Dance for Camera - Chandelier

For my piece i really struggled what song i was going to choose and what motif and theme I would use for my piece. After long thought and consideration i decided to chose the song Chandelier by SIA. The reason i chose this was because her original ideology behind the song was of a similar motif that i wanted to portray through dance; this theme was drug and alcohol abuse.

Below is my story board that i used to help me guide me through the dance and the shots. Deciding what camera angles you use is vital because it can connate and dennotate different emotions and can put the audiences into the action but from different perspectives, this can alter the way an audience may respond to a media text.

INSERT STORY BOARD

I wanted to use one shot to create my dance, i wanted to have a feel on continuation. I did this to link with the motif, as the path of destruction (drugs) is a continuous sequence that is hard to break. So by having broken scenes i didn't think this would of been as effective.

Here is my video for my dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5QW8vjCaII

As you can see i have changed the whole exposure of the video this is to change the audiences outlook on it, I want them to feel like they have emerged into the world of this girl, who's mind is running free on drugs.



Strengths and Weaknesses

I felt that the dance and choreography worked well together with the motif. I felt it had been well thought out with lots of choreographic devices involved these included such things as: travel, turn, retrograde, repetition. This helped engage the audiences thought process and keeps there eyes interested, as the human brain likes to watch things repeated.


If I were to do this task again I would do clearer close-up shots of her face where she would be portraying a 'fake image' facial expression, this would help get the emotion and motif of the piece across to the audience. Also this would have boosted the whole piece up to make it more eye-capturing. This could have only occurred with a shot change meaning that it could not be filmed in one continuous shot.


I liked where I set my dance as the perfect ambient lighting was created which made a distorted shadow, which I wanted especially in my short film as I wanted the sense of 2 people in 1 body. 1 personality of this person is the innocent girl the other is the drug invading her mind and bodies system slowing destroying the soul.

Magical Mr Mistoffelees

The dance I chose to choreograph was Magical Mr Mistoffelees I chose this because it's my characters main dance song. I sound this song challenging to choreograph as choreography is not my strongest point. However, by the time the show came around it went very well, and matched in well with the story line, as that was a fear of mine.

In the dance I started it by marking out individual duets and group dances which I felt is the way the dance would work most effectively. The dance began by my character Mr Mistoffelees bringing down Old Deuteronomy as in the story line I have just found him. The others applaud and welcome my presence, this continues whilst duets sing to me. A choreographic device I used here was repetition, the main chunk of the first half is based around acting. This had to be done because it needed to link with the storyline adaptation.

Then all of us go to to the back of the stage and go into there individual group dances, the concept of this dance changed. I started it being a catwalk show to show off my magical creations but that didn't work alongside the Old Deuteronomy storyline so we just made that as a motif to tie in the fashion industry adaptation.

Throughout this song I wanted to have hip-hop elements too it, so when I came down with the boys I choreographed a short sequence of hip-hop movements as this went in with the music change and the personalities of the boys characters. In this part of the song we made out for this short hip-hop stylised part to be a bit like a dance off. Then everyone comes onto the stage and does a dance phrase. The motif of this was magic and mystery.

The strengths and weaknesses from this dance:

The weaknesses and things that could have been improved on was the tightness of the movements and I would further develop the dance off hip-hop part as I felt this needed further rehearsing. Hopefully, by the time the show came it still looked very effective. Also I felt when I was standing at the back of the stage on the staging blocks I felt this was too static, as all we did was stand left and right whilst clicking our fingers. This helped bring atmosphere and played a chorus role, to keep the beat up and energy going. However, I felt this could have been developed.

The strengths I felt were the group dances, they were strong and well executed. As they broke through when each group came to perform which I felt looked visually effective.

Lesson 7th May

Response to Cats script/idea of Fashion concept

The fashion concept worked with cats because each song introduces you to a new character. This meant you could add any concept of character around these songs. However, the lyrics we kept literal as we felt this couldn't be altered, so even though the words in the songs say cats. For example, 'Practical cats, dramatical cats', the lyrics relate to cats but they describe a character. Therefore we chose the fashion industry to link with the musical and each song individually would be adapted to be a character within Deuteronomy Designs Fashion House (the setting of our show, also linked with the script of the show). We linked our how setting to the script as Deuteronomy is a cat within cats, however, in our show she was the head manager of Deuteronomy Designs a fashion magazine company. 

Going forth, another example of a song we adapted to the concept (which we did with all); in the song Rum Tum Tugger, he was a hot model who was competing to be the model for the 'Heaviside Layer' (name of magazine). Another example, Macavity was a character who was another magazine competitor who was trying to steal there fashion ideas for the next season.

 

If I were to continue this musical further artistically I would change the staging and costumes because I didn't think they were visually attracting to the audience, I felt they were too simply done. I would take it further by painting on all the white bits of the staging which covered the stage blocks, I would paint a mac computer on a design, maybe wallpapered certain areas of it so it actually felt like a room and not a stage. I would also have the colour scheme more summer colours than the autumn colours that we used. The change of colour scheme would have enhanced the outfits. 

Professionally, I would improve the sound system used throughout the show, as the music cut out numerous times. However, this did not affect us as actors when that happened we all just continued like nothing had happened and was intentional. Hopefully, this didn't quiver the audiences attention, but this was a strong strength of us as a class of actors. 

