You guys are so ready!

So psyched for our last rehearsal tomorrow. You all did a fantastic job tonight and should be so proud of all of your hard work!

A few notes (everyone must read these before tonight):


Notes from Ms. Neville
We Dance

• Ben, come see us for a note! We have to reposition you at one point because you're so tall!
• Matt, PROJECT! Your voice drops off at the end of your line... your tone gets so low for the "Mercedes" part and we can't hear it at all... it's such a great line!!
• Alex, you are so vibrant at the end. Keep it up!

One Small Girl

• Rayne & Ari, your battle for Christy & Ben's attention is so great! Keep up the great movement.
• Alli, Christy, Ben, your moment in the hut is SO ADORABLE I CAN'T EVEN TAKE IT.
• Storytellers, make sure your clump SR is tighter at the end of this song. Your clump during Waiting for Life is perfect, but some of you were too far center during One Small Girl.

Waiting for Life

• My eyes went right to Caroline Badyna, Eliza Elliott, Maddy Brown, Ryan DeStefano, Iain Johnston -- you guys are doing a great job acting here! 

And the Gods Heard Her Prayer/Rain

• Gods: awesome, awesome, awesome! This is a song where all four of you shine! You work so well together.
• Dyson & Noah: act a little bit more when you're coming up the steps. Feel the rain storm beginning!
• Carly Martinez, Divya Jain, Cassie Graff: you were ROCKIN' it during Rain!

Pray

• EVERYONE: Make sure you are frozen when the lights come up on Alex. If you are in the wrong position, don't worry about it, just get there when you unfreeze. YOU MUST BE FROZEN IN THE BEGINNING! If half of you freeze and the other half don't, it looks kinda goofy!
• Melissa and Robyn: thank you for always being in character and so energetic onstage!
• Jordan: I always forget to tell you how much I love your line - "if it hadn't been for Julian's daughter" - it's so clear, and you sound great!
• Ciara and Matt S.: during the blackout after Rain, hop up onstage (right above where you are on the risers); after you say your lines, come back down to the risers -- we want to make sure you are lit during your lines so the audience knows where the voices are coming from!

Forever Yours

• Rayne, your movement here is fantastic. You really give the illusion that you are working some powerful sort of magic. Keep up the amazing work!
• Matt, the way you fell after Ari "dropped" you yesterday was PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT! You pulled your body up perfectly and then sort of crumpled to the side, facing the audience... LOVE IT!
• Andrew, thank you for taking initiative when your cast mates were not ready for their cue. When in doubt, DO IT.

* Everyone: a note on missing cues *

If any of your cast mates ever miss a cue, the music doesn't come on, someone's mic is out, whatever (so many things can potentially happen during a show), all you have to do is STAY IN CHARACTER and no one will notice. If you enter with a handful of others and no one is ready, ENTER ANYWAY. If someone drops a line, do not whisper it under your breath to them, try to think what your character would say and say it in a way that might jog your cast mate's memory. This can be tricky, but it CAN be done! 

Ti Moune

• Alex, great job slowing down the dialogue right before you sing, "What I am..." 
• Ben, Christy, and Alex: all 3 of you did an amazing job acting in this song. I noticed some pauses in the dialogue/singing just because I know the music so well, but your acting was flawless and made the whole scene feel so heartfelt. Keep thinking about what your characters are thinking in that moment, and this could very well be one of most emotional numbers in the show. I had chills!

Mama Will Provide

• EVERYONE: Remind me to talk to you about hats!
• Everyone on stage: when the playoff begins, keep rockin' out onstage. Stay in character and dance back so the curtain can close but DO NOT EXIT THE STAGE UNTIL THE CURTAIN HAS CLOSED COMPLETELY. Ally will call out to Alex, "Now go and find him, Ti Moune" and she will reply "Thank you, thank you!" so make sure you are not making noise over them.

Some Say

• Nick: come see me & Ms. Sunnergren!
• Boys: practice your harmonies for this at home. Your harmony needs to be cleaner!

Pray Reprise

• Alex & Matt C.: PROJECT YOUR VOICES! We couldn't hear you when you were on the back platform during the bit with the necklace. You cannot rely on your microphones!

The Ball

• Mary Wenner: so graceful and cheery! You are a joy to watch in this number!
• Carly Martinez: you are always acting, always "on!" Great job!

Forever Yours Reprise:

• Ari: love how you start out low and then jump up the octave for "you keep!" Threaten her with those words. Let the "you keep!" pull you deeper into the darkness of your character... you're about to give her the ultimate test! This is what Papa Ge has been waiting for! Also, when you raise the knife on "your life is forever mine," make sure you are right up in Alex's face... you're too far away!

Notes from Ms. Sunnergren

WE DANCE:

• Everyone! I NEED the “V” at the end of “alive.” It sounds like you’re all singing “a lie.” My, how important consonants are! Please fix this!

ATTENTION SOPRANO ENSEMBLE: I’m not hearing enough soprano 2 harmony. First sopranos, I divided you in half for a reason. You know which part you should be singing.  I’ve instructed section leader, Hannah Atlas to remind those of you who should be singing soprano 2... if you’re not sure what the part is (I hope this is not the case!) please see me… OR you may ask Hannah, as she is a section leader and doing a fantastic job!

ONE SMALL GIRL:

• Ensemble: Half of you missed your cue before “On this is island of two different worlds.”  Your heads MUST be up and your eyes must be on me when you hear Rayne say “strength of love.”  

WAITING FOR LIFE:

• ATTENTION Alto girls and some boys: After Alex sings “Catcing a glimpse of a stranger in white racing BY” you MATCH HER PITCH on your “OOOh la” ‘s.  DO NOT sing an octave lower with the few boys who are. The only people who should be singing an octave lower are Andrew, Chip and Iain.  

RAIN:

• Ensemble: Sing “THE Rain” at the end, not just “Rain.” Some of you forgot.  
• Tommy, center your microphone at the top of your cape, please.  Every time you turned your head we lost your voice. “Let there be a girl” – see me. 

PRAY:

• Ben, “I will find where he comes from”- see me. 

MAMA WILL PROVIDE:

• Ensemble: Do not sing mama’s line “and whatever you need mama will” before the little percussion interlude at the end of the piece.  You only sing “PROVIDE” at the end.  

PRAY REPRISE:

• Featured Villagers: Keep the dialogue rolling during that beginning segment. MELISSA, be prepared to sing over someone else’s dialogue in case it’s not spoken in time.  YOU DID this in rehearsal -- WAY TO BE ON THE BALL! 
• Robyn, thank you for jumping in at 3 minutes notice. Great job!
• Aaron, you’ve got the entrance down! Make sure to look up at me for your cue.  

WE TELL THE STORY: 

I had tears of joy in my eyes after the glissando! WOW what a sound!  The sound just comes flooding out when you don’t breathe there … it’s incredible. KEEP DOING THAT! Music has brought me to tears a handful of times in my entire life…. And I can name each one of those times. You just added one to the list. Thank you for making such beautiful music. I am so proud to be conducting you all. 

See you from 6PM-9PM at GWES tonight!