Friday, 25 May 2012
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Exciting content for the Autumn concert
I thought that it might be fun to blog on just one piece of music that we are including in our Autumn concert each week to try and whet your appetites. That way you can start to learn the programme along with us - and maybe even suggest dance moves that you would like to see us attempt. Preferably nothing to exciting or energetic there! And definitely nothing that requires extensive use of memory for most of us on the stage (actually that has just given me the idea for a blog entry on how movement to a song helps you remember the words and tunes better, so hold that thought for a while for me!).
Personally I think that we have some cracking numbers in the concert this year and I so disappointed that I can't be up there on the stage with the rest of the company giving it my best.
So for my first little appetite whetting review, I think I will focus on the current vogue song made famous by the military wives. I am sure that you will have enjoyed it in the run up to Christmas 2011.
'Wherever you are' is a surprisingly lovely number which was created specially for chorale work. One of the many things that Belper Musical Theatre is recognised as being good at it is our choral approach and sound, so we are all excited that we are going to be singing this one - with the men included as well as the ladies.
The outcome for our audience is a really wonderful sound and we are sure that everyone will find it very moving. It is a good reminder that all too often the freedoms that we take for granted come at a very high cost to our armed forces and their families. But that even in the heart of this sorrow and fear, love shines through.
What do you think of this choice for our show? Would you expect any movement to this one, or do you think standing still and singing in harmony would offer the most fitting and moving approach?
Personally I think that we have some cracking numbers in the concert this year and I so disappointed that I can't be up there on the stage with the rest of the company giving it my best.
So for my first little appetite whetting review, I think I will focus on the current vogue song made famous by the military wives. I am sure that you will have enjoyed it in the run up to Christmas 2011.
'Wherever you are' is a surprisingly lovely number which was created specially for chorale work. One of the many things that Belper Musical Theatre is recognised as being good at it is our choral approach and sound, so we are all excited that we are going to be singing this one - with the men included as well as the ladies.
The outcome for our audience is a really wonderful sound and we are sure that everyone will find it very moving. It is a good reminder that all too often the freedoms that we take for granted come at a very high cost to our armed forces and their families. But that even in the heart of this sorrow and fear, love shines through.
What do you think of this choice for our show? Would you expect any movement to this one, or do you think standing still and singing in harmony would offer the most fitting and moving approach?
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
What a weekend for weddings
I thought that I should have titled this blog 'Doesn't time fly' or something similar since I was amazed to see that it is over a month since I posted anything on here. But then I decided it was better to stick with my original idea and share the great news from not one but two of our members who got married over the last weekend.
Of course the next challenge is then to decide who to talk about first, as there is always the risk that I would accidentally offend whoever came second! So with apologies in advance, I will start with Becky Osborne, now Becky Garbutt.
As frequent readers of the blog (and most members of BMT) will know Becky was the musical director for Belper Junior Musical Theatre for absolutely ages. There are still many who are yet to get over the shock of her deciding to hand in her baton and settle down to married bliss. Becky managed to get some lovely musical references into a range of her facebook anticipatory posts about the impending wedding with 'I'm getting married in the morning' making it there as a factually incorrect, but nonetheless apropos, comment.
Secondly we are delighted that Megan Gibson, now Megan Harman, has also managed to drag her other half down the aisle. This time around I understand that the nuptials were held up in Scotland and that Megan got her Dad to call out 'There's going to be a wedding' as a little tribute to Brigadoon as they followed the piper. How cool is that!
Whatever others may think about the whole marriage thing, I am absolutely over the moon for both of them. I think that marriage is a wonderful public statement of a shared desire to be together, face the future together and work through life's challenges (big and small) because there is no-one else that you would rather work through them with. It is a journey, and not always an easy one, but it's one that is made much better for knowing that you are there for each other. (As long as I don't forget my own wedding anniversary in May I should continue to think that!)
So big congratulations to you all from me and the rest of BMT. We wish you the very best, much love, happiness and a dash of patience. Above all, enjoy!
Of course the next challenge is then to decide who to talk about first, as there is always the risk that I would accidentally offend whoever came second! So with apologies in advance, I will start with Becky Osborne, now Becky Garbutt.
