Unit 8 and 9 - Musical Theatre Showcase Logbook

MUSICAL THEATRE SHOWCASE:

Log from: 10^th November – 10^th December 2014

(Rehearsals and Shows)

Monday 10^th November 2014:

We were given our show roles for the upcoming shows (Constellations, Musical Showcase and Musical Choreography) before and after the Christmas Period. The show role that I was given for Musical Theatre was Stage Manager and my SM team included – Amber, Emily and Lewis. For Musical Choreography I was given also Stage Manager and my SM team included – Alex, Melissa and Tobi and for Constellations I was given the role of Production Manager alongside my Assistant Production Manager, Melissa.

Tuesday 11^th November 2014:

Today I e-mailed Keith about Rehearsals for Choreography from the week commencing of the 17^th November 2014 and what time and location the rehearsals will be in for example – Monday 17^th November, the Musos’ will be rehearsing at Ivybrook in Studio 1 from 10am and expected to finish at 4pm and the score reading for my DSM. By e-mailing Keith, I was able to create a rehearsal schedule, which contained this information for my Production Manager, SM team, LX team and SND team.

Wednesday 12^th November 2014:

Today, I had prepared Ben and myself roles and responsibilities for our SM teams by photocopying templates and brief roles descriptions from the Stage Management Book – By Palin, Gail and Practical Guide: Stage Management – By Copley and Killner, as evidence of what is expected of them during all shows. I had a briefing with each off my SM teams together to go through their roles and questioning them what knowledge of their roles they have for example working with theatres outside of University.

Thursday 13^th November 2014:

After Wednesday’s role and responsibilities briefing with my SM team, I e-mailed Amber and Alex sample show reports and rehearsal reports from previous shows from my 1^st Year such as I Love You Because and Parade, as example of what they both need to complete during show and rehearsal processes as evidence. A show report is a document where the DSM records errors from shows such as LX Q1 too early, Performer talking loudly in the wings etc. A rehearsal report is to record the notes for each department for example Miss Vickers requested a spotlight on Mr Anderson during the opening number on ILYB (Saturday Night in New York).

Thursday 14^th November 2014:

In the morning, I e-mailed Keith again about what props have been selected at the moment in terms of chairs, tables and a rough running order of the numbers. Production Manager received a copy of a rough running order and a props list so far. As soon as I received the information I started putting a setting list and running list template together for preparation.

In the afternoon, I gave my ASMs Emily, Louis (Showcase), Melissa and Tobi (Choreography) templates of Props list, Props Acquisition Chart, Props Costing Chart, Running Lists, Setting Lists, Schedules and Cast Call Sheets to add into their research for Units 3 and 4.

Friday 15^th November 2014:

Emily and Louis attended Constellations as DSM and SND Op respectively. Alex, Melissa and Tobi at this point had no choreography to go to because no rehearsals were scheduled due to performers privacy. Amber helped me out with sourcing props from the current props list received.

I also had to prepare Amber, Emily and Louis’s prompt copy for showcase and placed columns on the front and back of the sheets which included blocking, cues and notes

Blocking	Cues	Notes
	LX Q1	Await SM Clearance ‘When performers are in place’

Monday 17^th November 2014:

In the Morning, Amber and I attended Musical Showcase rehearsals at Ivy Brook, to see what the cast has started to plan for each number. As some of the cast did not attend, it did make some of numbers look empty, Amber did manage to get some blocking into her DSM book. After rehearsals, Amber put notes together to collate a rehearsal report, which includes each department’s tasks and I made a template to get all the cast details such as – Name, E-mail, Role and contact numbers in case any information for the cast comes to mind from any of the production team.

Rehearsal report 1 was created for this rehearsal.

Tuesday 18^th November 2014:

No rehearsals for Showcase.

Wednesday 19^th November 2014:

I book cover for Amber during rehearsals at Northbrook from 11:30 due to her lessons and no blocking happened due to performers non-attendance.

No rehearsal commenced in the afternoon.

Thursday 20^th November 2014:

Attended rehearsals alongside Amber at Ivybrook for blocking and updated prop notes. No rehearsal report was sent as DSM thought it was irrelevant.

