Another piece of 'Peas'good publicity

Sorry bout the pun!

Hurrah for the Telegraph. Another article by David Peasgood appeared last night, with a colour version of the group photo that appeared last week.

This time the re-arranged headline was "Rising Stars' Super Show", and it really sells the show well. It starts by setting the scene with

...hundreds of outfits lay ready...a huge cast of singers and actors rehearsing every day...the band working like Trojans...

It goes on to say how it all started 10 months ago, and says it will be

...a theatrical event not to be missed

It mentions Pete as Jesus, and how we have been lucky to get the license to put on the show, then it goes on with the best bit of the article ;-) ....

It will feature many stars whose performances have graced local stages over the decades.

Richard Barley, of Healing, is a new member of the society and plays Judas in the production.

He said "I believe this is going to be the biggest, most adventurous show by an amateur group in the area and I'm delighted to have been chosen to take part."

I also goes on to namecheck Steve, Caroline, James, Tom, Kev, David & Gary.

Now, if the next one could be front-page news, that would be great (!).

Everything's alright...well, sort of

I think we've reached the point now where we need to be in the Auditorium with the set. Last night was quite flat again...no-one seemed to have the energy to put any spark into their performance, me included.

We did another full run-through. David W had brought 2 radio mics (borrowed from his Class Act group) for me and Pete, which made things a bit easier, as we could now act with both hands.

As I said, it was quite a lacklustre run-through. Everyone did OK...there were some forgotten lines (Pete! ;-) ), missed cues (Chorus!) and fading voices (ME!).

After the run-through, most people went while Julie went over a couple of the dances. We were finishing off "Superstar" when she had finished, so we had to wait (and wait, and wait...). Eventually we got to do it and it will look good I think...the Soul Girls following me around the stage and doing their stuff while I sing the final ad libs.

I took lots more photos, which are all now in the gallery.

No rehearsal on Sunday, so the next one is Monday. It's going to be a hard week next week, getting the balance right between keeping it ticking over and over-rehearsing.

Let's hope we get it right.

Gallery open for viewing

I've just finished pulling together the "What's The Buzz? Gallery". You can see it here, or click on the link on the right-hand side.
If you have any photos that you would like to appear in the gallery, please click here to send them to me, or use the link opposite.

I've managed to get my camera fixed, so I'll be taking some shots over the next 2 weeks and posting them here.

Derby Operatic JCS Review

Derby Operatic have just done JCS, with the same set as ours. Here is what the local paper had to say about their performance. In short it sounds like an OK performance, let down by sound & lighting issues. This is a shame, as, if they have worked anything like as hard as we have they must be pretty fed up to get such an average review.

I'm sure we won't suffer the same fate.

An emotional night

It seemed like a very emotional night last night. We were picking up a few different scenes, warming up and polishing. Then we did "The Crucifixion"...Caroline and Jeanine were just excellent - so full of grief. There's going to be such a strange feeling after each show - normally people are on a high having done a big finishing number and walk-down, but with our ending, things are going to be a bit quiet.

We were skipping most of the solos as they are pretty much sorted, so I just filled in with "Strange Thing Mystifying" and my bit in "Everything's Alright", which went OK.

We sent on to the second act, starting with a full "Last Supper", but no "Gethsemane". We then played it pretty much all the way through.

One worry is the state of Steve's voice for "Herod's Song". He's had a really bad throat for some weeks now and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. It would be a real shame if he couldn't sing it on the night, as he does it so well. If his voice hasn't returned by opening night, it will have to be a question of someone (probably James) singing it in for him.

Something happened with "Judas' Death" last night...I don't know what, but I kind of lost myself in it (in a good way!). I don't know why, but I seemed to go up another gear, even from my previous performances. By the time I had finished, I had real tears in my eyes and I was shaking...I had to go and sit down for a few minutes, before picking myself back up for "Superstar". This is going to be quite hard for me I think. I'm just going to feel like going and shutting myself away after I have hung myself, but I only have 5 minutes before I have to come "flying" back on again.

Geoff seems really happy with how we are getting on and has said that if things go well on Thursday, then he will cancel Sunday's rehearsal. I think this is the right thing to do now. We are getting to that point where we can start to go over the top and it will do us all good to have a short break from it. The next 2 weeks are going to be so intense, mentally and physically, for us all, I think we will all benefit from recharging our batteries a little before heading into the "final push".

Full run and a Farewell

I was really happy with my performance today. We did a full run though from start to finish, and I really felt that I was giving my best. Everything has now been set, and I can now focus on honing my performance.

