Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was based on a series of poems by T.S Elliot. It premiered in 1981 in the New London Theatre in London. Because the musical is based on a series of poems there isn't an especially obvious theme or story running through it. There is however a slight storyline regarding Grizabella as she tells the story of how she was once a glamorous cat but now she is not, before going to the heavyside layer and regaining her glamour again. The version of Cats that we were a part of had the overall theme of Fashion. Instead of being Cats, the characters were all part of the fashion business as models, designers and other parts. This was quite a radical exploration of the text as there isn't any reference to fashion in the script. It was also a good premise for having the year 12s involved as we played paparazzi and Journalists trying to get pictures of the models at the 'Jellicle Ball'. We also played party guests at the end of the performance, which involved coming on and mingling before singing and dancing at the end. We were there to add more of a hustle and bustle to the stage and make it look as if there is more people, although we not have any direct impact on the story or any of the songs.
The original staging was set in a junkyard which did not change throughout the performance. Because this version was set about fashion, the staging included a catwalk, an office area, clothing rails and other stage blocks. Like the original performance, none of this changed throughout the performance. The different areas were good for showing the different type of character. For example the models spent the majority of their time on the catwalk and the designers would have spent time in the office. This performance also had the use of projection. This was used to give a bit of background to the characters when their song was happening, this was useful because it was not always clear what connection the different characters had to the 'story' or each other. It was also used for the Email to Mrs. Mistoffelees, and news articles. Because of the lack of storyline, these projections were really helpful to the audience to give them a bit of added information and understanding.
The build up for the performance was quite stressful because lots of it was quite last minute. We were aware of being part of the main dance to 'Peaks and Pollicles' for longer but the Finale and other songs were very much last minute, this meant as a cast we had to all come together to be able to produce something of a really high quality to match the year 13s. We also had to be emotionally invested in our role. Because we were all playing supporting roles, it was really important for us not to steal the limelight. We had to make sure we were positioned right on the stage so that the focus wasn't on us but we added a bit of depth to the stage.
My first impressions of the song we were in was that it was going to be quite manic and busy, so I made sure that in rehearsals I made this obvious in my movements and the way that I carried myself onstage. I have seen videos of paparazzi so I knew the kind of way they act when they are doing their job, they are very up in every bodies business. It was quite odd to try and recreate this because we still had to make it so that we weren't too much in the way, we had to make sure we got the right balance. It was also hard to compare our role in the first act with our role in the second act, this is because it was very hectic and busy in the first act and in the second act it is a lot more relaxed in the way that we move because we are party guests so more sophisticated. Having the interval in between gives us a good bit of time in between the two very contrasting roles to get into the zone.
I felt that I did really well in my dancing because I had been struggling in the past with this throughout the year and I felt very comfortable and in control through this. I was really happy with my extension as this was a target I have been setting myself throughout the year. Something I feel that I didn't do so well with was my facial expressions, because we were so rushed with the dances and most of our participation in the show, I had to really concentrate on making sure I got all my movements correct and in time so I feel this took priority over my facial expression. I definitely think that my physical skills took more priority over my interpretive skills. If we had more time then I think I would have been able to focus on the interpretive skills as well as the physical ones. I think overall I was happy with the performance and it was good how we all came together as a cast to be able to perform well at short notice.
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