We Will Rock You: My Character Research

Gaga Kids:
Gaga Kids are robotic clones of each other- teenagers who have been brainwashed into listening to nothing but programmed music and don't know what an instrument is. The Gaga Kids don't like Gallileo or Scaramouche as they are 'different' and on Planet Mall, everyone is the same. Gaga Kids have cheesy smiles and talk in American accents. Every dance movement they do is completely in unison and this is something I'm going to have to take into account during the Gaga dance numbers. All Gaga kids look the same, talk the same and act the same and making this obvious is going to be important when it comes to the show.

Sources I have used to help with my development of playing a Gaga Kid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRtI2PvVGj0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3RyGgeVl5Q

Yuppies:
Yuppies are the Killer Queen's 'Minions'. They worship and work for Killer Queen and dress very smart. Their movements and dancing is very slick and in time. They are basically grown up gaga kids and, instead of wearing white, wear black and carry canes. They are quite 'sexualised' in their movement and the way they worship Killer Queen. We will also be using canes whilst dancing which will show the 'sexualisation'. Unlike the Gaga Kids, they don't show any emotion and don't talk- they simply sing.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VlJzPU_YeQ

Bohemians:
The Bohemians are the rebels of Planet Mall and live in the underground. The Characters Meat and Brit welcome Gallileo and Scaramouche into their community, before the Bohemians are captured by Khashoggi and have their souls destroyed. The Bohemian's style is very punky and they wear things they have found. They are very 'hippy' like and although, at first, they come across quite aggressive, once they get to know Gallileo and Scaramouche, they are very friendly. The Bohemians dedicate their lives to Rock n Roll and the past legends of the genre. They really do come across as a lot of fun and it's this 'fun' that I'm going to remember when it comes to portraying a Bohemian.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_p0Ga5qRyM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA4ffek3ka4

We Will Rock You (Post-Show Evaluation)

Post-Show Evaluation:
We Will Rock You went fabulously. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself during the process of putting the show together, have worked with great people and have improved masses since the beginning of the rehearsal process. The show really came together over the last couple of shows (For me personally, the two evening performances were my strongest as I was warmed up both vocally and physically) and it's been a pleasure to take part in such a fun, dynamic and interesting show.

Song by Song Analysis: (Songs I was in)

Act 1:
Radio Gaga:
 I believe that Radio Gaga was my strongest song. It was the first song that we were taught the choreography for and I believe this is why it was the best song for me. I'd also learnt the lyrics to this particular song after seeing We Will Rock You in the West End a few months ago as it was my favourite song of the show. The choreography for this song was very robotic and contained mainly hand/arm movement. Having seen the West End show, I knew a lot about the Gaga Kids and I knew that in order to show the way they are all robotic and have no originality, I knew we would have to dance in time with each other. The simple choreography made this a lot easier and I believe we managed to achieve this effect. Lyric-wise most Gaga Kids were word perfect- I know I was. However there were some people who were unsure on words which meant the volume of the singing went down. If we were to do the show again, I'd ensure that EVERY Gaga Kid was 100% on both lyrics and choreography as this would make the overall performance a lot slicker and more professional. 


Killer Queen:
 Elle did a great job on choreographing Killer Queen. It wasn't as simple as Radio Gaga but the final product was just as slick. The dance was all centred around us holding canes. The use of canes sexualised the song even more than the lyrics do and the fact that us yuppies were all 'worshipping' Killer Queen highlighted the 'sexualisation' of the piece- it showed that the yuppies were in superior to Killer Queen as the whole dance was focused around her. The only improvement for this song would be the vocals as at times, I felt as though the only Yuppies that could be heard singing were me, emily and Beth.

I Want It All:
 During I Want It All, for one of the casts, we made the decision during show week that the whole cast sang the chorus. This was because Meat and Brit struggled with the chorus and it made sense for everyone to join in and give the vocals more power and energy.

This Thing Called Love:
 I loved this song! The choreography was brilliant and simple. What made this song so special was the sheer amount of actors on stage- it was a whole cast scene with the exception of Killer Queen, Khashoggi and the guards. Lyrics wise everyone was perfect and the song allowed me, as a bohemian, to really get into character and embrace the 'rock n roll' image through exaggerated dancing and 'air guitaring'. 

