My previous post regarding the upcoming Livid Production of Spamalot has been rather popular and some are probably wondering why there has been such a long gap in between my reporting on it- no I did not forget about it- but I was in discussion with the committee board of Livid to see if I would be able to bring you an in depth exploration of how a show is made. Unfortunately I have been unsuccessful in my attempt and therefore must rely upon those in the know to give me some heads up-hint, hint. Either way this is the latest update;
Rehearsals for the 'Knights' have been progressing smoothly for roughly a month now, with the majority of their preliminary dance sequences plotted out- I think the one they were currently working on was 'The Knights of the Round Table/Camelot'.
I have heard that many of the Knights have been blown away by the speed and skill of Narelle on the taps. She is 'fast as' according to one source, and has been effectively propelling the Knights into their dances.
I believe that the whole cast recently got together for their first group rehearsal- 'meet and greet', and all have high hopes.
2011 is shaping up to be a raspberry jam packed theatre year for locals, and for those overseas I guess it is interesting to find out how a typical Aussie town engages in the theatrical arts.
Waiting Avidly.
Dale Stam
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Obesity Article 2
This is the second article I have written in regards to obesity. It might have some overlap with the first article.
Obesity
South Australia had the worst rate of childhood obesity in Australia, and to combat this, the SA Government put in place a program that had been shown to be successful in France, the EPODE (Ensemble, prevenons l'obesite des enfants or ‘Together, let's prevent obesity in children’), which involves calculating the BMI (Body mass index) of the children and informing parents of those in danger and providing them with information and guidelines to improve their child’s health.
A few years later the children who would have been exposed to this new program are now nearing their teens. In March the Cancer Council of South Australia found that many of our teens still have unhealthy eating patterns. The respondents of their research were between the ages of 12 and 17 years, the future of Australia, this is why the Cancer Council SA (CCSA) is hoping that Julia Gillard’s Government will put in place some new legislation that will aid in curbing the ongoing battle with childhood obesity.
Almost one quarter of Australian children are overweight or obese, and the CCSA believes that their ‘Right Bites’ educational program needs to be introduced to all schools to inform the students about healthier eating habits and how they can improve their current situation. Currently the program is offered to Government Funded Public Schools, but this means students from Independent and Catholic Schools do not receive the full benefit of this program, but those of its guideline.
28% of respondents ate chocolate bars or chips five or more times per week, while nearly 40% say that they eat fast food two or more times a week. More than half of the respondents (57%) drink high sugar drinks three or more times a week, whereas only 23% are eating enough vegetables to sustain their dietary requirements.
To aid in the success of the program the CCSA are calling for the removal or regulation of fast food advertisements and sponsorships from the schools, while also actively restricting the unhealthy foods that are served to students during recess and lunches. With an increase in fruits and vegetables available, the lack of advertising, the restriction of unhealthy items, and their studies it is hoped that the trend will be reversed, and that future studies show a decrease in this alarming trend.
Chief Executive of the CCSA Professor Brenda Wilson states,“Obesity causes cancer and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability. Levels of childhood obesity have risen dramatically and are unacceptably high. Adolescents are eating more fast foods, which are often high in fat and sugar. Obesity in children is a major health concern in terms of cancer-risk later in life.”
The passing on the habits of healthy eating and physical activity has always been reliant upon the family culture, but with the increase in working hours in recent decades, parents are feeling betrayed by schools. Professor Wilson said that ‘To promote healthy eating habits in children, it is important to provide an environment which fosters this- at home and at school’.
Advertising restrictions would be put in place to aid parents in moving their children to healthier options. Children do not have as keen an understanding of advertising as adults and are more likely therefore to be influenced by advertising, leading to the dreaded ‘Pester Power’ that often overwhelms parents who are working long days. Parents are feeling undermined by food advertisers who poach their children while they are not looking, or while they are at school. Many parents support the CCSA’s call to restrict food advertisements to children. The ban would protect children between the hours of 7am and 9am, and 4pm till 9pm on weekdays, and from 7am till 9pm on weekends- effectively protecting the children from the advertising.
Parents are not able to watch over their children’s eating habits as easily as previous generations might have been, and often bad habits are carried outside of the parents view. If the Government were to take this on it would allow for children to be educated about healthy eating at home and at schools. Students spend up to six hours at school and are in a position to influence the habits of students on a level near a parent compared to various surveys.
Australia is recognised as one of the most overweight nations in the world, and the introduction of these initiatives will allow for across the board education on the subject. Teacher, students, their siblings, their parents, and the rest of the community will all be influenced and informed about healthy lifestyles. ‘Obesity causes cancer and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability’ said Professor Wilson. This is one of the CCSA’s 12 items proposed to the Government to reduce the effects of Cancer upon Australians, and they hope they will be taken up by the Gillard Government.
Obesity
South Australia had the worst rate of childhood obesity in Australia, and to combat this, the SA Government put in place a program that had been shown to be successful in France, the EPODE (Ensemble, prevenons l'obesite des enfants or ‘Together, let's prevent obesity in children’), which involves calculating the BMI (Body mass index) of the children and informing parents of those in danger and providing them with information and guidelines to improve their child’s health.
A few years later the children who would have been exposed to this new program are now nearing their teens. In March the Cancer Council of South Australia found that many of our teens still have unhealthy eating patterns. The respondents of their research were between the ages of 12 and 17 years, the future of Australia, this is why the Cancer Council SA (CCSA) is hoping that Julia Gillard’s Government will put in place some new legislation that will aid in curbing the ongoing battle with childhood obesity.
Almost one quarter of Australian children are overweight or obese, and the CCSA believes that their ‘Right Bites’ educational program needs to be introduced to all schools to inform the students about healthier eating habits and how they can improve their current situation. Currently the program is offered to Government Funded Public Schools, but this means students from Independent and Catholic Schools do not receive the full benefit of this program, but those of its guideline.
28% of respondents ate chocolate bars or chips five or more times per week, while nearly 40% say that they eat fast food two or more times a week. More than half of the respondents (57%) drink high sugar drinks three or more times a week, whereas only 23% are eating enough vegetables to sustain their dietary requirements.
To aid in the success of the program the CCSA are calling for the removal or regulation of fast food advertisements and sponsorships from the schools, while also actively restricting the unhealthy foods that are served to students during recess and lunches. With an increase in fruits and vegetables available, the lack of advertising, the restriction of unhealthy items, and their studies it is hoped that the trend will be reversed, and that future studies show a decrease in this alarming trend.
Chief Executive of the CCSA Professor Brenda Wilson states,“Obesity causes cancer and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability. Levels of childhood obesity have risen dramatically and are unacceptably high. Adolescents are eating more fast foods, which are often high in fat and sugar. Obesity in children is a major health concern in terms of cancer-risk later in life.”
The passing on the habits of healthy eating and physical activity has always been reliant upon the family culture, but with the increase in working hours in recent decades, parents are feeling betrayed by schools. Professor Wilson said that ‘To promote healthy eating habits in children, it is important to provide an environment which fosters this- at home and at school’.
Advertising restrictions would be put in place to aid parents in moving their children to healthier options. Children do not have as keen an understanding of advertising as adults and are more likely therefore to be influenced by advertising, leading to the dreaded ‘Pester Power’ that often overwhelms parents who are working long days. Parents are feeling undermined by food advertisers who poach their children while they are not looking, or while they are at school. Many parents support the CCSA’s call to restrict food advertisements to children. The ban would protect children between the hours of 7am and 9am, and 4pm till 9pm on weekdays, and from 7am till 9pm on weekends- effectively protecting the children from the advertising.
Parents are not able to watch over their children’s eating habits as easily as previous generations might have been, and often bad habits are carried outside of the parents view. If the Government were to take this on it would allow for children to be educated about healthy eating at home and at schools. Students spend up to six hours at school and are in a position to influence the habits of students on a level near a parent compared to various surveys.
Australia is recognised as one of the most overweight nations in the world, and the introduction of these initiatives will allow for across the board education on the subject. Teacher, students, their siblings, their parents, and the rest of the community will all be influenced and informed about healthy lifestyles. ‘Obesity causes cancer and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability’ said Professor Wilson. This is one of the CCSA’s 12 items proposed to the Government to reduce the effects of Cancer upon Australians, and they hope they will be taken up by the Gillard Government.
Obesity Article 1
This is the 1st Article I wrote regarding the theme of obesity and what is being done.
Why are our children overweight? The obesity epidemic.
Australia is the largest society in the world around the waist, outstripping our major rivals of both the UK and the USA. However this is not one first place position that we as a society want. 20-25% of our children our considered obese. Obesity is a condition where fat becomes a health hazard, with one of the primary causes being an energy imbalance which is linked to the increase in sedentary leisure activities, and the increase in high energy food consumption.
Following current trends by 2020, 80% of adults and a third of children will be obese or overweight. There have been various attempts to reverse this trend, but it appears that it is an uphill battle that Australia and the rest of the world are losing. Nearly half of all children who are obese will remain obese into adulthood. These people also have a much higher rate of heart related diseases such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Obesity can also contribute to respiratory, orthopaedic and gastric problems. Problems related to obesity are a substantial drain on the Australian health system, and will soon be the number one preventable form of death, outstripping smoking. There are a multitude of causes for this situation, which all must be considered if the situation is going to improve.
Just like the topics of global warming/environment and population the obesity epidemic seems to be called up for discussion but not much is actually done to curb this problem. We have had various sports teams sponsoring sport and special PE activities at schools. But limited classes will not fulfill the purpose of frequent exercise needed to combat this problem.
