PRE 1965 SHOWCASE 2019
The Pre 1965 showcase was our colleges first showcase of 2018. The show was based around songs from theater productions that took place before 1965 as well as a few songs that too place before the 60s which a few added monologues performers had asked to perform in the show.
The costumes we had for this showcase were all outfits centered around what you would see people wearing in the 1920s and early 1940s. A common outfit found was smart tailor wear so suits, smart shirts, dresses a very formal attire.
The stage was based off an Anderson shelter, as this was pre 1965 and the second world war has only 20 years ago this was a basic yet well-constructed design the stage team for pre 1965 were able to put together, the stage design was a triangular based stage with steps as either side so the performers could easily get on and off, A sign that was blacked out with red writing saying “Anderson shelter,” Plastic shed roofing spray painted a faded silver to look like worn metal which was also spray painted bronze to make it look like it was starting to rust over time.
The lighting for Pre 1965 was a variety of different colours, mainly focusing on a basic whitewash, blue, red, purple and a fair amount of spot lighting. The overall main colour the lighting team chose to use was the whitewash, when it came to songs with a certain mood or tone to it the colours would change to a blue to show sorrow or compassion, when it came to anger or something that showed seriousness the colour choice would be red. The sound for the show worked out incredibly well, we were even able to have a few performers on mic sets to really projected their voices for certain songs.
The Front of the house for Pre 1965 was styled around British war barracks during the second world war, The FOH manger used camouflage netting to put over the doorway of the entrance to the theatre, a few signs were create to add detail to the barracks.
The opening song for the show was a song named Sur la Plage which was based off the 1920 theatre show ‘The Boyfriend” the lighting for this song was a basic white lighting to give the effect of a summers light as this scary for this song is set on a beach in France. The costumes were stripped swimsuits as in the 1920s striped swim wear was a common attire in the early 20s.
“I remember it being very challenging for me as this was the first time, I had ever done anything backstage related and as it was my first time learning all the ins and outs of Lighting design and management. The shows went by with no major concerns, there were the odd mess up's here and there but end of the day that happens in every show and you learn from the mistakes and improve your skills.”
(Nathan Horner 2020)