Our very own Idle Jack (Alex Oliviere-Davies) has been keeping a blog of her rehearsals for the upcoming production of Jack and the Beanstalk:
5thJanuary 2012 – less than a week to go!
Well we’re back after the Christmas break and we’ve hit the ground running! Disaster struck over the holidays and one of our principals had to drop out, and he will be sorely missed. Stepping into his shoes is Guy who springs up from the chorus. Two rehearsals in and he already knows his lines – amazing! Stepping in for Guy is Ian who, at his first rehearsal, was already singing the opening song with gusto; he also knows his lines and he has been flirting with the girls like an old pro – amazing!
The lines are getting better and better (thankfully – with only one week to go!) and we’re definitely getting there with the songs (thanks to Moray – what would we do without him!). The girls have all come back after the Christmas break upset about their excess Christmas-fare weight gain – but can I just say, as an honorary boy, they still look as beautiful as ever to me!
Anna has done a sterling job on the costumes, we’re all pretty much kitted out. Adam’s spider costume is probably one of my favourites. The Baldwin girls look fantastic in their cow outfit and they work it really well. I know my little boy is going to be totally mesmerised by them. James got his lederhosen for the character of Pinocchio and a hilarious nose attachment – keep an eye out for that one!
We’ve got costumes, we’ve got songs, we’ve got dance and somewhere in the mix we’ve got a little bit of acting. I think we might actually have a show – oh yes we have!
Just as a completely random aside, every now and again I get a moment when I think that drama is quite an odd hobby. It struck me today that Derek, who plays the dame and my mother in Jack and the Beanstalk, was my husband in the last thing we acted in together. How very odd!
14th December 2011
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Well it's definitely a panto of two halves so far. The run through of Act 1 on Monday (12thDecember) went quite well all being considered. We were minus a princess but Valerie did a sterling (and somewhat Just William) job of reading the Princesses lines and Petal and I sang our duets as solos but apart from that we seemed to skip from one scene to the next with relative ease. My favourite part of the night was right at the end when the villagers went through their opening song! If that one doesn't get the audiences toes tapping I don't know what will!
Last night (14thNovember) was the run through of Act 2 and it was a different story altogether! The princess, petal and I got there early (along with the newly acquired and already long-suffering Musical Director, Moray) to go through our songs. Not bad as first attempts go. The song between the Princess and Petal (I need a Hero) is a right rollicking frolic, and it was all I could do to stop myself from dancing around the hut. In fact, I couldn't stop myself! It was too much to bear and the music got the better of me! After practicing the songs we started the run through and there was a definite lack of concentration in the air. From all of us! There's anend of termfeeling to rehearsals at the moment. The exhaustion and excitement is noticeable and as we veer towards the Christmas holidays I think we're all in dire need of a break.
All in all it was a surreal evening, Adam recorded his giant lines in the cupboard and could be heard shouting through the door; Laura came close to crashing through the Hut as she tried out her roller skates; I'm trying to get my son's lightsaber in on the action; and the naughty chorus boys are still giggling in corners! And that was nothing compared to hearing the Prime Minister belt out a Bonnie Tyler mash-up! Will we have a performable show by January? Oh yes we will!
28thNovember 2011
So to the Act Two run through. This didn't go quite as well as Act One. Learning lines happens chronologically in most instances and although we were pretty slick in Act One, the tell tale signs of folded scripts in back pockets and blank stares were apparent in Act Two. After the run through Sue thankfully didn't make us run the whole thing again but we did have to do a few of the more ropey scenes. We've totally thrown out the Titanic love song idea - hooray! We now seem to be embracing the Shrek theme and we might be using the love song from that!
During one of the re-rehearsed scenes some fun and games ensued. Well the P.M.'s fun and Den's games. I may have commented in previous blogs about the naughtiness of the "boys". It was a general term really for the chorus boys. Because, you would think that principals would have to behave themselves wouldn't you? Set a standard? Well a standard has been set! A gauntlet has been thrown and all I will say is, maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow but one day (Den, P.M.) you will pay! Oh yes - you will pay! And to those of you coming to see the panto I give you my permission to heckle them! Heckle them like mad!
Sunday 27thNovember rehearsal.
After having a few rather shambolic rehearsals we were given a proverbial kick up the bum by the director and we're back on track! Considering the way things have been going we ran all of Act One yesterday and it wasn't half bad - it was all bad! Oh, no it wasn't! Oh no - I've been brainwashed by panto jokes! Anyway we only had one villager but Anthony did a sterling job running around the stage filling in for everyone else. We had all of the main characters and we're all pretty much there with our lines. Valerie stepped in to be our prompt and she was actually laughing quite heartily in places. That's a very good sign. It's shaping up. Hooray! Now for music and dancing - gulp!
Just as an aside, we had theAntonyand Cleopatra reunion/dvd showing after the Jack and the Beanstalk rehearsal. It was great to catch up with the A&C lot. Adrianread out the Rosebowl review which was pretty glowing actually and then we settled down to watch the dvd. When I say "settled down" I mean cowered in the corner. What a surreal experience watching yourself on telly! I had to have a few glasses of wine just to take the edge off!
14thNovember rehearsal
I've come to the conclusion (much to my dismay) that I'm probably more like Jack than Cleopatra! Cleopatra was strong, commanding and sexy; Jack on the other hand is a dreamer, a bit naïve and likes to wear trousers! Hey ho! Anyway rehearsals are going well. Some people are actually attempting to rehearse without the aid of a script, not me. Mine stays firmly clenched in my fist! Parts are filling up or changing hands as people pull out or actors stand in for absent friends. Adam is now playing all the baddies! He's got the voice of Blunderbore and the body of a spider (don't ask). He's also playing a hairy villager - very apt! The Princess and I are still wondering over our love song. The idea of the Titanic love theme was bandied around once again but Sue (the director) has come up with a much more suitable suggestion - thank goodness. The boys are still misbehaving and I have to admit that the cow is more professional than all of us put together!
