SEUSSICAL THE MUSICALSeussical, a musical based on the books of Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel (commonly known as Dr Seuss), premiered on Broadway in November 2000. After a brief try out in Boston starring Andrea Martin as the Cat in the Hat, the show transferred with direction by Frank Galati and a score by Flaherty and Ahrens. The show received mixed to negative reviews, with the New York times describing it as a weird conflation of various characters (Portaniere, 2000) and other reviews carrying similar opinions that the musicals plot was over-crowded and lacked a clear structure. This showed, and when stunt casting Rosie ODonnell as the Cat in the Hat failed to bring in audience members, the show closed after only 198 performances. Since then, it has been re-worked into three different versions and licensed to companies both professional and amateur across the globe (Ahrens and Flaherty.com). Choreography for the original production was by Kathleen Marshall, who was relatively new to the role of choreographer, having previously assisted her famous brother Rob Marshall on productions of Damn Yankees, She Loves Me and Victor/Victoria (IBDB). These musicals all feature classic musical theatre styles associated with big ensemble numbers and up-tempo pieces. Most notably, Damn Yankees is famous for its Whos got the pain sequence and Victor/Victorias act 1 Jazz Hot number is an iconic musical theatre number, having reached over 300,000 views on Youtube (Youtube.com). With her experience in this type of choreography, Marshall brought a suitable style to Seussical, which Portaniere described as hardly innovative, but lively and fun. This theme carries over to the music, which was composed by Michael Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens for a large orchestra of 17 musicians, giving it a big Broadway sound. The score features a rich variety of ballads and production numbers, leading to a Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Music when it originally opened. Due to the source material, Seussical is written to appeal to a target audience of children and families. Not only a wise artistic choice, but no doubt a financial move as 15% of theatregoers, according to Pogrebin, were under the age of 20 at the time of the musicals opening, and they were almost always accompanied by their parents. Family audiences bring in the money because parents and grandparents buy tickets to see shows with their children. This is proven by the fact that two of the highest grossing shows in recent years, The Lion King and Matilda regularly play to over 100% capacity (according to Playbill) and are both targeted at a family demographic. By incorporating bright and vibrant set design by established scenic artist Eugene Lee and costumes from a widely recognised William Ivey Long, the producers created a visual spectacle reminiscent of the original illustrations to keep the young audience members engaged throughout. Similarly, the narrator of the story, the Cat in the Hat, uses audience participation to hold the attention of children and encourages them to take an active part in the storytelling. Speaking of storytelling, the show comes in the form of a traditional book musical (a musical play in which the text and songs are interwoven to tell a story and evoke genuine emotion other than laughter define.com) which also helps hold the interest of the target audience because there is a clear narrative aim and the plot is focused towards an outcome. The children (and adults) in the audience wont become disinterested because they will be waiting to see what happens to the characters in the story. The story that the show tells is an amalgamation of a number of novels by Dr. Seuss. Featured most heavily are Oh The Thinks You Can Think, Horton Hears a Who and The Cat in the Hat, although in the case of the latter, the titular character is the only thing taken from the book. The writing style of Seuss lends itself to the musical format due to his books being written largely in anapaestic tetrameter, meaning that a rhythm is already provided for music to accompany. A lot of Ahrens lyrics for the musical are adaptations as well as direct quotations of the source material. A prime example is the number Horton Hears a Who which introduces the elephant character at the beginning of the first act. The lyrics for this song are literally the opening pages of Seuss book put to music- a clever artistic decision as it allows the audience to recall the words and feel a sense of familiarity with the previously unheard song (see appendix 1). In addition to the books mentioned, elements from 13 other works of Seuss are included somewhere in Seussical, as the writers seemed to be terrified to leave anything out (Portaniere, 2000). A lot of early material was cut from the show, including a 10 minute section telling the story of The Lorax which didnt actually further the narrative plot of the musical. The cut section was so lengthy that it is now licensed for schools and theatre groups by MTI as a separate mini-musical (Music Theatre International, 2015). Other inclusions include a brief section that introduces The Grinch and an upbeat curtain call to the words of Green Eggs and Ham.With all of these revisions happening from the very start of production, the show has unsurprisingly been adapted into various different versions. The current licensed incarnation differs from the Broadway production and runs for only 90 minutes, removing some of the material that Broadway critics found unnecessary. This production was more of a hit on its New York return in 2007 produced by Theatreworks USA, where Charles Isherwood of the New York Times wrote that Seussical has been liberated at last. In addition to this, there is also a TYA (Theatre for young audiences) edition that runs for a slightly shorter time of 75 minutes and has no interval. Some of the storylines are simplified however the production is still intended to be performed by adults. Contrastingly, the JR edition of the show runs for only an hour, with significant changes to the plot (including the complete removal of the military theme which also changes the character of JoJo largely). This version is licensed at a reduced cost with pre- recorded backing tracks as an alternative to a live orchestra. The keys of some of the songs have been lowered to allow them to be performed by a younger cast. This is the version most commonly performed by schools and youth groups across the world (according to JosefWeinberger.com).

