Congratulations to everyone on tonight’s epic musical run-through.
While we didn’t quite make it through all the songs, we did at least work through the tricker ones and got them all sounding the best they’ve ever been. Special mentions go to Brenda and Andrew who both got through near-flawless performances of their big numbers. Well done everyone. Keep it up and they’ll be talking about this show all year!
With a few people unavailable on Friday night and quite a few more having a knack for losing their schedules, I thought it might be a good idea to post at least the next couple of weeks on here.
So, here we go.
Monday 19th – 7:30 til 9:30: Dance rehearsal for I Wanna Be King – Grand Vizier and her attendants.
Wednesday 21st – 7:00 til 8:30: Are You Happy Too – All cast except Grand Vizier and Genie.
Friday 23rd – 7:00 til 9:45: All the songs – whole cast except Genie
Monday 26th – 7:30 til 9:30: That’s a Happy Ending – Leads except Abanazzar
Wednesday 28th – 7:00 til 8:30: Act 1 Scenes 2 and 5 – Chorus, Aladdin, Twankey, Esme, Abanazzar and the Genie.
Friday 30th – Full Run Through: All Cast.
And then we move into the hall…scary. That’s just two weeks til bump in, then another three until opening night!
During tonight’s rehearsal we’ll be running through scenes One through Five. That covers everything from the servants singing about their troubles and the Grand Vizier making her intentions clear right through to Abanazzar trapping Aladdin in the cave where he finds the lamp.
This will be the first time this many scenes have been run together this year, so it’s a great chance for the cast to learn how the first part of the story fits together. Should be quite a night.
In other news, this year’s first edition of the Stave (our monthly newsletter) has finally gone out. There were a few teething troubles switching over from our old editor Lauren who’s holidaying overseas for a few months. In any case, it’s back up and running so you can expect to see more every month provided you’re on our mailing list.
If you’re not on the mailing list for The Stave (that is, if you didn’t receive it) and want to be, or if you’re on it and don’t want to be, you can email me (mhose@numurkahsingers.org.au) or drop me a line on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/swashblade) to be added/removed.
This week we’re working on the first appearances of both the Genie and the Princess. Everything’s moving forward so quickly! A few more weeks and act 1 will be done bar the polishing!
Pekoe’s song, Mr Vanity, it sounding good. His backing singers are doing a fantastic job. The bass-man in particular, for a guy who was worried he couldn’t sing just a few weeks ago, is sounding brilliant.
Have I mentioned I love how this show is coming together?
Week three of rehearsals is about to start. Last week, with Friday in particular, went very well. Other than a little polishing, scene 2 is finished!
Though energy seemed to be lacking at the start of the night, a spot of jogging and clapping on the spot soon had people revved up and the following run-through was astounding!
This week scene 1 will get some attention, with a run through of scenes 1 and 2 on Friday. I can’t wait!
We’ve now had our first full week of rehearsals and with two character-based rehearsals, a song rehearsal and a scene rehearsal we’ve very nearly got one whole scene done. Just another song to learn and some tightening up on movement and line delivery and that scene will be pretty well ready to be performed! If all goes well by the end of next week our cast will be able to consider them masters of the art of Act 1, Scene 2.
Our first Leads Only rehearsal was tonight. Lots of work on characterisation: moving and talking like the character as well as a bit of work on specific character scenes. Quite a few steps forward toward what I can see in my head when I read the script.
I know we’re only two rehearsals in, but so far every rehearsal has left me feeling even better about the show. If this keeps up, by the end of the month I’ll literally explode with excitement!
Here it is, the final version of the Aladdin shirt. We’ll have this one available to cast members as a polo shirt (printed on the back) a t-shirt (printed on the front) and as a three-quarter sleeved fitted tee for the girls (again, printed on the front.)
It’s great to have the shirt organised so early in our production run. Normally it’s not done until summer’s almost over and everyone’s wearing jumpers which cover it up. This year you can proudly wear your shirt and let the world know you’re part of one of the greatest musical productions ever and they really really want to come and see it!
Then, of course, once the show’s over, you’ve got a great reminder of what you were involved in, a simple item of clothing that will bring back fond memories every time you see it. Who knew a shirt could do so much?
The first rehearsal is over. The script has been read, among much laughter and ad-lib. Now that the cast knows just how great the script is it’s just a matter of time before extra jokes get put in and extra meanings get drawn out of the simplest of phrases.
Yes indeed, this is going to be a fantastic show!
On a side-note: The cast also do very good table impersonations.