We started by setting "The Crucifixion". This is going to be amazing. There are those who still want us to have a curtain-call at the end of the show, but, seeing this ending, I don't know how anyone would want to spoil such an emotional scene by having a walk-down. It just doesn't need it. "Superstar" is a big chorus number and will be more than enough for people to have a final sing.

After sorting out "The Arrest", we started the run-through. This went really well, I thought. Everyone was on form and there was a sense that people are now "feeling it" a lot more.

I'm not going to describe it all in detail, as you've heard it all before...suffice it to say that everyone did very well (although there was no Caiaphas or Annas, which was a shame) and I think we are now on to just polishing. I get the impression Geoff is pretty happy with where we are.

Speaking of Geoff, he dropped a bit of a bombshell today - this will be his last show with the society. I'm not sure how long he's been directing for Operatics, but it's quite a few years. It's obviously going to be a big disappointment for those long-standing members. I have only known him since starting this show, but it's easy to see what an asset he has been to the society. I'm sure he will be sorely missed next year - there can't be many people like him out there. Unfortunately he is just too busy with his work in Barnsley that he is having to give up doing other work.

I was hoping to take a load of photos today, but my camera was playing up. I think I need to get a new memory card, so, when I do I'll take some pics an put them up here. Pete's other half was snapping away at rehearsal today, so, if Pete sends those through I'll put them up as well.

Geoff had a cracking idea for utilising the "hanging" rig in another way during "Superstar". I'll not spoil the surprise by explaining in detail, and it might not actually work, but if it does, it will be excellent.

Back again tomorrow night...coming up to 2 weeks to go - scary!

Photos, anyone?

Does anyone have any photo's that they've taken during rehearsals? I'd like to put a gallery on this site and I know lots of people have been taking snaps. If you've got any that you wouldn't mind appearing, please email them to me, or bung them on a CD and give them to me at rehearsal.
Thanks!

Interviews & Second Act Run

Rehearsal felt a bit flat last night for me. Didn't do much at first as Geoff was running through the chorus numbers from Act 1. Then he went on to start looking at the "Trial before Pilate". This is a really tricky scene and it's been a long time since the chorus did it, so they were a bit rusty! It's going to look good in the end though - Pete does a fine job of being whipped! (I think he enjoys it really... ;-) )

While they went on to set "Could We Start Again Please?", Pete & I had a slight diversion as we were interviewed by Channel 7 TV (local TV station for Grimsby & Cleethorpes area on NTL cable). Not quite Sky News, but it's good that we've got some interest. Anyway, my interview went something like:

Ch7: "How long have you been doing amateur operatics?
Me: "I've only been with this society since we started doing JCS in May," (or I may have said April - never can remember when we started!) "but I've been involved with other societies in the area for the last ten years, on and off"

Ch7: "You are playing Judas Iscariot, the "Ultimate Baddie". What's it like to play a bad guy?"
Me: "Great! I love it. It's such a good, meaty role, you can really get your teeth into it" (yeah, I made it sound like eating a steak sandwich....doh!) "Jesus and Judas are both really great parts in such a big musical, but I have always wanted to play Judas."

Ch7: "You start on 9th November at the Grimsby Auditorium - how are you going to prepare yourself for singing in front of all the crowds?"
Me: (Trying to look intelligent as I think "How do I prepare? Don't think I do, really!") "Ah, well I think it's such a busy time that I will not have much time to think about it. I just have to stay focussed and concentrate on my performance. Luckily I have a great family who support me really well."

Ch7: "Thank you Richard"
Me: "Thank you"

They interviewed Pete, Caroline and Geoff as well, so hopefully they'll have a good little report for us. Unfortunately the Really Useful Group would not allow them to film any part of the music, singing, or drama from the rehearsal, which is a real shame. I don't see how it would hurt to have a 30-second montage taken from the rehearsal on a local news bulletin, but there you go. We are just so restricted with what we can do , but I guess we have to work with it...it's worth it to put on such a top show.

Anyway, after our grilling from the nice Channel 7 lady, we went back in to see the newly-choreographed "Herod's Song". Steve now has several "handmaidens" (!) dancing with him. This number just gets better and better. Personally I think Rik Mayall murdered this song in the recent film, but this performance is going to be such a success.

After a short break, we started a full Act 2 run-through. "The Last Supper" went OK, leading into "Gethsemane", which didn't go so well this time (Pete told me to say it had been cr*p, but it wasn't that bad!). I came back in with "There he is, they're all asleep the fools", when, as usual, they were all just waking up! Back to sleep guys!

