When I first looked at the script I really liked it. I found it very easy to follow the storyline and also very easy to understand each character. The way it is written gives each character a chance to give away parts of their story without having to literally have a monologue to tell the audience about them self. The script has a good balance between serious stuff then a comedy scene to make the performance not so depressing for the audience to watch. Some of the themes explored in the storyline are very serious and have to be dealt with in a serious way. For example the lines referencing to the idea of rape are all taking it seriously and not making fun of the idea. A negative to the script I feel is the end. The storyline feels like its still going when it suddenly gets to an end. It also feels like its forgotten that its a musical. From audience feedback a comment often made was that they wanted an encore at the end of the show. It ends with a big group song but they felt there should of been one more song. A lot of musicals feature an encore song which gets the audience participating. Doing a medley of a few songs from the show would of been a perfect end.
The decisions for the staging took a while to agree on. The idea of having 2 levels on a diagonal has always been agreed to by all cast members. The decisions started when we experimented with putting up the staging. We had to decide an amount of stage blocks to use, we had to put into consideration how much stage we need use and how much space to perform we need. Also we had to ensure that the staging didn't go any further than the back curtain as the wings need to be free from any obstruction. We changed the plans for how many blocks to use several times as we kept finding problems and issues but we finally agreed that we should use 4 stage blocks at the top level, then one step down block along with the back level, then 3 stage blocks to step down on a diagonal.
I feel taking it from page to stage was easier than I thought. We did it in stages. Began with just script read through. This was helpful for just beginning to understand the storyline and your characters back story. We then started attempting to run through scenes still using the script. This then gave us idea of movement and also gave us a chance to think of possible ways to stage it. We then gradually began using set and props while running scenes but also still had scripts. I feel we took longer than we should have to run scenes without scripts. Once you know your lines confidently its so much easier to get into character and start creating strong characteristics, like the way you walk and talk. We then gradually began to rehearse scenes with all the set and props and block the scene completely. Once it was all blocked it was a case of just running the whole thing regularly so the lines and movements and scene changes get stuck in our mind. I feel the script could of been set and acted in a few different ways. The characters don't all have very strong story lines which leaves the actor the opportunity to create the character them self. The set also is very loose. There is no strong description describing exactly what you need for the set, every production simply needs to make sure its obvious its a prison so using maybe bars or a bed. Comparing the ways other company's have produced the script is interesting. In the London west end musical version of Bad Girls the character of Rachel was portrayed as a very unstable and emotional character throughout. In every scene she is seen crying and always in a state. When researching how to perform the character Rachel I looked at reviews and asked for peer feedback, most people disliked how the character is performed in the west end because she is too over the top with the emotions. This is why I decided to act it in a more controlled emotional way. You could tell by the quietness that I was keeping myself to myself and wasn't emotionally stable inside but was trying to keep a front. The comparison between our productions set and the set in the west end was obviously very different simply due to money. When doing a big scale show they have the funds to create incredible set where as a college production don't have the same money available.
The dances were all made up completely by college students/teacher, none of them were copied from any other production of Bad Girls. To create Baddest and the Best we listened to the music and read through the lyrics so we could have an understanding of what sort of feel and atmosphere we needed to create through movement. We then looked at various different versions of the song by different versions, some from west ends, some from other countries. We used other videos for inspiration but the movements are all our own. The journey from page to stage for the songs with dances could of been very fast if had just chosen a version of Bad Girls and copied all the routines but we felt this would be cheating.
I experimented various ways of playing my character. The first idea was to be more emotionally unstable throughout the piece. When acting in the song Guardian Angel I tried to perform it as if I was crying throughout it. I feel this was too over the top and if this was a real situation Rachel would be able to control her emotions more. Another idea I tried for my character was to slowly grow my confidence throughout the first act. This would mean that I begin to interact with other character more and speak out more. But after trying this is various scenes I decided it was too soon for Rachel to get that confident compared to what she started like. I wanted to make the character as realistic as possible so I decided to stay quite shy and nervous throughout the first act. The final idea I tried was the way I held myself when playing Rachel. This was a very successful idea. I decided that I needed to use more than just my vocals to show how unconfident and nervous I am so I began playing my character with my eye focus mainly down. This then changed my posture, I ended up having my shoulders slightly hunched over. My body posture was helped when we started rehearsing in costume. My outfit had a jumper which had pockets so I could place my hands in my pockets helping with the unconfident posture.
