Unit 7 - Theatre in education

Sunday 14^th January

Today we were having a weekend rehearsal because this was the only time where we were able to get everyone in a rehearsal together. The main aim of this rehearsal was to work with Callum and Paul who will be working on the sound and lighting during the show.

Before we started the rehearsal, I got a chance to listen to all of the sound effects because I hadn’t listened to them yet. I am really with all of the sound effects that are going to be used. We gave Callum a list of the sound effects which we wanted and then he was able to go and find the sound effects.

Something else we discussed before we started the rehearsal was the different coloured stage lights. We already had a green light set up but this was pointing to the floor. This was easily changeable and it was then repositioned to face the back wall. There was also already a red light set up and this was in the place facing the back wall where we wanted it so, we didn’t have to move it. The last colour that we wanted was pink. We found a pink filter for the light and got this positioned where we wanted it. The reason why we wanted the different coloured lights is because they all link in with one of the characters. The pink with Fiona, the red with the Sweetie Monster and the green with Annie. We don’t really need a coloured light for Nancy and Tanzie because they will either have a spotlight or a general wash of colours when they are on stage.

To start the rehearsal, we ran through the whole of the performance. However, after every scene we paused so that we could make sure that the tech team were keeping up, writing down when they had a sound and/or lighting cue and also following the script. This took a while because we wanted to make sure that the tech team were keeping up with the script because although they have seen the script before, they have not seen it being performed. They also haven’t had the script as long as all of the cast.

After running through the performance with lots of stops and starts, we did some work on scene 6 where the Sweetie Monster comes on in his car. We had to go over this scene quite a few times because we were trying to get the timing right for the Sweetie Monster in the car. We decided that when the Sweetie Monster gets behind the chairs when driving around the stage after stopping at the bee hive, a sound effect will be played to cue Annie Apple to enter stage. This will then let the scene flow a bit smoother.

We then had a full run through of the show. In this run through, we had all of the lights and sounds working. This gave us a flavour as to what the real performance will be like. Apart from a few hiccups during this tech run, it was pretty smooth and I am really happy with how the show is currently looking.

I am really glad that we have had this rehearsal today. If we hadn’t of have this rehearsal, I don’t think there would have been enough time to sort out the lighting and sound cues with the tech team. We could have had a rehearsal next week at the weekend but I think that this would have been too close to the show and it may have caused unnecessary stress for all members of the production. Having the rehearsal today has meant that we now have time to reflect on what we have worked on today and we will have a tech and dress rehearsal the day before the performance.
Here are some pictures from today's rehearsal: