After 'We Will Rock You' post

Wednesday 1.30pm

I cannot comment on this show because i was in an exam at the time however i did participate in the song 'Another One Bites the Dust'. However i did not feel that this song went very well at all, i was rushed into it and me and Beth went on the wrong blocks therefore got very confused and we forgot to sing some of the 'Another one bites the dust's'.

Wednesday 6.30pm

I felt that this show went well however one of the main problems was that we had never really practised with Amber's cast so there were some problems with the spacings in some of the dance numbers which threw people off a bit.
I felt that 'Another one bites the dust' went really well, there were no problems and the whole cast was in so the spacing was balanced and it looked good.

Thursday 6.30pm

One of the problems with this show was the sound, when people were singing they were not heard very well over the music even though they had radio mics.
Some of the actresses when they were speaking/singing i felt like they were just aimlessly walking around.
Radio Gaga: Good dancing, didn't look messy, strong vocals.
Somebody to Love: Good lines from the teen queens, good spacing of lines so that Mel hits her cue line at the right time,

Friday 1.30pm

I really liked this show, i think it went really well and it was the most effective for me as i felt it was my strongest performance with minimal mistakes.
For 'Radio Gaga', i spoke to Josh and Stewart about spacing in the dance and where they went to avoid confusion about where we all stood when it got to the dance. I felt that i did the dance well however when it got to the second part i was a bit unsure with some of the moves.
I felt 'Somebody to love' went really well, Mels vocals were good, she managed to hit the really long notes. The dancing went really well, however in the middle of the song i feel there was a sort of awkward section where i felt it needed a bit more choreography and i also felt that we were all to nice to Scaramouche when we're meant to be taking the mick out of her. I tried to give her funny looks at the end of the song but because not all of us were doing it i felt that i would of looked out of place. I felt that the giggling and running off at the end looked really good and was funny.
'Killer Queen' went really well, the vocals were strong and we all knew the words, we all seemed to be in time with the moves, however with the turning our heads to the middle when Killer Queen arrives, some people including me did not make the movement sharp so it looked a bit messy and also when we had to turn our heads back to the front after looking outwards we were meant to go after Commander Koshogi, but some people went on the line so that looked a bit messy also.
For 'Play the game' i felt this mostly went well however because my blazer was a bit tight i had limp arms for most of it and could not stretch my arms up and out properly. 
I felt that for 'Crazy little thing called love' the energy wasn't as good as it was the night before but it was still good, we got all the vocals right and they were strong. I messed up in the kicking and side stepping routine bit but managed to bring it back.
The dialogue before the song when Scaramouche and Galileo are brought to the heartbreak hotel went well, good reactions from the Bohemians and good relationships between the Bohemians.
I felt 'One Vision' was probably at it's best for this show, it's a hard song to dance and sing to and because quite a few people dropped out of this song we didn't have very strong vocals throughout the shows, but i think because this was our final show we managed to be as loud as we could.
'Another One Bites the Dust' went really well, there were no block spacing mistakes on this one, even though Polly was missing so the spacing was uneven the dance still looked good and effective. I think that with us singing 'Another One Bites The Dust' as well as Killer Queen that was very effective, even though the choreography is very simple in this number it fits the song very well.

Overall:

I really liked how the audience was set out either side of the stage, i think it was effective because everyone could get a good look at either ends of the staging.

I also really like how the staging was laid out because it had really effective levels and i liked how the evil Killer Queen end was really tall and put her really high up, gave a good sense of her evil character.

Comparison between We Will Rock You and Grease

In grease my character was bubbly, silly, immature, calm, a peacemaker and not very popular.

In WWRY my characters were -

Teen Queen: Popular, judging, rude, petty, sly, bitchy.

Gaga: clone, braindead, follows the crowd, in sync with everyone, doesn't think for themself.

Bohemian: Outgoing, loud, individual, expressive, doesn't care what others think.

My characters in the two shows were very different and needed different personalities, facial expressions, movements etc. The whole way i performed the characters were different and needed a lot of background knowledge. For my roles in We Will Rock You to gain knowledge on them i watched the stage performance, watched youtube clips of other school performances and researched them online. I feel that the way they are dressed also says a lot about what they are like as people.

Another difference between We Will Rock You and Grease I found was the cast size, for Grease we only had 11 people whereas for WWRY it was all of year 13 and year 12 so there were about 30 of us so I think that had a big effect on how we did the show. For example because there were so many of us there was a lot of trouble backstage with too many people being in the way and I think this effected some peoples entrances and there attitude backstage. However I also felt that because we had a bigger cast the vocals were stronger in group songs and it also brought a lot of energy to some of the scenes for example the scene before Crazy Little Thing Called Love because there were so many of us it made the scene look better because there was always something going on and people to interact with whilst not speaking etc and there was never a time when the set looked empty or dead.
 

