Spring Awakening
5* rating
Review by James Harding - Broadway Baby
The Summer Purple
Spring Awakening follows a group of teenagers struggling to cope with the clandestine world of sex in conservative 19th-century Germany, and doesn’t pull its punches - the original Frank Wedekind play was banned in Germany for its explicit subject matter. There is a risk in modern versions of shows famous for their once-shocking subject matter of relying simply on their scandal value to make the production buzz, but this production has a more mature take on the play leaving room for the actors and audience to explore the issues beyond the historical context of the show.
I should tell you that the hype around Spring Awakening is huge. The heavily-adapted musical version has been a cult hit amongst musical-theatre fans across America and the UK and I know of at least six student productions coming up in the new year. If you can’t sing The Days of Purple Summer then you just aren’t in musical theatre. Many companies were disappointed not to get the rights for the fringe production - or at least, they will be until they see how wonderful this one is!
The imaginative and effective blocking relies heavily on the whole cast working together and at times watching the show is like watching the insides of a complex and beautiful machine. The company exude a wonderful ensemble attitude in their interpretation, their hours spent together on the RSAMD MA programme enabling powerful acting and stunning movement during the big numbers. The superb leads Helen Hart and Andrew Keay rightfully command most of the audience’s attention, although the humorous buffooning of Seth Leiber and the ever-present characterisation of Kristopher Bosch make them stand out from the ensemble. This young cast bring a mature note to the show everyone is talking about."
Friday, August 6, 2010
Into the rafters and a slight restage
Production: Closest to the Moon
Show Week 1
by Melanie Bell
Hi there all Closest to the Moon fans! Just wanted to add a quick update. We had our tech yesterday after a long day of Spring teching and it was our first chance to see and sing in the space. It's very intimate, and I think in a way it's good as all audience members will be up close and personal and probably be able to feel our breathing, so I suppose that is an experience in and of itself. And there is less chance words and lyrics will be hard to hear.
We did have to do a little re-staging, as is always the case when getting into a new venue, to accommodate the amount of people on stage. Have to say though, some of the physical work we are doing which might have looked sparse in a huge space totally overcomes this venue and Gram is literally in the rafters. So that should hopefully be impressive. We also added a little more to the "Broadway show nightmare" number, choreography wise and it's sure to be exciting. Anyhow, really looking forward to an audience's reaction later this week. It's at the point where we are madly in love with it and just want to see how others respond. Hope to see you there
Show Week 1
by Melanie Bell
Hi there all Closest to the Moon fans! Just wanted to add a quick update. We had our tech yesterday after a long day of Spring teching and it was our first chance to see and sing in the space. It's very intimate, and I think in a way it's good as all audience members will be up close and personal and probably be able to feel our breathing, so I suppose that is an experience in and of itself. And there is less chance words and lyrics will be hard to hear.
We did have to do a little re-staging, as is always the case when getting into a new venue, to accommodate the amount of people on stage. Have to say though, some of the physical work we are doing which might have looked sparse in a huge space totally overcomes this venue and Gram is literally in the rafters. So that should hopefully be impressive. We also added a little more to the "Broadway show nightmare" number, choreography wise and it's sure to be exciting. Anyhow, really looking forward to an audience's reaction later this week. It's at the point where we are madly in love with it and just want to see how others respond. Hope to see you there
In Touch with Edinburgh audiences
Production: In Touch
Show Week 1
by Rachel Middle (Alice)
So we've had our first preview! We performed in front if a reasonably sized audience on the 5th, and thus, the world premiere of "in touch" has taken place. They seemed to enjoy the funny bits, like the "poke" song, and the opening, but we also heard good feedback about the more serious storyline between Eamonn and Mairin as well. Jamie and Paul were very pleased because they said before that they find it difficult being the serious characters among so many comedic ones. As it turns out, one of Paul's scenes at the end was very funny and we struggled not to laugh on stage, another of those moments is where Tony (played by Byron) says the word "poles". You wouldn't believe that could be hilarious, but my god it is!
The venue itself is small, but perfect for what we want to do, it's just big enough to fit in our dances which were choreographed by Andrew Panton. A lot of the dances are really just sequences of avatar-like movements, but when we do them altogether I imagine they must look pretty impressive. What a shame it is that we will never be able to watch ourselves!
