Presentation on Personal Development:
Auditions for Unit 8 26/03/19
I auditioned for the role of Columbia.
Song - I Didn't Plan It from Waitress the Musical:
I auditioned for the role of Columbia.
Song - I Didn't Plan It from Waitress the Musical:
Monologue - It's Terrible Being Nice from the play Goodbye Charles, playing the role of Cynthia:
Two days later, I was assigned the role of Columbia!
Unit 8 proposal
Section 1 – Rationale
I feel like I have improved on my singing skills the most – on my range and on projecting my voice by using breathing techniques. I have really enjoyed all my dancing classes and feel like I am stronger than I used to be and am better at holding my posture. I worked very hard on my acting skills and have progressed in terms of creating a more believable character. I have gained more confidence in rehearsals and on stage. I have read through the script for the Rocky Horror Show and I will audition for the role of Columbia because her character appealed to me the most and she also has a tap break which gives me an opportunity to showcase my tap dancing skills.
Section 2 – Project Concept
We aim to perform a production of the Rocky Horror Show. We are a company of eight wanting to showcase our Musical Theatre skills. We will be collaborating with the Production students who will be in charge of lighting and sound. We will be researching the context of the period of time the Rocky Horror Show was created and the social, political and cultural landscape. We will look at the themes in the show and the reasons why it was and still is very popular. We will use resources such as the dance studio, using the script and lyrics to rehearse with a singing teacher, talks with the production team about the lighting and discussion about who will be in charge of hair, makeup, props and costume. We have a relatively small amount of time to perform this production on stage so we will find as much rehearsal time as we can and revise the script and recap choreography at home so we can progress as quickly as possible in lesson time.
Section 3 – Evaluation
We have a planning sheet to help us stay organised and complete our project within the agreed time-frame. We will note down what we did in classes for this project on our Unit 8 blog – when we do research, when we are in rehearsals and how we progress each week. After we perform it we will evaluate how we did, what went well and what we can improve on for future performances.
Synopsis of The Rocky Horror Show
The play is introduced by Usherette who sings “Science Fiction Double Feature”. Newly engaged Brad Majors and Janet Weiss are travelling on a dark, stormy night when their car breaks down. They decide to walk to the castle they saw a few miles back so they can use a phone and are greeted by the creepy butler Riff Raff and strange servants, Magenta and Columbia. They are about to leave since they are frightened when blocked by “Sweet transvestite” and scientist Frank n Furter who explains he created a muscular man, Rocky, simply for sexual pleasure. After Frank sings to Rocky “I Can Make You A Man”, Columbia sees Eddie, another creation made by Frank, whom she loves and who was trapped in a container. Frank then kills him and Columbia is distraught.
In Act II, Frank separates Brad and Janet and rapes both of them, telling them to give over to absolute pleasure. As Janet leaves her room, she sees Rocky and shows she is sexually aroused with song “Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me”. Frank sees them on his cameras and faints; then Brad sees them and is heartbroken. Enter Dr. Scott, Brad and Janet’s friend but also a rival scientific searching UFOs. The show ends with Riff Raff and Magenta teaming up to kill Frank because his lifestyle had become too extreme. They kill Columbia and Rocky in the process. They then “beam” the house back to their alien planet Transexual, to the Galaxy Transylvania.
Bibliography:
IMDb. (2019). The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - IMDb. [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/plotsummary [Accessed 14 Jun. 2019].
Initial production of Rocky Horror Show
When and where the production was staged
It opened in the Royal Court in June 1973, then moved to Kings Road. It was performed in the Theatre Upstairs which held only 60 seats, and the only point of performing there was because it was experimental and according to Tim Curry, "a marvellous way of getting new writers' work done". After Theatre Upstairs, it went to Classic Cinema in Chelsea; they were offered West End theatres but didn't want to do that. Since this cinema was closing down in three months, they had reasonable rent which meant they didn't have to charge too much for tickets. Since it was successful, it moved down Kings Road to a cinema that was in by the Classic chain, which is now the Kings Road Theatre.