Performance WorkshopFor our end of year performance, we are taking four numbers from Seussical and presenting them as a mini- musical for an audience mainly comprising of friends and family. The songs have been carefully selected to showcase our cast and to tell as much of the story as is possible within such a short space of time. The reason that only four songs are being performed is due to both time and budget constraints. Our production, being performed in the foyer of the theatre, is a pre-show to a performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee so it cannot exceed 20 minutes. In addition, licensing laws forbid performing any more than four songs from one show at a time without paying for rights for the musical. Because we dont have the budget to be able to afford these rights, our streamlined choices of four songs are as economic as they are artistic. Our performance briefly tells the story of Horton the Elephant hearing voices on a speck of dust and protecting them from harm by placing them onto a clover for safekeeping. We have used the songs that were edited for the JR version because backing tracks can be easily sourced for this edition, and the lower keys are less challenging for our performers who are in their first year of training. Also, certain cuts made for the JR version suit our take on the piece (like the omission of several complicated subplots) and the shortening of the numbers helps us to keep within time constraints of a pre-show performance.

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!This number, which opens the full-scale musical, has been chosen to also open our performance. The purpose of the song remains the same, as it is written to hook the audience and to introduce key characters of the story in the context of the musical, and is being performed with the same objective in our performance. Some of the characters introduced, including General Genghis Khan Schmidt and the Mayor and Mayoress of Whoville, arent featured in the rest of our production so their characters are only included in one song due to the original production featuring them heavily. This doesnt really affect our performance, however more inquisitive audience members may question why these seemingly insignificant characters are being introduced to them. The number is extremely high energy as it opens the show and brings the world of Dr Seuss to life through imaginative lyrics and choreography. We were encouraged to use a lot of twang in our vocals to create a buzzy and resonant American sound that would travel well in the space. This technique was vital in such a high-energy number because the audience had to be able to hear what we were saying in order to follow the rest of the story. It also formed a bright ensemble sound perfect for the upbeat and positive message of Oh The Thinks.

Biggest Blame FoolAnother upbeat song, the context has remained virtually the same in our foyer performance from the original production. Though in the full scale musical this song follows on from another entitled Horton Hears a Who, we have incorporated a scene using some of the lyrics from that song to form a flowing and consistent plot for the audience to follow and to provide a change in dynamics between the two high energy numbers. Biggest Blame Fool shows the animals from the Jungle of Nool ridiculing Horton for his belief that there are people living on a speck of dust. The choice to incorporate this song allows for numerous solo voices to be showcased as well as providing a lot of opportunity for the ensemble to be showcased. The character of the Young Kangaroo, often portrayed by the Sour Kangaroo using a hand puppet, has been cast using an additional performer. Instead of literally playing The Young Kangaroo in [the Sour Kangaroos] pouch, she is more of a wannabe character, backing up the Sour Kangaroo and acting as her sidekick. Whilst not changing the context of the song very much, the change has allowed for more solo lines and added comedy to the piece because the new take on the character is a comedic, sassy interpretation. The rest of the song remains the same as it was originally intended. Due to the fact that the song appears early on in the musicals first act, it can be placed into our performance without the need for further explanation or changing the context. The use of the Foyer space works well to visually portray the animals bullying Horton, as the different sides of the table are used to separate them, creating the image of Horton being outcast and alone without the need for lighting effects that would be used if we were performing in a theatre.

Alone in the UniverseOriginally written as a duet for Horton and JoJo, Alone in the Universe is a contemporary ballad in which both characters start out miserable and alone, but end up unified by their thinks. The context of this song was changed for the JR version from the Broadway version due to the removal of a storyline in which JoJo was sent to military school by his parents for being unruly and thinking too much. Originally, he would sing his side of this duet at military school, realising he is alone and undervalued. In the JR version, however, he sings it after a stern talk with his parents who have grounded him for flooding his bathroom (he imagined that the tub was McGelligots Pool and left the water to overflow while he thought his thinks). Furthermore, the context has been altered yet again for our performance. No explanation is given to the audience for JoJos participation in the song until the brief dialogue mid-way through where he explains sometimes my thinks are what get me in trouble. Hortons motives remain the same as in the musical because of our choice to include Biggest Blame Fool which explains how he is outcast from society. Towards the end of the song, the ensemble joins in with the final chorus. This is an addition made for our production and not found in any previous ones. The ensemble have been directed to sing as though they have heard Horton and are beginning to sympathise with him, each realising that they are all alone in the universe and that there could be someone else out there. By the end of the song, however, they realise their stupidity and go back to their judging and unbelieving ways. This slight change in context allows for the inclusion of more performers and means the climax of the song has a much more powerful sound. Although a slower song, the number requires a lot of energy, especially from the performers playing Horton and JoJo because they must keep the audiences interest with only their performances and no choreography or set pieces to hide behind. Similarly, the ensemble (who are in a freeze until the very end of the song) must be able to focus their energy to avoid detracting from the performances of Horton and JoJo.

Green Eggs and HamThe finale spot of our performance was originally supposed to be The People VS Horton the Elephant, a song that usually comes towards the end of the 2nd Act. This was changed to Green Eggs and Ham when it became clear that the initial choice didnt provide a clean end to the story. In the musical, it is sandwiched between two other songs which we couldnt perform, so it would have left the audience confused and feeling as though the show was unfinished. Green Eggs and Ham, however, is the musicals curtain call and is a perfect upbeat number in which to lift the audiences spirits after the ballad theyve just seen. The song takes the verses of the novel Green Eggs and Ham and sets them to music in a song unrelated to the plot and intended as a feel-good finale rather than anything story related. This works well for our performance because we dont have time to resolve all of the plotlines but this number still provides an end point rather than leaving it on a cliff-hanger. Bows have been incorporated into the choreography to avoid bowing in silence and the entire cast take part in choreography; which ensures a high energy end to the performance. The use of the space did create a few difficulties because it was difficult to block a number in a studio not knowing the exact amount of room we would have for the performance. After a few spacing sessions in the Foyer itself, these issues were resolved and the number ran smoothly and was a fitting finale to the piece.

Contribution to the Creative ProcessPoster DesignDuring the creative process, members of the cast were given roles that they would carry out in order to assist with the production. These included Dance Captains, Rehearsal Directors and Costume teams. I was assigned Posters and Programmes, along with another cast member. To carry out this role, I discussed ideas with her and we came up with a concept involving an elephants face to represent Horton. Following this, she drew up a mock design, which featured the key elements needed for a poster (date/time/location etc). I then interpreted this using Adobe Photoshop in order to create a more professional looking design that we could use to publicise the show. The image that I created is the one below.

Upon reflection, I realised that the poster was nowhere near bright enough for such a youthful show, and wasnt particularly eye catching. I decided to use the colour of the Newcastle College logo and incorporate that into the Seussical wording to make it stand out more. Furthermore, we were informed by our director that the poster had to include details of our course title so I added this along the bottom in addition to a schoolbook style image below the Spelling Bee logo to add extra vibrance to the design (Image A). Our director also requested an alternative design featuring the famous hat worn by the Cat in the Hat. I kept the majority of the poster the same, switching the grey colour scheme for a white one and adding a drop shadow to the image of the hat to make it stand out on the page (Image B).

Image A Image BIn the end, our director and I decided to stick to the original poster idea due to its originality and simplicity. The hat image didnt stand out as much and the white background looked too basic. By designing these posters, I helped market the production, contributing to the creative process heavily by pulling in an outside audience.

Costume and PropsMy costume had to resemble an elephant in some way, however we didnt want literal costumes because our small budget would mean that they might appear tacky which we certainly didnt want. Similarly, the original production on Broadway used representational costuming, a Brechtian technique, to show the animals that were being portrayed. Due to us charging money for the performance, we had to showcase the most professional production possible for our age and skillsets. Therefore, I gathered a collection of images showing illustrations from the original Dr Seuss book, costume designs from other productions, and real life elephants which I arranged into a mood board (see appendix 2). I was then informed that my costume would be provided by a local stage school in the form of grey overalls and top with a beanie hat. This encapsulated the baggy, relaxed style of an elephant (as well as the grey colour scheme) without literally being an elephant costume. A week before the show, we found out that this costume would not be arriving, so I brought forward the idea of wearing baggy grey trousers with a grey hoodie and beanie instead. They were still baggy and showed the essence of my character. Furthermore, I volunteered that wearing a blue t-shirt and shoes would add colour to my costume, as well as referencing the original cartoon images in which Horton is frequently coloured blue. This worked well, and helped me to stand out more than if I was just wearing a plain grey costume. The most significant prop in our performance was the clover that Horton holds throughout the majority of the piece. In the original book and musical, it is a large pink ball of fluff with a green stem. Obviously not naturalistic, this version of a clover stood out on the page and in the theatre when backed up by an equally weird and colourful world created through illustrations and set design. Because our performance space could not accommodate set pieces or backdrops, such a strange interpretation of a clover would look out of place in our production. Therefore, we chose to use a more traditional green four-leafed clover to represent the clover mentioned in the source material. Because we knew that, though in an alternative space, the musical was still aimed at children, we used an oversized prop rather than a life size clover. This, I feel, was the right decision because it stayed true to the childish nature of the source material, but suited the surroundings and context of our performance much more. The finale, Green Eggs and Ham was made slightly more complicated when we realised that I was going to have to perform the number still holding the clover as there were no wings in which to get rid of it. This was easily resolved by making sure I always rehearsed holding the prop and bearing it in mind for any new pieces of blocking that were added along the way.