A study in Queensland found that about 60% of children have poor motor skills, and 30% had low fitness levels. Both figures could be improved by the development and enhancement of Physical Education at our schools, but it appears that many schools are restricting their PE lessons, or removing them all together with little to no resistance from the school communities.
With the Howard Government pumping tax payer money mostly into private schools, those in the public system have been left trying to overcome financial difficulties- old text books, faulty air conditioning and heating systems and old or lack of sports gear. This lack of resources has increased the possibility of students not getting a lot of the benefits of the more funded private schools.
This has now been improved slightly but the effects of this still ruminates through our schools, but as some experts have said a few hours of PE a week will not accommodate the exercise our students require. This under allocation to sporting in the school system may be a course for the growing childhood obesity.
In Australian society sports people our held up as role models for our youth, but for those students who are not as gifted are often ridiculed and bullied. These students will then start to view sport and PE negatively and this could contribute to the lack of exercise aspect of childhood obesity.
Another factor contributing to the lack of exercise aspect is the growing technology and leisure activities of modern children. Computer games, and social networking are keeping students inside and in a passive state for longer periods of time then they were generations ago. A lot of employment in the future will be using technology skills from these activities, but we still need to encourage our children to engage in physical activity every day.
Parents set up the food schedule and should find ways of implementing healthier foods, whilst restricting the foods better left as treats. But with the constant increase in the price of food, especially healthier foods it seems that many households are left in a position where they are unable to afford to eat the healthy options, and thus are forced to settle. Some bodies have suggested that the Government should offer a subsidy on healthy food, allowing more households to afford it, however with the addictive qualities of a lot of unhealthy foods, it is doubtful this would be effective.
The South Australian Government has adopted a method that has been considered a success in France, the EPODE (Ensemble, prevenons l'obesite des enfants or ‘Together, let's prevent obesity in children’), which involves calculating the BMI (Body mass index) of the children and informing parents of those in danger and providing them with information and guidelines to improve their child’s health. However not all schools would be able to participate in the proposed plan, suggesting that community action will also be required.
Obesity is an ongoing problem that keeps being fed when we are unable to act and it is through education that many lives will future and present lives will be saved from this terrible disease.
Why are our children overweight? The obesity epidemic.
Australia is the largest society in the world around the waist, outstripping our major rivals of both the UK and the USA. However this is not one first place position that we as a society want. 20-25% of our children our considered obese. Obesity is a condition where fat becomes a health hazard, with one of the primary causes being an energy imbalance which is linked to the increase in sedentary leisure activities, and the increase in high energy food consumption.
Following current trends by 2020, 80% of adults and a third of children will be obese or overweight. There have been various attempts to reverse this trend, but it appears that it is an uphill battle that Australia and the rest of the world are losing. Nearly half of all children who are obese will remain obese into adulthood. These people also have a much higher rate of heart related diseases such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Obesity can also contribute to respiratory, orthopaedic and gastric problems. Problems related to obesity are a substantial drain on the Australian health system, and will soon be the number one preventable form of death, outstripping smoking. There are a multitude of causes for this situation, which all must be considered if the situation is going to improve.
Just like the topics of global warming/environment and population the obesity epidemic seems to be called up for discussion but not much is actually done to curb this problem. We have had various sports teams sponsoring sport and special PE activities at schools. But limited classes will not fulfill the purpose of frequent exercise needed to combat this problem.
A study in Queensland found that about 60% of children have poor motor skills, and 30% had low fitness levels. Both figures could be improved by the development and enhancement of Physical Education at our schools, but it appears that many schools are restricting their PE lessons, or removing them all together with little to no resistance from the school communities.
With the Howard Government pumping tax payer money mostly into private schools, those in the public system have been left trying to overcome financial difficulties- old text books, faulty air conditioning and heating systems and old or lack of sports gear. This lack of resources has increased the possibility of students not getting a lot of the benefits of the more funded private schools.
This has now been improved slightly but the effects of this still ruminates through our schools, but as some experts have said a few hours of PE a week will not accommodate the exercise our students require. This under allocation to sporting in the school system may be a course for the growing childhood obesity.
In Australian society sports people our held up as role models for our youth, but for those students who are not as gifted are often ridiculed and bullied. These students will then start to view sport and PE negatively and this could contribute to the lack of exercise aspect of childhood obesity.
Another factor contributing to the lack of exercise aspect is the growing technology and leisure activities of modern children. Computer games, and social networking are keeping students inside and in a passive state for longer periods of time then they were generations ago. A lot of employment in the future will be using technology skills from these activities, but we still need to encourage our children to engage in physical activity every day.
Parents set up the food schedule and should find ways of implementing healthier foods, whilst restricting the foods better left as treats. But with the constant increase in the price of food, especially healthier foods it seems that many households are left in a position where they are unable to afford to eat the healthy options, and thus are forced to settle. Some bodies have suggested that the Government should offer a subsidy on healthy food, allowing more households to afford it, however with the addictive qualities of a lot of unhealthy foods, it is doubtful this would be effective.
The South Australian Government has adopted a method that has been considered a success in France, the EPODE (Ensemble, prevenons l'obesite des enfants or ‘Together, let's prevent obesity in children’), which involves calculating the BMI (Body mass index) of the children and informing parents of those in danger and providing them with information and guidelines to improve their child’s health. However not all schools would be able to participate in the proposed plan, suggesting that community action will also be required.
Obesity is an ongoing problem that keeps being fed when we are unable to act and it is through education that many lives will future and present lives will be saved from this terrible disease.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Strange Bedfellow the New Review
Yes it is sort of what some of you wanted and have been looking for, hopefully it does not dissapoint. DS.
Strange Bedfellows: A New Musical has recently finished their run in Albury to great local acclaim, and was seen by over 8 thousand people. Bringing an amazing event to the local community through tourism, and cultural land-marking. The world premier season was well accepted by those who came to see it, and was a good way of highlighting the region.
A great deal of thanks needs to be given to Instinct Entertainment for choosing to do the production in the same region as the film, the Regent Cinema which allowed for the conversion of Cinema One back into the Regent Theatre. Then finally the AWTC and the volunteers who aided in showing people to their seats, the selling of merchandise and creating the feeling of a community event.
Do not worry though I am not an unrestrictive cheerleader- I do not look as good in the uniform and short skirt as either Claire Bennet, Kirsten Dunst, or any of the girls from Glee. But this is a review of the production both the good and the areas that might need improvement.
NOTES: This is based upon my viewing of the show on the soft opening and then over the next few times that I was engaged as a volunteer.
* The Regent Theatre
As would be expected from a converted cinema there was a bit of diversity. The upper level where most locals would be familiar with- because this is where they would sit for a film had nice comfy wide seats. They had cup holders and the lights for the isle were bright and were a good guide to aid in finding seats.
In comparison to the much older and less used seats on the lower level. They were given a spruce up for the show, but they were frankly a different kind of seat than on the upper level. These were leather seats, that were thinner, and did not have cup holders. These were more typical theatre style seats- and they were not uncomfortable. But they were a little faded from their age. The aisle lights were less bright down here and thus required the volunteers to rely upon their flashlights more than they had to upstairs.
In total the theatre was able to sit roughly one thousand people if both upstairs and downstairs were filled to capacity. The shows that I attended went roughly something like this;
- Near full capacity on soft opening.
- About 3/4 for about two shows.
- Then between 300-400 for the next few shows.
On the tickets instead of the simple labels of upper level or upstairs we were given the phrase- Dress Circle; and the lower level was referred to as the stalls; this caused a bit of confusion for patrons coming to see the show who were not familiar with these terms, and thus caused some delay in getting people to the seats on certain shows because they had to be sent to the other level.
* Staging
The stage had a rotating centre which reminded me of Les Miserables, and Thank God You're Here, but it was a quick efficient staging choice which is both aesthetically pleasing and removed the need to bring out different back drops for every scene. The rotating centre of the stage was able to fulfil the purpose of every scene with perhaps a change in lighting or the with the actors bringing on a limited amount of furniture or props to keep the scenes rolling, often while we are focused on the action down stage.
The orchestra was a factor that the production was pushing as a selling point. That the show was not a prerecorded show, but had a live orchestra. The orchestra instead of being placed in a pit at the front of the stage, they were relocated to a platform to the upper left (from the audience) which was depending upon where the audience was sitting was visible.
View of the Orchestra results;
- Upper level on the right or at the centre people were able to see the orchestra.
- Similar for down stairs.
- If anybody was placed on the left side, they were mostly hidden.
Also you were only really able to see certain players even when seated in the best viewed seats- so if it was the orchestra that you were mostly drawn to, then the staging was a little annoying.
Annoying it may be, it was unavoidable given the shape of the Regent Theatre. The production company was able to extend the stage out into the audience- to improve the view and immersion for the audience, and they also had to re-enforce it so that it was able to support the rotating stage. For them to have extended the stage area to produce an orchestra pit would not have only reduced the amount of people able to see the show, but would have added an unnecessary cost to the production.
The back drop for Yack had a dusty country feeling that enabled me to get into the mind set of these country people, and with the added lights it was also equally able to be a Sydney street. The cutouts of the magpies and cockatoos where also a really simple mi's en scene that added to the atmosphere of the stage.
* Lighting
The lighting for the majority of the show was sufficient there were a few moments that I think was a little odd however.
Near the beginning of the show when Ralph (John Wood) and Vince (Peter Cousens) head to the first town meeting, there is a moment when they are still in shadow whilst talking. A few seconds later we see that the chairs for the town meeting scene have been moved on, but does this really need to be hidden from the audience or was it supposed to show a passage of time. If so why are they still having the same conversation as when the light was still on? It just seemed a little odd, and either needs to be quicker or it needs to be considered for removal.
