Ghost at the Piccadilly theatre
As a birthday present I went to see ghost the musical last Friday. I’ve been in love with the film for years and was desperate to see it before Richard Fleeshman stopped playing Sam. I was mostly curious to see how they could possibly make such a classic film a musical and as to how some of the effects would be carried out.
One thing I noticed straight away was how they kept it as close to the film as possible. Id clearly watched the film to much when I noticed big parts of the script were exactly the same. I thought this was very good even the set and costumes were as close to the ones in the film as is possible on a stage. I did think the very first song felt weird though. I think this was only because so far it had been so close to the film, and because I’d seen the film way too much, it just seemed a bit cringey and out of place to start with. But once I managed to stop comparing it to the film I think the songs made it all so much more enjoyable to watch.
The effects were amazing! When Sam (Richard Fleeshman) dies the way another body is there instantly to replace his when he runs into his ghost form was flawlessly carried out. All through the performance the ‘ghosts’ all had a slight blue tinge to them which was very effective in letting the audience distinguish between what actors we were meant to be seeing as alive and dead. Also the sections of the show carried out on the train station were extraordinary. The ghost of the train appeared to have the power to make people around him float along with their processions. The first time this happened I think the whole audience had a moment of ‘wow’. Then the next time this floating people thing happened I was determine to find out how it was done. So it very cleverly turns out that people dressed in black from head to toe performed balances and lifts with the actors which in contrast were all dressed in very bright clothes. And they were simply lifting the props to give the floating effect. The darkness of the current set and the low lighting when this happens means that unless (like me) you are purposely looking around desperate to find out how this was happening you would have no idea. When I realised my mum hadn’t sussed it I was quite pleased with my detective work and then the final time this happened she noticed the odd hand shape as well.
All the actors were fantastic but Oda May made the show. She was perfect! Following in the footsteps of Whoopi Goldberg must’ve been terrifying but in my opinion this actress was funnier, I couldn’t say why but just something about her and her natural flare for this character made her stand out a lot more than any other performer. Her voice was so powerful that it was impossible not to admire her.
I would recommend this musical to anyone i'm so glad I finally got to go and watch it!
Monday, 2 January 2012
Thursday, 15 December 2011
performing arts Jazz workshops
For the last few weeks in performing arts we have been looking at jazz style dancing with the intention of creating audition pieces to perform. We split into three groups and each group had to devise a short routine, each group had to modify jazz to make it either more rock and roll, lyrical or street orientated. This was so we could see how jazz influences more modern dance styles and so everyone in the group had at least one style that they would be able to pick up easily and be very strong in.
My group was doing street jazz. The way we modified it to make it more jazz like was to keep it more flowing and looser so it would seem more jazz like. We chose a song that was quite slow because it had a good back beat and meant that movements would be complimented by the music. We devised a good piece of dance that did look very effective. It had some moves it in that were trickier than others giving it a good variety. If we could do it again I think we might have picked a faster piece of music because at points we did struggle to keep the dance looking slick using such slow movements.
We then had to teach this routine to the rest of the people in our class. This went very well and everyone seemed to enjoy learning a new style of dance that they perhaps aren’t as strong in. when we performed it as a whole group and it did look very effective. We filmed this teaching process and the final performance for evidence.
We also had to learn the other dance styles that were jazz orientated. This was really good fun. I especially enjoyed learning the rock and roll style jazz because I have never tried this dance style before and I like how fast paced it is. The lyrical jazz was harder for me to pick up because it is more contemporary but I loved the dance. It was so pretty and flowing and great fun to try out.
My group was doing street jazz. The way we modified it to make it more jazz like was to keep it more flowing and looser so it would seem more jazz like. We chose a song that was quite slow because it had a good back beat and meant that movements would be complimented by the music. We devised a good piece of dance that did look very effective. It had some moves it in that were trickier than others giving it a good variety. If we could do it again I think we might have picked a faster piece of music because at points we did struggle to keep the dance looking slick using such slow movements.
We then had to teach this routine to the rest of the people in our class. This went very well and everyone seemed to enjoy learning a new style of dance that they perhaps aren’t as strong in. when we performed it as a whole group and it did look very effective. We filmed this teaching process and the final performance for evidence.