We Will Rock You context

'The story takes place in the future where everything is controlled and monitored and individualism is shunned. It tells the story of how Galileo, Scaramouche and the Bohemians attempt to fulfill the rock and roll prophecy.' -http://www.insitemag.net/090729-003-culture-rock.htm



Social/Political Context - 'The dialogue contains many references to popular culture, with lyrics from numerous non-Queen songs and albums inserted into the text. These references are constantly changing, and according to writer Elton, this is to keep the show "fresh". Songs that have been referenced include The Beatles' "Help!", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "I Am the Walrus" and "Hello, Goodbye", Little Richard's "Tutti Fruitti" and "Long Tall Sally", the theme from The Wombles, The Goodies' "Funky Gibbon", Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run", David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" and "Space Oddity", The Wild Ones' "Wild Thing", Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women", Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and "Fernando", Oasis' "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady", Spice Girls' "Wannabe", Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", Black Lace's "Agadoo", The Clash's "Complete Control", Teletubbies and songs by Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson.' - Wikipedia


Cultural Context - The musical obviously includes all Queen songs and a lot of references to do with Queen and other bands of the same era. The main audience of this production would be people who enjoy listening to Queen and who grew up listening to them. The play is very rocky and most of the musical numbers are the sort of music you would head bang to, so because of this you would not see someone who enjoys classical music etc sitting there.

Historical Context - The play was written in 2001 and began previews on 26 April 2002 and opened on 14 May 2002 at the Dominion Theatre. 'The story takes place in the future where everything is controlled and monitored and individualism is shunned. It tells the story of how Galileo, Scaramouche and the Bohemians attempt to fulfill the rock and roll prophecy.' -http://www.insitemag.net/090729-003-culture-rock.htm

Before 'We Will Rock You' post

Links of the professional production of We Will Rock You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRtI2PvVGj0

Links of other minor productions of We Will Rock You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig_l-glsI1w
-Even though they have presented it very well and are mostly in unison, i think their choreography could be improved for example their many arm movements that must be precise would look very messy without a lot of rehearsal for example for the line 'for hours and hours' they used their arms to represent clock hands but because they were not all in sync it looked imprecise and messy.

My Roles:
Gaga
Teen Queen
Yuppie
Bohemian

Songs/dances/scenes I was included in:
Radio Gaga
Somebody to love

Killer Queen/play the game

Crazy Little Thing called love

One vision

Flash/seven seas of Rhye

Another one bites the dust

Those were the days of our lives

Bohemian Rhapsody

Points to work on:
Play the game: I feel that this choreography is too free and looks too messy when we are all doing it and not quite sure whats going on. So we have decided to re-choreograph it ourselves, adding more precise movements and cutting out freestyle. I think this will help the dance as it will suit the song more because the movements will look more sharp.

Radio Gaga: When in the middle of the song when half the dancers move to the other end of the drama studio i felt that where everyone was standing on our side (mirror side) looked a bit odd, especially as i didn't move off of my block when everyone else was moving. So we decided that we would change the positioning so it looked more even on both sides.

Seven seas of Rhye: Elle asked all the bohemians to be on knees and to jolt as if being electrocuted throughout the whole song but we decided that even though it looked good for a bit we felt that as we got tired it would start to look less energetic and a bit rubbish so we decided that we would all remain laying down on the blocks but making small movements to show that we were still alive but making it obvious we'd just been zapped, we also decided that Elle/Lauren should come round and pick us up and flop us back down, 'kick' us etc to give us some interaction throughout the song.

Those were the days of our lives: I felt that this scene was very static, as we've all been brainwashed we have to be very slow and not move much but we felt that there needed to be more energy (but not too much) added. So we decided that everyone should (slowly) move around, go to Amy/Danielle to get a glass, show interest in the discussion and the video tape etc just so we're not flopped for the whole scene.

What i plan to do (WWRY)

Before the show (Today and Tomorrow) i plan to get my costumes completely ready (rip tights, find random bits of material and add to costume), learn lyrics to all songs i am less confident with, go over dance routines with and without music until i can do them without copying someone else.
I would like to go over 'Somebody to love' to get the spacing between 'I want to break free' and 'Somebody to love' right so that Mel/Amber doesn't miss the cue or is too early for the cue, i would also like to go over the backing vocals with Mel/Amber and the Gaga's to find out where they are etc.
I would like to go over 'Another One Bites The Dust' to go over when exactly do we all walk on.

Final Milestone SINGING assessment with Lena/Kim

For my singing assessment i have decided to do:

A duet with Abbie (Grease-Mooning) i chose to do this song because i know it very well and because Abbie and I have done it so much together we are comfortable with it and comfortable with eachother.

A solo (Les Miserables-On my own) i chose to do this song because i love the musical and i've watched it many times and it's one of my favourite songs from it and i feel i can characterize it well. However, i am not very confident with the high notes at the end on 'pretending' and 'that i have never known' but i have been working on it and thinking of other ways i can perform the song without going out of my comfortable vocal range.
-I felt that this went not performed to the best of my ability because my voice was shakey and i failed to hit some of the higher notes, however i feel my characterization kept up throughout, i created a very emotional feel to the song, because the song is about a girl who loves a boy but he does not know it, the song describes how when he is not with her he imagines them together in her mind but when he is with her he has no idea about her feelings towards him and she feels that without her his world would keep on turning and her absence would not affect him. She longs for him to notice her in the way she wants to be noticed, not just as a friend but as more than that, when she is in her dream world imagining them together everything becomes brighter and everything gets better but when she realises she is just dreaming everything returns to its normal state. I felt i showed this through my facial expressions, body language and movement. When she is talking about her dream world of them being together and everything being brighter i was smiling and looking around me appreciating the 'perfect world' etc but when it changed on the words 'and i know it's only in my mind' i change my facial expression to blank and as if i've been shaken out of a dream.
For this i had natural lights and staggered staging (like everyone else) because we did not have enough time to do the lighting and staging that we wanted because we were rushed and there was no time for us and it was left really late so it was very STRESSFUL, but if it were done differently and more professionally then i would of liked to have a spotlight on me and soft blue gels, i would of had a flat line of stage blocks and one higher block behind.

