General Blocking/Music Rehearsal

I am officially concerned. Guys And Dolls was a rollercoaster from the first rehearsal to the day of the show – a good rehearsal was always balanced out in due course by a disastrous rehearsal. But Annie is different. We have yet to hold a rehearsal that leaves us feeling hopeless. I know that sounds stupid, but I am slightly suspicious about the rehearsals going alarmingly well!

Our cast are engaged and upbeat and ready to take to the stage, which is a relief for us, as we don’t have to worry about their enthusiasm and commitment. The discipline this year is so much better! It’s not a dream, but in comparison to the early rehearsals for Guys And Dolls we’re dealing with some pretty well behaved kids. They’re focussed more on the show – I think after Guys And Dolls they now are just eager to put on another good show, and if they keep up this attitude then a good show is exactly what we’ll deliver.

They seem to respect us more as producers this year… as in, they’re listening to us and taking on board what we say a lot more. I think that’s maybe because now we’ve done a couple of shows, they know that we can actually deliver in putting them on stage and giving them a good performing experience. As a team, we’re working together quite well… for example Dean seems to be slotting himself really easily into the Musical Director role, something which he did to a cautious extent last year. What’s nice as well is that people aren’t necessarily sticking strictly to their titles – officially Nicci is a vocal coach, but she’s comfortable now in giving some input to acting direction as well. Sophie, our newcomer, feels most at home giving Nat some assistance with choreography, but as the weeks go by she too is becoming more confident with aiding the other aspects of the production.

Our principle cast seem to be enjoying themselves, and I’m still confident that our casting was accurate. Our Orphans are blending together and bouncing off each other really well, and Bex and Sophie are being typically reliable with pulling off fantastic performances with their characters.

At such an early stage in the process, the show is naturally far from perfect. Some of the scenes at the moment have got the stop-start feel to them that won’t disappear until the lines are learnt and they won’t have to act with a book in their hands. Some principles are developing themselves well – Jasmine (as Annie) for example has nailed the singing, and is developing every week with bringing the acting up to scratch.

It’s a shame that Annie isn’t more of a chorus show. The non-principle company will have plenty to do with the various bits and pieces we’ve assigned to them, but because there are very few scenes which feature everyone all at once, some of the rehearsals are going to include a bit of waiting around. As long as they’re patient and keep their enthusiasm up, everything will be fine.

Annie already is looking very promising. Everybody is focussed and working well towards a great show. I’m just paranoid that a big disaster is waiting for us just around the corner!!