Act 2:
One Vision:
 One Vision was by far my least strongest song. Both my vocals and dancing were pretty weak. The song had been choreographed by different people for different verses and up until the day before the show, I still wasn't 100% sure on the choreography. I think the problem with the choreography was that a lot of it didn't suit the music very well. I feel that the rest of the Gaga Kids weren't confident at all and if we were to do the show again, I'd like to think that they would ensure they were more confident with the lyrics as it was very clear at times that certain people hadn't learnt them.

Flash:
 Flash was a very strong number- Elle choreographed it. During 'Flash' Khashoggi is electrocuting the rebellious 

Seven Seas Of Rhye:
 This was one of my favourite numbers in the show. I think it was really effective how Khashoggi grabbed the Bohemians and then threw them on the floor. On Elle's performance, she really got into a character and even grabbed me by the throat. It looked fabulous and all the Bohemians did a good job on looking genuinely scared- through both facial expressions and body language. We could've improved this number if all the bohemians were shaking and rolling round uncomfortably to show their fear.

Those Were The Days:
 This song was performed to a high standard. The Bohemians are 'zombified' during this song and simply sway to the song. It was a very emotional scene and I believe I did a good job in portraying a 'zombified bohemian' by moving very slow.

We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody:
 I think both of these numbers lacked organisation. No one knew how many 'We Will Rock Yous' Gallileo and Scaramouche would sing in We Will Rock You and no one was entirely sure on which parts of Bohemian Rhapsody the chorus were singing. If we were to do the show again, I'd ensure that both these numbers were both choreographed and learnt properly and efficiently.

Production/Tech:
 Production wise I was responsible for sourcing/putting together my own costumes. For my Gaga Kid costume, a white T-Shirt was supplied by college and I had to stencil the GAGA logo onto it. I also brought pairs of white shorts and white plimsols to complete the outfit. For my Yuppie costume, we simply wore a black blazer over our Gaga costumes. I found a black blazer in the costume cupboard which I went on to use. For my Bohemian costume, I wore a pair of black converses, scruffy levi shorts and random pieces of clothing that I had found in the costume cupboard. These 'random pieces of clothing' included patterned braces, a Purple DFTA t shirt, ties to be worn as head/armbands and we also cut up random pieces of material to tie round our arms/heads.  I decided to rip and cut the t shirt to make it look even scruffier.

Synopsis/Conclusion:
Overall, I really enjoyed doing We Will Rock You. I found the entire process more enjoyable than I found Grease and I believe this was due to several reasons. The main thing I could've improved on was my dancing but I feel as though I did the best of my abilities- I should have just spent more time going over the dance basics to ensure I improved.

There were several differences between WWRY and Grease. The biggest one was the fact that in Grease I was a principle role- I had solos and I was very rarely off stage. In WWRY I was a member of the chorus and spent a lot of time in the wings during the show. Being a member of the chorus meant that I had to be a lot more patient during rehearsals as a lot of the time we would be running scenes that I wasn't in OR was in for just a couple of lines. In Grease, I did very little dancing- with the exception of a couple of songs, it was very much about the acting and singing. However, in WWRY dancing was pretty much the focus of being a member of the chorus. This really opened my eyes into the industry and showed me that different performers have very different responsibilities in a show. I have to admit, I really enjoyed being a member of the chorus in WWRY as I felt as though the pressure was off- even though I had to learn a lot of songs in a short amount of time. Unlike Grease, I didn't have to worry about my voice as much as I was always singing in an ensemble- if i momentarily slipped out of key, no one would realise, however if I slipped out of key during one of my solos in Grease, everyone would have noticed. So there definitely felt like there was less pressure and I could really 'go for it' when it came to singing and dancing. 

 Another big difference between WWRY and Grease was the size of the production. In comparison to Grease, WWRY was a huge production. Grease had just 13/14 cast members whereas WWRY had around 30. It gave the rehearsal process and the show such a different feel to what Grease felt like. Grease felt very low key and was a much smaller production- we even had a smaller audience. WWRY felt so much more energetic and due to the huge cast, it looked a lot more energetic and dynamic on stage. I felt as though the bigger cast also helped morale. During Grease, I felt as though cast members were often influenced by other cast members negativity and it made rehearsals a very tense experience. Of course, there was some sort of negativity within the WWRY cast, but because the cast was bigger, the negative comments didn't influence the entire cast. 

 I've enjoyed myself so much doing We Will Rock You and I'm going to miss the year 13s a lot!

