...to say that not very much is going on at the moment!
Thanks to Sarah Green we submitted an application for funding to the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund at Warwick, but unsurprisingly didn't get past the first stage. Considering Throwaway were given the entire £5000 only 3 years ago, getting anything out of them was going to be a long shot at best!
Since then we've been working on some funding ideas, and are now applying for venues. Tim's away in New York this month with work (for the whole month!! I'm not jealous...) so it's difficult to organise anything at the moment, but hopefully when he returns regular meetings can be resumed and we can take some more steps forward.
On the subject of fundraising, I heard today about 500 people in Trafalgar Square last week suddenyl freezing like statues - a flashmob piece of impromptu art organised via facebook. If they can do that, there are lots of possibilities for us to arrange fun events that get our name out there, and maybe even raise some money.
More soon I hope!
Lia xx
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
As promised...
Thanks to Elena at the Arts Centre, I have found out that 122 tickets were issued for the Musical of Musicals on the 26th of June, 2007! Plus 2 stewards, that means that somewhere in the region of 124 people saw the show :) In a venue of roughly 140 seats, that's a very exciting number. Hurrah!
Lia :)
Lia :)
Saturday, 1 December 2007
Welcome to the Musical of Musicals, the Musical!
Hello all!
Welcome to the blog for 'The Musical of Musicals, the Musical!' - to chart our progress, share some thoughts and keep a record of what goes on. Everyone involved should feel free to contribute whenever you like, about anything you like, and hopefully we can gain some loyal supporters along the way!
I thought I'd start off by doing a bit of summing up - how we came to be here and what we'd like to achieve by the end of it (or what I'd like to achieve at least!)
Around a year and a half ago, my mum went to see 'The Musical of Musicals the Musical!' at the Sound theatre, near Leicester Square. She came home enthusing wildly about it, and telling me how much she had laughed. My friend Paul took me to see it and I fell in love with how clever it is, and more importantly how simple the concept is - one story, five styles, and as many references to shows and lyrics as possible!! The story is of an ingenue (June) who can't pay her rent, the evil landlord (Jitter) trying to force her to, and her boyfriend (Bill) who eventually comes to her rescue. It is told in the styles of Rogers and Hammerstein (Oklahoma, The Sound of Music), Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George), Jerry Herman (Hello Dolly, La Cage au Folles), Andrew Lloyd-Webber (Phantom of the Opera, Evita), and Kander & Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago). The costumes were simple and all-black, the band consisted of a piano, and the set was simply a set of steps and a smoke machine!
I was so enthused by it, and so keen to share its witty words and magnificent music with others that I saw it another 2 times - once at the Sound theatre, and once at its subsequent run at the King's Head. By that time, I had decided that it would be a perfect show for the Warwick Student Arts Festival, since it was so simple and involved so few people, plus for one performance with free entry, we could fill the audience with friends and people from Music Theatre Warwick, who would appreciate the loving pastiche of shows they know well.
I persuaded the energetic and ambitious Rob Marks to join my scheme as guest director (and general helper!), and subsequently I also got the wonderfully talented and funny Geoff Burnhill to agree to be the Musical Director (playing the piano and even getting some lines!) We submitted our idea to the WSAF team, and once we'd got the go-ahead we secured the rights for a one-off performance from Samuel French, thanks to a generous £150 donation from my mum because she loves the show so much!
The cast was Mitch Wilson as Bill, Chris Allen as Jitter, Lydia King as Abby and Elie Middleton as June. We rehearsed the show in only 8 sessions, squeezed in around Chris' job, people's exams and various other committments, but everyone did an amazing job of learning their parts and we had a great time coming up with new jokes and working as an ensemble. The show was performed at 8pm on the 26th of June in the studio at Warwick Arts Centre to a large, warm audience (I'm waiting for an exact number from Warwick Arts Centre!) and received some very high praise. I must thank the WSAF studio team including Owen Hughes and Matt (whose surname I have forgotten - help?!) who were extremely helpful and professional and made the show happen in only 4 hours from get-in to performance!
So what now? Well the more I thought about the show (helped, of course, by it being so successful at the Arts Festival), the more I lamented that we were only able to perform it once! I also thought that it would fit perfectly into a festival such as the Edinburgh Fringe (where I've worked for the past two summers) and so I started plotting. Having spoken to a few people about the possibility, I got Tim Connor involved as a Producer, and then we also got Steph Hay on the team as another Producer. This led to some very productive discussions with her about organisation and we are very excited to be part of the newly-resurrected Throwaway - the company that took The Fix to The Fringe almost three years ago, with huge success. We've now also got Ed Borgnis on board as our Technical Manager
So now we are into the planning stages of production, and looking at raising some money with which to fund our venture - initially from the Warwick Graduates Association and the Lord Rootes Foundation. We're hoping to secure a cabaret-style venue at the Fringe, (similar to the space at the King's Head, if anyone saw the show there) since we need very little by way of tech and stage space, although a real piano would be a real asset. We are writing application packs for funding, and looking forward to getting our teeth stuck into marketing and fundraising in the new year. Watch this Space!