Lighting however had more of a part to play in the second act- with the Opener of the Second Act using the lighting to hilarious effect, and how one character was able to develop a lighting cue and shade all to themselves. Thus giving the sense that this character is so bright, that they are able to bring new shades to the main characters.
* Sound
The orchestra was well heard and the microphones on the actors were basically invisible, thus allowing the audience to continue with the characters without the sight of microphones dragging them out and reminding them it was a show (What would Brecht say?!).
On the other hand there were times during the show when the lyrics would be difficult to hear. Whether this was a pacing, lyrical, orchestral or sound problem is open to debate- the most pressing example would be the second half of 'On Your Way' and some lines of 'When My Glass is Full'.
* Actors- Peter Cousens as Vince
Peter was a great lead, he was able to capture the frenetic energy of Vince, and could explore the depressive worry, and the exhilarated excitement that the character roams through. He brings a level of quiet charisma and is one of the most experienced members of the cast.
Vince is the driving force of the show who pulls Ralph and in effect the rest of the cast through the hilarity and touching moments of the show. He easily flows from the solemn 'The Old Majestic' into the bouncy and optimistic 'When My Glass is Full'- however on certain nights either he was tired or he was too excited because he would be a bit before the music- but as a professional he was able to cover this to the majority of the audience and flow onwards.
It would be suitable to consider Vince the energetic partner to Ralph's straight man, and often delivers the set up with Ralph giving the punch line. In this process he was able to gain his own set of laughs as well. It was also nice to see that Peter was willing to explore and develop some of his lines in the last week of the show- whether these were notes, or of his own choosing, it was nice to see some further exploration- even if sometimes they did not work.
He is not afraid to put himself out there for the audience to judge with him holding the collective attention of the audience through the two mentioned songs and engage in a dance sequence that purposely compares him to two other dancers.
Favourite Song: You can't really go past 'When My Glass is Full'. It is one of the show highlights, and even if sometimes it he was too fast to be heard, or repeating some lines, it was clear to the audience that he was enjoying it, and we enjoyed it to.
Favourite Line: It is difficult to choose a favourite line considering that a fair portion are set up lines. Deferring away from those, I would have to say 'I didn't know you could be such a....bitch'.
* John Wood as Ralph
As Ralph was the straight man to Cousens Vince, but he easily was a highlight of the show, bringing in more than half of the laughs of the night. It was great casting, playing upon the collective memories of the audience recalling John Wood from his serious role on Blue Healers (for my international readers- this was an Australian Cop Drama), this role pulls a bag over that head- with fruit. He has a great amount of one-liners, some that clearly got some of the biggest laughs of the show. Also being the straight man he is able to use his awkwardness to great comedic effect, in some scenes it is just his body language that instills a laugh within the audience.
He also is allowed to have some touching moments through the connection with his daughter, Carla (played diligently by Ballarat Graduate, Jennifer Robinson). Wood is able to bring an Aussie father figure into these scenes with a sense of ease, that allows the audience to go with the flow.
It should be noted that on one performance that Wood is a good person to have on stage with you, in one performance where it appeared the Cousens had either paused for too long, or had temporarily misplaced his next line, Wood was able to (not perfectly mind you) but effectively summarise Cousens line as Ralph would have done it, allowing the distress of the scene to flow quickly as it should.
Favourite Song: Ralph has decidedly less songs that Vince- but since Cousens is more experience in Musical Theatre this is understandable. Wood has a nice voice, and he does not try any vocal acrobatics to his betterment. He is able to deliver his intention and be heard, with the sense of character required for Musical Theatre- so I hope he will continue to explore it in the future. But song choice, Vocal wise it would have to be 'Now that Was love' the first act- by himself. A short, but heartfelt song about his deceased wife.
Favourite Scene: Though many would probably say the act one finale, where it is a humourous visual joke, I would have to say either of the following would be better;
- During 'After Dinner Mince' where he tries to Mince. The difference in the movement of the different actors is a highlight in this scene.
- Or during his exchange with Vince where they are stating that they could do better if they were really gay.
* Melissa Langton as Vonny
Is an actress I had not heard of before, but she does have a voice, belting out the numbers with a decidedly Aussie twang. She is a confident comedienne, who is not only the Female Love Interest of Vince, but she is not your typical female lead. She is strong, opinionated and is able to give as good as she gets (on second thought maybe she is your typical modern female lead).
She seems a natural in the role inviting us into the show during the opening (though the sip out of the cup was always a little rushed and unnatural). She supplies not only laughs but brings a decidedly softer touch to the show.
Favourite Song: Just about all of her songs are very strong vocally, there is the humourous 'On the Scene Again', or the more touching 'Where have all the good blokes gone', or even her duet with the slightly less confident Jennifer Robinson in the rousing reprise of Robinson's act one 'How can I tell him'.
Favourite Scene: Her actions during the song, 'On the Scene Again', hands down.
*Matt Dyktynski as Erik
Erik is the character that although is stereotypical, is played well to effect, and during the surprise of his character is able to retain the audiences favour through sheer characterisation and professionalism. A hoot in 'After Dinner Mince'.
* Anthony Costanzo as Dolly
Dolly is the light affecting character mentioned before. Some of the lyrics in the Act Two opener are difficult to hear, but the enthusiastic energy flowing through the dance and the vocals will deter you from too close examination, as you get wrapped up in the moment. Sort of reminds me of La Cage La Faux at times, but the music more like Priscilla not necessarily a bad thing.
* Ross Hannaford and Josh Feldschuh as Carbo and Hughie respectively
These two supply the comedic relief and are the main spotlight for the younger people in the community. They are also very talented dancers, with most of the songs they are involved in having physical comedy, and various dance styles. Look out for their relevant song 'I don't know what to do' exploring the dilemma of many country kids.
* Colette Mann as Faith
She takes on the matriarch role, house in her squeaky voice, and little frame. But there is no denying that she has a presence, and though will be overlooked by some, she is an important feature of the show, and gives marvelous support, even having a song dedicated to her. Not as annoying as the Grand Dames that have been overused in Hello Dolly, Mame, Gypsy and so on, she brings comedy back to the older lady position.
* The rest of the cast
Seriously the cast blended together well, with cast from Melbourne treading the same steps as local actors. They were all blended well, and if you were not aware of who was from where, or read the programme before the show, it would be a distraction to try to pick out who was from where.
Local actors took on minor roles, and as part of the chorus, and were all applauded for their efforts. Some making sure to have stories and inside jokes that were a joy for those of us who had known about the show. Dan Carberry's bass was a welcome tone to the cast, filling out a section of the vocals that would have otherwise been low (pardon that). Stephen Armati and his wig joke, and being able to were the gay version of his police uniform were other things for locals to look out for.
Just about everyone from the cast had a moment to shine, even if it was just a line. The only two that do not jump out so were; Maddi Bullock and Ben Yonson, who had fun in various dance sequences and filled out the scene, but I guess I did not notice their time in the light as the others. But that is fine, because that is not the point of the show, otherwise it would be a school recital. Perhaps in the future...?
* Notes
There were a few moments however when it was not quite clean. For example during the opening number there is a line or dialogue and then a pause while people moved forward before they were to sing, it seemed an awkward pause and my one greatest concern with the beginning of the show. Also I understand the corny nostalgic quality of having everyone say a line at the same time ('Yes. That old thing'), it just seemed really out of place in the show.
Also in the second act having the explosive opening number bringing us in, we are then followed by two relatively slower songs in a row- 'The Big Smoke', and 'Joy of being Gay', this was the moment when I saw most fidgeting and so on from the audience. It is not the songs fault, they are both entertaining, they just seemed to roll into one longer song.
I like how they obviously played with the relationship between Carla and Peta during the last week, but the timing on that needs to be fixed before they continue on further because some of it was missed as the stage turns.
* Conclusion
Overall the show was a huge hit, and should be well received elsewhere, and I hope this review has given you a little taste of what to expect when it comes to a town near you. It is an enjoyable night out, and hopefully you will be more lucky to have a Cast Album ready to be purchased...that is the major thing wrong with the World Premier, no album, so you remember the melody of the songs, but are unable to recall all of the lyrics.
To check out the show, or to revisit it with merchandise check below.
www.strangebedfellows.com.au/
I would also invite you to comment and visit (register) the forum where you can discuss this or other posts;
http://dalesnewsblog.46.forumer.com/viewforum.php?f=2
Dale Stam
Strange Bedfellows: A New Musical has recently finished their run in Albury to great local acclaim, and was seen by over 8 thousand people. Bringing an amazing event to the local community through tourism, and cultural land-marking. The world premier season was well accepted by those who came to see it, and was a good way of highlighting the region.
A great deal of thanks needs to be given to Instinct Entertainment for choosing to do the production in the same region as the film, the Regent Cinema which allowed for the conversion of Cinema One back into the Regent Theatre. Then finally the AWTC and the volunteers who aided in showing people to their seats, the selling of merchandise and creating the feeling of a community event.
Do not worry though I am not an unrestrictive cheerleader- I do not look as good in the uniform and short skirt as either Claire Bennet, Kirsten Dunst, or any of the girls from Glee. But this is a review of the production both the good and the areas that might need improvement.
NOTES: This is based upon my viewing of the show on the soft opening and then over the next few times that I was engaged as a volunteer.
* The Regent Theatre
As would be expected from a converted cinema there was a bit of diversity. The upper level where most locals would be familiar with- because this is where they would sit for a film had nice comfy wide seats. They had cup holders and the lights for the isle were bright and were a good guide to aid in finding seats.