A solo (Les Miserables-A castle on a cloud) i chose to do this song, again, because i love the musical and i've watched it many times. I chose to do this song specifically because i really like the background behind it and the fact that it's like a dream to Cosette.
-I feel that this went quite well however i feel that it was too short, i characterized it well though i thought because the song is about a child who dreams of a better place than the place she is stuck in at the moment, the child in the song is being treated like a slave and not like a little girl, she talks very highly of this place and how kind everyone is there and how great it is. I felt i characterized it well because i started off sitting cross-legged (like a little child would) and looking up dreamily and singing softly as if whispering so that the people who have enslaved her do not hear of this place.
Again for this i had natural lights and staggered staging but if it was done differently i would of had a spotlight on me sitting on the floor and yellow/gold gels, i would not of had any stage blocks. I would of been dressed up in ragged clothing and messy hair with a prop being a broom.

WE WILL ROCK YOU - radio gaga rehearsal

PRODUCTION ROLES - KIM UPGRADE= HIGHLIGHTED YELLOW

 

 

 

Research for costume designing

 

A costume designer is a person who designs costumes to be used on stage or in film. They are very important in the production roles team. The costume designer works alongside the director, scenic, lighting designer, sound designer, and other creative personnel. The costume designer may also collaborate with hair stylist, wig master, or makeup artist.

Costume designers firstly read the script so they get to know the play inside and out, and get to know the person and the character they are designing for inside and out. They take all the measurements needed, and they aim to enhance the play through visual design of garments and accessories. They may enhance the body or distort the actors body to create the character. The designer must ensure that the actor can move freely as the role requires and that they are comfortable. The garments must be made to be worn multiple times so the designer must make them out of durable and washable fabric so the costume will not need to constantly be mended. The costume designer must speak not only with the director but also set and lighting designers so that they are sure that their designs work together perfectly, because for example if the costume designer makes the garment out of a certain fabric without letting the lighting designer know, a certain light may make the garment see-through or wash the colour out or make the audience unable to see certain details on the clothing.
The designer must be artistic and have knowledge on draping, drafting, textiles, fashion history and pattern development. For example if the show needed a 1960's outfit and the designer had no knowledge of fashion history the role wouldn't be right for that person.

Responsibilities
A costume designer creates the look of a character in film, television or in a stage production and in a play. Their main duties are...
1. Read and analyze the script.
2. Work closely with the director and other designers (set designer, lighting designer, make-up artist) on the production team to develop design concepts.
3. Do research to flesh out design concepts. (for example, geographical setting, time period, characters and their relationships and actions)
4. Produce drawings and color renderings of costumes.
5. Meet with the wardrobe manager and head cutter to discuss each design.
6. Purchase fabrics, new or used clothing and accessories.(Along with prop ideas)
7. Develop and implement a budget for costume-related expenses.
8. Develop patterns for costumes if it is necessary.
9. Attend fittings and rehearsals. (for theatre, dance or opera productions).

youtube videos about costume designing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXNSfoSD9Cw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjAkqgy8GeQ

Costume for 'Wicked'

Susan Hilferty - Costume Designer
Alyce Gilbert - Production wardrobe supervisor
Amanda Whidden - Costume Coordinator
Coco Schlieben - Draper, Barbara Matera
For wardrobe to do the show there are 12 dressers, Alyce Gilbert and an assisstant, 4-8 people doing day work they are there before, during and after every show doing a triage, whether or not it's a tear, a dropped bead or a loose connection,  the whole team are ready at any moment to jump in and fix something.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u5lcCkYznY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIpRPv0Cfkw
A thing is used called a 'Work bible' which records every aspect of the costumes.

Costume for the monkeys in 'Wicked'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmFdQDG50Y

Costume for the Lion King

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GwO_abcBcw

This shows the costume and make-up for 'Nala' in Broadway (Chantel Riley)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpjz9N9x_wk

This shows the sort of masks and costume the actors and dancers must wear. The people in the ensemble wear a variety of different costumes for example if they are a lioness they have a mask above their head with a cape attached to it and both their wrists and a corset. Scars mask is mechanical and makes the actor into this huge lion that towers above the others, making him appear more scary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GwO_abcBcw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5ItNAmIrK8
- (America) 'The Lion King' travels with 350 costumes and on stage every night there is around 250.
All the masks are made out of carbon fibre.
The Scar mask is controlled via a wire that goes down beside the actors arm and connects to the actors finger, he can then use his thumb to control the mask in different ways.
The Zazu puppet is controlled with two hands, one hand is holding the puppet and controlling the wings, and the other is on a control connected to Zazu's neck, there is a control that focuses on eye movement, closing and opening of the eyelids etc, another control that works the mouth and you move the hand with the control in it to move the neck.
It takes 6-8 weeks for the actors/actresses to get used to the puppets, they spend a lot of time using them in the mirror, perfecting the movements. They also spend a lot of time talking to the director asking how exactly they want it to look like. They spend a lot of time making sure everything works in sync with each other.


