Everyone deserves an chance to fly

Male musical theatre fan who lives in Scotland. I also do musicals myself. This blog is all things Starlight Express, Wicked & Phantom Of The Opera. First Elphaba - Jacqueline Hughes First Glinda - Carly Anderson. Seen Starlight Express in 7th August 2014. Seen Phantom Of The Opera in 6th August 2016. Seen Wicked on the 20th August in 2016. Bradford, England

[thewickedexpress]

hi.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in here. I’ve had lots of inbox’s since 2019 about bootlegs & such but I do not have any slime stuff anymore as I’m in the acting industry right now. but I’m doing very well. also happy Easter x

I might post again about my obsessions with plays & musicals again but we shall see. Life is very busy for me but I thought to let you all know I’m well x

[matthewajl]

I’m not crying who’s crying not me

[thewickedexpress]

As you can see. This account has died! I’ve been very busy as I have been on a gap year from college. I do not longer have any bootlegs, so please don’t ask me as I’m now a drama student hoping to work in the performing arts industry. I will still post occasionally but I’m never on tumblr anymore.

[thewickedexpress]

Wicked in Edinburgh

I am seeing Wicked in two weeks in Edinburgh! I’ve seen most of the cast in England when the international tour was there. I am looking forward to seeing the new members of the cast who I didn’t see in the international tour. I won’t see Carly or Jacqueline though :( but I’ve heard good things about Amy and Helen (Elphaba and Glinda pair) can’t wait to see this though again!

[thewickedexpress]

Hey! Are you still trading? I see that your site says "open" but you haven't made an update in forever...

I am not. I’ve retired from trading. I’m releasing a few unreleased masters soon though

[ultrafacts]

[pizzaismylifepizzaisking]

ultrafacts:

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The whole compiled list of useful links. More is to come! Follow today!

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For more posts like this, follow the Ultrafacts Blog!

LETS GET THIS TO 1,000,000 NOTES! Reblog this because everyone NEEDS this!

[littleblackwing13-deactivated20]

I think I found the most useful thing ever.

[beachdeath]

How do u apply to jobs so quickly/easily??? omg

okay i am going to share with you my process, something i have developed over three years of job searching to make the whole nonsense as painless and quick as it can be.

so. first things first: make a google doc. at the very top of the google doc, set up a list of links to job boards, like so, here’s a snippet of my list:

note though that these aren’t just links to idealist, linkedin, whatever - these are links to searches. sites like idealist, linkedin, and charity village let you select options like location, level of experience, and salary range in order to filter job postings. set those filters, run a search, and then copy and paste the URL of that search into your list of job boards. this way, when you click on that link, you will get a list of all the jobs that are relevant to you, updated constantly. it’s quicker than running separate, individual searches every time. i check every board on my list once a day - having the list is a simple way to save time and streamline that whole process.

so, when i open up a job board, i quickly scan it for any positions i’m eligible for.

just by looking at these listings, i can immediately rule out the first one (it’s spam) and the third one (i don’t have any real background in health sciences). but the second job? right up my alley. 

i open up the listing in a new tab and scroll right to the qualifications section to see if i’m qualified - no point reading an entire listing only to find out that i’m missing some mandatory criterion, like, idk, speaking spanish, or having a law degree. here’s what that section looks like in the horton’s kids listing:

i have every one of these qualifications, so, great, i can add this to my list.

remember that google doc with the list of job boards at the top? add another section: jobs to apply for. create entries for each listing that look something like this:

the name of the organization is a link to the job ad. i’ve also got the title of the job, the website of the organization, the day the ad was posted, the day i have to apply by, the day i DID apply (which i will fill in once i apply, and bump this to the “jobs i have applied for” section), and then a list of required elements of the application and any relevant details.

the next thing you need to do, and by far the hardest component of applying for jobs, is to write a cover letter. make it a good one. and by this, i don’t mean, “sit down and write out a page-long cover letter for every single job you apply to” - i mean, write a strong cover letter that describes who you are and what your qualifications are, and include a couple of places where you can “personalize” the letter to include details that are specific to the job posting. basically, just write a really good canned cover letter and include three or four sentences that specifically address the job and why you are what they specifically are looking for. if you’re applying for different types of jobs, you can have different types of canned cover letters - for instance, i have separate cover letter templates for communications jobs, administrative jobs, policy jobs, and lgbtq/feminist organization jobs. each one highlights different pieces of my resume that are relevant to those areas, and all i have to do is plug in a few details about the specific posting. but spend time on these canned cover letters. make them good. make them not sound canned.

