Show

I thoroughly enjoyed the show We Will Rock You. I had a lot of support from fellow family, friends and students. The response from the audience was great and gave me huge inspiration and encouragement, for the rest of the show, and my future.

All the technical aspects towards the piece ran smoothly apart from the beginning of my two songs where they missed the Que, luckily me and Dylan took on a professional manor and started speaking slower giving them time to start our track so that the audience would have no suspicion of the fault.

I felt the relationship between myself and the GAGA kids lacked bitchiness and would require more sarcasm in a future show. Before i go onstage again i need to create my relationships with other characters so i can easily act on stage with out being uncertain on the specific movements i show onstage. Relationship is important as it can help with my own character and make the part come across to an audience more natural.

Under pressure needs more work on it. Me and Dylan need to feel more nervous towards each other and act is though we have just met for the first time, even though i have known Dylan for 2 years this is a skill that could help me develop my role in another show In the future. It requires more tension. At the beginning of this scene we are meant to have bandages wrapped round our head, to symbolise that we are in a hospital, having the bandages reinforced the idea. We were unable to use bandages because we didn't organise this in time, this taught me to be more organised and prepared with props as they can affect our performance for the better.

Throughout the play i have many punch lines. For the joke to be funny i need to say the punch line, pause, then deliver the next sentence, giving the audience time too respond.

My teacher suggested to make my hair bigger and crazier,  as this will help with my character and help me look like the part I'm playing.

I have a confidence issue with my solo songs this can easily be improved by rehearsal. For future reference i need to rehearse until I'm confident.
When we enter from stage left into the scene where the bohemians are brainwashed we need to act more excited and happy to see are friends because little do we know that they are brainwashed. For future i just need to be aware of the story and make sure i fully understand what is going on before and after. When we arrive it needs to feel as though there is a whole new chapter that we have just discovered.

context

Blocking Act 2 - Scene 10

Blocking Act 2 - Scene 6

This scene is very short bcause Rachel has cut hammer to fall. We enter from stage left. This scene is an argumentataive scene where all we do is bicker. I feel the scene really works as its so short. The scene is here to reinforce

Blocking Act 2 - scene 4

Wrecked Car

This scene Ben devised with our help and ideas. We start on the seats, where finished off from the last scene. There is alot of movement in this scene as this is the part we have an argument. we stand back to back whilst reading our dialogue, then Gaz starts walking off stage where i follow after him saying my lines whilst I'm half way off stage creating another interesting dynamic to the show.

It was hard to take direction not from a teacher and a pupil. But i was still able to bring my ideas to the scene where necessary.

Its hard being sarcastic, nice and Angy in one scene. This will take practise and it will mean going through the scene continuously until i am sure how to create diffent emotions.

Blocking Act 2 scene 2

The Wrecked car

In this scene we enter from the left hand side of the stage climbing through the bohemian area across the stage blocks. In this scene we both need to look and act curious as to how kashoggi found us at the heartbreak hotel. We then search at the back of eachothers heads trying to find how kashoggi located us. After finding the micro transievers we have to cut them out. For this next part we need to find something sharp that we could use for this next part, but it has to be safe for us to use on stage.
I decided we could get a piece of old broken mirror and cover it with fabric so we dont cut ourselves.

This scene is followed by 'Who wants to live forever'- Me and Dylan have practised this song adding in harmony and movement. We were inspired by Youtube clips online.

In this scene we have added extra lines to create humour and to get a respnse of an audience, we have shared our ideas with the other team, incase theydecide they want to add in the lines as well.

For this scene we are meant to be seated in a wrecked car. We arn't able to bring in a car as it wouldnt fit in the studio, so we have decided to use car seats that we can sit on to act this scene.

We still havent practiced with the car seats as last time they were being used they got taken down, hopefully in our next rehearsal we will be able to experiment with them.

Blocking Act 1 - Scene 10

This is the last scene in Act 1 and its the scene where we get introduced to the bohemians in the heartbreak hotel which is set in the corner on the high blocks.

When we arrive, we arnt welcome with open arms but whispers and mumbles. Me and gaz stand back, but once Megan shouts 'He calls his chick scaramouch' I retaliate. After realising we arn't killers, they decide to dress me in Bohemian clothing, at this point i laugh because I'm scared of looking stupid. After i exit off stage i have 2 minutes of dialogue to get changed into my bohemian gear. This isn't long to put on a corset, so i need to practise this with Megan who will be off stage helping me change.

I then renter in my new glam gear where everyone is overwhelmed. 

This rehearsal wasn't the most productive as most of the year 12s weren't in today and they are the extras in this. This made it hard for the dialogue to flow, next lesson it would be handy to run this scene again when the 12s are present so we could practise with a full rehearsal.

Blocking - Act 1 - cene 9

Rachel has decided to cut a Headlong as it is an unecessary song and we need to cut the show timing. We will still be doing the reprise of headlong. We are set out in a car swaying and moving our bodys to make it look like we are in a car that is driving.

We also have a steering wheel as a prop to reinforce the idea we are in a car and to let the audience understand.