A week ago, when Candice realised that we were opening in a week, she burst into helpless laughter for about 10 minutes, but I think we have managed to pull it off. How about you all come along and see for yourselves!? Pleasance Dome 12.10pm
Show Week 1
by Rachel Middle (Alice)
So we've had our first preview! We performed in front if a reasonably sized audience on the 5th, and thus, the world premiere of "in touch" has taken place. They seemed to enjoy the funny bits, like the "poke" song, and the opening, but we also heard good feedback about the more serious storyline between Eamonn and Mairin as well. Jamie and Paul were very pleased because they said before that they find it difficult being the serious characters among so many comedic ones. As it turns out, one of Paul's scenes at the end was very funny and we struggled not to laugh on stage, another of those moments is where Tony (played by Byron) says the word "poles". You wouldn't believe that could be hilarious, but my god it is!
The venue itself is small, but perfect for what we want to do, it's just big enough to fit in our dances which were choreographed by Andrew Panton. A lot of the dances are really just sequences of avatar-like movements, but when we do them altogether I imagine they must look pretty impressive. What a shame it is that we will never be able to watch ourselves!
A week ago, when Candice realised that we were opening in a week, she burst into helpless laughter for about 10 minutes, but I think we have managed to pull it off. How about you all come along and see for yourselves!? Pleasance Dome 12.10pm
Sunday, August 1, 2010
'Spring'ing into Action in Edinburgh
Production: Spring Awakening
Final Rehearsal Week
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
Soooooo.... This is it!!!! We have finished the rehearsal process! It has come around so quickly and I think it is fair to say that we are all scared stiff! We had the busiest and most tiring week yet but it was incredible.
We had a zitzprobe (which basically means you run all the songs with the band for the first time) which was really exciting and hearing the full band really added something to each number. We also had our dress rehearsals and seeing all the costumes was amazing and we all look so young!
In one particular dress rehearsal I failed to come onstage for a scene with the girls... I was putting rubber on my bum (don't ask!) and missed my cue! Luckily the girls covered and I think it's safe to say that it won't happen again as I am now very paranoid!
SPRING AWAKENING PREMIERES IN 4 DAYS... here we go.........
Monday, July 19, 2010
Edinburgh Springs 'Awake'
Production: All of them!
Rehearsal Wk 4
by Susie Dumbreck (Company Manager)
Sitting in a cafe in a very wet Edinburgh. Have seen production trucks, scaffolding, Lampies, Noise boys (and girls) and a copious amount of multipocketed shorts and steel toe capped boots roaming around outside the major venues as the fit up for the fringe well and truly gets underway.
Those who know and love the Edinburgh Fringe will know that very soon Edinburgh becomes a heaving mass of artistic talent which sings, dances, plays, laughs, crys its way into the city. Every available flat in the town becomes an artistic haven for those performers who are lucky enough to get the chance to come here. Alongside this we have the dedicated fringe going public - who are what really make this festival one of the most special in the world.
So it's with great joy that I see the large 33 sign go up outside The Pleasance, the home of RSAMD's Spring Awakening offer this year and where the courtyard will soon be filled with the chatter, excitement and of course queues of performance going public (oh and lots of lager/cider swigging in the bar).
Those who are swithering over whether to come to Edinburgh this year - DO IT - the programme really is fantastic. Make sure you get along to RSAMD shows. Follow us on twitter @RSAMD_Fringe.
Rehearsal Wk 4
by Susie Dumbreck (Company Manager)
Sitting in a cafe in a very wet Edinburgh. Have seen production trucks, scaffolding, Lampies, Noise boys (and girls) and a copious amount of multipocketed shorts and steel toe capped boots roaming around outside the major venues as the fit up for the fringe well and truly gets underway.
Those who know and love the Edinburgh Fringe will know that very soon Edinburgh becomes a heaving mass of artistic talent which sings, dances, plays, laughs, crys its way into the city. Every available flat in the town becomes an artistic haven for those performers who are lucky enough to get the chance to come here. Alongside this we have the dedicated fringe going public - who are what really make this festival one of the most special in the world.
