I was surprised at first that the script was 100% song because I thought that it might be difficult for us to convey the story to the audience with no dialogue in between, especially as we have changed the concept from the original cats to being set in the fashion world.
2) What did/do you think of the concept of changing the context to the fashion world?
At first I was worried about it because I didn't understand how we could change the story
2) What did/do you think of the concept of changing the context to the fashion world?
At first I was worried about it because I didn't understand how we could change the story
to fit the concept. There were lots of factors we had to consider such as the setting. The original production is set in a dump which obviously isn't appropriate for a production based around the fashion world. We had to change the meaning of Heavyside layer to make it something related to the fashion industry. We also had to think about costumes and adapting the character's personalities to the types of personalities found in the fashion world. I was also worried that the audience wouldn't understand what was going on as the musical is called Cats but we were not portraying cats.
3) How has that worked in practice?
Luckily, we managed to overcome all of these obstacles. We changed the setting from a dump to a modern day design house called "Deuteronomy Designs". We had a catwalk and office in our set as well as two clothes rails full of clothes as well as clothes hanging from the ceiling. We also had some mannequins with quite unconventional designs on them so the set fitted really well with our concept and I think it helped the audience understand what was going on. We also changed the Heavyside Layer to a special edition of a magazine that one model/designer is chosen to be on the cover of every year.
4) What has changed about your understanding of the narrative/characters?
When we started this project I had a very basic knowledge of the narrative and characters. For instance I knew of the Rum Tum Tugger, that Macavity was a criminal and that Grizabella sang Memory and was rejected by the group until the end of the show. I hadn't heard of every character and I didn't realize how complicated the story was. For instance there are lots of smaller parts of the story that are very important, such as Old Deuteronomy getting stolen by Macavity. There are also lots of theories about the relationships between the characters. For example, some people believe Bombalurina is Jennyanydot's daughter, some also speculate that Demeter and Macavity used to date. Getting a better understanding of the story and characters helped me to better appreciate the show as a whole and helped me to enjoy performing it a lot more.
5) Explain the thought processes behind your character choices in a thorough manner? (consider vocal & movement choices)
I started by watching the videos of the original performances of Gumbie Cat and Bustopher Jones as they were the main songs I was in. I noticed she was very twee, for example with the way she flicked her hands and the way she walked. I think this represents her older age and also shows she is very feminine and sweet, so I decided to do use this movement in my own portrayal of Jenny. She also flicks her hands a lot to order people around the stage, I think this shows her motherly nature so I decided to do it too. For example when I am gesturing for the models to show me what they can do on the catwalk, when I gesture them to go to the back because they were all so awful, or when I gesture for them to watch the other three girls do it.
Jenny's main solo is in Bustopher Jones. I noticed she sounded very posh when she sung and I think this represents how she is a respected character as a posh voice gives her high status. However, I think she over does it in the original film and it takes away from the song. I want to keep her voice well spoken to give her that high status. I also think her voice should be soft to show is kind and caring towards the other creatures.
3) How has that worked in practice?
Luckily, we managed to overcome all of these obstacles. We changed the setting from a dump to a modern day design house called "Deuteronomy Designs". We had a catwalk and office in our set as well as two clothes rails full of clothes as well as clothes hanging from the ceiling. We also had some mannequins with quite unconventional designs on them so the set fitted really well with our concept and I think it helped the audience understand what was going on. We also changed the Heavyside Layer to a special edition of a magazine that one model/designer is chosen to be on the cover of every year.
4) What has changed about your understanding of the narrative/characters?
When we started this project I had a very basic knowledge of the narrative and characters. For instance I knew of the Rum Tum Tugger, that Macavity was a criminal and that Grizabella sang Memory and was rejected by the group until the end of the show. I hadn't heard of every character and I didn't realize how complicated the story was. For instance there are lots of smaller parts of the story that are very important, such as Old Deuteronomy getting stolen by Macavity. There are also lots of theories about the relationships between the characters. For example, some people believe Bombalurina is Jennyanydot's daughter, some also speculate that Demeter and Macavity used to date. Getting a better understanding of the story and characters helped me to better appreciate the show as a whole and helped me to enjoy performing it a lot more.
5) Explain the thought processes behind your character choices in a thorough manner? (consider vocal & movement choices)
I started by watching the videos of the original performances of Gumbie Cat and Bustopher Jones as they were the main songs I was in. I noticed she was very twee, for example with the way she flicked her hands and the way she walked. I think this represents her older age and also shows she is very feminine and sweet, so I decided to do use this movement in my own portrayal of Jenny. She also flicks her hands a lot to order people around the stage, I think this shows her motherly nature so I decided to do it too. For example when I am gesturing for the models to show me what they can do on the catwalk, when I gesture them to go to the back because they were all so awful, or when I gesture for them to watch the other three girls do it.
Jenny's main solo is in Bustopher Jones. I noticed she sounded very posh when she sung and I think this represents how she is a respected character as a posh voice gives her high status. However, I think she over does it in the original film and it takes away from the song. I want to keep her voice well spoken to give her that high status. I also think her voice should be soft to show is kind and caring towards the other creatures.
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