Chicago- Final Performance Day

Today was the day of our final assessment which I was feeling quite nervous for. Before our real performance, we had a run through in costume with a small audience which was the drama class. Before starting the rehearsal, we done a quick run warm up to make sure we had warmed up all the muscles we would be using.

We began doing our fully costumed and lights run through. Personally, I think this run through went well as we were all prepared for it and felt confident in this run though. There was one section which I messed up though which was in the reporter’s scene as I placed my chair in the wrong place which meant me and Nikki got mixed up. It was completely my fault and I had not done this before so I knew it was my mistake but it was an easy one which can be fixed in the real performance.

It then came to our real performance. I was really nervous as I always get before any performance but I know nerves are good and it means I will have to work harder.

Our first number was “All That Jazz”. Overall this number went really well as this is the one we had rehearsed the most and for the longest. I felt like we needed more sass in it though which can be worked on for future performance’s. It then can to “Cell Block Tango”. This is the song I was most nervous about as I had my monologue to perform within it. The audience had to wait a long time for some performers of this song to come on as they had a microphone change which was really quick. After watching the performance back, it took over 1 minute for some performers to come on which is way to long for a black out. For me it was not a problem as I did not have a quick change. Personally, for me I think my monologue went really well. I know that I talked really quick and that is because I was nervous but I was happy that I had remembered all my words. Also, I did not manage to get the accent which disappointed myself as I really wanted to be able to do it but I just could not get it. Also, there were performers in my group who were singing the wrong lyrics really loud which put the rest of us off which then made us get some of the lyrics wrong. After that number I had a bit of a gap and my next scene was reporters. In the reporter’s scene I remembered to put my chair in the correct space which meant there was not a mix up with chairs in the scene and that scene ran smoothly as we all remembered our lines as they were only short and quick. From this scene it led into the song “Roxie” which I was playing a boy in, again this was a small role but I manage it well and remembered everything which I needed to. I think I could have acted more within this scene but I find it really hard to act a boy as I am a really girly girl but I tried my hardest at what I could.

Targets-

Short term- My short term target is that I need to work more on my confidence so that I can play a character to my full potential as I know that my confidence is holding me back.

Long term- My long term goal is to keep working on learning new things such as accents as I cannot do them and I feel as though if I want to give a better performance then I need to work on new things like that.

Chicago- Lesson 12

Chicago- Lesson 12

Today’s lesson was our dress rehearsal. In today’s lesson everyone was there which was really good as we had not had a proper run through with everyone there. We used lights and microphones so we could get use to these for the real performance. We thought that a dress rehearsal would be useful for everyone because it would be helpful for us all to get into character and we could get us to quick changes if anyone had them.  Also in this lesson we had Ralph playing the piano which meant this was our first rehearsal with him and a piano.

We started running through the whole performance and our first song was “All That Jazz”. We all had the same costume which we had all bought in which I thought looked really good because we all looked the same which was what we were going for. Our first run through of this song was good as we had not run through with Ralph before so we had to make sure everything was in the same place for both of us. For the song “Cell Block Tango” I was in the same costume which meant I did not have a quick change. This run through did not go as well as it could of because some people forgot what we were doing which then made it difficult to see whether Ralph was in time with us.

Another thing which we needed to work on were our transitions between scenes and songs as at the minute they were taking a long time which meant in the real performance if they took that long then audience would get bored and it would not look professional.

Chicago- Lesson 11

Chicago- Lesson 11

In today’s lesson we worked on the whole show as we have not done this yet and we need to do it as the performance is not far away. We focused a lot on the acting as we had not really done this as we had focused more on learning the whole show and learning the songs and dances.

For me. I am finding it really hard to do an American accent as I feel embarrassed to do it as I cannot do it properly. I have never felt confident with accents and I know I need to work on it. Although I do not have large speaking part I feel as though I need to get it right. A part from the accent, I feel like I had learnt my lines well enough now and I just needed to keep going over them. My monologue I found easier to remember now I just had to make sure that I got one line correct which would then make me remember the rest.

The other small section I am in as a reporter and a boy went well as I now knew where I had to be for a reporter we just all need to work on entrances and exits. 