Vocationally, this musically made be further develop as an actress, which will help me if I continued musical theatre in further education then for a career. It helped me understand in more depths what goes into creating a musical, the budget and how to get it all set up so that it actually becomes a success. I felt we reached this as a class as we all set targets and goals to reach individually as management parts. For example, a few people would be set on marketing this would involve contacting schools and getting them to buy bulk tickets; this is our main source of profit. I felt this was a strength as we all came together the musical was a success. An example of this is how we almost sold out in each show which is what we predicted for it to be a success. 

Within Cats the Musical, I was trying to improve my dancing skills. For example, learning all of those songs I felt was an achievement as I struggle to remember dances sometimes. In my personal performance I maybe could have been stronger in some of my movements and be sharper with timings. However, I felt that my dancing went really well, and was proud of it. It came across to the audience that I was a confidence dancer as I stayed in character the whole time so if something within my choreography went wrong I would act and it came across to the audience that it was all intentionally. This especially shone through in Magical Mistoffeeles.

I was also trying to achieve to improve my vocals. We were fortunate to have a singing coach come and help us as a class to strengthen our diafram and with her advice and daily tips i felt this helps my voice have a stronger sound and it also helped when i had to dance frantically and sing and the same time. She helped me also with breathe control, this training all paid off when performance day came. In moments of happiness it came across to the audience I was a strong singer who had the ability to reach high notes, and retain them. 

Furthermore, in moments of happiness I felt the choreography should have been more developed upon, which was a weakness on my behalf. However, the simple choreography that was done was portrayed effectively and our concept of the night after effect came across to the audience. Quaxo and Bombalarina were capturing the moment through lyrics and body language with help from the background dancers, helping set an atmosphere.

Going back, to Magical Mistoffelees the concept was that i found Deuteronomy who was lost, and the fashion house desperately needed him to return to his management post as the disaster of Macavity had struck. This came across from to the audience as I felt it was effective that we came emerging from the audience. I found it hard to get across to the audience that I was actually magical, so I decided to not make the dance very literal to the lyrics.

Cats So Far...

Prologue: Jellicle Songs

This song is sung in a whisper and begins the musical with a tense build up. The choreography for the song is people slowly gathering on stage with us all wandering round the space which visually looks good. Hopefully, a smoke machine will be used during this song to create an even more eerie atmosphere. This song hasn't been fully developed so far as in movement.

The Naming Of the Cats

The Invitation To The Jellicle Ball

This song is the song i helped choreographed, I begin by walking down the cat walk i go to stage left and hand out invitations then to stage right and do the same when i sing my last line 'Jellicle's Come To the Jellicle Ball' i throw my remaining invitations in the air. Once i have done that everyone rushes to pick them up but pause to listen to Munkustrap. When the music changes and is the outro everyone thanks Munkustrap for the invite and wander back to work.

The Gumbie Cat 

This was choreographed by Beth, this is a jolly up beat song. The motif for the song is Jennyanydot's getting the models in shape, she makes them walk up and down the cat walk and practice. Jennyanydot's rushes around the stage finding items of clothes for the models to wear to walk down the cat walk with but nothing seems to be going right. Then all the girls come on stage and start tap dancing. This is further explained in my gumbie cat post. 

Rum Tum Tugger

At the beginning of the song all the woman stop and stare at Rum Tug Tugger and look love struck. We then  have a set dance routine. In the middle of the song Bombalarina and Rum Tum Tugger have a small duet where Rum Tum Tugger holds Bombalarina but drops her to the fall as he is so self obsessed, and loves the lime light. When the song fades out and Rum Tum Tugger sings about it, we all drop to the fall but Bombalarina continues fan-girling over him so he shuts her mouse, then a black out happens and the song finishes.

Grizabella, The Glamour Cat

I'm not in this song so haven't been rehearsing it, however i do know from watching bits that Grizabella is looking back into the past of what sort of model she used to be and as she reminisces her fellow colleagues and friends join in with sympathy that she is not wanted as a model due to her age.

Bustopher Jones

In this song our choreography can be very be very literal, which fits in with the style of what song it is. In the middle of the song Josh begins singing by imitating Bustopher Jones and then other characters become involved with this imitating. The motif of this dance is the models and staff employees taking the mick out of a manager in the fashion house.

Mungojerrie And Rumpleteazer

This is again a song i am not involved in but the motif for this dance is that Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are thieves in the fashion house. However, they do work their but they take all the unused models clothes for themselves.

Old Deuteronomy

The Battle Of the Pekes and the Pollicles 

This song involves the year 12s. The motif for this dance is the reporters and paparazi coming together to try get information about the Jellicle Ball, the year 12s are the reporters and paparazi. They have a small set routine which has dramatic pauses and pose holds in it. In this song the paparrazi will have over the top cameras as props.

The Jellicle Ball

This song is the party held at the fashion house, this song as a slow build up involving whispering which connotates as background noise from a party, then suddenly this burst of music and the party comes to life.

Memory

Act 2

Moments Of Happiness

At the beginning of the this song is it song by my character Quaxo and Bombalarina, we are acting hungover after the party of the Jellicle Ball.

Gus The Theatre Cat

In that the beginning of this song we are in a triangle with the point at the top of the cat walk, cherkhana sings and we slowly gather both sides of the cat walk while making a path for them to walk under, then there is some simple movements. Later on in the song we get in partners and ball room dance, after this we gather in the centre and listen to them singing in sympathy.

