WEEK THREE

Monday 17th May

I’ve had a really nice relaxing weekend with my GG. On Saturday I had a matinee performance of OOTW, but no evening performance, so I was home in London by 6:30 pm, just in time for the Eurovision Song Contest. Joke!! I’d rather watch David Dickinson ballroom dance than watch Europe go head to head - in song! Oh, hang on a minute … I did see David Dickinson ballroom dance - ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ BBC1. Need I say more? That’s Saturday TV for you!

My Sunday was spent checking my emails, cooking real food (rather than the microwave rubbish I end up eating in Chichester!) and relaxing on the sofa with my girlfriend watching good telly!!

My return journey is a solo one! Nobody needed a lift back this time. I have the car all to myself and spend the drive singing along to George Michael’s new album. It’s a good mix of pop and ballads. You can’t beat a bit of George!
The morning begins with the usual enquiry: “How was your weekend?” The Elephant’s Child celebrated his birthday yesterday – he doesn’t look any older!

After the vocal warm-up, the Jaguar and I are free while Herr Director and Stephen run through the staging of ‘Just So’. We decide to read through our lines together in Act Two. We’re not sure when we’ll get to them in the rehearsal process, so we thought it would be a good idea to at least start to ‘say’ them. With time to spare, we sneak in to the Games room to run ‘Ladies Out’, hoping we can still remember it after the weekend off. No probs! The proof is in the performance though!

We are called in to rehearse ‘the crab’ moment. All I will say is - ten red bin lids…! Use your imagination (to quote OOTW!)

Herr Director discusses our Wildebeest…that’s our hunched, ‘Brummie’ Wildebeest. We enter as these Wildebeest at the end of Act One. Herr Director feels we have been ‘upstaging the drama of the Act One Finale’. We attempt a compromise, so we are still being Wildebeest, but without ruining the wonderfully touching ‘Limpopo River’.

All through the morning, we have had costume fittings. The Rhino is hilarious! The Jaguar tries on the Wildebeest costume and looks like white American Trailer trash!

During the ‘Just So’ transformation scene the Giraffe and the Zebra get a chance to try on their costumes. In rehearsal, Stephen starts working on how the transformation will evolve using the costume design and ideas. All I can say is the girls look good enough to eat!!!

At lunch I chat with the Jaguar about our costumes. Although I appreciate that the costume designs are stylised and ‘represent’ the animals, rather than ‘be’ the animals, I would love the Leopard to have a tail! We decide to speak to Herr Director first, and then Peter (the Designer) to seek their opinions.

Unfortunately, the Zebra has to return to AMSND in the afternoon, so the proposed run of Act One for George is scrapped! Instead, David teaches us some more harmonies. Thankfully, there aren’t as many big company numbers in Act Two.

We start with ‘If’, the song at the end of the Act, based on the famous Rudyard Kipling poem:

We cover the ‘Just So Part Two’ chorus, and then the chorus in ‘Leaps and Bounds’. David wants us to have everything we need on tape because it’s a short week again due to performances of OOTW. If we have our Act Two harmonies and vocal lines on our Dictaphones, we can learn them whenever we have some time this week.

Just before I finish for the day, the Jaguar and I learn the ‘Ladies Out Reprise’, which leads into the start of ‘Just So Part Two’. David explains that G&A have written this new segue for the production at Chichester. Apparently it was simply dialogue underscored with music. Now we have a musical montage of ‘Pick Up Your Hooves’, ‘Just So’ and ‘Ladies Out’ to help complete the animal transformation story. It’s quite exciting to think that there is a small part of the show that hasn’t been performed before… not even in Boston! I finish earlier than usual so I head for home and spend an hour or so going over my new notes! No rest for the … slow learner!!

Tuesday 18th May

There’s a buzz in the air at The Boy’s Club. At first I think it’s ‘excitement’ at the prospect of running Act One for George’s ears. I quickly realize it’s apprehension, not excitement! It’s kinda like an artist showing someone a painting when it’s not finished. I suddenly don’t feel ready for George today. I start to think of it more as a stumble through - at least I won’t feel too depressed if (or is that when?) I go wrong. During the run I notice G&A and Stephen making notes. I have a horrible vision of them writing ‘Leopard: rubbish. Re-cast’. Ever the eternal optimist, eh?