Rehearsal ContributionIn addition to my role as Poster Designer, I responded to the source material during rehearsals in order to help shape the performance. During Oh the Thinks You Can Think, our opening number, we had to come up with four different positions that we could hit on certain accents in the music. I went back to my character research (see next section) and focused on the fact that I was playing a very awkward and curious animal who was incredibly excitable when it came to finding his speck of dust. Taking the theme of the dust speck, I crafted my movements so that I looked as though I was searching for the speck in the sky. The movement consisted of pointing in different directions, varying the levels so that it was still interesting to the audience. To convey the characters quirkiness, as our director called it, I made the positions very angular so that I appeared awkward from an audience perspective. Furthermore, my facial expression was not something I had thought about until during a rehearsal, our acting coach said that I looked angry rather than curious. To remedy this, I asked my friend to record me performing that particular section of movement so I could watch it back and see what needed to be changed. I soon noticed that my brow was furrowed to try and show curiosity, however my mouth was closed tight which conveyed an angry confusion. From then on, I made sure that my mouth was open in a gormless expression which not only helped show my characters curiosity, but conveyed the comedic awkwardness that I was trying to show as Horton.Some of the harmonies for Biggest Blame Fool were getting lost when we rehearsed the song with the choreography. Dance captains had worked to polish movement and singing coaches to polish the vocals, however when they came together the effect was not as desired. Due to Horton not singing any of the ensemble lines in the number, I stood out and watched for one run so I could pinpoint the problem. It seemed that it was the tenors line that was losing its impact when rehearsed with movement. Previous to casting being announced, I had learned the ensemble harmonies which meant that I was able to clarify where people were going wrong and help them remember the original line they were supposed to sing. This proved to be greatly beneficial to the overall effect, because having an outside ear to quickly identify the problem saved hours of over-rehearsing and made time for us to run the number instead of note-bashing for a full hour.

Rehearsal Corrections TableCorrectionMethodOutcome

The movement on Oh the Thinks You Can Think needed work to make it tighter and sharper. A group SDS with the Dance Captains helped to clear this up, going through specific movements and counts to make sure everything was uniform. In particular, I struggled with the timing on stepping backwards in the songs bridge. Lauren, one of the Dance Captains, went over this with me privately and I recorded her counting out the timing so I could rehearse with the recording to perfect the timing.The movement was much clearer and our choreographer praised us for the visible amount of effort wed put in to cleaning the number.

My Shoulders were too tense during the opening number, which didnt show Hortons relaxed personality. Before we ran the number, I got my friend to grab my arms and shake them around in order to relax my shoulders. I also found an article on LiveStrong.com (see Appendix 3) which contained exercises for releasing shoulder and neck tension. I carried these out daily in the run up to the performance so that I would appear more calm and relaxed. Two weeks before we began performances, I scheduled a shoulder massage to get rid of knots I could feel which were making me tense. There was a big difference in later rehearsals, especially post-massage. I really think releasing the tension that I hadnt even noticed before helped me to physically embody the character of Horton a lot more. I was able to swing my arms to convey his weight and slow-ness as well as generally appearing more comfortable in performance.

My eye line was far too high throughout the majority of the piece. This note was given to me several times over the course of early rehearsals.Firstly, I clarified where my eye line was supposed to be with our director. Due to the unique performance space of the foyer, I wasnt sure where my focus should be in comparison to a proscenium arch stage. I was told that the focus should be just above the audience members heads. To get used to this in rehearsals, I focused my eyes slightly above my own head in the mirror. I also asked the dance captains and acting team to shout eyes at me during any SDS when I happened to be looking too high which was beneficial as sometimes I didnt even realise I was doing it.The note was taken on board and I stopped getting corrections about my eye line after a short amount of time focusing on it. It helped me to connect to the audience more, because they could see my face more clearly than when I was practically facing the sky.

Build Hortons excitement on Quite likely theres two, even three, even four! in Biggest Blame FoolIn order to make it sound like Horton was getting more and more excited as he counted the increasing number of possible inhabitants of the speck, I changed the pitch of my voice as the numbers went up. Although this had some effect, it was still not as much of a build as was necessary for the piece. Additionally, I raised the volume alongside the pitch.The energy visibly built up over the lyric, conveying Hortons growing enthusiasm much better than I had been before.

Our choreographer wanted me to act more protective of the clover during Biggest Blame Fool. She wanted the audience to be able to see how dedicated Horton was to looking after the Whos. We talked about what options there were and decided to trial a few different ideas. I tried shielding the leaf of the clover entirely with my hand which did convey Hortons protective side, however it meant that the audience couldnt see the clover which was a very significant prop. Instead, I tried stroking the leaves every now and then and if anyone came near it, I would cup it with my hand to stop anyone from getting to the speck inside. The new gestures created variety in the actions I was using, rather than just holding it to my ear the whole time. It also allowed me to portray Hortons caring side much more clearly and informed the audience of Hortons loyalty in preparation for Alone in the Universe.

My accent began to slip during one of the runs, which was picked up by our acting team.Although I dont usually have an issue with dropping my accent, I found an instructional Youtube video on the American accent by voice coach Amy Walker entitled American Accents Part 1: Vowel Sounds. I watched this video and followed the exercises shown, which included holding your tongue and pronouncing vowels in the accent repeatedly. I also tried to stay in my accent throughout rehearsals, even when not in character, so that I would get used to sustaining it for a long amount of time.My accent was consistent for the rest of the rehearsals and I got no more notes regarding inconsistency of accent.

I needed to show Hortons thought process and journey throughout my solo section in Alone in the Universe instead of focusing on the vocals.With help from our Acting Coach, I sectioned the lyrics for the song and annotated them with thought process, intentions and subtext so that when I was singing I would always know precisely where each idea was coming from and the meaning behind every line. (see appendix 4) Furthermore, our director suggested that I use the Stanislavski technique of emotional memory to think about any time Ive personally felt outcast or bullied by others. I related Hortons love for the clover to my love for Musical Theatre, which some people in school didnt understand. Even teachers told me that it wasnt a viable career choice, which only made me more determined. Its this same determination that propels Horton to defend the speck as well as he does.I received feedback from our acting coach that the song was much more layered and developed and that the performance was more interesting to watch because I had a clearer understanding of the character.

