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Bibliography

Reference List; 

- Beat by Beat Press, 2016. Putting on a Play: How to Plan for a Successful Production. Available at: <http://www.bbbpress.com/2016/02/putting-on-a-show-10-steps-to-lay-groundwork-for-a-successful-production/> [Accessed 3 April 2020].

- Boardwell, T., 2018. Why-Is-Patting-Your-Head-And-Rubbing-Your-Stomach-At-The-Same-Time-Difficult. [online] Quora. Available at: <https://www.quora.com/Why-is-patting-your-head-and-rubbing-your-stomach-at-the-same-time-difficult> [Accessed 19 April 2020].

- Buchanan, D. (2018). 'Heathers' might be 30 years old, but it’s the musical we need right now. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/heathers-musical-film-30-winona-ryder-carrie-hope-fletcher-the-other-palace-a8376286.html [Accessed 20 Feb. 2020].

- Careerexplorer.com. 2020. What Does A Talent Agent Do? ‐ Careerexplorer. [online] Available at: <https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/talent-agent/> [Accessed 4 April 2020].

- Dance Informa Magazine. 2020. Should Dancers Do Weight Training? - Dance Informa Magazine. [online] Available at: <https://www.danceinforma.com/2015/06/04/should-dancers-do-weight-training/> [Accessed 17 April 2020].

- Dance Informa Magazine. 2020. 10 Ways To Book A Cruise Ship Gig - Dance Audition Advice. [online] Available at: <https://www.danceinforma.com/2015/04/02/10-ways-to-book-a-cruise-ship-gig/> [Accessed 4 April 2020].

- Filestore.aqa.org.uk. 2020. GCSE Drama Preparing To Teach. [online] Available at: <https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/drama/AQA-8261-RSG.PDF> [Accessed 1 April 2020].

- Hescott, T. (2015). Explained: what does a producer actually do? | Features | The Stage. [online] The Stage. Available at: https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/2015/want-next-cameron-mackintosh/ [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqjSrhzMrwY

-  Merced County Times. 2019. ‘Heathers: The Musical’ Brings Home Dark Humor — Merced County Times. [online] Available at: <https://mercedcountytimes.com/heathers-the-musical-brings-home-dark-humor/> [Accessed 20 April 2020].

- Moon, Z. (2015). 10 Musical Theatre Jobs Essential For A Production. [online] Student Resources. Available at: https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/10-musical-theatre-jobs-essential-for-a-production/ [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].

- O' Keefe, L. and Murphy, K., 2020. Heathers Writers Laurence O’Keefe And Kevin Murphy Break Down The Musical’S Full Album Track By Track | Playbill. [online] Playbill. Available at: https://www.playbill.com/article/heathers-writers-laurence-okeefe-and-kevin-murphy-break-down-the-musicals-full-album-track-by-track

- Origintheatrical.com.au. (2013). Origin Theatrical | Heathers: The Musical. [online] Available at: https://www.origintheatrical.com.au/work/8551[Accessed 25 Jan. 2020].

- Prospects.ac.uk. (2020). Theatre stage manager job profile | Prospects.ac.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/theatre-stage-manager [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].

 -  Schmidt, K., 2019. How To Find And Develop Your Head Voice. [online] LiveAbout. Available at: <https://www.liveabout.com/find-and-develop-your-head-voice-2994198> [Accessed 18 April 2020].

- Self Awareness. (2020). Self Awareness. [online] Available at: https://www.selfawareness.org.uk/news/understanding-the-johari-window-model[Accessed 29 Jan. 2020].

- Selig, M., 2017. How Do Work Breaks Help Your Brain? 5 Surprising Answers. [online] Psychology Today. Available at:<https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/changepower/201704/how-do-work-breaks-help-your-brain-5-surprising-answers> [Accessed 19 April 2020].

- Sooney, P. (2017). What Happened in 1989? - Like Totally 80s. [online] Like Totally 80s. Available at: http://www.liketotally80s.com/2007/08/80s-capsules-1989/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2020]. 

- Theatre.uoregon.edu. (2020). Sound Designer | Department of Theatre Arts. [online] Available at: https://theatre.uoregon.edu/production/sound-designer/ [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].

- Wokingham-theatre.org.uk. 2020. Wokingham Theatre. [online] Available at: <http://www.wokingham-theatre.org.uk/WokinghamTheatreHealthandSafety.htm#GeneralPolicy> [Accessed 31 March 2020].

-  YouTube. 2016. Candy Store - Heathers The Musical. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqjSrhzMrwY> [Accessed 21 April 2020].

-  Zelmen, K., 2020. 6 Reasons To Drink Water. [online] WebMD. Available at: <https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/6-reasons-to-drink-water#1> [Accessed 21 April 2020].

 Figure List;

Figure 1 - 80’s fashion - Blue17 vintage clothing. (2020). 80s fashion – An explosion of colour and print - Vintage Blog Blue17. [online] Available at: https://www.blue17.co.uk/vintage-blog/80s-fashion/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2020].

Figure 2 - Heathers and Veronica onstage - Time Out London. (2020). ‘Heathers – The Musical’ review | Theatre in London. [online] Available at: https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/heathers-the-musical-review [Accessed 20 Feb. 2020].

Figure 3 - Theatre stage and production roles - Cheema, M. (2020). Theatre Production Roles. [online] Mandeep-blog93.blogspot.com. Available at: http://mandeep-blog93.blogspot.com/2010/11/theatre-production-roles.html [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].

Figure 4 - Health and safety - The Service Guy. 2020. Health & Safety For Theatres & Performers — The Service Guy. [online] Available at: <http://www.serviceguy.co.uk/health-safety-theatres-performers/> [Accessed 31 March 2020].

Figure 5 - How to audition - The Stage. 2020. Auditions Code Of Conduct Sets Out Ramped Up Vision For Improving Performers’ Conditions. [online] Available at: <https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2019/auditions-code-of-conduct-sets-out-ramped-up-vision-for-improving-performers-conditions/> [Accessed 4 April 2020].

Figure 6 - Big Fun - Google.com. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.google.com/search?q=big+fun+heathers&rlz=1C1CHZL_enGB742GB742&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwil6puU3fToAhXLfMAKHb7-CBAQ_AUoAnoECBEQBA&biw=1360&bih=657#imgrc=usj5fzsOZjkfgM> [Accessed 19 April 2020].

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Overall Experience

Due to the worldwide ‘Covid -19′ outbreak, we unfortunately had to put the show on hold and stop rehearsing after finishing ‘Blue’ to go into isolation. Hope remains that we will be able to finish and perform ‘Heathers’ at a later date. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this show and I feel I have grown as a performer. This process has been the challenge I needed to develop my skills and refine my work ethic. In order to perform at the level required, I have had to adapt my lifestyle and living routines. Firstly, I improved my diet, adding more vegetables, protein and good carbs and fats, and reducing the amount of sugars, unhealthy carbs and fats, and some dairy that I was consuming. I also changed my portion sizes and adapted the frequency of which I was eating, settling on about 4/5 small meals a day. I found this gave me the energy I needed throughout the day to rehearse and perform to a high level, keeping me sustained for longer periods of time. As a result of this I also began drinking more water which counteracted the amount I was losing during rehearsals. Zelmen, K., (2020) states the importance of water intake, ‘Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day. When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.’ These small changes in my diet stopped me feeling lethargic and bloated and my stamina improved, which was a goal of mine. My sleeping pattern got much better and it became a lot more regular as I found myself falling asleep earlier in the night and waking up naturally earlier in the mornings, giving me further independent rehearsal time before ‘Heathers’ cast rehearsals actually started. The workouts and warm ups, such as meta-fit and yoga, given to us as students of LMA have been great for the improvement of my fitness levels, strength, and overall health and well being. These lifestyle changes have benefited me massively and have helped enhance my physical performance within the show. This is something that I shall and need to carry on with in the Professional Industry. Looking after our bodies and keeping them fit and healthy is one of the most important aspects of being and getting work as a performer.