In comparison to the much older and less used seats on the lower level. They were given a spruce up for the show, but they were frankly a different kind of seat than on the upper level. These were leather seats, that were thinner, and did not have cup holders. These were more typical theatre style seats- and they were not uncomfortable. But they were a little faded from their age. The aisle lights were less bright down here and thus required the volunteers to rely upon their flashlights more than they had to upstairs.
In total the theatre was able to sit roughly one thousand people if both upstairs and downstairs were filled to capacity. The shows that I attended went roughly something like this;
- Near full capacity on soft opening.
- About 3/4 for about two shows.
- Then between 300-400 for the next few shows.
On the tickets instead of the simple labels of upper level or upstairs we were given the phrase- Dress Circle; and the lower level was referred to as the stalls; this caused a bit of confusion for patrons coming to see the show who were not familiar with these terms, and thus caused some delay in getting people to the seats on certain shows because they had to be sent to the other level.
* Staging
The stage had a rotating centre which reminded me of Les Miserables, and Thank God You're Here, but it was a quick efficient staging choice which is both aesthetically pleasing and removed the need to bring out different back drops for every scene. The rotating centre of the stage was able to fulfil the purpose of every scene with perhaps a change in lighting or the with the actors bringing on a limited amount of furniture or props to keep the scenes rolling, often while we are focused on the action down stage.
The orchestra was a factor that the production was pushing as a selling point. That the show was not a prerecorded show, but had a live orchestra. The orchestra instead of being placed in a pit at the front of the stage, they were relocated to a platform to the upper left (from the audience) which was depending upon where the audience was sitting was visible.
View of the Orchestra results;
- Upper level on the right or at the centre people were able to see the orchestra.
- Similar for down stairs.
- If anybody was placed on the left side, they were mostly hidden.
Also you were only really able to see certain players even when seated in the best viewed seats- so if it was the orchestra that you were mostly drawn to, then the staging was a little annoying.
Annoying it may be, it was unavoidable given the shape of the Regent Theatre. The production company was able to extend the stage out into the audience- to improve the view and immersion for the audience, and they also had to re-enforce it so that it was able to support the rotating stage. For them to have extended the stage area to produce an orchestra pit would not have only reduced the amount of people able to see the show, but would have added an unnecessary cost to the production.
The back drop for Yack had a dusty country feeling that enabled me to get into the mind set of these country people, and with the added lights it was also equally able to be a Sydney street. The cutouts of the magpies and cockatoos where also a really simple mi's en scene that added to the atmosphere of the stage.
* Lighting
The lighting for the majority of the show was sufficient there were a few moments that I think was a little odd however.
Near the beginning of the show when Ralph (John Wood) and Vince (Peter Cousens) head to the first town meeting, there is a moment when they are still in shadow whilst talking. A few seconds later we see that the chairs for the town meeting scene have been moved on, but does this really need to be hidden from the audience or was it supposed to show a passage of time. If so why are they still having the same conversation as when the light was still on? It just seemed a little odd, and either needs to be quicker or it needs to be considered for removal.
Lighting however had more of a part to play in the second act- with the Opener of the Second Act using the lighting to hilarious effect, and how one character was able to develop a lighting cue and shade all to themselves. Thus giving the sense that this character is so bright, that they are able to bring new shades to the main characters.
* Sound
The orchestra was well heard and the microphones on the actors were basically invisible, thus allowing the audience to continue with the characters without the sight of microphones dragging them out and reminding them it was a show (What would Brecht say?!).
On the other hand there were times during the show when the lyrics would be difficult to hear. Whether this was a pacing, lyrical, orchestral or sound problem is open to debate- the most pressing example would be the second half of 'On Your Way' and some lines of 'When My Glass is Full'.
* Actors- Peter Cousens as Vince
Peter was a great lead, he was able to capture the frenetic energy of Vince, and could explore the depressive worry, and the exhilarated excitement that the character roams through. He brings a level of quiet charisma and is one of the most experienced members of the cast.
Vince is the driving force of the show who pulls Ralph and in effect the rest of the cast through the hilarity and touching moments of the show. He easily flows from the solemn 'The Old Majestic' into the bouncy and optimistic 'When My Glass is Full'- however on certain nights either he was tired or he was too excited because he would be a bit before the music- but as a professional he was able to cover this to the majority of the audience and flow onwards.
It would be suitable to consider Vince the energetic partner to Ralph's straight man, and often delivers the set up with Ralph giving the punch line. In this process he was able to gain his own set of laughs as well. It was also nice to see that Peter was willing to explore and develop some of his lines in the last week of the show- whether these were notes, or of his own choosing, it was nice to see some further exploration- even if sometimes they did not work.
He is not afraid to put himself out there for the audience to judge with him holding the collective attention of the audience through the two mentioned songs and engage in a dance sequence that purposely compares him to two other dancers.
Favourite Song: You can't really go past 'When My Glass is Full'. It is one of the show highlights, and even if sometimes it he was too fast to be heard, or repeating some lines, it was clear to the audience that he was enjoying it, and we enjoyed it to.
Favourite Line: It is difficult to choose a favourite line considering that a fair portion are set up lines. Deferring away from those, I would have to say 'I didn't know you could be such a....bitch'.
* John Wood as Ralph
As Ralph was the straight man to Cousens Vince, but he easily was a highlight of the show, bringing in more than half of the laughs of the night. It was great casting, playing upon the collective memories of the audience recalling John Wood from his serious role on Blue Healers (for my international readers- this was an Australian Cop Drama), this role pulls a bag over that head- with fruit. He has a great amount of one-liners, some that clearly got some of the biggest laughs of the show. Also being the straight man he is able to use his awkwardness to great comedic effect, in some scenes it is just his body language that instills a laugh within the audience.
He also is allowed to have some touching moments through the connection with his daughter, Carla (played diligently by Ballarat Graduate, Jennifer Robinson). Wood is able to bring an Aussie father figure into these scenes with a sense of ease, that allows the audience to go with the flow.
It should be noted that on one performance that Wood is a good person to have on stage with you, in one performance where it appeared the Cousens had either paused for too long, or had temporarily misplaced his next line, Wood was able to (not perfectly mind you) but effectively summarise Cousens line as Ralph would have done it, allowing the distress of the scene to flow quickly as it should.
Favourite Song: Ralph has decidedly less songs that Vince- but since Cousens is more experience in Musical Theatre this is understandable. Wood has a nice voice, and he does not try any vocal acrobatics to his betterment. He is able to deliver his intention and be heard, with the sense of character required for Musical Theatre- so I hope he will continue to explore it in the future. But song choice, Vocal wise it would have to be 'Now that Was love' the first act- by himself. A short, but heartfelt song about his deceased wife.
Favourite Scene: Though many would probably say the act one finale, where it is a humourous visual joke, I would have to say either of the following would be better;
- During 'After Dinner Mince' where he tries to Mince. The difference in the movement of the different actors is a highlight in this scene.
- Or during his exchange with Vince where they are stating that they could do better if they were really gay.
* Melissa Langton as Vonny
Is an actress I had not heard of before, but she does have a voice, belting out the numbers with a decidedly Aussie twang. She is a confident comedienne, who is not only the Female Love Interest of Vince, but she is not your typical female lead. She is strong, opinionated and is able to give as good as she gets (on second thought maybe she is your typical modern female lead).
She seems a natural in the role inviting us into the show during the opening (though the sip out of the cup was always a little rushed and unnatural). She supplies not only laughs but brings a decidedly softer touch to the show.
Favourite Song: Just about all of her songs are very strong vocally, there is the humourous 'On the Scene Again', or the more touching 'Where have all the good blokes gone', or even her duet with the slightly less confident Jennifer Robinson in the rousing reprise of Robinson's act one 'How can I tell him'.
Favourite Scene: Her actions during the song, 'On the Scene Again', hands down.
*Matt Dyktynski as Erik
Erik is the character that although is stereotypical, is played well to effect, and during the surprise of his character is able to retain the audiences favour through sheer characterisation and professionalism. A hoot in 'After Dinner Mince'.
* Anthony Costanzo as Dolly
Dolly is the light affecting character mentioned before. Some of the lyrics in the Act Two opener are difficult to hear, but the enthusiastic energy flowing through the dance and the vocals will deter you from too close examination, as you get wrapped up in the moment. Sort of reminds me of La Cage La Faux at times, but the music more like Priscilla not necessarily a bad thing.
* Ross Hannaford and Josh Feldschuh as Carbo and Hughie respectively
These two supply the comedic relief and are the main spotlight for the younger people in the community. They are also very talented dancers, with most of the songs they are involved in having physical comedy, and various dance styles. Look out for their relevant song 'I don't know what to do' exploring the dilemma of many country kids.
* Colette Mann as Faith
She takes on the matriarch role, house in her squeaky voice, and little frame. But there is no denying that she has a presence, and though will be overlooked by some, she is an important feature of the show, and gives marvelous support, even having a song dedicated to her. Not as annoying as the Grand Dames that have been overused in Hello Dolly, Mame, Gypsy and so on, she brings comedy back to the older lady position.
* The rest of the cast
Seriously the cast blended together well, with cast from Melbourne treading the same steps as local actors. They were all blended well, and if you were not aware of who was from where, or read the programme before the show, it would be a distraction to try to pick out who was from where.
Local actors took on minor roles, and as part of the chorus, and were all applauded for their efforts. Some making sure to have stories and inside jokes that were a joy for those of us who had known about the show. Dan Carberry's bass was a welcome tone to the cast, filling out a section of the vocals that would have otherwise been low (pardon that). Stephen Armati and his wig joke, and being able to were the gay version of his police uniform were other things for locals to look out for.