Research into Theatrical Make-Up

Theatrical makeup is used to enhance the character just like their costume would. The makeup designer/artist would read the play to get to know the character inside and out so that when designing the makeup for the actor/actress it will fit perfectly and enhance the personality, attributes, time period, age etc of the character. The makeup designer/ artist would have to work closely with a number of people from the production team, obviously the director but also for example the lighting designer and the costume designer. They have to interact with eachother and get to know eachothers designs so that what they produce works well with one another, for example if the lighting was a certain colour it may wash out the makeup or if the makeup designer wants the makeup to be enhanced they may need certain colours to do that.


Theatrical makeup is very over the top because it needs to be seen from all distances of the audience whether they are right at the back or right at the front. Every aspect of the face is enhanced and exaggerated, for example the eyebrows are made thicker and darker, a lot of blusher is applied and false eyelashes are mostly used. A lot of powder is used on the actors face to reduce shine caused by light and sweat. All makeup has to be grease resistant as the actors are getting very hot onstage due to the lights and the last thing that is wanted is makeup to slide off or go tacky.

Background: In Greek and Roman theatre make up was uneccessary for actors as masks were mainly used, so this allowed them to portray age, gender etc, however the downfall of using masks was that they were stuck with the same facial expression throughout the show unless they changed their masks, and the actors wearing them got very hot.

During the Renaissance actors used wool to create beards and flour for face paint.

Notable make-up artists

• Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid
• Kevyn Aucoin
• Way Bandy
• Bobbi Brown
• Ellis Faas
• Ve Neill

 The make-up artists main job is to ensure that the actor/actress have suitable hair and make-up before appearing in front of an audience or camera.

The role involves creating a character/image for the audience by using only make-up in relation to a brief.

If it's a smaller company there may only be one makeup artist who designs the make-up and also puts it onto the actors, however if it is a bigger scale company then there would be a team of Make-up artists.

A makeup artist's typical work activities would include:

communicating with the other designers in the company to clarify visual requirements;

reading scripts to find out the materials and the look required, budget needed and looking into areas where research is required;

producing and sketching design ideas for hairstyles and make-up;

ensuring continuity in hair and make-up and liaising with other members of the design team to ensure the overall look/effect is consistent and coherent;

demonstrating and implementing a practical understanding of lighting, the photographic process, colours and the impact of special effects/make-up processes on the skin;

ensuring that appropriate action is taken to minimise unpleasant side effects from the use of specialist make-up/hairdressing techniques;

maintaining awareness of health and safety issues and legislation;

casting facial and body moulds and sculpting latex foam - known as prosthetics;

fitting and maintaining wigs, hairpieces and prosthetics;

hairdressing;

maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of available make-up and beauty products;

sourcing, budgeting and ordering materials and equipment from specialist suppliers;

time management - knowing how long a subject will take to be made-up;

working quickly and accurately in time-pressured conditions;

taking detailed notes and photographs of work, maintaining an up-to-date portfolio of work.

Here are some links i looked up on youtube about theatrical makeup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt6c95FRhoU
From this video i have found that makeup is used to make younger actors/actresses look older than they are. To do this the makeup artist will ask them to scrunch up there face as much as possible to find the lines that appear around the eyes and then they will accent them to make them look much more obvious, the makeup artist will use a colour slightly darker than the actors skin and then use a colour slightly lighter then their skin to highlight around the wrinkle. The makeup artist will then ask the actor to smile as big as they can so the makeup artist can find the wrinkles around the nose and lips and make them more prominent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP3tNMB9XCQ
From this video i have found that makeup on stage has to be much more bold and accentric so it can be seen under the lights and from the audience. Fake eyelashes are used, very bold colours are used and eyebrows are made darker than usual so they will show up under the stagelighting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgbPAYdgSPo

Hair and Makeup in 'Wicked'

Wig making
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmadW7qxThQ
From this video i have found that to make wigs specifically for one actor/actress the wig maker will make the hair as flat as possible and put holder round their head, and then they will put a plastic bag over and selotape it to the exact measurements of the persons head, then the wig maker will use a sharpie to draw the outlines of the persons hairline. He/She will then take specific measurements, around the crown of the hairline, from the front hairline over the head to the bottom hairline etc.

Makeup for 'Wicked'

Makeup designer: Joe Dulude II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHWW3-pUw34

Research for makeup in The Lion King

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScFWa-RwC3Y

Directed by Julie Taymor
Sara Tyndall is now head of wigs and makeup for the Lion King.
http://www.creative-choices.co.uk/industry-insight/article/make-up-artist-for-theatre

This is a link from the Las Vegas 'The Lion King', it shows the stages before becoming 'Nala' (Dejah Gomez).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUn9vKzPQ1g

This is a link from youtube showing a reporter get changed into 'Rafiki' from 'The Lion King'.
The main primary colours for Rafiki are blue, red and yellow.
Takes 30 minutes for the face makeup to be completed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA6cE9tGFlQ

Disney’s The Lion King, at the Lyceum Theatre London is produced by the Disney Theatrical Group.

