Tuesday, July 13, 2010
West Side Triumphs at the Minack!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tech-Tastic
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Washing lines and woodwind
'America'
Welcome back!
In true fashion Full Tilt are back and we are running at full pelt in our final phase 2 of rehearsals!
Jets Vs. Sharks: 'Prologue'
BIG NEWS:
As if the Atlantic didn't have enough sharks already, we've added a further two- in gang form. A huge welcome and well done to Suneil and Andrew as they jump right into the action and swim like no Shark has swum before in catching up with ALL the dances, scene work and songs.
FUN NEWS:
The set and costume's have arrived in full, filling the set with yet more colour. Y-Fronts on the washing line and hanging as happily as the cast's smiles, in awe of the phenomenal twenty strong orchestra who joined us in rehearsals last week.
Brass and woodwind glistening in the sun we're basking in the sunshine. Topping up Puerto Rican tans and working out for our pumped up American Jet Boys.
TICKET NEWS:
We're SOLD OUT! Great news for everyone involved! Thank you to all those who have eagerly shelled out to support us and enjoy a fantastic day of picnics and 1950's 'cool' entertainment.
We can't wait to get down to The Minack... Something' coming... pull up a chair!
The air is humming,
And something great is coming! ...
Monday, April 12, 2010
A Krupke draft and other thoughts...
But until that point we're moving through Act Two. Krupke is the break in Act Two. The point where the Jets, bereft of their leader try to establish a normalcy in what is a brutally jagged situation very far away from normal. At the very least goofing around will prevent them from having to confront the task of mourning and grieving the loss of Riff...
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The "New Minack"
Saturday, April 10, 2010
A bit of Quintet and some accent coaching
On Friday 9th April Terri Power ran a accent workshop with the cast on their New York and Puerto Rican accents. Following this extremely useful workshop, the detail in cast's work on authentic accents is noticeable. Not only is this noted in the scripted lines but the cast also now have improvisational phrases to use in scenes which helps to bring the scenes to life.
Some of the phrases the 'New Yorkers' worked with to help them are "New York", "I want you to listen to me", "Bring her here", She's bringin' me somthin'", "Don't worry about it", "Get in the car", "Get outta here", "We went to the store for coffee".
The Puerto Ricans also did a lot work on accents. See the video below for an insight into their accent work.
More Rumblings....
Just a note on the Rumble....
I think what is starting to coming across in the action now, whether that action be musical, movement or textual dialogue and scene work, is the reality of the situation in hand, the central human condition at the core of the action. It began to be grasped by the cast today as we worked through the reality of the awful situation of the rumble and the culmination of the tensions that bring the story to this harsh point; the brutal fact that by the end of the scene, all involved in this pivotal moment have actually been complicit in murder - the taking of another human life. At the end of Act one there are two bodies on the ground, put there by boys playing at being men who can kill. But when reality hits home and those boys realise the full depth and resonances of their actions - what it really means to be a man who kills, play time is over for ever.
The beginnings of a rumble...
The dirty underbelly of that 1950's New York tension is really coming through now - deep-seated racial tension and the unreachable American dream all together in a hot, listless, combustible Holden Caufield summer. The first generation of discontents. The first teenagers, who had no war to go to and didn't have to like the same music as Mom and Pop.
Today, we also has the luxury of working OUTSIDE(!) A sunny day in Bath gave us a timely opportunity. Luke Cheater and Bijan transformed the open air space in front of Refectory into a full scale mock up of the Minack.
The glorious backdrop of the Newton park campus had a significant impact on the way the actors moved and worked. Stepping up the game to meet with the expectations of a space as grand and awe inspiring as the Minack is a significant challenge and as we worked outdoors and tackled the complexity of the music and movement of the Rumble, the climax of Act One, The change in the actors was visible. They reflected on exactly how much more energy it took to sustain the height, intensity and tension of that work! We also felt exactly how tough it is to move on a floor with no give!
Link: JFK Speeches - 1956
Friday, April 9, 2010
A few clips
I have been fortunate enough to have sat in on some of the Jet Boys rehearsals and have recorded parts of these to share with you all, (they are already looking brilliant, well done to all involved!) if you haven't managed to sit in on any rehearsals that you aren't directly involved in, I would definitely recommend doing so, it really helps to open your mind up to the entirety of the piece as it is easy to forget where your character sits in the grand scheme of it all (also it is really genuinely entertaining)
For me, the beginning of this process has been absolutely fantastic. To see everything coming to life in the last week or so and has really confirmed for me that we have something extremely special in the making, I have already had a few 'goose-bumpy' moments and feel truly privileged to be a part of such a hugely talented and passionate ensemble.