Just about everyone from the cast had a moment to shine, even if it was just a line. The only two that do not jump out so were; Maddi Bullock and Ben Yonson, who had fun in various dance sequences and filled out the scene, but I guess I did not notice their time in the light as the others. But that is fine, because that is not the point of the show, otherwise it would be a school recital. Perhaps in the future...?
* Notes
There were a few moments however when it was not quite clean. For example during the opening number there is a line or dialogue and then a pause while people moved forward before they were to sing, it seemed an awkward pause and my one greatest concern with the beginning of the show. Also I understand the corny nostalgic quality of having everyone say a line at the same time ('Yes. That old thing'), it just seemed really out of place in the show.
Also in the second act having the explosive opening number bringing us in, we are then followed by two relatively slower songs in a row- 'The Big Smoke', and 'Joy of being Gay', this was the moment when I saw most fidgeting and so on from the audience. It is not the songs fault, they are both entertaining, they just seemed to roll into one longer song.
I like how they obviously played with the relationship between Carla and Peta during the last week, but the timing on that needs to be fixed before they continue on further because some of it was missed as the stage turns.
* Conclusion
Overall the show was a huge hit, and should be well received elsewhere, and I hope this review has given you a little taste of what to expect when it comes to a town near you. It is an enjoyable night out, and hopefully you will be more lucky to have a Cast Album ready to be purchased...that is the major thing wrong with the World Premier, no album, so you remember the melody of the songs, but are unable to recall all of the lyrics.
To check out the show, or to revisit it with merchandise check below.
www.strangebedfellows.com.au/
I would also invite you to comment and visit (register) the forum where you can discuss this or other posts;
http://dalesnewsblog.46.forumer.com/viewforum.php?f=2
Dale Stam
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Strange Bedfellows in Harry Potter's Deathly Hallows
Strange Bedfellows: A New Musical has been running rather successfully in Albury for the last few weeks, and I have been part of the fantastic volunteer group of the AWTC- which has enabled me to not only aid the production but give me the opportunity to see this show a few times before it moves on to bigger towns, and see our local talent mixing it up with the talented Melbourne cast- all blend well. For those who might be thinking this will be a review of the show- I'm sorry to have mislead you- a review will come after the 19th, this is to talk about the experience of last night.
After the show the majority of cast and volunteers went down to the Wine Room to celebrate Joseph's birthday (the Head of AWTC). It seemed as if we had all flooded into this bar and well being loud theatre people, the bar quickly became ours. It was nice to see the actors of the show at rest- it is one of those 'humanising' aspects that allows us to view these what some people would call 'stars' as humans. To see John Wood smiling and laughing with a drink in his hand, and to see Peter Cousens leaning back in his chair, with an air of relaxing relief. It reminds me of how I felt after various shows, and at parties...just being able to enjoy where I was at that point in time. To be content.
After a rousing performance of 'Happy Birthday' we enjoyed some cup cakes...crunchie or cherry ripe- which were not only rich, but had actual chunks inside- a splendid- elegant touch to the proceedings. My thoughts were briefly cast back to the homeless man who had been outside of the theatre. Is my enjoyment of this moment a slap in his face? Is the enjoyment of oneself more important then the benefit of others- would he have even accepted my cupcake- he seemed to be spiteful that we were promoting a show that in his own words 'only the rich can see'. Would giving him the cake have made him into what he most hated, rich. Would he have even understood the metaphysical property of this transaction? He was also 'fighting the devil', so I am pretty sure he would have not liked the cake if he was true to his convictions- because to indulge so would have sent his mind off- if we bring into the fold the previous question.
Anyway we headed on down to the theatre before the lock out to see the new Harry Potter. We headed in and lined up, then behind us lined up Peter and Melissa Langton (Vonny). We waited for a few minutes and wondered why the line was not moving. It turns out that there was actually up to three different lines, and I was out of line. I do not know how this had happened, I had not moved. In the middle of this angst, Bec Simmons took a slap, and I spun around into Josh Feldschuh (Hughie) and he fell back to. Bec had successfully taken out one volunteer and one cast member in one slap...she has got some hand.
Eventually we got into the cinema. We all scattered around trying to figure out where we should sit. We had about ten minutes until midnight, with jokes and jaffa's being hurled. It was a great atmosphere. Our inspiring chants of preview, preview, preview were unsuccessful in making the previews start...although I understand. The law states that the cinema could not show the film until just after midnight- and because the film (is it still a roll of film nowadays?) comes complete with the previews attached they are classified as the same thing. One of the cast actually made a good comment that the film itself is like a 2 plus hour preview.
After this we had a few unsuccessful countdowns for the start of the film, probably because all of our clocks and watches had different times- we should have synchronised people! Then the lights went dark, and the film began.
Having not read beyond book 4 in the series, I was new to the whole horcrux thing. I understood that it was the containment of Voldemort's soul, which was split into 7 odd pieces, but I was wondering if that was so, wouldn't each destruction of a horcrux shift him further towards the remaining parts of his soul...was his soul divided into certain sections, or just randomly?
Besides this, HP 7 P1 was starting to head into the area that a lot of us have been waiting for...a more grungy war-like picture. It removed the easy landscape of Hogwarts- and placed us into a world where there is an overwhelming power, and various resistance groups running around. For those who know their history, or dystopian fiction, it is easy to pick up the references to totalitarianism, and oppression. I was reminded of various things such as the rounding up of the half bloods in relation to the rounding up of people of the Jewish faith, or the Reds in McCarthy America. The blatant propaganda of the Soviet and Nazi periods. The rigged court room trials of the Witch Hunts (oddly appropriate reference). The use of codewords and secret phrases we have heard of or seen in spy movies. It easily classifies as the darkest film because it deals with these foundations, as compared to the previous- teen angst and the 'big baddie'- it fleshed out the darkness in the world.
Obviously not having read the book, certain character names slipped by me, and some of their reasoning seemed a little convenient. At the heart of this film are the three leads, sure there is still the supporting cast which do well, but they are less important this time around. Each actor has grown into their role, and the audience was having fun with the exploration of the depth of these characters. It was also nice to see some stretching by the actors into areas that they had not been able to explore before. Rupert Grint is able to dabble in repressed anger and jealously, Daniel Radcliff plays around with multiple characters early on, and Emma Watson is placed into positions where Hermione is not in charge of herself or the situation- fear and worry is seen.
For those that know me, Death has been one of my favourite personifications, and I was glad that he made a dignified and artistically pleasing entry into the series through the tale of the three brothers- the explanation of the Deathly Hallows.
The film is spaced out- which does the film good, allowing for the tension and characters to breath, as compared to the previous film, where it seemed to rush from teen romantic comedy to need to be serious Voldie's back.
For those with children perhaps consider the following; there is blood- and disfigurement, torture scenes, desperation, rage, and what appears to be an odd semi-sex scene between Harry and Hermione. These might cause you some concern because before this they have mostly been absent from the films, and brings it into the adult realm.
To balance this out though there are laughs to be had- mostly from Weasley clan, all who have gotten their characters down well. Also be warned there are lines that shout of sexual innuendo;
'Take it off! Take it off!', 'It's only about 10 inches, not much', and so on.
Following in true Harry Potter style we are introduced to our Deux Ex Machina in the odd embodiment of slightly annoying Dobby. Who clicks his fingers, and whisks people away all to the enjoyment of the characters. I'm once again left wondering why in that 'large bag' (those who have seen it well get that reference) Hermione does not have that time travelling medallion she had in 'Prisoner'.
Downsides well, I did not get to see a whole lot of Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), and Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) is underused, also we do not see what has happened to Hogwarts- it obviously has not closed down if characters are still catching the train there- maybe that happens in Part 2.
All in all, it was a great night, great show, great party, then an enjoyable film (thought I was going to say great huh- we will see with the second half, I'm considering it only half the story, so therefore only half of the film). I would definitely recommend seeing either show, but keep in mind Harry will be showing for weeks to come, and Vince and Ralph have to go by the end of the week!
Booking for Strange Bedfellows;
http://www.strangebedfellows.com.au/
or at the Cinema (Strangely were you also go to see Hp 7 P1).
Dale Stam
After the show the majority of cast and volunteers went down to the Wine Room to celebrate Joseph's birthday (the Head of AWTC). It seemed as if we had all flooded into this bar and well being loud theatre people, the bar quickly became ours. It was nice to see the actors of the show at rest- it is one of those 'humanising' aspects that allows us to view these what some people would call 'stars' as humans. To see John Wood smiling and laughing with a drink in his hand, and to see Peter Cousens leaning back in his chair, with an air of relaxing relief. It reminds me of how I felt after various shows, and at parties...just being able to enjoy where I was at that point in time. To be content.
After a rousing performance of 'Happy Birthday' we enjoyed some cup cakes...crunchie or cherry ripe- which were not only rich, but had actual chunks inside- a splendid- elegant touch to the proceedings. My thoughts were briefly cast back to the homeless man who had been outside of the theatre. Is my enjoyment of this moment a slap in his face? Is the enjoyment of oneself more important then the benefit of others- would he have even accepted my cupcake- he seemed to be spiteful that we were promoting a show that in his own words 'only the rich can see'. Would giving him the cake have made him into what he most hated, rich. Would he have even understood the metaphysical property of this transaction? He was also 'fighting the devil', so I am pretty sure he would have not liked the cake if he was true to his convictions- because to indulge so would have sent his mind off- if we bring into the fold the previous question.
Anyway we headed on down to the theatre before the lock out to see the new Harry Potter. We headed in and lined up, then behind us lined up Peter and Melissa Langton (Vonny). We waited for a few minutes and wondered why the line was not moving. It turns out that there was actually up to three different lines, and I was out of line. I do not know how this had happened, I had not moved. In the middle of this angst, Bec Simmons took a slap, and I spun around into Josh Feldschuh (Hughie) and he fell back to. Bec had successfully taken out one volunteer and one cast member in one slap...she has got some hand.