The stage show is based on the original 1994 Disney movie and has won a string of prestigious awards, including a Tony Award for Best Musical and Visit London Awards Best Theatre Show.

The show features 25 species of animals, plants, birds, fish and insects. Puppets and puppet mechanisms worn by the actors are incorporated into the production. A range of stunning masks are also used, worn on top of the actor’s head to keep their face visible.
This is where Sara and her team come in. They are responsible for producing the visually striking make-up that complements the costumes, masks and puppets. Sara qualified with a BTEC HND in Theatre Studies, Specialist Make-up for Film, TV and Theatre at the London College of Fashion.
She has been in her present role since The Lion King first came to London in 1999. This followed her successful career in numerous West End productions as a make-up artist and wigs mistress.

The working hours of a make-up artist

Sara works a total of 40 hours a week over 6 day days to cover performances from Tuesday to Sunday. Occasional working weeks of more than 40 hours are balanced out over the year.
“I usually start work between 3.30 and 5.00 pm on the days with evening performances only and finish at around 10 pm. On a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday we have our matinees, when I start at 12 noon. There are no performances on a Sunday evening, or a Monday, so I can plan social activities then. In addition I always finish at 8 pm during one other evening each week.”
Sarah is really happy with her working hours and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love the fact that I can travel to work when the tube trains are less crowded. And this job leaves me plenty of time off to enjoy my social life.”

Six tips for make-up artists

• Make-up artists need good artistic skills and an understanding of how colour can be used to create moods and feelings
• They also need to be able to interpret designs and to create ideas of their own
• Always take photos of the work you have done, and then look at these with a critical eye. The photos can become part of your portfolio
• Get involved with amateur dramatics – this is a great way to gain experience applying make-up, and will help you decide if the career is for you
• Attend part-time day or evening life-drawing and portraiture classes
• Once you are working move around different theatres to gain varied experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA6cE9tGFlQ

 

Research into the lighting designer

 

The lighting designer is in charge of setting the scene in relation to the set text, the lighting designer works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer and sound designer

 

Stage lighting is very important because it has very many different uses and it enhances productions and without it the show would not look so alive and exciting. It is used to create emotion in the audience and is similar to sound as in that it affects the audiences senses and excites them.

 



Stage lighting is the craft of lighting as it applies to the production of theatre, dance, opera and other performance arts. Several different types of stage lighting instruments are used in this discipline. In addition to basic lighting, modern stage lighting can also include special effects, such as lasers and fog machines. People who work on stage lighting are commonly referred to as lighting technicians.

Stage lighting has multiple uses for theatre:

Plot (script) - Lighting is used to show a change in event in the action onstage.

Mood - Light can be used to show the mood of the character or the mood that is created in the scene for example a harsh red light creates a different mood to a soft pink light.

Selective Visibility - Light is used to show what is happening on stage.

Audience focus point - directing the audiences attention to an area on stage or directing them away from another.

Location and time of day - Light can be used to create a time of day for example blues and purples suggest night and reds, yellow and oranges suggest sunrise.

Stage elements/Projections - Lighting can be used to create set or enhance existing set.

Main Properties in Lighting

Intensity

Colour

Direction

and Focus

Lighting for 'The Lion King'

Donald Holder - Lighting Designer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xaM5bsaVKw

One of the jobs of the lighting designer for Lion King is to make a luminous world, a magical world.

 Lighting for 'Wicked'

Kenneth Posner - Lighting designer

Karen Spahn - Associate Lighting designer
Brendan Quigley - Head Electrician 

One of the jobs of a lighting designer is telling the audience exactly where to look.
The lighting designers work with a 'lighting plot'' which is a physical representation of where all the lights hang.They have approximately 650 light fixtures with focus note attached.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUKDU3r6MYY

How these production roles work together


The lighting designer must work very closely with a lot of the production team, most important obviously the director but the designer must also interact with the makeup designer, set designer, costume designer and the team working on the music and sound of the stage show/ film. For example it is very important that they work closely with the set designer because they may want certain areas of the set to be lit up/enhanced and without the interaction it would not get done. The lighting designer must also work with the costume designer to understand the colour lighting that is wanted that works with the garments they have produced and so on.


Gobos can also be used to project certain images onto the stage for example if the designer wanted a prison cell then it would enhance the action on stage. When watching 'WICKED' I remember that they used a window Gobo in one of the scenes and I felt that it was very effective and added to the overall mood and set of the scene.

Grease Analysis

What is your character's main purpose in the piece? My character's main purpose is to add humour to the play with Roger as we are the least cool of the two groups and we love our food and we're much more immature than the others. With our bad jokes and chumpy nature it adds silly humour to the piece. 
How is your character different? My character is different from the others because the others are popular, fashionable and flirty. For example Marty wears the latest fashion, has lots of boys that are chasing her and always looks her best whereas i am always eating, being silly and giggling at immature things.
Is your character a stereotype? Jan is a stereotype of a glutenous person, obsessed by food. She is also a stereotype of someone who does not act their age and still has fun acting like a kid an example of this is her curly pigtails which is a hairstyle a younger person would have.

http://youtu.be/Iyo3FdHXq-s i used this link from youtube of a performance of Grease at the West End as part of my inspiration for my duet with Roger 'mooning' i took the sillyness out of it but put it in my own way, for example i always have a cheeky grin on my face and when Roger says the line 'at your front door' i mimic the action of swinging my door open to him. 