Then into "The Arrest", catching the chorus unawares again. This bit needs some work as well, as we have lots of different people singing a line at a time. Could be tricky to get them all in the right place and to make sure they can all be heard - we only have 16 radio mics, some of which will stay with the principals, and there are 16 lines to sing. Not easy.

The David does his thing as Pilate, leading into the aforementioned "King Herod's Song". Pete will have to fight off his urge to jump up and dance along during this one I think. This is then followed by the beautiful "Could We Start Again Please", where Tom and Caroline are now joined by the Apostles and their women, forming a cross on the stage. It sounds like the way this is going to be lit will look amazing. From there, we somehow get the priests on and I charge across the stage with "My God, I saw him...". This didn't go too badly actually. I was a bit fast in getting myself hung though...need to time it right, which will be easier with the band to take a cue from. It's not easy with just the keyboard as the accompaniement all sounds a bit the same. I can't wait to get on stage and try this out!

Next up comes the trial, with the "39 Lashes", which, as I said, needs a bit of work. In the chorus's defence, I think they may have found it a bit harder to get their cues as David's interpretation has quite a free-form rythm, much more "spoken" than on the CD. I'm sure this will all get polished up next time.

Then we pretty much ended with "Superstar", which was a bit of a flop. The Soul Girls were still practising elsewhere, and my voice seemed to have given up the ghost by then, so it was a bit of a weak ending.

So that was Act 2. Not much more to work on really, and, with 2 weeks to go, I reckon we're well placed to peaking just at the right time. It's a busy week next week, with rehearsals on Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Sunday again, then we are there pretty much every night until the show. Now it starts to get serious!

Jesus Christ, Super Wig

Quite a full night last night...hope I can remember everything.

First up, the wigs arrived! Yes, the wigs for our 2 Jesuses ( should that be 'Jesi'?) and Mary arrived, complete with very specific instructions as to how to apply, remove and look after them. They actually will look really good, although there was some debate among the assembled cast that Pete's light brown (ginger?) wig looked better on Caroline and vice versa. However, Geoff put paid to any further discussions, saying that the lighting will make them look just right. Anyway, they certainly transformed Pete & Caroline...some cheeky person suggested that Caroline could use hers for Halloween...don't know who that was ;-)

So, hair piece in place we started with the rehearsal - just principals today: Me, Pete, Caroline, James, Steve, Tom & all priests.

We started with the priests' numbers so they could leave early. "This Jesus Must Die" is looking good now Geoff has put some movement and expression into it, and the guys all sing it really well.

Then we moved on to "Damned for all time/Blood money". I've got to remember to control my singing with this one, Geoff pointed out. I know, I have a tendency to go off the rails a bit too much and start going out of tune. Just got to reign it back a little. Anyway, we put the movement to it and it went really well....begging at first, then being intimidated by them, then pulling away ("I don't need your blood money!"), then caving in and accepting the bag of money, which descends from on high. I think I'm actually going to love doing this scene. It's a really meaty acting scene...just what I wanted.

Then we finished the priests off with "Judas' Death". Apparently I have a very expensive flying harness for this...can't wait to try it out! Again, this will be another excellent scene to do. The noose will descend from the sky and hopefully the tension will mount in the audience as I start to stagger up the stairs towards it. I just hope the children will be OK when they come for the matinee...much reassurance that "Daddy is pretending" required methinks! The only question now is how to get me down again? I have visions of swinging across the stage hoping no-one will notice me (if you've seen Monty Python & Holy Grail, think John Cleese swinging on the chandelier during his escape from Swamp Castle!)


So that was it for the priests, we then moved on to the rest of the show. Can't remember what order it came in, but never mind...

"The Last Supper" (with 3 apostles!) was set again...a few tweaks from last time. I return to my place at the table after saying my piece, but then run away when Jesus approaches me - good stuff. Would have been easier to sing this one if it wasn't for Pete spitting his new hair out of his face after every line! Gotta get a hair bobble Pete, or maybe pig-tails!

"Could we start again please?" launched with Keith wondering what Carpenters song it sounded like. James came up with "We've only just begun", which he then proceeded to sing each time the into came on. I think this gag could run and run...

Geoff did a fair amount of work on "Peter's Denial". It's quite a short scene, but a crucial one and Tom and Caroline will do it really well I think.

"Herod's Song" is going to be great. Poor Steve has a really bad throat right now so hasn't been able to sing this for a while - hope it clears up soon - but you can tell this will bring the house down. Sitting on a chaise-longue, being fed grapes and fanned by servants, he appears through the smoke - what an entrance!