Unfortunately I can't be with you all for the last couple of rehearsals, but I wanted to say good luck and that I will look forward to being reunited with everyone soon (ish)... until then...
Buena suerte
Kyli xxx
Dancing, Eating and Kissing
Another full and productive day in rehearsals. The 'dance at the gym' is really coming together, and the company are coping well with the high octane choreography and pace of the scene. (check out the video clip below of the work in progress). It is already feeling like a thrill to watch the power and energy of this company, and particularly unique is the sense of ownership that the cast have. It feels already like a genuinely creative process. It was good to glue the movement together with scene work too, introducing Peter Peasey's 'Gladhand', the 'Square' in amongst the testosterone fuelled teens. I liked Pete's description: 'Like a children's entertainer offering jelly and ice cream at a whiskey bar'. After three hours of working this scene, we enjoyed a break. The sun shone while we tasted the cakes, and I must say we have some talented bakers in the crew! Particularly awe struck by the amount of pink icing that Mitch (Tony) had managed to get into his cake for Jenny (Maria). Sunshine and icing sugar created a general regression amongst the company, so that inevitably water was poured into people's belly buttons, bodies rolled down grassy hills, and cake ended up on faces and the floor. Ah...the joy of it all, and hopefully this sunny theme will remain with us until June.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Presentations
I feel Pretty!
Check out this video clip of an early version of 'I Feel Pretty' rehearsed to a Spanish translation nonetheless, rehearsed late a night in the UT and filmed on a MACbook pro camera!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
What excites me is......
60 in the company,
5 days
7 performances,
1 amazing setting...
We're doing it in two phases. Phase One will see the whole piece mapped out, a detailed pencil drawing of what will eventually emerge...
Then, before phase two the cast have time to let the direction and choreography sink into their souls. Several weeks will elapse... Costumes are made, set designed and built....
Phase Two arrives and takes the pencil drawing and turns it into a vibrant, explosive living painting.
And then to the Minack - a truly magical setting for a story as epic as this one.
But for now, let's return to now.
I have to admit I'll be wearing two hats through this process - one being the choreographer and the other being the Head of Department for Performing Arts at Bath Spa University, out of which this Full Tilt production is born.
However, what's most exciting for me, (whichever hat I'm wearing) is the sheer energy of the cast and company. There's a generosity here and an excitement about the process of making really, really good, truthful expressive theatre which is creating a focused buzz in rehearsal. All of this in a company, (Full Tilt Theatre Company) that combines staff, students, professionals and graduates in one dynamic melting pot and the sheer scale of the potential is mesmerising in itself.
Minack here we come. Full Tilt.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Here we go!
| Jet Boys: |
Riff: Andrew Toynbee | |
Action: Jo Phillpots | |
A-Rab: Andrew Cuthbertson | |
Baby John: Chris Draper | |
Snowboy: Matthew Feast | |
Diesel/Big Deal Barnaby Harris Reid | |
Anybodys: Lauren Guage | |
Tony: Mitch Miller | |
| Jet Girls |
Graziella: Rosie Watson | |
Velma: Grace Miller | |
Minnie: Samantha Amery | |
Clarice: Bella Lewis | |
Pauline: Rose Creighton Balfour | |
Jet Girl: Katie Instone | |
Jet Girl: Sian Davies | |
Jet Girl: Sarah Leach | |
| Shark Boys: |
Bernado: Rocky Nti | |
Chino: Gerry Fitzpatrick | |
Pepe: Matthew Ferdenzi | |
Indio: Liam Salmon | |
Luis: Doug McDougall | |
Anxious: Dan Harland | |
| Shark Girls: |
Maria: Jenny Chudley | |
Anita: Samantha Broad | |
Rosalia: Natalie Wilmowski | |
Consuelo: Kyli Morgan | |
Teresita: Jessica Squire | |
Francisca: Claudine Eastwood | |
Estella: Danni Down | |
Margarita: Maria Bishton | |
Shark Girl: Aimee Farey | |
Shark Girl: Kitty Randle (Dance Captain) | |
| Adults |
Doc/Gladhand: Peter Peasey | |
Shrank: Terri Power | |
Krupke: TBC |