Development of CharacterThe first thing I did to get into character as Horton was to read the original book by Dr Seuss. Although I had read it as a child, I thought it best to re-examine the text from the characters viewpoint. I realised, through paying attention to lines such as a persons a person no-matter how small, that Horton has only good in his heart and he cares for everyone he meets whether they are cruel to him or not. This provided an excellent starting point from which to develop my interpretation of the character. I then listened to the Original Broadway cast recording of the musical and noticed Hortons animated voice, which was perfectly suited to the larger than life role. Instead of imitating Kevin Chamberlin, the original actor, I took inspiration from the inflections used and the pitch differences used to convey Hortons enthusiasm. I then watched American childrens television including Spongebob Squarepants and Arthur to take note of their voice patterns and how they suit the target audience of children. I noticed that they are often exaggerated in pitch differences (eg extremely high or low, not much in between) and that each character over emphasises words so that children can clearly understand. I utilised this in my performance. For example, when I say My ears are quite clean and I heard it quite clearly I used to struggle to get the words out. By doing a few simple diction warm ups as part of the singing warm up, I was more prepared and I just focused on trying to emulate Spongebobs voice. This worked surprisingly well as it not only helped with diction, but introduced a buzzy nasal quality to my voice that helped the sound to carry across the performance space.Throughout the choreography and scene work, I tried to keep the physicality of Horton visible so that my character remained consistent throughout. Firstly, I realised that the characters physical description and my own dont match. Regardless of the difference in species, Horton is described as slow and fat by the Wickersham Brothers, however I am of a very slim build. In order to show the audience that I was supposed to be overweight without literally wearing a fat suit, I observed people on public transport and around the college foyer who were of a heavier weight. I noticed that they tend to move more side to side the heavier they are, and that they generally place their feet down a lot harder. In order to encapsulate the swinging side to side, I decided to let my arms swing freely when I moved to create the visual impression of me swaying whilst still allowing me to keep my feet planted and not interfering with my singing technique. I also made a conscious effort to place my feet down more heavily than I usually would and to move slower to convey the delayed reactions of Horton.

Character ProfileName: Horton the Elephant

Age: The average life span of an Elephant in the wild is 70. Horton is 34 when the story takes place. Old enough so that everyone in the Jungle of Nool is familiar with him and his childish ways, but young enough to still hold youthful and nave optimism.

Occupation: Horton assigns himself as protector of the Whos during the Horton Hears a Who/Biggest Blame Fool sequence. It is clear that he has a kind and accepting heart through his repetition of the phrase A persons a person no matter how small. Furthermore, his full time occupation before discovering the Whos is being a thinker, something which he refers to himself as during Alone in the Universe.

Social standing: Outcast by the other animals and constantly dreaming up bizarre thinks, Horton is definitely at the bottom of the social ladder. His only friend is Gertrude and sometimes hes so wrapped up in his thinks that he doesnt even notice her. Horton is picked on by the Sour Kangaroo and the Wickersham Brothers, who proclaim that hes the biggest blame fool in the Jungle of Nool.

Religion: Horton is full of wide-eyed optimism. He trusts what he is told, for example when he hears voices on the wind he immediately believes that there must be tiny people living on a speck of dust. In this same way, he believes in a higher being but is unaware of religion in the organised sense. He puts his faith, sometimes mistakenly, in the goodness of other animals rather than God.

Physical health: Although Horton is overweight (referenced by both himself and other characters throughout the musical), he is in relatively good health. He is a vegan because he doesnt like to think of himself harming any creatures on the earth. This results in a surprisingly healthy diet considering his weight. As a result of his size, Horton is quite heavy on his feet and moves slowly, transferring weight from side to side as he walks.

Place of origin: Just off from the River Walloo in the Jungle of Nool. He spent his childhood (and most of his adulthood) splashing around in this river away from the noisy Jungle where people were cruel to him about his constant daydreaming.

Characteristics: Horton has the tendency to be a little bit clumsy. When he walks, he faces the floor a lot as he is under confident and afraid to make eye contact with others in the Jungle who are unkind to him. Always honest and loyal, Horton would never do anything that would knowingly hurt others. He is very animated and awkward around people, never having truly understood how to behave in social situations.

Where am I? The Jungle of Nool, splashing in the river Walloo. Its incredibly warm and the sounds of the jungle are loud like a beating drum. Horton is very comfortable here because hes lived here his whole life however when the Sour Kangaroo begins interrupting him, he feels like a stranger in his own home. Hes frightened and doesnt really know where to go because this is his happy place and it has been invaded by a lot of unfriendly animals. He tries to get away from them by moving further into the Jungle (during Biggest Blame Fool) but he only receives more torment and teasing. After over a week when night falls, he returns to his home to be away from all the taunting and to think. It is cool and calm by this point and he feels safe and hopeful again.

