Back to blogging (aka an update)

Hello, everyone!
I realise it has been over a year since my last post. Wow! 
When I think about it though, I feel like not very much has changed since then as I am still studying music and musical theatre at the University of Chichester. I have had the opportunity to take part in a number of shows and have started focusing more on backstage work rather than performing as I feel it offers more variety. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to go to the theatre very much as a spectator but as I am hoping to slowly ease my way back into blogging, I hope to entertain you with a variety of theatre-related articles. Perhaps beginning with a couple of posts about the shows I have been lucky enough to be involved in this year including Half a Sixpence, Jekyll & Hyde, Picnic at Hanging Rock and currently Sweeney Todd. 
Please stay tuned :) 

Keeping busy at university

Hello, all! It's been a while. I've had a busy semester 2 of my first year of university and therefore I have unfortunately not had much time for blogging or for going to see shows at the theatre but here is a brief update.

I have managed to get involved in a fair number of projects and performances this semester which I am very happy about. I enjoy having lots of things to do and I like the challenge of trying to fit everything into my schedule. My compulsory contact hours only amount to 8 hours per week so there is plenty of time to get involved in extra-curricular activities and since I am doing a music degree, this involvement is very much encouraged. 

A few events have already been done and dusted such as two concerts at Chichester Cathedral in which I got to sing in as part of the university's Chamber Choir. I have also been participating in a stage combat course. I had never done stage combat before and although with my spatial awareness I have succeeded in unintentionally kicking and punching people for real, I think I have learned some basics :P

Exciting projects and things still coming up:

April: Seussical as ensemble and assistant director

May: Spring Awakening as assistant stage manager

May: Jesus Christ Superstar as ensemble

May: Orchestra trip to Guernsey as violin 2

June: Chamber Choir tour to Rome as soprano 1

September: Carmen as ensemble

Review of 2013

There are lots of these around this time of the year so I thought I would make one as well. 

• January: I played the title role in an amateur pantomime, Little Bo-Peep.
• March: I joined the same drama group in their next production. Rehearsals began for an original play set in the Second World War, Violette - The Fight for Freedom in which I was double-cast as a French resistance worker and a concentration camp prisoner.
• April: I found out my University of Chichester audition had been successful and I was offered a place on BA Music with Musical Theatre.
• May: I performed in a musical theatre showcase at the Questors Theatre in West London as a part of my musical theatre foundation course. I also acted as an assistant stage manager for a production of Honk Jr..
• I passed my motorcycle theory test.
• June: I attended my step-sister's wedding in Finland.
• Performances of Violette took place. 
• July: I took the Associate Trinity College London Performance Diploma in Musical Theatre exam.
• I got a sports massage for the first time in my life. 
• I cooked dinner at my house for 9 of my friends plus myself. That is more people than I have ever had to cook for.  
• August: I spent two weeks in Finland visiting friends and relatives. I also attended the annual summer meet-up of the Finnish Wicked fanclub while there.
• September: I moved to Chichester and started university. I also got a branch transfer at work so I could keep my Saturday job while at university.
• I visited a friend who was working on the Isle of Wight. I had never been there before.
• October: I participated in another, shorter performance of Violette at the Spelthorne and Runnymede Drama Festival. This time I was allocated a different part. 
• November: I passed the second part of the motorcycle practical and gained an A2 motorcycle licence. 
• I got a trombone. 
• December: I sung in two different university concerts and played violin in the band for a showcase.

Looking forward to discovering what the year 2014 has in store!

My first semester at university

I realise I never finished my Soundtracker Project on here. I did listen to lots of recordings but never got round to writing about them. Oh well, I got over half way.

I thought I would update everyone on some of the the things I got involved in in my first semester. Now, overall I really enjoyed what is, believe it or not, one-sixth of my entire degree. For those who don't know, I'm studying BA Music with Musical Theatre at the University of Chichester :) The music department at the university is fantastic and although it is a big department considering the small size of the university, everyone seems to know everyone and you feel like a part of one big family if you just care to get a little involved in the activities of the department.

The compulsory part of the degree: 

• Introduction to Musical Theatre: We learned some background of the main disciplines of musical theatre as well as learning to analyse and write about the different components of the genre.
• Performance Development: Practical module with one group session (where certain people would be nominated to sing each week and everyone else would give feedback) and two half-an-hour individual singing lessons weekly. 
• Musical Grammar: Music theory.
• Introduction to the Music Industry: I chose to swap for this module because it sounded interesting and I am glad I did. We learned about the different job roles within the music industry. 

