Oh Ida!!!!

Firstly can we say a very well done for Monday evenings rehearsal, you done us proud. We have now completely done all of Act One apart from some of the songs and choreography. As we said at the end, we are much further ahead than we thought we would be which is fantastic as we will have longer to perfect the show and knock the adult group for 6!!!!!

A big "thank you" to Queenie and Father Swan for stepping in at short notice to read for Ida and Drake. It's never an easy job so well done.

I think you all will agree that we wish our Ida a speedy recovery after having her tonsils removed (Ouch) and look forward to having her back in our brood. GET WELL SOON!!

We are still having some issues with the talking situation during rehearsals which is driving us to distraction..... PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE either bring something QUIET down to do whilst you are not rehearsing OR KEEP QUIET. If we do not see a marked improvement in the next couple of weeks we may have to take actions that we REALLY do not want to do.

The next 2 Thursdays are going to be sing, sing, sing. Miss MD is going to get you singing your little socks off so make sure you bring a drink and finish learning the words to ALL of your songs. Must Be Mad and I are expecting miracles when we hear the songs as we will not be there this Thursday and may not be there next Thursday. PLEASE BEHAVE!!!

We are looking to try and sort out a Christmas Karaoke / Disco for you all before Christmas and will keep you posted when we can arrange a date for it.

Don't forget the Program Cover Competition as it closes on the 1st December and to date we have only had 1 entry!

See ya soooooonnnn!!!


Shhhh, Shhhh, It's, oh, so quiet
Shh, shh, It's, oh, so still,
Shh,shh, You're all alone,
Shh, shh, And so peaceful until... (REHEARSAL BEGINS....AAaargh...! Lol)
(Bjork)

Run through last week......

Well Guys,

So far, so good! The run through last week was much, much better than we expected and we were pleased to note that some of you weren't using scripts so had started to learn your words! Well done YOU, give yourselves a big pat on the back.

I have emailed Producer Man who has confirmed that he will pop down this week (1st Nov) to give you all a brief about what is required for the Program Front Competition. Think about your designs now and think about any questions you may need to ask before Thursday. I am hoping that one of you bright sparks will pull something quite stupendous out of the bag and win a prize to boot!

One point that I know was mentioned last week, was your lines in Poultry Tale, try and make sure you know where you are going when you have to reform the lines, bearing in mind we want the shorter ones at the front so we can see EVERYONE! AND SMILE..... this song is where we are trying to grab the audience's attention and keep them on the edges of their seats for the remainder of what's going to be a FANTASTIC show! Show us your pearly whites!

Most of you have been really good at telling us when you are not able to attend rehearsals, and we do understand that sometimes things come up, but some of you are still slipping through the net which causes untold problems whilst we are arranging scenes. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let us know in person, by email or by a call if you are unable to attend ANY rehearsals. We are stepping up a gear next week to 2 rehearsals a week, Mondays and Thursdays, and there is still alot to do.

Thanks guys and see you soon,


"But I being poor have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams" WB Yeats

Rehearsals and things

Hi Guys n Gals

Firstly I must apologise for leaving it so long to update this blog...... I'm sorry but have been really busy and just not had time! I will try and update as often as I can.

1. WELCOME to our new members; Sarah, Ian and Jaime, we hope that you will have alot of fun as well a learning some new things about life in a theatre production, also, you will obviously make some new friends and become part of our CAST Academy family.

2. WELL DONE to all last week with the Poultry Tale song. It sounded beautiful and I was very proud, what an opening number that is going to be!! You just need to concentrate on singing and dancing at the same time!! There are quite alot more songs so keep practising with your CD's at home and try to remember your stage directions as we block scenes each week. We will re-cap as much as possible but we have lots of scenes to get through, so make notes on your scripts as to where you come in and go off and what is asked of you on the stage.

3. SCRUFFY CLOTHES - Please remember to wear your scruffy clothes each week from now on unless asked to wear your CAST T-shirts specifically. We will be making props and could get very messy, so if you come in your nice clothes you will not be able to join in. You are still required to wear your jazz shoes as you may still be called to rehearse at any time during the course of the rehearsal.

