So Sing Performance Evaluation

When performing 'So Sing' I feel that I was able to show a lot of skills as an ensemble. One skill being focus. This I feel was shown throughout the whole performance because in this particular performance we had different transitions between songs and we all had to focus to be able to pull the transitions of and still make them sound effective. I also feel that my focus allowed me to feel the different emotions of the songs. For example in 'Human' I was able to portray the look of confused and hurt, using facial expressions and a heavier tone to my voice. My energy here allowed others to bounce of and recreate that energy themselves to bring up the overall energy of our piece, which made it more enjoyable to watch. I also showed focus by thinking about the split between 'Tears Dry On Their Own' and 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', and preparing everyone with a cue signal subtly, and we were able to sing in time with each other which sounded good, and listening to one another is an important ensemble skill when singing.

I think that when we had our sudden change from 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' into 'Keeping Your Head Up' created a tense atmosphere for the audience because it went from an upbeat ensemble chorus to a serious solo verse in another song, which added a sense of tension for the audience, and allowed them to wonder what would happen next. When we started to sing the pre chorus together we started quiet and then built up to become louder, which lead us into an energetic and upbeat chorus. I made sure that I made eye contact with everyone in the ensemble to add a connection between us all and to make the song make sense, as it is about people supporting others, and I wanted to portray this.

Overall I am happy with the So Sing performance, because I was able to effectively use my ensemble skills by communicating with others, and the audience, and focusing on different cue lines. To improve I would like to have relaxed my voice more as I felt that it sounded tense throughout 'ain't no mountain high enough' because it is a high song. This may have been distracting to the other members of the ensemble and it may have also stranded out towards the audience which brought the level of the performance down. To improve I am going to work on my confidence with the songs before hand so that I am prepared to sing higher, and still support others.

So Sing Rehearsals

In the first So Sing rehearsal, we started the rehearsal by splitting into smaller groups to work on different songs. I felt that this was helpful because it allowed me to work on the song I was least comfortable with, which was 'tears dry on their own'. It also helped because the other people in my smaller group weren't confident with the song either, so we all listened to the song over and over, until we grasped the basic tune of the verse and chorus, and then started to learn the lyrics together. I felt that I picked up the melody of the song quickly, and helped the rest of the group by encouraging them to start the song again everytime we got a bit wrong, so that it stays in our heads. I personally found it difficult to pick up the lyrics, and Jade also found this difficult so we both thought of a solution together and created small movements to resemble the lyrics, and we taught it to our group, so that we could all remember the lyrics and timing with each other and the music. I feel as though I was able to pick the songs up quickly and therefore I was able to guide my harmony groups in what they were doing. This was because I made sure that I knew the songs we were given before rehearsals, to make sure we could work quickly and effectively and to ensure that we got a lot done. Due to the fact that I picked up the songs a lot quicker than everyone else, I felt that I soon became distracting to others which is unprofessional, and also I think that focus in rehearsal is a key ensemble skill because I would have to make sure that everyone can focus on what they are doing to ensure that everyone is happy, positive and confident. I was able to realise eventually that I was becoming a distraction, and therefore I started to focus and work on the rest of the songs. It was then suggested that as I was louder in the group in terms of singing, that I stand with other people to guide them with the trickier parts of the songs, and this worked effectively because the songs started to sound natural and even throughout the group. To improve for future rehearsals I would like to work on redirecting my high levels of energy into helping others, as oppose to distracting them to ensure that we are all working collectively as an ensemble and I feel that supporting others by helping them understand the songs better will allow me to achieve this ensemble skill.

For the second So Sing rehearsal, I feel as though my energy was low, which had a negative effect on the rest of the group. I am aware that this was unprofessional, and this isn't good for working as an ensemble. Whilst I was still able to sing through the songs with the group, I feel as though I wasn't giving the rehearsal my maximum amount of effort, which brought the rest of the group down, as oppose to putting it in which potentially could help the group, and bring all energy up. I think that this was particularly effecting to the group because a few people rely on me for the cues for when we split two songs, and if I am given that responsibility by the group then it is upon me to ensure that I am working with the ensemble as oppose to against them. I soon realised this and brought my energy up to support others, and like I said the lesson before, I wanted to redirect my energy into helping the group as oppose to distracting them, and therefore this is what I am going to work on for the next rehearsal. To do this I am going to come to rehearsal with a positive attitude so that I effect the group in a positive way and continue to contribute ideas.