Growltigers Last Stand

Skimble Shanks

Macavity

Mr Mistoffeeles 

Memory

The journey to the Heaviside Layer

The Addressing of the Cats

SCRIPT REVIEW Destination Diastination

Today i thought i'd be a good stage in my script to completely re-read it so i can get an insight into whats going well and what needs more work on. I felt like my narrative and dialogue was good, the opening was strong, but i wasn't sure about how the main character Nicole gave most of the story line away at the beginning because she tells the audience that whats she's going to do before it is already followed through with. Im concerned that this gives away the storyline slightly too early, but without it i don't want confusion to be made within the audience. However, i really like the scene changes between Nicole and her journey and the classroom where she should be, it shows the perspectives of what her life is like and should be like.
I edited the first scene when we were introduced to her friends holly and Kate, i felt like i needed to give Nicole another friend so there was more to the sub-story, this would help keep the audience interested in the story line.

Furthermore, i changed in the first scene the fact that Nicole says she's never met her boyfriend. I changed this because i didn't feel that's how a girl of that age would speak they know people will question her if she starts to say that she's met him online or that she's never met him previous to this visit. So i edited that so that she always tried to avoid that question, this helps indicate to the audience that something is wrong within their relationship from the beginning, without giving it away.

I feel like i should also work on scene 5 where she begins to get all the online abuse, i need to lengthen this part so it seems more sustainable at the moment it feels like its not complete. This will also help guide the sub stories and the plots going on within those stories.

On the other hand, i feel like i have good diverse parts involved with my play, it involves technology of the projector which makes it more visually interesting for the audience and i want the play to have a heavy involvement with lighting to help aid the emotions going through the play.

Camera Angles for Dance with Camera

Camera angles give away a lot of information than you would expect it to be. Depending on how far away the camera shot is or how close it is, it already sends a message automatically to the audience about the character or object.

1) Bird’s-eye view:
A Bird’s-eye view shows a scene from overhead. Overhead of your character or even to show the setting but the shot doesn't show anything as clearly as you may think it is. This camera shot makes the audience feel like ‘God’ as God watches over everything that happens over our heads. People would look as tiny as ants and that also makes the audience feel tall and proud. It also shows the depths and scale of what is in the photo.

2) High Angle:

This angle is similar to the Bird’s-eye view but not as high up. The camera is slanted in the action, hovering over the sides of the heads. This makes whatever you are trying to focus on smaller and insignificant. This action becomes part of a wider scale.

3) Eye Level:
The eye-level shot is placed in level with a character’s face as if the audience is watching in level with the focus.

4) Low Angle:
Low angles are mainly used to give an effect of how small you are to the world. Low angles shots give a sense of powerlessness and makes you feel useful in the scene.

5) Oblique/Canted Angle:
An Oblique/Canted Angle can be sometimes tilted which is used in many popular horror movies to indicate to the audience that the scene is unstable, or ‘something is going to go wrong’. This shot suggests the ‘point of view’ of a character.

Stage Design and Old Gumbie Cat Blocking Workshop

In Todays lesson we got assigned a lesson where we would teach the class our chosen songs choreography. Today's lesson it was Beth's turn and her song was ' Old Gumbie Cat', this dances style is tap dance. We jumped straight in and began learning the dance she had choreographed at the beginning of the piece Beth (Jennyanydot) was standing on the catwalk and either side was an evenly divided class. We walked forward tap are feet 4 steps stops and the with our right foot tapped in front then to the the right, then with our left foot we tapped in front and then to our left; We did this in unison with our hands on our hips. We then dances 360 degrees anticlockwise whilst tapping alternate feet. After with opposite arms and legs we tapped in opposite directions i loved this move and think it was really affective from an audiences perspective. Another stand out movement for me was when people standing stage left move with there right leg pointing at a 45 degree angle and then tapping the floor with our toes whilst their arms diagonally downwards from left to right they do this 4 times whilst moving to the right. Whilst this is repeated on stage right but all the movements are retrogrades to the right. This looks really jolly and captures the motif and emotion in the song.

My penultimate stand out dance move Beth also choreographed in the song was when we get into a line of 5 facing the cat walk on stage left whilst the same happens stage right. Every other  person is facing away from the cat walk we then turn with our arms linked and move clockwise whilst tapping our feet forward. This move looks really professionally well fully polished and i believe its a challenge we can master and as a class make this look really effective.

At the end of the song we all sing 'Oh She's a Jolly Good Fellow' and we all gather round her people at the front kneel then it gradually gets taller. The music suddenly changes and we all turn around anticlockwise on the spot and get back to the original pose around her with are arms out in a diagonal fashion. I thought this was good as she established a motif and a clear ending point for the song, this was assisted by a well established memorable pose.

In this lesson we also designed how the staging would be. As you can see from the diagram we have a cat walk to tie in with our fashion idea. This cat walk links on to the steps leading out to the audience, we wanted to actually connect the two so we felt as personal to the audience as possible. One of our aims when creating cats was to make the audience feel like they were a part of the story. The cat walk then connects to the staging on the left (view from diagram) this will be the office area in the designer house. We felt that it should be on that side as there is not much wing area behind it, and the main entrance to the stage we wanted to have an impact so made it tall (stage right staging). This leads me to the thought process behind the staging on the right. We wanted to create a few things from it, the stair case down to the designer house, which is what the stages theme is. We felt it was necessary for it to be a stair case as we wanted characters to enter with impact for example in Rum Tum Tugger he enters from the stair case and walks down in a dramatic fashion. 'Like he is god' a connotation of arriving from higher ground.

