My Son Pinocchio - Gepetto’s musical tale

 I have started out this journey by taking an interest in in Stromboli, I believe that my main reason for this is to tackle the villains this year. I have found it a challenge to tackle the villains when I took on the role of Sweeney Todd, I believe that I now need to stretch my myself in the area. First of all Stromboli is a very strong villain as well as very interesting, he needs to have a very large stage presence as he has a serious case of little man syndrome. He’s a massive character with some serious insecurities, a very short temper and a mask of charm. He has a lot of character and a trait where he speaks to his own marionettes. Stromboli is a challenge for me because I need to find out how I can’t make myself as big as possible while also being a villain. I prepared myself for this character by research many performances of him to get an idea of people proses of him, not to copy but to get inspired. I took a look at his background and really Reid to hone on the accent for the audition. I am trying to focus heavily on how he reacts to others, he’s not in his own world and hates humiliation, he want to impress and get his puppet show back on the road (only for the money though). I love how his whole personality is a show, going terribly wrong just like his actual marionette show, he puts on a big act trying to be bigger and better than he is. 

First acting audition,

This was the first chance I got to perform Stromboli and I was very exited, I was the first to lead the auditions so I had no time to stress, I brought in a par of socks to use as sock puppets which helped me show off my ventriloquist skills. I believe I came off confident in my audition even if it was fake, I was trying to play him like he has the answer for everything and certainly does not back down to anyone. There is a slight darkness to his objectives, his only desire is not to entertain but to make money so I knew I had to play on that dark side. I tried to start off big with my vocals and movement although I do feel it dropped off at the end. I tried to fill up the room with my character and give it my best to distinguish Stromboli from his puppets he talks to, he is a very snappy character especially with his puppets, so i tried to hit all levels of emotion in this scene but he is mostly two faced. My accent went down very well however I still need to think about my diction. If I was to improve anything (considering notes I got from the audition panel) it would be to play Stromboli even bigger.

First call backs,

The Stromboli's and Pinocchio's had all been called back for a sort of chemistry read, just so it felt better to actually have someone in the scene with us. The scene really plays on Stromboli's cruelty towards Pinocchio and his desire for money, a lot of flip flopping in the scene from showman to greedy to cruel. I think I could have done a better job with this to distinguish these traits as it’s such a big part of his character. 

Singing auditions,

This was probably the worst audition I have ever done! Nothing went right for me and I felt it just went terribly. Oh well we are just going to have to see what happens, I forgot many of the lines and even though I did hit most of the notes the last note turned out horribly. It would take a lot more practice until I can reach that note. It’s pretty unfortunate as I would love to play this character however the competition is the competition and there’s nothing like a blow back to work on resilience. 

cast list results,

To my surprise I have the pleasure of playing Stromboli at Stockton Arc. This will be a great challenge for me and especially for my singing abilities. I am so exited to be playing this role as it is filled with character and this year I really want to focus on villains. I know I am heading in the right direction for this year. There is plenty to be getting on with for this costume, there is so many directions to take this character as there is so much of it in the first place.  

show time, 

Production role,

My production role for this show was stage manager and it really kicked in during our week of shows, I believe this was the busiest i have ever been with a production role. Since this year round we didn't have a professional stage manager back stage that belonged with arc a lot of the responsibility was left up to us stage managers. Most importantly we were in charge of mics and communicating with sound and lighting. We had to make sure mics were properly fitted, tested and had new batteries, we had to help people with very quick mic changes and if thee was ever a problem backstage we were on the case. We had to check props were in the right place and close the curtains when needed, we were very, very busy. We worked very close with the over all stage manager at the arc called a Oli, he even showed us how to mix the sound with the mics and even a bit of lighting, he always kept us busy telling us to gather people for mic checks, keeping the stag clean and warning us of any fatly headsets for the mics we had to change. Being a stage manager we were busy from the moment we walked in to even after the show was finished. I believe I did a very good job with keeping people organized and on track whenever I was around.  

How was it a stretch from last year?

Las year I was also stage manager for peter pan but I have to say this year I did way more, I really feel that this year it was made more more of a challenge having to be in charge of mics and all of the above without the help of an actual professional stage manager backstage, we really handled it well and it felt like after each show it was getting easier. Have so much more responsibility this year tested us a lot more and we all learned so much more as stage managers, we were even allowed to give out notes to make sure the show ran smoother. Oli also gave us a lot more work to do compared to last year as well and we all got on really well. 

how could I improve?

Even though all stage managers did a brilliant job there was still a few slip ups which I believe could of been mitigated with a bit more communication with cast as well as a few props being misplaced and so on. I feel like to improve I need to try a different production role that has a lot of responsibility such as lighting or sound, maybe even assistant director. 