Before beginning ‘Heathers’ I already knew of the show and had seen it once before. I really enjoyed it and I was already drawn to the character of ‘Heather Chandler’ Before the auditions I decided to do further research into ‘Heathers’ and this specific character. I watched the original 80′s film written by ‘Daniel Waters’, of which the musical is based. I did enjoy this film, however I feel like the musical version, written by ‘Kevin Murphy’ and ‘Laurence O’ Keefe’, really enhances the story, making it much more entertaining. I also thought ‘Kim Walker’s’ performance of ‘Heather Chandler’ in the film version is too understated and I enjoy the slightly more animated performance of this character in the musical. My favourite online musical version of ‘Heathers’ is the one posted below. 

This is also my favourite ‘Heather Chandler’ performance as I feel like this performer really shows the unforgiving-ness and naturally cruel nature of this character. She isn’t washed down or rose tinted whatsoever, yet still maintains that young, teenage naivety in thinking that her looks and high school power will take her far in life post graduation, which is very unlikely. Doing my character research really helped me develop my own version of this iconic character, as I took aspects from the versions I liked, such as the one above, and disregarded the aspects I didn’t enjoy. It helped me create a character true to myself but also true to the script and the way the character is written. I think having a small aspect of yourself in each character you play, such as your choices with line delivery or movement gives your character individuality to those performed before you. I do think as a performer I suit this character and I have the right look for ‘Heather Chandler’, and would definitely audition for her again in future opportunities. 

Throughout the duration of this process, as a cast we have considered our audience and thought about them when making certain decisions within the show’s rehearsal period. Our target audience is everyone within the age range from teenager to late 50’s. The show’s material is targeted at this age group and therefore when making line delivery and choreography decisions, we considered what this age group would find understandable, relatable and humorous. It is very important to consider your target audience when putting on a show as you must make it appeal to them in order for your show to attract an audience, sell tickets, and have that audience leave satisfied.  

Throughout this process I feel like our cast worked very well together as a team and this then also enhanced our onstage performance and chemistry. As a member of this cast I am willing to help others if and when they need it, and I am always open to the ideas and opinions of others. I have been punctual for every rehearsal and have only missed one due to illness, in which I caught up on what we were doing independently and with the help of my cast mates. Our feedback as a cast has always been to work on our ability to retain vocals and blocking. This is something I think we have really developed on and improved as a group during this rehearsal period and I feel everyone’s commitment increased hugely. We have also found a rehearsal technique that works for us as a cast, that being practicing harmonies separately in our harmony groups before coming back together to go through them.

I very much enjoy the soundtrack of this show, more than many musicals, which made learning the vocals highly enjoyable, even with the challenges it brought. ‘Seventeen (reprise)’ is one of my favourite Musical songs to date and I think it creates one of the best conclusions to a show I’ve ever seen. I feel like vocally, I need to continue working on developing my head voice and twang, to produce a stronger sound. I do feel however, that throughout this process my confidence with harmonies has increased greatly. Having to work so close with others, such as the other Heathers, really developed my harmonies and harmony retaining techniques. 

Movement wise I know I need to continue building muscle and a stronger core, to help me maintain lifted and incorporate strength and control within choreography. I shall also continue to work on and improve containing my movement. To do this I shall keep working out, incorporating; HIT, Yoga, Pilates, and Dance Classes into my exercise regime, whilst practicing pelvis tucking exercises alongside.  

Personally I feel like my acting skills were already very good and I consider this to be my strongest discipline within Musical Theatre. I have good comedic timing and enjoy performing to an audience. As I personally feel my singing is my weakest attribute, I really try to use my acting to enhance this, and I feel this is what won over the audition panel. I’m never afraid to try things as an actress and will push myself to and beyond my limits in order to portray a character correctly, which I think makes me very employable. 

I believe I will make it as a practitioner within this industry. I have incredible drive and complete dedication when it comes to performing. It is my passion and the only career I want to pursue which I will do by; maintaining a healthy lifestyle, diet and fitness regime. Continue attending dance, singing and acting classes after my degree, and seek agents, auditions and work. I do feel ready to enter this cut throat industry at a professional level, but I know that you can always improve and keep working yourself and your craft, which is the reason I shall still attend classes. I feel I fit into the industry as a musical theatre ensemble member, screen actress and commercial dancer/model, and I think I have the personality and look to do so.

Overall, I have really enjoyed the experience of working on such an iconic show with an incredible director and cast. It has helped me grow and develop further as a performer, increasing my drive to enter this industry and gain representation and work as a professional.

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Blue

‘Blue’ is a song from Heathers that is currently being replaced with an alternative song, ‘You’re Welcome’. The writers, ‘Laurence O’ Keefe’ and ‘Kevin Murphy’, chose to replace ‘Blue’ as they explain, ‘Although it was fun to write and it’s fun to perform, “Blue” has always been polarizing. Some thought “Blue" was wonderful and all in good fun. Others were offended, feeling we were treating date rape as a laughing matter.’ - O' Keefe, L. and Murphy, K. (2020).  Personally, I prefer ‘Blue’ to the new alternative song as I feel it suits the humour of the show and is more authentic to the show’s roots. However, with today’s society being much more sensitive to human issues and emotions, I can understand why the writers felt the need to make the change. 

Our show director has decided that we will be performing the original ‘Heathers The Musical’ script/soundtrack including ‘Blue’. As I am playing ‘Heather Chandler’ I am not onstage during this number but I will be singing offstage. During the vocal learning of this song, we realised our backing track was higher than the music written in the score. This is because in the past years LMA have performed ‘Heathers’, females have played the male roles of ‘Kurt’ and ‘Ram’, therefore the music has been higher-ed in order for them to sing it. For this reason we needed to transpose the music in order to fit with our backing track. 

I found the first rehearsal of ‘Blue’ quite difficult because I found the harmonies hard to pick up, as again, there are a lot of repeated words with different harmonies. I found this number was easier to learn independently, by listening to the recording of my harmony line and singing it back. The evening after the first rehearsal on ‘Blue’, I spent a lot of time doing this and found it started to sink into my muscle memory easier by practicing alone. When going into our next rehearsal I then knew my harmony line confidently and began actually enjoying the song. 

Our Choreographer decided to set ‘Blue’ using the character’s in the song and the ensemble. I feel like this was a good decision as it fills the stage up and makes the number much more animated, adding another comedy element through the choreography of the ensemble. When watching this number being performed I thought it was very funny and really enhanced by the ensemble. The movements on certain lyrics such as, ‘Like Princess Leia’ and ‘My balls are in your court’ boosted the comedy factor, and as an audience member it is an extremely fun number to watch, possibly even a ‘guilty pleasure’ for some. 

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The Me Inside Of Me

After the song ‘Dead Girl Walking’, performed by ‘Veronica’, we are led into a scene that then goes into ‘The Me Inside Of Me’. In this scene my character, ‘Heather Chandler’ is unintentionally murdered by Veronica. This is my favourite scene from ‘Heathers’ so I was very excited to set it. 