So it's with great joy that I see the large 33 sign go up outside The Pleasance, the home of RSAMD's Spring Awakening offer this year and where the courtyard will soon be filled with the chatter, excitement and of course queues of performance going public (oh and lots of lager/cider swigging in the bar).
Those who are swithering over whether to come to Edinburgh this year - DO IT - the programme really is fantastic. Make sure you get along to RSAMD shows. Follow us on twitter @RSAMD_Fringe.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Casting ... and underwear!
Production: Spring Awakening
Rehearsal Wk 3
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
So we finally find out our 2 casting groups today! (for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, we are double cast for the show and today we found out which of us are in each cast & who we will be working with.) This is great to know as it allows us to start forming bonds with our scene partners and it allows us to take our work to the next level. I think there were some suprises in there but I'm glad we can get started on creating a dynamic with our own cast and developing it as a group.
The show is getting closer and I think it would be fair to say we are all nervous about how soon we open! But I have faith that we can pull off a great show (come and see it please.) Costume fitting today was hilarious, Carly & myself (Car is also playing Wendla) had alot of fun trying to fit into the tiny underwear they want us to wear! They accidently asked me to try on a bra that was 3 sizes too small, I think I gave the wardrobe department a bit of a shock when I came out of the changing room! haha!
Rehearsal Wk 3
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
So we finally find out our 2 casting groups today! (for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, we are double cast for the show and today we found out which of us are in each cast & who we will be working with.) This is great to know as it allows us to start forming bonds with our scene partners and it allows us to take our work to the next level. I think there were some suprises in there but I'm glad we can get started on creating a dynamic with our own cast and developing it as a group.
The show is getting closer and I think it would be fair to say we are all nervous about how soon we open! But I have faith that we can pull off a great show (come and see it please.) Costume fitting today was hilarious, Carly & myself (Car is also playing Wendla) had alot of fun trying to fit into the tiny underwear they want us to wear! They accidently asked me to try on a bra that was 3 sizes too small, I think I gave the wardrobe department a bit of a shock when I came out of the changing room! haha!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Poking, a-GORA-phobia & Leeroy Jenkins!
Production: In Touch
Rehearsal Wk2
by Michael John Griesen (Friend)
Today we went over David’s ‘Birthday Poke’ in more detail, which was necessary as a couple of people that were not singing in it before now are. Seth was still struggling with the exact rhythm of ‘po, po, po, po po poke!’ He tapped it out so enthusiastically on his music stand that he broke his pencil. We’ve made a few changes to the lyrics in “Alive” as well, one which took us a good ten minutes to get right. After a short toilet break we discussed our research that we had done in the last two days which was very interesting; we looked in detail at what ‘Friend’s’ and ‘Mairin’s’ conditions are, and Seth talked his character’s fear of the outside world.
Seth: “I think David might have a-GORA-phobia”
Ken: “Is that a bit like a-LUM-inum?”
Seth: “Yeah, scared of metal.”
The above exchange was apparently hilarious to everyone else but it went completely over my head. Byron then showed us a youtube video of a team, of what seemed to be computer geeks, planning a World of Warcraft raid, until one of the characters, who had just got back from the bathroom, ran recklessly through the doors to the monsters shouting- “LEEROY JENKINS!” (His name.) The amusement that resulted from this kept us happy all the way through lunchtime. Mikey found this particular video hilarious, and tears were streaming from his eyes for the next half hour, just at the slightest mention of this video!
Helen presented information on internet addiction and gave some examples of how it has pulled families apart. One thing that we found pretty ridiculous was that the only way you could access information about an internet addiction helpline, was ONLINE!
Candice spoke about quarantines, and gave us plenty of information on how quarantines would work and be undertaken in todays society. This was really helpful for the characters of 'In Touch' who have been affected by the 'quarantine'.
Mikey presented information on 'Locked in Syndrome' which is what his 'human character' suffers from. He read a few passages from a diary by a patient who suffers from the syndrome, and it was incredibly touching and gave a real insight.
Finally, Rachel presented her research about artificial intelligence, and the possible ramifications of unconscious beings developing consciousness.
