8th June

Today we spent some time on dialogue between Mushnik, Seymour and I while the rest of the cast were going over Little Shop of Horrors. We then did the dialogue between Seymour and I that goes into Call Back in the Morning which we haven't done yet. We listened to the song and it is very wordy and quick so we tried to sing through it a bit but need to go away and just keep listening to it until we.re confident with a,k if the timings. We also did the dialogue before suddenly Seymour and staged and sang suddenly Seymour. It is very simply and cheesy which is good because the singing is quite difficult so we need to concentrate on that, but I think it will be good once we have practised the song more and done it with the backing track. I am becoming more confident at singing by myself in rehearsals although I can still hear my nerves in my voice, but I am hoping it will come with time. 

4th June

Today we spent a lesson watching a documentary that had been on channel 4 about being in the West end and how shows can close in a matter of weeks. It was really interesting to see how everything worked and how unpredictable it is in that industry. For the rest of the lesson we ran through Meek Shall Inherit, Don't feed the Plants and Ya Never Know with the backing tracks. I think doing it with the backing tracks highlighted that we need to work on the singing especially and keep doing it with the backing tracks so we get more confident with singing without the cast recording. 

1st and 2nd June

I was not there for this lesson as I had an exam, but they did the choreography for Ya Never Know, which does not affect me as I am not in this number.

The next day they went through Ya Never Know so I got to see that, and they finished the choreography. Also I sang through Somewhere That's Green and planned what I am going to do for it. It is not a dancey song so I have planned what I am going to do during it, like stand and walk to a certain place, so I am not standing still or aimlessly wandering around the stage, I think this will help me to feel more confident when singing it as I will know what I am doing, I just need to keep singing through the song so I am completely sure of it.

21st May

Today we spent some time at the start of the lesson thinking about our characters and what characteristics they had. Audrey is quite a typical dumb blonde character. I think she is lonely in the way that her only friend seems to be Seymour, also she always wants to please people. I don't think she is very confident and thinks quite lowly of herself which is why she is with Orin as she doesn't think she can get anyone better, and she doesn't want to be alone, again going back to her loneliness. I think she is quite tough in the sense that she puts on a brave face about Orin and doesn't complain, she always tries to be happy and especially when she's around Seymour which shows that she really does care for him. After the character stuff we sang through Ya Never Know which I can't be in stage for but I can sing off stage. We then carried on reading through the dialogue after this song until we reached Closed for Renovation. 

19th May

Today we ran through the finale and tried it with the backing track, which wasn't as good as it could have been because people had not gone away and looked at the song.

Then we started to learn the song Meek Shall Inherit. I really like this song as it is catchy and upbeat and has lots of different parts. There is very basic movement to it for us to do as the focus is supposed to be on Seymour and what is going on with the characters that come in, as it adds to the storyline. We finished the number and had time to do it a couple more times so hopefully everyone will remember it. The singing sounds quite good as it is a simple song and so it is easy for everyone to pick up.

18th May

Today we finished the finale, adding in when everyone was bowing and the very end of it. After we had done Mushnik, Seymour and I went off to do any scenes or songs we were in together while they started doing the Dentist's song.

We sang through all of the songs we were in which was nice as not everyone was around so I could relax and just sing them with the other two, especially for Suddenly Seymour and Somewhere that's Green. From singing these through it showed me that I need to listen to the soundtrack more to get the songs in my head as there are some bits I am not sure of and it will make it easier if I know them for when we come to do them in class.

14th May

Today we started running through the dialogue for act two. I was surprised at how quickly we got through it, and how simple it was to block. Once we had finished the dialogue we started to learn the finale, Don't Feed the Plants. We sang through it a few times and then started to stage it. It is a very easy number as we just walk on, stand and then there's a tiny bit of movement at the end. I think we are each going to come on with a small plant pot with a plant in, which is meant to be a cutting of Audrey II showing how the story ends. Also, as most of us are supposed to be dead and inside the plant, we are thinking of splattered ourselves with blood so it is clear that we are dead to the audience. Again I think we need to improve the singing of this song, especially as it is the finale, and we need to do it with the backing track once we have completely finished it. 