If one chose to only do the bare minimum, that would have been it. I, however, filled up my timetable with practical activities. Some of those:  

My new trombone and I.

• Dance classes: Every weekday morning 8.30-10.00. Jazz, zumba, contemporary, ballet and tap.
• Musical theatre ensemble: We rehearsed chorus numbers from musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein and performed them with selected soloists in a small end-of-semester concert.
• First year choir: Smallish choir focusing on singing technique and sight-reading. We got to sing at Chichester Cathedral at one of their carol services with two other university choirs. 
• Pops Orchestra: The biggest orchestra at the university as anyone can take part without auditioning. The music is straight-forward so even with my lacking violin skills, I managed to keep up. This semester we played music by ABBA. 
• Training brass band: Aimed at instrumentalists who haven't played a brass instrument before but are keen to learn. For a few years now I have wanted to try out the trombone and this has been my opportunity.

There are also societies you can join which are student-lead and the meetings usually take place in the evenings or during the weekends, outside of timetabled hours. I did attend the classes organised by the dance society occasionally but I got most involved in the activities of the musical theatre society. This semester gone, the first years performed in a freshers' showcase while the rest of the students were working on a full-length production of an original musical, Dennis!. I opted to play violin in the band for the showcase instead of singing as there was a massive shortage of violins. Next semester, all society members will come together to work on Seussical the Musical which will be performed at the university in April. I am very excited to be assistant-directing the show and hopefully I will also get the opportunity to be in the ensemble. 

(Source)

BA Music with Musical Theatre at the University of Chichester

Some of you may be aware that I will be going to university in September to study BA Music with Musical Theatre. I originally auditioned for the straight Musical Theatre but they offered me this Music degree with a specialism so I accepted as it is my singing that I really want to work on more than anything.

The University of Chichester has two campuses, one in Chichester and one in Bognor Regis, the towns are approximately 6 miles (~10km) apart. Bognor Regis is located on the south coast of England and it is a popular seaside resort, Chichester is northwest from there.

The red dot marks the location of Chichester. (Source)

Location of Bognor Regis in relation to Chichester (Source)

I will be living in a four-bedroom house near the Chichester campus with three other first year girls. None of us had secured the university accommodation we wanted and we are, in fact, cheaper off renting privately even if Chichester can be a fairly expensive place to live. I have also succeeded in getting a job transfer at the opticians chain I work for, to the store in Bognor Regis so I will be able to keep working on Saturdays and do extra days during the holidays :) My move-in date will be the 15th September and university officially starts on 23rd September the first week being freshers' week. 

I believe we will have about four set lectures a week and the rest will be modules of our choice (e.g. acting, dance, orchestra, I'm going to ask if I could do technical theatre too). We also get 1 hour of one-to-one tuition a week. I have chosen to have half an hour of classical voice and half an hour of musical theatre voice. I debated for a long time whether to do half voice half violin as I played the violin for several years when I was younger but in the end I decided I wanted to concentrate on singing. I will still take my violin with me and get back into playing it. Maybe even join an orchestra again. 

I know I completely failed doing updates on my musical theatre foundation course but if people are interested, I promise I will update you on my university studies every now and then! 

Things that happened in 2012

I saw a post like this in someone's blog and I thought it was quite a nice idea: recap on all the major things that have happened in 2012.

• January: I started taking classes in tap and musical theatre as well as continuing with private singing lessons.
• February: I started working as an optical consultant again after having dropped out of my Law course at university at the end of last year and having spent Christmas in Finland with my relatives.
• I started seeing a lot of shows, musicals in particular, as I now had the funds to do that. By doing this, and also by going to musical theatre cabarets, I got meet a lot of the fellow musical theatre fans I had spoken to on Twitter.
• April: I performed in a cabaret, Insane about Broadway, at Charing Cross Theatre after taking a musical theatre Sunday programme. 
• I started taking jazz and ballet classes in addition to tap.
• June: I had a problem with my gums so I went to the dentist's for the first time in about four years.
• I successfully auditioned for a 1-year musical theatre foundation course.
• July: The Olympics taking over London - Londoners were mostly dreading it but everything went smoother than expected. I went to see women's handball in the Olympic Park.
• September: I visited Finland for the first time since the beginning of the year.
• I started my musical theatre foundation course and became a part-timer at work.
• October: I was allocated the role of Little Bo-Peep in an amateur pantomime in January and rehearsals for the show started.
• December: I passed my CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) and bought myself a motorbike which I started using for commuting to college and work.