After a fifteen-minute tea break of not tea, but table tennis, the notes follow.

Am I hearing this right? Herr Director is telling us how happy he is with the shape of the show so far. He continues: “Thank you for working so hard, especially when opening another show at the same time. George and I are very pleased with all the hard work”.

At heart, we ‘Actors’ are mostly an insecure bunch! So, I’m not sure if Herr Director is really pleased or if he is trying to raise our spirits after what I feel was a rather ‘stumbled’, stumble through. Once OOTW is open will we need to work even harder? Not sure, time will tell. As much as I believe in my ‘god-given’ talent, I sometimes need reassurance that the work I do in the rehearsal room is definitely in the right direction for my role, and the show – and to feel confident that I’m getting there with my performance. I still feel it is early days – even though we are in week three! But I feel I am on track, and I’m trusting my instincts.

I don’t envy the Director his job. Having to see through the actor’s outer shell and be aware of who needs a pat on the back, or their hand holding, or to be left alone, or to be praised… the list goes on.

Directing cannot be easy! But I find the role fascinating. I would love to have the chance to direct later in my career.

After lunch we all learn the rest of ‘Leaps and Bounds’ with David. It’s the first time I’ve heard the Kangaroo and Dingo Dog sing solo. They are both in OOTW, but are in the ensemble and have no solo lines. The same goes for the Kolokolo Bird. It’s great to hear their individual voices.

Toward the end of the rehearsal, G&A and Stephen return to listen to how it’s going. We run the whole song. Not for their benefit …… for ours!

I finally realise something. For all the cast JS is a completely new show, nobody has done it before. But for the creative team it’s the opposite, they’ve spent many a day, week, month, year working on it. So when I feel that buzz of excitement when a song really works, look to the creative team to see if they are in agreement, and find there’s no reaction. Well, it’s because they’ve heard it all before.

I’ve been lucky in my career, being chosen for a few new, premiere productions. To be the first person to sing a number in an actual production, and see the creative team’s excitement and enthusiasm as their work becomes live and real – nothing beats that feeling, and I guess I am missing that at the moment.

I finish early again so I’m off home to learn some more harmonies. It’s a lovely sunny, hot day in Chichester, the kind of weather Mr D promised me when I accepted the job! I sit out on the balcony with my headphones on singing my harmonies. Well, it certainly beats working for a living!

It’s a full house tonight at Old Bakery Gardens: Mars, the Giraffe, the Parsee, and Poseidon (who had popped round for the company). We are watching the wonderful telly series ‘Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’, when the doorbell rings and in comes our Landlord (to pick up his post). Mars shows Anthony, the Landlord, upstairs into the sitting room, at which point the Parsee emerges from the kitchen, plate of toast in hand and … a ‘green’ face (and I mean GREEN), he has applied a San Tropez fake tan to his face – will it be brown eventually, let’s hope so! He creeps past Anthony and sits quietly on the sofa eating his snack. I can’t resist a line or three of the theme tune for the The Wicked Witch of the West from ‘The Wizard of Oz’…

“Da-da, da-da, da-da, daah”
“Da-da, da-da, da-da, daah”
“I’ll get you my pretty!”

Once everyone had caught on, we were in fits of laughter! Did The Parsee really think his green face would go unnoticed?!?! He took the joke very well… I’m sure I’ll get paid back for making fun of him though. Maybe he’ll be up before 9:00 am tomorrow, singing for me!

Wednesday 19th May

I’m called for a morning session only. Today I’m a Wallaby! Stephen talks we, eight Wallabies, through the staging of ‘Leaps and Bounds’. This musical number comes in where the Kangaroo is being pursued by the Dingo Dog, and in the course of the long chase, gains his huge bounding thighs! We make up the chorus of fans watching and cheering on the chase. I can only describe the choreography as 80s/90s electric boogaloo! It’s the closest thing to actually body popping!

