Unit 27: Showcase Dress Rehearsal

On 12th February 2018, we performed a dress rehearsal of our entire showcase. This meant running the show from start to finish, with full energy, tech and costumes. Also, this was our first run through with the band.

Below is the video containing our Unit 27 dress rehearsal of Grease, it begins at 6.25 minutes:

After performing in the dress rehearsal, it was apparent that several changes needed to be made. This being to blocking, formations, choreography and also technical issues such as lighting and sound.

Listed below are some of the changes we had to make, all photos included in this write up are from the dress rehearsal:

• Opening - We decided that, in order to increase the smoothness of the show overall, it would

  

  Wall exposed backstage.

  work better and look more professional if we kept the curtains open after the band had played 'Phantom of the Opera' and just began the Unit 27 performance by the song, 'Grease is The Word' fading in and the lights coming up gradually. We chose this song because it is well known and makes it blatantly obvious that the next act will be 'Grease', so that the audience know what to expect and can get in the right mood and frame of mind for what they are about to see.
• Curtains - Another thing, that after watching the rehearsal back, we decided to change, was the black curtains at the back of the stage. They were open for the majority of the performance, exposing the wall behind. This made the staging look unprofessional and unappealing. We asked our technical manager, Mr Douglas, to stick these curtains together for the actual showcase to ensure the stage looks tidy and professional

  

  Table being used as bed.

  throughout.
• Table - We decided after this rehearsal that the girls' clique, would not sit around a table, but just the dining chairs instead. This is because it was difficult to remove the table in between scenes and after trying it without the table, the choreography looked better on the chairs, rather than the table.
• Bed - In the sleepover scene, we wanted a bed, however, after this rehearsal we decided to not use the table and sheet but to carry on using the chairs from the first scene at school but to cover the chairs in blankets and pillows to disguise them as a sofa, as this would be easier and quicker during the scene change.

  

  Lighting problems during sleepover.

• Lighting - Another issue we encountered was lighting. During the sleepover scene as I walked over to the chair to get my kimono, I was not lit. We had to rectify this for the final performance.
• Dance formations - Due to the new positioning of the platform, it was realised that we needed a new formation as for the dance scene, our choreography no longer fit the space. This meant that 2 entire dance numbers needed a lot

  

  Dance in wrong spacing.

  of work and changes.
• Costume - Due to her fast costume changes, Betsy was unable to get dressed in time for her scenes. This meant a change to her costumes to ensure she could get them on and off fast enough.
  

The dress rehearsal proved to be a success. We managed to get through the whole show without  any major problems. There were obviously many minor adjustments to make before we performed the final performance and we have just 3 days to rectify these issues. We shall continue to rehearse as much as we can every day before the performance in order to be at our best for the performance in 3 days. We needed to have a lot more energy, as towards the end of the second half, we were very tired after a full day rehearsing and then the dress run, we all needed to make sure we were well-rested for the actual performance.