RENT - Happy new year B 28/11/16

In todays lesson, we listened to and sung through one of the very few ensemble numbers in Act 2. I really like this song, and I find it much easier to act and I know what to do in this number more than other songs because I understand the meaning of this song much better. I definitely need to listen to this song more and learn it properly because there are some lines that I kept singing wrong either, timing wise or singing the notes wrong. This song is about the characters being given a chance to rejoice and celebrate the new year with each other, until Benny enters. At which point it becomes Benny's chance to explain himself to all of us. I think I performed this song well today; I understood the demands of the song in terms of acting and I believe I portrayed them accurately.

Staging:
For the start of this song, me, Maureen and Joanne are on the steel decking DSL, to show that we are in a different location, and we join the others on the stage. In terms of proxemics, we were all close to each other to represent unity between us; but when Benny enters, there is a clear divide between Benny and everyone else to show tension and a dislike towards him.

Vocals:
For this song there are no harmonies, we are in unison - this is symbolic and could represent all the characters being united as one and together. There are few overlaps of lines and more pauses to show the awkwardness of Mimi, Roger and Benny's situation.

Everyone rehearsed this song well today, it flowed and pieced together very well in my opinion, and vocally it sounded very promising (of course it was our first rehearsal of this song so we need to work on it more). We all portrayed the proxemics very well and it was made clear of the different relationships between the characters and the drastic atmosphere change as soon as Benny entered.

RENT - Run through 23/11/16

• Tune up #1 - Henri and I have not yet had a chance to work on this together as mentioned in a previous blog. However I did take it upon myself to work on it individually for acting; In terms of proxemics, I used the stage space more and moved with confidence to show that I am comfortable around Roger and in the place in which I live in. For the short speech I have at the very start, I am going to two things: move about with a strong physicality and clear, obvious movements so I don't feel awkward, and I will also at points simply stand still in one position only moving me hands and arms to point and bring the audiences attention to certain things, just so that I am talking to the audience and not doing anything that could take that intimacy away and take away their engagement. I also observed that Henri was a lot more confident vocally in terms of lyrics and the way in which his lines are sung, and he wasn't holding back he was going for it straight away.
• Rent - Not much change from the last run through.
• One song glory - Today was the best I have ever heard Henri sing this, he had clearly revised the lyrics since the last run through and everything about his performance was very confident, in terms of singing and movement and general physicality.
• Light my candle - Again, not much change.
• Today 4 U - It went a lot better today, Owen seemed a lot more confident in the character and comfortable wearing heels and he walked in them very well; Me and Henri done better, an we were a bit more confident with the vocals but we still need to work on the acting and our movements. Lewis was, again, was very good and confident with it. Only thing, it just needs to be staged properly.
• Tango Maureen - The dance was very bad today, I had just forgotten most of the steps and the ones I did remember I did very badly so it just looked very messy, so we have decided that we're going to simplify the dance - but vocally we did well, however I am still finding it quite hard to sing and dance it at the same time so I think by simplifying the dance, this problem should be resolved. Other than that, there wasn't really any change from the last run through in terms of acting.
• Life support - Again, no change from last rehearsal.
• Will I? - The class still definitely needs to see Mr Quinn for this number because the vocals are still all over place.
• Santa Fe - Not much change, Henri and I still need to find time to work together on this as mentioned in a previous blog.
• I'll cover you - A much better improvement singing wise today, both sounded a lot more confident with the harmonies and the notes.
• La vie boheme - Not really any change from last run through, energy levels are still very good and I now feel very comfortable and confident doing this song.

RENT - Run through of our progress so far 21/11/16

Today we decided to revise all that we have worked on so far in order -
I think vocally I did very well and felt confident with it all bar Tango Maureen, because with Tango Maureen I wasn't very confident with the harmonies and some of the lyrics in terms of remembering them so I need to do some work on this and see Mr Quinn about the harmonies. In terms of movement and acting, I think I really need to do some independent work on this because in some songs I don't really know what I'm doing and I feel and probably look quite awkward on stage because I'm just standing there waiting for my next line. I think this is my biggest problem in the title song Rent. To work on this I will research and watch Broadway performances of the show to get ideas of the kinds of emotions and atmospheres about in the numbers so I can draw ideas of what sort of things I can do in terms of acting and physicality. I also need to work on the choreography for Tango Maureen because in today's lesson it was really poor, I struggled to remember the steps and I struggled with the singing at the same time.
Despite these weaknesses, I feel that I performed La Vie Boheme very well I was confident vocally with the notes and lyrics all the way through, and movement wise I was very energetic and I used the entire space of the stage. I think to improve my performance in this number, I think I could interact with the other characters a bit more to really bring the number to life.

