Little Shop Of Horrors and A Chorus Line

Last week I was working followspot for Little Shop of Horrors by Castlegate Theatre School and I am pleased to report that everything went well for the run. A couple of hiccups with the largest of the four plants, but I’ll come back to that. I really enjoyed working Little Shop of Horrors, and it seems a far more enjoyable and well-put-together show than Castlegate’s last show Dream Date. I feel this is probably due to two main reasons:

1. I feel that “Little Shop of Horrors” has better material (such as script, music and plot line) to work with, so the final product will appear better no matter how good the cast are.
2. “Little Shop of Horrors” is presented by the older of the two groups, meaning (generally) they have more experience, are more mature and are able to connect with a script on a deeper level.

The company hired a very impressive set (in fact so impressive it didn’t all fit on the stage), but I find a drawback with hired scenery is the fact it has been used before and often isn’t in as good condition as if you had made it yourself. Also, it means you can’t make any modifications to it. The largest of the four plants was… well large, too large, and was operated by a sprung mechanism which unfortunately was broken when we got it, leaving us with the problem of how to operate the plant without damaging it. Needless to say after hours of work, the only way was to attach a piece of rope to it and have two guys pull as hard as they could to open it. It worked, even though it was a bit dodgy.

I must be honest and say I was concerned about ticket sales for this show, since there was less than a month between Dream Date and Little Shop of Horrors. They were performed by the two different age groups, but (to the best of my knowledge) this is the first year the group has split, and I was worried that the second show may suffer since, while close family might come to see both shows, distant family and friends (and general supporters) might only come to see one of them. It turns out my concerns were irrelevant since ticket sales were very good.

Last night I went to go see A Chorus Line which was fantastic. It was very, very well rehearsed and everyone seemed to know what they were doing at all times. While there were a few faces I recognised, and a few people I had worked with before, someone commented that they had not seen the majority of the cast before. I think this is only natural for the style of show since I imagine it is a complex show to rehearse and demands a diverse, triple threat cast (of people who can sing, dance and act). I apologise for tarring everyone with the same brush, but I will make a bold statement and say the majority of people who appear in amateur dramatics in Aberdeen could not dance to a high enough level to perform in A Chorus Line, since it is about a group of professional dancers who are auditioning to be in a chorus line. They may have found casting easiest by looking for dancing ability first.

One of my complaints was the set. The had a simple set consisting of a row of mirrors across the back of the stage to resemble a dance studio. Very appropriate and effective, but a bit of a nuisance whenever a follow-spot is used and half the audience are blinded! Someone I spoke to said it was very static, but unfortunately, that is the show, and there isn’t much anyone can do about that. I think the company actually made a good effort to move away from the static look as far as possible.

The show was enjoyable, but I always get annoyed by shows without a story. Yes, there were all sorts of themes, motifs and little stories, but if someone asked you what the show was about, you would have to say “dancers auditioning to be in a chorus line”, and that would be the best explanation. I have the same problem with Cats and Starlight Express. Both enjoyable shows, but the story is not the main point. Having said this is realise the irony that I am SM for ‘Songs for a New World’ which, in the composer’s words, is best described as “It’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back.”. Songs for a New World is a cross between a musical and a song cycle, but I still believe it has no story! I will be plugging Songs for a New World much more in the near future!

Back to A Chorus Line. At points I actually believed the show, and it’s not often you hear me say that! When the chorus line were “rehearsing”, I sat there going “they are out of time, they dropped their hat, they were late with that move” and about halfway through realised it was intentional. It was done very realistically, but then again like any performer I am sure the cast had plenty experience in making mistakes, and this helped them make it look real! At another point one of the performers slipped and you could hear everyone onstage and in the audience gasp. It wasn’t until a few seconds later I realised the orchestra all stopped at the same time, and it must be part of the show.

Artistically the whole show was great, but my favourite had to be the last 10 minutes! At the end the cast were on the tab line doing high kicks and as the tabs closed (from the side, not flown), they stopped one by one so the tabs could close, never carrying on and kicking the tabs, and never stopping to early and being stood in the middle of the stage waiting for tabs. After that they took their bows one by one with a pool of light coming up on each performer. I thought i was a very unique ending and slightly different from the same-old.

On a different thought, I have recently began to understand what my drama teacher said to me when I was around 15 or 16. She told me I should think very carefully about leading a life in theatre since it is more than a job, but a lifestyle. She warned me that the anti-social hours often cut you off from you friends and means you are working when everyone else is asleep or out enjoying themselves. I always knew this and have came across this in the past, but have found it difficult this summer when my mates ask if I can go out for a few drinks and I explain that for the next 10 weeks I am either away from home, in rehearsals or working a show almost every evening. I know I have extra time at the end of my holidays to meet up with mates, but it’s not the same. I guess I never had this problem in Glasgow because I was new to the city and the majority of my mates were on the course, but I am sure this is something that people from nearer Glasgow have been struggling with during the past year.