On the floor of the stage there will be clothing rails either side of the stage and also mirrors on stage left, this is to add to the theme of the fashion house. They are also used as props throughout the dances we have choreographed. The sides of the staging will be covered with sheets of wood which will be be painted to make the walls of the fashion house.

David Blaine Character Analysis

When we portray cats the musical we are changing the motif of it instead of it being set traditionally as cats we are putting on the show in the world of fashion. The task we were set involved finding a celebrity, fashion icon or model, we did this so we could link our cats character to a person in this industry. I based my character Quaxo on the American magician David Blaine. I did this because Quaxo takes to the stage and changes character into Mr Mistoffelees who is portrayed in cats as a magician.


David Blaine was born on April 4th 1973, he is a magician, illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high impact tricks and has made his name by becoming a street performer and does close-up magic. He has performed all over the world breaking record and setting several world record.


Some of the tricks he has done includes, buried alive where on April 5th 1999 he emerged himself 9 foot underground with a water tank placed on-top so he could be seen in the public eye. When he did this trick he survived a week with no food and only 2-3 tablespoons a day. He was restricted in a coffin where he only had 6 inches to move his head. This is an example of David Blaine pushing the boundaries of magic and performing stunts that have never been seen before.


Another performance that David Blaine did which really captured my attention was a task he did called 'Frozen in Time'. In this trick he emerged himself in a transparent block of ice and remained there for 66 hours. He had to be cut free after this time using chainsaws. As soon as he came out of the block of ice, he was quickly wrapped in warm blankets and taken straight to hospital. He came out of the ice confused and disorientated and couldn't walk for a month after. This trick broke all world record, but said he would never attempt such a dangerous stunt again.


David Blaine does a lot for charity and helped hugely in the Haiti Appeal, this suggests that David Blaine. He also recently did a stunt where he wanted to give back to the people. This involved him standing in London and asking people for 5 pounds, most people ignored his request. A business man who Blaine asked gave him the 5 pounds it took almost 3 hours just to get 5 pounds off of the public. He spoke to his man and said finally some one has lent me a hand now I have something to pay you back by. He lifted his arms to the sky and money started raining from the clouds, thousands of pounds were falling and the people below scurried to pick them all up.


David Blaine usually wears practical and plain clothing, its almost a necessity for what he wears to be practical as his stunt involve being in these clothes for either long periods of time or involve a lot of movement. Quaxo my cats character is also quite plain until he transforms into Mr Mistoffelees where he then becomes a more flashy character in a light up jacket. When Mr Mistoffelees is on stage and all flashy, this is not like David Blaine he isn't a flashy person but he likes to draw peoples attention onto himself through his stage performances. The boldness of Mr Mistoffelees is portrayed with David Blaine's stunts.


Here is a picture of David Blaine, I got this image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blaine . As you can see he is in a plain grey t-shirt, and black trousers. David Blaine is usually put in outfits like this which are one block colour and usually in colours grey, white, black and brown. This is similar to Quaxo's costume in Broadway where he is in black and white. David Blaine and Quaxo wear similar colours, when David performs his tricks he usually decides to wear something smarter so matches his outfit with a smart black or brown jacket. This is similar to Quaxo who puts on his light up crystal jacket when performing, they still keep within the same guidelines of wearing a jacket when performing.


My researched was influenced by Wikipedia, David Blaine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blaine [Last Accessed 2nd February] and Bing images, David Blaine http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=david+blaine&FORM=HDRSC2 [Last Accessed 2nd February] this allowed me to look at David Blaine's different outfits and understand more about him and his personality. This allowed me to gather information so I could make my own informative opinion about David Blaine.

Introduction To Cats The Musical

Small Synopsis
On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to The Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

Directors

Cats is directed by Trevor Nunn, with Gillian Lynne as Associate Director and Choreographer and designs by John Napier. Book is by T. S. Eliot with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Cats, one of the longest-running shows in West End and on Broadway, received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981 where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The production was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. In 1983 the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony awards including Best Musical, and ran for eighteen years. Since its world premiere, Cats has been presented in over 26 countries, has been translated into 10 languages and has been seen by over 50 million people world-wide. Both the original London and Broadway cast recordings won Grammy Awards for Best Cast Album. The classic Lloyd Webber score includes Memory which has been recorded by over 150 artists from Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis to Liberace and Barry Manilow.Cats is one of the most successful musicals of all time and has been performed throughout the world. I found out a few interesting facts about the show:

Since its opening, CATS has been presented in over thirty countries and over three hundred cities, including such diverse destinations as Buenos Aires, Seoul, Helsinki and Singapore.

Within two and half years of the London opening there were productions in New York, Tokyo, Budapest and Vienna, and the first of tour US touring productions had hit the road.To date the show has been seen by over 73 million people worldwide.

CATS was the recipient of two Olivier awards in 1981; Musical of the Year and Outstanding Achievement of the Year in a Musical which went to Gillian Lynne.

In 1983 the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score (also Best Book, Best Director (Trevor Nunn), Best Supporting Musical Actress (Betty Buckley), Best Costumes (John Napier) and Best Lighting (David Hersey)).

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats – on which the musical CATS is based – was written by T S Eliot during the 1930s and first published in October 1939 by Faber and Faber, with illustrations by the author himself on the cover. It cost 3 shillings and sixpence a copy. Although Eliot generally intended his cat poems to be for children, they were appealing and amusing to adults.

