My Son Pinocchio - Geppetto's musical tale
TASK 1
My documented journey is a separate post called my production diary see weeks - 4th November to 15th January specifically for this unit.
TASK 2 - Audition Evaluation
Character
The character I went for was ringleader because this musical is more male orientated and the only female roles were a fairy and I can't sing well enough to be a fairy. Other females went for Pinocchio but I am quite tall so I didn't go for that. The reason I didn't go for Stromboli was I can't sing operatic either. The Ringleader does have a big song but I feel comfortable singing it.
Audition Process
We had 2 auditions. An acting and a singing one. As Ringleader has 3 lines I went with ensemble and we did a scene together. We had all day to prepare the scene. I enjoyed working in a group especially since we all get on very well together it was a relaxed environment which meant we could just get on with the work. The Ringleader is in charge of Pleasure Island so has a big presence on the stage during the song. I think their main reaction with others is with the roustabouts and delinquents. The Ringleader will be horrible and in their faces as they don't care about the kids they just want them to turn into donkeys so can get money from working the kids who turned into donkeys. In the musical Geppetto goes to Pleasure Island to look for Pinocchio so the Ringleader interacts with him. I think that the Ringleader will ignore him and just enjoy the fact that the kids are misbehaving turning into donkeys. The Ringleader loves the chaos and the fact that the kids are misbehaving but the Ringleader definitely really enjoys it when they start turning into Donkeys and finds it funny. For preparing the singing audition I went over the song with Tom a few times which I found very helpful as he knows what he is talking about and helps. Afterwards, I went off and practiced by myself. The hardest part of the prep was figuring out when to start singing and I figured it out but by the time I was confident with the song it was my audition so I didn't have time to add movement so I just stood and sang which annoys me.
Audition
On Tuesday was the ensemble acting scene which I enjoyed doing. The audition went well as we had movement and brought the scene to life. In the audition I used a prop cane which helped me bring my character to life a bit more. Kelly said she enjoyed the scene which we were all very happy about. To improve I should have used more characterisation as I just stood there and watched in character. On Thursday we had the singing audition. I sang Pleasure Island which I thought was good as I was confident as I know that I can comfortably sing the song. To do better I would have definitely added some characterisation instead of just standing there and singing.
Panel Evaluation
I was on the Panel for the Stromboli and Pinocchio recalls where they were paired together and had to do a scene. I enjoyed watching the scene as it was funny and interesting to see each individual interpretation of the characters. There were some people that stood out the most and some who were good but didn't pique my interest. It is very different watching it from not just a supporter's view but a critical point of view and really looking at the detail and everything they do and the way they interact. It was helpful to watch as it gave me an idea of what Kelly, Abbie and Tom will be looking for in my audition.
TASK 3
Ringleader
This character helped personally develop me by with my confidence while singing as this character has a lot of solo singing. It took lots of practice and time until the confidence came and I just sang out which felt amazing and everyone was really pleased for me and supportive which made my breakthrough feel more amazing.
The staging for my scenes included me in Stage Centre until I left. Throughout the planning process my characters staging didn't really change but the scene changed a lot. An example of this is we decided to crowd surf Geppetto, this took a lot of practice and patience to get it right and as there is 3 Geppettos we had to work out how we would do each different person which was a struggle to start with. After a lot of practice everyone figured out how to do it. In the process we wanted the scene to reflect a fairground so we did some experimenting to see how well and convincing we could portray fairground rides with movement. We also had a band with matching costumes that worked for the Ringleader and therefore helped put the donkeys in formation to leave at the end of the scene.
TASK 4
When performing at the Globe we performed to 3 different audiences. These were Primary Schools, relaxed and public. We only had one relaxed performance which is where a team in charge invited people with special needs to a performance where they have the freedom to walk around and talk because sometimes people with special needs struggle to go to the theatre for multiple reasons. For the primary and public performances we didn't change anything. But for the Relaxed there were changes. Some of the characters introduced themselves with their name and the character they played. Geppetto, Pinocchio, Stromboli and his marionettes and the Ringleader introduced themselves. We also explained how the Whale isn't real and that it was made of cardboard. Another change was the sounds as we turned down the volume and got rid of any sudden loud bangs like the party poppers at the start so we don't scare them. We also prewarned them that people will be coming through the audience.
Personally I learnt from performing to each audience was that every audience is different and that I never really know what to expect. Before this show I had preconceived ideas about each different audience which quickly changed.
I changed my performance for each audience. For the primary school I used bigger movements and kept my energy high so that they could enjoy the performance. For the public I was more animated and and more interactive with the audience. For the relaxed I was a less sinister Ringleader. Moving forward I think we could have more audience interaction. We did add including the audience in I've got no strings dance which was fun and when the audience joined in it was more enjoyable.
TASK 5 - Evaluation
The goals of the performance was to interact with the audience and produce a fun and enjoyable family Christmas performance as many families usually only go to the Theatre at Christmas together. I think we met these goals very well as we included audience interaction during the song 'I've got no strings' and we had positive feedback saying how enjoyable the show was.
The character I auditioned for was the Ringleader who is in charge of Pleasure Island where all the runaway kids go to live a carefree life with no rules. I chose this character as I knew it was a challenge for me. The challenge was solo singing, before the show I was not a confident singer and hated singing solo so I pushed myself to do this as I couldn't escape the solo singing. For a while during rehearsals I was still not confident and was quiet. Then during one rehearsal after Kelly told me to make my character bigger and I sang loudly and confidently which surprised Kelly and made her really happy as I had overcome my fear. When I finished singing I felt amazing and my classmates were telling me how amazing I was which helped my confidence. After that rehearsal I focused more on the characterisation as before my main focus was getting the singing right. The research I did was watching the Greatest Showman and how the character P.T Barnum presents himself to the audience during the shows. I also researched other famous Ringleaders. As well as this, I created a character profile for my Ringleader to help me figure out ways to make her come to life. I believed this help make my performance better as I knew exactly who I was portraying and have reasons for my actions as a character and performer to make the Ringleader seem more realistic.
Vocally, my performance was effective. I believe that the volume and pronunciation went really well as I was never told to be louder or to try and be clearer. One thing I could have done better was part 3 of the Ringleader's song as I was struggling to sing it and to help I could have asked the people who also played the Ringleader and I could have asked Tom who directed the singing for the show for help.
The physicality of my performance was successful. Similar to the Greatest Showman I started with a pose when centre stage before I started singing. To show I was evil I would strut with confidence as this is my place and I am in charge of it - Pleasure Island.
My costume and makeup helped me get into character and it clearly showed I was an evil Ringleader. My costume had a top hat and red jacket which looked like a Ringleader jacket.
Playing a villain was a new character arc as in the past I am usually ensemble. This was also challenge and I enjoyed working out how I would play the villain without it being over the top and too scary as this is a family friendly show. Therefore I decided to react and enjoy the chaos around me and get really excited when they start turning into donkeys.
I also got feedback from my peers. This is from Keiran who was in the Pleasure Island scene with me as Ringleader. He said ' Hannah's portrayal of the Ringleader was very good. I think all the decisions that she chose were the correct ones, however I believe it was lacking in energy, I think it could've just had the tiniest bit more energy to really make her choices come to life so she should really work on her energy in future roles.'
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