Well, I think thats about all at the moment, but please remember also that if you are unable to make any of the rehearsals please let us know as soon as you can so that we can re-arrange rehearsals around your scenes.

Good luck and get swotting those scripts...... dont forget, you are supposed to know all your lines and song words by December...... and thats not long........

See you Thursday


Every time I turn around
I expect you to appear
Everyone may call my name
But it's your voice that I hear
Every moment that you're gone
Is a moment dark and grey
Every tear a mother cries
Is a dream that's washed away........
HONK - George Stiles and Anthony Drewe

The Cast!

Well guys n gals this weekend has been really, really difficult. Miss MD, Must be Mad and myself sat through the best part of Saturday trying to make sure that we cast the right people into the right roles whilst also trying to make sure that everyone had a part!

We finally finished, and we think (and hope) that everyone is going to be happy with our choices. Please try to understand that there are only so many parts and although alot of you auditioned for the same parts we had to try and cast whoever we felt would be best in the role based on auditions. Some of you mentioned that they thought that the show was pre-cast and that Miss MD, Must be Mad and myself had already chosen who we wanted for roles, let me assure you that this certainly was NOT the case and I think some you may be surprised!

I am very excited indeed about tonight and cannot wait to tell you all what roles you have. (I bribed Must be Mad so that I could be the one to tell you all!!)

New members:- As some of you know we have had a few members drop off recently and I am pleased to announce that we have approx 4-5 new members that will be joining us over the next few weeks. I know I dont have to ask you to make them feel welcome, just remember how you felt when you first started!!!

Well I best be off as I have lots of things to do for Wardrobe Mistress and I dont want to get in her bad books!

Until later.......

Hold your head up high
Like the most happy fella
While down below each thigh
Apropos a propeller
Must keep paddling like the clappers
You keep paddling with your flappers
While seeming to be dreaming and calm....................

Hold your head up high - HONK - George Stiles and Anthony Drewe

Broken necks and trampolines!

Hello everyone!

Sorry I was not able to join you on Monday but received an injury to my neck whilst trying to be clever on a trampoline. Oooopps. Feeling much better now and looking forward to tomorrow and the auditions. The lyrics to the audition songs are now posted on the guestbook on the cast academy website, so there are no excuses!

We are also having a production meeting next week to try and start to get the ball rolling for Honk with the whole production team. So dont forget that we want your ideas too, if you think of something, however big or small PLEASE share them with us, you know how to contact us!

We have also decided to try something new which should open out our audiences to the hearing impaired. Two of my friends at work have agreed to come down and 'sign' the Panto and our show, this is something very exciting and will look very good on our profile as the academy! (Another thumbs up for us!)

Nominations are currently being received by the chairman, from the cast academy team for the student who has shown outstanding qualities since the beginning. The results will be announced tomorrow night and the winner will receive the Cast Academy Cup to hold for a year. (Unfortunately we are not allowed to nominate more than one student as I think you all deserve a medal!)

Oh well, I had better go..... I will see you all tomorrow!

This car is automatic
Its sytematic
Its hydromatic
Its Greased lightning!

Grease Soundtrack song.

Dance the night away..............................

Well last night we were very short on people, but that was not too much of an issue as it was the dance workshop, which mean't the kids that did turn up got more attention from Dancing Queen!!!!!!

They started with a warm up to Erik Pryde's "Call on me" and then moved onto a Justin Timberlake number for the actually lesson. They all looked great from what i saw (Did not expect anything less!!!)

Miss MD, Co-director and myself actually locked ourselves in room 2 and did some work on the singing auditions, chelsea boy did a great job on his audition (He is away on Holiday for 2 weeks now!! lucky thing!!!!) Then we used a couple of other people as Guineau Pigs to see what the best songs for the auditions would be and we have got them sorted now so will be posted on the website soon for all to see.

Following on from the acting auditions and also last nights singing auditions we (The production team) have a got a huge job on our hands in decided who should play what part, you are all so good!!!!!! (Which i suppose is a good thing!!)

