Rehearsal Schedule: Feb 12 (Sun)

Rehearsal Schedule: Feb 6

Complete Costume Spreadsheet

Following on from the meeting yesterday, I offered to make the full costume spreadsheet using the information we already had.


Whilst I was doing this, the others went to the costume cupboard and found some more costumes.

Costume Meeting (with producer & director)

Today we had a meeting with Mr Hawkins (producer) and Mrs dLG (director) to go through each character's scene by scene.

Dirtying the Boilersuits

Today we carried on dirtying the boilersuits. We found some muddy puddles and I found that using both hands to forcefully scrub the boilersuits into the dirt really made them muddy. We then had to hose them down before putting them in the washing machine, as we need to get rid of the excess dirt so as to not clog up the washing machine.




After putting the boiler suits in the wash, Connor, Ashley, and I started labeling the principals' costumes so far.

Whilst we did that, Abby and Ruby bought some brown buttons in town for the pantomime cow's head and glued them on.

This morning the doubles began dirtying the miners' boilersuits. The Santa costume and Maggie Thatcher skirt (both for the character George) arrived, so we asked Andy to try them on and they fitted him well. The other arrival was the pink and white tutus for the ballet girls.

This afternoon, Connor and I printed off the scene by scene costume plans for the principals and cast groups (miners/girls/young boys/etc.).

Whilst we did that, the others went into town and bought some blouses from charity shops.

Rehearsal Schedule: Jan 30

The Pantomime Cow's Body

After making the cows head, we looked at how to make the body. We had a lot of material left over so I thought we could make two pairs of trousers and have some left over to cover the second person. However, after looking at the pantomime cow from the show and realising that the would need a quick change, we decided just to make a large cover by sewing two pieces of material together. 

Freya and I pinned the material along where it needed to be sewn, and then I took it home with me as I have a sewing machine. I used the back stitch setting to ensure that it would be secure and made sure that the direction of the material was going the same way. After sewing, I brought it back to school where we modeled it with the cow's head, and the result was visually pleasing.

The Pantomime Cow's Head

Today we made the pantomime cow's head. In the morning the doubles found an old structure of a horse's head made from wire and wooden rods which was meant to be worn like a hat. The cow patterned furry material they had previously ordered had arrived and so we were all set to start.

First we had make the horse shape more like a cow, so I folded the ears in half which immediatley it more cow-like. As the material was thick it seemed to broaden the face, and with the pattern we knew it would complete the look.

I lay the head upside down on the material and cut out a large shape resembling it, and then Asha helped me hot glue the material to the head.

Health & Safety

When using glue guns there is the risk of burning yourself as the glue becomes very hot, and as the cow's head involved putting glue in places that were hard to see, I was extremely careful with my hands. I would have worn hand protection, but I was afraid that it would have made it more difficult and fiddly to glue, and therefore not as good a result. Unfortunately some of the glue leaked out just as we were finishing and stuck to my finger, resulting in a blister. I immediately ran it under the cold tap to ease the pain, and treated it with aloe vera which is perfect for burns.

Despite that, the head turned out really well.

Characters Scene by Scene

Today we wrote up the scene by scene for each of the main characters. I did Grandma, Young Grandma, Young Grandad, Michael, and George. We now need to take pictures of the outfits and make sure we have everything. The purpose of these are to help both us and the cast know what to wear in which scenes.

Rehearsal Schedule: Jan 23

Jobs to do

Today Mr Hawkins sent me an email with a list of jobs to get done over the week:

"More things…..measurements and fittings for showgirls and grandma dancers!"

Boys Costume Call

Today was the last scheduled costume call. I checked the Year 7's costumes, including the boys playing Billy and Michael. Some of the boys brought a lot of clothes that are appropriate, so we may use them as spares.
There are still a lot of base costumes that need to be sorted, so I came up with the idea that all the costumes should be put in one place where we can easily check them and help people who haven't got theirs sorted yet. To do this we need to get the rails out from under the stage (hopefully the doubles will be able to do this on Monday), and then we need to find a place to keep everything.
There are a lot of cast members who have missed their call, so an additional one is being scheduled for Thursday (26th) lunchtime.