Costume

I have been to see WWRY in London and from this i was able to gain ideas for my own characters costumes. I went to the shops and bought my own costume from HnM.

Scaramouch - I have a black baggy top where I've ripped holes across the front and down the side this is because my character doesn't care much about her appearance, underneath i have a purple vest with fishnet tights and a back skirt. I have also bought purple hair extensions to go in my hair, this idea i got offline from the research i looked at, and will help me to look the part of Scaramouch. On my feet I'm going to wear doc martin boots.

Bohemian Scaramouch - The photo to your right is a picture of my corset that i will be wearing for the show, This will add to the Rocky affect of a Bohemian.

I showed Rachel all my costume clothing, she loved Scaramouch's costume but suggested that the corset looks to fashionable and pretty. She felt it needed to be changed but i changed the corset by adding accessories, studs and a belt to make it look funky, she was happy with this decision.

Staging

The staging for We Will Rock You is a traverse staging and at either end we have a set of blocks that can be altered and adapted however we like for example adding a tier to make it taller or even longer. The layout is the following.

Picture - This is Killer Queens area where she performs her songs and her dialogue.

Picture - The opposite end of the stage we have The hospital and the Heartbreak hotel.

Having the staging blocks have come to our advantage for example Killer Queen is an overpowering character this needs to be reinforced through her staging. This goes the same to The hospital where its very bland and boring just what everyone in the play thinks about me (Scaramouch) and Galileo.

We also have a ramp from killer queens domain to the centre of the stage between the audience. The ramp looked brilliant as it gave flavour and contrast to the square blocks. Last lesson the girls who walk down the ramp have to wear heels and wanted to change it for there own safety, this is understandable but the ramp did look better. We changed it by adapting back to the square blocks. Before we did this we tried experimenting with a Matt on the ramp so it doesn't make it slippery but it looked ugly and not the style we were going for.

The staging is great and looks different but i feel as though there will be a slight restriction with the view. I expressed my thoughts to my teacher where she told me that we are providing an educational  show for our benefit to understand and experience the various layouts and staging we can have. If the audience have a restriction on the view they can come to both showings of the play.

The staging takes time to put up and once we thought the staging was going to stay we had an interference with an exam being taken in the studio, this did waste time dismantling and putting the staging back up but with a team effort the job was done in 20 minutes.

Unit 1 and 5

We began the choreography Unit with a meeting on Monday 11th March, with myself, Dylan, Elle and Sam present. In this meeting we discussed choreography for We Will Rock You, where Sam distributed the songs out between the three of us. The songs I was allocated with are the following; Sombody to love, I want it all, these are the days of my life and we will rock you. Tonight i will go home to research the songs i have been assigned.

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After the meeting I went home to research the songs I was given. I did this by reading through my script, jotting down ideas that came into my head. I also work best visually so I decided to You Tube the songs and watch them to gain ideas for my own choreography.

Somebody To Love

From watching this video clip, I feel that the choreography has exaggerated stylised movements that I need to portray during my own choreography.

I Want It All

This clip shows heavy weighted movements, with use of attitude and body poppin,

We Will Rock You

Energetic, high spirited with lots of slaps and claps. Making sure everyone is enjoying it.

These are the days of my life



Simple slow swaying from bohemians, with use of space from Pop.

Rehearsal process - somebody to love.

This dance is with 6 teen queens who are being played by the year group below. In our first rehearsal I was only able to complete half of the dance as there is a shortage of time and so many jobs that the cast had to do. I referred back to the video for my choreography where i used simple poses being striked at different parts of the music where they then walk to the other side of the stage whilst i compliments the movement by walking the opposite way to them keeping it contrasting. This created interest. I wasn't able to finish the dance but will be finished 2 days before the show which doesn't leave enough time to rehearse.  

The rehearsal went well, the teen queens were focused and helped volunteer with movement. The vocals for the song Are not rehearsed and sound awful, i need to go through them with the teen queens as I'm familiar with the song. This can be done in next lesson when i complete the dance.

I want it all.

This is danced with two people Meat and Brit. They start centre stage with heavy weighted body popping, Brit then relocates himself onto te higher tier of the blocks as this is where the powerful bit of the song comes in and creates an impact. When meat sings her solo she ushers him down as its her turn to have power and take the lead. They then circle around the stage singing with attitude and confidence, this is then followed by claps gearing on the audience to participate making a rocky atmosphere. They finish side by side shouting to each other 'they want it all'.

They grasped the choreograhy perfect but at the beginning the song is soo low and to bop at the same time makes it incredibly harder for them so we changed this by having shoulder shrugs and and foot tapping they looked more confident doing this it also helped with there lack of attitude. They found it hard to show off there attitude i helped them by telling them everytime they needed to give more attitude in the song this was so they could go home and concentrate on the bits that lacked attitude. Another problem accrued when the blocking had been changed. Rachel decided to put all the props onto the blocking for the heartbreak hotel forgetting that we use the blocks for 'I WANT IT ALL' we solved this problem by using the blocks opposite. This only meant changing parts of the choreography and josh would have to be on a lower tier for his powerful section in the song, which he was happy about.