Anyway the kids have a week off now so that the main group can do there show next week, Miss MD, Co-Director and myself plus other members of the team are not so lucky as we are involved with the main show so will be there all week!!!! (Joy!!!!). I also have my parents visiting this weekend so it has been a manic cleaning frenzy. (I don't know girlfriends and mother in laws eh!!!!!)

Thought of the day:
I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

Dance the night away - The Mavericks

Wow my first Blog........ please be kind!

Well! My first week and how nervous was I??????? VERY!!

Thank you to all of you, especially some of the kind comments I got as we all left, it made me feel much better and very welcome.

I am hoping (No...... I KNOW) that if we all pull together this show is gonna be FANTASTIC! You a an exceptionally talented bunch and with your talent and the team's know-how we are gonna BLOW their socks off!!!! Wooohooooo I can't wait.

I am so excited, I have been doing my homework and getting some super duper ideas! I want feather boas and sparkly suits and duck feet and......... oh my god the list goes on and on and I cant wait to share all my ideas with you.

Dont forget that we would really welcome any ideas that anyone has however big or small after all it is YOUR show and I think it would be really good to get some input from you lot!

We hope you enjoyed your first proper week back, the aim of the session was to try get you to understand about animal characteristics and NOT being animals. By the end of it I think you had pretty much got the idea although there were some very strange ducks, cats, chickens and frogs running around that hall at some points!! The other part of the session was just for us all to get re-aquainted and have a little fun..... after all, all work and no play is NO fun at all and I am a HUGE fan of FUN!!!!

By the way, all the audition pieces are now posted on the CAST Academy website so get on down there and choose your pieces..... dont be shy! We will be looking out for those characteristics that we practised this week in your auditions so brush them up and make them shine.

Thought of the day.........
'There's no business like show business like no business I know........'
Irving Berlin from Annie Get your Gun.

Well HONK it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello all and welcome back to the next edition of the CAST Academy blog. Last Thurs we all met back at Colnbrook Village Hall for our first session back, this to explain to both members and parents what will be happening with CA moving forward, which i think everybody bought into which is great, even the licenced chaperone's bit!!!! (Thanks parents).

We then moved onto discussing the options of which show we would be performing in Feb 2008, the options were "Summer Holiday" and "HONK!!!" both very good shows and a lot of fun, we put it to a vote and Honk came out on top at 15 votes to 12.

We have a fantastic 7 months ahead of us starting with an acting and stage etiquette this evening - I will also be privileged to have much of the same production team with me on this show. We have of course Miss MD, Wardrobe mistress, chairman, Miss Membership, and introducing a member of the old production team in a new role "Assistant wardrobe mistress" will now also be taking on the role of " Co - Director" and for me i cannot wait to get started on the rehearsals. I would also like to introduce a new member to the team and he will be "Producer" this role is to co ordinate with all the other people and work on the back room side of things including Set, advertising etc etc, so welcome on board "Producer".

Throughout July will be our audition and workshop process and we will be casting the show at the end of the month, that is when we will look at getting the rehearsals underway. There may be a bit of a break in August due to holidays etc but all systems will be go when we are back at school in September.

Anyway time to crack on, best of luck to everyone with the auditions and i will ensure the blog is updated on a regular basis.

Thought of the day:

It takes all sorts to make a world
On that point we are clear
It takes all sorts to make a world
But we don’t want them here
Our taste is good and liberal
Our views are well expressed
It takes all sorts to make a world
its just that our sort’s best!!!!

They think it's all over!!!! It is now!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, i have just about recovered from the show and i have to say what a show it was!!! We had a fantastic audience for all three performances who really did help to set the right atmosphere.

Putting on a show of this size is never an easy job and i would like to thank all the Team for there hard work and effort over the last 5 months in creating this little piece of history.

On stage there were so many fantastic performances that i cannot mention then all, but as a whole you were all fantastic and left the audience wanting more...... and more is what they will get!!! (I really must be mad!!)

