The Musicians: Diary week 2

 Tuesday 27th April 2021

This morning we had the morning with the 1st years so we decided to do our workshop with them to see who we wanted to fill the rest of the orchestra. We came up with a plan on what we wanted to with them the week before, we wanted to see who would be comfortable with fully letting loose on stage and we wanted to see who was good at working as part of a team. That is what our play is all about- working as a team even if everything goes wrong.  We needed people who were interested but also would be fully committed and give it there all even if it is a smaller role, but there are no small roles because each role is as big as you make it!

The first thing we decided to do was play a few games to warm everyone up and make them more comfortable around each other. We played 'The energy game' first which is where you pass a pretend ball of energy around the circle, when it gets passed to you the aim is to do some sort of dance move with as much energy as possible. This game lasted for a few rounds until the energy in the circle was at a high enough level. After this we played an improv game. In this, one person got to decide where the scene was going to be set and how many characters were going to be involved at first. After a few people had started the scene anyone could join in at any point as long as it continued the story line. Some of us 2nd years joined in first to show the 1st years there was nothing to be embarrassed by and that we are all doing the same thing. Eventually, everyone started joining in as we hoped they would, a few people surprised us by showing us what they can do with no preparation.

Next Kelly and Kane suggested that we all dance to The Pinball Wizard to see who would be fully comfortable letting go because that is exactly what we do at the end of the show. We started playing the song and started to dance along, I was really getting into it when Kelly paused the music and told us to stop looking at each other and concentrate on what we are doing individually. She then restarted the music and we all started again. This felt more awkward than before because it was easier to ignore everyone else when I'm dancing with people I am more comfortable around. I feel like it will be quite hard for me to let loose in this kind of setting but I think my confidence will grow throughout the rehearsal process. The next thing we did was led by Tom, he told everyone to go and get a chair and place it in a random space in the room. He put Tchaikovsky's 4th symphony through the speakers and we had to close our eyes and move to the music when it felt natural. This was really difficult for me because the music is not something I would normally listen to so it is harder to feel the music, meaning I had to really concentrate on the music. The last thing we did for this session was everyone who auditioned for Roland had to stand in the middle and it was our job to conduct everyone as they formed a circle around us and played instruments as they would in the actual performance. I enjoyed this part because it was first time getting a taste of conducting and I felt like I could hear the music in a different way. 

After lunch Kelly and Kane decided to have a conversation with us about the casting situation- they wanted to double cast Alex and Roland for a few reasons:

• To give people more opportunities
• In case anyone has to isolate due to Covid-19 
• They couldnt decide becasue everyones versions were so different 

We then spoke about what we thought about the idea of double casting as a group, a few people didn't really like the idea of it at first but we then came to an agreement that it probably was for the best. After all we wanted to keep the performance as good and safe as it possibly could be. 

After lunch we sat together to find out who got what role, Kelly said it was a really tough decision and her and Kane had made a split decision. The first two was Sophie (Roland) and Kate W (Alex) and the second two were Kate D(Alex) and me playing as Roland!! Izzy, Declan and Sadie all got the roles they auditioned for which was really good news, everyone else took the parts of the other members of the orchestra. Our orchestra was almost complete but we still had to decide which of the 1st years we wanted to cast. 

After congratulating each other we went straight into rehearsal as the energy was high from all of the excitement. We decided the best scene to start with was the one where all of the orchestra enters the hall from being out in the freezing cold country that is Russia. Me and Sophie get to play Roland and another character while not being Roland. The first problem was none of us were entirely sure how an orchestra would be set out so we had to go to google and find a photo of where all of the instruments sit. We changed a couple of characters seating to match their friendship groups - a photo is attached below of how the instruments are meant to be set out.  

