Grease analysis
- 1. RebeccaSellors Grease analysis- Grease isset inan Americanhighschool where there isagroupof girlscalledthe ‘PinkLadies’anda groupof boyscalledthe ‘T-Birds’.A newgirl joinsthe ‘PinkLadies’whichisthe maincharacterSandy whotellsthemabouthersummerandhow she meta boy,Danny the leaderof the ‘T-Birds’tellsthe restof the boyshow he meta girl overthe summer.Theybumpintoeachotherat school asthey findouttheyboth goto the same highschool.SandyisoverwhelmedthatDannygoestothe same school howeverthe wayhe reactsto her isheart breakingas he treatedherdifferentlyoverthe summer,Sandycomesbacka changedpersonand theyendup beingtogether.Grease hasmany elementsincludinglove,disappointment andfriendship. Grease was writtenin1971 by JimJacobsand Warren Casey. Grease isa book musical whichissetin 1959 at Rydell HighSchool whichisbasedonWilliamHowardTaftSchool inChicago,Grease is for entertainmentpurposes. The musical showssocial issuesincluding:teenage pregnancy,peer pressure andgang violence. The themeswithinGrease are:love,friendship, andteenagerebellion, sexual explorationduringadolescence andalsotosome extent aconflictbetweenclasses. During the 1970’s, Americanscontinuedtofightforexpandingsocial andpolitical rights. Duringthe 70’s mostperformanceswere revue, andcomicoperasincluding ‘Exchange’,‘ThisWasBurlesque’which were bothrevue performancesand‘Piratesof Penzance’whichisacomic opera. The character I playedwithinGrease isFrenchy,Frenchyisanover the top exaggeratedteenwhois friendlyandengageswithall of the pinkladies.FrenchyisveryinterestedandexcitedaboutSandy’s storyover the summerandwantsto know everydetail. She isasympatheticcharactersuchas when DannyletsSandydownFrenchy isthe one who comfortsher. Frenchyisalsoa dreamer,however she isgood naturedandcaring. Frenchywantsto be a beautician once she finishesschool andshe is particularwithherappearance especiallyherhair. The scene where DannyandSandy bumpintoone anotherisan importantscene forFrenchyas duringthisscene Frenchy hasto comfortSandyas Sandy doesn’tunderstandwhyDannywasacting inthisway. Frenchyputsherarm around Sandyto show supportand thateverythingwillbe alright,I intendtoportray Frenchyinthiswayby usingaccurate facial expressions includingasmall smileto showhereverythingisgoingtobe alright. Notonlythat butI will alsouse a softand slightlysadlook to showempathytowardsSandyandwhat she is goingthrough and alsothe wrappingof Frenchy’s arm around Sandy isto guide Sandytohelpherforgetabout Danny and alsofindsomeone better. The wrappingof the arm also showsfriendship,supportby givingSandysomeonetogoto. Physicalityandfacial expressions whichare usedwithinthis sceneare importanttoportrayFrenchy as a caring, supportive andfriendlycharacter,the physicalitywithinthisscene isbeingclose to Sandy to showher love,friendshipandcare.FrenchyiscomfortingSandybyplacingherarm around Sandy’sshoulderwhichmakesherfeel asthougheverythingwill getbetter. WithinGrease there isa bigintegrationof all three artforms,the two mainart formsthat are used withinthe musical are singingandactingwhichisscene throughoutall of the songsperformed. Actingisusedto portray manydifferentcharactersnotonlywithindialoguebutalsowiththe singing and dancing.