Candice said that I fried her brain. I take that as a compliment. Ken then instructed us to get into our pairs and discuss our characters more, starting with a list of everything we knew about our characters, then developing this into making our own decisions about how we wanted to play them. To make this easier, we pretended we were on television, and we got interviewed in our pairs and had to improvise replies. All in all, it was a extremely productive day of rehearsal, and we left with a bundle of information and ideas to play with.
Rehearsal Wk2
by Michael John Griesen (Friend)
Today we went over David’s ‘Birthday Poke’ in more detail, which was necessary as a couple of people that were not singing in it before now are. Seth was still struggling with the exact rhythm of ‘po, po, po, po po poke!’ He tapped it out so enthusiastically on his music stand that he broke his pencil. We’ve made a few changes to the lyrics in “Alive” as well, one which took us a good ten minutes to get right. After a short toilet break we discussed our research that we had done in the last two days which was very interesting; we looked in detail at what ‘Friend’s’ and ‘Mairin’s’ conditions are, and Seth talked his character’s fear of the outside world.
Seth: “I think David might have a-GORA-phobia”
Ken: “Is that a bit like a-LUM-inum?”
Seth: “Yeah, scared of metal.”
The above exchange was apparently hilarious to everyone else but it went completely over my head. Byron then showed us a youtube video of a team, of what seemed to be computer geeks, planning a World of Warcraft raid, until one of the characters, who had just got back from the bathroom, ran recklessly through the doors to the monsters shouting- “LEEROY JENKINS!” (His name.) The amusement that resulted from this kept us happy all the way through lunchtime. Mikey found this particular video hilarious, and tears were streaming from his eyes for the next half hour, just at the slightest mention of this video!
Helen presented information on internet addiction and gave some examples of how it has pulled families apart. One thing that we found pretty ridiculous was that the only way you could access information about an internet addiction helpline, was ONLINE!
Candice spoke about quarantines, and gave us plenty of information on how quarantines would work and be undertaken in todays society. This was really helpful for the characters of 'In Touch' who have been affected by the 'quarantine'.
Mikey presented information on 'Locked in Syndrome' which is what his 'human character' suffers from. He read a few passages from a diary by a patient who suffers from the syndrome, and it was incredibly touching and gave a real insight.
Finally, Rachel presented her research about artificial intelligence, and the possible ramifications of unconscious beings developing consciousness.
Candice said that I fried her brain. I take that as a compliment. Ken then instructed us to get into our pairs and discuss our characters more, starting with a list of everything we knew about our characters, then developing this into making our own decisions about how we wanted to play them. To make this easier, we pretended we were on television, and we got interviewed in our pairs and had to improvise replies. All in all, it was a extremely productive day of rehearsal, and we left with a bundle of information and ideas to play with.
'In Touch' with Muffins
Production: In Touch
Rehearsal Wk2
by Michael John Griesen (Friend)
Today we had our first read-through of the whole show. We read Act II as well even though we’re not doing that in the Fringe. It was fun because we could remember a lot of the Act II music from when we did it in March for New Musical Development. Jamie (who plays Mairin) brought in 3 containers of muffins; blueberry, chocolate chip, and toffee, and we ate most of them throughout the day. It was good to hear Ken's (Director) views on the play, and we discussed some of the character decisions that we could make. He then encouraged us to go away and research about our characters such as possible backstory, and avatars in general. Also, during the afternoon part of our rehearsal, England beat Slovenia and USA beat Algeria in the World Cup, so there was general rejoicing! More importantly we also had another look at the first act; the act we will be performing at the fringe. This was useful, as we were able to ammend and adjust any inconsistencies or practical problems in the script, such as smoking on stage! Though, in the long run that will be better for our voices if we're not smoking!!!
