Prep for April 2 Rehearsal

Hi everyone!

We were THRILLED with the progress we made on Sundays rehearsal and are really excited about introducing the real windows/doors, the sound cues, and costumes this week.

Rehearsal Plan
We are going to work on the whole show this week, Stage by Stage. This means we'll do some targeted refinement/rehearsal and then run the stage that contains that work. For example, we'll rehearse the bandage action from SS1 and review Psalm 69 and then run all of Stage 1.  The whole show is to be memorized for this coming Sunday so you will need to spread your personal practice time around. As well, Kyrie is to be memorized and we will start the rehearsal with a memory check on this piece. Here are the specific things we will review before running each Stage:

• Kyrie memory check
• Bandage action and groupings
• Psalm 69
• End of Stage IIb (flow from midwives 1/2/3 last line into SS4 into Explosion score)
• Pacem memory check
• Cronan memory check
• Even When He Is Silent memory check

Snack - Soprano 1s

What to bring:

From now on, you MUST bring the shoes you will wear for the show to each rehearsal

Posters & Media:

Please think about places you would be able to put up 2-3 posters. We will have them to distribute this Sunday and there will be a sign up sheet for you to indicate where you will put them. Next week, we'll provide some details on the media coverage you can expect to see about our show in the coming weeks!

Rehearsal Notes - March 26

Here is the link to the Running Blocking Notes

Soundscape 5 - Video

Remain in place, the lights will dim.

A moment of silence, then gradually build the soundscape.

Altos : women speaking over the fence, gradually recovering from the trauma

Sopranos : school children

When “pattycake” begins, the altos will fade out their talking

Soundscape 6

1. Everyone makes rushing wind sounds. Spread the clump out slightly and move backwards (unless you are a window mover)
2. Brianna, Mackenzie, Rhian, Julia, Jordyn will do whistling sounds.
3. As the whistling begins, the wind sounds should become more intense (pre-blizzard).
4. Fade out the wind sounds quickly when the Morse code begins

• Window movers : Nikki, Natasha, Colleen, Hayley, Georgia, Shila, Raquel, Antoinette - move windows from the sides of the stage to the centre.
• Kallie, Leah & Morgan move into the window frames (Morgan stage right, then Leah, then Kallie - the stage left window will be empty)

See video for movement during lines (Talisa and Gabrielle will be after Georgia in the line). This should feel sort of like a processional in church.

Wait for Christina’s cue for:  We pray for the dead. We comfort those around us (on this line, turn into the centre and walk in)

When Rowan starts her line (We carry on), break the circle and move into small groups, NOT facing front. Create a living tableau in your little group (Talisa, you are with Morgan & Nikki, Gabrielle with Brianna & Georgia)

Rowan, Caitlin, Leah and Colleen will move through the windows to give their lines

After Colleen’s line (Then comes the snow) slowly turn to look up at the organ.

Snow - Video

Verse 1 - Create Portrait formation

Verse 2 - People in the front, kneel as you are able, starting with Rowan and moving very slowly down the line

Verse 3 - Remain in your positions. As secret as yon buried stream plod - Winter sky movement

• As Raise left elbow
• Se- Raise left hand
• -cret Grab left elbow with right hand
• As Cross arms
• Yon Arms down
• Bur- Look right
• -ied Left hand to right cheek
• Stream Right hand grab left forearm and turn face back to centre
• Plod Hands down by “dream”

Lights will fade to darkness. People who are standing will help those kneeling to stand again for the curtain call.

Curtain Call

Q & A

Kyrie (no blocking)

Prep for March 26

Great rehearsal on Sunday, everyone!

It's really exciting that we are almost to the end of the memorization phase of the program. This Sunday we will have the last two pieces of music off book and will block Snow. By next Sunday (Apr 2) the whole show is to be off book - all music, text, and blocking.

Rehearsal Plan
Alto 2s on snack

1:15 YMP Mentor Clinic (Just YMP participants and mentors)

2:00 Warm ups

2:20 Soundscapes 5 & 6

3:00 Block Stage III

3:20 Music : Snow

3:35 Break

3:50 Blocking : Snow

4:30 Soundscape Review (1-4)

4:45 Cronan run & review

5:00 Psalm 69 run & review

5:15 V’la l’bon vent run & review

Yoga Fundraiser - THIS SATURDAY - 10:30 a.m. DANSpace on Grafton St.
Please bring your friends, parents, neighbours, etc - all ages and stages welcome. It's a delicious way to wake up the body on a Saturday morning and support Xara's work at the same time. If you aren't sure of the details, see our facebook event. Thank you to Claire for offering this once more!!