Rehearsal - Sunday 6thNovember 2011
Do you remember me saying that Sue had the idea to give the villagers a fairytale character each? Oh my goodness! The boys have gone wild! Mostly they're fighting over who gets to be Pinocchio! In the end the costume designer Anna was there to make a final decision and James was given the dubious honour. So for the rest of the rehearsal he did a fine Mickey Mouse impression! There was also some fun and games at the beginning of the evening between the dame and the pantomime cow - you'll have to come to the show to see how that one turned out. We were minus a few villagers and a Prime Minister but we managed to get through the night ok. The rehearsal was almost over when Princess Rose, Petal and I had a scene. This is the lovey dovey one between Jack and Rose when they have to see a love duet. As yet we haven't quite come up with a song - any ideas? The suggestion of "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic didn't go down too well!
Rehearsal - Wednesday 2nd November
1st Jack Blog!
We're getting into the swing of things now after having had about 4 or 5 rehearsals. We started about 3 days after Antony & Cleopatra finished so it took me a little while to shake off the queen of the Nile! I still miss my soldiers and my courtiers! But the cast of Jack are a really good bunch, pretty much nicked from the production of Tom Jones last year.
Sue has had the fantastic idea of giving all the chorus/villagers a fairy tale character. I know we've got a Jack and Jill, but I'm not sure about the others yet - watch this space. I thought Adam (our tallest cast member) should be the Gingerbread Man, but I don't think he was keen even though he could some how work in the, "not my gumdrop buttons!" line from Shrek! Unfortunately that little impression sparked a Shrek outburst and the whole rehearsal got loud and giggly. Princess Rose and I realised that we were named after the two main characters in Titanic so that took our attention for a while as we tried to remember lines. I totally forgot the Ioan Gruffudd, "is anyone alive out there," line - I'll be bringing that next week.
It's been a long time since I've done a panto and I forgot what fun they were! Maybe not so much for the director, it must be like dealing with a bunch of schoolchildren. "Oh no it isn't! - Oh yes it is!"
Antony and Cleopatra
From Sunday 2nd October rehearsal
Today was our first full run-through and the first chance for the entire cast to get together since the read through back in July. In fact, as we've had quite a number of cast changes, we haven't ALL been together before - ever!
The first half was sticky, we could all feel it. It was a struggle to get into the swing of it especially as it was a hot, sunny, Sunday afternoon. Some of us had travelled for miles, others had left friends and family andAntonyhad left his little boy's birthday party to be there! Lines weren't great and cues were missed and at one point 2 scenes were almost cut entirely! Adrian, bless him, did not get cross once. He pointed out that we really needed to polish our lines, even if it was just for our own benefit. There's nothing worse than being on stage, scrabbling around for lines. That is definitely NOT an enjoyable experience!
The second half was better. It picked up pace, the lines were better and the momentum carried us to the two major death scenes at the end. Today was the first time I got to hold my asp. Yes I said ASP! Initially I thought it might look a bit silly but it was surprisingly, and quite frighteningly, realistic. We all died very well today - motivated by the rest of the cast willing us on!
It feels strange to be at this stage already - one week away from the get-in! The experience has been all-consuming but thoroughly enjoyable. The cast has really gelled together and we all get on so well. We've laughed so much and the hilarity has been infectious. Even Adrian and Gay (Director and Assistant Director) were not immune! But now we get down to the serious business of putting on a show. And I, for one, am going to miss this when it's all over!
Cleo XXX
From Tuesday 27th September rehearsal.
So here it is the first Bath Drama rehearsal blog. Why? I hear you cry. To hopefully show a little bit about the every day workings of our drama processes. It starts with me, Alex, telling you about my experiences at theAntony and Cleopatrarehearsals.
Adrian Philpott (the director) has broken the rehearsals down into 4 sections - A, B, C and D. Last night we rehearsed section C, one of the Egyptian sections and one of my personal favourites. I'm only in 3 sections (A, C and D) and as I'm playing Cleopatra the reason I love section C so much is because I only have about 20 lines! Hooray! It's the only time I go home not sick of the sound of my own voice! Antonyon the other hand has no such luck. He postulates and pontificates and prevaricates throughout the whole play! Poor old Andrew, he must really look forward to dying!
Last night started off as usual, people wandering in from 7:30pm onwards ready to start the night's festivities butAdrianand Gay (co-director) added another dimension to proceedings, they won't be prompting - unless we absolutely need it!! Yikes. But at least this is my least wordy section. We actually got through it relatively unscathed, and the evening turned out to be quite polished. The director even said that at least one of the scenes was "performance ready". Not bad with two weeks to go!
One thing I have noticed with theAntony and Cleopatrarehearsals is that there is always a moment when the assembled cast and crew dissolve into fits of hysterical laughter. Last night was by no means any different. The particularly funny point was whenAntonywas dressed in the director's jacket. It had to be put on backwards to simulate the armour going on and howAntonyis going to be dressed when we get the costumes. So, on went the tan leather jacket, andAntonyhad to carry on with the scene. I wasn't the only actor playing opposite him that couldn't take him seriously looking like an oversized child wearing his father's lumberjack jacket the wrong way around! Hilarity ensued and the jacket had to come off so we could get through the rest of the scene! Poor old Andrew took a lot of flack last night, those of you coming to see the play see if you can spot his Superman line!
Stay tuned for the next exciting instalment after Thursday's rehearsal of Section D (another one of my favourites - watch out Thidias I'm keeping a mug of water handy!).
Signing off for now,
Cleopatra (also known as Alex, mostly known as Mumma!)