Blocking Notes from Full Run (Nov. 15)

In general, remember that there is no hiding when the audience is raised above you. If you end up in the wrong place, evaluate if it is essential that you move, and move with purpose.

Hey Ho

Set up the very first snap forward  (look around a little more just before that happens)

Family solo verse – Men, you started a bar too early

Mountain Nights

Xara, move to your three lines on the line “Pretty children they all were”

Your first movement will now begin on the Alto entry at the bottom of the first page.

Claire will review the video and provide feedback re: timing of certain moments of blocking

I See You

Xara exit during the piano ending, split centre and leave before the piece ends.

After Blow Blow

Large pause for the bear team to exit before Jennette begins narration

Tabula Rasa

Cue to enter is “You must have been so lonely”

Boadicea

Make sure you move to Forest B when Xara starts to sing again

In general, try to keep facing forward during the transitions between forests. Claire will review and make a decision if a change needs to be made.

Wind Soundscape

Review :

-       opening cues

-       south wind

-       aFRAID

-       traveling soundscape with decrescendo & west wind section

Ariana’s Lament

-       big pause (with Jenny filling with music) for wings to be set down and Xara to re-enter

-       narration starts at the same time as Ariana’s Lament

Scene 5 – The Queen’s Castle

When you are in the cross formation, the cue to drop arms for EVERYONE is now “As she approached the door, it blew open”

After “The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun”

There will be a transition scene with the little family – the XYE sisters, and the brothers. This is to leave time for Xara to do their costume change. 

Jul Jul

Enter when XYE sings “darkness and shadow”

Notes from October 18th

Hey Ho! Nobody Home - Video (no blocking)

Road Map reminders:

-       Sing straight through to the first ending of letter D (verse 2)

-       Repeat Letter C

-       Sing verse 3 at Letter D

-       Repeat Letter C, jump to the Coda (the words are “made us all” with “all” only lasting only an eighth note). Solo 1 begins with the word “Now”.

-       Continue to Letter E and sing through to the end of the piece

Blocking - VIDEO

General notes:

-       when you are walking around, be sure to use all of the space, and be purposeful in your walking

-       think about who your character might be in the village (you’ve been suffering through storms, there is the ritual of lighting the fire etc.) and make that clear in the way that you move around. It’s fine as well for there to be small groups of two or three who always travel around together.

M. 1 – Letter B – Standing at the back of the stage,  mixed (men mostly together, near the centre) on platforms and on the floor.

Letter B – Lights come up, you stay where you are

M. 31 (and into Letter C) – Move forward and fill out the space

Letter C

“Soal a soal a soal cake” – look at each other

“Please good missus a soal cake” – STOP, snap to look at the audience

“an apple…” look at each other again, walk around : Alan move to downstage right and Jess to downstage, everyone else mill about until you get to the side & back of the stage by letter D.

Letter C (second time)

More walking about. End up on the other side of the stage

“Please good missus a soal cake” STOP, snap to look at the audience

Continue to mill – then be at the sides of the stage at Letter D – Sara, Katelyn, two XYE girls, Dorian, Neil and Omercan at the centre as a family unit.

Letter C (third time)

Walking!

“Please good missus a soal cake” STOP, snap to look at the audience

By the end of C, men will be clustered in the centre near the back, two descant groups in the front on either side of the fire (Solo1 downstage left, Solo2 downstage right), Sops fill the space on stage right, Altos fill the space on stage left. Don’t isolate the descant singers, but they are at the very front. YOU MUST BE HERE ON TIME :-) 

Letter E to the end – Stand and sing

Boadicea - VIDEO

Singers embody the forest. Make sure you move very smoothly from one formation to the other.

First page of music – XCTE drift onstage until you are just on the periphery (Sops Stage right, Altos stage left – leave space near the front of the stage for the men on either side)

M. 10 – Men enter (Tenors DownSR, Basses DownSL)

Letter A – (FOREST A) Spread out to sectional mixed scattered formation, but men stay near to each other and near the front.

M. 29 – 31 Move to FOREST B

Letter B – (FOREST B) Diagonal formation from USR to DSL. Men will be in the centre of the formation. Sopranos upstage, Altos downstage. Ariana will walk through this formation. See photos for standing order. 

