Week 11--- Peter Pan rehearsal week three

Monday 27th November 2023

This week we moved into a dance studio near arc to continue our rehearsals of "Peter Pan the British musical"- spending the majority of the Monday focusing on the main lost boys scene  including "Wendy's song" that happens during this period. Because I am a lost boy in cast 2 and 3 I was part of the process of going over the first part of the scene, and then connecting it to the song itself. At first I was a bit confused, due to the fact that I've only ever ran through this scene as Peter, whose not actually involved in the physical dance choreography itself therefore I decided to sit and watch them run through the first section of the song a few times so I could see everyone's placement, and the general jest of the sequence itself. I then asked one of my fellow lost boys in the sequence to walk me through a part of it I found particularly confusing, going over the movement with them, and then running it through from the start with the rest of the lost boys. I now feel this scene is one of the most polished, and am happy with the amount of time we got to go over it and learn it/polish it- especially as I now don't have to worry about it as a scene and can focus time into some of the Peter Pan scenes I feel need a bit of work.

 My main goal when running through lost boy scenes is to keep up the emotion with my facial expressions and movement, this is because in cast 2 and 3 I'm not a named lost boy, meaning its important for me to always fill spaces in the background with energy to keep the scenes lively so they highlight who the lost boys are as characters. Monday was a great day for me to fully figure out 100% how I think the lost boys interact with one another, plus the way they exist as a people. This is because I got multiple opportunities when going over the scene to figure out what I thought worked well, and what didn't when it came to my characterisation, allowing me to be more sure when performing and more confident.   

Tuesday 28th November 2023   

Because Tuesdays are normally saved for singing practise, we went through all the songs in the show- including some spoken scenes- with the backing tracks. Making sure all the timing matched up and that the dialogue leading into songs was started at the correct time etc. This was an important section in the processes of rehearsals, because it allowed us to figure out all the musical numbers that we were comfortable with, and the ones that we weren't as secure with. It was also nice to go over all the songs, and some of the scenes because it give us all a better overview of the whole play and the sections that collectively we know needed work. One thing I particularly liked about this process is that we were starting to introduce sound ques and lighting prompts into certain songs and scenes- allowing us as a cast to understand transitions and the quick switches from dialogue to song that we hadn't yet covered. This also gave the students that were going to be working on sound and lighting a run down of everything they needed to do throughout the whole show, which will be beneficial to the whole cast when we start doing tech runs at arc theatre. 

We all then did the usual of splitting up and working on things separately, for me this included running over some of the Hook and Peter fight sequences, making sure that we weren't accidently coursing each other injury from a certain move or re occurring mistakes that we needed to put time into and iron out fully. One thing I always find difficult when its comes to the fight sequences, is making sure I don't mix up the choreography by swapping sections around on accident. Its really difficult to focus on remaining in the characters mind set whilst making sure your prepared and aware of the next move. This is something I communicated to my fellow actor George who is playing the role of hook- who then proposed we go through the whole sequence really slowly a few times. As someone who struggles to take in large amounts of information at once, going over it slowly was one of the best decisions- because it allowed me to focus more on what move I was doing in the moment and perfect it. Instead of worrying about what the next move is, coursing me to miss counts and tumble on tricks. 

Wednesday 29th November 2023  

Wednesday was the day that we fully focused on Wendy's song, delving into the choreography sections throughout it, getting positioning and technique nailed down so we could focus on slotting all the parts of the song together. Because I do this number as both a lost boy and Peter Pan I made sure to listen to all the notes that other characters were being given and take them on- even if I was playing the role of Peter in that scene. This meant that I flicked in and out of watching lost boys choreography and practising Peters placement throughout the song. This took a lot of patients and focus, and although it was stressful having to pay attention to not just my movements/notes but the other actors too, It built on my skill of resilience. Showing me how important it is to remain consistent even when tired, and that developing that ability to just keep working and listening helps the whole scene and process go smoother- making the outcome one to be proud of instead of one to be reluctant to perform.  

Thursday 30th November 2023

We began Thursday by coming in early to do some work on the flying that happens at the beginning of the production. I felt it was important to make sure that we know how the flying sequences flow into the rest of the scenes without appearing clunky or unpolished, so coming in early to do that was definitely an effective use of time that stopped us having to eat into general rehearsal time later on in the day. When it comes to the flying I tend to focus to much on what my body's doing and the position I'm maintaining, meaning I often neglect my facial emotions when flying, so for me personally to now feel more secure with the flying allows me to add more character to the sequence. 

We also did a full cast 3 run through today were I play a lost boy, meaning I could take the opportunity to make notes on what other cast members were doing and take in the notes they were being given. It was also really helpful for me to see every Peter Pan scene from a 3rd person perspective so I had that mental note of what scenes were where and how things transitioned. I'm a lost boy in this cast so being able to run through Wendy's song as a lost boy instead of Peter was really helpful, as it let me put the choreography into practise and spend time on the lost boys scenes that I've pushed a side whilst working on Peters scenes.