We set the scene Downstage Centre, giving the audience a clear view of each character. I feel like my character hits the peak of her meanness during this scene and it almost feels like Karma is the reason for her death. She is so cruel and belittling towards Veronica in her last moments that as an audience member, you feel little sadness or empathy for her death. I very much enjoy the way my character is utterly vicious but feels no guilt or remorse whatsoever, I found this a fun aspect to play on as it is completely opposite to myself as a person. Antonia Livingstone, playing the part of ‘Veronica’, was an excellent scene partner to work with. I think we have really good onstage chemistry as rivals, making scene setting a much easier and fluid process. 

Before beginning the vocals for ‘Me Inside Of Me’ I was slightly nervous as I had only previously seen and heard my character sing this song in an operatic head voice, this being something I struggle with. I attempted to sing in this style at first but found I couldn’t produce a good amount of volume and it sounded quite weak. Our Musical Director gave me a scales exercise to perform as a small experiment to see if I could hit the notes of the song. We found that I actually could reach the notes, but in a chest voice rather than head. Therefore we decided that I would use my chest voice to sing in and to do this I was to place a ‘h’ in front of the ‘I’ in the line ‘I am more than shoulder pads and make up’. This made it a lot easier for me to reach these notes without having to go into my head voice. 

An area I found problematic was where ‘Dead Heather Chandler’ and ‘Miss Flemming’ sing together on the lyric section beginning with ‘Box up my clothing for goodwill’. Every time I would go into this section I would begin flat. A fellow cast member ‘Ellyse Riddings’, suggested I came in using a more character/ american accent, which lightened up the sound and took the flatness I was producing away. Having an onlooker’s input really helps as sometimes we can’t see ourselves what we are doing wrong, but others outside of the situation can. 

As a performer, when blocking is given, I write mine down in my script in a way that is understandable for me. This is a technique I have always used to remember my personal stage blocking/choreography, and gives me something to refer back to in rehearsals. Below is a copy of two pages from my script of ‘Me Inside Of Me’. 

I enjoy the humor of this song and I feel like our choreography really helps portray this. It almost takes the seriousness of the situation that has just occurred (Heather Chandler dying) away. One example of how we show humour within our choreography is where my character sings for the first time within this song. The song begins with ‘Heather Chandler’ lying dead on the floor then out of nowhere I sit up and start to sing as if I am an angelic, innocent angel. After my verse I am positioned on my knees, take a long dramatic breath and fall back onto the floor as if I have just died again. As an audience member I would find this very amusing to watch and I feel it relays the type of dark humour that ‘Heathers’ is all about. This type of humour may be what has kept this show so popular throughout the years, as Merced County Times. (2019) states, ‘ The dark humor and frighteningly familiar themes of the 1988 film continue to resonate with audiences more than thirty years later.’ 

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Below is a rehearsal clip of our cast rehearsing a section of the number ‘Big Fun’.

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Big Fun

‘Big Fun’ is one of the biggest numbers in the show and has been one of my favorites to work on. Our director put every cast member in this number and the atmosphere created is exciting and wild. During this part of the show, Veronica is friends with the Heathers and they all attend Ram and Kurt’s Homecoming party. With no parents at home to chaperone, the teenagers really let loose and mayhem is caused.

When watching videos of this number online, I really liked how even though the stage is full of cast, as an audience member you really notice every individual and their own story, intention and purpose. It feels like it’s everyone’s song and individual story to tell. 

Figure 6 - Big Fun 

We again began with learning the vocals first. I found picking up the harmonies for this song to be more enjoyable and less challenging than the previous, as a lot of the harmonies are repeated just with different lyrics in each verse. I did, however, slightly struggle when it came to the Heathers solo. There are two sections of ‘DANG! DANG! DIGGETY-DANG-A-DANG! DANG! DANG! DIGGETY-DANG-A-DANG!’. These lyrics are sung by all three Heathers but each with a different harmony which makes it one of the most iconic harmonies in the show. Our Musical Director made the decision to give Nicole the tune, Alexandra the higher, and myself the lower harmony. It was an easy harmony to learn but hard to retain when singing altogether in a very close proximity. I did find however, that the first round of ‘DANG! DANG! DIGGETY-DANG-A-DANG! DANG! DANG! DIGGETY-DANG-A-DANG!’ was less challenging for me to remember than the second round of this. After going over the first round just a few times, the three of us had got it memorised and could perform it correctly, but the second round that comes into the song a little later on has a key change which I found difficult to stay in. My voice naturally wanted to slip back into the original key. I had recorded our MD singing my harmony correctly, giving me something to reference to when practicing independently and with the other Heathers. I would listen to the recording then sing it back. I repeated this multiple times on my own, before coming together with Nicole and Alexandra to sing altogether. I found that sometimes we would hit it spot on and other times one of us would sing a slightly wrong note, throwing all of us off the correct harmony. To overcome this we spent a lot of time practicing together when we were not needed in a scene being rehearsed. I also feel that once choreography was added, my harmony was easier to remember as I then related it to a certain movement. 

I really enjoyed setting the choreography for ‘Big Fun’ as the number is very upbeat and completely about character. I was given the advice to hold back in my movement and almost mark the choreography as my character would be so over high school parties and the people around her. This is something that comes very unnatural to me as I like to perform choreography full out with energy, giving my complete effort. I really had to hone in on the thoughts and feelings of my character in this moment to help relay this through my movement. Once I let go of myself and completely stepped into ‘Heather Chandler’, I found this much simpler to do. It wasn’t about giving less effort or energy, but being in total control of where the energy goes. I needed to use my face a lot to express emotions of boredom and disgust and perform the choreography as if my character had done it a million times before leaving her disinterested. An example of this would be when everyone jumps right then left, I stepped right then left instead of jumping. I could still execute my movements sharply, but I was much more contained and subtle than those around me. I feel this really works and makes my character stand out even more within this number. 

Within the Heathers solo of ‘Big Fun’ where we sing the second round of  ‘DANG! DANG! DIGGETY-DANG-A-DANG! DANG! DANG! DIGGETY-DANG-A-DANG!’ the set choreography is a sequence of right hand movements changing from left to right in a set pattern, whilst also lifting then rolling the left hip. Alexandra and myself had to rehearse this small section numerous times as it was extremely difficult to execute both movements correctly simultaneously. It relied a lot on the use of the brain and overcoming ‘mind over matter’, very similar to the popular challenge of ‘patting your head whilst rubbing your tummy’ where Boardwell, T. (2018) suggests, ‘Until this skill has been practiced and committed to muscle memory, it takes conscious effort to do the two conflicting actions.’ To get this section of the choreography into our muscle memory, Alexandra and I repeated this section without the music in front of the mirrors. We began slowing it right down in order to get it correct at first. We slowly quickened the pace and repeated this until we were doing it correctly at normal speed. It was then embedded within my muscle memory and I was able to perform it much easier and with less brain power. 

‘Big Fun’ was a number that once we finished, we had to go over a lot in order to clean and keep it slick. Numbers that involve more people usually require more attention as there is a higher chance of more people going wrong or out of time. As a cast, we ran ‘Big Fun’ repeatedly during and outside of rehearsals. The amount of extra time we put into this number really enhanced it, and I feel it will be a show stopping section within our version of Heathers. 

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Fight For Me

Personally I found ‘Fight For Me’ to be one of the hardest vocals to learn and retain, which was very unexpected as its quite a short song. The lyrics ‘HOLY SHIT’ are repeated numerous times which makes it highly confusing and more of a challenge to remember the notes of each.