anyway, once you’ve written your cover letter, send the e-mail, attach the resume, and move the listing to the “jobs i have applied for” section. do this as quickly as possible. like, ideally, the day the posting goes up. never wait for the deadline to submit an application. i like to colour code listings, just for personal convenience - yellow = the deadline hasn’t passed yet, red = rejection, green = you’ve been asked to interview. oh and number your applications.

once you’ve submitted your job application, keep track of any developments in your application like this:

honestly as someone who lives with an anxiety disorder, and for whom job applications are especially stressful, this approach works for me because it’s so systematic. i don’t have to agonize over every single little detail. i can just scan my job boards, make an entry on my list, send a cover letter and resume, and move tf on. and as long as my cover letter is good and i’m attentive about sending applications in as soon as i can, i don’t sacrifice quality.

i hope that helps??? let me know if you want any more tips. <3

[esaa-tas-deactivated20181218]

this showed up at a perfect time.

[copperbadge]

This is very similar to my process for Job Searching While Depressed (documented here) but has some interesting twists and tips I hadn’t thought about. Good reading for job hunters!

[smartstudy]

Hey guys. I’m glad to be finally posting my “mental breakdown survival guide”. As you know I struggle a lot with mental health, and so I have been through a lot of breakdowns. So many that I actually dropped out of university after 3 weeks in 2016 and had to take the whole year off. Because of this, I’ve made it my mission to help others with mental health issues as much as I can, so you don’t have to go through what I’ve been through.

Anyway, here is my guide. I tried to keep it general, and actually useful. If you have any questions or additions please feel free to add them.

And as ever, if you want to talk to me about studying with mental illness or want to see a post on a specific topic, please feel free to message me.

[thewickedexpress]

Personal Update

Hey guys. I thought I would update you all of my boring life! So basically, I am forced to take a gap year due to my lecturers thinking it will be the best for me. So I need to find a job, I am hoping to find one for a theatre but I need to make a new cv. I can’t find my old one I made two years ago in school. So yay, I’m applying to a theatre job next week. It’s front of house, so you would be making everyone has a safe and enjoyable theatre time while they are watching a show. Wish me luck! It’s going to be hard to find a job with my disability of dyspraxia but I can hold my head up high. I’ve also decided to go back into musical theatre after the summer, I’ve missed them so much doing acting at college.

[thewickedexpress]

New Elphaba!

Ariana Grande is reportedly taking over for Jackie Burns on Broadway as Elphaba! Wow.

[thewickedexpress]

Sorry.

I’m sorry that is blog died. I’m currently studying performing arts at college and I’ve been busy with it since August from last year as I want to do it as a career. Things are getting easier now as the semester is nearly completed which happens in June. I’m looking forward to rebooting this

[jwstudying]

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[thewickedexpress]

Stop Messaging Me With Trades

Just to let you all know. I am no longer trading as I am too busy, currently.

[bellesdomain]

Starlight Express Workshop - Friday 15th September

Seems I need to preface this by explaining the concept of “Workshop” to some over-dramatic suicidal fans.  The concept here is that this space allows the creative team to experiment with wild, crazy ideas, things that would never work in the full production, it lets them give the roles to actors who’d never be able to skate the show but can develop the characters and music separate from the full performance.  They can cast the “UK’s Soul Queen” in Poppa’s role - why not!  They try it out, see how it goes, get audience feedback, watch back the videos recorded tonight…  and then decide “Ok, what was the best bits of this?  Can it actually work on stage?”  and THAT will be what is added to the German production in May.  I’d be astonished if Momma comes across, but not surprised at Coco, or a female Hopper. I expect “I got Me” will appear but hopefully in the context of replacing Girls’ Rolling Stock, not Nie Genug.

OK?  We clear on that?  This is not a production of Starlight Express, this workshop, it’s more like an audience has been allowed a sneak peek backstage into the rehearsal room!

Having said that, the performers tonight were, again, incredible, so much fun and energy and commitment! 