We will get together again in a couple of weeks time to throw an after show party for all the CAST and crew plus parents to celebrate the triumph that we have achieved, then we will hold an open night for the new members (If there are any!!!) where we will select 4 shows from the nominations you have all made, plus maybe some others that come up and give you all a breakdown of each one. Then it will be up to the CAST of the Academy to vote on which show they would like to perform in the near future.
Once again well done and thank you for making this an unforgettable experience, look forward to seeing you all with your dancing shoes on in a couple of weeks.

Lyric of the blog:

And now the end is near
and so i face the final curtain
My friends, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain

Ive lived a life that's full.
Ive traveled each and every highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Super Set Build

Well i must apologise for not updating the blog recently but have been taking notes and will do an update as soon as i get chance, but i had to write something about today!!!!


We arrived at the hall at 10am this morning with great enthusiasm and with 7 of the older members of the group there ready and waiting to Paint, Paint, Paint, the only problem was that they got more paint on each other than on the set to start with.

Miss Hannigan, Luminere, Scarf Boy, Little Voice, Sandy, Timone, and the Dancing queen junior were today like a blessing, they got on with everything that they were asked to do and we got a lot more done than i thought we ever would, only the stage extension to put up and paint the stage fronts!!!!

The most interesting part of todays set build was in between waiting for the paint to dry, where the 7 listed above created more volume singing the show song then we have heard in 5 months of rehearsal, so this means that they will be opening the rehearsal tomorrow evening!!!!!!!!

I really do want to say a huge well done and thank you to all of you, a really sterling effort today guys, let hope we get more of the same next Sunday.

See you all tomorrow night for a fantastic full run through with Microphones........

Rob

Lyric of the blog -

Theres no business
like show business

Like no business i know.................................

Annie get your gun!!!!

Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest

Firstly can i apologise for not updating the blog as i have been that busy just not had the chance to do it....... but here we go, three weeks in one update!!!!

Well what have we been up to.. Lots of progress has been made over the last few weeks, Miss MD has been working tirelessly in room 2 trying to get all the singing run through at least once by the end of March and then we have had Dance queens 1 & 2 splitting between the main hall and Room 1 working on some of the smaller numbers choreography plus the solo stuff and we are more than half way there now!!!!!

Last week on the 8th March we were training the youngsters on voice projection and also singing with volume but also control. At the back of the hall there is a large yellow light which is actually noise sensitive and when a certain volume is reached the light will come on.... well the kids did not believe me... so...... The adults decided to prove a point.... There were only 7 adults to 32 kids so on went We are the Champions, it took a little while but there it was glowing brightly at the back whilst the 7 adults sang and the 32 kids watched. Now there turn...... I was really pleased and proud of them all as they managed to get the light on, so it just proved that it could be done and they have not looked back since.

Last night was fantastic, following our production meeting from a few weeks ago Wardrobe Mistress had actually come across some masks that did not cover the mouth that we could use for the Lion King and Jungle book sections. see allaboutcostumes.blogspot.com for more info on them. Well they arrived last night and all the adults promptly popped them on there heads, the kids just thought we were mad!!!! They are fab and a great find so thanks go to WM.

Currently the main group is rehearsing for there spring play MORT so the stage extension was up last night which i used fora couple of numbers. The highlight of the night for me was when "A whole new world" was sang by "Tommy the Cat" and Chelsea boy. They are both around the 12 years old mark and showed great maturity in the song and i must say it gave me goosebumps so a really huge well done to the two of you.

We now do not have a rehearsal for two weeks as the main show is being performed, however when we return we will be concentrating on the group singing and finishing the group dances so wait and see the updates. One other thing to mention is that thanks to Treasurer we may even be able to get on the TV..... how exciting!!!!! So you never know we might get that big break yet!!!!

The last thing to say is that as of last night i think we had broken the 100 tickets sold mark so that is 1/4 of the show sold out, but keep them orders coming in guys, we have to sell this show out as it is our first!!!!!!

Anyway that is about it i think. Will try and update this twice a week now so you can see the ups and downs in writing. For the kids in the group that read this, i am really proud of you all and cannot wait to put this show on, you are all a pleasure to direct and hope you all stay on next term.... Just remember to concentrate, sing up and smile of course the rest will fall into place.