12th May

Today we ran through all of the dialogue and dances again from where we got to last lesson. We ran all of the dialogue to the end of act one but we missed out any musical numbers we hadn't done yet which isn't too many. I think we all need to start learning our lines so it starts looking better but other than that I think it is going well. The dances that we have done are still looking good and no one has forgotten them so all they need is a little tidying. The thing that needs the most work is the singing which we can rehearse later, and it will get better with time as we get to know the songs better. 

11th May

This lesson we ran through all of the musical numbers we have done so far, with all of the dialogue again. Then we did the movement for 'Closed for Renovation'. The song is about refurbishing the shop, so I have to dart around the shop frantically cleaning with a feather duster. I enjoy this song as it quite nice to sing and the movement is easy so we can concentrate on making it sound good and making it as cheesy as possible. After this song we ran over the scenes and songs we had done, so we ran the scenes from the beginning and the songs we had done. We have started running the songs with the backing tracks so we are getting used to singing by ourselves and not being dependant on the singing on the track. I need to look at the words to the songs so I do not need to hold my script, that way I can get the movement practised properly as well as the singing. 

7th May

Today we ran the show from the beginning, with all of the songs and the scenes. This meant The opening Little Shop of Horrors, Skid Row and Da Doo with all the scenes in between them. This was good as it is starting to feel like a real show and it is starting to come together. We definitely need to go through the dances as they were a bit messy and we need to go over them with the backing tracks so we get used to singing them without the cast singing. After this we started setting some of the scenes with just Seymour Mushnik and I while the rest of the cast went over the dances, mainly Little Shop of Horrors as this is the most difficult. I need to go over what we did and try and remeber the scenes that we set today, but I think it is getting easier to talk through the dialogue with Audrey's voice as I am getting used to using it. 

5th May

This lesson we learnt the dance to Little Shop of Horrors which Dan had previously choreographed. I really enjoyed this because it was a whole lesson of dancing and the dance is really good. It is also a good number because we are not singing so we do not need to concentrate on that as well so the dance will be better. It is a fairly difficult dance which is good because it challenges the people that have not really danced before and is still good to look at and doesn't look too simple or easy. Because of its difficulty it did take quite a while for it to start coming together but by the end of the rehearsal people were starting to get it and by the time of the show I think it will look amazing, especially with everyone performing as over the top and cheesy as possible. I think we just need to keep going over it and perfect the dance, but it will be a very good number to start the show with and set the right tone for the performance, being very cheesy and over the top. 

30th April

Today we started by running Skid Row to make sure we could remember it. Then we did the dance Da Doo (Total eclipse of the sun), which is the creation of a street market. Mushnik, the customer and I drift back and stay in the body position of what we finished the scene before in. Once we have drifted back we 'step and click' subtly in the background while the street is in motion around us and sing along. We also staged the scene which was before the song, and then ran it straight into the song. This is the first time I had to do the voice for Audrey which I need to practise and read through my lines working on it as it is quite difficult.

29th April

This lesson we learnt the dance to Skid Row (downtown). It is a very simple dance that just requires simple movement which is good as we can focus on the singing which we have been working on and hopefully it won't be affected by the movement. At the beginning of the dance we start with just wandering in the streets as our character, I need to work on my characterisation of Audrey and think of things I can do while I'm in character. Also we are starting to sing the song with the backing track which makes me very nervous, which you can hear in my singing, so I need to work on my confidence when singing solo. 

27th April

Today we started the rehearsals for Little Shop of Horrors. The first thing we started with was Skid Row (downtown). We spent the lesson singing through the song and working on the two part harmonies with the piano. It took quite a while to go through the song as some people in the cast have not done a lot of singing before, but after a while the song started to sound quite good and people were getting to grips with the harmonies. In this song I have a solo line which I was nervous about as I have not done a lot of singing by myself, so going through it slowly with the cast singing hepled me to become more confident singing infront of the rst of the class. I think I stil need to work on my confidence when singing and try to have more character in my voice although I do not need to sound as "annoying" when singing.