Final Six Performing Blog [Rehearsals, Dress and tech rehearsals]

 How  was the run through with the band? Were you okay with the amount of space in the live room and the stage?

The Live room when we first sung with the band was amazing, because the live room is quiet small and tight the sound was bouncing off the walls. It also made the music and singing a lot more loud and it was a real mood being in there with everyone. When we started rehearsing I was quite surprised because I wasn't used to dancing on the stage or in a tighter positions to everyone. When we had our dress rehearsals I was able to learn where I come on and off and my stage directions. I was then also able to adapt my movements to fit with everyone else without making it look too badly out of sync. For example during ex wives when the lyric says " Welcome to the show to the histo remix" we have to spread out are arms and spin. If I did that fully I would be hitting other members of the ensemble and the band, so I instead put my arms down and do a jazzy spin into the next movement. When we did the Primary and Secondary schools performance one of the main queens was ill, so the under study had to step in, but to make it equal I had to take the understudies position which meant I was doing the complete opposite movements as I was during "get down".

Flash mobs in college

Our teachers decided to advertise SIX in the college, so they made us do a few songs and dances in the college at break time for everyone to watch and see. Unfortunately my nerves got the better of me and I could only force myself to watch and cheer my class on. I was very disappointed in myself, but I didn't want to be judged or mocked.

Dress Rehearsal

The dress rehearsal was amazing. We all arrived into the building wearing our normal footwear and clothes and once everyone got changed it was nice to see their ideas of black clothing. We then got given different items to match our outfits and characters. Some people got chokers, necklaces, Headbands and bracelets. At this time the stage and lights were all in position but the lights were not in action. But we had the stage and we got a feel of how it was going to be, and so Tanya fixed up the positions and our spaces to match the position of the new stage. She also helped and finished choreographing how we enter and exit on and off the stage.

Technical Rehearsal

The next week it was our first Technical Rehearsal. Our technicians Anthony and Zac put up all the lights and stage and programmed the lights with a click of a button. We then did our first proper run through with all the sound and all the lights, smoke and the band. When it was all put together it brought out a different side of me. It completely changed the whole production and I could really find my character during the show. I also think it affected everyone else in this way as everyone was acting but enjoying themselves when doing it.

School Performance

Our very first practice performance was in front of schools secondary and primary. When everyone saw them walking in they started getting nerves as there were lots of people coming and sitting down. There were so much people that even the primary schools made 3 rows sitting on the floor. I was extremely nervous I didn't want to get mocked as soon as I walked on stage. Then it started we all walked on and my heart was beating really fast. We do our actions and mid way through ex wives everything changed within me. I was having so much fun doing what I loved doing I forgot and didn't care who was watching me and then I clicked into character and finished the performance with no mistakes. It was such a great experience and at this point I was ready for the rest of the performances.

Over all I feel like I had made so much progress in Dancing, Singing the harmonies and listening to myself sing, and my facial expression and characterisation. I also feel like I have improved with getting over my nerves and pushing myself further.

Vocal Improvements

I feel like at the very start of the term, my range wasn't very high and I struggled with vocal harmonies. In the vocal harmonies I had to go down to baritone, which was quite difficult as my range in tenor. I had to try hear myself and the other people that were around me so that we could sync our pitch together, but after a while I kept forgetting the first notes to begin our lower harmony. To fix this I kept going to my music teacher and tried to listen to the note in which the harmony starts on and when I could here the note in the music it was easier to find and then sing. At the start as well I felt like my range could only be low but after time and practise of the six songs over half term, I managed to find my voice could go another octave higher than usual and I was really surprised.