We certainly have fun working this number, but I can tell people are conserving their energy for tonight’s OOTW performance. I certainly am. I can’t help but think about tomorrow’s Press performance too!

It’s another lovely sunny day. Instead of spending time outside soaking up the rays, we are all called for an OOTW rehearsal at the theatre.

Friday 21st May

To say that some people are feeling worse for wear this morning would be an understatement. Last night was our OOTW Opening Night Party! I’m feeling a little tired, but thankfully not hung-over like the Jaguar! He’s practically green (has he been at The Parsee Man’s San Tropez?) and it’s a very strange effect with his naturally light brown skin tone!

David is running late so Tom, the rehearsal pianist, plays through ‘Just So Part Two’ for us all. Tom’s only twenty years old and already an exceptionally talented pianist.

Today’s morning session is to set the Jive choreography in the middle of the song. Herr Director talks us through the initial blocking of the scene and Stephen steams ahead with some moves. The dance break is not a long one but it’s gonna be a killer! It’s quite a fast jive with a couple of lifts and some fast steps. I’m proud to say that the Zebra and I created our own jive lift. Obviously I’m not assuming it’s original, but Stephen asked us to try a lift, we did, and turned it into something else … and he loved it! In fact, he liked it so much that he wants to use it when he choreographs ‘On The Town’ next! I tell him it’s copyright as of today and I want a programme note saying so!!! Joke!

I have a line in the middle of the montage, “Ooh, I wouldn’t look like Giraffe, not for ever so!”

“Oh, that’s camp”, I say to Herr Director “very Rudyard 1865 to 1936?”

“How do you know those dates?” he asks.

On the back of my script I have stuck a quote from Rudyard’s ‘If’ poem: ‘Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds of distance run’, and under this are the dates of his life.

“You really need a hobby”, jokes Herr Director.

“Well, with the present state of my career, this is my hobby!” I reply.

It’s another hot day and I’m sweating my body’s natural salt, while the Jaguar is sweating pure alcohol! We run the number a couple of times and then move on to the scene that precedes it. The story so far: the Jaguar and Leopard have caught the Kolokolo Bird and intend to eat, or ransom, her to the Elephant’s Child in return for information regarding the whereabouts of the Giraffe and Zebra; their ‘prey’.

Herr Director takes us through the blocking he would like, and then we have a go to see if it works. The chest from the opening scene magically turns into a barbeque and we place the Kolokolo Bird on it. Having read up on this scene I have some ideas of how I want to play it, but Herr Director instructs us what to do. He tells us he wants the ‘cats’ to be very threatening. We give it a go.

My GG is here in Chichester for a few days. She came down last night to see the Opening Performance of OOTW. She meets me at 1:00 pm and I take her to the pub for lunch. I’m not due back until 3:00pm for a costume fitting, so there’s no rush. Lunch turns into shopping (women were born to shop – no question!). Within minutes she finds some shoes she likes. I’m feeling generous (I’ve got my Wildebeest Converse All Stars) so buy them for her.

When I get back to the Boy’s Club I can hear the Kolokolo Bird running her song. ‘Wait A Bit’ is a beautiful song and it sounds great as it resonates through the rehearsal rooms.

I’m asked to try on my Leopard suit and glasses. It’s made of a thick wool-type fabric - I’m certainly gonna sweat a lot in this show.

I mention my longed for tail to Peter. He doesn’t take to it at all. In fact, he gives me a very firm “No!” He feels that because the audience know I am a Leopard, I don’t need a tail. I explain that a Leopard’s tail is an intrinsic part of it’s body – without it I kind of feel I’m just a guy in a suit. I leave my fitting with him considering it.

Unfortunately my shoes and hat aren’t ready yet. I say that I would love to have them to wear in rehearsals as soon as they are ready. I believe that it’s very important to use costume accessories as soon as possible so they can be worked into your character creation, especially when having to dance!

With the rest of the day off, my GG and I return to the house and relax for the afternoon.

I don’t return to JS and my Leopard until Monday!

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