Tim Curry played in the Rocky Horror Show in London for about six/ seven months and then went to L.A., performing with an American company in a theatre on Sunset Strip called The Roxy Theatre - the show itself lasted about a year there but Curry left after only six months to film the screen version - The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He says his portrayal of his character was the same in both countries.
How Tim Curry got the part
Tim Curry played "Sweet Transvestite" Frank n Furter in the Rocky Horror Show before playing in the film. He vaguely knew Richard O'Brien ,who wrote book, music and lyrics, when working in musical Hair. He says he "lied and cheated" his way into getting the part: he left Birmingham University in 1968, came to London and met an agent who said the Hair was looking for somebody. He told them he had a full equity card and had done tours of cabaret in the North. His employers only found out the truth after he got the part but went ahead anyways.When asked if there was any hesitation in taking the part, he said only because it would be "hard to shake the image off" but he also said it wasn't worth doing this without taking risks, and the risk he took payed off in the end.
Tim Curry's views and experiences
He thought the script was witty, funny and economical which was rare to come across. He said his role was physically exhausting and because it requires a lot adrenaline, you feel terrible afterwards. However, the exhilaration of playing Frank restored all emotions. He also had to look after his voice a lot because he used it raucously on stage. Since he played the same demanding role for a long time,there came a point where he went to the theatre earlier and earlier just to bring himself to do it again. This was because it was a tiresome role and Frank was such a strong character, that he threatened to take over. When asked if he thinks the music is responsible for reducing the plot to almost complete innocence, Tim said he thought the music was largely responsible. Richard O'Brien was in trance with 50s Rock and Roll so everything was done with a sense of parody.
When filming the screen version, his makeup was designed by Pierre La Roche. He said it took two hours everyday to get his makeup done which was annoying because he would have to be on set at 06:30 so they could create continuity on screen.
He tried a German and American accent before settling with the very English accent. It was director Jim Sharman's idea to make Frank the "Belgravia hostess with the mostest". He said he wanted to make Frank more horrific on screen because it became quite "nightclubby" on stage which he regrets.
Bibliography
YouTube. (2019). Tim Curry talks about the Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5sTIGLo79g [Accessed 14 Apr. 2019].
Columbia
Columbia is a household groupie and is one of Dr. Frank n Furter's servants.
In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Columbia who is played by Little Nell, has a squeaky voice and a theatrical persona.
I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show and always had my eye on Columbia to see what she was doing even when she wasn't the main character in the scene. This helped me get a better picture of her. When she is talking/ singing/ dancing, she is very high energy, all about the sequins, musical theatre and is very confident. She loves Frank and listens to his orders but his immoral acts ends up angering Columbia. This shows she isn't as much of a fan of his lifestyle as she seems at first.
Her relationships are more meaningful. For example, she had a more emotional relationship with Eddie and Frank whereas Frank has purely sexual relationships which Columbia eventually realises she doesn't like.
I watched the "Rocky Horror Show Live" on YouTube where Columbia is played by Sophie Linder-Lee (YouTube, 2019):
I noticed that all her movements were very strong and sharp and I thought she really exaggerated them. Her facial expressions were very good and all of these elements put together created a really believable character.
When seeing Eddie, Columbia's love interest, Linder-Lee ran towards him and was very sassy and confident. She wasn't afraid to be tactile and alluring which showed off Columbia's availability and her sequin-filled costume attracted the attention that someone with her excitable personality would.
Bibliography:
YouTube. (2019). Rocky Horror Show Live. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgGtWJBUXX4&t=1265s [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019].
Project Action Plan
We all have six weeks to put on a full length musical theatre production of The Rocky Horror Show on stage. Carrying out research, documenting what we do in rehearsals and bringing choreography, song and script together is included in these six weeks. Keeping organised is very important when there are many tasks to complete and a deadline looming because time will go quickly which is why creating a timetable to help us not fall behind like this project action plan will be useful.
