The show- review

1. The show- review By Josh Porter Back-Stage Team

2. Act one- cheerleaders • No equipment was needed for this act, however we did need to get two microphones onstage afterwards so that the compares could do their first section. • We did however need to use the smoke machine, which worked well and gave a good effect. • The acts exited on stage left and there was no complications. • Then during the compares section, we had to go on stage momentarily to collect the pom-poms

3. Act two- Katie dennis • In this act, one microphone (on a stand), one stool, and the acoustic amplifier were needed. • During the compares section, I went onstage to get the ‘jack’ ready for Katie, however there was a small knot on the end of the line, and was restricting how far out it could stretch. However it was sorted out quickly. • The Change-over was smooth and there was no complications, but in the end we ended up having to unplug the amp altogether, as it was giving off feedback.

4. Act three- confusion • This was one the easiest acts, as there was no set-up needed as it was a dance act. • There was no extra items needed e.g. Pom-poms so that was sorted. • We did however use the smoke machine, however it only worked for around 7 seconds, as it needed to re-charge.

5. Act four- Neon Rhythmix • This act needed two microphones (on stands), a stool, and a bass guitar- with the electric amplifier. • So, as the previous act was coming off-stage me and Kitty plugged on the electric amplifier and made sure that the lead was all untangled, so that by the time the act came on-stage it was read for the to get straight into the act. • There was a smooth ‘clean-up’ after the act also, as we did not have to fully unplug the amplifier because it was not giving off feed-back.

6. Act five- Lyrical • This act was a very slow, simple ballad, so it required a lot f smoke on-stage to make a nice effect. This was after the compared next section, so we had plenty of time to do this. • There was only two microphones needed (on stands), Michaela and Luke set this up and it was very quick, • However the complication with this act, was that Sarah (my sister ) was dancing, and therefore we needed to ensure that all wires were out of the way, so that there was no risk of tripping.

7. Act six- the choir • This was definitely the hardest act. • They needed two benches, and all five microphones (3 on stands and 2 handheld). • The microphones was the area where the complication lay. The microphones were out of order! The correct order was: • Red • Yellow • Green • White • Stripes whereas the order ended up being: • Red • White • Yellow • Green • Stripes (this order was so that the sound balcony knew what microphones to turn up when) • So with this mistake, the wrong microphones were turned up at different times. • However, this issue was sorted out by halfway through the song

8. Act seven- Bollywood dance • This was another very easy act to set up • There was no equipment e.g. microphones needed on-stage as it was a dance act. • However- again- the wires had to be pushed back all the way so that there was no risk of the dancers tripping over them.

9. Act eight- alexnicklin • The compares had a small section just before this, so microphones 1 and 2- red and yellow- were already on-stage. And Alex needed only one handheld. • So we took microphone 2 off and just handed Alex microphone one. • There was no complications what so ever with this act.

10. Act nine- Chicago extracts • This act required: • One microphone (on a stand) • All of the cables to be pushed aside so that the seven dancers did not trip. • Ten ‘Sparkly’ hats to be placed at the stage entrance, so that the dancers could pick the up as they went on-stage. • The main singer- Jessica Baker- however, was moving around with the microphone as she sung, causing the microphone to tart to break up/ crackle. This prolem was sorted out fairly quickly though.

11. Act ten- ella foster and chloeInskip • This was an other extremely easy act to set up, it required: two handheld microphones- red and yellow • Using the colour coded microphones, we were able to easily communicate with Aaron which channels to turn up and when. This helped to make the show a lot easier. • Then there was a very easy and fluent change between this act and the compares which were on- stage next.

12. Act eleven- room 21 • This was an interesting act, as I actually performed in it. • We required: • the electric guitar amp • Microphones 1 and 2 (red and yellow)on stands • The cajonmic • This act was interesting, as from the stage point of view the acts wad going perfectly, however from talking to others afterwards, I found out that my guitar was not turned up to the volume that it should have been and that it only kicked in and was sounding good at around halfway through the song.

13. Act twelve- gcse dance act • This was the act straight after the interval, and was the biggest act of the night (besides the finale) with 17 people in it. So we had to make sure that all of the wires were ‘tidied’ up to make sure that there would be no risk whatsoever of one of the dancers tripping and hurting themselves. • The act went well and there was no casualties! There was a smooth change over and we managed to get the red and yellow microphones to the compares while the dancers were exiting. • To improve on this act, next time we would have made sure that mats were laid down, as especially in this act there was a lot of noise as the dancers ran form one side of the stage to the other. The mats would make the sound quieter.

