If you recall, several posts below I wrote about some of the changes that FTL has undergone since its 2005 inception, including songs that were replaced and new scenes that were written altogether. Allow me to present another scene that has been removed from our upcoming version of the show - indeed, this song has been discarded altogether, apart from a brief snatch of melody evident in another musical number - for a couple of reasons: a) that the melody isn't terribly exciting or memorable, and b) this scene served as the opening to Act Two, which made for a rather lacklustre start to the second half of the show.
I personally am fond of the intention of this song: Joseph singing about his kid following his footsteps to become a carpenter, making rather comic and inadvertently ironic statements about all that his son would end up accomplishing. And I'm happy to report that we'll be conveying these sentiments with more humour and pathos in our upcoming new version, because truly, in retrospect, the original simply didn't work (kudos to our then cast for working with such uninspired material, arf arf!). Rest assured, our new Act Two opener is going to be bigger than this - more exciting, dynamic and dramatic! - so have a watch and listen to this song/scene now, because you won't be seeing or hearing it again. :)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Shoot 'Em Up!
Here are some photos from Tuesday night, when we did a preliminary photo-taking session with selected members of our cast and creative team for our publicity materials. Yup, these are photos I shot of the photographer shooting photos during the photo shoot. Stay tuned to find out how these officially turn out! ;)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Rockin', Dancin' and Sweatin' Up the Joint!
Welcome back to another week of FTL updates! Can you believe we're, like, six weeks to opening night?? Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!! Well, the past week has seen yours truly, the music director, start to assemble the band for the show, and I'm happy to announce that FTL will feature a six-piece rock band (as much as the show comprises a whole melange of styles. What an awesome word. Melange. Sounds like a dessert. But I digress).
When we staged this show in Australia in 2005, I'd included a string quartet as part of the orchestrations, but this time around, I'm aiming for a much edgier sound. Which isn't to say that it won't be refined - or that there won't be any strings or brass! Oh no, you'll still be getting the orchestra effect... even though the band will consist of two keyboards, drums, bass guitar, and two rockin' guitars, heh!!
Last Friday I had a jam session with the guitarists and drummer. Check out this little video clip of me (unseen but definitely heard) trying out a snippet of one of the songs with the guys. The audio might not sound too dynamic in the clip due to the limitations of the video camera mic, but believe me, in the studio, with the amps and acoustics, we were rockin' up the joint!! So now I'm really excited about what we're going to sound like when we add the bass and keyboards. Awesome!!!
Tonight (Monday) I joined director Colin, choreographer Judi and the cast for (an almost) full-company dance rehearsal. It was very interesting and heartening to see the amount of hard work that the cast are putting into the movement, and I'm looking forward to showtime when they're able to show off all that they've literally perspired buckets learning! Here's another video clip, this time of the cast attempting to put together the dance routine that closes the first half of the show. It's still rough around the edges (and in case you're wondering, that's a demo recording from the show that they're dancing and singing along to), but I think we're gradually putting it together... ;)
Further updates to come, including cast bios and a sneak preview of our poster! Watch this space!
When we staged this show in Australia in 2005, I'd included a string quartet as part of the orchestrations, but this time around, I'm aiming for a much edgier sound. Which isn't to say that it won't be refined - or that there won't be any strings or brass! Oh no, you'll still be getting the orchestra effect... even though the band will consist of two keyboards, drums, bass guitar, and two rockin' guitars, heh!!
Last Friday I had a jam session with the guitarists and drummer. Check out this little video clip of me (unseen but definitely heard) trying out a snippet of one of the songs with the guys. The audio might not sound too dynamic in the clip due to the limitations of the video camera mic, but believe me, in the studio, with the amps and acoustics, we were rockin' up the joint!! So now I'm really excited about what we're going to sound like when we add the bass and keyboards. Awesome!!!