Once the harmonies were set and we had recorded them from our Musical Director, we split into our harmony groups to go over them separately. This is the technique we have been using during the vocal learning of each song. My harmony group (altos) in particular, found this song a struggle to get right. We went over and over it for the duration of 45 minutes and still found that we were having trouble staying in and retaining our harmony. We rejoined the other harmony groups to sing through the song altogether, but the altos were still off in areas. This was extremely frustrating as no matter how many times we went over it together we couldn't seem to get it spot on. For this reason we made the decision to leave the song where it was and come back to it with a fresh mind in the next rehearsal. This was the best solution for myself and the altos, as having a night to think about it individually meant we came back the following day refreshed and energised ready to try again. Selig, M. (2017) explains why  breaks can be beneficial for the brain, ‘Breaks restore motivation, especially for long-term goals. According to author Nir Eyal, “When we work, our prefrontal cortex makes every effort to help us execute our goals. But for a challenging task that requires our sustained attention, research shows briefly taking our minds off the goal can renew and strengthen motivation later on.”’ Taking this break actually helped and we had improved our vocals a lot. One section, the ending where ‘HOLY SHIT’ is sung 8 times still wasn’t completely right, but it had improved a considerable amount. As we didn’t want to be thrown off of our rehearsal schedule, we moved on to block this number and continued to clean the vocals outside of rehearsal time.  

Throughout working on Heathers I have unfortunately missed one rehearsal due to illness, and during this rehearsal ‘Fight For Me’ got blocked. Missing a rehearsal can set you back as a performer as you are then behind on sections of the show and must try and pick it up in your own time from either video footage taken during the rehearsal, or your fellow cast mates. This was something that hindered me in the learning of the ‘Fight For Me’ blocking. During the rehearsal I had missed, no video footage was taken and therefore I had to rely on the knowledge of others to know what I was meant to be doing. My cast helped me as much as they could to show me the choreography and where I should be onstage. I feel like this is a very important aspect of being a cast; working together as a team and looking out for/ helping others, not just yourself. As this song majorly focuses on a fight between ‘Kurt’, ‘Ram’ and ‘JD’, whilst Veronica watches in amazement, the choreography for the rest of the cast was very simple, meaning it wasn’t too difficult to catch up on. However, not everyone was completely clear on the timing of the movements, such as the small crab walks followed by a spin on the ‘Ahh’s’. After going over this in the following rehearsal and cleaning the timing with the help of our choreographer, we were able to achieve a finished number. 

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Candy Store

‘Candy Store’ was the song I auditioned for the role of ‘Heather Chandler’ with, therefore when learning the vocals as a cast, I already knew my parts. This was a massive advantage as this song is very choppy and the lines are split a lot between me and the other two Heathers so it can get quite confusing. Our director made the decision to put every female cast member in this number and have them sing the coral parts as well, to add power and volume. I think this was a good decision as it gave parts of the song a thicker and stronger sound, adding to the story line by being more intimidating for Veronica. 

After the first chorus the lines are then split between the three Heathers. This is something Nicole and Alexandra struggled with slightly, knowing which lines were theirs and which ones were not. As the ensemble were learning the coral sections of the song, myself, Nicole and Alexandra went away and worked on the part they were finding difficult. We sang through this section multiple times so each of us knew which lines we were singing and which lines we weren't. I feel that I didn’t struggle as much with picking this up as I already had a really good knowledge of the song, as I had previously learnt it for my character’s audition. Once we had perfected this section and got it off-book, we rejoined the rest of the cast and carried on learning the song. 

I usually find that I have to work very hard on harmonies and retaining them, however as ‘Candy Store’ is the Heather’s song, I was able to sing the tune throughout the majority. This was a blessing for myself as when it came to adding choreography, the Heather’s were given a lot of small movements to have to remember. However, I found my biggest challenge with the vocals for ‘Candy Store’ was ‘Heather Chandler’s’ riff towards the end. She goes off into a completely solo riff, that if it was just in a slightly lower key I’d have been able to hit it with no problem. I find that I have a naturally loud and strong voice when singing in my chest and I have no problem with projection. However I have a weak head voice and swallow the sound when singing like this. I have been trying to improve my head voice by doing certain vocal exercises such as; scales, sirens and yawn sighs. As Schmidt, K. (2019) explains, ‘Every warm-up that starts on the top and moves down develops your head voice.’ I also struggled with remembering every note within the riff so my director used graphic notation to help me visualize the notes. Below is a picture of the graphic notation used. 

I found this helped majorly with knowing what notes I was meant to be singing and the order of them, however I was still unable to get the notes out with a good amount of volume. I tried to use twang to aid me when pushing the sound out, but this is also something I find hard to achieve. For now this is something I will keep working on and practicing, but as we do have a time limit on the completion of our show, we decided to give the riff to someone else, whilst my character looks on in disgust. Our director wanted to give each member of the cast a fair shot at this so auditioned everyone wanting to do the riff. It was decided that the riff would be split between Caitlin Price and Paige Moon, as together they created a very nice tone. This is a decision I was satisfied with as the riff was something I was worried about and I think for the sake of our show this will enhance our overall performance and give others a stand out moment to shine. I will continue practicing this riff in hope that I will eventually get it and improve my singing quality in head voice.  

‘Candy Store’ comes straight in during a scene, giving you no time to stop and think as a performer, which I think is one of the hardest aspects of musical theatre and what makes it such an art form. As a cast, we have to be really engaged throughout and be completely on top of everything, knowing what we are doing before we do it. This is something I felt was very prevalent in ‘Candy Store’, especially as my character starts it. The choreography myself and the other Heathers was set is very intricate and detailed, which is their style of movement throughout the entire show. As Heathers, we found our biggest challenge was to perform as a unit, being in exact time with one another and execute the moves with the same style. To work on this we had to spend a lot of time together and become in sync with one another. As a threesome, we are very good at listening and allowing each person a time to speak. We practiced the choreography together during and outside of rehearsals in front of mirrors so we could see if we went out of time with one another. We improved our timing greatly by doing this and also our style of performance started to become very similar. Unity is something the Heather characters must have in order to create such an intimidating presence.  

I have come to realise that one of the most important traits of a performer playing a Heather is a good memory. We are given a lot of very small movements to perform in a short block of time. ‘Candy Store’ was where I really learnt to hone in on this and get used to having to remember a lot of movements. 

My feedback from the first few rehearsals of ‘Candy Store’ was to take more leadership as ‘Heather Chandler’ and not be afraid of it. I am naturally a very friendly and easy going person that doesn’t like to shut others down or speak above them, but in this role I needed to be more fierce and unforgiving. The more I practiced doing this the easier it became and it really enhanced the way I was playing my character. Myself and the other Heathers were also told to keep working on performing with subtlety and sharpness, and remaining lifted throughout. I found that if I thought about these elements before performing, I was able to achieve them and my performance was exceedingly better. Before each run through I now take time to remind myself of these points and get them into my body before we start. I very much enjoyed setting Candy Store and my confidence has grown with taking leadership of a song. 

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Below is a video of myself, Nicole Bowden and Alexandra Davison, who play ‘Heather Duke’ and ‘Heather McNamara’ practicing the end Heathers section in ‘Beautiful’ during our first rehearsal.

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Rehearsals - Beautiful

The opening number of Heathers is ‘Beautiful’. This is a very energetic and vibrant number. It involves all cast members and sets the scene of the story. Within this number each character is introduced by Veronica. This is the first impression the audience receives of the show, therefore it needs to be entertaining, intriguing and punchy, both physically and vocally.

