Prep for SHOW WEEK - The Hours Turn to Nothing

Wooooo! Here we go! It's almost show week! This post has a lot of information in it so please go through it carefully and refer back to it whenever you aren't sure of something.

What to expect (and what's expected)

• Know the purpose for each rehearsal this week - they are all different!
• Be prepared - make sure to check the "kit list" for each rehearsal and come prepared
• Be focused
• Be flexible
• Be well rested 
• Schedule time each day for personal review 
• Stay healthy (wash your hands lots, eat good food!)

Tickets

ALLLLLLL tickets and money are due back this Sunday!!

Schedule

Sunday, April 23 (1:00-5:30) 

Focus: final fixes and details, CTV filming, CBC Radio interview

Kit list: shoes, make-up (done before rehearsal), hair (done before rehearsal)

Snack: S1

• 1:00 - arrive and get in costume (come with hair and makeup done)
• Blocking details (Stage I, Pacem, Stage IIb, Curtain Call)
• Music details (Cronan, Even When He Is Silent)
• Hand in tickets, prepare for run, eat snack
• Run
• Fixes from Run
• 5:30 - home

Monday, April 24 - No rehearsal

Tuesday, April 25 (6:00-10:00) 

Focus: lighting and stage placement

Kit list: shoes, make-up (done before rehearsal), hair (done before rehearsal), snacks

• Mark through of full show to solidify any vagueness about movement cues and stage locations
• First half of rehearsal will be all about Matt's needs to get the lights set. Claire will ask you to move from position to position and you will need to wait. There is a lot of waiting during this rehearsal and it's important that you stay focused and don't talk.
• Second half of rehearsal we will work through the show but there will be stops and starts
• This rehearsal is NOT focused on fixing or working on our show - it is for Matt to go from zero to show-ready in 4 hours.

Wednesday, April 26 (6:00-10:00) 

Focus: dress rehearsal with photos/filming

Kit list: shoes, make-up and hair (time given during rehearsal), snacks

• 6:00-7:30 Fixes and detail work 
• 7:30-8:00 Hair, make-up, costumes
• 8:00 Dress rehearsal
• 9:00 Fixes
• 10:00 Home

Thursday, April 27 (7:00-9:00) 

Focus: final fixes

Kit list: nothing except music and scripts (no costumes, makeup, or hair), snacks

Friday, April 28 (6:00 call) - Show #1

Saturday, April 29 (1:00 call) - Show #2

Saturday, April 29 (6:00 call) - Show #3

Sunday, April 30 - OFF (Relax and rejuvenate!)

Media Summary

We have secured the following coverage:

• CTV Morning Show (airing Tuesday, filming Sunday)
• CBC Radio "Mainstreet" (recording Sunday, airing later in the week, TBA)
• Global TV Morning Show (Wednesday) - Leah, Shila, Georgia, Kallie, Natasha, Emma
• The Coast newspaper article (Thursday)
• Local XPress newspaper article (interviewing tomorrow, not sure of publication date)

Please continue to share social media posts on your various channels!

Pacem Emotional Journey

Hi everyone,

With all the hard work we've been putting into Pacem to get the music and choreography super solid, I know that we haven't had as much time to go over the emotional journey for the piece. This is the big centerpiece of the whole show in a lot of ways, so I wanted to give you some notes that might be helpful as we continue to bring this piece to life onstage.

Pre A & A Section
Raquel's solo at the beginning is like a plaintive call for help.

Nikki/Natasha/Gabrielle/Georgia (the survivors) - your movement here should be fueled by exhaustion, fear, and/or hopefulness - you have survived this horrible event and although the future is bleak, at least you are alive and able to move forward. For the four of you, you can hold onto the doorframes more as you walk. Almost as if you need them to hold you up, or you are trying to make your way around pieces of wreckage carefully.

Everyone else watching on the sides is witnessing, embodying strength and support in your energy rather than fear.

B Section

This is an expressive section that mimics the grief, agony, and intensity of the disaster. Each of the section's movements are designed to reflect that in some way. You can think about what your group is doing and what kind of emotion your character would be feeling in the aftermath of the explosion. This section is not meant to be literal (characters actually doing something narrative), but like a meditation on those feelings.

C Section

Everything we have been doing up until this point has been building until this section. It is the most emotionally intense part of the piece. As you stand and walk toward the front, you are facing the audience and showing them your fear, shock, and horror. The Winter Sky movements that happen at mm 61 should feel gut-wrenching. When you move toward the back of the stage at mm 66, it is like the force of the Explosion is pushing you back (echoing what will happen later in the movement score - in Pacem it's almost like an echo of that, like an aftershock of your body reliving it). At mm 73, the group surging through the doorframes is fueled by the determination of each person to do their best to help and survive despite the devastation.

D Section

This is a repeat of the B section, but builds at the end to a climax. The big chords at mm 103-104 should feel strong and not weak - determination and not helplessness.