Week 1:
What I actually did
Week 1 - 01/04/19
As a class, we watched the 2015 Gala version of The Rocky Horror Show online where David Badella played Dr. Frank-N-Furter. This is the first piece of research I have looked at about Columbia and the show itself - I find both the story and her character strange and hard to grasp but I am sure that over the next few weeks, I will begin to understand more about the Rocky Horror Show and what it is about. We have started learning songs "Time Warp" and "Science Fiction/ Double Feature". We have only just started rehearsing by reading through the script but we have a two week Easter holiday which means we have to spend our time doing independent work. I think the best thing to do is to learn the script and listen to the songs so that I will come prepared to rehearsals after the break and we will not need to stop just for me.
Over the Easter Holiday - independent work
I have researched a timeline of the Rocky Horror Show to see how many versions of it there are and which came first. I was surprised to find out the theatre production came out before the film and that both had the same actors and actresses for some main roles such as Dr. Frank- N-Furter who was played by Tim Curry in both versions. I also researched the context of the 1970s (when Rocky Horror was written) to find what inspired Richard O'Brien which helped add meaning to the wild story.
Week 2 - 22/04/19
We have just come back from a long holiday but we need to dive straight into rehearsals because of the short period of time we have to put the full production on stage. Over the holidays, I looked at the script and listened to the songs many times like I set out to do. However, I have not fully memorised either as it has proved much more difficult and time-consuming than I expected. Also, I feel that I will only fully be able to memorise all my lines in rehearsals where everyone can say their lines and I can practise saying my lines after hearing my cues in the studio space rather than reading them at home. We staged all scenes in Act 1 which showed me when and where I enter and exit the stage and where I am positioned in every scene. I finished the choreography for my tap solo which took much quicker than anticipated even though I spent time looking through every version of a tap solo I could find online and I am very happy with it. I am struggling to connect to my character which makes it hard to decide how to react to other characters on stage and how to move or what position to be in when I am standing still so I will research other characters playing Columbia over the weekend for some inspiration.
Week 3 -29/04/19
Over the weekend, I re-watched the 2015 Gala version of the Rocky Horror show on my own looking mainly at Columbia who was played by Sophie Linder-Lee. I studied her movements and I thought about her lines which helped me think of ways to react and move when I am on stage but have no lines to say. I think it is very important to stay in character for every second that I am on stage because even if the audience is not necessarily focusing on me, our performance will be more realistic if every actress on stage is responding to the situation they are in and it makes a more professional production. This week in acting, the fact that we have only three weeks left and have so much to rehearse and to prepare for the show in the theatre was highlighted and we were all told to be completely off-script by next week. For me, that means I have to know all my cues by heart because I already know my lines but I am struggling specifically on revising my cues.
Week 4 - 06/05/19
The costume department have let me know that they have all the pieces that my costume entails which helps me focus more on the performance itself. Next week, I have to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show because I know it is a vital piece of research that will help me get another perspective on the Rocky Horror Show and the character I am playing - Columbia.
Week 5 - 13/05/19
I finally managed to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show and I focused on Columbia (like I did when watching the theatre version online) played by Little Nell Campbell. I feel like at this point, I have grasped and understood the story as doing research has helped clear my confusion on the outrageous plot.
Week 6 - 20/05/19
This week is the performance week. I am focused on performing as Columbia like it is our exam in every rehearsal and adjusting to performing in the theatre rather than in the dance studio with props and wearing costume.
Bibliography:
IMDb. (2019). The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - IMDb. [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/plotsummary [Accessed 14 Jun. 2019].
Initial production of Rocky Horror Show
When and where the production was staged
It opened in the Royal Court in June 1973, then moved to Kings Road. It was performed in the Theatre Upstairs which held only 60 seats, and the only point of performing there was because it was experimental and according to Tim Curry, "a marvellous way of getting new writers' work done". After Theatre Upstairs, it went to Classic Cinema in Chelsea; they were offered West End theatres but didn't want to do that. Since this cinema was closing down in three months, they had reasonable rent which meant they didn't have to charge too much for tickets. Since it was successful, it moved down Kings Road to a cinema that was in by the Classic chain, which is now the Kings Road Theatre.