The final So Sing rehearsal was particularly good for me, because I was able to start and finish the rehearsal with a positive attitude, and helped others with cues and parts of the songs. An example of this is when we split 'Tears Dry On Their Own', and a few of us sing 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'. I am one of the singers who splits into 'Ain't no mountain high enough' and therefore the rest of the group rely on me to start this cue line for the split. To support my group with the cue I created a subtle hand movement with Jade, who also knew when she was to start singing, and everyone else then felt confident with when they were coming in. In the beginning of the performance, we sing 'Human' by Rag n Bone man, and to start we all hum as a group in tune. This carries on for two verses and only stops in the choruses and when we change songs, and therefore I think it is important to carry the energy throughout the song. When rehearsing it I noticed that the energy dropped significantly and started to sound as though we were bored which made the piece sound boring when it shouldn't, and therefore I took it upon myself to notify the group of this concern so that we could work on it together. I think that it was effective that I did say this, because it brought the energy levels up and everyone listened to each other more. I think that as an ensemble we need to listen to each other to make sure that we are in time with each other and the music, to make the overall piece more appealing to the audience. We started to look into movement for the piece. For Human we had simple movements, which was using our heels as a beat to start the song and simply moving our bodies heavily in the direction of our leg that was moving. This created a rough look for the song which is what the song sounds like as well. For 'Tears Dry On Their Own', myself and Jade suggested our movements that we choreographed the lesson before, to help us learn the lyrics and we adapted them to make them more subtle and less forced by the lyrics. For the rest of the songs we would improvise and talk about what movements worked best and made mutual group decisions.

Overall I am happy with the rehearsal process for So Sing. This is because i think that throughout these rehearsals I have improved my approach and attitude to working as an ensemble and improved how I can help others, with subsequently helps myself as well.

We Will Rock You Performance Evaluation

Features

When working as an ensemble in We Will Rock You, I took into consideration the different elements of working in the ensemble, both on and off cast. When I was off cast I found it easier to communicate better with the different ensemble characters, as our characters obviously related with each other more. However when I played Killer Queen for the first two performances, I found it particularly hard to work with the ensemble because my character had such a powerful status. An example of when this is difficult is in 'Killer Queen', which is where the character is first introduced. The Yuppies do sing the beginning of the song, almost like an introduction for Killer Queens entrance, but after that Killer Queen sings the rest of the verses, and the Yuppies join in during the choruses. The reason I found it difficult to communicate with the ensemble was because my character had a higher status than the Yuppies, however I managed to find a way to include them in my dialogue by improvising dances to the songs, by walking up to them and trying to distract them, and mocking their dances. This also added a sense of comedy to the song which is what my character, and the song require and this also fits in with the theme of the play.

Whilst working as an ensemble in numbers such as 'No One But You' and 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', I made sure to use calm and happy facial expressions to express my characters love for the bohemians and to communicate with the audience how close the bohemians are. I think that this also sets a tone to the scene and as an ensemble member it is important for me personally to help communicate the tone of what ever song we are singing to both the audience and the rest of the ensemble so that we are working together, and this way, what we are portraying looks more realistic as well.

On Cast- Killer Queen

When playing Killer Queen, like I have previously mentioned, I found it particularly difficult to communicate with the rest of the ensemble in an effective way. This was particularly difficult in Killer Queen, but like i have said I was able to resolve it by improvising. Due to the fact that this song was my introduction as Killer Queen towards the audience, I made sure that I showed my high status through body language, keeping my shoulders back, and chin up. I also added suggestive movements subtly to the way I would stand, and then added 'sass' to the way I walked using my hips and shoulders to add comedy and to, again, represent my high and powerful status. I know that Killer Queen has a high status because of the song. I thought about the fact that she is powerful and posh because the Yuppies specifically sing 'She keeps her Moet and Chandon in her pretty cabinet'. Moet and Chandon is a well known and expensive champagne, and champagne is often used to suggest elegance and poise which again, adds to Killer Queens status. I know that she is controlling because of the way she talks to the different characters, and the way the script suggests this by using lines such as 'I will crush them'. During the instrumental of this number, four dancers didn't make it on stage to fill in the gap of the lyrics and song, which meant there would have been a big pause in the middle of the song and this would have lowered the energy levels for the audience, so I improvised a couple of lines in the first performance, suggesting that I was flirting with the audience, saying lines from the script and song. One line that I improvised to an audience member was 'Do you like my jacket? I downloaded it today' which I thought of quickly from the scene with Scaramouch and the Teen Queens when one teen queen said 'doesn't your mum download you anything decent to wear?'. This way, what I was saying linked with the overall show and script and didn't pull the audience away or distract them. I felt that this was effective because it made my character stand out more as a comedy character which is what I wanted her to look like, and it also meant that the ensemble kept the energy up for the rest of the scene. I was later made aware that the dancers had a quick change and weren't physically able to make it on stage in time for the instrumental break in Killer Queen, therefore I suggested that they don't come on until 'Play The Game' (the next song in the scene), and I improvise flirtatious and script related lines towards the audience again in the second performance. This worked effectively again, and it also looked more rehearsed the second time and I thought of more things to say.