Nova Scotia Youth Choir
Our provincial youth choir will be holding auditions in Halifax on April 1st and it would be great to see some Xara representation (it's for ages 18-25 so many of you are eligible)! The deadline for registration is today but I know they will still accept registrations until Monday. Christina is one of the resident conductors for the next two years and the guest conductor is a wonderful, dynamic woman named Rachel Rensink-Hoff. It mostly happens over the summer and is a great way to sing some fabulous SATB music at a high level without a huge time commitment. Here's a great little video about the choir (you'll recognize Rhian and several of our tenor and bass friends from Tales of the Old North) ... you can register here!

Notes from March 19th

Just a note that in Even When He Is Silent, Leah and Rhian have switched parts (Leah will now be singing Alto 1B and Rhian will be singing Alto 1A)

PACEM - LETTER B This is primarily for Nikki and Colleen, but everyone can watch ;-)
Alto Side Video
Soprano Side Video

Please review the updated notes for the Soundscapes within the running blocking notes.

Even When He Is Silent - Video

M 1 - 4 Look up toward the balcony

M 5 - 11 Look straight out toward the audience

M 12 - 19 Look up toward the balcony

M 20 - Look straight out toward the audience when the sopranos start to sing

M 22 - 36 Each time you have the words “I believe in love” (not when you have the partial line “I believe”) you will do the following action. The action is fairly swift :

Action & Video of Claire M 22-29 : Bring right hand up to your chest, then straight out from your body, (“I believe in…”) then back into your chest and close your fist (“...love”), then down to your side. (last beat of “love”)

M 30 - 36 Alto Action (because it is fairly quick)

M 35 - 36  Sopranos keep your hand closed at your chest for the repeats of “in love”

M 37 - On the triplet, quick flick open of right hand so that it is palm facing toward your right shoulder. Keep it fairly rigid until the left hand starts to move.

M 40 - On “even” start bringing left hand up to be in a similar position, then slowly bring hands together at your chest on M 44

M 46 - 47 On “believe” hands spring apart and then drift down to your sides

M 48 - 55 Stand and sing

M 56 - 57 Drift together starting on “believe” to a loose clump, look at one another as you move

M 58 - End Stand and sing

Prep for March 19 Rehearsal

The last few weeks have created a pretty significant bump in the momentum for The Hours Turn to Nothing and I know you must all be feeling that. One of the things that people like Claire and I are always challenged with is finding the balance of what is the right amount of artistic challenge for our singers and what tips the balance. Over the last two years, especially, I think we've been finding many of these "edges." I had hoped that this term was going to feel quite a bit better in this regard but when you throw two missed rehearsals into the mix due to weather and my missed flight plus a bananas recording session like Sunday, the serenity of the schedule starts to feel pretty disrupted. :(

But starting this week, it's time to get back on track!! Claire and I want to do everything we can to help you find your way into the very special (and difficult) world of this show and to help you find a sense of rhythm in the non-linear unfolding of the narrative. I know that this is a significant challenge in memorizing the show as a whole.

Over the next two weeks we are going to get all the soundscapes really sorted out and finish blocking the show. These two things, especially as they are encapsulated in Erin's running blocking notes, will likely go a long way to helping create a bit more momentum and stability in our work. On the flip side, it's really important that you get caught up with memorizing any of the pieces of music you are still not 100% on. This will help you to feel solid when we start running things because more of your attention will be able to go to everything that happens in between the pieces of music! 

Rehearsal Schedule

1:15 Vocal Clinic (Youth Mentoring Program participants only)

2:00 Warm ups

2:20 Music: Even When He Is Silent (prep for memorization)

2:45 Block: Even When He Is Silent

3:45 Break + Announcements

4:05 Pacem Memory check

4:20 Pacem Blocking finish

4:50 Run Pacem

5:00 Sort Soundscapes (up to SS4)

5:15 Prep Snow for memorization

The memorization schedule has been updated to accommodate some of the unusual things that have happened over the last few weeks. Please make sure to check it! For those of you who are students, April is a really intense time ... please look ahead and make sure that you do the "heavy lifting" of your memory work now so that you can feel good about things when you've got a lot of extra school stuff on your plate.