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Chicago- Lesson 10

Chicago- Lesson 10

In today’s lesson, we worked on sections that were weaker than others. The first song we worked on was “Cell Block Tango”. Personally, I think that this song needs a lot of work as it was very messy. IT was difficult because different people kept missing different lessons which meant we had not all leant it together. Today all the girls were here which meant we could do a proper run through off the whole song and make sure we all knew the choreography well. We also kept messing up the choruses and singing them in the wrong order. Some people were singing really loudly which did not help as they were singing the wrong lyrics Also, we need to work on tuning because there is a slight key change which some people cannot do. Personally, I feel like I can do this quite well as I have practiced it a lot and I know the song quite well.

Also within this lesson e talked about costumes and what we all needed to bring in. For me for “All That Jazz” and “Cell Block Tango” I was going to be wearing the same costume which was a black crop top or black leotard and black booty shorts with fishnet tights. We were also going to wear black character shoes as they looked like heels and are good to dance in. I decided that I was going to wear a black crop top which I knew I had with my black dance booty shorts as I think this would look best. I need to order some fishnet tights as I do not own any but I know they are cheap so this is not a problem for me.

Chicago- Lesson 9

Chicago- Lesson 9

In today’s lesson, we worked on the second half of the musical. I am barely in the second half which meant I had time to run through the other pieces I was in in the first half of the musical. In the second half I am a reporter and this scene happens before the song “Roxie”. I had missed the lesson where they had blocked this which meant that I did not know where I was standing and where I had to move places to. Also, I still need to learn my line properly for this section as I keep forgetting it even though it is really simple. After this small scene, I am a boy in the song “Roxie”. This song has not been set yet which meant we did not know what we were doing.

When I had some spare time in this lesson, I looked over my lines to make sure I had learnt them completely. I was finding it difficult to learn my monologue which is in “Cell Block Tango”. This monologue was longer than the one I had auditioned for which through me off completely as I could remember that one. There was one line which I kept forgetting which then made me forget the rest. I was also struggling with the American accent, I have never liked doing accents and I could not get it right and I felt embarrassed doing it. This is something that I need to keep working on.

Chicago- Lesson 8

Chicago- Lesson 8

Unfortunately, I had missed the last two lessons due to a dance exam and being ill which made me feel like I had missed quite a bit. Luckily, the girls in my class let me know what they had done in the two lessons so that I could catch up and learn what I had missed. In the first lesson that I missed, the blocked out entrances and exits but again the girls told me where I was going on and off which is very helpful. In the second lesson which I missed they ran through the songs with backing tracks so that people could make sure they knew the lyrics well. I feel like I know most of the lyrics to the songs well I just need to go over them in my own time to make sure I am fully confident.

In today’s lesson, firstly we ran through “All That Jazz” which we had finished learning the choreography to a couple of lessons ago which means we had to make sure that we had remembered it. Overall, most of us remember the choreography well and the positions which we move to throughout the dance. One section we all struggle with is the acting scene in the middle of it as it has not been set yet and it makes it hard for us to learn when to come in with the dance when this section is uncertain.

After this, the girls who are in “Cell Block Tango” ran through the dance. Before the lesson started we met with Bryony so that we could finish learning the choreography which we needed to do. Unfortunately, some girls did not turn up which made it difficult to learn but we still done it as we were running out of time. In the lesson, all of us girls were here so the girls that come before the lesson taught what we had learnt to the other girls. This was quick which we were hap about so that we could learn more. We finished learning the choreography to a basic level we just need to rehearse this song a lot.

Chicago- Lesson 7

Chicago- Lesson 7

In today’s lesson we finished learning the choreography to “All That Jazz”. As some people were not here the previous lesson we had to go over a couple of new parts which we had learnt. After that we finished off learning the dance. The dance was not hard and it had easy choreography so that everyone could pick it up quickly as we did not have much time. Also, simple choreography can look really effective if everyone gets it right. We were still using the backing track as we had not had a rehearsal with the piano yet which made it ever more difficult. We filmed ourselves after we had finished learning the whole dance and after watching it back you can see that there are stronger sections than others and some parts really need to be worked on. Also, some people are more confident with this dance than others and the stronger people are the ones who have attended every lesson so they know what they are doing. Personally, I feel confident with this dance as the choreography is simple and for me I found it easy to learn,

Also, in this lesson we ran through what we had learnt in the previous lesson of “Cell Block Tango”. Again, this is easy choreography with chairs but should look effective and show off all of our characters well.