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Post by forevercolours on Oct 25, 2021 16:06:22 GMT
Not really sure if this fits in with the usual questions here but I didn’t want to start a whole new thread for this so I’m just gonna ask it here!
Are there any websites out there who post all upcoming WE performer concerts? (Either solo or in groups) I really want to go to move while I live in London but I always find out about them too late. Is it always just the case of checking out their social media or is there anywhere I can find a list? Or is this not possible because performers use different venues/ticketing websites so getting them all in one place is hard?
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Post by alece10 on Oct 25, 2021 17:42:56 GMT
Not really sure if this fits in with the usual questions here but I didn’t want to start a whole new thread for this so I’m just gonna ask it here! Are there any websites out there who post all upcoming WE performer concerts? (Either solo or in groups) I really want to go to move while I live in London but I always find out about them too late. Is it always just the case of checking out their social media or is there anywhere I can find a list? Or is this not possible because performers use different venues/ticketing websites so getting them all in one place is hard? Lots of WE performers choose Cadogan Hall for their concerts so it's worth signing up to their e mails, likewise with Crazy Coqs. |
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Post by hannechalk on Jun 24, 2022 7:22:58 GMT
I would just like to ask, as it seems to be the buzzword for any new play or musical opening - what exactly is immersive theatre?
Is it just that they use the whole theatre as the stage, so they play around and amongst the audience?
Is it always with audience participation?
If I pay upwards of £30, I just want to sit back and enjoy the show, to be honest.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2022 9:48:53 GMT
what exactly is immersive theatre? The cynic in me suggests "We only have half a script, half a cast and half a theatre, and the audience gets to fill in the gaps".
Not my thing. I don't want to be involved. Often I don't even want to be seen. If there was such a thing as an electric dark bulb that could plunge the auditorium into impenetrable gloom I'd be totally up for that.
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Post by inthenose on Jun 24, 2022 16:22:10 GMT
I would just like to ask, as it seems to be the buzzword for any new play or musical opening - what exactly is immersive theatre? Is it just that they use the whole theatre as the stage, so they play around and amongst the audience? Is it always with audience participation? If I pay upwards of £30, I just want to sit back and enjoy the show, to be honest. In short, it has become a buzzword. It has no real meaning any more, in that it can be a walk-through experience (like Secret Cinema) or a regular sit down book musical, with a token "audience interaction" moment lasting a few seconds. It is something to put in PR copy which is in vogue, because it sounds good and doesn't really mean anything. It is up to interpretation what makes a show "immersive", so it can never really be wrong. Other popular meaningless buzzwords include "dynamic staging" and "reflective of modern society" which pop up constantly. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2022 17:55:42 GMT
I always think of immersive is the cast sometimes greeting you in character when you walk into the auditorium, I know the preshow music works well in shows like One Man Two Govenors, Cabaret and many years ago in the Lenny Bruce play with Eddie Izzard.
I was once at a play which had the cast greeting you as you walked into a studio theatre and they were well known actors who were TV regulars and people were actually asking them "Are you in character or not?". They weren't actually and I was chatting to one of the cast about the first time she had performed in the city some 20 years earlier.
I think this type of performance works well when done right but it has to be carefully judged.
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Post by Steffi on Jun 24, 2022 18:07:09 GMT
I would just like to ask, as it seems to be the buzzword for any new play or musical opening - what exactly is immersive theatre? The word immersive is used for every show that has a slightly less traditional staging or one bit of audience interaction these days. In truth a lot of these “immersive shows” are not even promenade productions. Truly immersive theatre is rare. Punchdrunk are the ones that do it best in my opinion. But I’ve seen some really good immersive productions by other companies: Then She Fell in New York is one example. Secret Cinema is immersive in its own way but has more of an interactive event character so I wouldn’t class it as immersive theatre. Basically for me immersive theatre is a show that completely draws me into the experience. I don’t just watch a show from an assigned seat, I walk around in a different world and in a way become part of this world (as an observer with sometimes carefully crafted interactions with the cast). |
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Post by sph on Jun 24, 2022 22:39:14 GMT
Yes, I didn't find Cabaret at the Playhouse immersive really. Sure, it had a few token immersive elements but there wasn't much to suggest you were in a seedy Berlin club in the 30s, and the further away from the stalls you were, the less immersive it got.
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Post by richey on Aug 2, 2022 13:04:36 GMT
So I'm currently sat in the Duke of Wellington pub behind the Sondheim Stage Door and noticed members of the orchestra going in with less than half an hour to curtain up. Is this customary? I always assumed they had to be there much earlier to warm up.
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Post by og on Aug 2, 2022 13:38:43 GMT
So I'm currently sat in the Duke of Wellington pub behind the Sondheim Stage Door and noticed members of the orchestra going in with less than half an hour to curtain up. Is this customary? I always assumed they had to be there much earlier to warm up. 30mins and all that time to spare! It doesnt take nearly as long to warm up as vocal and physical warm ups. There was a time members of the pit would be propping up the closest bar til beginners! Spose they could be dropping off their instruments now and heading for a swift half. |
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Post by TallPaul on Aug 2, 2022 13:49:29 GMT
By my fourth or fifth visit to 42nd Street, I knew the drill and knew where my seat was, so used to arrive with just minutes to spare. As I walked along Maiden Lane, there would always be musicians going through the Stage Door at the Adelphi, with perhaps 10 minutes to curtain up.