I got to be Roland first, the orchestra come in moaning about the cold and it is my job to shout over them and get them into their seats. This was difficult for me because I really had to project my voice over everyone so I could be heard- I will have to get used to this as there is a few times in the play where I have to shout/scream. Then I attempted to conduct everyone which felt really strange because I wasn't too sure what I was supposed to do as I only watched a quick video of a conductor. Then Sophie had a turn as Roland so  I got to pretend to have just walked in as a completely different character. The instrument I was going to play was 2nd Horn- who  I have decided will act quite sarcastic and likes to join in on any jokes or misbehaving that goes on. I also watched a video on how to hold a horn but Tom said he would go through it with us all properly in one of his sessions. 

Overall everyone had a lot of energy during rehearsal today and I can already tell that this play is going to be really fun to work on and build. We are all already close as a group but i reckon working together on this will bring us even closer with it being our last ever performance together and I cant wait to see how it turns out on show days. The last decision we made for today was changing Roland's name to a girls name as it was originally wrote to be played by a man. We decided as a group on the name 'Rosie' which I think suits the character perfectly. 

Wednesday 28th April 2021

Today we started our morning lesson off with Tom as normal. We showed him what we had been working on yesterday- the placing of the instruments and how we thought we would hold them. Tom has had experience of being in a orchestra so he was the best person to help us with this part of the play. He went through each of the instruments separately and showed us how they are normally held, the horn has to be held close to the top and around the bottom and you need to make a small circle with your mouth and blow into the top of  it. Also, the way we have to sit on the chair is different, we sit on the very edge of the chair with a straight back which made it look like we knew what we were doing and actually made it feel easier and more natural. Something I noticed that seemed really difficult is that people playing Violin/Viola and Cello have to play and move their bows in sync- safe to say I'm glad I'm not one of those characters but I know they will be perfectly in sync with a bit of practice!! 

Next both me and Sophie demonstrated how we think we would conduct an orchestra- I definitely needed a lot of practice. He kindly offered to find us a video of a conductor and send us it so we could have a better understanding of what we should be doing. It felt really strange having everyone's eyes on me and them following me lead meaning that I will have to a hold a lot of energy whilst conducting so they can reflect that with how they are playing their instruments. We got to a part of the song where Sadie (Flute), Josh(Oboe), Tom(Trumpet) and Declan(Cello) had a few seconds where they played by themselves so we choreographed where they would go but allowed them to move however they felt natural because we didn't want it to look staged. I think we have made a great start on the music piece but we still have a long way to go with our energy- we still feel a bit awkward therefore we aren't letting loose which will definitely come with practice. 

Then in the afternoon Me and Kate D performed the opening scene in front of the rest of the cast it was hard to stay on track and in character when using a script, so I decided I wanted to learn my lines as early as possible so I could work on the character and the staging more.We got feedback on how we could improve the comedy in the scene because it could be quite funny if we get the timings right on the lines. However, it is only early days and the better we know the lines the easier and more natural the comedy will be for us. After this Sophie and Kate W got to perform the same scene and I got to be on the other side of things and helped along with everyone else giving them feedback.When we first got double-cast I thought I would compare myself to Sophie as she is playing the same character as me but the way we portray 'Rosie' are completely different therefore she got different feedback to me too. The final bit of rehearsal we did for today was the first scene with the orchestra meaning I had a lot of shouting over people to do as they interrupt me a lot because at the start of the play they seem to not really care about what I have to say. The best way to become Rosie is to really pretend to be her and forget about my personality because we are very different, she is a lot more confident  and louder than I would naturally be. This will be tough for me to pull off but I am excited for the challenge and willing to put a lot of time and energy into this performance. 

Before it was time to go home we had a quick chat as a group about which of the 1st years should be in the play with us- it was a difficult decision but we finally decided on Megan, Magen, Karly, Ethan, Daniel and Justin. Our plan was to get them to come in to rehearse with us as soon as possible so we could show them what we have already been working on and so we can decide who gets who from the remaining characters. I am looking forwards to having a full orchestra and seeing what the 1st years bring to the performance and it will be good also to get to know them a little bit better.