In the words of one my former directors " i love you all individually and as group" so keep it up.

Thought of the day:

Ma Chere, Mademoiselle,
it is with greatest pride and deepest pleasure that we welcome you here tonight,
and now we invite you to relax
lets us pull up a chair
as CAST Academy proudly presents
OUR SHOW!!!!!!!!

Be our Guest - Beauty and the Beast

We Are The Champions (Oh Yes We Are!!!!)

Well where do i start with last night rehearsal!! It was AMAZING! The gang are doing us all proud, and themselves of course.

We started the evening running through the closing number "We go together" bit rusty but most people had remembered the dance so well done, then we moved onto the opening number " Be Our Guest" which was half done and mostly remembered. Then Dance Queen 2 promptly finished the dance off, which is simple but very effective!! Well done.

Whilst all this dancing was going on, i was running in and out of different rooms, Miss MD was in Room 2 (who i might add had also spent 3 hours at A + E that day) doing some of the solo singing, i went in and listened to the solo singing for Be Our Guest, Wow is all i can say, the girl who is singing the song was in our last production "Dick Whittington" (Me and Miss MD were in it as well but more another time on that!). She has come on in leaps and bounds, during Panto she would not have said boo to a goose and was so quiet when she sang i thought she was miming at one point!!! I stood there and listened with amazement, So this young lady will be called " Little Voice" for the purpose of the blog.

Also in the room was a young man who for this we will call "Luminere" the french accent was spot on and he had learn't his words also, plus a really powerful voice that will shine in the "we will rock you" segue of the show. Really well done mate, a lot more to come from you i think.

Throughout the evening we had Wardrobe Mistress pulling people out to try costumes on and then handing them to "Wardrobe Assistant" with the alterations needed, must point out at this stage as well that "Wardrobe Assistant" is actually my better half, and as with many couples at CAST that is where we met!!! Also pulling people out was Dance Queen 1 to do "A whole new world" with "Tommy the Cat" and "Chelsea Boy" which is now finished woo hoo, so a really busy night really.

After all of this we even had chance at the end to start "We Are The Champions" singing there hearts out they were (So were all the adults as well... We are queen lovers!!!! Ask Wardrobe Mistress). This song will be led by "Luminere" and "Scarf Man" as he always has one on!! They will do a grand job of it and then the whole company come in and blow the roof off, i am loving this show at the moment and i think the kids are also.

Thank you to everyone involved so far on and off the stage, i know when this show goes on it will be fantastic and you have all helped create this, so on that note i shall bid farewell and just say keep it up and see you next week.

Thought of the Day:

We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
We are the champions
Of the world. (Oh yes we are!!!!)

Opening Number

If any member of the general populas had walked into Colnbrook Village Hall at 7.45 last night they would have been greeted by the resounding sound of a 'top G' been screamed at the top of 25 or so very enthusiastic voices (- and according to Barman K one cat - but we generally ignore him when he's being grumpy!!)

Delving further into the matter - it would soon become apparent that the members of Cast Academy had been in the process of learning their opening number.

Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast is said song - it was a no brainer to choose really as it expresses everything that the production team and academy members are hoping to acheive - to welcome the audiences to the show, and to the lives of the characters and to a generally stonking night!! Having said that it is also one of my favourite songs - but the less said about that the better!!

The choreography for this song is already looking fantastic and although there were groans everytime Must Be Mad said 'and again' i think everyone understands the benefit of going over and over something to get it perfect - and in all honesty guys it was worth it - the moves look really awesome!

It always amazes me how youngsters have the knack of being noisy when they're not meant to be ie when they were being taught the dance for the song!!! lol - but as soon as you give them free range nothing escapes but short whisps of breathiness. Must Be Mad resolved this issue by having a volume competition which worked but the thought of lighting up a light above where the sound booth usually sits if there is enough noise seemed to catch the imagination of not only the academy members but one certain Miss MD. It was just unfortunate that the light wasn't on!

Thought For The Day - 'so relax let us pull up a chair as the academy proudly present their show!'

Flashdancers!!!!!

