Day 5 - Noah the Musical

Today the cast were able to run through the first act on stage.

The rest of rehearsals were then back in the dining hall while the lighting arrived with Matt Rogers and Dave Collins.

Peter Child, who has been blogging and helping behind the scenes helped Matt and Dave with the lighting rig.

 

Emily, Danny and Peter paint the giraffe's.

 

Day 4 - Noah the Musical

Another busy day at Rudolf Steiner preparing for Noah the Musical.

Today we were joined by Rob Alderton, one of the co-writers of Noah the Musical.  Rob is also providing the sound equipment for the show.

Rob spent time with the cast talking about their performance.

At last the cast get a chance to try out the stage.

DAY THREE

Today painting on stage has started with a great team of helpers: Kira and Uma Maydell, Grizelda Hafter, Jean Stewart, Mathew Statford, Luke Sherring-Lucus, Danny Ortega, Peter Bailey, Chris Bird.
Ian Gower has brought in the giraffes. the elephants' trunks have been painted. 

Our costume lady, Jan Burrows has brought in costumes and has even started fitting them. The cast are rehearsing hard with Dan Cowtan, Judi Kelly and Andrea Campusano.

Day Two - Noah the Musical

Chris Bird and Luke Sherring-Lucas, Ian Gower, Peter Bailey and Mark from MWS Scaffolders are working hard on building the ark.  The ark is really taking shape.

Our choreographer Andrea has been working on the storm dance and animal dances.

Day One

Day One at Noah the Musical

My name is Peter Child and I am one of the 'Behind the Scenes' participants in the Noah the Musical workshop this week at the Rudolf Steiner school in Kings Langley.  I will be writing the blog everyday for Vivo D'Arte and taking photos and video.

The cast are hard at work on the first number: Sad Bad Days with choreographer Andrea Campusano.
Ian Gower and his scaffolding team (MWS Scaffolding) are hard at work building the ark on stage. Judi Kelly is working with Casey who is playing the part of Stella. Dan Cowtan is working with the main characters on their singing. Rachel Lines is working on tickets and paper work.

Noah the Musical Audition/Workshop

Nearly fifty young people attended our audition workshop for Noah the Musical. It was an opportunity to learn some of the songs and to hear about the characters in the show.  One of our back stage participants helped by taking photographs and video and will be helping to blog during the workshop itself.

There are still places available to be part of our workshop experience including those who want to perform and gain skills back stage.  Email us at home@vivodarte.co.uk for more details.

Introduction Workshop - Noah the Musical

Ian Gower, co-writer of Noah the Musical, led a workshop introducing the musical to a group of young people aged 11 to 18.  We are looking for a large cast to join us this Easter to work together over two weeks to create a high quality show.  Those involved will have the opportunity to learn new skills, not only on-stage, but behind the scenes building set, helping with make-up costumes and light and sound.

Auditions are being held on 27th January at 2pm at the Hall of St Francis, Glenview Gardens, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead HP1 1TB More details email home@vivodarte.co.uk

Music College Success

Congratulations to George Watkins and James Penniston, Vivo D'Arte regulars, whose hard work over many months preparing for auditions for music conservatoire, has paid off.  Both George and James are students of singing teacher, Dan Cowtan.  Judi Kelly has also been working with them on sight reading and theory.  George has accepted a place at Guildhall in London and James a place at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.  They will both be studying Bachelor of Music (Honours) Vocal studies, George as a tenor and James as a bass/baritone. George and James have fought off competition from students from all around the world to gain a place at conservatoire - a fantastic acheivement!

Vocal Master Class

Our second Vocal Master Class took place on December 16th 2012 at the Rudolf Steiner School. A mixed repertoire from classical to musical theatre included pieces from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel to arias from Handel and Mozart.

The master class was led by our patron, Jeff Stewart, who is Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music. The master class was an excellent learning experience not only for our eight participants but also the audience.

We are planning more master classes for 2013.

Kiss Communications - Friends of Vivo D'Arte!

We are delighted to announce that Kiss Communications have shown their support by becoming Friends of Vivo D'Arte. For more information on how you can become a 'Friend of Vivo D'Arte' please click here. Money raised through the ‘Friends’ scheme will be used to: support bursaries; fund scholarships and help fund future projects.

Last week a group of Vivo D'Arte students, aged 15 to 18, attended a presentation by Kate Bellingham to Hertfordshire Business Leaders at The Grove, Watford. After a short performance our young people took part in a question and answer session. The presentation demonstrated some of the skills learned by young people through their experience in theatre, not only singing and acting but self-discipline, team work, communication skills, punctuality, working under pressure etc - all vital skills and attributes for any young person seeking any employment. Thank you to the staff at The Grove and Tim Hutchings of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce who made us so welcome.