GREASE– Synopsis/song list

Title/Content		Strengths/Areas for development - add your opinion. How were the scenes performed at the end of the process/in performance?
Act 1
1	(Alma Mater Acapella) Reunion Speech	I feel that in the performance we sang it well but the things that stood out to me that could of been better is that we got mixed up with some of the words such as 'for' and 'to' and 'cling' and 'sing'. So one of the main analytical points i can make is that we needed better lyric confidence to ensure there were no mistakes made. I think we had good energy but i think some people looked a bit bored and were focusing too much on the lyrics and not on their facial expression, i think it would of been improved if everyone had big smiles on their face. I think the speech went really well, Beth had really good projection and kept her characterisation very well. Lizzie could of improved her projection but her characterisation of an over excited cheerleader was very good. She made it funny with the high kick when she said about the athletic teams. I also think the way we set it out was very good and how we excited in a staggered way one after the other to the back. Also how we had a block at the back for Lizzie and Beth to stand on looked good.   Personal analysis: I felt that i had good projection however some of the words i got mixed up, so for me i just needed a bit more lyric confidence. I kept up the accent throughout the song so that was effective as i was at the front so the audience would have heard me.
1b	(Alma Mater Parody)	I feel that this song was very static and there was not enough movement used, there should of been more jokey shoving included and more energy to make it more of a funny parody. I think that Joe and Max had very good projection but the others could of been a bit louder to make it more exciting. I like how the came down from the blocks and from different areas and met in the middle so it used all the stage but when they met in the middle they stopped moving.
2	Flashback to high school cafeteria (Summer Nights)	I feel that this scene went well except some people needed a lot more projection including my self, i felt Emily projected very well and even being at the back kept the same loudness. I felt that me and Emily (Jan and Marty) showed a good relationship in this scene and i liked how all the girls gradually joined us, it showed a good friendship grouping. I think that we could of used much more energy though because we were very static sitting in almost the same space for the whole scene. However when it went from one group to another i felt that each group freezed very well in the same position and did not move and take the focus away from the group in the spotlight. I think that Beths (Miss Lynch) first impression was very effective and her authority was very noticeable from the moment she walked in, she kept good posture throughout and even though she was a lot smaller than the boys she still showed she had authority over them, for example when she came in the boys sitting down stood up and the boys who were standing up stood back to give her space. On the tech side of things i felt that the stage blocks looked very effective and gave us levels and means we werent just all sitting in the same line, also the silvery fabric that was stapled on the blocks looked great and added colour to the scene.  I really liked summer nights i felt the backing dances were simple but very effective, clicking, following the main singer etc. Matt and Pollys (Danny and Sandy) projection was very good and did the song very well. There was a verse in the song that the girls did not have proper choreography for but we managed to cover it well so i don't think it was noticeable but i lost a bit of confidence in that bit as i didn't know what i was doing properly. It was good that we came down from the blocks at points for 'we went bowling in the arcade' and 'we went strolling, drank lemonade' so we covered more of the stage. It was effective how we all were very impressed and intrigued with Polly's (sandys) summer and this mystery boy except from Lyndsey (Rizzo) who just sat down looking down her nose for most of it, and when she did join in she did it mockingly, i felt that Lyndsey played that part very well.   Personal analysis: I felt that did this scene pretty well, i stayed in character and when i wasn't in the spotlight i still kept it up. I think i needed to be a lot louder after watching the video of the performance, when i was on stage i felt that i was loud enough but when i was right at the back of the stage i was only just loud enough so i definitely needed to be a lot louder. I felt i kept up the characterisation because i was getting excited about the food and i made silly jokes like 'hey, where'd you get shoes like that' and kept up my giggly nature.
3	Lockers (Those Magic Changes)	I think that how we entered was good, that we entered individually, got stuff from our lockers then sat with friends, stood with friends, then when we heard Joe (Doody) with the guitar we all gradually went over to him and showed interest. Then when he sang terribly we all moved away a bit holding our ears showing we found it awful. I think the choreography worked really well, again very simple but again simple was good, even though the boys wasn't properly choreographed it looked good because those boys wouldn't of danced very well anyway being the 'T birds' they're all about looking cool. The harmony in 'Those Magic Changes' sounded good. When the girls clicked off and the boys moved around Joe it changed the energy into a very boyish feeling.   Personal analysis: In those magic changes i kept up the choreography but made a couple of mistakes to the end. I kept in time and kept a smile on my face.
4	Marty's pajama party (Freddy, My Love)	I think the props really helped this scene but i still think it lacked a bit of energy, we should of moved around a bit more and used the space we had.  We showed a very good reaction to the bottle of wine, we were all very excited and moved to get a bit. We needed to of kept the accent going and not slip into british which i did. We remembered our lines very well and when someone did forget theirs (which was only for a couple) we quickly covered for them. In Freddy My Love Martys vocals were really good, but the backing vocals could of been more powerful. I think the lighting was really good and showed a very girly scene. I think the actions and reactions in this scene were very good and effective. The scene flowed very well and wasn't too patchy and static. I think for the tech it was lacking something, the picture didn't suit very well and was not in the right century. I think if we have had a bed it would of made the scene more believable.   Personal analysis: I feel that i kept up the characterisation, and kept using props when i wasn't talking so i wasn't just waiting until my next line. I feel like i again could of been a little bit louder and try not to mumble some of my lines. I felt like i reacted well to the actions being made. I tried not to just stay in one place by going over to stand by Polly and fiddle with her hair and show interest in her. In Freddy my love i feel like i could of been a lot louder, especially as Emily has such a powerful voice so to back her we needed a lot of projection. I felt like i kept up the giggly silly girly feel of the backing singers to the song, so that was good.
