September 2008
Month leading up to the show! Wow, lots to do and really not a great deal of time to do it in! The major priority for this period was to ensure we had a polished show that someone off the street would be happy to pay for! Sometimes we had rehearsals where this was the case and others (with Friday 26th being a mjor low!) where we would expect to pay the public to watch it!
In terms of other elements of the production, things were moving forwards very nicely. A successful set build on Sunday 28th helped to ease the nerves that things had been left until the last minute somewhat!
So here we are. Almost the week of the show. Nervous, excited, apprehensive. All these words come to mind. It's the cast's show now, and we just have to hope that the standards that were shown over the last few weeks don't drop one bit.
Thanks for all of the help, support and hard work that has been put in over the last six months. Nothing else left to say - just enjoy the week!!
Wednesday 20th August 2008
Tonight was all about working hard on the ending of the show. We spend some time at the hands of Sue to start with polishing Everbody Needs Somebody before Becky got to work on setting it. Following that, the cast were placed in their positions for Come What May and You'll Never Walk Alone and we managed to get through the whole final section of the show, which looked really nice indeed.
Chris and Martyn spent some time discussing entrances and exits and also the pieces of set that needed to be designed and built.
Friday 22nd August 2008
Chris had to go it alone tonight due to a certain rather fractious and incolsolable baby!
We started work on I'm Free and then went on to set Wouldn't It Be Nice, both to a good degree of success in our opinion. We feel that we are now very very close to being in a position where we can start hammering through the show with solos and dialogue included. This will be how rehearsals will now be from now until show week. We are very confident of a very polished and professional looking show in the next 3-4 weeks.
Good work tonight guys!
This period has been crutial in the development of the show and plenty has been happening both on and back stage. Firstly, rehearsals:
There has been a significant increase in the effort and application of everyone involved in the show during this period. All chorus numbers are starting to really come along, and it's testimony to the hard work of Jane and Sue that has enabled the overall feel of the show to come through in terms of the movement and mucis respectively.
Skid Row, The Stars Look Down, Bethlehem and Jailhouse rock are emerging as real jewells in the crown of Amazing Journey and the cast have worked very hard on their harmonies to make these numbers what they are. All of the solos have been worked on tirelessly and the production team are very grateful to the efforts that are going in.
Costumes are really starting to take shape and Jane and Becky have been working very hard out of the spotlight to ensure that all cast members have the correct look. I think it was evident that everyone did look the part during a recent publicity photoshoot. (Check the photos out on the gallery page if you haven't already done so!) We were very pleased with the way that these shots turned out and thanks to our resident David Bailey, Laura, for organising the cast into the right positions and getting those all important snaps.
Speaking of publicity, there has been lots going on behind the scenes that I think people should be aware of. Firstly, a publicity committee has been formed where people have been throwing ideas around and making them happen, as we strive to sell as many tickets to the show as possible. Jenny, Anne and Ang Goodwin, Laura and myself (Martyn!) have met to put suggestions in place. Many letters to other societies, schools and local businsses have been distributed and this small group of trojans have been working very hard. Posters and fliers have been distibuted to various shops and local businesses in the Tamworth area, and it is hoped that neighbouring towns get the same treatment in the next two weeks. Chris (in collaboration with Anna Tyrakowska!) has even produced a poster in Polish to encourange our Polish neighbours to attend and enjoy the night with us.
And cast members, don't forget, there is an incentive for YOU to sell as many tickets as possible. The cast member who sells the most tickets (through Alan) will win theatre tokens to the value of £50. Come on, get selling, and earn yourself a well deserved night out!
On the technical side of the show, things are moving equally as fast-paced. Sunday 3rd August saw the male members of the cast convene at Wilnecote High School (thanks to Mike Stevenson) to film the prison release scene, that will be projected onto a huge screen during the rendition of Bethlehem. This was a real success, and having since watched the video thanks to Vaughan's lightning fast turn-around time (you listening Kev?!) for which we are very grateful indeed. A massive thanks to all of the men that attended and for your hard work and endeavour and patience.
Thanks again to everyone
The Production Team