Tim Curry played in the Rocky Horror Show in London for about six/ seven months and then went to L.A., performing with an American company in a theatre on Sunset Strip called The Roxy Theatre - the show itself lasted about a year there but Curry left after only six months to film the screen version - The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He says his portrayal of his character was the same in both countries.
How Tim Curry got the part
Tim Curry played "Sweet Transvestite" Frank n Furter in the Rocky Horror Show before playing in the film. He vaguely knew Richard O'Brien ,who wrote book, music and lyrics, when working in musical Hair. He says he "lied and cheated" his way into getting the part: he left Birmingham University in 1968, came to London and met an agent who said the Hair was looking for somebody. He told them he had a full equity card and had done tours of cabaret in the North. His employers only found out the truth after he got the part but went ahead anyways.When asked if there was any hesitation in taking the part, he said only because it would be "hard to shake the image off" but he also said it wasn't worth doing this without taking risks, and the risk he took payed off in the end.Tim Curry's views and experiences
He thought the script was witty, funny and economical which was rare to come across. He said his role was physically exhausting and because it requires a lot adrenaline, you feel terrible afterwards. However, the exhilaration of playing Frank restored all emotions. He also had to look after his voice a lot because he used it raucously on stage. Since he played the same demanding role for a long time,there came a point where he went to the theatre earlier and earlier just to bring himself to do it again. This was because it was a tiresome role and Frank was such a strong character, that he threatened to take over. When asked if he thinks the music is responsible for reducing the plot to almost complete innocence, Tim said he thought the music was largely responsible. Richard O'Brien was in trance with 50s Rock and Roll so everything was done with a sense of parody.
When filming the screen version, his makeup was designed by Pierre La Roche. He said it took two hours everyday to get his makeup done which was annoying because he would have to be on set at 06:30 so they could create continuity on screen.
He tried a German and American accent before settling with the very English accent. It was director Jim Sharman's idea to make Frank the "Belgravia hostess with the mostest". He said he wanted to make Frank more horrific on screen because it became quite "nightclubby" on stage which he regrets.
Bibliography
YouTube. (2019). Tim Curry talks about the Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5sTIGLo79g [Accessed 14 Apr. 2019].
Columbia
 |
| Little Nell playing the role of Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture Show |
In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Columbia who is played by Little Nell, has a squeaky voice and a theatrical persona.
I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show and always had my eye on Columbia to see what she was doing even when she wasn't the main character in the scene. This helped me get a better picture of her. When she is talking/ singing/ dancing, she is very high energy, all about the sequins, musical theatre and is very confident. She loves Frank and listens to his orders but his immoral acts ends up angering Columbia. This shows she isn't as much of a fan of his lifestyle as she seems at first.
Her relationships are more meaningful. For example, she had a more emotional relationship with Eddie and Frank whereas Frank has purely sexual relationships which Columbia eventually realises she doesn't like.
I watched the "Rocky Horror Show Live" on YouTube where Columbia is played by Sophie Linder-Lee (YouTube, 2019): I noticed that all her movements were very strong and sharp and I thought she really exaggerated them. Her facial expressions were very good and all of these elements put together created a really believable character.
When seeing Eddie, Columbia's love interest, Linder-Lee ran towards him and was very sassy and confident. She wasn't afraid to be tactile and alluring which showed off Columbia's availability and her sequin-filled costume attracted the attention that someone with her excitable personality would.
Bibliography:
YouTube. (2019). Rocky Horror Show Live. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgGtWJBUXX4&t=1265s [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019].
Project Action Plan
We all have six weeks to put on a full length musical theatre production of The Rocky Horror Show on stage. Carrying out research, documenting what we do in rehearsals and bringing choreography, song and script together is included in these six weeks. Keeping organised is very important when there are many tasks to complete and a deadline looming because time will go quickly which is why creating a timetable to help us not fall behind like this project action plan will be useful.
