Well, I decided to book something I had never heard about before. I though the concept was interesting, and on some level didn't quite believe it. A 24 Hour Musical? Could that happen?? Well apparently it can, and it can go really well. I have experienced working as part of a theatre group for 6 years and we were lucky enough to be able to direct five nights of performances. It was only an amiture theatre group but to be able to direct was a dream I had ever since I went to my very first show by the very same group, which I later joined, once I built up my confidence to join.
24 Hour Musical... After talking to the director of the group I found out, the cast learnt the name of the musical at 7:30pm on the 9th of August 2013, rehearsed all night and right up until 7:30pm on the 10th of August! To think that a lot of the cast probably didn't get much if any sleep before the show, and it was a 2 act performance, I felt the cast did extraordinary well! The first act was really good, and enjoyable, the introduction to what they were performing was made (High School Musical)
The cast definitely had the adrenaline and so did the audience! There honestly could not have been a better vibe in that auditorium. The second act held a few pauses, a few forgotten lines but it just made the audience laugh, it was accepted, which it should be with only 24 hours practise.
The set was simple, they had a team come in and instead of make the set from scratch, they used found pieces of set from previous plays that others had left behind. What they had found, they used to the best effect, using tiered benches for various scenes for multiple purposes. American style lockers which they rolled onto set when needed and rolled them off again. The actors filled the space and made best use of what they had.
Character of the school news reader, came outside the proscenium and allowed the backstage crew to move set on and off stage to set up for the next scene. Although the light on stage were down and the spot light was on the news reader outside the stage and to the far left, we could still see the backstage crew working their magic in the darkness. However this kind of give is a bit more of a comical feel to the performance.
The dancing, the singing, the set, costumes, everything was well done, even down to Sharpy's pink locker. I haven't anything horrible to say about the entire night! Well, ok I have one thing... unfortunately it was the last 24 hour musical that the group are doing. I wish I moved sooner! I am a bit gutted that I never got to see any of the other performances of 'Anything Goes', 'Grease', 'Oklahoma' or 'Hello Dolly'.
I enjoyed the whole experience, would love to sit down and enjoy another one, and I think the idea of a '24 Hour Musical' is fascinating. If another theatre group start doing this kind of thing anywhere else in the country, I would definitely consider going and watching it!
To find out more about this or the people behind it visit http://www.justcauseproductions.co.uk/
The picture is not my own.