My evaluation as stromboli,

before this journey with stromboli set out to completely flip how I am perceived on stage, I didn't want to be type casted and get stuck doing what I feel like would be the same thing. I had never played a villain onstage and I have played many lead roles before, I thought about how I could impact the audience as much as I could with as much presence as possible without being on the stage all the time. when I looked at stromboli I thought it was perfect, he already need to be flamboyant and snappy and his scenes on stage are pivotal and very funny, there was so much to experiment with so I had to give this a go. After my show did felt I did just that. Stromboli's emotional range is very complex, he is very short fused and his emotions are very much centred on one thing, himself. if its not going his way he's angry, if he's not making money he's angry and if he gets shown up or embarrassed he is more than angry. a lot of the time he fakes his smile, he's always putting on a show for the audience and everyone around him to make himself look just brilliant. I think I meant a lot of this criteria on an emotional level and by the end of my last show I defiantly made him look very egotistical and very passive aggressive however I felt I could of done more with his "happy" side, I made him very fake with his happy interaction such as in the first scene were he is trying to convince everyone to come to his show. Maybe I could of went bigger and more flamboyant in these moments but I defiantly managed to make him snappy and short fused with his anger.

Now, I had a very challenging journey with my vocals, after weeks and weeks of practicing I managed to make my vocals strong enough to clearly reach his high notes, I used many techniques like using my diaphragm and anchoring myself, however as for breath control I wasn't to happy with it, as for holding his high note I couldn't hold it for long enough, that would defiantly be something I would have to improve on. As for my accent I managed to hold it through the show no problem and slipping in and out of accent for my marionets sounded slick and believable even though I did slip up my accent in the first scene making on marionet German then Italian then Swedish, that defiantly could of been smoother. My projection was good as my character already is loud and shouting and as for diction it was defiantly more of a challenge with the accent so I just had to watch my pacing carefully making sure the audience could understand me. Now being as bouncy and unpredictable as stromboli the whole stage was my playground and I could explore it even more with my marionets, controlling them around the space and I even interacted with the audience, making them hand out flyers to the audience my but to be honest I though i could of utilised them even more.

Having to play such a two faced character it was really fun to explore the dynamics with other characters to try make stromboli look like he's on top, he's always arguing with his marionets when he's alone and when he's around people, a lot of the time they are being quite cheeky with him and getting the better of him, its almost like a slither of his common sense is battling over his massive ego while being projected out of his puppets. For everyone else he's always looking to come out on top, what was an interesting note I took form my tutor was to almost flirt with the blue fairy when she is granting his her wish to him, its like he thinks he's so good he can just flirt his way into getting what he wasn't (which is Pinocchio). I also made him act like whenever anyone wasn't any used to him he would just toss aside, for example when the audience are done paying for his show I made him usher them out without any care in the world. However I still think I could of made him a lot bigger in places, going back to my goal I set out to do which was to bring as much presence as possible to the stage. This had to be one of my favourite costumes of any character, not only because it didn't stray very far from the original it just looked really sleek and cool, exactly like what Stromboli would consider wearing. his shine shoes and long born corduroys looked trendy and cool and his red cummerbund added another cheeky flare to it all. All the props I was given were utilised very well especially the strings for the marionets in the number I've got no strings, I have to keep in time with them to make it look like I am actually pulling there strings, at one point thought I did forget a prop which I defiantly should of remembered which was to put out his money box for his show, I have a feeling Stromboli would defiantly not forget that.

When I first looked looked at stromboli I could tell he was a very torn character, I know I defiantly needed to play him big but a lot in me thought he didn't have to be, not in that way anyway, I thought that a big presence means playing him massive but that isn't always the case. if I put on the right demeaner and played him cool and destructive it could bring a big presence to the stage in a different way, not over the top but a conniving cool villain, although very unrelated to Stromboli's character but someone like the joker but also flamboyet like Jack Sparrow. My strengths defiantly lie with being a convincing villain and managing to convene to the audience that I really was a shot fused two faced schizophrenic villain. Not being on stage very long but still managing to make an impression on the audience was very rewarding and I impressed myself with the vocals as I really stretched myself with them compared to last year. Even only having one song it stud out a lot and a lot of that was up to being able to capture this character.

With that there is still a lot I think I could improve on, I was defiantly conflicted on these different ways I could play him, a lot of the excitement got to my had and I really only did come together for me on the final show. I think with a bit me initiative and maybe even some more character research I could of captured it sooner. I think I could of done more with dynamics especially with the puppets, looking back on it now giving each on a different personality would of been good, Even though he is talking to himself it would of been much better if I could make it look like an actual conversation between to conflicted people. As well for vocals I need to focus on my breath control because it really annoyed me that I could hold that last note. I know moving forward now I need to set some new goals, I need to continue with the villains, I feel its making me a more well rounded actor and I have really enjoyed stretching myself with Stromboli so maybe its time to take on a different kind of villain. For production roles i need to carry on with the tech side of back stage, I think it would be great to experience everything I could possibly do backstage as well as on stage.