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Post by properjob on Aug 2, 2022 17:24:12 GMT
The musicians seem to have their own rules. They don't hang around for long afterwards either. A good ten years ago now I saw a very good tour of west side story at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The MD came up to the stage for his individual bow and then walked forward indicating the pit to acknowledge the orchestra. The problem was in the time it had taken to get to his bow all but one of the musicians had left leaving an empty pit!
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Post by Dawnstar on Aug 2, 2022 20:23:55 GMT
There was a time members of the pit would be propping up the closest bar til beginners! I've heard that orchestra members at the ROH & ENO, mostly the brass players who often have long gaps between playing in many opera scores, were known to pop out to the nearest pub during performances in the past! Nowadays you can still often see the brass players entering & exiting the pit during performances but I imagine going for drinks mid-performance is (probably) no longer considered acceptable so they just have to sit around backstage. |
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Post by firefingers on Aug 2, 2022 22:49:13 GMT
There have been pubs where the stage manager has to ring the landline to get the orchestra out of the bar and into the pit. Drinking on the job is not that common any more (at least in such an obvious way) but as long as it doesn't affect their performance it tends to be fine. Only other performers I've worked with who seem to be allowed to have a few drinks are comedians, which I guess is as it is all on them and if the show goes tits up because they are hammered it doesn't significantly affect anyone bar them.
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Post by inthenose on Aug 2, 2022 23:13:29 GMT
There have been pubs where the stage manager has to ring the landline to get the orchestra out of the bar and into the pit. Drinking on the job is not that common any more (at least in such an obvious way) but as long as it doesn't affect their performance it tends to be fine. Only other performers I've worked with who seem to be allowed to have a few drinks are comedians, which I guess is as it is all on them and if the show goes tits up because they are hammered it doesn't significantly affect anyone bar them. Yeah, this matches my experience. And professional wrestlers - they like a drink or ten. |
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Post by daisy24601 on Sept 7, 2022 9:56:13 GMT
Just curious as I follow a few people currently rehearsing in the new cast of Frozen, how much is someone like Samantha Barks who is already in the cast, involved in the rehearsals? She obviously doesn't need to rehearse but should get some rapport going with the new cast. Perhaps ensemble members who are staying on, even more so.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Sept 9, 2022 22:11:51 GMT
Does Jermyn Street Theatre have a stage door or do the cast exit through the bar? Asking for a friend!
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Post by stagebyte on Sept 9, 2022 23:39:51 GMT
Opinions on the recent flood of actors offering ‘acting through song’ workshops. Any good ones to try? Are all these actors qualified to ‘teach’?
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Post by firefingers on Sept 10, 2022 14:23:06 GMT
Does Jermyn Street Theatre have a stage door or do the cast exit through the bar? Asking for a friend! No stage door that I can remember from doing a show there. Think there is technically a fire exit through the basement but don't think it is for regular use. |
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Post by sfsusan on Feb 15, 2023 16:39:05 GMT
What's the difference between a 'playtext' and the script of a play? I've tried Googling the answer but the sites I've looked at seem to use playtext and script interchangeably and primarily focus on the difference between 'script' and a 'play'.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 15, 2023 20:38:09 GMT
What is the difference between a musical and a play with music? (Answers from TallPaul don’t count). |
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Post by jgblunners on Feb 15, 2023 21:10:00 GMT
What is the difference between a musical and a play with music? (Answers from TallPaul don’t count). This is bound to be a divisive question, but here’s my interpretation: In a musical, the songs are a part of the narrative. They can propel plot and give us insight into characters’ thoughts or feelings that we wouldn’t get from a book scene. In a play with music, the songs do not form part of the narrative. They are complimentary to it. Remove the musical numbers and the plot works just fine, you’re not left with any holes. Here what the music contributes is a mood or atmosphere, something which helps to immerse you in the characters’ lives without necessarily describing them. I don’t think it’s really that binary, but that’s the best I can do to explain my thoughts on the difference. |
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Post by cavocado on Feb 15, 2023 21:26:37 GMT
What's the difference between a 'playtext' and the script of a play? I've tried Googling the answer but the sites I've looked at seem to use playtext and script interchangeably and primarily focus on the difference between 'script' and a 'play'. I might be wrong, but I think the playtext is the published book version of a script. |
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Post by firefingers on Feb 16, 2023 0:39:21 GMT
What's the difference between a 'playtext' and the script of a play? I've tried Googling the answer but the sites I've looked at seem to use playtext and script interchangeably and primarily focus on the difference between 'script' and a 'play'. So a playtext is the formal version as agreed by the writer. The script may well not quite match. A performer may go in rehearsals "I don't think my character would say mother, she would say something more casual like mum" and so change it for that specific run (even on a brand new work) but the published version may be what the writer really wants. |
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Post by firefingers on Feb 16, 2023 0:44:18 GMT
What is the difference between a musical and a play with music? (Answers from TallPaul don’t count). I'd consider a play with music to be where all the music is diegetic, i.e. this is all literally happening. A lot of musicals are non-diegetic, i.e. they don't know they they are singing or that a band exists, it just a 'natural' thing. Some shows like Once or The Commitments have parts where they play a "gig", they know they are making music, so this is more akin to a play with music. But sometimes it is just snobbery on the creative team who look down on musical theatre and are looking for a term to claim they aren't working on a musical. |
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