We also had to learn the other dance styles that were jazz orientated. This was really good fun. I especially enjoyed learning the rock and roll style jazz because I have never tried this dance style before and I like how fast paced it is. The lyrical jazz was harder for me to pick up because it is more contemporary but I loved the dance. It was so pretty and flowing and great fun to try out.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Astley cooper's school production of 'jesus christ superstar'
On Tuesday i went to watch my friend perform in astley coopers school production of 'Jesus christ superstar', having seen a professional production of it before i thought it would be a really hard musical for a school to pull off as the whole cast has to be amazing at singing as there are no speaking parts and because its so well known.
the opening was soo clever, the dancers were climbing all over the climbing frame-like set whilst performing a simple but very effective dance that really set the scene for the first song. The three lead roles, Jesus, Judas and Mary Magdalene were all amazing singers. The boy that played Jesus gave me goosebumps everytime he opened his mouth and the acting that went on between Jesus and Mary was really beautiful.
You could tell just by watching it how much effort went into everything. The whole cast were putting in all there effort the whole way through which isnt something thats seen a lot in school productions which just shows how much they must have loved the musical and performing. Considering its a story line that some people take very seriously i think you have to be careful how you stage it and especailly how you go about the crucifiction at the end, but they honestly made it perfectly and really did this amazing musical justice. Im really glad i went to watch
the opening was soo clever, the dancers were climbing all over the climbing frame-like set whilst performing a simple but very effective dance that really set the scene for the first song. The three lead roles, Jesus, Judas and Mary Magdalene were all amazing singers. The boy that played Jesus gave me goosebumps everytime he opened his mouth and the acting that went on between Jesus and Mary was really beautiful.
You could tell just by watching it how much effort went into everything. The whole cast were putting in all there effort the whole way through which isnt something thats seen a lot in school productions which just shows how much they must have loved the musical and performing. Considering its a story line that some people take very seriously i think you have to be careful how you stage it and especailly how you go about the crucifiction at the end, but they honestly made it perfectly and really did this amazing musical justice. Im really glad i went to watch
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Majorettes do 'Santa Clause the musical'
every other year the majorette troupe i belong to do a massive non-majorette based show at christmas time. We have done everything from Cinderella to a whole production based on world war one songs, all of which are written specaily by our teacher. This year we are putting on a show based loosely on 'Santa Clause the movie' however its been written to include a lot of songs and a lot more panto like scenes.
None of the productions we put on are ever taken completley seriously. The main aim of the shows is to let everyone do something that they want which is one of the main reasons for writing our own script and to raise a bit of money for next years majorette costumes. The massive age range of 2-19 years means writing a script is also the best way to make sure its suitable for everyone. The story line isnt anything spectacular but were all having so much fun with it in rehearsals at the moment so it doesn't really matter. The audience will only be parents and although we are going to try and make it look spectacular it is all really just a bit of fun, and its nice to do something like this where there is absolutely no pressure for it to look amazing and its just a bonus if it does. i dont think theres one person in the cast that isnt going to make a fool out of themselves at one point or another. and as i am one of the oldest ive had a lot of input into the show and have been choreogrpahing rediculously cheesy dances for some of the younger ones which will hopefully get a few 'awwr's'
this year im playing an elf called Patch and i have an hilarious Christmas edited version of 'man in the mirror' to sing. i was very glad when i realized i wasn't meant to do this song seriously as it is pretty massive and absolutely everyone knows it so the slightly odd change of lyrics was a great relief. I also have a lot of almost stupid scenes that should get a few laughs and that are amazingly fun to rehearse.
The whole show is starting to look really really good, especially considering we only rehearse for three hours a week. everyone is having such an amazing time dressing up as snowmen and giant presents whilst singing weird versions of 'low' and 'ive got a feeling' and i cant wait for my family to come and watch me and my sister in December.