We Will Rock You (Pre-Show)

PRE-SHOW EVALUATION:

As a year 12, I will be part of the cast for 'We Will Rock You'. Along with the rest of the Year 12s, I will be playing a Gaga Kid, a Yuppie and a Bohemian. The show starts next week and there are several ideas that I have had an input in during the rehearsal process, numerous things I need to improve on, and lots of things I need to get sorted tech-wise.

 The rehearsal process has been very enjoyable and for me, the main thing to focus on was learning the lyrics and choreography to songs. We Will Rock You has been very demanding for me as all the Year 12s have had to learn a lot of songs and choreography. Some Year 12s are in more songs than others but I, personally, have had to learn the lyrics and/or choreography to 'Radio Gaga', 'Killer Queen', 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', 'Flash', 'Seven Seas Of Rhye', 'Those Were The Days Of Our Lives', 'We Will Rock You' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. The main focus for me has been choreography as dance is by far the part of Musical Theatre that I find the trickiest. The Year 13s had choreographed Radio Gaga and taught us the routine- I found this routine very easy to pick up as it's simple and mainly arm/hand based- movement wise.

What I need to do:
 I need to ensure that I am word perfect for the song 'One Vision' as at the moment I'm not. I also need to ensure that I am confident with the choreography as I'm also not. In order to make sure I am confident with the song as a whole, I am going to learn the lyrics at home and keep going through the choreography with other cast members who are confident with it. We also need to sort out choreography/lyrics for Bohemian Rhapsody as no one is 100% on which parts the chorus sing. We Will Rock You also needs to be sorted. I need to keep going over every song that I'm in because, even though i may know the lyrics, it's always best to practice. We have two whole days of rehearsals on monday and tuesday so I'm sure we will accomplish this!

OVERVIEW of Rehearsal Process:  Overall, the rehearsal process for We Will Rock You has been very different to Grease. Grease had just 13/14 cast members whereas We Will Rock You has 30. It means that we had to be a lot more patient during rehearsals- this was emphasised to me by the fact that in Grease I was a principle role and was on stage for most of the show. However, in WWRY I'm a member of the chorus, and although we spend a lot of time on stage, I'm not finding it as demanding (Or stressful!!) as I found Grease; but at the same time, I'm having to learn a lot more choreography then I did in Grease. There are a lot of differences between my time doing Grease and WWRY which I will speak about in my Post-Show Evaluation.

Character Development:
Gaga Kid:
 Gaga Kids are the 'school kids' of Planet Mall. They are all controlled by Killer Queen. They listen to nothing but programmed music, dress the same and act like 'robots' as none of them are individual and they pick on Scaramouche and Gallileo. During dances, it's important that all the Gaga Kids are in time with each other as it makes them seem even more robotic. In the two Gaga Kid songs- Radio Gaga and One Vision, we have used very robotic choreography to emphasise the robotic nature of the Gaga Kids. At this moment in time, we are not sure whether to play the Gaga Kids as overly-happy and 'smiley' or to use robotic facial expressions (as well as robotic movement) and this is something we will decide over the coming few days before the show.

Yuppie:
 Yuppies are the Killer Queen's/Khashoggi's  'assistants'. Costume-wise, we are just going to put black blazers over our Gaga Costume to show that Yuppies are simply grown up Gaga Kids. Yuppies are meant to be slick so Elle has decided to choreograph the song 'Killer Queen' with slick Fosse choreography. During the Yuppie scenes we need to look slick but still maintain the 'robotic' nature that Yuppies share with the Gaga Kids- especially after Killer Queen when we all have to bang our canes on the floor in unison- this is something we need to practice before the show.

Bohemian:
 Bohemians are the 'rebels' of Planet Mall and live in the underground. They have a 'rock n roll' fashion and are named after past rock 'legends'. I'm going to portray my Bohemian character to be very outgoing and I can really emphasise this during Crazy Little Thing during to improvisation part of the song. I'm going to do over the top movements and play 'air guitar' to show that as a Bohemian, I dream of playing guitar and love to have a good time. After the Bohemians are captured and 'brainwashed' by Khashoggi, they're brains become empty and they are zombie-like. I want to show the contrast in Bohemians before and after the capture and to do this I just need to exaggerate the enthusiasm/energy before the capture and the lack of emotion and Zombie-like movement afterwards.