Tonight (Monday) I joined director Colin, choreographer Judi and the cast for (an almost) full-company dance rehearsal. It was very interesting and heartening to see the amount of hard work that the cast are putting into the movement, and I'm looking forward to showtime when they're able to show off all that they've literally perspired buckets learning! Here's another video clip, this time of the cast attempting to put together the dance routine that closes the first half of the show. It's still rough around the edges (and in case you're wondering, that's a demo recording from the show that they're dancing and singing along to), but I think we're gradually putting it together... ;)
Further updates to come, including cast bios and a sneak preview of our poster! Watch this space!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
On to the Next... and Meet The Team!
Wow, we've come to the end of Week Five, which means that we're moving into the next stage of rehearsals, turning up the heat with more intensive choreography sessions! Last Saturday we had our very first attempt at a full run-through of the songs, all 22 of them, in sequence, start to finish. I'm pleased to report that it wasn't a complete disaster, hahaha!!! ;)) No, I think our cast held up very well, though there's obviously more polishing work to be done over the next couple of months. But I think in the grander scheme of things, given how little time we've actually spent together as a company, they've come a long way.
As the cast moves into the next stage in their FTL journey, I thought this might be a nice time to introduce some of the key players involved in the show. Kicking off the list: the creative team!
Nick Choo (Script, music, lyrics, musical arranger, musical director, executive producer) Nick’s music has been featured in stage and TV productions locally and abroad, including productions in Perth, Western Australia, where he studied. His work on A Christmas Carol (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, December 2008) earned him a nomination for Best Music (Theatre) at the 2009 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards. Most recently, his ten-minute piece Little Girl Lost won four awards in Short+Sweet Musical 2010 for Best Libretto, Best Composition, People's Choice and Best Overall Production. Other credits include a workshop run of his musical The Edge at KLPac in July 2008; and songs featured in Love & Beauty: The Sonnets of William Shakespeare (KLPac, Sept 2008), and the 8TV series 5Jingga (Aug 2007).
Colin Kirton (Director, executive producer) Colin is a veteran of stage and screen whose recent credits include P Ramlee The Musical, and the critically acclaimed play Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which he created, produced and directed, and which won Best Group Performance (Theatre) in the 2009 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards. He was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (Solo) at the 2007 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for his leading role in KLPac’s 2006 production of Broken Bridges: The Musical. His TV credits include a lead role on 8TV’s hit series Ghost (Season 2), and a supporting role in ntv7’s Mandarin blockbuster period drama Age of Glory 2.
Judimar Hernandez (Choreographer) Judimar taught modern and contemporary dance at Akademi Seni Kebangsaan for three years until 2000, and continues to teach at the Actors Studio Academy and RiverGrass Dance Theatre Academy. She was also Artistic Director and co-founder of Shakti Dances, and is Head of Choreography and Performance Network for the MyDance Alliance. She has performed in international dance festivals in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia. Judimar won a Boh Cameronian Arts Award in 2003 for Best Group Ensemble (Dance) as part of the ensemble in Curfew!, and was also nominated the same year for Best Solo Performer (Dance) for Refugio and Best Choreographer for Curfew!. Judimar was also a judge on both seasons of 8TV’s Malaysian version of So You Think You Can Dance.
As the cast moves into the next stage in their FTL journey, I thought this might be a nice time to introduce some of the key players involved in the show. Kicking off the list: the creative team!
Nick Choo (Script, music, lyrics, musical arranger, musical director, executive producer) Nick’s music has been featured in stage and TV productions locally and abroad, including productions in Perth, Western Australia, where he studied. His work on A Christmas Carol (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, December 2008) earned him a nomination for Best Music (Theatre) at the 2009 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards. Most recently, his ten-minute piece Little Girl Lost won four awards in Short+Sweet Musical 2010 for Best Libretto, Best Composition, People's Choice and Best Overall Production. Other credits include a workshop run of his musical The Edge at KLPac in July 2008; and songs featured in Love & Beauty: The Sonnets of William Shakespeare (KLPac, Sept 2008), and the 8TV series 5Jingga (Aug 2007).Colin Kirton (Director, executive producer) Colin is a veteran of stage and screen whose recent credits include P Ramlee The Musical, and the critically acclaimed play Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which he created, produced and directed, and which won Best Group Performance (Theatre) in the 2009 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards. He was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (Solo) at the 2007 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for his leading role in KLPac’s 2006 production of Broken Bridges: The Musical. His TV credits include a lead role on 8TV’s hit series Ghost (Season 2), and a supporting role in ntv7’s Mandarin blockbuster period drama Age of Glory 2.