Friday 21^st November 2014:

We had our first production meeting for Showcase, where the Production Manager list tasks for each department in the production team and set deadlines for initial and final designs, risk assessments, props list, rehearsal schedules, cast call sheet, cast contact sheets etc. (Risk Assessments should be handed to the techs a Wednesday before the show).

Monday 24^th November 2014:

SM team did not attend rehearsals due to Unit 3 and Unit 7 Deadlines, where work had to be finished by 4pm.

Tuesday 25^th November 2014:

Emily, Louis and I did some props sourcing for Showcase which included finding chairs x7 (blue padded chairs), small blue table, small black table, champagne bottle (sourced by Keith), cloth, one bench (from WIP, 1^st year), small squared coffee table and two cabaret chairs.

Wednesday 26^th November 2014:

Amber attended rehearsals to complete blocking of each number where as my one of my ASMs took notes of any changes or addition to the showcase by having a rough run of the numbers in running order. After rehearsals, we had a meet and greet with the cast to introduce ourselves to each and what role we are doing.

Thursday 27^th November 2014:

SM team did not attend rehearsals due to other commitments on other shows.

Friday 28^th November 2014:

Attended second production meeting where PM had a brief catch up with each department and director, to see where everyone is in terms of reaching deadlines and other outstanding paperwork.

In the afternoon, received an updated running order of the numbers and an update version of the props list. Amber and I started to put a running list and setting list together, which included the following:

MUSICAL SHOWCASE RUNNING LIST
Beginners: Chelsea F Lauren Callum         ALL ON STAGE Jordan
Action	Operator	Notes
END OF CANTANA
Small Blue table	Emily - SR
Small Black table	Louis - SL

Monday 1^st December 2014:

The production team on Showcase attended a run through at Ivybrook, as I was absent due to insole fittings. I have e-mailed my ASMs a running list and props list to what side furniture and listed props come on and off from.

Tuesday 2^nd December 2014:

No rehearsals

Wednesday 3^rd December 2014:

Amber attended rehearsals at Northbrook, to make sure that all blocking is complete before plotting in the theatre next week.

Thursday 4^th December 2014:

SM team did not attend rehearsals as performers had Choreography rehearsals in the morning. In the afternoon Amber and I attend the performers sessions to selected and choose the numbers that need to be re-blocked or removed from showcase.

Friday 5^th December 2014:

No rehearsals for Showcase. In the afternoon Amber and I went through the running list and setting list to make all information was updated before the plot on Monday.

Attended third and last production meeting for showcase where all deadlines should meet before the get-in into the theatre.

Monday 8^th December 2014:

The get-in for Showcase consisted of masking being placed into the position, booms set-up in the wings, SM team setting up the props tables, sweeping of the flooring and rigging LX bars and overheads.

After, there was an LX focus and SND focus – LX, to position where the performers will be and SND, to know the beginning and ending happens.

In the late afternoon, we had a LX plotting session with myself SMing on stage, DSM on prod des with director and LX Designer. Before the plotting had begun, I had to have a brief health and safety tour and talk with the performers by showing them the fire exits, scene dock, dressing rooms and the dos and don’ts in the theatre. We started the plot and this means for the SM to set up on stage alongside the cast. At this point it is an opportunity for the SM team to spike where the chairs and furniture need to be placed.

Once each number was plotted, we then moved onto the Sound plot, which was fairly simple as the levels of the mics and soundtrack had to be at an even level. Once this was completed, we had a dress run of the showcase, which includes performers in costume and ready to go.

Tuesday 9^th December 2014:

We had our first show of showcase, which had a bit of errors for example LX Q2, late – DSM error, SM Clearance was delayed due to performer not in right positioning. This show went well due to SM team communicating clearly if any errors happened. During notes, errors were sorted and re-adjusted. In the evening, we had our second show of showcase and this show went better than expected. There was less errors and the performance went quicker and efficiently.

Wednesday 10^th December 2014:

GET-OUT of showcase which means strike props, booms, LX bars, radio mics, overheads, masking etc.