When is it? Its Spring Time in the Jungle of Nool (the 15th of May according to Seuss original book)The air is hot and sticky and the jungle is alive with life. The sun is beating down on the River Walloo as Horton finds the speck of dust, and the heat only intensifies once he travels into the depths of the jungle. It is also worthy to note that Biggest Blame Fool takes place over a week so Horton becomes increasingly tired over this song until he reached his maximum level of frustration, prompting him to sing Alone in the Universe a week later. By this point, it is night time and the sky is clear, allowing him to dream peacefully in the cool air.

What are my relationships? Hortons only friend throughout his life has been his next-door neighbour Gertrude. He takes her for granted a lot of the time (demonstrated in the source material using the number Notice Me Horton) and doesnt realise that she has romantic feelings for him because he is often so caught up in his thinks. Nevertheless, he is fond of Gertrude because shes the only person who has always stuck up for him throughout his life. The Sour Kangaroo intimidates Horton and he has never spoken to her in his life until the moment the audience sees in Biggest Blame Fool. She is loud and brassy, so Horton struggles to identify with her. They are from completely different social groups so have never mixed before. Similarly Mayzie LaBird has very little to do with Horton as she is too concerned with her own life. That being said, they grew up together so they are like acquaintances rather than friends by this point in the story. This explains Mayzies dismissal of Hortons naivety in Biggest Blame Fool when she exclaims Enough about Horton, lets talk about me!. Mayzie is used to Hortons peculiar ways so is nowhere near as shocked as the rest of the animals. It also explains why, in the full scale musical, Horton agrees to sit on Mayzies egg while she takes a very long Holiday. He feels some kind of loyalty to her because she is one of the few people who have ever taken the time to speak to him. The Wickersham Brothers are, in a lot of ways, like the Sour Kangaroo. Keeping to themselves and causing mischief, Horton has never had to deal with them up until this point. He is unfamiliar with their sense of humour so he finds them terrifying when they begin to pick on him. He is not used to socialising with strangers to all of the attention is an unwelcome surprise.Hortons relationship with Jojo is of primary importance. They are both dependent on each other. Without Horton, Jojo and the rest of his planet could easily be crushed and killed. Without Jojo, Horton would feel completely alone. In addition to friendship, Horton needs Jojo to exist to prove to the others that he isnt going mad. They bond quickly in Alone in the Universe due to their mutual thinks. Both are outcast by society for thinking too much and being too imaginative. Horton is belittled and bullied, whereas Jojo is scolded by the older generation, namely his parents. In this song, the two thinkers connect and realise that there is someone else out there who can sympathise with them. Horton is amazed by his discovery of Jojo and it comes as a bonus to him that he has found a true friend in the universe. Its a first for the character and carries great emotional value.

What has happened before? Before the audience meets Horton, he has had a fairly uneventful day (and life). All his time has been spent dreaming up strange ideas and stories to amuse him self while wallowing in the water of the river Walloo. Immediately before the audience meet Horton, he has just awoken from a peaceful nap and is relaxing by the river.

Utilising the Performance Space

Site-specific theatreis any type oftheatricalproduction designed to be performed at a unique, specially adapted location other than a standardtheatre.-The Scottish Arts Council

The foyer is an unconventional choice for a performance area, and it brought its own unique challenges when it comes to staging. The layout prevents a typical performance in which the actors play directly out to the audience, due to tables and benches being in the way (see appendix 5) so, instead, we are going down the route of site specific theatre. This is when a production is removed from a traditional theatrical setting and placed in an area not originally intended to house performances- in our case, the college foyer. Instead of skirting around the issues of the tables and benches, our director chose to incorporate them into the performance. Similarly to Rent (1996, Broadway), performers dance and sing on top of the metal table and benches are used to represent jungle bushes, trees and television studios. Whilst the concept initially frightened us as performers, it is perfectly suited to the source material which revolves around thinking and encouraging the audience to use their imagination. What could be more imaginative than transforming a space such as the foyer into the Jungle of Nool? In Biggest Blame Fool, the table becomes a TV studio for the Cat to interview cast members about Hortons bizarre dust speck proclamations. The only stimulus the audience gets is the words spoken by the actors, and a handheld microphone used to show that he is presenting a television show. The rest is up to us as performers to creatively tell the story using out bodies, facial expressions and voices. In the next song, Alone in the Universe, the table becomes the River in which Horton lives, and the bench becomes Jojos bedroom. As actors, we have to react to our surroundings as if they were real. If I, as Horton, looked uncomfortable on the table, no one would believe that it was my childhood home, however by looking comfortable and at home, the audience are transported there with me. Not only does this suit our surroundings, but it pulls the audience into the story with us as they have to be constantly engaged to know where they are and whats going on instead of relying on set pieces being flown in.Entrances for the performance arent as straightforward as coming on from the wings in a theatre. The entire cast has to file out of one doorway, as its the only entrance available to us. This presented some spacing issues at first because when we rehearsed the number in the studio, we thought we had more room to enter. A quick spacing session during one of our lessons sorted this out, however spacing had to be altered in order to fill the space properly. Our choreographer stood on the bench at the far end so she could see everyone and re-positioned some of us to create a fuller effect. Similarly to spacing being affected, our vocals get swallowed up in the cavernous space. Once we rehearsed in the foyer and realised how much further we had to make our voices travel than in the studio, we had a recap lesson where we went back to the basics of our Bel Canto singing technique. We really focused on getting the forward placement correct so as to maximise the volume without straining our voices. A particular exercise that helped with adding this twang was the use of the phrase Oh my God in a very over the top American accent. I found it extremely useful because it immediately sent the airflow up through the nasal passage, which is where it needs to be in order to project well. As well as helping with projection, the twang makes us blend as an ensemble, which creates a rich and layered sound.