Snack

Alto 1s - you're on!

Rehearsal Skirts

From now on, rehearsals skirts are mandatory each week. It really does have an impact on the block and your own management of your movement. It doesn't have to be a fashion statement, just make sure you've got something long and relatively full to work with. I'm sure if you ask a few people, you'll be able to come with one to borrow even if you don't have one yourself.

Yoga Fundraiser

Just a reminder! Please keep inviting people! These may seem like small events but every time we don't meet a target we are left to try to make the difference up somewhere so putting in a small bit of time together is so valuable!

Prep for RECORDING!!

Hi all, So this Sunday is our big recording session. The location is ST. MATTHEW'S UNITED CHURCH (our regular location) instead of the other venue we talked about previously. We will begin promptly at 1:15 so please try to arrive for 1:00 in order to get situated, etc.

 We will be recording:

• Pacem 
• V'la l'bon vent 
• Kyrie 
• Psalm 69 

*** Important:  We will wrap the recording portion of the session no later than 5:00 PM in order to give us time to rehearse Even When He Is Silent which is on the memorization list for March 19.

Soprano 2s are on snack!
Alto 1s are on instagram duty!

What you need to do/bring to be ready:

• Know your music really well but don't worry about memorization
• Bring a folder for your music so we don't have paper rattle in the recording
• Water bottle, pencil
• Comfy clothes and shoes (we'll be standing the whole time)
• Get a GOOD night's sleep before - recording take a lot of focus

Other Important Reminders (non-recording related):

• Please fill out Jordyn's form if you haven't already.
• Please invite people to our Yoga Fundraiser on March 25th (speaking to people directly about coming works way better than just a FB invite but you can do that too!)
• Please note that our June run-outs of The Hours Turn to Nothing have changed - we will no longer be going to Tatamagouche on June 3rd. Middle Musquodoboit (June 4), Annapolis Royal (June 10) and Liverpool (June 11) are all confirmed.

Rehearsal Notes from March 5th

Link to Running Blocking Notes

Please note that blocking for Pacem has been updated to include movement for letter C.

Also, if you click on "Tools --> Document Outline" it is easier to navigate between sections :-)



Here are the other new things from today's rehearsal :

Stage III

Ship’s Bell

Return to standing

Cronan - Video

M 1 - 8 Remain standing in mixed scattered positions after the Explosion. You will do 2 or 3 individual, small, subtle, slow “waking up” movements during these measures. Eyes remain up and out toward the audience. Hands should be by your sides by the end of measure 8

M 9 - 16 Drift into a tight clump in the middle of the stage

M 17 - 30 Undulating circle movement around Mackenzie. Remember to move very slowly and try not to drift too far backwards.

M 31 - 32 Hold in position

M 33 - 36 Clump moves forward together, moving up and down and connecting physically with each other (like in the circling movement earlier)

M 37 - END Break apart suddenly on the downbeat of 37, then slowly spread out to mixed scattered positions for the rest of the piece.



We did a run from the beginning of the piece to the end of Stage IIa. Here is the video.

Prep for March 5 rehearsal

Finally, we will all be together again this Sunday! Here are some details to help you get ready for a great rehearsal!

Rehearsal Plan

Snacks: A2s AND S1s

1:15	Warm ups
1:25	Cronan music and blocking
2:45	Pacem review and finish blocking
3:30	Break and Announcements
3:50	Music (Choral Competition focus)
5:00	Run show up to end of Stage IIa

Choral Competition Recording Plan

Music we'll be recording:

• Psalm 69
• Pacem
• V'la l'bon vent
• Kyrie

The location will be FORT MASSEY UNITED CHURCH (so not St. Matthew's!) on the corner of Queen and Tobin.

We will use our full, regular session of 1:15-5:30 and will do several straight takes of each song. Unlike recording for a CD, these recordings cannot be edited so we have to get a really awesome take from beginning to end. You will not have to sing from memory.

Please bring a FOLDER of some kind to hold your music as it cuts down on the "page rattle" issue. :)

Yoga Fundraiser

We have another Yoga Fundraiser coming up on March 25 at 10:00 a.m. Big thanks to Claire for spearheading these. Please put it in your calendar and start inviting your friends! We can't emphasize enough how important even these small events are to help keep our organization in good financial health.