h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last night was the first meeting to introduce the next show we are doing. This is to be Jekyll & Hyde (for official website: http://www.jekyll-hyde.com/showinfo/synopsis.shtml)

Turned up to find that the rehreasal rooms have been completely redecorated (and still smelling of paint). After a while the new and established members all trouped through to the main rehearsal room to the rows of chairs already set out (men on the left, women on the right).
There we were all introduced to the committee members and production crew (for the benefit of the new potential cast members) including a second accompanist (luxury one for vocal line, one for orchestration) and a vocal coach (which should be a useful extra assistance) before the synopsis was read out and the new vocal coach led us through a basic physical and stretching vocal warm-up.

The musical director asked who had seen the show (no-one), seen a video of the show (a few), or listened to a CD of the songs (about half - but not me ). Then scores were distributed and we were able to start attempting the chorus numbers to get an idea of what we might be letting ourselves in for.

It appears similar to the sound of Les Miserables, mostly sung with very little spoken dialogue. The harmonies tried so far are not as complex as the ones experienced in Scrooge (Leslie Bricusse was composer of Scrooge and did book/lyrics for J&H).

I haven't got to grips with who the secondary characters are yet, but am confident there could be a part for me (it won't be Jekyll/Hyde which is beyond what I'd wish to attempt), although there won't be any flying .

Now I have to work out how to fit in The Merry Widow rehearsals/ performances with the commitment necessary for this show (which won't be performed until end of February 2007)

Good grief! You are a busy man! I haven't heard any of the music from Jekyl and Hyde either. I'm still stuck on Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Jekyll and Hyde is not one of my favourite scores, but there are some smashing numbers in it. 'In His Eyes' is a great one for one (or is it two?) of the ladies, and I think the current version has 'Bring On The Men' for the female chorus. Lots of people like 'This Is The Moment', but I think it's a bit unoriginal and bland. I'd rate it alongside middling Andrew Lloyd Webber - not as good as Evita, not as blah as Cats!

Pimms, there are oodles of smaller male roles.

You thespians are staying busy, busy. I don't remember hearing the music to Jekyll & Hyde, either. I'll have to hunt it up.

Just been trying to plan attendance at rehearsals. The commitment forms from the two shows give essential dates to earmark. Naturally they overlap to an extent, but even worse there is a clear and full overlap between my holiday and the second intensive full week of blocking for J&H in January.

I can't help but believe this will affect my chances in auditions or at least my inclusion in some numbers

There just remain about ten dates in the next month to decide which double booking needs me more

Auditions in two weeks time

That sort of thing is one of the reasons why I'm not in multiple groups at the same time, the rehearsal schedules would make my head explode.

Well I have let one society know the extent of my commitments and given them the assurance that I'll come to as many rehearsals as I can.

Covered my score today. I always make a cover to protect the score, even though I tend to be hiring it and returning it at the end of the production.

The advantages are that it is always easy to recognise my score from everyone else's at rehearsals, and that I often work by the osmosis principle of learning. This works by carrying the score everywhere on the offchance I'll have time to review it, and that I am somehow 'learning' it by having it available, even if it is rarely taken out of my bag. I know many students use revision osmosis on the same flawed principle - being near the books must be helpful.

The score cost a whopping £30 deposit, returnable in full when the score is given back in as unblemished a state as it was supplied. This year I have a pristine score , not one I have to go through and remove previous owners partially rubbed out annotations

The J&H score starts with the full libretto in the first half and the scores for the songs in the second half. Better than having two separate books. I am going to read through the lib to decide which parts grab me.

Ooh, good luck with the auditions, Pimms!

Overlap of rehearsals is a real pain, isn't it. My operatic society rehearse on a Tuesday and a Thursday, while my drama group is Monday and Thursday. Luckily, Thursday rehearsals for operatics are usually just principals, so if I'm just in the chorus it's mostly OK. The next show we're doing is a concert so theoretically it should only be Monday nights as there's no movement or dialogue to rehearse. This means I could be in the next two drama club shows (rehearsal period of three to four months as opposed to six for operatics, so I can do two plays in the period of time the operatics lot are rehearsing...which has just happened recently, in fact!).

