Peer Assessments

Prior to completing a run of both acts we were asked to pick a character to watch and asses.

Some notes given from Ella and a few of the backstage team were tweaks which would add to the already thought intention and intonation. By this point, we managed to bring the level of notes we received at the end of rehearsals to a minimum.

Notes:

• Look both at Saskia and then the audience on the line "but I'm honest"
• Work on improvisation and covering any problems that may occur onstage
• Just tap the staff tip on the line "ooh a bit sharp" for emphasis
• Synchronise some movement with Georgia in Act 2
• Cut the line "I'm not some kind of Apple Mac"

I found the peer assessments incredibly helpful because the task at hand asked us to focus on a character other than the one we were familiar with and really pay attention to what the other person was doing.

By this stage, we had become incredibly comfortable with the script that we began pre-empting other's movements and dialogue instead of listening to what the other characters were saying and reacting accordingly. It inevitably dropped our energy level as a company immensely; myself included, characters were throwing lines away and playing our roles incredibly 'safe' and not trying anything new. Our spatial awareness was completely muted, chorus members masked each other and there was an element of upstaging forming with a few chorus members.With opening night impending, our director was very firm with notes and critique which helped us achieve what we did in the next rehearsal. She also emphasised that ownership needed to be taken, especially those who weren't fully aware of certain scenes and relied on full run throughs to then be recorrected when infact, that should have been done prior rehearsals.
I hit a wall with the end of Act 2 where a few of the main characters sing a song with the audience and complete shoutouts of parties and birthdays. Wishee Washee, the Genie and I tried to work on the scene a few times, however, as we were all unaware of what song we were singing and how to structure it, we struggled greatly. We did take in the positive criticism and then worked with Chloe to create a slick ending to Act 2.

Personal notes

• Work on the 'cave scene' - mainly the transition between Abanazar's exit, your entrance and your exit and the Genie's entrance
• Practice the end of act 2 song
• Slow down the 'Kat Slater' line and keep projecting
• Slow down the 'Pot noodle' line
• Be aware of blocking in the last scene

During long rehearsals, there were moments in which we able to practise separate scenes if we felt that we wanted to to needed to. Aladdin  (Corrina Foley) and I decided to progress on with our 'cave' scene as we struggled with this scene more often than not.

These rehearsals were also used to practise dances and songs. I led a dance rehearsal in which we practised the finale dance 'Happy', the video below is a small snippet of it.