M. 42 Move to FOREST C

Letter C – (FOREST C) Two lines (groups of 2 or 3) with a channel down the centre – Tenors & Sops SR (Tenors in front), Basses and Altos SL (Basses in front).

M. 54 Move to FOREST D

Letter D – (FOREST D) Three very close semicircles around Ariana who will be front and centre. See photos for standing order, the lines will meet in the centre.

M. 69 Move to FOREST E

Letter E – (FOREST E) Fade very slowly backward (Sops to USR corner, Altos to USL corner maintaining your positions; Tenors and Basses also drift back, staying toward the front of the group)

M. 89 – End – Sopranos and Altos slowly leave the stage, walking backward. After the final chord, Tenors and Basses fade back as well.

The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun

Pay attention to the unintuitive rhythms (e.g. page 4 “so deep”; page 5 “Paradise with me, awake…”

M. 52 – All Sops and Middles sing the top line

Hanget Soi

Use the tools that have been provided for diction and pronunciation :-) 


Videos : 
I See You
Don't Be Afraid

Notes from Oct 4 - Blocking

Again, many apologies about the lack of video / photos. Silly computer crash!! 

Tundra

Hallway #3 – At letter E

Hallway #4 – Midway through letter E (watch Christina for cue)

I See You

M. 1 – 10 Move from (off / side) stage to your mixed sitting location. You will sit there until measure 98, so make sure you are comfortable!

M. 9 – 24 – Passage of time, Ariana & Lucy’s friendship is just beginning. Slightly nervous, tentative feeling.

M. 25 – 40 – The friendship starts to build, curiosity and interest.

M. 41 – 48 – Altos are playing the voice of Lucy

M. 49 – 56 – Sopranos are playing the voice of Ariana

M. 56 – 98 – Increased happiness, playfulness, joy

M. 99 –107 – One by one, stand up and fill the space in mixed scattered formation. You can turn around to walk, no need to walk backwards.

Order of standing:

Alto 1b

Alto 1a

Sop 2b

Sop 2a

Sop 1b

Sop 1a

Alto 2s

Remain standing in these positions until the end of the piece.

Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind (Ariana’s lonely song)

Opening formation – open curtains  – Jordyn, Meghan & Leah P. will all be on stage left.

M. 8 – 16

“Blow blow thou winter wind” Lean forward into the wind, arms pull back

“Thou are not… because thou art not seen.” Stand and sing

“Although thy breath be rude” Lean back with the wind

M. 17 - 18 Cross to the other side of the stage, end mixed scattered.

M 20 -  Reach right hand, left hand, sweep hands across to the right, then left and allow that movement to carry you back to your original side, end in MIXED SCATTERED.

Notes from September 13th

HOMEWORK

• ·      Memorize Mountain Nights and I See You
• ·      Review Ariana’s Lament so that you don’t lose the work we did this week
• ·      If you want to audition for the solo in Ariana’s Lament, please prepare the last system of page 1 and the descending triplets at the top of page 5 (up to speed)

Music Notes

I SEE YOU

Measures 75 – 82 All parts, change “doo” to “doh” (back to “doo” at measure 83)

TABULA RASA

Page 4 – Solo lines will be sung as follows:

Soprano solo : Sop1A (Sop 1B stay on the Sop 1 line)

Alto solo : Alto 2A (Alto 2B say on Alto 2 line)

Movement Notes

Mountain Nights – see video (there will be some changes in exactly where people are standing)

Page 1

Stand and sing (three line U formation) – Ariana enters on the moving Alto line

Page 2

4^th measure (moving Alto line) form the triangle clump with Ariana at the apex. In place by the end of the moving Alto line

Page 3

First 2 measures : step forward on right foot and lean forward

Next 2 measures (Sop 1 entry) : look to the right (still leaning)

Next 2 measures (Sop 1 entry) : stand back up (still looking right)

Second system, second measure (when Sopranos start their pattern that moves up to a G) : begin walking behind Ariana, staying close together

Page 4

3^rd measure : left shoulder back, right foot step back (in time with the Alto moving eighths)

Last measure, top system : Fade quickly back to initial formation (in place before the fermata)