Well, last nights rehearsal went really well considering!!!!! We had 12 of the kids missing (10 we knew about) and then i had a call from Miss MD at about 4.30pm to say that despite her efforts to get out of her road the snow had won!!!!! The plan was actually start with some solo singing tonight (as there are 26 songs) and also get the kids to do some choreography of there own. It ended up being just the latter.........

I split them down into two groups of 10 and sent them off with Dance Queen 1 & 2 to start to put a dance routine together that they would perform at the end of the rehearsal. I must say that they all did extremely well and did me proud, some of the parents and members of CAST were around to see them perform as well which was good. Wardrobe Mistress was sat at the back of the hall after getting a few kids to try on costumes sewing away and making costumes (What would we do without her)!!!

I then had a meeting straight after rehearsal with Dance Queen 1 & 2 to sort out who is going to choreograph what!!! They have 12 songs each.... and wait for it................... Must be Mad (thats me) is choreographing two as well!!!! (hopelessly devoted to you and Hakuna Matata!!!) i can't wait. Also had a chat with "previous director" who i will call "Technoman" about another show that i am doing "The Rat Pack Cabaret night" in June and that is going to be awesome!!!!!

Anyway i'm off to Russia so "Moscow" ha ha!!! (Soccer AM) Check back soon for more updates.

Thought of the day: What a feeling,
bein's believin'
I can't have it all,
now I'm dancin' for my life
Take your passion,
and make it happen
Pictures come alive,
you can dance right through your life

Irene Cara - Flashdance!!

Costume-tastic

Just remembered - a couple of the girls tried their costumes on and they looked awesome - Miss Paperwork, Must Be Mad, Wardrobe Mistress and Myself promptly got very excited about the whole thing! There were big smiles all round - although I'm not sure how much of the girls was embarrassment at having 4 adults get excited over costumes!!

Woohoo

To add to the confusion

Must Be Mad has invited me to post blogs as and when - this is not necessarily a good idea seeing as I struggle loads with technology! (PS in the allaboutdeath blogspot I'm also known as Keli)

The gang were all fantastic last night! I've sent them off this week to learn the vocal lib in We Go Together - you know the one - rama lama lama etc etc. Using the time as a good excuse to learn it myself! Funny - I never really got into Grease - was more of a Fred and Ginger fanatic.

Oh well there are worse things I could do!! get it?!!!! ;-) LOL

Personal motto for the day - 'just say no!'

Thought for the day - 'Everybody want's to be a cat, because a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at!

Blog Names Update!!

Sorry had to add that previous producer (Allaboutdeath)!!! Will for this blog be Wardrobe Mistress!!!!

This may get confusing as there is more to add yet!!!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

Join the Bloggers

Well here we are!!!! The first of probably many logs over the next few months...... I have called myself Must be Mad for this one as when you undertake setting up a Youth Academy thats what you must be, especially with 32 members all under 16.....

There is a team of 4 leaders, myself, Miss MD, Miss Paperwork and Mr Finance, we also have a number of helpers as well whom you shall meet throughout the coming months.

Last nights Rehearsal was to finish off the Grease Number "We Go Together" which will be our finale and they did us proud dancing and singing extremely well. Miss MD seemed to be really pleased and so was Dance Queen 1 who cheorograped the dance (assisted by myself of course!!!). Next week we have about 10 kids missing so we will be doing some solo singing, which is desperatly needed, (after all there is 26 songs in the show) ranging from Grease to Disney, something for everyone. Plus getting the remaining kids to do some of there own dance routines overlooked by Dance Queen 1 & 2 (Yes we have 2!!!)

Anyway you will see it all unfold before your very eyes, the highs the lows and the in between bits of course. This is all started due to previous producer (As she is named in allaboutdeath) as she wrote the first blog (allaboutdick) and i have carried it on from producer (allaboutdeath) where my name is actually Producer Geezer but now i am Must be Mad as well!!!!!..... Confused yet?? So i am i.

Thought of the day - Hakuna Matata!What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata!Ain't no passing craze
It means no worries
For the rest of your days
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!

Lion King Song!!!