E Section

This section mimics the A section but instead of survivors going through, it is nurses and midwives (Brianna, Emma, Colleen, Raquel).

The four movers going through the doorframes in this section are nurses and midwives picking their way through the wreckage to look for survivors, people in need of help. Another image could be emerging out of the hospital doors, looking around at the world and how devastated it has become. For the four of you, you can hold onto the doorframes more as you walk. Almost as if you need them to hold you up, or you are trying to make your way around pieces of wreckage carefully. Your expression can reflect shock, horror, sadness, fear. Use more of your body and you can think about more angular movements.

Everyone else standing on the sides is turned in 45 degrees, and you can watch the four as they emerge from the doorways. You are the witnesses, and you echo their emotions but stay more calm.

Christina's Notes from the Run on April 9th

Hi everyone! In order to focus your personal rehearsal, here are the main things that I felt needed attention following our run last Sunday:

Winter Sky

• In the last section when your blocking has you in a tight V, many of you cannot see me. It's really important to shift your focus to the sensation and sounds of those around you so you can "feel" when to come in and when to cut off.

Soundscape 1

• Begin walking to empty spaces as soon as you hear the Morse Code signal
• Many people are still missing the "breathe in" cue. As soon as you start walking again after the wind and walking have died down, you need to angle your bodies and focus your peripheral vision on me so you get the cue.

Psalm 69

• Opening Solos (Gabrielle, Colleen, Talisa) - I've change my mind - we need these to be in tempo if this rest of the choir is going to be able to get the tempo correctly when they come in. Gabrielle, this will be really important for you. You will need to practice your solo much more quickly.
• Overall, no matter how fast I try to set this, you seem to want to sing this piece really slowly. Practice it fast so you can build a sense of urgency into your body and muscle memory!
• S2s and As: m.21 forward - be ready for a return to the fast temp after the rit in mm. 19-20.
• m. 41 onward - this is another place to be careful of tempo. S2s, in particular, tend to be very slow here.

Soundscape 2 (and 3)

• You need to take my tempo for us to be together. Everyone needs to be checking in with my beat before you enter and during the first few beats of your ostinato pattern to ensure we're aligned.

V'la l'bon vent

• Most of this song is a piano dynamic! Remember the work we did to balance the B and C sections - everyone has to scale their dynamics to the train engine.
• The shift notes on "ah" right before Letter D is rough - needs to be much quieter and gentler. 

Pacem

• Dynamics, dynamics, dynamics! In particular, cresc + decresc shapes are what's missing. There are a lot of these and we worked so hard on them when we were doing the piece really slowly. We need to get them back!!

Soundscape 4

• As per Julia's comment, we need more volume from the people who are sniffing and crying, etc.

Cronan

• This came a long way since last time!!!! The very end (last page) still fell apart a bit so please reinforce that.
• Sop 2s, there were still some entries that were either early or late - be sure you know exactly when you're supposed to enter in relation to other parts.
• During the undulating circle the Oooos (S1 and S2) were unstable and not tuned as well as needed. Make sure you are listening and concentrating and not letting your intonation undulate with your bodies!!

Even When He Is Silent

• As I said on Sunday, I really need to be able to push and pull the tempo with this piece. You are looking right at me for most of it so it's important that you are connecting with me, even if it's through your peripheral vision. 
• Dynamics need more attention here.
• Confidence in your own phrasing and where your part breathes/lifts is critical since this is not always the same across the full choir.
• p. 10, m. 47 - everyone needs to be very certain that this is a 4/4 measure and pace the cresc accordingly.

Snow

• The memory work is weak on this piece for several of you. It seems short and easy so I understand that it hasn't received the time bigger piece have, but it's the end of the show so it has to be SO solid. Please review and make sure you can sing it without even having to think about it.

Kyrie

• Confidence in your own phrasing and where your part breathes/lifts is critical since this is not always the same across the full choir.
• Because this piece is "pretty" we are tending to sing it with a very breathy tone and flattened soft palates. We need to move away from this and sing it with proper women's voices and raised soft palates! The reference recording is really lovely but she's a high soprano with a very light voice singing all the parts so it's not a realistic or good model for how you should produce sound for this piece.
• Dynamics need more review.
• We need to shift away from saying "e-le-i-sun"  or "saahn" - the final vowel is too wide. Your lips need to stick out every time you say this syllable - you should be singing "saw-n" with your lips out.
• m. 54 - everyone except S1a is out on beat 3.

Prep for Apr 17 Rehearsal

We did some excellent detail work last Sunday and it was SO GREAT to do a full run!

Rehearsal Plan (5:45-9:00 PM)
Bring your show shoes!

5:45 Arrive and get costumes on

6:00 Warm ups

6:20 Blocking:

• Transitions
• Stage 3 Blocking

7:10 Music:

• I Believe in the Sun
• Snow
• Kyrie

7:50 Break

8:00 Mental Prep for Run

8:10 Run

8:55 Debrief

Snack: Alto 1s

Tickets: Please remember that the last possible date for returning money for sold tickets or unsold tickets is Sunday, April 23 with no exceptions.