The big addition tonight was “Right Place, Right Time” - yesterday’s filler scene was indeed just a place-holder, the full number has had a few lyric tweaks, and a new rap break added.  The other lyric change is that they start “I wasn’t in the right place…” and later on change to “YOU wasn’t in the right place”.  It ties in well with some earlier lyrics about Rusty living in a fantasy, the Hoppers were very much saying “Dude, get with it.  You’re only gonna get hurt more, and worse.  Stop.”

I’m not sure if it was that I was looking for it, or there was more focus, but Greaseball and Dinah’s relationship is expressed a bit more clearly.  Not right from the start when she’s giving him sass, but it seemed a bit clearer that she has an element of history with him that was missing yesterday.  

The ensemble are such a joy to watch!  They’re having so much fun, switching between characters, they have a bit of ad-libbing to play about, just like in the full show it’s worth sparing a glance upstage to watch the background action!

[bellesdomain]

Starlight Express Workshop - what would I do?

A lot of talk has been floated about “Updating Starlight Express” and most of that seems to focus on the cosmetic elements, the choice of musical instrumentation, the costume design, and to be honest these are the elements of nostalgia which attract a lot of the audience! There’s no problem with the show looking or sounding like its 1980s roots. However the deeper issues of the show, the social politics, the representation and the role models for young minds, these need to be addressed.  Also, the many alterations and re-writes over the years have left a patchwork of plot holes and elements lost in translation, and the show will enormously benefit from being unpicked, and cut from fresh cloth, to be put back together in a near identical result but strong and clean!

So I humbly present my personal opinions, as a fan who knows the show well. What would I do were I directing the overhaul of Starlight Express?

First - since the concept is on the table already - Gender switch Electra.  Switching Poppa to Momma has been interesting, but vocally it doesn’t work, and I don’t think it particularly brings anything new to the show.  However, female Electra would kick ass! she would immediately break the convention of “Engine = male”.

She would bring some complications - while I am all for bisexual representation onstage, I think it’s a bit much to expect Pearl to be able to consider Electra a “lover” immediately in “Make Up My Heart”.  But then it’s somewhat ridiculous as the show stands that she’s taking Electra’s race invitation as seriously as Rusty’s interest in her, so regardless of Electra’s gender, I’d want to restore “He Whistled At Me” in place of “Make Up My Heart”.  The Upbeat, funky song is far more fun anyway! 

That then brings a complication - “He Whistled At Me” is the same melody as “Engine of Love”, so in order to not drive the audience mad at the repetition, Rusty’s introduction needs to me “Call Me Rusty”, which might benefit from being a more light-hearted tweak on the original, dark and angry version. However keeping the coaches’ section is important as it gives their perspective on Rusty’s hopeless optimism. 

Second - Include Belle, the old Sleeping Car.  Poppa’s coach, an older female character. “Belle’s Song” is one of the hidden gems in the show, but after the Broadway production she was cut, justified as she wasn’t needed in the plot.  Well, I’d make her vital to the plot, as part of the third point…  Also she would take her place in “Girl’s Rolling Stock”, where slight lyric changes are needed to express that the girls are convincing Dinah “You don’t need him” rather than “Take him back”. 

Third - Logic in the Races.  If you were to ask, say, Flat-Top what was most exciting about the races, he’d say it’s between Electricity and Diesel.  Nobody takes Rusty seriously, it’s all about the fight between Electra and Greaseball. WHO WILL WIN?  So, in order to stretch out that excitement, move Electra to Heat 2.  Poppa still races in Heat 2 as well - and he races with Belle, his old partner.  It’s not the weight of pulling Dustin that overloads him, simply his age.  This is really important, as Dustin is the least likely race partner - except he races twice.  If Poppa races with Belle, then when Rusty comes to pick Dustin as his partner for the Downhill Final, the reaction is “Oh no, don’t be ridiculous?” rather than the current “hmm, well, he managed ok last time I guess…” The “Two heats, two qualifiers from each” structure works well when it is observed, so it’s simply a matter of swapping Electra with Ruhrgold (or national engine of choice).  Greaseball wins the first heat comfortably, and Ruhrgold comes second.  The second heat is won by Electra, and Poppa crosses the finish line second to qualify. 

Fourth - Ensemble piece, layered story. Starlight loses a lot of interest when it becomes “The Pearl and Rusty Show”.  Scenes that don’t include either of them - such as Girl’s Rolling Stock, or Caboose’s character arc including “There’s Me”, are just as valuable to the show.  It’s a rich and interesting world, especially when we get to know more characters.