Many of the cats were modelled on other literary figures (Macavity is styled on Moriarty, the infamous villain who challenged Sherlock Holmes and Skimbleshanks on a work by Rudyard Kipling – The Long Trail).

Having notched up a staggering 8,950 performances, the original production of CATS played it’s final performance in London in 2002, the same year it celebrated its 21st birthday.

CATS has been translated into at least fifteen languages, including Japanese, German, (three versions for Germany, Austria and Switzerland), Hungarian, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Swedish, French, Spanish (two versions for Mexico and Argentina) and Italian.

The Swiss production required a bilingual cast who performed in German and English on alternate nights!Despite its international appeal, the title of the show has rarely been translated – the Mexican producers did a survey as to whether the Mexican audience would like their production to be called Gatos. The response in favour of keeping the English original was unanimous.

The German Tent Tour of Cats toured 16 cities in four German-speaking countries: Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria. Previews started in late December 2010 in Hamburg – the city where Cats had its German premiere in 1986. The official premiere was at 6th January 2011 in Hamburg. The tour closed at 16th June 2013 in Graz, Austria.

It was the first European production that didn’t play at usual theatres but used a tent that was specifically designed for this tour with the set NAP 19.There had been tent tours in Australia and Asia before.

Ever wondered what the number plate on the set is all about? The “NAP” part refers to our fantastic set designer John Napier, and is usually followed by a number. Although it remains generally the same, the set is often updated or rebuilt for different productions and tours. The number tells you which edition of the set it is, for instance the NAP 16 set (above) was built for the 2003 UK Tour. This set was reproduced by Raymond Huessy, so the number plate also reads “HUESSY12″ in smaller text beneath.

In the Cats film, the number plate reads “TSE 1″ in reference to TS Eliot.

‘Memory’ has been aired on radio and television in the United Kingdom 46,875 times and over a million times in the USA (if you listened to the song non-stop 1 million times it would take five years!).

There have been over 150 different versions and recordings of the song.

The touring show requires 8 forty-foot trucks to move it from theatre to theatre, transporting the sets, musical instruments, and sound and lighting systems, together with hundreds of costumes and wigs and over one hundred lamps for the lighting rig.

A team of over 70 people will work around the clock to ensure the show is ready for the opening night.

Since 1981 the crew has replaced over 6,124 seats, added 96,525 new screws, used over 36,625 posters and 356 gallons of varnish to cover the floor, replaced the wood for the star trap 6 times a week and used 3 litres of cleaner a week (2,316 litres).

The sound department has used 30 new microphones a year (450 in total), 50 new aerials a year (750 in total) and 50 batteries a week (39,000 in total).

Stage Management has used 1,000 plastic cups a month, 2,000 elastic bands a year, 50 painkillers a week and 449,280 throat lozenges in total. They used a pint of milk a day (not for the cats) and over 200 loo rolls a week – for everything but the loo!

The wardrobe department has replaced 5 pairs of shoes a week (3,900 pairs), sewed on six knee patches per night. In total they sewed 3,450 costumes for 262 different performers, using 11,954 lbs of wool and 2,825 miles of cotton.

The stage electronics department has changed 23,166 bulbs in the London auditorium (there are 1,166 bulbs in total, 30 are changed per week and each has been changed roughly 12 times) and used 22,405 feet of cabling.

The make-up department has used 10,800 sponges and 72 batches of each eyeshadow, pencil, blusher, lipstick and mascara per year. Cast members get through a box of tissues each every week.

The London Box Office has used 1,179,800 envelopes, 772,200 paper cups and 31,875 headache tablets!

I found these facts from:

http://london.catsthemusical.com/cats-facts/

Quaxo/ Mr. Mistoffelees Character Analysis

Mistoffelees is a main character in Andrew Lloyd Webber'sCats. He is featured in the song 'Magical Mister Mistoffelees'.  In the London and some other productions, he is named "Quaxo, also called Mistoffelees", where his identity as The Magical Mister Mistoffelees remains a secret until his song.When Mistoffelees appears as a general chorus cat throughout the show, he is dressed slightly differently and often referred to as "Quaxo." This has lead to some confusion over whether Quaxo is Mistoffelees' alter ego, or the character's name is really Quaxo and he adopts the stage name of Mr. Mistoffelees while doing magic, or whether Quaxo and Mistoffelees are not the same cat at all. In the 1998 film credits, the character is credited as simply "Mistoffelees," and the credit shots include a shot of Quaxo/Mistoffelees in his Quaxo or chorus Mistoffelees costume. This costume differs from Mr. Mistoffelees' special costume in that it is less sparkly and includes white arm- and leg-warmers.In a few productions, Quaxo is a totally separate character from Mistoffelees, played by a different actor

He's quiet and small. I believe he's an adolescent, probably around 18 - 20 human years. He seems to be good friends with The Rum Tum Tugger and some believe that he and Victoria are mates, though I prefer to pair him up with Jemima, or no one at all.

Mr. Mistoffelees traditionally in a black and white tuxedo cat. His poem describes him as all black, however is portrayed as a black and white cat in the musical due to the technical limitations of stage lighting.  He has a fluffy white bib and the suggestion of a bow tie/collar.  For his big number he changes into a black velvet outfit covered in Swarovski crystals, with a jacket wired up with flashing lights.  The tuxedo shape suggests a classic stage costume for a magician or conjuror performing tricks.

In the song "Magical Mister Mistoffelees", he is described as being a rather mysterious, clever and cunning conjuring cat, often found being mischievous or performing amusing antics. In some productions of cats, he is portrayed as a kitten and is young, still exploring his magical powers and not yet confident in himself.

