Evaluation

My group in the practical task we had on Friday consisted of Sarah, Elicia and I. Our duty for the lesson was to set up the hall PA system aswell as set up a small PA system also known as a 'Mini Disco'. We were each selected group by group as Mr Schnieder observed us and watched to see how we were putting all the equipment together and packing up afterwards. This ensured that we understand all the steps thoroughly and are competent of this task.


Each member in our groups had to undertake different duties to unpacking and setting up both PA systems. The equipment for the small PA system we had were two speakers, one AMU, 2 jack cables, one XLR cable and an auxillary cable. Before we began setting up the PA system we had to make sure that everything on the equipment was turned off and making sure all knobs were turned to 0. We all combined our knowledge of how to set it up and together we plugged in the jack cables and set up the microphone stand and connected the microphone to the XLR cable easily. Once we completed all those steps, Elicia plugged her iPod in played the music, it ran smoothly.


For the school hall PA system we were in a group including Sarah, Elicia, Sarah, Chantelle and myself. Chantelle and Sarah were in charge of testing the microphones and setting up the microphone stand to put the UFC1 microphone on, while Sarah, Elicia and I were responsible to work everything in the Bio Box. This included taking charge of the power and adjusting the mixer to the right spot so everything would work correctly and run smoothly. We had difficulties with the UFC1 microphone as sound wasn’t projecting from it, though after 5 minutes we had understood we hadn't checked one of the settings properly but we fixed it and the microphone begun to work.


I had injured my finger as it got it stuck in between the microphone stand, this happened as I was rushing but should have taken more precautions but I have learnt for next time :)

“How to turn on, use and turn off MSCW Hall PA.”

My Role in the Musical;

Backstage Work:
I was assigned to work on the backstage element of the running of the musical. This consisted of maren and me on right stage and danielle, rosanne, natalie on the left stage. We were responsible to control, move and be sure that the specific props needed for each set were there ready for the cast characters. We had a ten second interval between scenes, called a 'black out'. This left us with very short time to have everything prepared for the following scenes throughout the musical.

This is one of the most important and crucial jobs in the whole musical and needs to be done properly and correctly in order for the show to go ahead successfully.
My role as a backstage crew person, I had a copy of the floor plan of how the set should be shown and the extra props that may be needed throughout that scene ready for the cast at the sides of the stage. This role is our job to ensure that we knew where the props went on the stage and to follow the scene plans to make sure we knew exactly when to put them in their place.

Most of the shows were completed very succesfully and with ease with the help of the girls on each side of the stages but there were times when something little was missing or a locker may not have been shown. But keeping in mind we did only have a ten second interval to have everything prepared perfectly for the following scenes. Apart from a few mistakes, I think that the backstage crew played a big part in the musical and that we performed our job to the best of our abilities to make sure the musical went as planned and ran as smoothly as possible.

Production Elements;

Sets:
The sets were directed at the rubix cubes in which the entertainment class had painted. There was also lockers, a blackboard, desks and the personal props for the actors. It was the backstage crew’s (specific entertainment girls) job to make sure all the sets were in order and make sure it was set up correctly in every scene. The rubix cubes were the most significant items used in the majority of sets.



Lighting:
Spotlights were used to shine on the specific actors in some scenes and coloured lights were used throughout the musical to create the 80s environment and atmosphere, it also brightened up the stage throughout the musical.



Costumes:
Costumes were a critical part of the musical as they helped to identify who the characters were and their role in the musical. The costumes were suited to the theme of 80's- Back to the 80’s.



Visual:
Visuals were seen on the projector on the front screen on the back of the stage. This creates a diverse effect throughout the musical and helps with the main idea of the musical taking the audience back to the 80’s. It showed videos and writing helping depict the scene and what was going on in the scene.



Make Up:
Makeup was a crucial role in the musical because they all had to fit into the theme 80's and also to match all of the characters bright costumes. It also vitally assisted in creating the atmosphere of 'Back to the 80's'.