Rehearsal Wk2
by Michael John Griesen (Friend)
Today we had our first read-through of the whole show. We read Act II as well even though we’re not doing that in the Fringe. It was fun because we could remember a lot of the Act II music from when we did it in March for New Musical Development. Jamie (who plays Mairin) brought in 3 containers of muffins; blueberry, chocolate chip, and toffee, and we ate most of them throughout the day. It was good to hear Ken's (Director) views on the play, and we discussed some of the character decisions that we could make. He then encouraged us to go away and research about our characters such as possible backstory, and avatars in general. Also, during the afternoon part of our rehearsal, England beat Slovenia and USA beat Algeria in the World Cup, so there was general rejoicing! More importantly we also had another look at the first act; the act we will be performing at the fringe. This was useful, as we were able to ammend and adjust any inconsistencies or practical problems in the script, such as smoking on stage! Though, in the long run that will be better for our voices if we're not smoking!!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Emotional Connections
Production: Spring Awakening
Rehearsal Wk 2
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
Another week of intensive rehearsals has begun. Today was difficult. We rehearsed a scene in which a funeral is held and a touching ballad accompanies it. We were asked by our director (Andrew Panton) to explore our characters and their reactions to the death by speaking directly to the character we had lost (I'm not going to name them incase you don't know the show!) and telling them something we should have told them before they died.
Each person in the group took it in turns to say how they felt and naturally, the exercise resulted in alot of tears! The dialogue was completely unscripted and genuine and it meant that each of us were pushed into putting ourselves in the position of our character and imagining how they might feel.
The difficulty many of us encountered seemed to be the struggle to connect with the emotion of our character without connecting TOO strongly to our own emotions as an actor; something very difficult to achieve.
I think to be honest, many of us found ourselves standing there crying about people we have lost or people that we worry we may lose. However, this was not a bad thing. It was really useful in that it assisted us in understanding our character's emotions and better informed us as actors. I'm biased but I think it put us in a position where we could have a really strong scene. In my opinion, a 'Funeral Scene' can be cheesy & cliche or it can be beautiful & powerful... I'm excited at the thought that ours may well be the latter!
Rehearsal Wk 2
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
Another week of intensive rehearsals has begun. Today was difficult. We rehearsed a scene in which a funeral is held and a touching ballad accompanies it. We were asked by our director (Andrew Panton) to explore our characters and their reactions to the death by speaking directly to the character we had lost (I'm not going to name them incase you don't know the show!) and telling them something we should have told them before they died.
Each person in the group took it in turns to say how they felt and naturally, the exercise resulted in alot of tears! The dialogue was completely unscripted and genuine and it meant that each of us were pushed into putting ourselves in the position of our character and imagining how they might feel.
The difficulty many of us encountered seemed to be the struggle to connect with the emotion of our character without connecting TOO strongly to our own emotions as an actor; something very difficult to achieve.
I think to be honest, many of us found ourselves standing there crying about people we have lost or people that we worry we may lose. However, this was not a bad thing. It was really useful in that it assisted us in understanding our character's emotions and better informed us as actors. I'm biased but I think it put us in a position where we could have a really strong scene. In my opinion, a 'Funeral Scene' can be cheesy & cliche or it can be beautiful & powerful... I'm excited at the thought that ours may well be the latter!
Gonna Build A Mountain ...
Production: Closest to the Moon by Richard TaylorRehearsal Wk 2
The cast work at creating visuals with The Climber.
My Creative Junk
Production: Spring Awakening by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater
Rehearsal Week 1
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
What an exciting week it has been for Spring Awakening! After a week or so of note-bashing the show is finally getting on it's feet. The rehearsals so far have been intense yet incredibly good fun, with a very enthusiastic atmosphere.
Today we looked at an exciting & energetic scene within the show (which includes the song 'My Junk.') This proved to be a hilarious rehearsal in which we used water bottles as microphones, a rostra block as a 'bridge' and two office swivel chairs as 'moving school desks'... talk about creativity! (Creative ideas courtesy of Andrew Panton, our director.) The scene is performed by the full company and includes a student fantasising about his piano teacher and another boy getting up to no good in the privacy of his bathroom with his father angrily banging on the door.
The music is really starting to come together and you can hear people starting to take ownership of their vocal lines now that they are more comfortable with them. The highlight of the day had to be when Paul (adult male & Otto) walked onstage and delivered his line in an irish accent because he got momentarily confused which musical we were doing!... An Australian actor delivering a line in Irish within a German show! Priceless!
Rehearsal Week 1
by Helen Hart (Wendla)
What an exciting week it has been for Spring Awakening! After a week or so of note-bashing the show is finally getting on it's feet. The rehearsals so far have been intense yet incredibly good fun, with a very enthusiastic atmosphere.