In Cats, Mistoffelees is a principal role and maintains most of the same attributes as Eliot's original character, although he is much flashier. He has his own song and an extended dance solo in the second act of the show and in most productions also sings the "Invitation to the Jellicle Ball" in the first act. In the original London Cast, Mistoffelees also sang "The Old Gumbie Cat"; and in the original Broadway production, he sang "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer". However, the song was reworked to allow those two characters to sing it themselves. He and Victoria dance to invite us to the Jellicle Ball.

In some versions of the musical, he is given a second name, 'Quaxo'. Often his "chorus" version is known as Quaxo, and his special song costume is known as Mistoffelees. Mistoffelees performs the most difficult choreography in the show, including 24 fouettés en tournant and dancers cast in the role generally have extensive ballet and gymnastic experience. As the role's technical demands necessarily trump the performer's vocal abilities, the show permits multiple vocal tracks for the character—thereby allowing some dancers to sing quite a bit, while others do no singing at all. He was also the second one to touch and smile at Grizabella and showed that he accept her back into the tribe and wave goodbye to her when she enter to the Heavisde Layer to be reborn.


As we are portraying cats in the world of fashion, I tried to think of a fashion icon or celebrity who would relate to my character Quaxo. I felt that there wasn't many fashion icons who could relate to my character so I went for a celebrity who Is a magician I did this because Quaxo takes the character of Mr Mistoffelees of a stage magician. The magician I chose was David Blaine, he is a well known magician who pushes the boundaries of magic and illusion.

First 'Cats' Lesson

In todays lesson we all chose a song that we wanted to explore and choreograph. It didn't have a to your characters main song and it didn't have to be a song which your character is in. I chose Invitation to the Jellicle Ball, my character takes an active role in the beginning of the song and i felt like i could adapt this song so it portrays the world of fashion which is our motif for cats.

This song begins with all the cats on stage and then i begin on the cat walk and then go off into the dressing room area i do this with enthusiasm and excitement as all the cats are about to get an invite. The choreography arranged in the dressing area there will be a lot of movement with the props and clothe rails here. Then Munkustrap comes on and enters on the catwalk with invitations in his hands gives a few out to the cats next to the runway he then walks with purpose to the office block. Invitations are given out to all, well Munkustrap has finished in the office he returns to the top of the runway and the rest of the cats then gather round him facing outwards in a circle; they all should be grounded. Munkustrap continues to sing and then on the line 'who will it be' all the cats whisper the repeat and gesture there arms out towards the audience. At the end all the cats then come up to Munkustrap and thank him for the invitation in an un-orderly fashion.

As we were put into groups for the lesson in our group each one of us had a song to focus on, so that was the song i focused on. We also focused on the song 'Jellicle Songs For Jellicle Cats.' For this we themed the song so that it was like the preparation for the catwalk show so all the models were getting ready it begins and its calm the preparations only just begun. Then as the song continues on it gets more and more hectic and people are rushing around making sure the last minute alterations are complete. When the song opens there are 4 clothing rails 2 on one side of the catwalk and 2 on the other. Everyone is frozen until the first person sings then in canon each person at the clothing rails comes to life. After the canon is finished other people begin to come into the scene. The unordered chaos begins and people rush around the stage in time to the music trying on clothes and adjusting hair.

The third song we looked at was 'Gus The Theatre Cat'. This song is a rather slow song and goes on for 6 minutes plus. At the beginning of the song models are lined up from 3 different entrances but do not enter yet. Gus and Jellyorum enter down the runway and Gus sits or stands at the end of the catwalk whilst Jellyorum sings around him. At this stage the models are just watching as Jellyorum sing to Gus. As Gus starts to sing the models walk on slowly holding masquer masks over there faces the first model walks on and does a slow curtsy the second model comes on and swings her arms and leg around in a circle then the third model comes on and does another movement then all is repeated at the same time. This whole motif is then repeated using 3 different actions. After the motif has been repeated all the cats gather round the sides of the catwalk and listens to Gus

The final song we looked at was 'Growl-tiger's Last Stand' In this song the boat will act as the pirate ship and i believe set should be basic but built up around the sides so it takes shape of a pirate ship. Then the two main characters sing whilst cats in the office, dressing rooms begin a choreographed sword fight dance and this is the main motif for this song. People then gather round the ship and outbreak again into pairs and sword fight.

This lesson was really productive and we managed to establish themes and motifs for each song and managed to block movements and spacing for each song.

Dance For Camera: Rosas Danst Rosas

The second choreographer i looked at for this unit was Rosas Danst Rosas. This piece is very interesting as the theme or stimulus could be interpreted in many different ways. The dance is 8 minutes and a half long unlike the original version of it which lasts 1 hour 40 minutes and consists of 4 parts. In the first movement the dancers lie on the floor. In the second they are seated on a chair. In the third they stand in a line and the final 4th part they move throughout the space. This shows that the dancers are restricted to movements in each parts until the final one which could connotate life and death as you could say life is restricting with little freedom and when you die which could be the 4th part the afterlife opens you to the freedom of anything/moving. In the stage version of Rosas Danst Rosas their are 4 dancers, unlike the film version where their are 18 dancers.

The filmed version of the dance is set in a school in belguim this is a specific site that Rosas really wanted to be a main feature of the dance, as the site effected the natural light that would be used in the dance, as she didnt want any ambient light.