Do also check out www.myspace.com/themusicalofmusicals and feel free to email us! musicalofmusicalsthemusical@gmail.com
A very excited
Lia (Director) xx
Welcome to the blog for 'The Musical of Musicals, the Musical!' - to chart our progress, share some thoughts and keep a record of what goes on. Everyone involved should feel free to contribute whenever you like, about anything you like, and hopefully we can gain some loyal supporters along the way!
I thought I'd start off by doing a bit of summing up - how we came to be here and what we'd like to achieve by the end of it (or what I'd like to achieve at least!)
Around a year and a half ago, my mum went to see 'The Musical of Musicals the Musical!' at the Sound theatre, near Leicester Square. She came home enthusing wildly about it, and telling me how much she had laughed. My friend Paul took me to see it and I fell in love with how clever it is, and more importantly how simple the concept is - one story, five styles, and as many references to shows and lyrics as possible!! The story is of an ingenue (June) who can't pay her rent, the evil landlord (Jitter) trying to force her to, and her boyfriend (Bill) who eventually comes to her rescue. It is told in the styles of Rogers and Hammerstein (Oklahoma, The Sound of Music), Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George), Jerry Herman (Hello Dolly, La Cage au Folles), Andrew Lloyd-Webber (Phantom of the Opera, Evita), and Kander & Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago). The costumes were simple and all-black, the band consisted of a piano, and the set was simply a set of steps and a smoke machine!
I was so enthused by it, and so keen to share its witty words and magnificent music with others that I saw it another 2 times - once at the Sound theatre, and once at its subsequent run at the King's Head. By that time, I had decided that it would be a perfect show for the Warwick Student Arts Festival, since it was so simple and involved so few people, plus for one performance with free entry, we could fill the audience with friends and people from Music Theatre Warwick, who would appreciate the loving pastiche of shows they know well.
I persuaded the energetic and ambitious Rob Marks to join my scheme as guest director (and general helper!), and subsequently I also got the wonderfully talented and funny Geoff Burnhill to agree to be the Musical Director (playing the piano and even getting some lines!) We submitted our idea to the WSAF team, and once we'd got the go-ahead we secured the rights for a one-off performance from Samuel French, thanks to a generous £150 donation from my mum because she loves the show so much!
The cast was Mitch Wilson as Bill, Chris Allen as Jitter, Lydia King as Abby and Elie Middleton as June. We rehearsed the show in only 8 sessions, squeezed in around Chris' job, people's exams and various other committments, but everyone did an amazing job of learning their parts and we had a great time coming up with new jokes and working as an ensemble. The show was performed at 8pm on the 26th of June in the studio at Warwick Arts Centre to a large, warm audience (I'm waiting for an exact number from Warwick Arts Centre!) and received some very high praise. I must thank the WSAF studio team including Owen Hughes and Matt (whose surname I have forgotten - help?!) who were extremely helpful and professional and made the show happen in only 4 hours from get-in to performance!
So what now? Well the more I thought about the show (helped, of course, by it being so successful at the Arts Festival), the more I lamented that we were only able to perform it once! I also thought that it would fit perfectly into a festival such as the Edinburgh Fringe (where I've worked for the past two summers) and so I started plotting. Having spoken to a few people about the possibility, I got Tim Connor involved as a Producer, and then we also got Steph Hay on the team as another Producer. This led to some very productive discussions with her about organisation and we are very excited to be part of the newly-resurrected Throwaway - the company that took The Fix to The Fringe almost three years ago, with huge success. We've now also got Ed Borgnis on board as our Technical Manager
So now we are into the planning stages of production, and looking at raising some money with which to fund our venture - initially from the Warwick Graduates Association and the Lord Rootes Foundation. We're hoping to secure a cabaret-style venue at the Fringe, (similar to the space at the King's Head, if anyone saw the show there) since we need very little by way of tech and stage space, although a real piano would be a real asset. We are writing application packs for funding, and looking forward to getting our teeth stuck into marketing and fundraising in the new year. Watch this Space!
Do also check out www.myspace.com/themusicalofmusicals and feel free to email us! musicalofmusicalsthemusical@gmail.com
A very excited
Lia (Director) xx
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