Judimar Hernandez (Choreographer) Judimar taught modern and contemporary dance at Akademi Seni Kebangsaan for three years until 2000, and continues to teach at the Actors Studio Academy and RiverGrass Dance Theatre Academy. She was also Artistic Director and co-founder of Shakti Dances, and is Head of Choreography and Performance Network for the MyDance Alliance. She has performed in international dance festivals in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia. Judimar won a Boh Cameronian Arts Award in 2003 for Best Group Ensemble (Dance) as part of the ensemble in Curfew!, and was also nominated the same year for Best Solo Performer (Dance) for Refugio and Best Choreographer for Curfew!. Judimar was also a judge on both seasons of 8TV’s Malaysian version of So You Think You Can Dance.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Insert New Blog Post Title Here!
Hey, peeps! How's it going? Wow, things are heating up, and we're already into our final week of vocal rehearsals... which is pretty scary, considering we've still got a fair way to go with the singing! Over the weekend we had two full-company rehearsal sessions, with one more planned for this coming weekend. Ideally we'd like to have more of these full-cast sessions, but alas, scheduling has been tricky - so we'll manage with what we have.
Really, the past five weeks have seen the cast just learning the songs, with some revision. We've now attempted every song in the show except for the Finale, which is really a series of reprised material; so we're this close to covering all 22 musical numbers, whew!! What a feat! Further fine-tuning, development and characterisation will (God willing!) happen over the upcoming weeks, overlapping with the choreography sessions (which have already begun) and the acting/blocking rehearsals. At the same time, I'll be starting rehearsals with the band before we know it... so it looks like an extremely busy couple of months are ahead of us, leading up to opening night on the 2nd of December!
Company rehearsal on Saturday, 2 Oct. This is what happens when we take a lunch break, overeat, and come back all sleepy and bloated. :P
Learning twenty-two original songs can be quite a daunting task, as I'm sure the cast will tell you - especially when some of these songs involve rather intricate overlapping melody lines, where one performer's delivery serves as a cue for another's. It's all about timing, and during initial rehearsals, it can often start off rather garbled. Check out the following rehearsal audio clip! This is one of the more difficult passages in the show, involving the Wise Men and the Shepherds as they make their way to the manger where a mysterious baby has been born, and they realise they can't possibly go there empty-handed. So what should they bring the child?? Not too bad for a first attempt - but rest assured the vocals (and hence the audibility) will smoothen out and get more refined and precise. That's the plan, at least! ;)
Really, the past five weeks have seen the cast just learning the songs, with some revision. We've now attempted every song in the show except for the Finale, which is really a series of reprised material; so we're this close to covering all 22 musical numbers, whew!! What a feat! Further fine-tuning, development and characterisation will (God willing!) happen over the upcoming weeks, overlapping with the choreography sessions (which have already begun) and the acting/blocking rehearsals. At the same time, I'll be starting rehearsals with the band before we know it... so it looks like an extremely busy couple of months are ahead of us, leading up to opening night on the 2nd of December!
Company rehearsal on Saturday, 2 Oct. This is what happens when we take a lunch break, overeat, and come back all sleepy and bloated. :P
Learning twenty-two original songs can be quite a daunting task, as I'm sure the cast will tell you - especially when some of these songs involve rather intricate overlapping melody lines, where one performer's delivery serves as a cue for another's. It's all about timing, and during initial rehearsals, it can often start off rather garbled. Check out the following rehearsal audio clip! This is one of the more difficult passages in the show, involving the Wise Men and the Shepherds as they make their way to the manger where a mysterious baby has been born, and they realise they can't possibly go there empty-handed. So what should they bring the child?? Not too bad for a first attempt - but rest assured the vocals (and hence the audibility) will smoothen out and get more refined and precise. That's the plan, at least! ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)