Finally, Geoff tried to sort out "The Crucifixion". This is going to be really hard to set until we have the cross and the band in place. There is very little going on in the score (none of the improvised jazz cacophony that you get on the CD, unfortunately) and just a few crunching chords from the chorus. Meanwhile, Pete has to say his lines in amongst all this...very tricky. There's also the problem of what music to have during the hammering. Personally I love it on the video where the hammering starts while Judas is still on stage and he screams in pain. After mocking Jesus in "Superstar", it's fitting that he feels the pain of Jesus' crucifixion. We'll have to see what Geoff comes up with.

And that was it for last night. We're back again tonight - sounds like we'll be running through Act 2, which should be fun.

Temple trials and Act 1 run-through

The first half of last night's rehearsal was all about timing and co-ordination...

Geoff was setting The Temple, which involves 2 groups of "Sellers" and 2 groups of "Buyers". The start looked very effective, alternating between the 2 groups. The trouble came when they groups came together in 3 concentric circles and had to move, in opposite directions, in time to music which has 7 beats to the bar ("normal" music generally has 3 (as in a waltz) or 4 (as in a march) and lends itself well to movement, but 7 just feels really unnatural!). It's an ambitions piece of choreography, but I'm sure it will look fab when it all comes together. The end is great, with everyone coming forward in waves, imploring the audience to "Roll on up for my price is down, Come on in for the best in town...", suddenly punctuated by Jesus appearing out of the crowd yelling "My temple should be a house of prayer....Get Out!".

The second half of the rehearsal was a full run-through of Act 1. Eek! I thought I was in for another quiet night, so this was quite a surprise. We went straight in with "Heaven...", which went well. I was pleased to see that my voice is starting to return to normal - about time. On piled the chorus for "What's the Buzz?", which is a really great opener for them - so full of energy. Then I wander back on and confront Jesus with "Strange Thing Mystifying". I was pretty happy with the way this went and I managed to hit all my high notes OK. Off I go again, only to return to confront Mary in "Everything's Alright". Although we won't set these numbers till Wednesday, it still felt really good finally doing them in the proper context. It's all starting to come together well.

The Priests were great as usual in "This Jesus Must Die". Kev and Gary make such a good double-act. Gary had even learned his words! ;-) "Hosanna" was a little confused. I think they had set it back-to-front somehow, so there was a lot of scrambling around and some confusion as to what side of the stage people should be on, but generally it went OK. "Simon Zealotes" was really good, again, so full of energy and James does a great job of singing what is actually a really hard - it's very high pretty much all the way through.

David W did "Pilate's Dream" with aplomb, before the return of "The Temple", followed by the lepers "See my eyes I can hardly see...". As Jesus tells them all to "Heal yourselves!", in glides Mary to calm things down with "I Don't Know How To Love Him". I've never been a big fan of the song myself, as I think it's been rather overdone outside the context of the show, but Caroline does a lovely job with it and Geoff was putting some movement to it last night, which really helped.

We then have the long introduction to "Damned For All Time" where I make my decision to shop Jesus to the Priests. I'm looking forward to seeing how Geoff is going to set this, as it's quite a pivotal part of the show and very dramatic - no singing, just acting. Then I finally turn and go to the Priests. They were looking particularly mean last night. We had a full complement of baddies last night, so it felt much more intimidating as they all scowl back at me. And I managed to pull of a pretty good singing performance as well (or so I thought anyway...).

And that was it. We finished off just running through "Superstar" a couple of times for the Soul Girls to practice their dance, which gets better all the time. Julie reckons the second half will see me in the middle surrounded by the SGs - however will I cope? ;-)

All in all I was very impressed that we had got through the first act so well. I don;t think the principals stuff will take much sorting out, and everything else is pretty much done now - roll on Act 2!

Oh, and on the subject of my troubles singing with the band last week, Keith reassured me that I will have a little help from the keyboards on "Heaven..." in the opening - thank goodness!

"A true spectacle" and a surprising Judas

Well, we're in the paper again tonight! At long last the photo taken back in September has appeared, along with a good article, mainly taken from an interview with Geoff.

Under the headline "Superstars will shine in West End hit show" (how many more different headlines can they come up with?) it says:

The GCAOS is looking forward to staging one of the biggest locally-produced musicals on Grimsby's entertainment calendar.

Personally I think that should probably read "biggest locally-produced musicals ever". It then goes on to say how only a few societies in the country have got the rights. Geoff then says how excited he is to be directing.

