Jungle Book
In this essay, I´ve tried to summarize the whole working process with our production which was a new version of Disney´s Jungle Book with Mowgli and the other characters. I´ve reflected over what we have done together but also my individual work.
To clarify is this all about our largest and final project in school. We´re studying our third year on the esthetical program with specification on drama or dance. Therefor is the production a mix of both. Firstly we got the script written by Alexander Mork Eidem. We red it all together, forward and backward. The director had huge and many ideas which she represent for us and the danceteachers. We have worked in two different ways there one include practice in dance and drama and the second way include the work around the production. All 28 students have been divided in five groups with different responsibilities; Promotion, Costume, Stage-make-up, Scenography and Multimedia. When we worked in this groups we used each person’s passion or ability to do something.
Between this we practice dance and theater as depending on which specification you have studied all the three years in school. I´ve studied and practiced dance. Firstly we brainstormed on the danceclass about which type of dance we should performance, where in the story the danceperfomances will fit and suggestions to music. The teachers´ job were to hold everything with a connection to the story. The director decided how many choreographies and which type of music it should be. Afterwards we divided those between us students and the teachers. First we started to work with our own choreographies in two groups, without the teachers. This two groups learned each choreography to the other group.
My role in the production was to dance but in the same time in a mix with other roles like a “walk-on-person” and a person who helps to get fast changes on stage without stop. More specific I were a wolf and a monkey. The wolves illustrated persons without a home (look at the picture) and the monkey illustrated rich persons. We weren´t animals in that way, only humans with the attributes from the animals in the film.
A person who says that theater isn´t something for dancers has absolutely wrong. That´s all for dancers. Everything has to look breathly and easy. The dancescens have to bring the story forward and it isn´t just your body which is on the stage in the light. There´s also focus on your expression and that´s why we dancers also must act like an actor. I tried to do my best without overdoing. As time went by, the safer I became.
Off stage I participated in the group with a responsibility to promote the Jungle Book. Things we have done are; posters, tickets, finding sponsors, booking-phone, update our contact with other on internet and so on. Something current for our production was to spread the information about what´s happening next, for example on media, like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram and in the society with posters.
It has required a lot of work to reach the result. 13 days in a row in school with practice and preparing were very demanding. Focus, cooperation and supporting have been the most important during the progress. One week before the premiere we go through the whole show over and over again. Just to get it into our body and to get the flow. We got a lot of notes that’s things to do better. Both the theaters and the dancers. Beside that did we practice scenes that we got notes on, choreographies on stage but also in front of a mirror just to be sure that we did same things.
The general repetition was one day before the premiere and then we actually have a small audience. After that we act on the stage eight times, which include the premiere. Except the performance for all schoolstudents on the days, we also have three open performance in the evenings. The shows in the evenings were in front of an audience who has booked tickets on our bookingphone or dropped in.
Acting in front of an audience makes adrenaline pumping through the body. It´s also give extra strength when you get answer for what you are doing on stage. Right clothes, make-up and hairstyle in combination with all the others on stage and the audience gave the right feeling. With that feeling everyone grows together.
Finally we reach a quite high lowest level. A lot of people looked at Jungle Book and recommend other persons to come and see us. On films you see that we are synchronized with each other and that´s what we always trying to reach.
“Oh, oobee doo. I wanna be like you. I wanna walk like you, talk like you, too”.
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