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CATS is a musical that was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh. The production was based on 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats', which written by T.S Eliot. in 1939. The musical was first performed in 1980 in London, and went on to win 2 Oliver Awards in 1981 and 7 Tony Awards in 1983.
CATS is about the Jellicles, which refers to a tribe of cats, who are all hoping to be chosen to go to the heaviside layer and return to a new life, which is all decided on a night called 'Jellicle Choice'.
Year 13 Production
In the Year 13's version of the CATS musical, everything was kept the same except for the appearance of the characters, the set and the props. Their version was based on fashion, and the cats were models and designers, with some competing to win the award to go to the heaviside layer at the Jellicle Ball.
We are involved in many scenes of this musical, largely to do with supporting the year 13's voices for a more wholesome sound in big songs such as the opening number 'Jellicle Cats'. Adding our voices into these particular songs gives a stronger atmosphere which is necessary for a musical like CATS. Sometimes we are off-stage singing for songs, and other times we are required on stage to illustrate a busy scene such as the Jellicle Ball, where we are all in our own dresses/suits as if we were also competing for the chance to ascend to the heaviside layer, and congratulating/applauding the winner.
The scene we focused mostly on over the past few weeks was the 'Pekes and Pollicles'. In this, we are either paparazzi or journalists who harass the models as we attempt to get their photos/stories. Through our movement and voice, we show the aggressiveness that gradually worsens during the song. In our movement, we convey this in tableaus and dance routines that we've developed, involving our prop(camera/clipboard). Using our voice, we have to repeatedly shout 'Bark!' at the opposing side (in my case, the journalists), which we need to ensure we really project and show the intensity and conflict between each other.
Facial expressions are really important for everything we're involved in on stage, as it boots your characterisation and makes your persona clearer. For example, frowning expressions for 'Pekes and Pollicles' will reinforce our fury and madness.
A lot of these skills that we learn in CATS can relate to skills needed in WWOD. For example, we have to be very spatially aware as there are a lot of us on stage at a time so it becomes quite confined, especially in 'Pekes and Pollicles' where we are performing our solos around each other simultaneously. This could link to the 'Britney scene' as there are a large number of us on stage in a fast paced scene which requires us to be aware of the surroundings. Another skill is using strong facial expressions. In musicals, aspects like this are always exaggerated and they are unrealistic, which is similar to Act One in WWOD where everything is over the top and magnified. When learning about our paparazzi and journalist characters, we develop their stylised movement e.g sneaky, creeping, sharp switches. This also relates to how we make all our characters have their own specific movements, for example Jane usually had her hand on her hip with her leg bent to symbolise her although classy, feminine side.
Our main purpose for collabrating with CATS was to contribute and support the year 13s, which involves us blending in to make them stand out.
SHOW EVALUATION
I think the show went very well and we performed our dances to a high standard. We had struggled for a while on Pekes and Pollicles to make it look neater, but our rehearsals earlier that day meant we could quickly change/take out anything that wasn't working. Our matinée performance also meant we could get feedback on how we performed and where we need to improve. In the final show we had really gotten the grips of the songs and although we were off stage for some bits we still projected our loudest to make sure we made a difference. What I wish I checked before was how much I could move in my dress as it limited how much I could extend my legs with restricted certain movement such as a deep plié we had to do and a mid-high leg flick. Overall I enjoyed performing CATS and the year 13s delivered a fantastic performance.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_%28musical%29
http://www.catsthemusical.com/
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