It is a real coup for the society. It is a dream come true for me also. I've done over 800 shows, but I've never done Jesus Christ Superstar

It goes on to mention Julie Burgin, our excellent choreographer, rounding off with

I'm a great believer in treating amateur shows as professional shows.....This is going to be a true spectacle

Another excellent write-up for us. Only downer is that the picture is in black-and-white and is a little blurry. But, hey, it's a great article...and at least I got my ugly mug in the shot!

On another note, I notice that James Fox (Welsh guy from Fame Academy & Eurovision) is playing the role of Judas in the current UK tour of JCS. I have seen a few reviews and, rather surprisingly given that pedigree, most are quite favourable. It's his first foray into musical theatre but he seems to be doing a good job. Apparently he is going to take over from Glen Carter as Jesus at some point...it will be interesting to see how he gets on with that.

Band night

I discovered last night that it's not easy singing with a band! Although I know all the songs inside-out, having been used to singing with just the keyboard has lulled me into a false sense of security about certain parts of the show. In some pieces (opening of "Heaven..." and "The Arrest" for example) there is little or no backing to help me out. All I have in my opening number is the funky baseline. I have to concentrate really hard on staying in tune until the rest of the band kick in at "Listen Jesus...". I think I'd better have some practice sessions at the piano.

Apart from this realisation, it was a fun rehearsal. There was just me, Pete, Caroline, Tom, James, Steve and Emma. We had a good sing through most of the show, stopping after Steve's rendition of "King Herod's Song" (accompanied by the obligatory silly dancing from the rest of us).

I am still struggling with my cold and simply don't seem to have the control over my voice at the moment. So it wasn't a really great performance by me, but it was good to have a sing through the show. And it was worth going to just hear the electric guitars kick in in the overture...this is what brings the music alive and transforms it from just a show to a rock-opera.

Getting involved at last

A bit late with this posting...don't know where the time has gone since Thursday!

It turned out to be a great rehearsal on Thursday...we ran through the opening "prologue", setting the scene of Jesus preaching to the people. We use a cunning trick to make Jesus appear in different places, but if I revealed what it was it would spoil the effect. Let's just say that we now see a bit more of the back of Kev's head than we did before!

Then they set the Temple scene - lepers etc. - which looked really effective by the end. Poor Pete had to launch straight into "My temple should be a house of prayer..." as his first line of the night - a sign of things to come for him. The movement that the lepers have got going on in this number is really good - really looks like waves of people pawing at Jesus.

This was followed by the other chorus numbers ("What's The Buzz", "Simon Zealottes") and Hosanna - which will look really good with a big procession through the auditorium with palm leaves.

While all this was going on, the Soul Girls were learning their dance for "Superstar". I went through to watch just before the break and it looks fantastic. It's seems a shame to stick me in front of them with my uncoordinated feet! I'm sure I'll manage somehow!

After the break, we sang through "Superstar" and the girls did their dance. It felt great - I'm sure this is going to have everyone dancing in the aisles. I didn't have much voice unfortunately - a combination of lack of practice and a long lingering cold has left me a bit croaky. Hopefully it will clear up soon.

Then we ran through "The Last Supper" - great stuff. Full of tension and emotion. Again, it would have gone better had my voice been in better shape, but still it was so good to see this come together. Then Pete has to go into "Gethsemane". He was so drained from doing the Temple scene so many times,then the argument in the Last supper, I think he could have done without this as well, bit he did it and I think it will prove to be the show-stopper it is meant to be. It's just as well Jesus doesn't have much more to sing do that as I'm not sure Pete will be able to walk after "Gethsemane"!

That was about it I think...there's a band call tonight that Keith would like us to go to, so there should be lots more for me to do this coming week.

Happy Birthday to me

33 today!

More publicity at last

Tonight's Evening Telegraph at last had an article about the show. Under the headline "Superstar likely to outshine in style" there was a piece by David Peasgood which said:

Ticket sales for the GCOS annual production are already showing every sign that they will smash all previous records.

I certainly hope this is true...there's nothing like playing to a full house every night to get your adrenaline going.

David Wrightham...tells us "This production is going to be an absolute knockout....Peter Finnegan is simply stunning as Jesus and vocally superb, and the whole ensemble is really going to hit Grimsby like they never expected."

All so very true. The article then goes on to talk about the band starting rehearsals, and how it's going to be a challenge coping with the different styles used in the show. And over it all there's a picture of some of the guys from the band.

Now, I'm really chuffed that we've had a bit of coverage. I had actually emailed the telegraph only the other day to see if they had remembered we were here, so it's good to see them putting something in. It would be even better if they sent someone along to see a rehearsal in action and actually spoke to some of the rest of the cast, but not to worry. It's all publicity, and that's got to be a good thing.