"I am Little Bo-Peep!" "Oh no, you're not!" "Oh yes, I am!"

My friend Ford mentioned in passing that he was going to audition some people for a panto which he would be assistant directing.

"Oooh! Can I come and see the show when it's done?" I asked.

First verse of the nursery rhyme.

"You can come and be in it," he replied. 

And so I ended up going to the auditions and was cast in the title role of Little Bo-Peep (although the story revolves around her, she is not actually the one who appears in the show the most).

A short synopsis: Fanny owns a farm which she runs with her son, Freddie. Little Bo-Peep is Freddie's girlfriend and she looks after the sheep on the farm. The problems start when a Lady Sneering appears and has such a crush on Freddie that she asks Mefisto, the magician of a touring show, to make Bo-Peep disappear so she can have Freddie for herself. 

For the Finns and other people outside of the UK reading this, I may need to just explain the concept of an English pantomime. It is not a show where the actors don't speak but a musical comedy usually performed around Christmas time. It is often based on a well-known fairy tale (our one, Little Bo-Peep, is based on the nursery rhyme where she loses her sheep). Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan for instance are very standard ones. Pantos are targeted at the whole family with singing and dancing slotted into the play and  they would not work without the participation of the audience. Gender lines are often crossed with men playing women's parts and vice versa and the characters, although obviously named according to the story, tend to be very much the same and exaggerated. You have a dame, a yokel, a comedy duo etc.. The jokes are usually bad and there are witticisms flooded with sexual innuendos which children are oblivious to but which are amusing for the grown-ups. 

Bo-Peep in Toy Story. (Source)

Confession: I have never seen a pantomime let alone been in one. I will go and see one before we perform ours though so I actually have a proper idea of what we are aiming for. I am also lucky to have Ford, who knows what he's doing, there playing Freddie. 
The atmosphere within the group doing the panto, Manor Players, is absolutely lovely and I am always looking forward to going to rehearsals. They currently take place four times a week so I have virtually no free time. If I am not at school or work, I am in a rehearsal. I like being busy though when it comes to things I genuinely enjoy doing though. Really looking forward to performing this.  

Poster for the panto below. Do come and see it if you have the opportunity :) It will be lots of fun! 

Manor Players website: http://www.manorplayers.org/

                                

Overdue update

Apologies for being so quiet on here: I always seem to be on the go at the moment :/

Firstly, my course is going well. To begin with it was tough with a minimum of 14 hours of dance/body conditioning every week but I have gotten into the routine now and I certainly should have a beach body by the end of the year. In terms of dance classes, we have ballet, jazz, commercial and tap. Some of the jazz classes are technical and some are musical theatre based in which we learn routines from shows.
On top of dance, we have various classes in acting and singing. So far we have covered a bit of Stanislavsky, Shakespeare, acting through song (a BIG component) and acting for TV among others.

Aside from me there are only 4 people on the course which means that no hiding can take place: you will get caught if you haven't done your work. However, it is above all a positive thing because of the vast amount of time the teachers have to spend with each of us giving individual feedback. 

I would be lying if I said I have not improved in all the different areas. However, I have noticed particular improvement in terms of core body strength, flexibility and stamina. I have never been much of a dancer and only started dancing upon the realisation that if musical theatre was what I want to do, I will have to learn to dance decently. The course has made me rather enjoy dance and because my fitness level is higher, my body doesn't wear out as quickly and I am able to enjoy the exercise more. In addition, my technique and ability to remember routines have improved which makes everything more fun. 
My confidence has gone up a lot as well. It is not a big deal for me to get up and sing in front of the class anymore. I used to have a problem with my voice locking up as soon as I had an audience but as I have learned to accept that I can sing and produce a fairly good sound, it has made me relax significantly.

So far we have covered a lot of West Side Story: acted out some scenes, practiced a Puerto Rican accent, sung Somewhere, worked on the dance routine to Cool and at the moment we are putting together a whole musical theatre number to America. We have also danced to Grease and In the Heights among others.