(Will I)

• Tune up #1 and #2 - Today I think I done this very well in terms of vocals, I knew the majority of the lyrics only looking at the script once or twice, and I sang it confidently. I think Henri needs to look over the lyrics however, because I noticed he was a bit late for some of his lines and some were not sung confidently, in my opinion. Looking at acting, I think we both need to work on this together because we are very stationary and only using a very small space of the stage, so we both need to find out or come up with ourselves about the set placements for this number, and then use this to work out properly what we are going to do in terms of movements, physicality and general aesthetics of our performance. For my character, the Tune Ups are about Mark setting the scene for the audience and I suppose have a pretty neutral state in terms of emotions. I think I need to be a bit more confident within myself here, because I feel quite awkward because I haven't properly thought about my physicality of my character. This is something I will do over the next week in my own time.
• Rent - Taking on board my thoughts of my performance last time we did this, I took it upon myself to research this song in further detail: When watching professional performances of this song on YouTube, I noticed the main this I need to embed in my character and the performance is energy and confidence with my movements and physicality, so today I felt a lot stronger and confident doing this number; I think this came about by stronger stances and feeling comfortable in my character when I'm not singing (I think that was my main problem). I think Henri may have also had the same problem, but he now looks and sounds a lot more confident and comfortable and we are engaging with each other a lot more and showing a better portrayal of the relationship between Mark and Roger (which is very close, and both angry at their rent and financial status/situation). Everyone else seemed pretty confident with this number too, and I have noticed that vocally Will has made a substantial improvement, he is sounding a lot more confident when singing because he opening his mouthy a lot more and projecting further.
• One song glory - Henri sand this very well today, however he does need to revise the lyrics and practice the higher notes because I see him strain sometimes. 
• Light my candle - Henri and Taylor are improving in every aspect each time they rehearse this song. They seem very confident in terms of vocals and acting, and very comfortable with each other. From an audience member's point of view, it looks very good and professional.
• Today 4 U - I think it went, for lack of a better word, awful today mainly on my part because I have not yet practiced this one individually nor researched it, so this is something I will do over the next week. Owen (Angel) done very well however, he embodied the character very well and performed it well vocally and acting wise. Me and Henri both need to research and revise this song massively.
• Tango Maureen - (see above for evaluation of myself for vocals). Lorna did very well vocally and physically, with confidence and comfort. We had a different track today so we couldn't do the dance. In terms of my acting, I think I did ok but still room for more work on it. I think I just need to interact with Lorna more and be more confident and comfortable within my character when I'm not singing.
• Life support - This number went very too; everyone was confident with the vocals and physical aesthetics. I think the meaning and message of this song was conveyed very well.
• Will I? - This song was not so good, it is very vocally demanding because of the layering and overlapping, it is very hard to follow. I think the whole should see Mr Quinn in music at some point for help on this so we can become more confident with it. In terms of acting, it was quite poor because we were all trying to focus on the vocals.
• Santa Fe - This one was pretty good today however it could have been better. Vocally it was fine, but we need to work on the staging of this number and me and Henri need to decide on things we can do when Collins are together. I think this will probably just be a case researching and watching performances of this song ideas and inspiration. I think Lewis needs to work on the vocals for this song because he struggles when hitting higher notes. Also, Owen needs to work on timings for the start of this number because sometimes he comes in a bar early or a bar late, and sometimes he himself speeds up and is out of time to the music.
• I'll cover you - This song consists of just Collins and Angel, and it sounds good, the harmonies are there but a bit more confidence in the vocals would improve the number as a whole. Also it needs to be staged properly. Other than this, it was very good.
• Over the moon - this song consists of just Maureen (Alice), and she sang it well, just needs to revise the lyrics and timings at some points.