I think that my short scene with Kashoggi went well in the second performance and I made sure that I was reacting to the Yuppies and what they were doing as well as Khashoggi, to ensure that all energy levels were up and to show the audience the different relationships with the different characters. In the first performance however, I actually forgot my lines and said random lines in the wrong order due to nerves, which obviously distracted Jordy (playing Khashoggi) and the Yuppies. I missed one of the Yuppies cue lines to clap in unison, and therefore I had to cut that bit completely because of the fact that I was nervous, which meant that this effected the Yuppies, and this didn't show the audience the clear defining of their relationship with Killer Queen, by clapping, and Killer Queen asking them to clap again. To improve for the next performance I asked Jordy to run the lines with me to ensure that this doesn't happen again, and to make sure that Jordy and the Yuppies are confident that this doesn't happen again. I think that it is important to make sure that when you are working in an ensemble to make everyone feel comfortable that you are prepared, to make the energy high and positive, which overall makes it more enjoyable to the audience.

In 'Its a Kind of Magic' in the first performance, I got the wrong lyrics, therefore the wrong part of the song and even the wrong tune, which not only threw the band of and made them have to find where I was, but it also effected the ensemble with what they were doing in their dance. They had to improvise and find where they were in the dance to make it link to what myself and Khashoggi were singing. This was down to the fact that I wasn't confident with this song, and myself and Jordy hadn't practised it together. I did try to make rehearsals, and practised on my own but this meant that I was relying on Jordy and the ensemble to get the cues right. The part I got wrong was after an instrumental which meant I should have been preparing during the instrumental, however I was trying to focus so much on my movement that I panicked and this resulted in singing the wrong part of the song. Luckily the whole cast that was on stage worked together and it wasn't too obvious towards the audience. During the break between the two performances I talked to the band and discussed where I went wrong in the song and lyrics, and practised it with Jordy to ensure that the second performance turned out better.

Like I have Previously stated, it is difficult to communicate towards the ensemble as Killer Queen because she is meant to be representing a high status, however in Bohemian Rhapsody, the audience are seeing that the Bohemians have won, but Killer Queen and Khashoggi come on during the song, whilst the bohemians look up at them and dance, as if they are at a rock concert. I made sure here that I was joining in with the ensemble and showing my defeat in a fun and playful way, like my character, by at first exaggerating a disappointed facial expression, but then soon realising how much fun it is so joined in with the ensemble, which lifted the mood and atmosphere of the song for both the ensemble and the audience.

Off Cast (Teen Queen, Yuppie, GaGa Kid, Bohemian)

Somebody To Love- 

I feel that this scene went particularly well in both performances because myself and the other Teen Queens discussed our energy back stage before both shows. In the first performances we had fun with the song and lines but I feel that we didn't put in as much energy as the second performance, when we started to make mocking voices within the song and copied scaramouches movement in a funny, and mocking way. This added comedy to our characters and made it more enjoyable for the audience to watch. We made sure that we focused on when our cues were, and I feel that I helped the other teen Queens with the cues by looking round in character and nodding as if we were planning on mocking her on the spot, which also made it look more realistic towards the audience. I think that the sense of communication here with each other and our high energy was good for an ensemble because it allowed us to bounce of each others energy and sing a lot better than rehearsals. 