5	Garage (Greased Lightening)	I think this scene lacked some energy, i think it doesn't build up very well for Greased Lightening. When they run in carrying the tires that looked good. I think Abbie and Michael should of been alot louder as compared to the others they weren't heard as well. They used good actions using the car. Abbie's characterisation was very good even though she was the only girl she fitted into the boy scene very well. I think the scene needed more boyish energy, joking about with eachother etc.  Greased Lightening is one of my favourite songs in the show and the choreography for this is very effective and works so well, there was very good movement in the song, however the song was a bit out of time. I liked how some people were on the car, Max (Kenickie) was in front of the car, and the others were each side of the car, it showed good spacing and levels. I liked the clapping in the song and how they moved to a different position for each clapping set.  Tech notes: the sound effects needed to be on time, the background picture was effective and was in the right time period.
6	Cheerleading	I think this scene started very well, Polly (Sandy) using good space for her cheerleading practise, then she showed a very good reaction to Matt (Danny) entering by throwing her pom-poms to the floor suddenly in embarrassment, i think that was very effective and showed off her character very well. There was very good improvisation in this scene when their character was not talking they were always doing something and keeping in character. I think Lizzy (Patty) mumbled a bit and needed more projection but other then that her characterisation was great, always trying to get Dannys attention, trying to take Sandy away from him etc. However because it was an unenergised scene everyone started to shuffle all over the place and move too much whilst talking which made them mumble their lines a bit. I think Matts reaction to the track tryouts was good, trying to impress Sandy and Patty but knowing that he wouldn't be able to do it properly and a bit embarrassed.
7	Picnic in the park (Mooning) (Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee). (We Go Together)	In the park we had good movement whilst not speaking but i feel that the scene lacked a lot of energy that a party in the park with a couple of drinks would of had. I think that there was good miming in the background whilst not speaking. I think there needed to be more interaction with eachother and more movement around the stage and not just staying static in one place. I felt that mooning went very well, me and Abbie (Roger) had good lyric confidence, i liked the simple choreography for this, Roger was singing to me for the first bit then i followed him then he held me in his arms, so it's like a gradual attraction and getting closer to eachother. However, i feel that the backing dancers were a bit out of time and the clicking needed to be a lot slower and i think they weren't confident enough with the choreography. There was a late change to everyone singing the last line 'theres a moon out tonight' so that went a bit wrong. I think we needed a bit more volume just so the song had more of an impact. I felt that me and Abbie showed a really good relationship in this song and it showed our silly side.  There was a good reaction to the fight and to the radio. There was noticeable aggression between Max and Lyndsey and it looked believable.  In Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee i think because we all gathered at the radio getting into the position for the song was a bit awkward. Lyndsey sang the song well with good characterisation, but because we did the choreography right at the beginning and we did not go over it, it was a bit slow and unconfident.  Second reaction to fight was good as well, however i think that Lyndsey went a bit ghetto and too fiesty for that fight, but apart from that very good how the energy was kept up. It was very effective when Abbie brought me up to the front to talk to me, because then it was centre stage and not pushed to the back and it meant the audience could hear us clearer. We go together: projection good, however, when the choreography got more extravagant the vocals got quieter and were mumbled a bit and were lost. So for me i think the choreography could of been a bit more simple, and when we were meant to do silly moves, everyone cramped to the back and i think we should of moved around the stage a lot more. Personal analysis: I feel that i needed to be a lot louder as i was sitting right at the back. I felt mine and Rogers relationship and how we acted together went really well. We used the props well and we added our humour and cheeky grins which worked well. I liked how when Abbie (Roger) started telling me about how he's a mooner we started walking towards the front, i also liked how when i say 'i wish i'd been there... i mean.. you know what i mean' i started moving away in embarrassment and then Abbie said 'I wish you'd been there too' we met in the centre and held hands and it showed the first of our proper relationship. I felt that mooning went really well for me, my projection in the song was good and i showed how loved up i was for Roger. However when i was walking back and Abbie was following i nearly fell over the radio but Abbie managed to pull me back and kept in character so that was avoided well.
Act 2