EvaluationArtisticallyThe performance is well structured to convey the story that we set out to tell. By keeping the musical numbers in chronological order of the source material (with songs missing from in between), the mini-musical touches on the important elements of the story to form its own condensed plot that can exist entirely separately for an audience who may be unfamiliar with the full scale show. The introductory number Oh the Thinks You Can Think introduces the important characters, the scene following outlines the storyline of the show (what some would call the hook moment) and Biggest Blame Fool is an entertaining number which makes the relationships between characters clear and provides the audience with knowledge of Horton being tormented, leading them to have sympathy for Alone in the Universe. Green Eggs and Ham is a fitting curtain call that leaves the audience on a high- a full arc in a short space of time.The costumes suit the stripped back nature of the production, proving a much better alternative to flashy, theatrical costumes that would look out of place without proper lighting and set. That being said, a few of the costumes look slightly mismatched. For example, the bird girls wear sleek modern skater dresses in varying colours, but all don headdresses taken from more theatrical costumes. The colours of the headdresses dont necessarily match those of the dresses which creates an unfinished appearance. In addition, the character changes some of the cast have to make between numbers were intended to be conveyed by the removal of an item of clothing or a quick change in hairstyle. This is not as effective as it might have been, as cast members morphing from a Who to an animal dont look different enough to portray a complete change of species. In my opinion, the audience would have been less distracted if the costumes remained the same and it was only the acting that showed a change in character. The performance is incredibly entertaining for an audience because, as mentioned earlier, there is a clear narrative arc so they are invested in the plot. Along with the emotional connection, the numbers selected are uplifting, upbeat (with the exception of Alone in the Universe) and all further the story. There is a careful mix of dance, vocals and acting, with each discipline given a similar amount of attention to create a well-rounded overall performance. During rehearsals, the process that led to the point of performance was always well organised and structured which, I believe, is reflected in the calibre of performance. Every cast member knows precisely what they are supposed to be doing at each moment in time which allows the piece to run smoothly and the numbers transition between each other at a fast pace. The dance moves are polished and uniform due to meticulous direction, which is necessary to appeal to the target audience. Whilst parents at the performance will be polite, Children get bored easily and are likely to drift away if not kept entertained. I believe that the fast paced and polished nature of the production will prevent this from happening and keep the target audience hooked until the very end. As a concept, the mini musical is an excellent idea to showcase younger talent before a full performance. I dont think it would be appropriate to stage independently due to the short run time, however it works as a preview or pre-show. The shows chosen to be performed in this way would have to be carefully selected, as pieces with complicated or emotionally heavy plot lines would not come across well in this condensed form. For example, Les Miserables would be an unlikely choice to adapt for this format, but Youre a Good Man Charlie Brown lends itself to a scaled down production thanks to a small cast and relatively simple plot.

ProfessionallyThe performance, though of an incredibly high standard, has a runtime of little over 10 minutes and, for that reason alone, I would suggest that charging an admission fee to view the production would not be a worthwhile idea. If a full-scale production of Spelling Bee runs at 90 minutes and is 5 to see, then the admission fee for a 10 minute production would be less than 60p. I would happily pay this 60p for the production, however it is probably not a viable option in the real world. In comparison to other shows available to similar audiences like ITVs Sunday Night at the Palladium, the production offers a similar style of high-energy performance, but with the added bonus of live entertainment and a storyline to follow. In terms of West End productions, Seussical can easily be compared to productions like Tooting Arts Clubs Sweeney Todd performed in Harringtons Pie and Mash shop on Shaftsebury Avenue. Both productions have utilised unusual spaces (both incorporating tables and benches into the blocking according to The Stage, 2015) to create a unique take on an already well-established musical. Cuts have been made to both productions in terms of musical numbers, though obviously a lot more on Seussicals part. Nothing, however, is available at such a short runtime aside from productions like Alice: A New Musical which still runs for a much longer 45 minutes (St James Theatre Website) but is, yet again, in an intimate setting similar to Seussical.In terms of a professional production, the strengths of the show are most definitely the slick transitions between numbers and the variety of content in such a short space of time. The use of the space is also well thought out and worthy of a professional production. The weaknesses, however, would have to be the stamina of the cast and the costuming. The stamina issue is down to our young age and the fact we are only in our first year of training. The vocals get breathy towards the end of the finale number which is one of the only signs of the inexperience of us as performers. Though rehearsals have been tough to try and get everyone to a professional standard (tactics included making us run in a circle singing Green Eggs and Ham to solve the breathiness issue), first year students on a musical theatre course can never be expected to fully reach professional standards. In the West End, the concept of a mini-musical would be unlikely to work. In my opinion, theatregoers in London would be much more interested in seeing a full production than a 10 minute adaptation in the theatre foyer. The concept has been introduced to showcase first year students to their parents so that they have something to perform at the end of their year. Obviously in the West End, the audience members are the general public and not family of the cast. They would be uninterested in seeing a pre-show unless it was directly linked to the plot of the full scale show theyd paid money for. Despite this, the idea of a preview performance is not a new one, and Broadway producers regularly invite the press to sample a short 10-20 minute selection of musical numbers from their upcoming shows to build interest. Videos of these miniature stagings are posted regularly on Playbill.com to showcase musicals that are headed to Broadway. This proves then, that while pre-show mini musicals may not be a commercially viable option, the idea works in terms of previewing new works to an invited audience.