As with the previous shows I have been a part of, the rehearsals start with learning the vocals. I found this song to be mentally challenging. The timing of the first ensemble vocals ‘Freak, Slut, Burn - out, Bug - eyes, Poser, Lard - ass’ have to be perfect and everybody must come in very strong and completely on time, it’s very noticeable if people get it wrong. When learning this beginning section, as a class we counted out loud to help us know where to come in. To help with the timing I have also been learning music theory. Having a copy of the score and actually knowing the note values and being able to understand what each musical citation means really worked to my advantage. I found it much simpler to follow the score and know what, how and where I was meant to be singing. For example, a crotchet is worth 1 note, so I know to hold for 1. A quaver is half a note and a semi quaver is a quarter of a note. Also if there is a double bar line this means there is a change in the music, so I am prepared to change the speed or style of which I’m singing. The words are also tricky and confusing, some being very similar. In order to get this right I tried to be off-book with the lyrics as soon as possible so I wasn’t relying on my score but more on my muscle memory, to prepare myself for when we physically set the number.

As we progressed further through the song my next challenge was harmonies. I found it very hard to stay in my harmony at times when every harmony group must sing strongly. An example of this is the very end of the song where we sing ‘Veronica’ five times. My harmony group (altos) found that we could sing the first 2 ‘Veronica’s’ in the correct key and the last 3 ‘Veronica’s’ in the correct change of key, but we could not piece both of them together. Personally I found the only technique for overcoming this that worked for me was practicing repeatedly in our individual harmony groups, separate to the others. We split off into our groups and went over the sections we were struggling with multiple times until everyone knew the correct harmony off by heart with confidence. We would then come back together as a cast and sing through the section altogether with every harmony. The difference this made was incredible and the error was usually fixed, and if not then at least majorly improved, needing just a night to sleep on it, giving the brain a rest bite before coming back together with a fresh mind and going over it again. I feel this technique worked for the majority of the cast and we continued doing this when learning each song from then on. 

After learning the vocals we moved on to staging ‘Beautiful’. Our director wanted the opening to be very animated with a lot of movement. This number needs to set the scene of a school that is so uninviting that no one would want to go to. This required the attack from the cast to be huge and every move they made must have a purpose and contribute to the storytelling of the show. Our director wanted the alignment of the cast’s body to be very open and facing the audience, enabling the audience to see everything that is going on throughout the number. As my character is ‘Heather Chandler’ I do enter until the second part of the song, therefore I was able to watch the creation of the beginning of ‘Beautiful’. Whilst doing this I really noticed the individuality of each ensemble member’s chosen character. With everyone completely committed to their own individual character, it really brought this number to life and I was able to imagine a school with bullies, goths, cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, drug takers and faculty.  

The Heathers entrance was actually entirely more technical than I imagined. The walks are much harder to execute correctly than expected. The pelvis must be tucked throughout and you must push each hip up and out to the side on each step. You must be completely contained and in control of your core at all times to maintain stability and balance, especially as we are wearing heels. This is something I personally struggle with and to combat this I practised these walks towards a mirror over and over whilst the ensemble went over their beginning choreography. An exercise I found that also helped me with this is something we had been practising in our dance classes, separate to show work. Below is a clip of my fellow classmate, Olivia Winspear, performing this exercise correctly.

This exercise focuses on the pelvis and core. You must keep the pelvis tucked entirely and suck in the pit of your core (for a female this is the feeling of holding in urine), before breathing into a release then snatching back again. This is then repeated across the room multiple times. Independently practicing this helped me gain a better understanding of how to stay in control of my core; it also started to make the tucking of my pelvis become muscle memory. This really helped throughout rehearsals for Heathers.

During the opening number the Heathers have a scene with Veronica and Miss Flemming in the school bathroom. This is where the Heathers meet Veronica for the first time. Fitting this scene to the music was quite challenging as each character within the scene must keep to the correct pace. If this isn’t achieved the timing is then thrown off for when my character brings the scene from dialogue back into song. At the beginning of rehearsals this was very much hit and miss. To perfect the timing, each of us within this scene practiced repeatedly performing it to the music. It was difficult at times due to the attendance of cast not always being 100%, as others would then have to stand in and speak someone’s lines, but this would not be the exact speed that the actual individual would perform their lines at. This highlights the importance of 100% attendance and commitment by everyone within a cast to progress the show quicker. Eventually with plenty of rehearsal we achieved the correct timing and stuck to this.  

Straight after this scene the Heathers have solo lines in the song. I begin, followed by a 3 part harmony with each Heather to end this section of ‘Beautiful’. Nicole Bowden, who plays ‘Heather Duke’ struggled retaining her harmony during this part, which would then throw me off singing the correct note and the 3 part harmony was wrong. To improve this, all three of us practised this harmony together and independently multiple times every day. I would sing the line before the harmony to help lead Nicole into it. After slightly adapting where I come off the harmony, being slightly sooner than musically written in the score, we eventually got it right and the harmony was correct and clear to hear.

Throughout ‘Beautiful’ the choreography set for the Heathers is very small movements with big effect. These contained, intense movements, when executed correctly look really impressive and in character. Containing my movement has been my biggest hindrance as a performer. I always give my full effort and perform with complete attack, that trying to perform with subtleness and intensity was very difficult for me and is still something I continue to work on. As characters, the Heathers are completely in control and unbothered by everyone else around them. They let others do all the hard work whilst they sit back and relax. This is something also shown through their own movement. An example of this is their choreography towards the very end of ‘Beautiful’.

Our feedback was to be completely muscular in our attack. Every movement must have strength and tension behind it, but also be completely contained and subtle. To help me with this our director told me to practice using weights and weightlifting. Dance Informer Magazine. (2020) states, ‘ Weight training, when designed for a dancer, will allow you to develop overall muscle strength and do so without “bulking up” individual muscle groups.’ If we can use a muscular approach to every movement throughout the show, we will achieve the correct character delivery, making us much more impressive to watch.

‘Beautiful’ took us 8 hours to create. It still needed polishing however this is something we could do outside of rehearsals in order to move on with the show and onto the next scene/number. This put us ahead of our rehearsal schedule which is the best possible outcome as we now have extra time to complete other numbers, or go over ‘Beautiful’ and clean.

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Where and how to audition in the professional industry

Figure 5 - How to audition 

When setting out to look for employment within the performing arts industry, how much effort and dedication an individual puts in, certainly plays a big part in their outcome. Firstly many may look on online platforms such as ‘The Stage’, ‘Spotlight’ and ‘Stage Jobs Pro’ to find auditions. A major advantage is to also have an agent. Agents will send their clients to auditions suited for them, and if receiving employment, agents will take a cut of the wage. Careerexplorer.com. (2020) suggests that, ‘In general, a talent agent acts as a middleman between talented creative types and those that are looking to hire them.’ The connections an agent has are also incredibly beneficial for any talented hopeful. They may be able to put their client in contact with casting agents, directors and producers. This will massively help an individual seeking work and is important for getting their name out there. 

Alongside being attached to an agency, people must also be prepared to and know how to advertise themselves. This can come in many forms such as; 

A Website - containing pictures, video footage, and info about the individual. 

A Performance CV - this will contain a head shot and all previous training and work within the industry. The CV may also be visible/ downloadable on a person’s website. 

Social medias as marketing tools - Creating professional social media accounts such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook is a huge part of the modern industry and casting. Posting show photographs and videos help to show a potential employee what you can do and what your all about, whilst also keeping a professional reputation. Also keeping these accounts updated with current content and keeping active on them will be favourable to casting agents etc, as they can see what you are currently up to (work/career wise) and suggests you are aware of the relevance of social media within the industry and modern day casting. Social media links would also be visible within a person’s website.

Show reel - A show reel is an incredible way to self promote. It is literally an advert of your best bits, showing you doing what you do best. A person can decide what they want their potential employer to see of themselves. This also helps an employer see what your all about and how you perform. Again, this is likely to be on an individual’s website. 