14. Act thirteen- cael and sophie • This was another fairly easy act, as Sophie was one of the compares, so she was already on-stage, and with the right microphone! • Caelon the other hand was fairly easy- but his guitar ended up being plugged into the electric guitar amplifier when he was using an acoustic guitar. This meant that Aaron turned up the amplifier that Cael was not using- and therefore the audience could not hear him for the first 20 seconds of the song. However Aaron being Aaron managed to solve the issue very quickly, and the act ran smoothly for the remaining duration.

15. Act fourteen- the pointe of harmony • After the last act, we simply moved both microphones forward to the front of the stage for the two singers. However we had to ensure that the leads and guitar cables were tidied up so that the pointe dancers did not trip. • This was another of the dace acts that was very smooth, and everything went smooth. • One point to improve on if we were to do this act again, would definitely be to have put some mats down, as when the dancers moved ground on the pointe shoes, it made a very loud noise on stage. `having matting down would ‘dub’ the noise.

16. Act fifteen- tabla drumming • This act was an interesting act to set up, as the tabla drums are played on the floor, so we had to lower the mic stand to this height- however we did not know what height he would sit at. This lead to a breif pause in the fluidity of the show, while we had to alter the height of the stand • The clean-up was smooth and all went to plan. • If we were to do this act again, then we would definitely have altered the microphone stand height before the act was on stage.

17. Act sixteen- cheeky jelly tots • This act was a little messy… • This required 5 microphones (so all of them), and the compares were on-stage before the act, so two of them were already on stage. • However somewhere whilst we brought the microphones on-stage, there was a mix up which resulted in the soloist not being turned all the way up when it came to her solo, as she was using the wrong mic. • Luckily, Aaron quickly realised the problem and sorted this out. • The lesson from this is that if we d this again, we would have to double check that the right microphones are with the right people.

18. Act seventeen- fifth symphony • This was a very smooth act change over, as this act also required 5 microphones which were already on- stage from the last act, All we need to bring on was the 5 chairs that they needed. • The problem with this act however, was that mid-way through their performance, they stood up and began to walk forward, which should be fine- however one of the mics got ‘snagged’ on something. This pulled the lead out thus turning this microphone off, so one of the mics had two people on it instead of the intended one. • We had to appologise to the act afterwards, as we all aknowledged that is was our fault and the microphone were mixed up and confused. • If we were to do this show again, we we would definitely make sue that the microphones go in the right order.

19. Act eighteen- monster • This was definitely the most complicated act in the show. • There was two singers in the front right of the stage, three dancers in the middle of the stage, then there was the drum kit in the back-middle of the stage. • The drum kit needed to be fully ‘mic’ed-up’ which included 7 separate microphones, this took a lot of time to get the levels perfect, then there was the issue of the loose wires which was a tripping hazard for the dancers. • We managed to sort these issues out, however there was a slightly longer set-up time • The clean-up afterwards was also smooth, as we only needed to get aaron to fully turn down the drum kit, the two microphones stayed where they were because the compares were on next • If we were to do this act again, I think we would definitely aim for a faster set up and clean-up.

20. Act nineteen- em sings This act did not perform

21. Act twenty- fusion • This was a dancing act, so we just had to do a very quick check that the wires were tidied up correctly so that there was no risk of tripping. • Since this was a street dancing act, we ensured that we used a lot of smoke, but not all of it as we needed to save some for the staff dance that was to come later. • The act got off stage quickly and quietly, so that we could get the microphones ready for the compares, as act twenty one did not turn-up.

22. Act twenty one- daniellelouwheelan This act did not perform

23. Act twenty two- staff dance! • This was a very entertaining act to watch, as it included 12 female staff dancing to ‘Hot Right Now’. • There was no set-up as it was a dance act, but for the final time, we needed to make sure that all of the wires were tidied up out of the way. • We also needed to use a lot of smoke for effect, but we had to preserve some for the grand finale.

24. The Finale • Although it seemed the hard work was over, this last performance still required all five microphones on stage at the front- and they needed to be in the right order. • We manageed to do this, as there was plenty of time to spare, as Mr Burns was saying his final thankyous. • The act went well and the smoke effect worked perfectly. • There was no clean-up needed as this was the final act.

25. Review www: The transitions were very smooth, there was a minimal mix-up of the microphone order, the acts went off the wright stage door, and probably most importantly- no acts tripped on loose wires!! ebi: We could have concentrated more on the actual order of the microphones, as there was 3 or 4 acts where the mic’s did not sound from the very beginning. Next time… If we were to do this show again, we would definitely spend more time together, as a group so that on the night we would know exactly what we would be doing and when.