On a Friday morning we do work on individual production numbers. Each of us gets to choose a song from a musical which is then choreographed so that everyone can be in it. You get to sing and act your own song and everyone else become the ensemble. I am doing So Much Better from Legally Blonde for that. Gives me a reason to learn to sing and dance in heels as well. I bought a gorgeous pair of tan-coloured character shoes with 2 3/4" (~7cm) heel which are also incredibly comfortable and I love wearing them. I must post a picture on here soon. Or maybe I should do a video blog...(?)

Over the Christmas holidays I promise to catch up on reviews of shows and such on here so stay tuned! 

An update on ME! Yay!

I thought that it might be nice if I actually started blogging about myself every now and then. Because, well, surprisingly people do seem interested in me as a person. Very flattering. Or maybe they just want to read about the everyday life of other people. Hoping for schadenfreude moments perhaps. Reading about someone whose life sounds significantly worse than your own makes you feel like you're doing good. That's kind of depressing but true.

Now, another reason why I thought it might be nice to write updates about myself once in a while on here is that the blog has, as you must have noticed, very much drifted into a musical theatre direction and I will be studying musical theatre from 24th September.
It will be a one-year full-time foundation course and I am hoping that that will help me get onto a BA course and this then into doing musical theatre professionally and fulfill a couple of things on my life list in the passing. Performing in a West End show of course would be one of the most amazing things ever. I would also like to perform solo in a lovely, intimate musical theatre cabaret; be a part of an international touring production and perform at an open air theatre in Finland (because open air theatre is a part of a traditional Finnish summer so it would be a honour to be involved in creating it).

As I will be a student again, there is no way I will be able to afford to go and see as many shows as I have over the past year unfortunately but I am hoping I'll still manage to keep this blog remotely interesting.
Would people be interested in reading a short update on what I have learned every week on my course for example? All ideas welcome. Also, any improvements that you feel could be made on the blog, please let me know - those would be greatly appreciated! :)

More about me (with photos)

I know I haven't written that much about myself in here but I know there are readers who are interested in knowing a little bit more about me. So here goes...


My job
So what do I do? I work as an optical consultant which basically means I work as a sales assistant at an opticians. I help people choose frames and advise them on suitable lenses, order people contact lenses, book opticians appointments for people and answer any customer queries. When I was looking for a job in my gap year after college, an opticians was the first place that offered me a job (I was just applying for everything due to having next to no work experience) so this is how I ended up where I am now. I have been trained on the job so to say as I have no formal qualifications in the sector. 
Do I like my job? Yes, I do. I love helping customers out. It is a great feeling when a customer sincerely thanks you upon collecting their new glasses. 

These pics are from summer 2011, my previous work place in Finland.

My education
I have always been quite an academic person and so after secondary school I went onto college to study on the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme (as my six subjects I took English A1, French B, Biology, Psychology, Maths Studies and History). I then got offered a place to study Law at university which I accepted. However, I knew right away that the course was not my thing so I dropped out about 6 weeks into the first semester. I don't think university is quite my thing. 


My hobbies
Musical theatre. I am currently in the process of improving my skills in acting, singing and dancing so I am taking two musical theatre courses (Thursday evening and Sunday daytime), a tap class and private singing lessons. Singing is the component I enjoy the most.

Nottingham, December 2011

Wicked muck-up matinee 10.12.2011

Going to the theatre. Surely this counts as a hobby if I do it regularly? I go at least every two weeks although I think this year so far I have seen something pretty much every week. 


Writing. I write a lot: diary, letters, this blog... I used to do it more than I do now, though. 


Collecting autographs. I currently have about 135 signed items in my collection.


Reading. A very dear hobby of mine which I have recently reserved more time for. 


Future plans
If I am offered a place on a musical theatre foundation course I am applying for, that is the one I will accept. It is a year-long part-time course after which I would be looking to go into full-time musical theatre education. Risky business that, but that is what I love doing above everything else and I know that if I never even try taking that route I will regret it forever. 

Meeting the amazing Anna-Maija Tuokko (who played
Glinda in the Finnish production of 'Wicked') 12.6.2011

Some more random pics:

Ready for prom 25.5.2011

Helsinki Pride 2.7.2011

Helsinki summer 2011