BUGSY MALONE

Bugsy Malone

Getting together a school production is more difficult than it looks! Bugsy Malone was performed to staff, students and parents over three evenings, but to get the show ready on time, it took months of hard work.

May 2008

The Drama and Music department get together to decide on possible ideas for this year’s school production. Many shows are discussed including Calamity Jane, Mary Poppins, Annie and finally Bugsy Malone. We decide on Bugsy Malone as we want to include as many of our students as possible in the production and Bugsy has many roles.

June 2008

Students learn that the next production is going to be Bugsy Malone. Miss Garred holds an assembly for each year group and tells them all about the show and how to audition. Pupils have to fill in an application form with details of any performing experience that they may already have. They have two weeks to get their form in.

July 2008

The auditions are held in the great hall. The response has been enormous this year with over 120 students auditioning for just fifty places. Students have to learn and perform a short piece of script using an American accent. They must also sing a few bars from a song of their choice. Some students who want to dance in the show also take part in a dance audition.

Miss Garred and Mrs Lucas then have the unenviable task of deciding who is in the show. Many factors have to be taken into account including acting talent, singing talent, dancing talent and suitability for the roles. We also look for students who are likely to be reliable, mature and willing to attend all rehearsals.

The results are posted up on the creative arts noticeboard and cause quite a stir! We hope we have made the right decision.

Cast members are sent away with a script over the summer holidays which they start to learn. They must also try to watch the Bugsy Malone film over the summer.

September 2008

After the summer break, it’s straight to work. All cast members bring in a costume bag and we already start to fill the bags with items that they may need. Rehearsals take place every Monday from 3.35 – 5.30. Lead cast members also attend extra lunchtime and after school rehearsals. Miss Garred starts to direct the show and has to plan what will be achieved each week. Mr Whiteman attends rehearsals and plays the piano. Mr Wells starts to teach the cast the songs they need to know. Mrs Lucas starts dance rehearsals. Mrs Ellis and Mrs Linham are measuring members of cast for costume size and Mrs Dubar is starting to plan for ‘backstage’.

October 2008

Rehearsals are now well underway. We recruit our backstage team, some of whom are already attending rehearsals. The roles are varied, from stage managers to runners and dressers or lighting crew. Becky and Claire are watching the show and will be helping to stage manage.

Ben is doing an excellent job on Curtains. Cary and Dean are starting to prepare the technical side of the show and considering what lighting we will need to hire.

November 2008

We are working to a very tight schedule as Miss Garred wants to have ‘blocked’ the whole show by Christmas. This means that all the cast members will know their entrances and exits and where to stand on stage. Cast members with solo songs are busy going through their numbers. Miss Garred contacts an organisation who will make some of our props and scenery. She has to give them drawings, photographs and exact measurements for everything that needs to be made. She decides that Fat Sam will be given his own office as an extension of the stage. Brian is busy measuring and starting to make various items for the office. He also has to build four sets of stairs for the stage rostra at the back.

December 2008

Despite it being Christmas, there is no rest. The production rehearsals still happen around other rehearsals for the Christmas concert, year 8 Christmas plays and St Lukes Church service. Mrs Linham and Mrs Ellis are busy making costumes that we don’t already have, such as the ‘boxer’ outfits.

January 2009

Everyone panics as we realise there are only five weeks to go! Pupils are told that they must attend every rehearsal so that the show is ready on time. We start to run the show – first act one and then act two. It is in a terrible state and we wonder how it will be ready in time. Miss Garred is worried about a scene in which the cast have to use ‘splurge guns’. She is concerned that some of the cast might go too far and there will be an accident.

February 2009

Snow! We are now very near the show and it has snowed, preventing our technical director, Chris Elston, from putting up the lights. He comes in very early in the morning to make up for lost time. We lose out on our last Monday rehearsal as school is shut.

Pupils arrive back after the show and have to attend extra rehearsals to make up for what they have missed. We have our Friday technical rehearsal and then pupils once more attend school on a Saturday for our dress rehearsal. Everyone is in attendance including cast, crew, technicians and musicians. We have over 100 students involved. We rehearse the ‘splurge’ scene and everyone is really professional. No accidents! The backstage crew do a great job of mopping up the stage quickly.

Monday 9 th – Wednesday 11 th February

We perform the dress rehearsal to a primary school audience on Monday Morning. There are still some problems as cast are having problems changing their costumes on time between scenes. Some don’t arrive on stage on time!

Monday evening arrives and as if by magic, everything falls into place. The cast are brilliant and the crew make sure that everything runs smoothly. Some audience members give a standing ovation! The show gets even better on Tuesday and Wednesday night as the cast become confident in their roles.

Thank-you to everyone who participated in or helped out with Bugsy Malone this year.

We can’t wait for next year’s production and are already starting to think of ideas. We would love to hear your suggestions.