Hey guys,
First of all i would like to say a massive thank you for coming and performing Beauty and the beast, it was amazing ( 1 2 3 YOU ROCK!!)
I am currently in year 12 and one of my subjects is Drama, and for this subject we are doing a practice review on your Performance, so i would like to ask you some questions.
How long have you been as cast for, and performed together?
Why was the dog in the show, and not a horse?
Who is your director? and what was his visions for this show?
I understand that copyright is an issue and due to this, did you change the song throughout the play for this reason?
The lighting and set work very well together, did the these two things have any meaning during the play and not just for show?
What were your visions for each character?
Are we able to grab all the actors names and who they played?
You said that you guys arrive 90 mins early to prepare, what does this mean?
Thank you so much in advance!
Thank you so much for your message and questions!
This cast first performed together on March 15th 2017. However, many of the cast had performed in previous tours of Beauty and the Beast.
This isn’t the Disney version of the show, it’s our own version. So just because a character is in the Disney version doesn’t mean that is the only way to tell the story. In fact if you look back at the original fairytale, much of the characters are different and varied. The horse from the movie we felt wasn’t particularly engaging for a live show, so we had Belle have a cute and hilarious dog (that can talk and be funny) instead. Much more engaging for the audience.
Your question ask what was ‘his’ vision for the show, when referencing the director! Make sure you don’t assume, ever, that the director MUST be a man! The main director of the show was actually our Company Manager, Jacqui Martin. The vision for the show and all the shows, are mainly to engage the audience and portray a relevant message for children in the 21st century, through the symbolism and metaphor of a classic, familar story. But that question is very broad!
Copyright is one issue, but even if it were not, we would not use the DIsney music. We find that the most important thing in a live show is engagement, so pop music and the songs we chose have more engagement levels so that the enjoyment is more.
The set and lighting is most definitely part of the story and have immense meaning. Nothing on stage is just for ‘show’, it’s all part of an integrated form of art that is designed to reach audiences through all their senses and their emotions.
Visions for each character – that is another big question beyond the scope of this message!
The cast arrive 90 minutes before the start time to prepare – to set up the set and lights and sound and get in their costumes and put on their mic and makeup to get ready for the show. There is no crew, this cast sets up an enormous amount of set and equipment, more than any other show in a school or basically anywhere else. A show of this size would normally have a crew of 3-4 who would take a day to ‘bump in’ to a theatre, but we have managed to put together clever systems and processes to make it be done in a record time of only 90 minutes.
Thank you so much for your questions and we hope this helps!
We last did a school show with over 80 lighting fixtures, big set and sound rig. So the work you guys do is incredible