Oh, and lucky you to get a clean score! My one for Half a Sixpence was full of annotations as it had been used by Kipps in a previous production.

I agree that both the clean score and the lib/score combo are very good things. Hope you find a part that grabs you.

At a recent rehearsal for the Merry Widow (the overlapping production on soon) I had the pleasant experience of a fellow member suggesting that she thought I ought to try for the Jekyll/Hyde character Realistically, I argued, that part is beyond me. She rebutted that in her opinion I had the talent to carry it off Since she has heard me sing (and seen me act), and is herself a singing teacher, this was quite a compliment.

However I am not going to let compliments cloud my judgement of what I am capable of, or who I would be competing against (I have a shrewd idea that the person who played Scrooge in the last production will be going for the role).

Having now read through the lib I am tempted to go for the part of Jekyll's friend Utterson. He doesn't seem to sing much , and doesn't die at the start of the second act like several of the other principals. Mind you that could have its advantages

Failing that there is the vicious pimp Spider (who gets to slap a prostitute, and is well worth a few hisses ), the rival to Jekyll, Stride (who dies near the end of the second act) or one of the victims who only just get into the second act.

One must always be prepared for disappointment at not gaining the status of a principal and embrace the excitement and challenge of being in the ensemble - who knows I could be third man, barman, party guest, and priest

Good attitude there, Pimms!

Sometimes doing several small parts can be more fun than doing one big part. It used to be like that in my drama group but now we have more people than we know what to do with so parts are much more thinly spread out.

But I thought in your group there was a significant proportion only keen on rather than acting? Even discounting those, do you still have too many keen members to allow nice part sharing (One main role or several minor ones)?

They may all be keener on than on having to learn lines, but that doesn't mean they don't want to be on stage. For the forthcoming show (Terry Pratchett's 'Feet of Clay') everyone who wants to be in it will be in it (kind of our policy for the Pratchett plays, which we do every year), and as the Pratchett play is always the most popular of the season and there are lots of people in the group at the moment, that's why the parts will be rather spread out...

I suppose the question is: does the person casting a play recognise the dedicated members from the lovers?

Past performance (unlike for stocks and shares) should be a guide to future performance

Photocopied the relevant pages required for the J&H auditions for the parts I am interested in. I'll be able to highlight and annotate them without restraint (which would be more difficult with the hired score). Doesn't seem as if any of the dialogue parts would cause me any difficulty. BUT it is a musical, which is where I may struggle...

Yes, to a certain extent, but physical appearance also plays a large part. Will have to wait and see I suppose!

It may be a blessing in disguise if I don't get cast, actually, as then I'll definitely be able to go for a solo part in the April concert (Gershwin and Sondheim for first half, then concert version of HMS Pinafore for second half). Clashing Thursday rehearsals might be a problem otherwise - found out last night there will be some Thursday rehearsals for the concert but they don't know when or how many...

Also found out last night that the October show next year will be 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' - a new, and pretty unknown (but apparently very good) musical. Sounds intriguing...

Back to J&H - is it a very singy musical, Pimms, or can you get away with acting and 'speak-singing'? I don't know what your singing's like anyway, so forgive me if I'm presuming it's worse than it is!

Lbclaire

The music for The Scarlet Pimpernel is by the same bloke as Jekyll and Hyde (Frank Wildhorn). I don't know it at all, but I think it has an over-abundance of male roles, just like J&H.

And that concert! Gershwin, Sondheim and G&S is an intriguing combination...

The musical director likened J&H to Les Miserables, in the sense that it is mostly sung, the voices are mostly sung in the top register, and some of the tunes indeed are reminiscent of Les Mis.

Aha! Small world eh?

Yes, they were saying last night that there are lots of character parts - especially for the men (surprise, surprise)

Lbclaire

PS Yes, it's the Sondheim bit that interests me - I like his complexity

Yep, that's exactly what the committee said last night too. DannyB won't be happy - he hates sung-through musicals !

Lbclaire