Eventually we got into the cinema. We all scattered around trying to figure out where we should sit. We had about ten minutes until midnight, with jokes and jaffa's being hurled. It was a great atmosphere. Our inspiring chants of preview, preview, preview were unsuccessful in making the previews start...although I understand. The law states that the cinema could not show the film until just after midnight- and because the film (is it still a roll of film nowadays?) comes complete with the previews attached they are classified as the same thing. One of the cast actually made a good comment that the film itself is like a 2 plus hour preview.
After this we had a few unsuccessful countdowns for the start of the film, probably because all of our clocks and watches had different times- we should have synchronised people! Then the lights went dark, and the film began.
Having not read beyond book 4 in the series, I was new to the whole horcrux thing. I understood that it was the containment of Voldemort's soul, which was split into 7 odd pieces, but I was wondering if that was so, wouldn't each destruction of a horcrux shift him further towards the remaining parts of his soul...was his soul divided into certain sections, or just randomly?
Besides this, HP 7 P1 was starting to head into the area that a lot of us have been waiting for...a more grungy war-like picture. It removed the easy landscape of Hogwarts- and placed us into a world where there is an overwhelming power, and various resistance groups running around. For those who know their history, or dystopian fiction, it is easy to pick up the references to totalitarianism, and oppression. I was reminded of various things such as the rounding up of the half bloods in relation to the rounding up of people of the Jewish faith, or the Reds in McCarthy America. The blatant propaganda of the Soviet and Nazi periods. The rigged court room trials of the Witch Hunts (oddly appropriate reference). The use of codewords and secret phrases we have heard of or seen in spy movies. It easily classifies as the darkest film because it deals with these foundations, as compared to the previous- teen angst and the 'big baddie'- it fleshed out the darkness in the world.
Obviously not having read the book, certain character names slipped by me, and some of their reasoning seemed a little convenient. At the heart of this film are the three leads, sure there is still the supporting cast which do well, but they are less important this time around. Each actor has grown into their role, and the audience was having fun with the exploration of the depth of these characters. It was also nice to see some stretching by the actors into areas that they had not been able to explore before. Rupert Grint is able to dabble in repressed anger and jealously, Daniel Radcliff plays around with multiple characters early on, and Emma Watson is placed into positions where Hermione is not in charge of herself or the situation- fear and worry is seen.
For those that know me, Death has been one of my favourite personifications, and I was glad that he made a dignified and artistically pleasing entry into the series through the tale of the three brothers- the explanation of the Deathly Hallows.
The film is spaced out- which does the film good, allowing for the tension and characters to breath, as compared to the previous film, where it seemed to rush from teen romantic comedy to need to be serious Voldie's back.
For those with children perhaps consider the following; there is blood- and disfigurement, torture scenes, desperation, rage, and what appears to be an odd semi-sex scene between Harry and Hermione. These might cause you some concern because before this they have mostly been absent from the films, and brings it into the adult realm.
To balance this out though there are laughs to be had- mostly from Weasley clan, all who have gotten their characters down well. Also be warned there are lines that shout of sexual innuendo;
'Take it off! Take it off!', 'It's only about 10 inches, not much', and so on.
Following in true Harry Potter style we are introduced to our Deux Ex Machina in the odd embodiment of slightly annoying Dobby. Who clicks his fingers, and whisks people away all to the enjoyment of the characters. I'm once again left wondering why in that 'large bag' (those who have seen it well get that reference) Hermione does not have that time travelling medallion she had in 'Prisoner'.
Downsides well, I did not get to see a whole lot of Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), and Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) is underused, also we do not see what has happened to Hogwarts- it obviously has not closed down if characters are still catching the train there- maybe that happens in Part 2.
All in all, it was a great night, great show, great party, then an enjoyable film (thought I was going to say great huh- we will see with the second half, I'm considering it only half the story, so therefore only half of the film). I would definitely recommend seeing either show, but keep in mind Harry will be showing for weeks to come, and Vince and Ralph have to go by the end of the week!
Booking for Strange Bedfellows;
http://www.strangebedfellows.com.au/
or at the Cinema (Strangely were you also go to see Hp 7 P1).
Dale Stam
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Sociology and Problems Group Report
Dear Readers,
Today I treat you with some of my work from the past, today you will explore some group work that I participated in that involved offering up a question and proposing how given sociological theories would have tried to answer the question. Some of it might be confusing for the unitiated, but this is our summary of the whole 5 part process.
There are references at the end for those who would like to further enlighten themselves.
Enjoy;
Group D Theory summary
Rational Choice Theory Question: If Blau and Homans headed a new “Stop Teenage Binge Drinking” Campaign, what strategies do you think they would use?
The rational choice perspective essentially assumes that people are rational and base their behaviour on what they perceive to be the best course of action in order to get what they want (Wallace & Wolf, 2006, p. 303).
This approach is closely related to economics, with rational choice theorists adopting some basic propositions of economics:
"1. Individuals are rational profit maximizers ....
2. The more of something an individual has, the less interested he or she will be in yet more of it.
3. The prices at which goods and services will be sold in a free market are determined directly by the tastes of prospective buyers and sellers. ...
4. Goods will generally be more expensive if they are supplied by a monopolist ..." (Wallace and Wolf, 2006, p. 308).
* George Homans: A behaviourist
Homans states in the Rationality Proposition that when individuals are “choosing between alternative actions a person will choose the one for which, as perceived by him at the time, the value, (V), of the result, multiplied by the probability, (p), of getting the result, is the greater” (p. 316). Hence, teenagers view the social approval (result) as having a large value and high probability of positive effects. Homans believes ‘that people value (social) approval’, and this is a key factor in explaining ‘how conformity is created and maintained in informal groups’ (p. 315). Hence teenagers feel the need to conform to the wishes of the group to drink in excess, so that they can continue to access ‘approval and esteem’ (p. 315).
An anti-drinking campaign led by Homans would focus on trying to change the ‘social approval’ given by these groups. Homans would use a ‘shame’ approach, that would make the teenagers aware of the negative aspects of binge drinking, so that they would come to the ‘self gain’ concept at the centre of Rational Choice theory, similar to the ad for speeding, ‘No one thinks big of you’. A campaign of this kind would aim to help teenagers rethink the value/risk equation in order to decide if binge drinking truly delivers what they want.
* Peter Blau: A collectivist
Blau suggests that the two general functions of social exchange are: 1) for creating friendship bonds between people; and 2) the establishment of domination or subordination (p. 329). He emphasizes the importance of "impression management", i.e. "how people present themselves to others", stating that people wish to be seen as companions whose presence is both extrinsically and intrinsically rewarding (Wallace & Wolf, 2006, p. 340). Therefore, an approach based on social approval would be one aspect of Blau’s anti-drinking campaign.
An anti-drinking campaign led by Blau may also focus on trying to stop binge drinking through the implementation of rules and laws, e.g. no more drinks after 2pm, no drinking on the main street of towns, more security. The teenagers would then be guided by these laws and rules to correct their behaviour, and thus cease binge drinking.
Hence, Homans would attack the problem by getting the teenagers to change their perception of the situation and thus change their behaviour, because it was no longer an effective means to their goals, hence from the small groups to society. Blau on the other hand would attack the problem at an institutional level and implement laws that would influence people to change their behaviour.
Postmodernism Discussion Question: How would postmodern theorists view and deconstruct the various online social networking sites?
* Michel Foucault
Foucault believed that power essentially penetrates society through discourse, which is often sustained by institutions as a means of control (Macionis & Plummer, 2005). He also noted that the specific way in which the world is understood by society is through texts (Wallace & Wolf, 2006) and now with the social networking sites, everybody is a creator of text.
Social networking sites are similar to Foucault’s concept of panopticon- ‘in which each actor is alone, perfectly individualised and constantly visible’ (1977, p. 200). This panopticon played an integral role in defining power relations, maintaining order and subsequent discipline. Power relations on the networking sites can be seen by viewing who has befriended who, just as well as who has excluded who; with the added complexity of each actor having the ability to play the dual roles of prisoner within a group membership; and guard of their own profile or web space. This duality creates a false sense of reality, for an individual who guards their profile space may entrust that they have the power to protect while viewing those of others. Foucault (1977) may indeed have argued that this false sense of reality may provide an ideal environment to enforce discipline and punishment upon society.
* Jacques Derrida
A key concept for Derrida and postmodernism is Discourse; a way to emphasise the meaning and concepts words embody, while also exploring the rules that develop within a group (society) on ‘appropriate ways of talking about things’ (Wallace, & Wolf, 2006, p. 422). To understand this we need to understand that words and their meanings are socially produced, (e.g. slang, and the concept of the sign, signifier and signified).
On networking sites people represent themselves mostly through language (especially on Twitter's post based model), hence their identities are constructed for the world through language. Derrida wrote that identity is nothing more than the various cultural texts an individual is given (and therefore people are no more real than the texts they create). Hence, people are constructed through their use of language, and since language has no ‘centre’ (Bass, A, 1966), then a person can have no centre, thus the dynamic nature of humans and of their profiles. We are constructed by language and our construction is altered by language.
* Jean Francois Lyotard
Lyotard believed that social life is organised around 'language games'. Such games are made up of 'moves' or statements which, are the means by which participants try to influence others to accept their version of what is true or 'win the game' (Van Krieken et. al., 2000).
According to Lyotard, the postmodern era is characterised by the following:
1) People seem to have abandoned the search for truth; people have lost faith in science as providing truth.