The dance was performed live in 1983 and only filmed in 1997. The style of the dance is post-modern, it has physical elements with pedestrian actions and repetitive, compulsive gestures. The whole piece is energetic and dynamic. This is highlighted further by the camera as the camera becomes both the composer and choreographer by taking us on a journey, panning and zooming, selecting and layering images to create rhythms. So by filming this piece its shown from every angle allowing us to see more of the dance in comparison to if it were filmed with just 1 angle shot.

The music for this dance is similar to Russell Maliphant's piece 'Two' as they consist of unusual clicks whhich again is portrayed in rhythm to the dance. The music was composed by Thierry de Mey and Peter Vermeersch. The music changes when it gets to the end as natural sounds come into play from the dancers in action, these sounds add to the pieces persona, and makes it helps to portray emotions across to the audience by using different tones in your voice. The music is in direct correlation to the dance.

At the beginning of the piece the audience is shown a wide shot of all the dancers, this is also repeated at the end which links to an ABA structure similar to the dance structure. Furthermore, the dancers are restricted to their seats as the camera is panning around them, this could connotate emotions of 'the world is spinning' as the teenage girls could represent mental health issues, which is another story i felt the dance told. I thought this though by the influence that the camera had on me viewing the dance.

The tempo in music for this piece is upbeat but changes throughout the piece keeping the audience interested and aids climax's and highlights.

Camera work is uses extreme close up shots to highlight single parts of the body, this draws attention to small human gestures. By doing this allows different emotions to be portrayed and makes are mind focus on different things in depth.  Other shots used were over the shoulder shots, extreme close up and medium shots. In the middle of the dance there is a panning shot which allows the audience to see 180 degrees of the dancers making it more pleasing to the eye as you get to focus on different parts of the dance. In the 2nd Section of the full dance there is a part where there is a close up on the face you can see the other dancers faces in the background this is effective as it looks like the camera is portraying a canon.

The motif is repeated throughout and this may be missed when watching the stage version in comparison to the filmed version. The filmed version you're forced to look at where the camera is focusing unlike the stage version where your eyes may be distracted to look at other parts of the dance instead of focusing on specific parts which is what the camera allows us to do.

Below is a link to the dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQCTbCcSxis

Script Writing Introduction

For our first lesson of script writing we were given an inventive task which was a cleaver way of how to come up with a story. We listened to 3 songs and had to write words which we thought connected with the piece for example emotions you feel when you listen to the song, what type of tone it has to it.

The first song we listened to was Ill Manors by Plan B the genre for this song is rap. This song was released just after the london riots which is a running theme in the song as is drug abuse, politics and society (especially in london) for youths who live in poverty. When you listen to this song its hard to detract a different storyline from the film as there is a film called Ill Manors based on this song. However, as certain emotions are meant to be portrayed in the song and as all songs tell basic stories you cant do the opposite of the song, you still need to continue the theme that the song is based around. So for my little story based around Ill Manors, i created a character named Charlie i did this cleverly as the song has a loose theme of drugs and Charlie is a street name for the drug cocaine. I did so you can analyse the piece in depth. Charlie is 17 years old who is white caucasian, he has a shaven head which is a typical style stereotypical for people who cause trouble this came from the 'prisoner' look. I pictured my character Charlie wearing a track suit and silver chained necklace.

His background was rough when he was only young his mum used to bring him to crack houses where she would receive her daily 'medication', she had no job so became a prostitute to fund her drug addiction as soon as her son was old enough (12) she expected him to bring in income to feed to addiction. To do this Charlie would be a runner (drug dealer) to the main supplier she got her drugs from. However, Charlie makes a mistake when collecting the drugs from the supplier, this lead him to serious consequences. He got beaten black and blue which permanently scarred him physically and mentally.

The second song we looked at called 'Sheep May Safely Graze by Bach' was very contrasting to the first song as it is a classical piece. I researched briefly about this song as i didn't know much about it and i couldn't find a true meaning to the song which is sometimes the case with classical musical you are left to your own interpretation of it. So this song for me told a story of a young woman in her early 20s named Susanne. Susanne came from the Elizabethan times and has a wealthy traditional family. She feels depressed as she's in line to marry a gentlemen who she is inclined to marry, but she cant stand up for herself as she is only a woman and she must follow the guidance of her parents.

The third and last song we looked at as a class was 'A Change is Gonna Come' by 'Aretha Franklin originally composed by Sam Cooke.  This song was written about African-Americans especially and how there should be equality in america when regarding to race. In 2007, the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress, with the National Recording Registry deeming the song 'culturally, historically and aesthetically important. However, this song meant something different to me when i heard it, even though i thought it was about equality in race i also saw it as a heartbreak song. I pictured a blonde girl who is quirky walking alongside a river crying, reflecting on her past relationship still wishing it was the present. She throws a picture of him and her in the river for it to remain there for eternity just like there relationship.

Doing this exercise just goes to show how your imagination can build up a story even by listening to a simple song.

Dance for Camera: RUSSEL MALIPHANT: Two (Rise and Fall) Review

For this unit dance for camera i will begin by looking at three professional dance pieces and indentify use of camera angles.