None of the productions we put on are ever taken completley seriously. The main aim of the shows is to let everyone do something that they want which is one of the main reasons for writing our own script and to raise a bit of money for next years majorette costumes. The massive age range of 2-19 years means writing a script is also the best way to make sure its suitable for everyone. The story line isnt anything spectacular but were all having so much fun with it in rehearsals at the moment so it doesn't really matter. The audience will only be parents and although we are going to try and make it look spectacular it is all really just a bit of fun, and its nice to do something like this where there is absolutely no pressure for it to look amazing and its just a bonus if it does. i dont think theres one person in the cast that isnt going to make a fool out of themselves at one point or another. and as i am one of the oldest ive had a lot of input into the show and have been choreogrpahing rediculously cheesy dances for some of the younger ones which will hopefully get a few 'awwr's'
this year im playing an elf called Patch and i have an hilarious Christmas edited version of 'man in the mirror' to sing. i was very glad when i realized i wasn't meant to do this song seriously as it is pretty massive and absolutely everyone knows it so the slightly odd change of lyrics was a great relief. I also have a lot of almost stupid scenes that should get a few laughs and that are amazingly fun to rehearse.
The whole show is starting to look really really good, especially considering we only rehearse for three hours a week. everyone is having such an amazing time dressing up as snowmen and giant presents whilst singing weird versions of 'low' and 'ive got a feeling' and i cant wait for my family to come and watch me and my sister in December.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Radio1'a Teen awards
On the 9th of October I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Radio1’s teen awards. To be honest to start with I wasn’t really looking forward to it that much because I had seen Rihanna in concert earlier in the week and didn’t think it would compare at all. But there was no way I wasn’t going to go.
To start with a lot of dancey tunes were played to get everyone in the mood and then molly from the Saturdays and Nick Grimshaw appeared to host the show. The acts this year were
-Jason Derulo
-Ed Sheeran
-Cher Loyd
-One direction
-Pixie Lott
-Joe Jonas
-Rizzle kicks
I was soo excited to see Ed Sheeran and Rizzle kicks the most and they were both amazing! Ed’s cuteness when he performs makes him really lovable and the energy that comes out of Rizzle kicks is just wow! The best performance was from Jason Derulo though, his dancing alone would be enough to please the whole crowd but add his voice in and there was no way any other act could top him. That’s why when everyone made such a massive fuss about one direction I got a bit annoyed because I know there all stunning singers and amazingly good looking but there no where near as talented as Jason and it just irritated me slightly that they were the act everyone left talking about.
I know there’s a lot of stigma surrounding Cher but no one can deny she has an amazing voice and her new song is incredibly catchy and it really does grow on you, I loved her performance. Joe Jonas was very good and boy can he sing but I have a slight grudge against him for breaking the heart of my all time favourite singer/idol/love Taylor Swift and if her songs about him are anything to go by hes not a nice person… all that aside he was good.
Pixie Lott was beautiful! And obviously her voice was flawless she really ended the show well.
The awards themselves were great as well, most of the Harry Potter cast made an appearance as did the Inbetweeners crew, Olly murs was there with Tom Daley and Vernon Kay all to accept and give out awards. When Robert Pattinson was nominated for best british actor I nearly fainted at the thought of him coming onto stage.. for some stupid reason he didn’t win and I was devastated but thinking about it I doubt he would’ve actually been there anyway but oh well. Overall I had an amazing day and it wasn’t on the same scale as Rihanna ( as I had expected) but it was soo much better than I had thought.
To start with a lot of dancey tunes were played to get everyone in the mood and then molly from the Saturdays and Nick Grimshaw appeared to host the show. The acts this year were
-Jason Derulo
-Ed Sheeran
-Cher Loyd
-One direction
-Pixie Lott
-Joe Jonas
-Rizzle kicks
I was soo excited to see Ed Sheeran and Rizzle kicks the most and they were both amazing! Ed’s cuteness when he performs makes him really lovable and the energy that comes out of Rizzle kicks is just wow! The best performance was from Jason Derulo though, his dancing alone would be enough to please the whole crowd but add his voice in and there was no way any other act could top him. That’s why when everyone made such a massive fuss about one direction I got a bit annoyed because I know there all stunning singers and amazingly good looking but there no where near as talented as Jason and it just irritated me slightly that they were the act everyone left talking about.
I know there’s a lot of stigma surrounding Cher but no one can deny she has an amazing voice and her new song is incredibly catchy and it really does grow on you, I loved her performance. Joe Jonas was very good and boy can he sing but I have a slight grudge against him for breaking the heart of my all time favourite singer/idol/love Taylor Swift and if her songs about him are anything to go by hes not a nice person… all that aside he was good.
Pixie Lott was beautiful! And obviously her voice was flawless she really ended the show well.