Fifth - Control is Dreaming. This element is subtle but important.  The child drifts off to sleep during the “Overture”, and from then on we’re seeing their dream. This is important because if Control is awake and playing, their conscious mind is creating these scenarios, they are choosing to beat up their favourite oldest engine, they’re choosing distinctly adult concepts of gender and sexuality well beyond their pre-pubescent years.   However, if Control is asleep, then it is their unconscious mind at work, these elements are a way of processing the world they’re learning.  For example, Electra is an openly sexual character, and comes from “The Future”.  Control is a young kid, and sexuality is a subject that lies in their future.  It’s intriguing and confusing and scary. 

Linked to this concept, the “Entry of the National Trains” needs to be placed before AC/DC to allow for the full lullaby/to sleep/to dream sequence of the Overture.  “Entry of the National Trains” works better in this position for two further reasons - it contextualises Electra’s arrival, and causes less confusion for the audience.  The first characters the audience are introduced to are assumed to be important - and really, remembering the name of the Russian engine is not vital to understanding the plot!

One more small point about Electra - I would include “No Comeback”, as she throws the biggest tantrum, and storms out after losing the race! The melody is so deeply woven into the show already, yet its source is missing.  While seeing Electra crashed and humiliated is poetic justice, the contrast with Greaseball and Caboose crashing and Electra storming off would add variety.  Especially with Greaseball redeemed by the end, but Electra is not.

Finally, Love Song, I would want to use “Only You” for Rusty and Pearl - the duet version used as “Du Allein” in Germany for many years. Part of the glory of the Starlight Sequence is the blending of two strong themes from the show - Rusty’s questioning, lost in “Starlight Express”, and he finds his answer in the form of “Only You”. It’s the completion of the story, and having a new love song shoe-horned in loses that arc.  The “Du Allein” version in particular suits Pearl’s character so well, it’s quieter and reflective rather than a big impassioned belter. As Pearl has finally stopped and taken the time to reflect on her choices, she realises her mistakes, and that version conveys the moment best.

So overall my choices land heavily on the original material, and I don’t think most of these changes would even be recognised as alterations by casual audience members - except for those who remember Electra as male. The audience would simply not find many flaws to criticise.  My intention is to focus on the characters and telling their stories, the theatrical spectacle lies on top of solid characer based plot.

[bellesdomain]

Starlight Express Workshop - Thurs 14th Sept

Let me preface this with my overall impressions - this show was fantastic in many ways, the performances were all amazing, the band was fantastic, the staging was remarkably full and entertaining given the circumstances!  It was an absolutely fascinating experience, I’m so glad I had the chance to go - and that I’m going again to see how it develops further.  

But as reviews like this are bound to, this is all going to come across as very negative - but I want to start off emphasising how much I enjoyed it overall!

Keep reading

[thewickedexpress]

This seems very interesting. Despite the plot holes and confusing moments. They have really switched the show up. I just hope they all take the audience feedback in and take that on before the revival

[bellesdomain]

Starlight Express Back in the West End?

https://www.theotherpalace.co.uk/whats-on/starlight-express

Now yesterday was a super exciting day for Starlight Express fans!  Suddenly out of nowhere, there’s all this talk about Starlight Express returning to the West End, a desperate scrabble for tickets, the shows sold out in 6? 7? hours.  A lot of very excited people, a lot of quickly disappointed people.  

But what is actually going on?  What have you missed out on?  

Well, it’s not actually a West End Production of Starlight Express.  It’s a public workshop.  

We’re excited to announce three concert-style workshop performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Starlight Express, playing in the Theatre on Thu 14 , Fri 15 and Sat 16 Sep.

OK first off, “Concert-style” - this means that there will be no skates, no dancing, no costumes.  I’m expecting a cast of maybe 12, dressed in black, sitting until they sing.  Definitely not the spectacular fully staged show.

Members of the original creative team of Starlight Express will collaborate again, along with a group of carefully chosen actors and musicians to explore the piece.