2) Technical language games have replaced denotative language games; research is aimed at producing knowledge where there is a market for it. (Van Krieken et. al., 2000).
Postmodern society is no longer interested in theories of truth or justice and instead is based on the exchange of knowledge and the production of knowledge (Van Krieken et. al., 2000). The proliferation of information on the Internet and on networking sites supports the idea that we are living in a postmodern society. In the postmodern era anyone can be published, thus lending credence to Lyotard's views that the people in the post modern era are less interested in one great truth and more inclined to explore a multitude of truths.
References
Bass, A, 1966, ‘Jacques Derrida, “Structure, Sign and Play in the
Discourse of the Human Sciences”, Writing and Difference, pp.
278-95, On Literary Theory Dance Party, viewed 24 August,
2009, obtained through Google,
http://literarytheory.wordpress.com/2007/04/04/jacques- derridastructure-sign-and-play-in-the-discourse-of-the-human-sciences/
Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison.
London: Penguin.
Macionis, J. J., & Plummer, K. (2005). Sociology a global introduction.
Essex:Pearson Prentice Hall.
Van Krieken, R., Smith, P., Habibis, D., McDonald, K., Haralambos, M.,
& Holborn, M. (2000). Sociology Themes and Perspectives,
Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia.
Wallace, R.A, & Wolf, A, 2006, Contemporary Sociological Theory:
Expanding the Classical Tradition, 6th ed., Pearson Education,
Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA.
Authors
Dale Stam, Sophia Grant, Josephine Gravina, Deanne Wright
Today I treat you with some of my work from the past, today you will explore some group work that I participated in that involved offering up a question and proposing how given sociological theories would have tried to answer the question. Some of it might be confusing for the unitiated, but this is our summary of the whole 5 part process.
There are references at the end for those who would like to further enlighten themselves.
Enjoy;
Group D Theory summary
Rational Choice Theory Question: If Blau and Homans headed a new “Stop Teenage Binge Drinking” Campaign, what strategies do you think they would use?
The rational choice perspective essentially assumes that people are rational and base their behaviour on what they perceive to be the best course of action in order to get what they want (Wallace & Wolf, 2006, p. 303).
This approach is closely related to economics, with rational choice theorists adopting some basic propositions of economics:
"1. Individuals are rational profit maximizers ....
2. The more of something an individual has, the less interested he or she will be in yet more of it.
3. The prices at which goods and services will be sold in a free market are determined directly by the tastes of prospective buyers and sellers. ...
4. Goods will generally be more expensive if they are supplied by a monopolist ..." (Wallace and Wolf, 2006, p. 308).
* George Homans: A behaviourist
Homans states in the Rationality Proposition that when individuals are “choosing between alternative actions a person will choose the one for which, as perceived by him at the time, the value, (V), of the result, multiplied by the probability, (p), of getting the result, is the greater” (p. 316). Hence, teenagers view the social approval (result) as having a large value and high probability of positive effects. Homans believes ‘that people value (social) approval’, and this is a key factor in explaining ‘how conformity is created and maintained in informal groups’ (p. 315). Hence teenagers feel the need to conform to the wishes of the group to drink in excess, so that they can continue to access ‘approval and esteem’ (p. 315).
An anti-drinking campaign led by Homans would focus on trying to change the ‘social approval’ given by these groups. Homans would use a ‘shame’ approach, that would make the teenagers aware of the negative aspects of binge drinking, so that they would come to the ‘self gain’ concept at the centre of Rational Choice theory, similar to the ad for speeding, ‘No one thinks big of you’. A campaign of this kind would aim to help teenagers rethink the value/risk equation in order to decide if binge drinking truly delivers what they want.
* Peter Blau: A collectivist
Blau suggests that the two general functions of social exchange are: 1) for creating friendship bonds between people; and 2) the establishment of domination or subordination (p. 329). He emphasizes the importance of "impression management", i.e. "how people present themselves to others", stating that people wish to be seen as companions whose presence is both extrinsically and intrinsically rewarding (Wallace & Wolf, 2006, p. 340). Therefore, an approach based on social approval would be one aspect of Blau’s anti-drinking campaign.
An anti-drinking campaign led by Blau may also focus on trying to stop binge drinking through the implementation of rules and laws, e.g. no more drinks after 2pm, no drinking on the main street of towns, more security. The teenagers would then be guided by these laws and rules to correct their behaviour, and thus cease binge drinking.
Hence, Homans would attack the problem by getting the teenagers to change their perception of the situation and thus change their behaviour, because it was no longer an effective means to their goals, hence from the small groups to society. Blau on the other hand would attack the problem at an institutional level and implement laws that would influence people to change their behaviour.
Postmodernism Discussion Question: How would postmodern theorists view and deconstruct the various online social networking sites?
* Michel Foucault
Foucault believed that power essentially penetrates society through discourse, which is often sustained by institutions as a means of control (Macionis & Plummer, 2005). He also noted that the specific way in which the world is understood by society is through texts (Wallace & Wolf, 2006) and now with the social networking sites, everybody is a creator of text.
Social networking sites are similar to Foucault’s concept of panopticon- ‘in which each actor is alone, perfectly individualised and constantly visible’ (1977, p. 200). This panopticon played an integral role in defining power relations, maintaining order and subsequent discipline. Power relations on the networking sites can be seen by viewing who has befriended who, just as well as who has excluded who; with the added complexity of each actor having the ability to play the dual roles of prisoner within a group membership; and guard of their own profile or web space. This duality creates a false sense of reality, for an individual who guards their profile space may entrust that they have the power to protect while viewing those of others. Foucault (1977) may indeed have argued that this false sense of reality may provide an ideal environment to enforce discipline and punishment upon society.
* Jacques Derrida
A key concept for Derrida and postmodernism is Discourse; a way to emphasise the meaning and concepts words embody, while also exploring the rules that develop within a group (society) on ‘appropriate ways of talking about things’ (Wallace, & Wolf, 2006, p. 422). To understand this we need to understand that words and their meanings are socially produced, (e.g. slang, and the concept of the sign, signifier and signified).
On networking sites people represent themselves mostly through language (especially on Twitter's post based model), hence their identities are constructed for the world through language. Derrida wrote that identity is nothing more than the various cultural texts an individual is given (and therefore people are no more real than the texts they create). Hence, people are constructed through their use of language, and since language has no ‘centre’ (Bass, A, 1966), then a person can have no centre, thus the dynamic nature of humans and of their profiles. We are constructed by language and our construction is altered by language.
* Jean Francois Lyotard
Lyotard believed that social life is organised around 'language games'. Such games are made up of 'moves' or statements which, are the means by which participants try to influence others to accept their version of what is true or 'win the game' (Van Krieken et. al., 2000).
According to Lyotard, the postmodern era is characterised by the following:
1) People seem to have abandoned the search for truth; people have lost faith in science as providing truth.
2) Technical language games have replaced denotative language games; research is aimed at producing knowledge where there is a market for it. (Van Krieken et. al., 2000).
Postmodern society is no longer interested in theories of truth or justice and instead is based on the exchange of knowledge and the production of knowledge (Van Krieken et. al., 2000). The proliferation of information on the Internet and on networking sites supports the idea that we are living in a postmodern society. In the postmodern era anyone can be published, thus lending credence to Lyotard's views that the people in the post modern era are less interested in one great truth and more inclined to explore a multitude of truths.
References
Bass, A, 1966, ‘Jacques Derrida, “Structure, Sign and Play in the
Discourse of the Human Sciences”, Writing and Difference, pp.
278-95, On Literary Theory Dance Party, viewed 24 August,
2009, obtained through Google,
http://literarytheory.wordpress.com/2007/04/04/jacques- derridastructure-sign-and-play-in-the-discourse-of-the-human-sciences/
Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison.
London: Penguin.
Macionis, J. J., & Plummer, K. (2005). Sociology a global introduction.
Essex:Pearson Prentice Hall.
Van Krieken, R., Smith, P., Habibis, D., McDonald, K., Haralambos, M.,
& Holborn, M. (2000). Sociology Themes and Perspectives,
Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia.
Wallace, R.A, & Wolf, A, 2006, Contemporary Sociological Theory:
Expanding the Classical Tradition, 6th ed., Pearson Education,
Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA.
Authors
Dale Stam, Sophia Grant, Josephine Gravina, Deanne Wright
Friday, November 5, 2010
Glee vs Fame
Musicals have been a genre that many have stated has died repeatedly throughout its life, but it is an adaptable medium that is able to connect with a large group of people and different music styles.
I have been watching Glee like many others, and have found that it bears striking similarities to a previous musical show- Fame. A generation apart perhaps, but with the advent of DVD I have been able to compare the two shows and have found some things that might make me less than popular.
Fame the Television Series was sort of a filler for what happened in between the various stages in the film- however compared to the film it is much lighter in tone. Some of the great aspects of this are as follows;
- Albert Hague who was great as Mr Shorofsky in the film continues to play off of Lee Curreri (Bruno Martelli) to great affect, and their relationship is explored to greater detail.
- Gene Anthony Ray as Leroy is once again a focal point of the series, and his stand off with Miss Sherwood continues into the television series. Though Miss Sherwood is played as a much more light hearted character in the television series.
- They are able to bring new songs to each episode, and although some have dated; mostly the synth heavy numbers- others are still nostalgically pleasing.
- The character of Julie Miller by a young (Lori Singer) is a nice addition to the cast, and is even the character that we follow on the premier episode into the school.
There were some concerns however;
* Different actors for Cocco, Montgomery, Ralph, and Doris.
- Erica Gimpel looks similar to Irene Cara who played Cocco in the film, however the character of Cocco does seem to rub me the wrong way, as she is often used as a plot device.
