Cat Dance Audition Rehearsal

In dance today, we did an energetic warm up by jogging round the room whilst changing directions, we then did starjump side steps. We did this for a good 5-10 minutes so it got our heart going and warmed us all up. After that we looked at the board which had key movements this allowed us to think a bit more about the indidiviual movements in our dance. It also meant with people who didnt know how to start this gave them some simple ideas, you could take 3 movements off the board and then if you conduct it in the style motif that cats the musical has you have a starting point. In the background we had dances from Cats on so we could pick like a few movements from there.

We were told we had to focus a lot on characterisation, and as i didn't know any of the characters from Cats i had to do some research to see which character i would actually like to be so i could conduct my dance in the style of that specific character.

These descriptions, in alphabetical order, are based on more recent versions of the show, although there are minor variations from production to production.

• Asparagus / Gus – The theatre cat. One of the oldest tribe members. He was once an actor, and is one of two cats who is only seen during his song.
• Bombalurina – A red female. She is not the subject of a song herself, but plays a leading part in introducing several of the cats, and also sings of Macavity.
• Bustopher Jones – A fat cat, a "twenty-five pounder." Dresses in a snappy tuxedo and spats. Respected by all, as the upper class "St. James's Street Cat". In most productions, the actor playing Gus also plays Bustopher, perhaps because both are only seen during their song, though in early productions the part was handled by the actor playing Old Deuteronomy.
• Demeter – A very skittish female cat. She is not the subject of a song, but plays a lead role in several.
• Grizabella – The former Glamour Cat who has lost her sparkle and now only wants to be accepted. Grizabella left the tribe when she was younger to see the world for herself; she has experienced the harshness of the world and is a pariah in the cats' society.
• Griddlebone – A fluffy white Persian female cat. Growltiger's lover in Growltiger's Last Stand, where she sings The Ballad of Billy M'Caw or the mock Italian aria In Una Tepida Notte (depending on production) with Growltiger. Almost always played by the actress playing Jellylorum. In some productions the role is played by the actress playing Jennyanydots. "Growltiger's Last Stand" was a play in which Gus, the Theatre Cat, acted, and a scene from it is used as a dream sequence, but it is omitted from some productions. Whether she is the same Griddlebone who is one of MacAvity's agents is not known.
• Growltiger – A theatrical character Gus recalls playing in his youth, and who appears in Gus' memory of the production of Growltiger's Last Stand. In some productions he is portrayed as a vicious pirate; in others, he is more comical.
• Jellylorum – A female who watches out for the kittens, along with Jennyanydots. She is Gus' mate. Named after T. S. Eliot's own cat. The actress who plays Jellylorum usually also plays Griddlebone in Growltiger's Last Stand.
• Jemima – A kitten interchangeable with Sillabub, though Jemima is used in most international productions. She is the kitten who sings the Memory refrain in The Moments of Happiness for Old Deuteronomy. Jemima sings the happier parts of Memory, while Grizabella sings the sadder parts. She is the first cat/kitten to accept Grizabella by singing with her and not judge her.
• Jennyanydots – The old Gumbie cat. She sits all day and rules the mice and cockroaches at night, forcing them to undertake helpful functions and creative projects, to curb their naturally destructive habits.
• Macavity – the show's only real villain, who only appears briefly and has no dialogue. The character is a literary allusion to the Sherlock Holmes character Professor Moriarty. Usually played by the same actor as Plato or Admetus.
• Mr. Mistoffelees – A young black tom (with some white) who has magical powers which he doesn't fully control. His signature dance move is "The Conjuring Turn", twenty-four fouettés en tournant. In the UK production, Mistoffelees has an alter-ego named Quaxo, who appears as a general chorus cat throughout the show, and is dressed slightly differently.
• Mungojerrie – Male half of a pair of notorious cat-burglars, with Rumpleteazer. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are most commonly remembered for their featured dance number where at the end, they do a "double windmill" across the stage.
• Munkustrap – The show's main narrator. A tabby tomcat who is storyteller and protector of the Jellicle tribe. He is Old Deuteronomy's second-in-command.
• Old Deuteronomy – The lovable patriarch of the Jellicle Tribe. He is very old and dignified.
• Rumpleteazer – Female half of a pair of notorious cat-burglars, with Mungojerrie.
• The Rum Tum Tugger – A flashy tomcat. His temperament ranges from clownish to serious. He is Munkustrap's brother, though they differ in temperament.
• Skimbleshanks – The railway cat. An active orange tabby cat, who lives on the trains and acts as an unofficial chaperone to such an extent he is considered rather indispensable to the train and station employees.
• Victoria – A pure white kitten gifted in dancing. The "official" Jellicle Ball begins with her solo dance. She also does a Pas de Deux with Plato during the Jellicle Ball. She is also the first to touch Grizzabella.
• Alonzo – A black and white tom cat in most productions; in the Broadway and early European productions, he was depicted as being a black and gold tabby. Sometimes considered the third in command after Munkustrap as he also fights Macavity. However, he is not the subject of any song, and has no dialogue.

I got this information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_(musical)#Characters

I felt that this information was useful but not as useful as i would have liked as i wanted to know more about their personalities not who they were as such. I wanted to find out if there was an evil cat in the musical. Before i knew about the characters i wanted to portray an evil cat as i found this would be an interesting character and would excite me.

However after my research i didnt like the sound of the villian in cats, the villain was called Macativy. I liked the sound of the character Grizella she's a glamous cat but has lot her sparkle. I felt i could relate to this character as shes had a rough past. This can be hard to portray these emotions sometimes as a way to react in certain circumstances may be incorrect to someone who had been through that, but baring in mind everyone reacts differently. I feel like i could connect to this character and would love to gain the personalitiy of this character. This means i may have to alter certain motifs and movements i have already devised, but this is mainly emotion and facial expressions which can easily be changed.