Upcoming: MAY 15 - Open Stage Event - beginning 7:30 PM
Thanks to the efforts of Morgan, the May incarnation of Open Stage will be for the benefit of Xara! This event is held at either The Bus Stop Theatre or The Carleton and is an opportunity for performers of all genres to try out something they've been working on for an audience! It could be a song, a monologue, an excerpt from a show, a dance, or anything else. The cover fee is $10 and all the proceeds will go to us! The bar will be open and it should be a really fun evening. Please put it on your calendars - more details are to come once our show is over!

Prep for April 9 Rehearsal

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for such a productive rehearsal on Sunday! We really integrated a lot of details!!

Rehearsal Plan:
PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 1 PM to get your costume on in time for our regular rehearsal start time of 1:15 pm.

This week we will spend the first half of the rehearsal working on things that arose last week as needing attention. After the break, we will do a full run, which should leave us about 45 minutes for fixes on whichever things need the most attention following the run. This is our likely rehearsal rhythm for our remaining 3 sessions before show week.

ALL PERSONNEL MUST BRING THE SHOES YOU WILL WEAR FOR THE SHOW.

Snack: S2s

Tickets
You will be receiving physical tickets this week. A reminder that if people buy from you, not only do they get the Early Bird rate, but they also don't have to pay the service fees associated with online sales. This means tickets sold by you are $15 for students/under-waged and $20 for adults. Tickets are due on Sunday, April 23 with no exceptions. After April 23, only online or door sales will remain an option and the Early Bird pricing also ends that day (tickets go back to their regular price of $20/$25 + service fees).

Posters
There will still be some posters to distribute this Sunday and a sign up sheet will be circulated so you can indicate where you will put one (or more!) up. Thank you for your help with this!!

Media
We have secured coverage for our show with The Coast, the Local XPress, CBC Radio (Mainstreet), and CTV. We are still working on other options but we will likely need to call on some of you for photo/filming sessions. As soon as we have more details about times/dates/locations we will put the call out via facebook! As well, I'll be putting the media release/announcement up in the docs/files section of our facebook group so you can forward it to anyone you can think of. Don't under-estimate the power of a personal invitation! A quick email can easily result in some ticket sales!! The personal touch goes a long way. :)

Rehearsal Notes - April 2

Link to Running Blocking Notes

Groups for Bandage Action
1. Nikki, Brianna, Talisa, Natasha
2. Georgia, Katelyn, Gabrielle, Raquel
3. Rylee, Colleen, Mackenzie, Hayley
4. Jordyn, Morgan, Rhian, Julia
5. Emma, Antoinette, Leah, Kallie
6. Sophie, Rowan, Caitlin, Shila

Stage I Notes (no video - sorry!)
- Remember to walk lightly, especially when people are saying lines.
- Nurses Group A, All Midwives, Nurses Group B - Christina is cuing all of these lines, please wait for her
- On Leah's line "The pregnant women come clutching their bellies" - Survivors move to the back, everyone else moves behind the windows.
- Remember that only Georgia says the words "Come quick, it's time" which is the cue for Psalm 69
- The tempo for Psalm 69 is much faster than you think it is, make sure to watch Christina!
- Last two bars of Psalm 69 - top soprano line will be only Caitlin and Kallie

Stage IIA Notes - Video
- Soundscape 2 - Remember that when all the sopranos do the train whistle, that is when you break off from your groups and go to your VBV places
- V'la l'Bon Vent
       -There needs to be a little more space between the front and back row and you need to remember to walk on a grid when you go from your opening position to your positions by voice part. Be aware that the quartet needs to get to stage right really quickly.
       -Remember that as soon as the "chingchicka" begins, that is the cue to move. All voice parts (other than altos) need to be very quiet on these parts
- Move purposefully to your portrait position and then hold in place

Stage IIB Notes - Video (starts partway through Pacem)
- Pacem
       - Review letter C - the walking forward & the "Winter Sky" movement
       - Review and highlight all dynamics
- Christina will cue all lines that have more than one person speaking
- Remember to freeze on Georgia's line "Come quick, it's time!" and remain frozen until the Non-survivor line
- End of Stage IIB - Leah, Morgan and Brianna need to freeze facing front for the cue for "Push push push". There will be 6 "pushes" - gradually getting quieter before Soundscape 4 begins (Jordyn and Morgan will only say 4 pushes and then separate from each other)
- Pivot to face downstage right corner when the gliss up starts in Soundscape 4

Stage III Notes - Video (starts after Cronan)

- Cronan will now begin on an E-flat rather than a D
- Snow - there is a change in the phrasing at letter B (lift after "deepens", no breath after "soft" - put the "t" on the rest but do not breathe) We will go over this again next week.