As frequent readers of the blog (and most members of BMT) will know Becky was the musical director for Belper Junior Musical Theatre for absolutely ages. There are still many who are yet to get over the shock of her deciding to hand in her baton and settle down to married bliss. Becky managed to get some lovely musical references into a range of her facebook anticipatory posts about the impending wedding with 'I'm getting married in the morning' making it there as a factually incorrect, but nonetheless apropos, comment.
Secondly we are delighted that Megan Gibson, now Megan Harman, has also managed to drag her other half down the aisle. This time around I understand that the nuptials were held up in Scotland and that Megan got her Dad to call out 'There's going to be a wedding' as a little tribute to Brigadoon as they followed the piper. How cool is that!
Whatever others may think about the whole marriage thing, I am absolutely over the moon for both of them. I think that marriage is a wonderful public statement of a shared desire to be together, face the future together and work through life's challenges (big and small) because there is no-one else that you would rather work through them with. It is a journey, and not always an easy one, but it's one that is made much better for knowing that you are there for each other. (As long as I don't forget my own wedding anniversary in May I should continue to think that!)
So big congratulations to you all from me and the rest of BMT. We wish you the very best, much love, happiness and a dash of patience. Above all, enjoy!
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Blank, empty, staring void
Ok let me start by admitting that the title isn't mine. I have borrowed if from a fellow BMT member who had posted it as his status update on Facebook. But it got me thinking about the lows that seem to follow the highs of each of our shows. And with the amazing high of Copa, for many it seems to have been a bit of a crushing low.
I guess that the positive side of this is that it really shows how wonderful the community feel that we had in the company for the show was. As I've commented elsewhere, it's a real family feel and that means that, despite the fear and occasional panic, being on the stage with BMT is really kind of addictive. For the whole of show week, and with Copa many weeks beforehand, there was a real sense of camaraderie and a great feeling of belonging.
And that means that now, in the two week break that we've taken from rehearsals (so that we can remind our families of our existence and do some of the things that have been left waiting for so many months) there is a gap in our lives.
Despite having loved playing the part of Rico, it's not a blank, empty, staring void for me. In many ways I am quite glad to get back to being me, rather than the dark and malicious character from the play. The show is done, the carnival is over and it's good to get back to normality for a while.
But like everyone else I am quite looking forward to next Wednesday night and having a good old sing along with friends.
I guess that the positive side of this is that it really shows how wonderful the community feel that we had in the company for the show was. As I've commented elsewhere, it's a real family feel and that means that, despite the fear and occasional panic, being on the stage with BMT is really kind of addictive. For the whole of show week, and with Copa many weeks beforehand, there was a real sense of camaraderie and a great feeling of belonging.
And that means that now, in the two week break that we've taken from rehearsals (so that we can remind our families of our existence and do some of the things that have been left waiting for so many months) there is a gap in our lives.
Despite having loved playing the part of Rico, it's not a blank, empty, staring void for me. In many ways I am quite glad to get back to being me, rather than the dark and malicious character from the play. The show is done, the carnival is over and it's good to get back to normality for a while.
But like everyone else I am quite looking forward to next Wednesday night and having a good old sing along with friends.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Imaginary friends
I think that it was during the day on Thursday that I received a friend request on Facebook from a lady named Doris Miller. By the time that I saw the request she already had four mutual friends (if I remember correctly) and I will admit that I had to stop and think for a few moments whether I knew anyone called Doris Miller (I quite literally didn't recall the name). Of course as soon as the penny dropped, I clicked on the add button, despite knowing that I would never meet the lady in person.
What a stroke of brilliance this proved to be for the whole Copa family from the amazing Richard Poole. It proved to be a topic of discussion from the moment that people arrived in the evening, with everyone trying to work out who Doris really was and having a wonderful time discussing who it may really be. Richard was honest throughout and found some great ways of avoiding either lying or telling the whole truth!
For those that are still not quite with the plot, Doris Miller is referred to repeatedly throughout the script in Copa. She is the missing showgirl that Lola is recruited to replace early on and we later discover that she disappeared from the Copa not long after an earlier visit by the gorgeously masterful Rico. With support from the passionately sexy Conchita, Rico does explain that she had an unfortunate accident after trying to clean his revolver: one can only assume that she had insufficient experience and it shot off in her face.
It proved to be a lovely distraction and a real community builder for us all in talking about Doris, who became a mysterious company member and a real topic of conversation.