When going to an audition, one must be very prepared and ready for anything to be thrown at them. Alongside how you perform and whether you have the look the panel wants, what you wear and bring with you is a major element of the audition.

Dance Informa Magazine (2020) interviewed ‘Norwegian Cruise Line’s’ director of entertainment, Robert Dean Hertenstein and his advice for future dancer/singer auditionees is, “Look the part, but don’t come in costume. Be conscience of what you wear, how you present yourself. One of our pet peeves are when female singers come in and they have this dress on, looking beautiful, and they’re wearing flats. It’s just not attractive. Heels are a must for vocalists.”  Dance Informa Magazine (2020) also describes, ‘He also cautions against coming dressed like the role you’re auditioning for. “We really want to see the person,” Hertenstein says. “We really want to see the talent.” If I was to audition for this cruise line as a dancer/ singer I would take two outfits, one for the dancing rounds and one for singing. For singing my theme would be smart casual. I would think about my best physical assets and show these off. I have quite long legs and a good clavicle structure with a long neck. Therefore I would be inclined to wear a dress that shows off these parts, and wear it with heels as the director of entertainment stated above that they favour heels over flats. I would also wear my hair down so the panel can see the colour and length properly. For the dance rounds I would wear tight fitting clothing that I can move in, so the panel can see my figure. I would wear high waisted leggings, or tights with dance knickers and a colourful (but not harsh/blinding) crop top. I would pick a colour I like to represent my own personality and self, this colour is important as it is most likely what the panel are going to remember you as on the day. I would pick a light blue to bring out the blueness of my eyes. I would also take a back up top; this would be a light pink as I think it compliments my blonde hair. I would possibly bring some flattering joggers to wear in case of a commercial/ street dance round. For dance shoes I would bring; trainers, jazz shoes, jazz trainers, ballet slippers and tap shoes. This covers every type of dance that could be asked for on the day.  

A headshot is also a very important item to bring along to any audition. As stated by Dance Informa Magazine (2020), ‘Hertenstein says a dancer or singer’s headshot should really show his or her personality. But, even more important than that, it should be a professional headshot. “Not like a selfie you did outside that you printed up on your computer at home,” he says.’

The final item of importance to bring is a CV. Dance Informa Magazine (2020) explains, ‘Norwegian Cruise Lines audition around the world, so Hertenstein runs across a variety of resume formats. Whatever the country, he says he prefers something pithy, a “best of.”

“I don’t need a complete history,” Hertenstein says. “I want to see the highlights.”

One page is ideal and in addition to those performing “highlights,” be sure to include your height because that can affect casting.’ For this instance I would make sure my CV fit onto one page and contained my most important training/ previous jobs.

Thinking about all of this before the audition is vital and preparing properly will only better an individual’s chances on the day.

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Resources needed put on a professional production

In order to run a professional production smoothly there are many resources required. Beat by Beat Press, (2016) suggests that the following are needed, 

‘- Producer - General Manager - Director - Music Director - Choreographer - Production Stage Manager - Assistant Stage Manager - Assistant Stage Manager - Set Design - Lighting Design - Costume Design - Sound Design - Prop Design - Sound Mixer - Production Manager - Technical Director - Carpenters - Electricians - Follow spot operators                                                                                            - Deputy Stage Manager’.

 As well as the list above, there are also further necessitates required. Firstly a show will need a cast, as with no cast there is no show.

Now to audition possible cast members, (unless self tapes are being used as auditions) rehearsal space/ a studio is needed. This will also be needed for use after the audition process, so the cast can learn and rehearse material for the show before taking it to a theatre.

Scripts and scores are obligatory for the cast and crew. Cast need these to learn script/ songs and note anything personal to them, such as stage directions and line delivery given by the director/ choreographer. Crew require copies of the script/ score to enable them to follow along and plot the show. This also helps the DSM cue lights and sound on the night of a show.

A show, particularly a musical, needs music tracks for the cast to learn the songs and sing alongside with during the rehearsals and shows.

Finally a cast will need proper attire to rehearse in. This can come in the form of all blacks, leotards for dancers, clothing cast can move and perform in, and correct footwear – jazz shoes/ jazz trainers/ ballet slippers.

A theatre/ performance space will be needed during the run of the show in order to perform it to an audience.

All of these elements must be thought of and sourced for a professional production to take place and run.

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Health and Safety within a Theatre

Health and safety is a major element to consider when putting on theatre shows. There are a lot of people involved in the production and audience that all have to be protected. There are also a lot of jobs to be carried out which must be done safely and each production role involved must know and follow their health and safety procedure. 

Figure 4 - Health and safety 

I am going to use Wokingham Theatre as an example. Their general policy statement is as follows, ‘We provide safe working conditions and a healthy environment for our members. We ensure that equipment and systems of work used by our members are safe. We provide training and information to our members as is necessary within the framework of our health and safety organisation. We ensure that the public at large are protected from danger or risks to health as a result of our activities. We ensure that this policy is reviewed each calendar year and that as a result of that review changes are made to procedures and our overall health and safety organisation to take into account the items identified as needing change in that review.’ -  Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020). 

This theatre recognises that the health and safety of its property, members, and external persons is paramount, and therefore have appointed a health and safety officer ‘Richard C Coleman’ to be in charge of all health and safety matters on the premises. This person has had formal training in health and safety in order to be appointed this position, and as stated on Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020) ‘All training is recorded and regularly monitored as part of the annual audit arrangements.’ 

Some main elements of this Theatre’s health and safety code are;

- Fire Safety: Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020) ‘We address and carry out our duties and responsibilities on fire safety in all our activities in a proper manner. We provide information on and training in and rehearsal of fire safety procedures’ with existing members, visitors and sub - contractors. They also have a procedure in all theatre rooms that the health and safety officer is responsible for. In the case of a fire certain people within the theatre are in charge of specific sectors, ‘The House Manager is responsible for the bar area, bar, kitchen, box office and general office. Stage Manager is responsible for stage, wings, rear corridor, workshop, wardrobe, dressing room and green room. Senior Technical Team members are responsible for the technical box and rear staircase.’ This ensures every section of the building is covered in an organised way, avoiding panic and chaos if having to exit the premises due to fire. 

- First Aid: ‘The Group has a permanent first aid kit that meets the requirements of content and size for the number of group members. The first aid kit is kept at the following locations: In wings adjacent to exit door, and the Workshop’ Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020). Any incident requiring first aid is recorded in the accident book by the health and safety officer. As described by Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020) ‘The accident book is a specially prepared and bound document with consecutively numbered and referenced pages such that any torn out pages can be easily detected.’ 

- Attendance requirements: One of the most important factors of carrying out correct health and safety in general is always knowing exactly how many people are inside a building at all times. As Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020) states ‘The group encourages members to notify the Director/ Production Manager, at least by telephone, that they will not be able to attend a rehearsal. The Group instructs its Director to provide to the Production Manager a detailed rehearsal schedule that includes the names or characters of the production that will be required to attend the particular rehearsal. Members are required to attend all rehearsals for which they are called except when they have notified the Director/Production Manager as indicated above. Members are required to sign the register. Members who have to leave the rehearsal early are required to notify the Director/Production Manager and sign out so as to avoid any confusion over who is or isn’t in the building should an emergency occur.’