RENT - opening (Tune up #1 and #2, plus Rent) and santa fe

In today's lesson we worked on first, Tune up #1 and Tune up #2, which is Mark, Roger, Collins, Benny and Mark's mum - I found this one quite hard because there is a very infrequent beat to the music so it's hard to keep in time; I also need to work out what movements and where I'm going to move during the Tune ups, because I kind of just did it on the spot and I didn't really know what I was doing nor why, and I felt quite awkward doing it - this is something I will do at home or in frees. The tune ups are basically there for Mark to set the scene for the audience, but the actual reason as to why they sing it is to start Mark's documentary; it also gives an insight into a few of the characters and a bit of a back story to them and their relationships with each other. We then began vocal work on the title song, Rent. Everyone knew this song so when we sung through it, it wasn't that bad. We then started to structure it a bit more, so people know what parts they're singing. We began to stage it briefly too, but I need to do a bit more research and decide what I'm going to be doing in this song because sometimes I feel quite awkward at points because I'm kind of standing there waiting for my singing part. We were also taught a small dance to the guitar solo part in the song; I have always struggled with dance, I find it hard to remember all the steps and it always looks very awkward when I dance because I'm just simply a bad dancer. However I think I actually did quite well this (probably because it was really short and simple).
We then sang through Collins' song Santa Fe, this is one of my favourite songs in the show. Singing wise, I didn't have much trouble apart from I just need to learn the lyrics properly. We decide to keep the staging simple, but effective - and it was/is. We just need to really feel the music and the rhythm and just act. I'm really happy with how we have done this song, I think the simple staging really works because it helps the audience just focus on the story being told and we can focus more on our acting rather than remembering lots of sometimes complicated movements/choreography.

RENT - Performing on the stage and working on projection 16/11/16

In today's lesson we rehearsed in the hall on the stage to further work on our projection, and after performing Rent it became very apparent that projection is definitely something we need to work on because the majority of us could not be heard over the speakers - I find projection very difficult on the lower notes but I'm think I'm too bad on the higher notes because I can push more air out much easier on higher notes. I found Tango Maureen the hardest in terms of volume and projection, because it is quite low and there is obviously a lot of movement and complex choreography within it, therefore I find it hard to focus on the choreography as well as focussing on my dynamics and projection.
We then staged 'Life Support', I personally love this song - I think it is a song that just helps explain to the audience the problems within the community and kind of an explanation to all this struggling. In terms of my character, Mark, I think for him it's a song that also helps him understand the problems, but then reflects on his own problems. For the staging, we were on steel decking downstage left, and we kind of just sing out to the audience. I think the simplicity of this number helps the audience understand the song and the meaning more, and also us as the actors, because I think any complex movements would take away that feeling of grief and this problematic atmosphere. We then sung through the next ensemble number 'Will I?' which I think has the same sort of meaning as 'Life Support', but it's more for the character's understanding of their own situations. 'Will I?' is an extremely hard ensemble song, because there are lots of overlapping vocals and it very easy to get thrown of track in terms of tune and timings.

RENT - Ideas for the stage layout and props 10/11/16

In today's lesson, we were told to design the stage layout for any scene in the musical. I chose to do Mark and Roger's apartment. I looked at the Broadway set to get inspiration and I decided to try and keep it small and simple to help show just how little they have. 

RENT - Performing on the stage 2/11/16

Today we wen to rehearse in the hall so we could get used to the space and how loud we need to be in order to be heard. We went through Seasons of love, La Vie Boheme and Santa Fe. Our main problem was voice projection - because obviously the hall is very big and there are a lot of things that absorb and dampen the sound like the curtains for example. I need to work on my projection because when I tried to project louder, I started to lose the tone I had in my voice that suits my character. When we rehearsed La Vie Boheme, we started to add some movement to it individually to liven it up a bit, because before it was just quite boring and felt awkward on stage as we weren't really doing much. It was only basic movements we added, like simply moving round the stage more and interacting with others. I feel we did this quite well, because I definitely felt it was a lot more lively and fun. I have used the stage a few times before for performances so I'm comfortable using the stage and the space it provides.