The first choreographer i looked at was Russel Maliphant who composed the dance 'Two (Rise And Fall)' in 2001. The dancer in this piece is Slyvie Guillem who is held within a small rectangular box, surrounded by a larger rectangle of light, and for 12 minutes the intense relationship of her movements and Andy Contons music is all-consuming. I found that it was a very cleaver stimulus used in this piece of restricting the use of space, making it more difficult to capture movements and travel.
Maliphant’s work is characterised by a unique approach to flow and energy and a concern with the relationship between movement, light and music. Drawing on his experience and practice of the disciplines of Capoeira, Tai Chi, Yoga and contact improvisation, this is why he maybe have to chose  restricted spacing in this dance as a form of representing discipline.
This dance holds an element of mystery that is created by the lighting. Only parts of the body are lit up and shown and specific times. The face is rarely seen and when it is there is little to no facial expressions so the emotions are portrayed through the dance instead of the face which is usually what we heavily rely on to understand what emotions are being captured. Also light glares at the camera in places making it harder to see the dancer but also it distorts her image slightly making her a silhouette representing more mystery.
Half way through the piece the mood changes in the atmosphere as the music begins to intensify. The tempo increases along with the movements of the dancer, this adds to the piece creating a climax. This climax draws in audiences attention as the change in style leaves us wanting to watch and know more. This climax is then expanded upon near the end as her leg movements become more frantic and frequent, making her whole body come alive with movement.
During this piece many camera angle shots are used, the camera shots usually change in time with beeps in the music. Throughout the piece the main shot is a long shot where it allows the viewer to see the whole of her body, this allows us to see what lighting is being used and what parts of her body are lit up which is key in this dance. Medium shots take place so we can focus on her upper body, this is her main source of movement in the dance. Extreme close ups were used to focus in on specific body parts these included her hands, arms and back. Extreme close up are commonly used when filming to  show the detail that you want people to notice.  It connotates different emotions to other camera shots it becomes mysterious, dramatic, intimate, detailed, perspective-changing, and disorienting. The penultimate camera shot used in this piece is the high angle shot. This shot is commonly used when trying to belittle a character and make them feel small as thats how is appears to the eye, in this piece i felt that the high angle shot created emotions being trapped as the light of the rectangle box helped create this, but it also made the dancer seem like she is below people she is of no importance and this is linked to her numbness of emotions shown throughout the piece. Finally, the camera shot used is an over the shoulder shot, this highlights her back movements and shows the detail of her back. This can show emotions of betrayal and loneliness as it cuts off the audience.
I found some review extracts on how others thought on the piece. Overall, i thought it was 






breathtaking the precise movements she used to highlight her body and create emotions that i didn't think possible through dance. Surprisingly i liked the simplicity of the music with the beeping it created a tense feeling within yourself when watching it as an audience member. 


Review extracts

“Clarity of vision and incisive brilliance… charged and enigmatic work” The Independent

“Superbly executed optical illusions which allow us to feel that the dancers have transcended gravity and are momentarily occupying a world with no constraints” Dance Theatre Journal

“A choreographer of persistent accomplishment and a performer of enduring fascination….mesmerising” The Times

“Magical architecture and poetry for the stage” The Guardian

“Light, shadow and distance were used enchantingly to create new spaces and make the ‘stage’ all but disappear. Can you imagine a live fairytale hologram floating in a black void? Very special.” Live Art Magazine

Below is a link of the dance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdjAbhZi-QU

Cats Audition

For my cats audition i had to sing 2 songs one upbeat song and one slow song, they also had to have been composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. We also had to choreograph a dance to cats music. At the end of the audition we will be have a short interview about the character you want are auditioning for.
For my upbeat song i chose 'My Favourite Things' from the sound of music i chose this song as i love the character who sings it so being able to portray her character i have fun and exciting. Also i chose to do it acapella this allowed me to have to option to change key if wanted to and tempo; however i didn't adapt the song as its in the right key for my voice. I also decided to do it acapella as i felt more comfortable doing it like that as i had rehearsed with a backing track.

For my slow song i chose 'Where is Love?' from Oliver. I chose this song as it was very contrasting to my upbeat song. It was a child who originally sung the song allowing me to explore different ages when singing both songs showing i can do a variety. The only concern i had for this song is that it was sung by a boy and i didn't know whether they would like or agree with me singing as a female, but as it was a young boy the key is in the same as a female voice. I sang where is love acapella i considered doing it with backing and practiced with backing but felt that i could take the song at my pace.

When choreographing my cats dance i always tried to bare in mind cat characteristics so i could try get into character as much as possible. Portraying cat characteristics makes it believable to the audience what animal you are representing.  I did my dance to the song 'Jellicle Ball For Jellicle Cats' its a main dance number in cats and loved the upbeat tempo. The stimulus for my dance was Jazz and Cats the Musical, i tried to include as many choreographic devices as i could. I'm not an experienced dancer and found choreographing a dance challenging but i tried my best to get a sequence together. I did this by adapting certain movements from the original cats the musical dance and then just using the stimulus and characterisation to help build my dance. I felt i could have used a few more devices such as retrograde and change in tempo. The biggest challenge i found when choreographing was making the dance piece have and highlight and climax as i wasn't sure how to create this, whether by changing devices if that would help. I structured my dance on the ABA structure however when i performed it for my audition i messed up the ending completely which meant that the ABA structure didn't take place which i was annoyed about but can learn from this in the future. For the future i also would have worked on successfully portraying to the audience the characteristics built up from the stimulus.

Below is the link to my dance audition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vIc1AtP-Go

Below is the link to a video of my group rehearsal practice for my cats audition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0kAo95fZ3c

Unit 12 - Classical Theatre Assessment Sheet