Week 1:
- Watch a version of The Rocky Horror Show
- Read through the script
- Decide how Columbia should sound
- Do research into context of the 1970s
Week 2:
- Revise lines
- Research many versions of Columbia's tap solo
- Choreograph tap break
Week 3:
- Learn all my solo parts in the songs
- Recap my cues in the script
Week 4:
- Watch Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Research Glam Rock
- Make sure all costume pieces are available in the costume department
Week 5:
- Research about LGBT rights and how the community was treated
- Create poster
- All costume, hair and makeup pieces are prepared for next week
- Create programme
- Perform with confidence on stage
What I actually did
Week 1 - 01/04/19
As a class, we watched the 2015 Gala version of The Rocky Horror Show online where David Badella played Dr. Frank-N-Furter. This is the first piece of research I have looked at about Columbia and the show itself - I find both the story and her character strange and hard to grasp but I am sure that over the next few weeks, I will begin to understand more about the Rocky Horror Show and what it is about. We have started learning songs "Time Warp" and "Science Fiction/ Double Feature". We have only just started rehearsing by reading through the script but we have a two week Easter holiday which means we have to spend our time doing independent work. I think the best thing to do is to learn the script and listen to the songs so that I will come prepared to rehearsals after the break and we will not need to stop just for me.
Over the Easter Holiday - independent work
I have researched a timeline of the Rocky Horror Show to see how many versions of it there are and which came first. I was surprised to find out the theatre production came out before the film and that both had the same actors and actresses for some main roles such as Dr. Frank- N-Furter who was played by Tim Curry in both versions. I also researched the context of the 1970s (when Rocky Horror was written) to find what inspired Richard O'Brien which helped add meaning to the wild story.
Week 2 - 22/04/19
We have just come back from a long holiday but we need to dive straight into rehearsals because of the short period of time we have to put the full production on stage. Over the holidays, I looked at the script and listened to the songs many times like I set out to do. However, I have not fully memorised either as it has proved much more difficult and time-consuming than I expected. Also, I feel that I will only fully be able to memorise all my lines in rehearsals where everyone can say their lines and I can practise saying my lines after hearing my cues in the studio space rather than reading them at home. We staged all scenes in Act 1 which showed me when and where I enter and exit the stage and where I am positioned in every scene. I finished the choreography for my tap solo which took much quicker than anticipated even though I spent time looking through every version of a tap solo I could find online and I am very happy with it. I am struggling to connect to my character which makes it hard to decide how to react to other characters on stage and how to move or what position to be in when I am standing still so I will research other characters playing Columbia over the weekend for some inspiration.
Week 3 -29/04/19
Over the weekend, I re-watched the 2015 Gala version of the Rocky Horror show on my own looking mainly at Columbia who was played by Sophie Linder-Lee. I studied her movements and I thought about her lines which helped me think of ways to react and move when I am on stage but have no lines to say. I think it is very important to stay in character for every second that I am on stage because even if the audience is not necessarily focusing on me, our performance will be more realistic if every actress on stage is responding to the situation they are in and it makes a more professional production. This week in acting, the fact that we have only three weeks left and have so much to rehearse and to prepare for the show in the theatre was highlighted and we were all told to be completely off-script by next week. For me, that means I have to know all my cues by heart because I already know my lines but I am struggling specifically on revising my cues.
Week 4 - 06/05/19
The costume department have let me know that they have all the pieces that my costume entails which helps me focus more on the performance itself. Next week, I have to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show because I know it is a vital piece of research that will help me get another perspective on the Rocky Horror Show and the character I am playing - Columbia.
Week 5 - 13/05/19
I finally managed to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show and I focused on Columbia (like I did when watching the theatre version online) played by Little Nell Campbell. I feel like at this point, I have grasped and understood the story as doing research has helped clear my confusion on the outrageous plot.
Week 6 - 20/05/19
This week is the performance week. I am focused on performing as Columbia like it is our exam in every rehearsal and adjusting to performing in the theatre rather than in the dance studio with props and wearing costume.
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