Its A Kind Of Magic-

I feel as though in the first show as my off cast character (Yuppie for this scene) I felt bored in this number, because a lot of the dance is walking and simple movements, and because we realised the lack of space we had to dance in which caused a few mistakes. After this performance I talked to the other Yuppies involved in this number and asked them what they thought, and if the felt the same as me. We all agreed that it was easy for us to become 'bored' within this number and talked about what we could to to make it more interesting for the audience, and to support Killer Queen and Khashoggi whilst they are trying to captivate the audience within this number. After discussion, our choice was to make the number more energetic by adding humour to the dance. We planned to do this through exaggerated and sarcastic facial expressions and exaggerated movements. This worked effectively because as the song progressed, our energy levels increased which meant that our movements and facial expressions became bigger, and the audience enjoyed it because they were laughing. I feel that after this it brought up the energy levels of the entire rest of the show because of how we felt about the audience reactions. I tried to maintain this energy for everyone else's sake, so that we could all work together to get effective reactions from the audience, to what we were saying or doing. As an ensemble member, I feel that during this number in both performances, I tried to maintain a high energy level to allow everyone else to bounce of it. I feel that for both performances we (the yuppies) weren't confident with the singing as an ensemble because we weren't sure where our cue lines were. To ensure that this didn't effect the atmosphere that we created, I made sure I was confident with the cues, and made eye contact with the other Yuppies so that they felt comfortable on stage. 

No One But You/Crazy Little Thing Called Love-

I feel that this scene is important as an ensemble member, because it contains a lot of team work both from the actors, and to be shown in the characters. This is made clear in the song 'No One But You'. I feel that this is a very sentimental song, as the bohemians accompany Meat in reminiscing over the late rock stars that sparked this rebellion. To add sentimentality and calmness to my performance I added a subtle sway in my movement and often made eye contact with other bohemians. I think that this was effective because I think it allowed the other actors to replicate what I was doing to make it more of a group number as it should be. Eventually I think that we all grasped the idea of having a subtle smile on our faces to show happiness and love between the characters, and this is important in this scene as the bohemians often state that they fight for Rock not only for themselves, but for their loved ones too. To improve this number as an ensemble, I think it would have been better to make our voices softer in the chorus when we join Meat as opposed to 'belting' the song like she is instructed to. By doing this I feel that it would have maintained a calm atmosphere to allow the audience to relax with us and feel like they are part of us. I purposely however, avoided eye contact with audience members in this number, as I feel that it was important for them to see the strong bond and relationships between the bohemians and how much they support each other.

After that calm number, the energy levels had to be brought up for 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', which is a high energy dance and ensemble number. This was particularly difficult because we were in a focused zone of being quite and calm, but we had to change this suddenly. I think that I did well in helping others in this by shouting and cheering throughout the number, and keeping my energy levels up when I was dancing on the stage blocks in the ensembles view. I think that eventually everyone had brought the energy up and it was an effective number. I changed my idea of no eye contact in this number through improvisation and started to look at members of the audience and get them clapping with us. This was effective because it made the number look more fun and overall more enjoyable and I feel that in this number it is particularly important to have higher energy because it is the last number of Act 1, and by leaving the audience members energised, they are more likely to look forward to act 2.

Seven Seas Of Rhye-

During 'Seven Seas Of Rhye' I feel that I could have improved my timing with everyone else. This is because I wasn't comfortable in my costume as the trousers were too loose, which meant that I had to keep pausing to pull them up, which lead me to be out of time. To prevent this in the future, I am going to make sure that I practise dances that require a lot of movement in my costume to make sure that I am comfortable and prepared to perform. At one point in the dance I made eye contact with someone in the audience that I happened to know, which made me loose focus and made me laugh slightly, however I was quickly able to focus and get back into character. I feel that in this number it was important for me to focus because our characters are being tortured and we need to portray this using facial expressions and obviously smiling or laughing is going to distract the audience from the performance, and it will break the overall theme of the song. This was also unprofessional so I made sure that for the rest of the performance I kept a straight face that suited the theme of the number I was in so that I could bring the audience back to the piece, and the characters. At one point during the number we all forgot a part of the dance because the music went wrong therefore Sam had to change the part of the song he was singing. This meant that we all had to communicate with each other on stage and work out where we were going from this. We kept eye contact with each other and this allowed us to hint what part of the dance we were at, and we kept this subtle so that the audience didn't suspect that we had made a mistake.

Another One Bites The Dust-

Although the Yuppies don't sing in this number, we do accompany Killer Queen by dancing in time with the music and create the atmosphere by keeping straight faces and robotic movements. I feel that  this number went particularly well in both performances because we all communicated with each other and kept the energy levels up throughout the piece. We maintained that initial 'comical' idea on the last performance because now the audience saw our characters as funny and sarcastic so we made sure to keep this up so that it doesn't confuse them. I feel as though our timing was good because we were able to hit accents in the music through dynamics in movements and this made the piece look more powerful which backed up Killer Queens powerful character. To improve with this number I would have liked to have paid more attention at the end, as in the last performance Izzy must have pointed at me to fall like everyone else, but I didn't see her, which meant that I was still standing up when everyone else was on the floor which I think ruined the illusion of the electric shock and the power of this number.