- Rehearsal requirements: ‘The Director/Production Manager appointed for any specific production is responsible for ensuring that props, staging and other stage furniture are safe for use.  As necessary, the Health and Safety Officer or his/ her nominated representatives instruct such Directors in their duties in this regard.  Records of such instructions are kept by the Health and Safety Officer or his/ her nominated representatives.Members are instructed to attend rehearsals wearing suitable loose fitting clothing and footwear that is non-slip for general duties. For some productions all or some of the cast will be required to wear special footwear such as tap shoes. In these circumstances they will be instructed to put such footwear on only for the duration of their need for rehearsal purposes.’ Every member is also instructed to learn the location of the fire extinguishers, the fire exits and fire assembly point/s. The cast and production team must work safely with props and must refuse to use any that are in their opinion considered ‘unsafe’. 

- Dressing rooms: Wokingham theatre believes that ‘clean dressing rooms make for pleasant surroundings and a disease-free environment for its members.’ -  Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020). Each dressing room is thoroughly cleaned before use, before each performance and at the conclusion of a show’s run of performances. The consumption of alcohol is banned in excessive use backstage and  ‘ the stage manager is to ensure there is no horseplay in the dressing rooms’. 

- Children: When having children (ages 5-18) in a cast is it vital that they must also abide by the health and safety measures.  Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020) explain ‘ The Health and Safety Officer or the person deemed in charge of operation in hand is responsible for ensuring that children either in rehearsal, on-stage, in dressing rooms or engaged on Group related activities are inducted into their duties and responsibilities, trained to carry out their duties and responsibilities to the best of their abilities, protected from hazardous situations that might affect their overall safety and instructed in the protection of property.’

- On stage and in the wings: The wings can be very hazardous places, considering many wires, cables and heavy objects are placed here. The possibility of cast/crew tripping over electrical cables etc is very likely if a correct risk assessment has not been carried out. The health and safety officer must carry this out using criteria for risk assessment value. They must also ensure that every person required to be in the wings or onstage before, during or after a performance has been properly informed and instructed with their personal responsibilities.  Wokingham-theatre.org.uk (2020) suggests ‘The Stage Manager ensures that performers are properly instructed in their proper response/reaction to: This is your 5-minute call! Beginners on stage please! Not remaining in the wings when not on cue for going on stage unless space available. Black outs. Scene changes. Use of properties.’ 

Wokingham-theatre.org.uk also lists it’s health and safety regulations for Front of House, Sub contractors, Liaisons, Telescopes Ladders and Scaffolding, LOLER requirements, PUWER requirements, New recruits and Electrical safety. Every element listed and explained contributes to the theatre’s health and safety requirements. These are in place to ensure the safety of each individual within the establishment and every show member, whether that be cast, crew or audience must obey the theatre’s regulations.    

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Roles within a professional production

When putting on a show, there is so much more that goes into it than one may realise. It is not only the cast and director that is required, but many other production roles that all work together to produce a professional production of a high quality.

Figure 3 - Theatre stage production roles 

 Below I will list and explain each role within a production. 

Front of House - This role could be easily overlooked when thinking of production roles, however it is very important. This is the first impression an audience has when entering the theatre before the show has even started. They may have the ability to make or break an audience member’s experience. Front of House welcomes the audience into the theatre and helps them locate their seats. They may also sell tickets (if not previously purchased) and refreshments. A front of house member must be friendly and helpful, willing to answer any questions the audience may have about the theatre and or show. Therefore they must also have sufficient knowledge of their place of work enabling them to advise and help others.

Musical Director - According to Moon, Z. (2015) ‘ A musical director generally works under the lead director and producer, and acts as a conduit between the upper management and everyone else. However, after the rehearsals are wrapped up and the show’s run begins, the director/producer tend to take a backseat. At this point, the musical director will work with the stage manager to keep the entire production on track thereafter.’ The Musical Director guides the cast in rehearsals as to what they are singing and where. However, during the show the MD will direct the orchestra (if they have one), helping every member stay in time to create the right sound. ‘ Many musical directors start off as musicians first and foremost such as violinists or pianists, working on small productions before being tasked with leadership roles.’ - Moon, Z (2015).  

Stage Manager -  Stated on Prospects.ac.uk. (2020),   ‘Theatre stage managers coordinate all aspects of a theatre production to ensure the successful delivery of the performance.’ The stage manager is an extremely important role and their ‘checklist of duties can be huge depending on the production: blocking, cues, lighting, scenery, props, and scheduling and reporting to the director and producers are all part and parcel of the job.’ - Moon, Z (2015). The Stage manager has many responsibilities, including; set up and run rehearsal schedules, procure props, furniture and set dressings and, in small companies, assist in set construction, arrange costume and wig fittings, distribute information to other theatre departments, manage the props, and possibly the design budgets, liaising with the production manager regarding costs, supervise the 'get in' to the theatre, when the set, lighting and sound are installed, and the 'get out', when all the equipment is removed. 

Producer -  ‘One of the most nebulous terms in both musical theatre and film, a producer can be expected to wear many hats during the course of a show’s run, but is primarily in charge of raising funds, managing said funds, and sometimes hiring personnel. The producer is usually the one to have discovered the script and initiated the production.’ - Moon, Z (2015). The universal role of a producer is to make sure a production happens on time and in budget. As suggested by  Hescott, T. (2015). ‘Traditionally, producing is something a certain type of person seems to fall into almost by accident.’ Producers such as Bill Kenwright and Nica Burns both started out as actors, before beginning to produce their own work.

Choreographer - The choreographer is an essential part of any musical theatre show and they are in charge of bringing a production to life. As explained by Moon, Z (2015) the choreographer works ‘out exactly how the talent should move when on the stage (and that is usually more than just the dance routines). Like makeup artists, choreographers have been a part of the industry since the inception of theatre in Greek antiquity.’ 

The Cast -  These are the actors/dancers/singers in the show. ‘ Working directly under the choreographer, directors, and stage managers are the main event: the people who the public have paid good money to see. This more generic entry covers a wide swathe of skill sets and different disciplines, with some members being proficient in just one or many.’ Moon, Z (2015). Of course without the cast, there is no show. 

Costume - These are the people who make and fit the costumes for the cast. ‘Very few musicals can operate without a team of wardrobe staff, and costume attendants make up the bulk of this workforce. Tasked with making sure costumes fit the stage talent, keeping them in good condition between shows, and helping actors in and out of them during the show.’ - Moon, Z (2015). 

Lighting Designer - This role is also an extremely important aspect of creating and putting on a show. Without lights the audience would not be able to see what was happening on stage. Good lighting also really makes a difference in a shows appearance and can almost make a bad show look good if done cleverly. Moon, Z (2015) describes how ‘Lighting designers work hand-in-hand with light board operators, the former planning everything out in advance to match the artistic vision of the show, while the latter makes sure that plan is followed on the night.’ 

Sound operator -  The Sound Designer is in charge of securing all sound effects, whether recorded or live for a specific production. They are also responsible for setting up the sound playback equipment and must make sure the board operator is properly trained. As Theatre.uoregon.edu. (2020) suggests, ‘Sound Design is an artistic component of the production. The Sound Designer needs to have imagination to create sound effects and not just rerecord them.’

Director/ Creative Director -  Last but not least is the role of the director. ‘ Theatre directors have responsibility for the practical and creative interpretation of a dramatic script or musical score.’ - Prospects.ac.uk. (2020). They are involved in the whole process, from the design and pre-production stages, right through to the final performance. They tie both the creative and production teams together as they work closely with both. They direct the cast and must ‘able to coordinate effectively across a range of disciplines and with artistic vision.’ -Prospects.ac.uk. (2020). Some directors may also be writers and devise, design, direct, and possibly act in their own work. 