It was an added bonus for us all therefore when we found a review from Doris posted to the wall of the men's dressing room (and general Rah, Rah, there's a performance coming up room - thanks for those Jen and Amy!). Richard has denied having written this particular review and given his evasive honesty at the start, I rather think he's telling the truth there. So whoever was Doris for this, thank you. I've posted it here on the blog as one of our web pages, so that you can all read a review that seems to have been written by someone who actually attended the show, took the time to really consider the parts that people had played and the effort that had been put into them, and generally recognised the whole team who came together.
For now I would just like to say a huge congratulations to Richard for coming up with the idea to create Doris Miller and for following that through with action. On stage and off stage you're a star!
And to everyone else who friended Doris - what are you like! Now get on with adding Richard instead.
See you all soon,
Rico
(PS the asterisked comment on the Doris Miller about meanings of incredible is all thanks to the villainous aspect of Rico - let me know if you want it removed!)
What a stroke of brilliance this proved to be for the whole Copa family from the amazing Richard Poole. It proved to be a topic of discussion from the moment that people arrived in the evening, with everyone trying to work out who Doris really was and having a wonderful time discussing who it may really be. Richard was honest throughout and found some great ways of avoiding either lying or telling the whole truth!
For those that are still not quite with the plot, Doris Miller is referred to repeatedly throughout the script in Copa. She is the missing showgirl that Lola is recruited to replace early on and we later discover that she disappeared from the Copa not long after an earlier visit by the gorgeously masterful Rico. With support from the passionately sexy Conchita, Rico does explain that she had an unfortunate accident after trying to clean his revolver: one can only assume that she had insufficient experience and it shot off in her face.
It proved to be a lovely distraction and a real community builder for us all in talking about Doris, who became a mysterious company member and a real topic of conversation.
It was an added bonus for us all therefore when we found a review from Doris posted to the wall of the men's dressing room (and general Rah, Rah, there's a performance coming up room - thanks for those Jen and Amy!). Richard has denied having written this particular review and given his evasive honesty at the start, I rather think he's telling the truth there. So whoever was Doris for this, thank you. I've posted it here on the blog as one of our web pages, so that you can all read a review that seems to have been written by someone who actually attended the show, took the time to really consider the parts that people had played and the effort that had been put into them, and generally recognised the whole team who came together.
For now I would just like to say a huge congratulations to Richard for coming up with the idea to create Doris Miller and for following that through with action. On stage and off stage you're a star!
And to everyone else who friended Doris - what are you like! Now get on with adding Richard instead.
See you all soon,
Rico
(PS the asterisked comment on the Doris Miller about meanings of incredible is all thanks to the villainous aspect of Rico - let me know if you want it removed!)
Monday, 20 February 2012
The Copa has closed
At the end of an incredible week, with high energy, much fun and good audiences, it's a real shame that we have had to close the doors on our production of Copacabana.
One of the lessons that we learned during the week was how hard it can be to write a good review of the performance. With so many people playing a role in making it look and sound fantastic, I guess that the only honest comment that I can make is that we were a fantastic team, with everyone doing their bit to bring it all together so well.
Thank you to everyone.
We had a very brief review in the Derby Evening Telegraph, which you can find online if you hunt for it. We also had a smashing review from the elusive Doris Miller, which I hope to be able to post on here soon for you all.
For now, it seems that most of the cast and crew have hit that post show blue. We're back at work, the sun has gone in and there is no hope of bright lights, make-up, good music and most of all that amazing supportive community feeling that the show brought.
In another couple of weeks we will be working together again as we start to prepare our Autumn concert. In the meantime, remember that although the clouds are in the way just now, the sun is still shining brightly.
See you soon!
One of the lessons that we learned during the week was how hard it can be to write a good review of the performance. With so many people playing a role in making it look and sound fantastic, I guess that the only honest comment that I can make is that we were a fantastic team, with everyone doing their bit to bring it all together so well.
Thank you to everyone.
We had a very brief review in the Derby Evening Telegraph, which you can find online if you hunt for it. We also had a smashing review from the elusive Doris Miller, which I hope to be able to post on here soon for you all.
For now, it seems that most of the cast and crew have hit that post show blue. We're back at work, the sun has gone in and there is no hope of bright lights, make-up, good music and most of all that amazing supportive community feeling that the show brought.
In another couple of weeks we will be working together again as we start to prepare our Autumn concert. In the meantime, remember that although the clouds are in the way just now, the sun is still shining brightly.
See you soon!
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