characters, when reading my lines I used an accent that I felt was authentic to the character. I was still using the idea of Roger Taylor when it came to portraying Brit, he has a huskiness in his voice that I personally think could be interpreted as quite Bohemian, and he has a relaxed and sharp personality that reflects his confidence.

I will intend on making the character my own and I will take inspiration from the character's portrayal in the stage show. But all in all I want to pick features from these sources and really make the character my own.

I enjoyed this lesson, everyone was excited about the show and the energy levels were fantastic. It's up to us now to all work on our characterisation.

Blog Project Proposal

1- SKILLS AUDIT

Key: 1-Strongest
        3-Weakest

1) Acting: I feel that my acting is what defines me as a performer. I have a strong background and have been acting from a young age. It is what made me want to join the course

2)Singing: I am not a confident singer, I can't identify notes and have very limited skill when it comes to projection, however I can characterise a song and am a fond music lover.

3)Dancing: I have no rhythm. Im always keen to take part and want to better myself. But I really struggle.

2- Early reactions to casting/character and script

I was happy to get a role that gave me some real stage presence, I wanted to really show the group that I had to ability to be a part of the production after some problems at the start of the year. The script intrigued me as im an avid fan of the band Queen so to be a part of a production based on their music is simply spellbinding.

3- Production Role-Costume

We will be responsible for our own costumes. I will take inspiration from Queen drummer Roger Taylor as I feel he has that explosive wild side that we see in Brit.

10th January 2013

Today we took part in a 'speed run' for our upcoming show, We Will Rock You. I was unfamiliar with what a speed run was and found this new and rather exciting.

So what is a speed run and why doe we do them?
The idea of a speed run is to sum up everything about the story in a very short piece of improvised drama. You are required to use your knowledge of the production and information from your scripts to best do this, you need to explain the WHOLE STORY.

How does this benefit us?
Script analysis.To begin with your script is your main resource, you must use it to identify characters, setting and synopsis, after reading through I instantly knew more about the show. We had to act out different parts which was tough for us to do but felt good, as if we were being thrown in at the deep end and by watching other groups show us their interpretations we could firmly grasp things that we might not have picked up on.