Much more goes into a show than just people performing on a stage. All these roles need to work together to produce a professional production. This is why impressive productions take months of rehearsals before opening. It takes time to learn a show, plot sound and lights, make and fit costumes, source props, and make sure everything runs like clockwork. The rehearsals are not only for the cast but for each production role as well. This is something an audience member may not even realise when going to watch a show.   

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Audition Process

The audition process for Heathers was professional and efficient. We were asked to come with our chosen character’s song learnt and also an understanding of 3 sides of script containing our character. The character I chose to go for was Heather Chandler. At first I planned on auditioning for all 3 Heathers, however after thinking about who I was most suited for, I decided to just audition for Chandler. I feel this decision helps the panel narrow down the casting quicker. 

For the audition I decided to dress as the character I was auditioning for. I know this isn’t done in the professional industry, however I felt for this particular audition it would enhance my performance and portrayal of this iconic character, also helping the panel see if I suited the look they wanted for Heather Chandler. 

I was unable to find an identical replica of the costume used in the show, so I improvised and found similar items of similar colours. I also researched the character’s hair and make up look so I could recreate this for the audition. Knowing the show is set in the 80′s I decided to do big hair and a red lip, as to represent the popular trends of the time. Below is a picture of the finished look.  

Dressing up personally helped me get into character more and perform with the confidence of Chandler, as if I’d already got the part. 

For audition prep I did a lot of character research. To do this I first watched many online versions of Heathers the musical, and also watched the original 80′s film, which I had previously never seen. The version online that I enjoyed the most was this one below.

I really liked the way this actress attacked the character of Heather Chandler whilst also remaining calm and in control. This is something I wanted to incorporate within my audition. I also decided to message a previous graduate who had played Heather Chandler before, to see if I could gain a clearer understanding of what was asked of her in the audition. The feedback given to her was to tone down the nastiness/bullying aspects of this character as she is completely in control and doesn't have to try. Perform with sass but don’t overdo it by shouting or fighting for your voice to be heard, as it already is. This really helped me understand what the audition panel may be looking for and want for this character.

During my audition I felt calm and confident. I had put in the work and now was the time to show off what I could do. I personally feel my strongest attribute is acting, so I really worked on developing a very in depth/believable character, and not stress about the vocals of the song ‘Candy Store’ too much. I know my voice needs work but I think this is something that can be helped with over time, and if I produced a true character it would override the weaknesses in my singing. This seemed to work for myself as I got a recall for Heather Chandler. 

The feedback I was given during the audition was in my song. I had designed a slight routine which was too much for my character. I was told to hold back more, contain my movements, and not try too hard. I find this challenging for myself as I always give my absolute all when performing and I’m not very subtle. Therefore this is a completely different request for me but I tried to adapt my performance to what was asked. Heather Chandler is the Queen Bee of the school who doesn't have to lift a finger because everyone around her does it for her. Therefore she should deliver the song with such little effort leaving everyone else to do the running around. This advice really helped when performing the scenes with the other girls. We mainly focused on the bathroom scene with the 3 Heathers, Fleming and Veronica. The panel switched out the character’s a lot to try and find the right chemistry with the right girls. I was never asked to read for another character which I felt was a very good sign, although I was open to giving anyone a go. This part of the process I really enjoyed. I felt the scene was a really good introduction to the Heathers and Veronica, and their meeting. Throughout the audition process I remained open to anything and stayed focused throughout, watching how others delivered the character but not letting it affect my own vision of Chandler. I feel like I worked well with everyone and rehearsed the scenes with different people before going into the room, as not to get attached to certain people playing certain characters as anyone could have been picked in the end. I was delighted to receive the news that I had been cast as Heather Chandler. I will now continue to work on my character and delivery throughout the rehearsal process, remembering to contain my movements and perform with control and confidence. 

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History of Heathers

Heathers is set in 1989 America. A lot happened within this era and according to Sooney, P. (2017) ‘1989 provided the perfect bookend to this decade that saw so much change.’ The 80′s saw the first black US governor to be elected, the first GPS satellite was put into orbit, and the Berlin Wall came down, beginning a whole new age of freedom. With the 90′s dawning, 1989 embraced a modernity. This is shown with Heathers. Heathers was the first film of it’s kind that “ told the truth that people didn’t want to admit about their kids, their schools, their parents, and faculty, about the 1980′s.” Buchanan, D. (2018). It tells the ugly reality of what an average American high school student faces, just in a very extreme way. This is not necessarily the exact events that one may face, however the underlying issues remain the same. Heathers delivers it’s story with a very dark tone but comical satire, becoming the trend setter for many stories to come such as the immensely popular ‘Mean Girls’, which has followed Heather’s footsteps and is now also a musical.  

In 1989 fashion was very popular. Shoulder pads had become a major thing, made big by actresses, Joan Collins and Linda Evens from the american TV show ‘Dynasty’. 

Figure 1 - 80′s fashion 

Red shiny lips and heavily done eyes were also the new trend. Both these fashion statements make a huge appearance in Heathers the musical, with all three Heathers wearing short blazers with shoulder pads, and Heather Chandler sporting her very bold staple red lip. 

Figure 2 - Heathers and Veronica on stage 

In this era, many women set out to fulfill challenging careers in male dominated industries. They were no longer satisfied with being stay at home housewives, relying on their male partner for income. Many became strong and independent females making their own money. I think that women’s fashion at the time really portrays this. The shoulder padded blazer represents business, power, and slight masculinity, whilst the red lip keeps the look feminine and sexy. This is also presented in Heathers, as in this musical it is the females that are in charge and feared, not the males, however they are still very attractive and desirable to the opposite sex. This challenges the traditional argument of men vs women and the stereotypical roles of both. 

The happenings and politics of this period will influence the portrayal of my role as Heather Chandler massively. I feel that without researching the time in which the musical is set, I would not be able to develop an in depth, true character. After looking at 1989 America I have a much clearer understanding of how I want to play Heather Chandler and what elements to her personality are a result of the trends of the time. I feel, although she is traditionally blonde, tall and pretty, she has the most masculine energy of all the Heathers. It’s her dominance and cruel nature that make her the threat she is to both males and females, and she would bully either. Although she has people/followers to do her dirty work for her, she is still extremely independent and does what she wants with no limitations. The mindset of not allowing anything or anyone to hold her back mirrors the new female mindset of the time. She definitely wouldn’t be the kind to stay at home and take a man’s orders, she is part of the new wave of women who were becoming bosses in their own right, giving the orders not taking them. 

Although she is scary and feared, she is still very desired and wanted. To help relay this to the audience, I shall incorporate a sexiness/sensuality to her character. Flirting with Ram and Kurt as an example, and using her looks to manipulate those around her and get what she wants. I will use more of a natural/subtle seduction than forced, however I feel it will portray this element of her personality clearly. I will be costumed in a short red shoulder padded blazer, representing dominance, confidence, and authority. However I will also be wearing a mini skirt which will suggest youth, sexiness and desirability.  

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Planning

For our show a rehearsal schedule has been made. This helps the cast and creative director stay on track of where we are (and should be up to) each rehearsal. I feel this is a very important aspect to the creation and development of a professional show, as without clear planning it is likely the cast may fall behind and not complete the show and/or have had time to polish by show day. In a professional production it is the Stage manager that is in ‘charge of the rehearsal schedule’, according to Filestore.aqa.org.uk. (2020). 

Below is a copy of our Heathers rehearsal schedule.

We aim to follow as close as possible to the schedule and keep on track with everything planned each week. If parts of the show take longer to learn/set than predicted then we must make up for the time lost in the next rehearsals in order to get back on track with the schedule, and produce a high quality performance in the time given.