The awards themselves were great as well, most of the Harry Potter cast made an appearance as did the Inbetweeners crew, Olly murs was there with Tom Daley and Vernon Kay all to accept and give out awards. When Robert Pattinson was nominated for best british actor I nearly fainted at the thought of him coming onto stage.. for some stupid reason he didn’t win and I was devastated but thinking about it I doubt he would’ve actually been there anyway but oh well. Overall I had an amazing day and it wasn’t on the same scale as Rihanna ( as I had expected) but it was soo much better than I had thought.
mount vernons got talent
On Sunday the2nd of October our performing arts group participated in MSH’s got talent a charity event to raise money for Mount Vernon hospital. We had been rehearsing a hairspray number to the song ‘ you cant stop the beat’. We chose this song because it’s fun and energetic as well as being quite challenging to perform. We only had a short amount of time to finish the routine this meant we had to work very hard for a few weeks to make sure it was ready to perform.
I really enjoyed all the rehersals because its just the sort of thing i love doing. it was getting a bit scary the week before when we realised we had hardly anytime to get it completley finished..but in true Kings Langley style we had managed to have very good little performance ready in time.
when we were rehearsing i was really excited to show off our little routine to everyone and i felt like a true celebrity with the £2000 head mic on me. the rehearsal went really well and i was felling quite confident about the show later at this point
getting ready back stage was fun for me, getting all glammed up with big make-up and big hair and everyone looked stunning!
as expected waiting backstage was nerve racking but as usual the minute the music starts theres no time for nerves and all my energy went into performing. i felt we did amazingly and the audience clearly agreed.. unfortunatley one of the judges didnt but his lack of knowlodge on anything to do with performing arts means his opinion doesnt count for anything
overall i had such a lovely day! it was really nice to help out such a good cause
I really enjoyed all the rehersals because its just the sort of thing i love doing. it was getting a bit scary the week before when we realised we had hardly anytime to get it completley finished..but in true Kings Langley style we had managed to have very good little performance ready in time.
when we were rehearsing i was really excited to show off our little routine to everyone and i felt like a true celebrity with the £2000 head mic on me. the rehearsal went really well and i was felling quite confident about the show later at this point
getting ready back stage was fun for me, getting all glammed up with big make-up and big hair and everyone looked stunning!
as expected waiting backstage was nerve racking but as usual the minute the music starts theres no time for nerves and all my energy went into performing. i felt we did amazingly and the audience clearly agreed.. unfortunatley one of the judges didnt but his lack of knowlodge on anything to do with performing arts means his opinion doesnt count for anything
overall i had such a lovely day! it was really nice to help out such a good cause
Friday, 7 October 2011
Rihanna concert
On the 6th of October i went to see Rihanna live at the O2. i was a bit worried to start with because I had such high expectations i was scared it wouldnt be as good as i had hoped but it was soooo much better! I went with three of my friends and we got there quite early and as we were waiting in our seats we were soo excited.
Calvin Harris opened the show and got the whole audience in the mood it was like a huge party. in true diva style rihanna was an hour and a half late but that meant when she finally did come out the atmosphere was amazing. she started with 'only girl in the world' followed by 'shut up and drive'. She looked so hot it was unreal! her voice was amazing ( obviously) the whole way through and the set with cars and massive moving screens really added to the overall effect of the show.
she had the whole audience going and was really mesmorising to watch, her costume changes were insanely fast! everyone was on there feet the whole time, except two old men that were sat behind us that seemed a bit horrified by the whole thing. I really love her new brown hair!
i had the most amaing time and im sooo upset its over, despeatley trying to get more tickets for December.
the beautiful Rihanna before her new hair style
Calvin Harris opened the show and got the whole audience in the mood it was like a huge party. in true diva style rihanna was an hour and a half late but that meant when she finally did come out the atmosphere was amazing. she started with 'only girl in the world' followed by 'shut up and drive'. She looked so hot it was unreal! her voice was amazing ( obviously) the whole way through and the set with cars and massive moving screens really added to the overall effect of the show.
she had the whole audience going and was really mesmorising to watch, her costume changes were insanely fast! everyone was on there feet the whole time, except two old men that were sat behind us that seemed a bit horrified by the whole thing. I really love her new brown hair!
i had the most amaing time and im sooo upset its over, despeatley trying to get more tickets for December.
the beautiful Rihanna before her new hair style
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