We Will Rock You/ We Are The Champions/ Bohemian Rhapsody-

Similarly to the other bohemian numbers, I feel that these three songs require a lot of calmness, and a lot of communication with each other to ensure that our characterisation comes across to the audience. I feel that We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions went well because we were able to communicate with the audience by keeping eye contact with them, and singing to them as oppose to at them. I also made sure that I looked and communicated with members of the cast as well so that we could use each others energy and become one in what we are doing. I think in these numbers it helped that we all know each other well in person and that we all get along and communicate well in rehearsals and as people, which meant that our characters communicating like this was easy, it just needed exaggerating, and in the performances I made sure that I exaggerated my feeling of victory through light and heartfelt movements such as slow walks, and putting my arm around members of the ensemble and we all did this eventually to show our character's victory. This also brought the energy levels up.

During Bohemian Rhapsody, we start of calm and happy like we were at the end of We Are The Champions, but the song soon becomes manic and cheerful, with a lot of energy. To portray this in my singing I made sure that I was singing loudly and clearly, with a smile on my face to show the emotion of my character. I think that my energy here was effective because a lot more people started to get louder and we all eventually communicated the strong happy feel of our characters towards the audience. During instrumentals in the song I started to improvise by cheering, which encouraged other members of the cast and I think that whilst it wasn't instructed, it was still effective because it made it more realistic towards the audience.

Overall

Overall, I am extremely happy with my performances because I feel that I personally kept my energy levels up which is good ensemble skills because it inspires other members of the cast to join in, and makes the show more enjoyable to watch as an audience member as well. I would like to improve by working on pace, specifically as my on cast character, by being more confident with my lines and songs to ensure that the whole cast feel confident with what they are doing as either the ensemble or as a main character waiting for a cue. By improving this I will be improving my ensemble skills because it will be more efficient for everyone knowing that I am working at a quick pace, to keep the energy levels up.

We Will Rock You Dress Rehearsal

Before our upcoming performance of We Will Rock You, we felt that we should do two dress runs with each cast in preparation. This was to allow us to feel comfortable with what we are wearing, and for me personally, it allowed me to develop my characters both on and of cast, by being able to 'become' the characters through wearing their costumes. The bohemian costumes specifically, allowed me to communicate better with the different characters in the scenes and put a lighter feel to the ensemble scenes particularly the scene at the end of act 1, because this was a heartfelt scene where the audience can see the bohemians coming together and reminiscing of the past rock stars that sparked their group. This particular scene required a lot of ensemble skills especially in 'No One But You', because the group have to show their support for each other and we have to accompany Meat in the song in a subtle way, not distracting from her singing. I feel that we were able to achieve this because we all listened to each other and made sure that we could communicate with each other using eye contact and subtle movements, such as swaying, to create a calm atmosphere and to make it more realistic towards the audience.

In parts of this rehearsal it became challenging due to the fact that a few people weren't confident with their lines. This had a negative effect on a lot of us because the rehearsal soon became repetitive and slow which caused a lot of us to loose energy due to waiting around. However I made sure that I was prepared with my lines and before the lesson so that we could run my scenes as Killer Queen quickly and effectively so that it didn't waste other peoples time, and we could move closer to being performance ready. I also offered to help others with their lines between scenes outside the room so that we didn't distract others, and this helped because it made them more confident and they got through the rest of their scenes quicker. However during my off cast scenes, I wasn't confident with my characters cue lines (Bob). This caused a delay in the run of the scene because we paused so I could realise it was my line, and this also caused the energy to drop. I feel that this wasn't good because as a member of an ensemble I should have been more prepared for this scene, and made sure that it was efficient for everyone and that we could maintain the high energy.

03/01/2017 Lesson Analysis

This rehearsal was rearranged so that we could work on set design. Myself and Holly worked on painting features such as the tyres on the bohemian side of the stage. We all contributed ideas to what the set could look like which allowed me to visualise the performance space and how I could use it as both Killer Queen, and my ensemble characters to communicate not only with the audience, but with the other members of the cast.