1	High School Hop (Hopelessly Devoted to You) (Born to Hand Jive).	  The opening to this scene worked really well, the spotlights on the boys and the girls getting ready made it look really effective. Pollys projection for Hopelessly devoted to you was really good, and she hit the notes very well, whilst she was singing the people in the background freezed well so the attention on Polly was kept. I felt like the music after the song came in a bit too late. The dancing was very energetic but i feel that sometimes it dipped a little so the main thing would be that we would need to keep the energy up throughout. I think the line dancing looked really good and it really showed the relationships between the different couples, me (Jan) and Abbie (Roger) went down the line flapping our arms like chicken to show our silly, immature relationship whereas Emily (Marty) and Dylan (Vince) went down the line doing a provocative style dance to show their sexual based mature relationship. There was a good reaction to Miss Lynch and Vince Fontaine, reacted to the things they said and were focussed on them when they were talking. Dyland forgot his lines but Beth covered very well and so it would not of been noticed by the audience. I think Chelsea (Cha-Cha) and Max's (Kenickie) entrance was really good as they came on in spotlight at the top of the blocks and walked down and everyone moved out there way and grouped round like 'who is this girl?'. Eugene and Cha-Cha's dance was really good, Ben/Josh (Eugene) showed the real awkwardness of dancing with someone that confident and out of his league, and Chelsea did really well sexually dancing around him to make Max (Kenickie) jealous. I feel that there was not enough excitement leading up to hand-jive, however, the actual dance looked really well, there were a few mistakes made, for example i kicked opposite to everyone else but i put it into character because i see Jan as not a very good dancer anyway. Miss Lynch's lines after Hand Jive were drowned so i feel she should've waited for the audience to stop clapping because she wasn't heard. I feel that the 'how low can you go' section where we shuffle along the stage again in our partners looked really good because again it showed what sort of relationship we have. I think that when Cha-Cha and Danny went up to get their prizes it looked good how we all crowded round and reacted to the different prizes they were accepting. I think it worked really well how the boys went off first (for their costume change) and the girls stayed on and had a little chat on the blocks and then gradually left and then Patty (Lizzie), Eugene and Miss Lynch cleaned up.   Personal Analysis: I felt that i kept up my characterisation and the couple of lines i did have i felt i had good projection. I think my reactions to Vince and Miss Lynch worked well and i think that i kept my energy up and even though i got some of the moves wrong in the hand-jive i managed to put it into character. 
2	Outside Burger Palace   - ready to rumble (Beauty School Dropout)	Needed a lot more energy! Max came out of character when he mixed up one of his lines. When Max came on he also should of started talking before he got to centre stage because it looked really unnatural. Frenchie (Emily P) sounded really good, good accent, good projection. Danny needed to come out a lot earlier, awkward silence but Sonny (Michael) covered very well and improvised 'hey, where's Danny?'. I think Emily's monologue went really well, and she didn't rush it. In beauty school dropout Joe's (Doody) vocals were really good, good projection and he hit the high notes really well. The costume for the angels was really simple but so effective, and also with the choreography that was simple but worked really well with the lyrics, however we weren't in time with the other group, so we should of gone over that a bit more. The backing vocals were great, went with Joe's voice really well.
3	Twi-Light Drive In (Sandy)	Good movie sequence, good freeze-frame whilst Sandy and Danny scene. Dylan, Beth and Sarah good projection in movie scene. Good use of flickering green light for movie scene looked really effective. Polly (Sandy) needed to be a bit louder towards the beginning of the scene. When Matt (Danny) tried to get his ring off i felt that was really good comedy and the audience enjoyed it. I thought the kiss was a bit too short, but Polly showed really good awkwardness towards Matt. Matt sang 'Sandy' really well with really good projection, good movement and he hit the notes well.
4	House Party (Rock and Roll Party Queen) Rizzo is worried (There Are Worse Things I Could Do). Sandy wants to fit in at Rydell (Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee Reprise).	Good energy, good use of space, good use of props. Joe sang RARPQ really well, he was able to hit all the notes fine and characterised it very well, he had good projection and movement. Awkward bit after Rock and Roll Party Queen, energy dropped. Lyndsey's accent dropped at one point. I felt it was really good how Lyndsey brang Emily up to the front to tell her about her possible pregnancy, a sense of secrecy was made. I feel that some people needed to be louder and to say their lines more slowly (me). Max knocked over plastic cup but kept it in character and the rest of the T-birds looked at him and made it not look like a mistake. Good actions and reactions. Lyndsey (Rizzo) paced too much in There are worse things i could do. Polly (Sandy) used very good projection and good movement in Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee however the spotlight came on at the wrong point and lit her as she walked off from the blocks.
5	Burger Palace – Sandy’s transformation (You’re the one that I want) (We Go Together Reprise).	Lighting was bad - the t-birds were not lit, good projection, good action and reaction but needed more energy! the scene started a bit dead. Very good reaction when the new Sandy walked in, everyone stood up, Danny broke through the crowd and looked Sandy up and down.  The Pink Ladies kept a good stance and kept in character when not in spotlights. For You're the one that i want: very good lighting, good background dances, simple but effective with clicks, bops, moves reacting to Sandys lines, good movement and using space well by using blocks. Good harmonies and it worked really well how all the couples got together and did individual dances together and then all together did the same movements (of which we copied from the dance from the movie). After the song i felt it was good how we all progressed to the middle after our lines so we showed our friendship and closeness. Lizzie needed to be a bit louder as she was towards the back on the blocks, but her characterisation was really good and humerous. The We Go Together reprise was really good, tight movement, good projection and good facial expressions. The lighting was really good and the projection behind us fit well. However the music should of been cut on 'wop bam boom' which is when the lights went off and we stopped dancing.