Today we looked at an exciting & energetic scene within the show (which includes the song 'My Junk.') This proved to be a hilarious rehearsal in which we used water bottles as microphones, a rostra block as a 'bridge' and two office swivel chairs as 'moving school desks'... talk about creativity! (Creative ideas courtesy of Andrew Panton, our director.) The scene is performed by the full company and includes a student fantasising about his piano teacher and another boy getting up to no good in the privacy of his bathroom with his father angrily banging on the door.
The music is really starting to come together and you can hear people starting to take ownership of their vocal lines now that they are more comfortable with them. The highlight of the day had to be when Paul (adult male & Otto) walked onstage and delivered his line in an irish accent because he got momentarily confused which musical we were doing!... An Australian actor delivering a line in Irish within a German show! Priceless!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
'In Touch'ing the High Notes
Production: In Touch by Dougal Irvine
(in assocation with Perfect Pitch)
by Rachel Middle (Alice) & Michael John Griesen (Friend)
Hi! We're Rachel and Mikey, and we're playing 'Alice' and 'Friend' (respectively) in "In Touch" at the Edinburgh Fringe. Look back at our blog regularly to check out all the crazy goings on with the cast and rehearsal process...
We had our first proper sing through of all the music on Saturday, it started off badly. There was noisy and smelly work going on just outside the building and after ten minutes of suffering we were finally driven out of our nice rehearsal space by the oily fumes that somehow managed to make their way through three closed windows. We relocated to a practice room in the depths of the RSAMD where we rehearsed 'David’s Birthday Poke' for a while. Our esteemed musical director is also called David, which is a continuing source of hilarity for us all. After a lengthy discussion on the exact rhythm of ‘Po po po po po poke’, we moved onto a run through, recorded by Candice with a high quality audio recording device owned by the department.
“Could we use this to record our rep sessions, David?” asked Paul curiously (Paul plays the Irish 'Eamonn' in the show)
“Yes.”
“Do we have any rep sessions left?”
“No.”
What a shame.
The music is fantastic and gets easier every time we do it, but we still struggle with the unusual time signatures and high notes, though a lot of Alice's notes have been put down an octave now. Byron (who plays 'Tony') needs to work very hard though because a lot of his notes are up where only the dogs can hear him, when we sing “Alive” he looks like he’s about to die, which is wonderfully ironic. It’s been a really good couple of weeks so far, we’re all on top of the music and looking forward to getting the songs up on their feet and learning more about what our director wants us to do.
In March we did a workshop of Act II of "In Touch" and we had to vibrate constantly when we were ‘online.’ It’ll be interesting to see what Ken Alexander (Director) wants the avatars to do this time, and more importantly, whether or not we will get a live horse on stage for the fringe. I obviously hope that we do.
(in assocation with Perfect Pitch)
by Rachel Middle (Alice) & Michael John Griesen (Friend)
Hi! We're Rachel and Mikey, and we're playing 'Alice' and 'Friend' (respectively) in "In Touch" at the Edinburgh Fringe. Look back at our blog regularly to check out all the crazy goings on with the cast and rehearsal process...
We had our first proper sing through of all the music on Saturday, it started off badly. There was noisy and smelly work going on just outside the building and after ten minutes of suffering we were finally driven out of our nice rehearsal space by the oily fumes that somehow managed to make their way through three closed windows. We relocated to a practice room in the depths of the RSAMD where we rehearsed 'David’s Birthday Poke' for a while. Our esteemed musical director is also called David, which is a continuing source of hilarity for us all. After a lengthy discussion on the exact rhythm of ‘Po po po po po poke’, we moved onto a run through, recorded by Candice with a high quality audio recording device owned by the department.
“Could we use this to record our rep sessions, David?” asked Paul curiously (Paul plays the Irish 'Eamonn' in the show)
“Yes.”
“Do we have any rep sessions left?”
“No.”
What a shame.
The music is fantastic and gets easier every time we do it, but we still struggle with the unusual time signatures and high notes, though a lot of Alice's notes have been put down an octave now. Byron (who plays 'Tony') needs to work very hard though because a lot of his notes are up where only the dogs can hear him, when we sing “Alive” he looks like he’s about to die, which is wonderfully ironic. It’s been a really good couple of weeks so far, we’re all on top of the music and looking forward to getting the songs up on their feet and learning more about what our director wants us to do.