RMDS

Today in P5&6 Ashley and I went to RMDS with Mrs dLG and Andy. We had a list that had already been sent over and got the majority of things we had asked for.

Production Meeting: Jan 19

As there was the first run through of Act One yesterday (Pasty cast), we discussed notes that had been taken as well as other matters.

Set

• in general, the set is nearly finished
• wallpaper needs to be decided on
• floor needs sanding
• there will be black drapes (prosc arch)

Lighting

• the blocking wasn't as they had expected - need to talk with Elishia (DSM) as she has blocking plans
• whole of Solidarity need sorting

Sound

• the pegs fell off but in theory the prospect and plans worked
• need to let Billys have a run through with a mic pack to see if it restricts them and to let them get used to it
• Ballet Girls need to be heard in Solidarity

Costume

• boiler suits that were ordered are too small and need exchanging - Connor to call company
• when we have the correct boiler suits they will need roughing up to look worn
• George in trackies and smart shoes?
• bloomers for Grandma
• member of costume in wings with Billy's shoes to help chaanges

Makeup

• need to age most of cast
• black face paint worked for miners as coal - actual coal could have reaction issues
• bruising and bleeding throughout show

Props

• miners come on smoking
• cast need to take placards off with them
• need to get kitchen sorted - with two pans
• punch bag for Boxing Scene
• bigger skipping rope for Mr Braithwaite
• smoke machine
• pie for Tracey Atkinson
• write a mapping system for chairs
• crowbar for Crowbar Scene
• things in Billy's bag to make a dance
• Handbag for Mrs Wilkinson

Other

• ASMs in cleaning costumes to 'tidy' props into correct positions
• Expressing Yourself needs massive rehearsal - dancers further forwards to make room for cast
• Ballet Girls and Boxing Boys need to get their own bags

Act One Run Throughs

Yesterday and today there were run throughs of Act One, yesterday was Pasty Cast, and today was Sausage Roll Cast. As I am Grandma in Pasty Cast and ensemble in Sausage Roll Cast, I was at both run throughs but as cast, not crew. Luckily other members of costume were there taking notes.

Boiler Suits - Too Small

The boiler suits arrived today, but despite the delivery being correct, the sizes had been miscalculated and thus were too small for many of the miners.They will have to be sent back and a new batch be ordered - this time larger ones which can be altered if they are too big.

Ringwood Charity Shops

Today I let Lauren practice doing my hair for Grandma whilst the others went into Ringwood to see if they could find anything in the charity shops. They came back with a jumper for Dad and a nightie and dressing gown for Grandma. The dressing gown may need to be taken up slightly as it is quite long and the character is meant to dance about wildly which could be potentially dangerous. Also both the nightie and dressing gown may need to be food stained slightly as Grandma isn't the tidiest of characters.

Girls Costume Call

Yesterday was the costume call for the Year 7-10 girls, and today was the Year 11-13 Girls. Unfortunately I couldn't make either call, but the others filled in the checklists to see what had been brought and what was missing. Not everyone made these calls, so they will have to let us know what costumes they have at another point.

Molly's Den

The doubles went to a vintage warehouse called Molly's Den to get ideas for the show. Here are some of the items they looked at:

Although none of these were bought and some of them don't fit the colour palette that has been chosen, they were very useful in allowing us to understand the style of clothes in that era, and therefore give us ideas about certain characters.

Rehearsal Schedule: Jan 16

Boys Costume Checklist

As there are costume calls this week, I made a checklist for all the boys in their year groups.

Boiler Suits Order

Today Connor sent Andy the order list for the miners' boiler suits which he had checked with the director.

Rehearsal Schedule: Jan 9

Rehearsal Schedule: Jan 2