These were the days of our lives.

This dance is with all the brainwashed bohemians sprawled and staggered across the heatbreak hotel blocks. Pop sings and moves around the swaying weary brainwashed bohemians collecting gasses from them as this is his pub and this is where all the Bohemians come to drink. The bohemians sway and walk slowly. The students really got the choreography but it looked to relaxed and calm and it needs to feel more staged as it is a musical. This was then changed after i told them to not make it look so casual.

Blocking - Act 1 - Scene 8

Me and Galileo enter from stage right Unaware that Brit and Meat are in hiding ready to catch us.
We speak the dialogue then once Galileo drops the bombshell of being friends it suddenly needs to become awkward with tension luming in the air. At this point of the scene we brake apart standing separate sides of the stage showing the divide between our relationship.

I need to be aware of the invisible barrier between me and Galileo in this scene as it will show a lot to the audience about our character and relationship.

We suddenly get caught by Brit and Meat where they capture us. Megan comes and grabs me from behind trying to restrain me from running away. When we divided this scene it didn't look real. But once Megan learnt her lines she didn't have a script in her hand and was able to restrain me with both hands, making it look more affective.  She finally lets me escape when she realises that gaz isn't a spy. At this point i run to gaz with fear.

This scene is very snappy so lines need to be learnt in order to run the scene smoothly, as well as the movement we have devised.

Blocking - Act 1 - Scene 6

Scene 6 - The hospital

Scene 6 is set in the hospital where me and Dylan start off laying down either side of one another myself being raised a tier higher. I get woken from Dylan's stutter then slowly rising to my knees. It is important in this scene for me to act slightly confused and disorientated as I'm not aware of the situation of why I'm here. 

Towards the middle of the dialogue i become more confident rising to me feet and taking a deeper look at the hospital, still aware Dylan is talking to me. Scaramouch doesn't have friends but after she meets Galileo there is tension and bond, which is recognised by both of them but they try to ignore that.

Before it gets too awkward we burst into the song 'UnderPressure' which is choreographed by Dylan himself. The scene finishes with Dylan all confident thinking he has won over Scaramouch with his charms and tests the boundaries by calling her 'baby' I'm not to happy with the arrangement so tell him not to ever call me that again.

This scene needs to be snappy as its just a quick introduction of Scaramouch and Galileo, but we have to be careful not to rush through the sarcastic and awkward moments as these characteristics are important in our characters. Dylan needs to make a stronger stutter so the audience are aware of it and shows that hes really nervous. I need to acknowledge more the fact that I'm talking to a stranger not a student in my class, once I'm aware that Dylan is a stranger it will help me act more puzzled with the situation.

On the You tube video Ive been researching props and at the beginning of this scene they both have a bandage around there Head to reinforce 'The hospital' idea. This will look great and effecive. When we wake up on the hospital beds we can easily remove them by unravelling them.

I also need to concentrate on my sarcasm towards Dylan, it needs to be stronger, more powerful and over the top as sarcasm is a huge characteristic of Scaramouch.

Blocking - Act 1 - Scene 2

Scene 2

I start my entrance from the back of the blocks bursting into song 'I want to break free' reprise. This song is followed on by my choreography of 'Somebody to love'  with the teen queens. The song is demanding and i wasn't able to reach the notes, i was gutted as this is my only song sang on my own but with help of my singing teacher Lena she will help me to reach the notes that I'm unable to achieve at the moment.

I felt this rehearsal was productive as both casts got to have a rehearsal of this scene allowing the teen queens to practise as well, taking into consideration that the teen queens wont be at every rehearsal because they are years 12 (year below) and arn't scheduled to be in the time we have a lesson to rehearse. This is a problem but many of them are dedicated to Musical Theatre and are quite happy to come into college in there spare time.

After reassesing this scene i need to be more aggressive towards the gaga kids, and apply more attitude and sarcasm to show im different from the rest of them.
By watching Youtube clips online has inspired my accent and my whole persona as a character.

Introduction to WWRY

We Will Rock You (often abbreviated as WWRY) is a musical based on the songs of Queen with a book by Ben Elton. The musical tells the story of a group of Bohemians who struggle to restore the free exchange of thought, fashion, and live music in a distant future where everyone dresses, thinks and does the same. Musical instruments and composers are forbidden, and rock music is all but unknown.
Directed by Christopher Renshaw and choreographed by Arlene Phillips.

Blog Project Proposal

1. Skills Audit - I feel my strongest is dance, acting then singing

2. I was excited to get the part of Scaramouch, and to be doing the show We Will Rock You which is a fantastic show. The lines and some songs look demanding but I'm sure with practise will be fine. I can always ask my teachers for guidance and assistance. My concern is reaching that top note in 'somebody to love' but will be achieved through confidence, positive thoughts and encouragement.
3. Production Role - Choreography for three dances, Somebody to love, I want it all and Those were the days of our lives.