In March we did a workshop of Act II of "In Touch" and we had to vibrate constantly when we were ‘online.’ It’ll be interesting to see what Ken Alexander (Director) wants the avatars to do this time, and more importantly, whether or not we will get a live horse on stage for the fringe. I obviously hope that we do.
Welcome to RSAMD at The Fringe Blog
Welcome to RSAMD at The Fringe 2010
by One Academy Productions
We'd like to say hi to all you followers of our new blog site which will keep you up to date with all things RSAMD at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010.
Following on from the 5*sell-out success of Jerry Springer - The Opera, our MA Musical Theatre students will be back in August with the Scottish Premiere of the multiple Tony award winning and Olivier nominated Spring Awakening.
We will also be premiering two brand new works in collaboration with Perfect Pitch. Closest to the Moon by Richard Taylor and In Touch by Dougal Irvine.
Our cast and production teams will be posting with news on everything from rehearsals to performances, so check back and keep in touch with us.
Tickets for all our shows can be purchased at http://www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh
See you in Edinburgh
by One Academy Productions
We'd like to say hi to all you followers of our new blog site which will keep you up to date with all things RSAMD at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010.
Following on from the 5*sell-out success of Jerry Springer - The Opera, our MA Musical Theatre students will be back in August with the Scottish Premiere of the multiple Tony award winning and Olivier nominated Spring Awakening.
We will also be premiering two brand new works in collaboration with Perfect Pitch. Closest to the Moon by Richard Taylor and In Touch by Dougal Irvine.
Our cast and production teams will be posting with news on everything from rehearsals to performances, so check back and keep in touch with us.
Tickets for all our shows can be purchased at http://www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh
See you in Edinburgh
Reaching the Note Bash Summit!
Production: Closest to the Moon by Richard Taylor
Rehearsal Week 1
By Melanie Bell (Cast)
So we've officially finished the "note-bashing" process and I have to say, with great success. This is due mainly to the patience and thoroughness of the one fabulous Claire McKenzie, our MD. This is by far the most difficult score I have worked on and being in Claire's shoes I probably would have run screaming back to an American Juke Box Medley. In the vein of Sondheim, these songs are as intricate as they come and though somehow the lines meant for singing and the piano lines wouldn't be noticed as belonging together if one heard them separately, together they intertwine and promote instant emotional gut reactions. The music is marvellous, and now that I sort of have my brain wrapped around most of it I feel like I've been let into the secret world that Richard Taylor has created.
Claire started us off "rapping"! Yes, we chanted rhythmically for several hours and with time signatures rotating between 9/16 and 7/16 and 3/8 and 5/8 and 5/16 in a matter of brief measures - rapping was definitely the way to go. And then we meticulously added the notes. Yes, a tune too - ranging from 4 to 6 part harmonies. And the big kicker, though we're saving this for next week, two of these songs are acapella! It's one of those things that when you get right you really feel like you're standing on top of a mountain screaming with joy - which is interesting since the musical itself is about a man who is climbing Mt. Everest. So you could say that after this week of introduction to the score, we have reached the summit - or at least shaken hands with our sherpa.
Aside from familiarising ourselves with the music, we had a full company read-through with Claire, Phillip Howard the director, and Richard Taylor the composer. And as this is a new musical in developmental stages we were able to run around the room shooting off possible running orders and narrative plot ideas. It was concluded that this piece, Closest to the Moon, will remain non-linear - as it should in my opinion. But the biggest question, "Why do people climb Everest?" at it's centre and exploring the climber's reasons in correspondence to what the wife he's left behind thinks about the whole idea, is a way for the audience to be let in and hopefully connect to the climbers and non-climbers inside themselves.
The camaraderie in the room coupled with the artistic team's confidence in us, the actors - has started us off on a very exciting journey. This week ahead will allow for more exploration of the material as we discover exactly what it is going to become, and more chances to nail those terribly and wonderfully tricky numbers as a group. We have to "feel each other". We've started our own little Everest journey together and I couldn't be more pumped!
More to come!
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