- 2. RebeccaSellors Whensingingandactingaccent and diction isneededthroughoutbothartformsto ensure itstays withinthe contextof the musical byusinganAmericanaccentthroughoutandalso to enable the audience tounderstandexactlywhatyouare saying.The characterisation withinthe musical is importantinorderto performthe musical accuratelyandeffectively,characterisationallowsthe audience toengage withthe charactersand feel partof the musical. DuringGrease it isimportantto maintaincharacterisationthroughouttoensure thatthe energyand projectionisgiventhroughoutthe musical,notonlythatbutfocusis neededwithindialogueto ensure the correctresponse isgivensuchasFrenchybeingexcitedwhenMartytellsthe ‘PinkLadies’ she’sengagedtoa marine.Frenchyactsin a varietyof waystowardsdifferentcharactersasFrenchy isverysympathetictowardsSandywhenshe seesthe waythatDannytreatedherhowevershe is veryexcitedand overexaggeratedwhenshe findsoutthatMarty isengagedandnot onlyengaged but to a marine. Focusisneededtoensure we have ourfull attentiononthe taskandis alsousedto ensure thatthe dialogue runssmoothlywithoutbreaksaseachcharacter needstoknow there cue to enable the piece torunsmoothly. Throughoutthe songsand dancesthere needstobe a high amountof energyandprojection, in orderto portray the overexaggeratedAmericanteenswhoare veryexcitedandbubblywithinthe entiretyof Grease. One of the songswe workedonwas “You’re the One I Want” duringthis rehearsal Iworkedonthe backingvocalswithinthissong,Ialso heldone of the higherharmonies withinthis. DuringrehearsalsI workedonmytimingand entranceswhensingingwithin“You’re The One I Want” and othersongswithinGrease including “Freddy MyLove”, “SummerNights”and “Sandra Dee reprise”. Within“You’re the One I Want” we use the beat to performcertainmovementswhich have direct correlation withthe music.“FreddyMyLove”alsohas directmusicand dance correlationbecause on the ooo’swe performshouldershimmies. ThroughoutGrease the majorityof the songshave an upbeattempowhichgivesGrease anenergetic funtheme withinthe musical. Projection isakeytechnique neededthroughoutGrease withinall three art formsas both actingand singingneedgoodprojectionof dialogueandlyricsanddance needsprojectionof the feelings,characterisationandenergy. AccentisimportantwithinGrease as an Americanaccentisneededthroughoutthe musical notonlywithindialogue butalsowhen singing. Whensingingandactingdiction isakeyskill toensure the audience understandswhateach character issaying. Withinourabridge versionof Grease we use a wide vocal range throughout due tothe harmonies and varietyof songswithinGrease. MyharmonywithinGrease isone of the higherharmonieswithin both“SummerNights”and“Freddie My Love”. Characterneedstobe maintainedwithinall threeart formsto ensure the audience hasagood understandingof the charactersthroughoutandalso make sure the musical isportrayedcorrectly. My role as Frenchyhas helped me withproductionelementsincludingcostumeas I understandwhat type of costumesare exactlyneededforeachcharacterwithinGrease,due tothe type of character Frenchyisshe wouldbe the pinkladyto wearmatchingclothes.Itookthis intoconsiderationwhen choosingcostumesasthe costume needstoreflectonthe characters suchas Rizzoin a spottyskirt.
- 3. RebeccaSellors My role whenworkingwithproductionelementsof the musical istoorganise the costumes forthe cast so I arrangedwhat costume itemswe would require forthe show whichincludes,1950’sbig “poodle skirt”,PinkLadyjackets,T-Birdsleatherjackets,blackjeansforthe male cast,white t-shirts for all cast. Technical skillsare neededwithinthe musical of Grease whichincludestechniqueswithinall three art formsand alsocombiningthemtogetherforexamplewithinthe song“You’re the One IWant” singing,actinganddancingare includedwhichmeansitrequiresall three artforms tobe integrated together. WithinGrease interpretative skills are alsoneededincludingprojectionof bothcharacterisationand energytohelpcommunicate withthe audience. The relationshipwithothercastmembersisimportantwithinGrease asthe charactersinteractwith a varietyof otherperformersasthe ‘PinkLadies’notonlyinteractandhave a conversationwithone anotherbuttheyalso communicate withthe ‘T-Birds’. Anotherkeyelementwithinthe musical ismaintainingfocusandconcentration throughout,thisis importantinorderto not breakcharacter duringthe performance andalsoto enable the correct performance elementstocome across including:facial expressions, physicality,accent,energyand projection.