Its important when doing a group production that we all put input into ideas. A decision I made when we got the whole cast together and began doing full runs was about character interaction when I didn't have dialogue. I had certain cast members who I told to dislike me and intimidate me and the odd few who I spoke to about being more caring and friendly to me. This idea worked really well as gave them and me something to do while not talking and also meant we could really work on developing our characters more. Another decision I made was about choreography. I worked with 2 other class members on the routine for Baddest and the Best. A main decision I made in that dance was the movements for the chorus. A phrase of movements which consist of sharp movements and punching fists I created and is then repeated throughout the dance. I think this worked well for giving the atmosphere of anger and powerfulness. It was also simple so everyone could easily pick it up but at the same time looked very effective. The third idea I inputted was to do with staging. My idea was to have side panels on the 2 cell doors that opened. This would mean when using the doors as an entrance you could stand behind the door and not be seen by the audience. Sadly this idea couldn't happen simple due to time and money. We would have needed the money to buy the material and the time to set it up.
What was the main strength of the performance?
The main strength of the performance was the music and singing. When performing a musical the songs are so important and have to be performed to such a high standard. I feel the most powerful and well performed song in the whole performance was 'That's The Way It Is'. This song ended the first act and was the crucial riot scene about the death of Rachel. This song is performed by all the cast and is a battle between prisoners and officers. The singers are accompanied by the piano, guitar, drums and viola. This song came together so much stronger once all the cast were in position and using the set. The prisoners were all on the bottom level, centre stage and the officers were lined at the top level staging. This gave the prisoners a chance to really project up to them. The lyrics are very powerful and meaningful. I also feel a strength with the music is parts where the music plays whilst there is dialogue. It was very important the dialogue was all said exactly to the script as some of it was cue lines. This worked very well and also was great for adding atmosphere. By having the dialogue said with music to fit the moment was very good. Every performance the music and dialogue worked perfectly. Finally I feel the music just worked and flowed very easily. There was no moments of silence or hiccups, it felt very well rehearsed and make actors and also audience members feel confident about the music.
What was the main weakness of the performance?
For me a weakness in the performance was costume. I don't feel like we researched enough into what we should of been wearing and also think a group discussion on it should of been done to ensure was all doing the right thing. A common material used by most cast members was denim. This was a good idea to wear this material as when this was set, in the 2000's, denim was very in fashion but also cheap. Most the characters aren't overly wealthy so a cheap material is most likely what they would wear. The weakness with the costume is how similar it all was. Pretty much everyone who wasn't a main character was wearing denim and this then began to look like this was the prisoner uniform which isn't what we wanted. The all denim look made it more of a 'We Will Rock You' feel rather than a cramped, smelly, woman's prison. This is something that could of been very easily improved by either still letting everyone choose their own costume but be stricter, so only have certain amounts of people wearing denim. The other way of doing it would be to be very strict and allocate exact costumes for every single cast member to ensure we get the look we want.
What could of been changed?
I feel something that I would change if had the opportunity too would be the set. The set we had was 2 levels of a prison made up from black, metal staging. On the staging we had grey prison doors along the top level, with only 2 doors being able to open. The move able set we had was 2 tables and several chairs for the group prisoner scenes. For scenes in the officers office we had a old looking single sofa seat, a stool and a coffee table. Any scenes in the prison cells were performed using just a simple cell bed made by the college. To make some changes it would be a case of more time, so can create more abstract and interesting set, and money, so can have more materials to create things. The changes I would make to the set would firstly be to have more cell doors that could actually used as exits and entrances. To do this we would need more staging behind the doors so the actors could safely step down/get up to the top level staging. We would also need more material so we could make them all like the 2 doors that open rather than just being static set. I feel this change would be good because it would give a more realistic feel to the audience if we all went into cells rather than just to stage left. Also when the prisoners all come on and are talking about how nice it is to have some space it would be more realistic to both actors and audience if we get the feel they've just come out this tiny space. Another change I would make to all the set that is move able would be to put wheels on it all. The prisoner tables were the only set that had wheels and it was much more practical to bring them on and off stage compared to the other set because it was quicker and quieter. By having wheels on the set it would make scene changes much quicker and also quieter because we wouldn't have to lift and put down any heavy set, just simply wheel it off. To make this change we would either need the money to buy completely new set with wheels already attached or money to buy wheels and the time to put the onto the set we already have. I feel the set is very important in a performance because for both the audience and actors it gives a realistic feel to where it is set and helps believe the story more if they can picture what's happening. Also it adds to the overall experience of watching a show. It gives the stage a lot more life and gives the audience something to look at.
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