Vocal Masterclass

Have you ever been to a masterclass? If you haven't here is your opportunity. Vivo D'Arte are holding their second masterclass on 16th December 2012 at the Rudolf Steiner School in Kings Langley. If you sing, this is an opportunity not to be missed to gain technical tips to improve your singing and performance. Led by Jeffrey Stewart, Professor of Singing at RCM and Vivo D'Arte Patron, you can take part or just come along and watch. We are looking for either classical or musical theatre singers. The fee to participate is £35 and this gives you a 20-25min slot. Audience tickets are £10 (£5 concessions). You can see some video from our last masterclass here:



 For more information contact us at home@vivodarte.co.uk

Mercury Musical Developments

A small group from Vivo D'Arte including Dan Cowtan and Jo Penniston had the pleasure of attending the 20th Anniversary Gala Concert of Mercury Musical Developments at the Novello Theatre, Aldwych. Mercury Musical Developments is the only writer-based organisation in Britain dedicated to the development and presentation of new musical theatre. The Gala night was an opportunity to showcase some new and old British composers and writers of musical theatre as well as to fundraise for the organisation. We were treated to songs from Matilda and The Boyfriend, and new pieces including the exciting new musical Loserville performed by Busted's James Bourne. Michael Ball made an appearance alongside Anita Dobson. At Vivo D'Arte we are supporting homegrown musicals and new writers such as Ian Gower and look forward to working with him on Noah the Musical in April 2013.

Noah the Musical

We will be offering an exciting opportunity for young people aged 11 to 18 (other ages considered at our discretion) to take part in a two week workshop from 2nd to 13th April 2013, at the Rudolf Steiner School in Kings Langley. We will be holding an introduction to the musical led by one of the writers, Ian Gower who will lead the session and provide a chance to learn some songs on Sunday 13th January 2pm to 4pm at the Hall of St Francis, Boxmoor. An important aspect of Noah the Musical is dance, including a ballet and so we will be looking for dancers as well as singers. We are also looking for older participants who want to direct or choreograph. Auditions for the workshop will be held on Sunday 27th January at 2pm. To take part in the introductory session and auditions please register your interest here. The cost of the two week workshop will be £130. This is extremely good value and works out at a lot less than £5 per hour. For those who have difficulty in paying fees there will be some limited bursary and subsidised places available and discounts will apply for siblings. www.noahthemusical.com

Sweeney Todd

Last month we were pleased to see several Vivo D'Arte members including Dilly Bellingham, Pippa Taylor, Ellie Dobby, Sara Lawrence, Rachel Lines, George Watkins, James Penniston and Alfie Glasser perform in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleetstreet at the Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company (HHTC) production at the Boxmoor Playhouse. Dan Cowtan was Musical Director. The show received very good reviews from NODA. Congratulations to Dan Cowtan, recently appointed Musical Theatre Business Manager at HHTC and to Rachel Lines who was appointed Youth Business manager.

Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce - Friends of Vivo D'Arte

We are delighted to announce that after attending our summer performance of Les Miserables, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry have shown their support by becoming Friends of Vivo D'Arte.  For more information on how you can become a 'Friend of Vivo D'Arte' please click here. The connection is already proving mutually beneficial with a number of Vivo D’Arte members being invited to perform for a group of Herts business leaders at The Grove, Watford, and to take part in discussions on developing transferable skills through theatre arts.
 

Master Classes

We are planning a series of master classes including stage combat, vocal coaching and preparation for auditions. If you are interested in any of these please let us know by completing our online form. We will release details of the master classes very soon.

Jeff Stewart, Patron - Recital

Several Vivo D'Arte members attended a recital where our patron, Jeff Stewart, Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music, performed a programme of opera and musical theatre songs. The recital took place at Beldlow Church where Jeff also conducts the church choir.

 Watford Vue Cinema is presenting a number of performances from world class venues of some of the most prestigious operas. Some of these are being shown live, such as Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin which will be broadcast from the Royal Opera House to cinemas across the country including Watford Vue.

Here are details of some of the performances coming soon to Watford Vue:

The Met Opera: The Tempest - 10th November at 17:55
(students and concessions £17.50 - adults £20)

The Met Opera: Aida - 15th December at 17:55
(students and concessions £17.50 - adults £20)

Eugene Onegin: Live from the Royal Opera House - 20th February 2013 at 19:15
(students and concessions £12.50 - Adults £15)

La Boheme: Live from the Royal Opera House - 10th January 2013 at 19:15
(students and concessions £12.50 - Adults £15)

The Magic Flute

Harrow Opera presents the Magic Flute

21st -24th Nov 2012 7.30 pm 24th - 25th Nov 2012 3.00pm

(Sat Mat children's performance, children £3) tickets £16/£14 concessions
Box office 01895 673200 www.compasstheatre.co.uk

Our own Dilly Bellingham will be performing alongside Adrienne Walters, Julie Gray and Andrew Bale who all performed in our vocal Master Class with our patron, Jeff Stewart, in May this year.