Performance Days

Tuesday19th May

We cleared all personal belongings into a room to the side of the studio. Following this, we then Safety Checked the site to ensure that every connection was secured, thus preventing any possible injuries. The large blue cable at the side of the stage was moved out of the way; and we were all careful when exiting and entering the stage to not to trip over it. We all sorted through the props and the alternate costume pieces, to ensure that they were in the correct place for each scene. Once we were all in costume, we ran and re-ran the performance with varying degrees of tech. At various stages throughout the day, myself and other performers would  have to adjust the curtains as they continued to separate with use. We tried to secure the crash mat using strong tape but when the mat was used, the corners of the mat lifted up and pulled the tape away. In the end, we decided that it was easier to keep moving the mat back into place throughout the performance. 
Responding to the feedback we have received from the previous weeks, we completely cut the crowd and the chorus from my group's scene. 
We changed one of the gags for a couple of reasons, the primary reason being it was too hard to access a suitable magazine and so we used a pop CD instead. In my opinion, the gag lost some of its meaning.However, this was a College performance and we had certain guidelines to follow.

The performance itself went really well,we improvised some minor interactions with the audience whilst they were waiting outside, all in character. For example, I wandered off and started to talk to a group of people and the other two soldiers came and dragged me back into the theatre.
Moreover, there were a few issues during the actual performance, which the cast worked around. For instance, the music for the Grease number started too soon and cut a small part from one performers scene but the rest of the cast went ahead as usual.
Also, my mask was broken off stage, fortunately there was only one more scene where I had to wear it. I was able to hold it on and make it look like part of the character.
The trolley for 'the cripples' entrance was a Health and Safety issue that I did not anticipate, it was still on stage for the epilogue  and while we were weaving in and around each other, it was in my way and I knocked it into another performers shin.  In rehearsals this piece of equipment was always removed from the stage between scenes. the jug of 'alcohol' was passed on at the right time but there was nobody there to take it off me as I passed it through the curtain and I ended up just putting it on the floor at the bottom of the curtain. Someone did pick it up, and thus avoided an accident. The CD I was supposed to bring onto the stage, was left on top of the piano but we improvised and managed to keep the scene going.

Wednesday 20th May

We began by placing all personal belongings into the room we had used the previous day. We then cleared the set of any non-essential items and we talked through any problems that we had the previous night. We also ran through the performance with two further rehearsals. This performance was not flawless, as mistakes were made despite our efforts. the trolley was still left on stage, I could not find the gap in the curtain to put the jug on stage