Cocco will attack or condescend or do another action to rub one of the characters the wrong way, thus propelling the story of the episode along- whereas Cocco herself is left with only her 'passion' as a redeeming point.
This is probably why the character is basically written out of the second half of the first season- or she might have had other work- either case we do not miss her for that time.
It is nice how she is given a little room to explore the astrology which was mentioned in the film.
- P.R. Paul is a much more outgoing and happy Montgomery in contrast to the quiet and repressed quality that Paul McCrane brought to the character in the film. Nothing is mentioned about his homosexuality in the series which was one of his causes of loneliness in the film. Also instead of Drama focus he seems to take the role of stage managing in the production of the series- and on other occasions as a side kick to the Doris character.
- Doris Finsecker (Maureen Teefy) was a tall, quiet and terrified character searching for her place in the world, and the school. In contrast again Doris Schwartz (Valerie Landsburg) is a short, plumper character that takes the role of sarcastic friend and problem solver. I am not sure it is supposed to be the same character because the only characteristics they share are their first name, they both sing and do drama and that they are both Jewish. You get used to her, but I always had it in the back of my mind whether it was supposed to be the same character.
- Ralph (Barry Miller) was arguably the most interesting character in the film version, but it seems they did not know how to implement him into the television series. He appears in the first few episodes as a more stereotypical comic character- reminding me of the character of Fez from 'That 70s Show'. Soon after he is replaced by a less ethnic comic in the Character of Danny Amatullo (Carlo Imperato), who is entertaining in his role of dumb but lovable comic...but he is not Ralph.
- Debbie Allen as Miss Grant- also the shows choreographer- seems to have been given a piece in her contract stating that she gets to have or feature in a dance segment in every episode. It gets slightly annoying. I know that dance teachers might show their students the steps but they wouldn't then get to be, or draw themselves into every opportunity to dance with their students. Maybe it is a problem with context, especially given the amount of hugging and so on that these students do with their teachers in every episode- so should not happen in today's 'can't touch hurt kid' world- I hope you are hearing me Glee.
The show features many high profile celebrities of the time- I would recommend you looking out for the episode featuring Richard Simmons- the guy just has so much energy and he is able to calm down the often dog headed character of Miss Grant.
Like Glee the show had its own Albums released- The Kids from Fame; check out this page to see more details http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kids_from_%22Fame%22. The songs were original, with Curreri working on the actual writing of the songs, it follows the more traditional musical formula of original songs to express their personal emotions- a feature that has been sadly lacking from Glee- and I am starting to get slightly annoyed about the similarity of the Glee songs- especially Amber Riley who needs to have the high notes- and stereotyped coloured vocal gymnastics in each song. I especially hated how this was done on the Rocky Horror Episode.
However the characters on Glee are given a lot more room to grow. They are not slotted into the need to give a refreshing youth message this week, but need to slot into the overall Season story arch- which aids the show greatly. This was a downfall of Fame, especially with the Season One closer basically saying we would have one teacher coming back, and by the beginning of next season he was replaced anyway- and no mention of it.
The story arch allows for more interaction between the various characters and we can come to know them more- making Glee, for lack of a better word a more adult oriented show- where we do not need to learn specific stories, within a non-canonical session, but one that requires you to watch and remember back to previous episodes.
The voices of the cast of Glee sound better, but that only makes me feel, especially with Amber that their voices are edited too much. While watching Fame we could tell that the characters could sing, but they had human problems with it, and you could hear that certain characters were better singers- because they were studying it.
I like them both in different ways, but if I had to choose one I would suggest Fame- only if you liked the original movie, and do not mind the slightly different story style of the time. I just seem to gain more from their originals then having previously loved songs, possibly turned into a slightly different monster that follows the Glee formula.
I will be looking forward to the possible Glee feature film that is upcoming though. Hopefully it will be more like Fame (the original) and not Fame the remake- because after watching that I could not remember one character's name, and for some reason it was afraid to explore the darker territories of the original.
Let the flaming start.
Dale Stam
You might also be interested in the following articles from this blog;
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/spider-man-turn-off-dark-soundtrack.html
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/bloody-jackson-review.html
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/strange-bedfellow-new-review.html
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/livid-productions-presents-monty.html
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/awtc-pirates-of-penzance.html
I have been watching Glee like many others, and have found that it bears striking similarities to a previous musical show- Fame. A generation apart perhaps, but with the advent of DVD I have been able to compare the two shows and have found some things that might make me less than popular.
Fame the Television Series was sort of a filler for what happened in between the various stages in the film- however compared to the film it is much lighter in tone. Some of the great aspects of this are as follows;
- Albert Hague who was great as Mr Shorofsky in the film continues to play off of Lee Curreri (Bruno Martelli) to great affect, and their relationship is explored to greater detail.
- Gene Anthony Ray as Leroy is once again a focal point of the series, and his stand off with Miss Sherwood continues into the television series. Though Miss Sherwood is played as a much more light hearted character in the television series.
- They are able to bring new songs to each episode, and although some have dated; mostly the synth heavy numbers- others are still nostalgically pleasing.
- The character of Julie Miller by a young (Lori Singer) is a nice addition to the cast, and is even the character that we follow on the premier episode into the school.
There were some concerns however;
* Different actors for Cocco, Montgomery, Ralph, and Doris.
- Erica Gimpel looks similar to Irene Cara who played Cocco in the film, however the character of Cocco does seem to rub me the wrong way, as she is often used as a plot device.
Cocco will attack or condescend or do another action to rub one of the characters the wrong way, thus propelling the story of the episode along- whereas Cocco herself is left with only her 'passion' as a redeeming point.
This is probably why the character is basically written out of the second half of the first season- or she might have had other work- either case we do not miss her for that time.
It is nice how she is given a little room to explore the astrology which was mentioned in the film.
- P.R. Paul is a much more outgoing and happy Montgomery in contrast to the quiet and repressed quality that Paul McCrane brought to the character in the film. Nothing is mentioned about his homosexuality in the series which was one of his causes of loneliness in the film. Also instead of Drama focus he seems to take the role of stage managing in the production of the series- and on other occasions as a side kick to the Doris character.
- Doris Finsecker (Maureen Teefy) was a tall, quiet and terrified character searching for her place in the world, and the school. In contrast again Doris Schwartz (Valerie Landsburg) is a short, plumper character that takes the role of sarcastic friend and problem solver. I am not sure it is supposed to be the same character because the only characteristics they share are their first name, they both sing and do drama and that they are both Jewish. You get used to her, but I always had it in the back of my mind whether it was supposed to be the same character.
- Ralph (Barry Miller) was arguably the most interesting character in the film version, but it seems they did not know how to implement him into the television series. He appears in the first few episodes as a more stereotypical comic character- reminding me of the character of Fez from 'That 70s Show'. Soon after he is replaced by a less ethnic comic in the Character of Danny Amatullo (Carlo Imperato), who is entertaining in his role of dumb but lovable comic...but he is not Ralph.
- Debbie Allen as Miss Grant- also the shows choreographer- seems to have been given a piece in her contract stating that she gets to have or feature in a dance segment in every episode. It gets slightly annoying. I know that dance teachers might show their students the steps but they wouldn't then get to be, or draw themselves into every opportunity to dance with their students. Maybe it is a problem with context, especially given the amount of hugging and so on that these students do with their teachers in every episode- so should not happen in today's 'can't touch hurt kid' world- I hope you are hearing me Glee.
The show features many high profile celebrities of the time- I would recommend you looking out for the episode featuring Richard Simmons- the guy just has so much energy and he is able to calm down the often dog headed character of Miss Grant.
Like Glee the show had its own Albums released- The Kids from Fame; check out this page to see more details http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kids_from_%22Fame%22. The songs were original, with Curreri working on the actual writing of the songs, it follows the more traditional musical formula of original songs to express their personal emotions- a feature that has been sadly lacking from Glee- and I am starting to get slightly annoyed about the similarity of the Glee songs- especially Amber Riley who needs to have the high notes- and stereotyped coloured vocal gymnastics in each song. I especially hated how this was done on the Rocky Horror Episode.
However the characters on Glee are given a lot more room to grow. They are not slotted into the need to give a refreshing youth message this week, but need to slot into the overall Season story arch- which aids the show greatly. This was a downfall of Fame, especially with the Season One closer basically saying we would have one teacher coming back, and by the beginning of next season he was replaced anyway- and no mention of it.
The story arch allows for more interaction between the various characters and we can come to know them more- making Glee, for lack of a better word a more adult oriented show- where we do not need to learn specific stories, within a non-canonical session, but one that requires you to watch and remember back to previous episodes.
The voices of the cast of Glee sound better, but that only makes me feel, especially with Amber that their voices are edited too much. While watching Fame we could tell that the characters could sing, but they had human problems with it, and you could hear that certain characters were better singers- because they were studying it.
I like them both in different ways, but if I had to choose one I would suggest Fame- only if you liked the original movie, and do not mind the slightly different story style of the time. I just seem to gain more from their originals then having previously loved songs, possibly turned into a slightly different monster that follows the Glee formula.
I will be looking forward to the possible Glee feature film that is upcoming though. Hopefully it will be more like Fame (the original) and not Fame the remake- because after watching that I could not remember one character's name, and for some reason it was afraid to explore the darker territories of the original.
Let the flaming start.
Dale Stam
You might also be interested in the following articles from this blog;
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/spider-man-turn-off-dark-soundtrack.html
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/bloody-jackson-review.html
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/strange-bedfellow-new-review.html
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/livid-productions-presents-monty.html
http://dalesnewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/awtc-pirates-of-penzance.html
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