VocationallyVarious techniques have been used to gain the final standard of performance. As mentioned earlier, I personally used the Stanislavski technique of emotional memory during rehearsals to connect with my character of Horton for Alone in the Universe. I found this to be incredibly useful in this instance, as I was demonstrating Hortons feelings to the audience to begin with which wasnt portraying any real emotion at all. All of my choices were on the surface, but once I used emotional memory to think about how Horton was feeling, it suddenly became more honest and true. I think this came across in performance as well as making me feel more confident in the character. A con of this technique, however, is that I occasionally found myself drawing too much on my own experiences and coming slightly out of character whilst performing the song. Instead of Horton being Alone in the Universe, I was suddenly singing as myself. Though this did not come across to the audience, I could feel when it happened and it distracted me from the piece. Overall, however, this technique helped me massively.Our choreographer utilised certain elements of Merce Cunninghams points in space technique (Bremser & Sanders, 2011) during Biggest Blame Fool as a response to the lack of theatre lighting in our performance space. On stage, characters can be lit in spotlights to direct the audiences attention, however we didnt have this luxury. Instead, the ensembles focus was used to show the audience where they key action was going to happen and direct their attention to the right place. Ensemble members would freeze at certain points, notably at the TV Studio section, to make the audience pay close attention to the Cat interviewing the characters of Mayzie and Gertrude at the front. This was an ideal solution to what could have otherwise been a very messy scene to perform without lighting. Laban Actions were used to help us with the Acting side of rehearsals when we were first creating a character. We played with different speeds and weights when walking. Firstly, we observed each other and had to imitate a different member of the class by the way they walked. We then had to identify actions such as flick, dab, slash to describe the way in which they walked. Our Acting coach then told us to apply these actions to animals that she shouted out. It was interesting to think about the physicality of each animal as she said it, and this was when I realised that Horton had to be indirect, heavy and sustained which we gave the action wring to. This was useful in the preliminary stages of rehearsal, however I feel that for the most part these exercises were forgotten about. The terminology used was unnecessary for the purpose of Seussical and could easily have been explained with simpler terms that would have taken up less time in the rehearsal schedule.

OverallIf I could repeat the rehearsal process again, I would carry out tasks like actioning lyrics and annotating them for intentions and subtext a lot earlier so that I had a more gradual time to develop my character. I would also delve a little bit deeper into my research in terms of reading more Dr Seuss books, watching the film and immersing myself in the world of Seuss to get a better understanding of his creations. I do feel that I touched upon this, but it could have been explored a lot more thoroughly. I would also ideally like to have spent more time polishing vocals and harmonies before adding the dance routines as I feel the vocal lines would have been solidified in our heads a lot more firmly and the issues with stamina and dropping out of harmony lines would have been fixed far sooner, meaning there was less stress closer to the time of performance.I think it would be interesting to see what we could have done with the material in a proscenium arch theatre rather than the foyer space. Whilst the foyer worked incredibly well in the context we chose to set the show, with scenery and lighting we may have been able to create something closer to the source material. It would be intriguing to compare the differences in production, and also to see if my individual performance would change depending on the performance space.I would keep the majority of the rehearsal process the same because it ran very smoothly and everything was executed to the highest standard possible from day one. What was expected of us as performers was always made clear and we were encouraged to experiment and try new things in a supportive and collaborative environment. I also enjoyed the amount of sharings for outside eyes that we did in the weeks leading up to the show, as it allowed us to get feedback from an actual audience and judge which bits were working and which werent. Sort of like a professional production having previews, we were able to re-examine parts that werent getting the desired reactions to improve the piece for the better.

BibliographyBloom & Vastnik (2010) Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time. 2nd Edition, New York. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.

Bremser & Sanders (2011) Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. 1st Edition. London. Routledge

Everett & Laird (2008) The Cambridge Companion to the Musical. 2nd Edition, London. Cambridge University Press.

Filichia, P (2010) Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit and Flop of the Season 1959 to 2009.1st Edition, New York. Hall Leonard Publishing.

Seuss, T (1954) Horton Hears a Who!. 2008 reprint, London. Harper Collins.

Shurtleff, M(1978) Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part. 2nd Edition 1998, UK. Players Press.

ARTICLESIsherwood, C (20/7/2007) A Smaller Seuss, For Those With Big Imaginations. New York Times.

Pogrebin, R (25/9/1998) Survey Finds and Upsurge in Theatregoers Under 20. New York Times.

Portaniere, M (1/12/2000) Seussical: The Musical. Theatre Mania

FILMHorton Hears a Who! (2008) Directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino. [DVD]. UK:PAL.

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