Don't feed the animals feed back
Production
A bottle of alcohol ideally plastic rather than a bottle of water, a prop bottle that has a big label saying 'wine' or 'vodka' on it, so it is more clown/circus like. We can make one out of a normal bottle then covered in white paper and a logo painted onto it.
Once Zack and Missy were in their normal clothes they got a little lost amongst the crowd. Perhaps their costumes should stand out more from the school group. Brighter maybe they could where old hoodies with the sparks logo on it.
Make it clearer that they are outside in the first scene and that it is a private area so the young people should not be there. The way we could make this clearer is having a sign or a backdrop, maybe could be a projected background of a festival fence.
Costume changes could be sped up by either underdressing or adding Velcro or poppers to the costumes.
The main one problem is the Gangs quick costume change on stage between act 2 and act 3. It also looked messy with the shirts and ties on the stage, they can put them behind the staging also this means they won't take time on the next transition.
We need to place the piano on the stage so the actor can be seen. There are a couple of place where we can put it, next to the drum kit so it looks like a band or opposite end of the stage in the corner.
Lower the volume and think about putting a sound effect over the tracks so the music sounds muffled or far away. We can do this by recording the music with a backing track to muffle the music.
Performance
It is important that all lines are heard. The chorus reactions and interjections were brilliant but make sure it is controlled and plotted so none of the of the narrative is lost. I agree with this I think we should have more miming and we need to make sure everyone knows when someone else is speaking so they can be heard.
The company should be in agreement where the circus tent is. As a group we need to decide where all entrances and exits are, so they are clear to the audience. Maybe we could have signs saying 'to the big top' and 'performers only'.
As soon as Zack and Missy are making to leave, the youths should be entering the space. In the performance this didn't happen because there was music playing and it didn't stop in time but now are going to make sure when they leave we the gang will start to look round the curtain and then begin there dialog.
Costume changes need to be choreographed and rehearsed like actual scenes. We need to make sure we practise all costume changes before we do them in the final performance.
Make sure all actors know when and what they are bringing on so entrances and exits are quick and efficient and don't detract from action on stage. We all need to know what we are doing, organise props so everybody knows what's being done, and so nothing gets left on stage or something is forgotten.
The whole company would benefit from projecting more. In general the main character who are taking over the top of the gang needs to make sure they can be heard, groups can be quieter at curtain points and to stop shouting over the top of each other.
Get actors to think about strength and stillness. Whenever they are on stage they need to plant their feet and deliver their lines. We all need to listen to each other and not to move to much around the stage as it distracts the audience and important lines get missed.
Learn blocking or more specific movement/positions if they continue to wander around while speaking. I think the best thing we can do with the time we have is that people have set areas on stage in each group and then only move around in that space.
Practice rapping into the mic. It is very different technique to speaking naturally and needs to be practised so the audience don't loose what is being said in the rap. I think the main things that need to be done are that Tim the drummer needs to be quieter, people need to stand directly in front on the mic and don't leave until your sentence is finished: don't trail off.
Make sure all jumps, lifts, falls and acrobatics are practised at every rehearsal and before the performance, the particular things that could improve the look of the physical moments are more height in the jumps if they keep straight legs then there will be bigger jumps.
Dannielle makes an statement and to make it obvious to the audience that she is going to jump.
Act 3
The animal dance- at the beginning we need to have a bigger opening to start, maybe a sign, confetti or glitter to make it look like the start of a massive show. Missy needs to have a bigger entrance and say her line with more projecting and confidence, she is opening the 'best' circus show in the country and she needs to create a atmosphere for it.
I also think there needs to be big flashing lights and music at the very beginning of the circus show just like there would be at a proper circus.