“Members of the original creative team” - so unlike with the Cats revival in 2014, where they claimed the whole original creative team came together, this is only some of the people who built the show.  Obviously Andrew Lloyd Webber is running the operation.  Arlene Phillips has posted enthusiastically about it.  But will Richard Stilgoe, the original lyricist, be involved?  He has appeared at Starlight events recently.  What about Trevor Nunn, the original director?  I would love to see him come back, as I believe he is responsible for a lot of the depth and story telling in the show, he established the characters, their motivation, the tapestry of the plot.  Arlene Phillips has taken the directorial credit in more recent productions, and story telling isn’t her priority.  At this point, John Napier as designer is unlikely to be involved. Similarly lighting and sound aren’t relevant.

“Carefully chosen actors and musicians”  - I am so looking forward to finding out who!

“Explore the piece” - what I am hoping for here is some really crazy, off-the-wall stuff!  I want to see them explore giving Duvay a solo, replacing Poppa’s Blues, re-writing Electra as female…  I want to see them brainstorming really wild ideas.  Because then they have a wide range of material to pick and choose from.  How do we know there isn’t a better number for Poppa if they don’t look for it?  The key though, once this workshop is over, is that they weigh up all this new material and judge whether it is indeed better than the current or original scenes.  And maybe 10% of the wild ideas generated would actually end up in the production. 

Focusing on the score and lyrics, and working for a week before the public showings, Andrew and the team will continue to work on the show in the daytime before evening performances, responding to audience reaction and feedback as they navigate the exciting process of revisiting this classic work.

“Focusing on the score and lyrics” - this both reinforces this will not be a fully staged production, and pretty much states the obvious.  As this musical is sung through, there is no part of the story not held in the score and lyrics.  This also suggests that there will be a lot of new music being tried out.

“Responding to audience reaction and feedback” - well, it looks like the audience is going to be 99% cast, crew, and major fans, so there’s going to be a lot of feedback to be had!    Also one of the issues with ticket availability (and I’m sorry not sorry I’m part of this) is that this strongly suggests that the performance each night will be significantly different, therefore buying tickets for each of the three performances is irresistible!

Starlight Express originally opened in the West End in 1984 where it ran for over 7000 performances, and continues to run in a purpose built venue in Bochum, Germany where more than 15 million people have seen it. The Bochum production celebrates its 30th anniversary next year.

And here we have the reason this is all going on.  Arlene Phillips has already stated that the Bochum production will be getting “New characters and songs” for the 30th anniversary.  I’d anticipated this would be, at minimum, exchanging Ashley for Duvay, and a new 11th hour Love Song to replace “I Do”, but this workshop shows the potential that the anniversary could bring a lot wider changes!  Which makes all Starlight fans very nervous - but the fact they’re doing this public workshop is pretty reassuring on that front.  

The show has been chopped up and patched in so much over the years, and this was particularly apparent watching the German show performed in English.  Suddenly it was obvious that there’s huge plot holes, characters making senseless choices, a lot of weird elements where half a concept has been lost.  

So it seems likely to me that this workshop material will be reflected on, revised, and then translated into German and put into the Bochum production in May next year.  

But what about the West End?  What about a new English language tour?  Does this workshop mean there’s a new tour or a West End Revival coming?  Well - I hope so, but I’m not betting on it.  I think it entirely depends if Andrew Lloyd Webber is happy enough with the show to invest in it.  He’s on record several times saying how Starlight is the least favourite of his shows, but it’s very profitable.  But it’s also heavily mocked by the Musical Theatre world, as it has its gimmick of roller skates, it has low-brow pop music and it’s bright flashy fun.  Does Andrew Lloyd Webber care more about a profitable show or his reputation?  

A new production will also take significant investment.  The previous UK Tour that closed in 2013 in Asia, had the same physical properties as the previous 2004 UK tour, which was basically the 2003 US tour…  which in turn inherited a lot of its costumes, tech, properties, etc, from the 1993 Las Vegas production.  That was a permanent residence of the 1989 US Tour which took the 1987 Broadway show out on the road!  When the original London show closed, everything bar a few museum pieces was destroyed.  So to set up a new production, be it West End Revival, or US tour, would require building the show from scratch.  Plus it’s a very expensive show to run - can you begin to imagine the insurance costs?!  

So, if you want to see “Starlight Express” live and you didn’t get tickets for this workshop, don’t be too upset.  Plan a vacation to Germany and while you’re there, swing by Bochum and see the full production.  But if you’re fascinated by the development of the show, and you want to know what’s coming next, then this workshop is really exciting!  And I promise I’ll write up very detailed reports of the performances!