Sources of funding - PAB

Potential sources...


A lot of my funding/budget costs I've been set as deals in kind with people i either know or have contact with in some way making my costs come a lot lower giving me a lower funding need but still requiring one. Fundraising is a big positive in my books and something I think that never really does any harm and you can create enjoyment out of it, something like a cake sale, flash mob or dance-a-thon. As I feel a lot of my performers are going to be younger this is definitely something I would be pursuing for a funding option whilst doing it.

Also crowd funding a part of the society getting everyone to give £10 each to cover for everything for them isn't a lot to ask and a lot of companies ask so much more.

I think if worse came to worse i would donate myself giving around £200 into my own production to give it a bit of a boost and so that it can stand on a stronger plantation.  Ive gained a sponsorship from   a local dance school as long as I promote their school in the programme then they will offer funding for the production as well.

So overall have a good platform to stand on with funding for the production and would be able to adapt if any funding were to fail or fall though.

Production company structures

 

What does each organisation do ?

Donmar - Donmar Warehouse are a theatre in London that produces a beautiful location for  productions to thrive and create outstanding theatre, this is why in my mind misters you can see that they have more roles that are theatre based and the more usual occupations such as a box office manager.  Donmar have been been in progress for a very long time winning many awards for its productions and theatre so prize itself in being the best it could be also being very large explaining the large amount of job roles within this particular company.


Rambert Dance Company - Rambert Dance Company is a British classical and contemporary dance company which came from a dance school back in 1926 when it was formed. They are a company of around 30 of the best trained dancers in the uk who learn different pieces as well as be a part of new ones and tour them around the uk. As they're quite a small company of dancers and already a huge company, they also have very similar job roles to Donmar but not exactly the same as they don't stay in the same theatre each time they travel around meaning some of their team are slightly different to Donmar.

How are the companies similar in structure?

AS they're both very successful companies they both have a lot going for them in terms of staff and workers, who are very behind the scenes such as finance and development managers. Most of their similarities lie within these roles that most theatre companies usually require like managers and marketing. Roles that make everyones lives a lot easier and make the companies work a lot more efficiently and smoothly. They both start with a board of directors which is always a strong move for a company as it is what gives the company a structure in the first place otherwise it is a lot harder to control overall and would probably slow down the companies.

How are they different?

As I said earlier they have differences due to their different genres within the industry Donmar being the theatre and Rambert being the performance company which would use the theatre. Rambert we see a lot more dance related job roles such as rehearsal directors or music fellows, to add to this when researching the job roles for the companies, Rambert only really highlighted ones such as i have mentioned,  and a few others, and barely more than that leaving out a lot of the main ones. I believe that this is because they are quite successful now as a company,  so they would be assumed to have these people in the occupations. This also highlights Rambert's importance of  headlining the dance focused job roles as thats what they care about the most, the dance where as Donmar care for it all.

Organisational structure of a general production company - PAB

Things to consider for my budget - PAB

Income - 

With the income I need to consider different ways in which I can create income without developing a loss.

A big section within this is sorting out the price of tickets, dividing it between adults, PA students, normal students and other concessions such as OAPs. Another way of gaining income is through sponsorship, this giving a larger budget with as a result a more professional performance, sponsors usually link with the themes of your show for example if you were going to do a traditional greek play you could be sponsored by a greek restaurant, maybe enduring their products within the performance.Other ways you could achieve income would be through merchandise, selling drinks and snacks.

Expenditure -

This section consists venue hire, performance rights, publicity and more.

With Venue hire, this can be quite expensive depending on where it is and for how long you will be residing within it and is always best to get a quote.

Performance rights are something you have to consider especially with what play/show you are choosing to get the rights of. However for my particular project I have chosen to do an original show that I have created.

Publicity can vary from merchandise, posters and advertisements. The usual amount spent on publicity is between £150-£200 however it all depends on the size of your production and the rest of your ideas.

Lastly to always have a contingency in case emergency such as a plumbing disaster, most companys usually put it around 10%.

Profit-

If you have done an effective budget then you should come out with a decent profit. If this is not the case then you need to go over all of your budgeting and see where the problems are occurring.

Personal Statement - PAB

My whole life I have been involved within Dance, Theatre and Music and to think of a life without it is soul destroying. The achievement of creating a piece of art; whether it be a Drama, Dance or Musical Theatre based piece has been something I have always appreciated. I feel that with areas such as Dance and Musical Theatre, there is so much you can learn and take in, however you can refine your skills in the area that is your speciality.

For me, my strength has always been the constructing of a piece from its roots. The idea of being able to take such a simple stimulus and expand it into a full piece, that can affect people both physically and emotionally is what I enjoy. Furthermore, watching the piece develop through the stages, it is like planting a seed and seeing it slowly grow.

The peace and warmth that you feel when you see the final product, it is those kind of accomplishments and feelings that get me through life. These feelings I hope to further develop by pursuing a career in these fields. I also love being in character and fully embodying the persona, using their lives instead of your own, or their situations. It is like getting to know a new friend learning their every gimmick or habit and every secret.

At the age of four I joined Glendale Theatre Arts School and this was my introduction to the world of Dance. Although, I remain at Glendale, my highlights were performing in the Dance World Cup in Paris (2011) and Brighton (2013), I performed in groups which won 3 gold medals, 2 silvers and 2 bronze medals which helped England come second at Paris and first in Brighton. My highlight was performing in a song and dance trio when we performed Big, Blonde and Beautiful taking the bronze medal for our section. These experiences helped me understand the importance of delivering my best performances when it mattered most. I started choreographing at the age of 12 for my school production of Joseph. In my GCSE Dance, I choreographed a group  piece based on living with depression in which I got an A* and 49/50 marks. Whilst at school I assisted with the choreography of our Rock Challenge piece in year 11 based on the Aberfan Disaster this then proceeded to come 4^th in the National Finals. At college, I also assisted in the choreography of our Rock Challenge entry with more responsibility taking control of a larger percentage of the piece and I have repeated this role for this year’s competition. This showed me the importance of getting the whole team to connect with the dance stimulus and ultimately the audience.

In addition, I have performed as Annie in the show Annie at the age of 9, as well as playing Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors, Dorothy in The Wiz, Billie in Honk and I am currently playing the role of Meat in We Will Rock You.  Being involved within these shows has taught me how to work effectively within a large group and understanding the dynamics involved with a production. The majority of these shows were adult productions and I have enjoyed the professional atmosphere within them. This is something that I would hope to develop, if I was successful in achieving a place on the course.

I have performed in a number of dance and musical theatre productions which I believe gives me the necessary experience to move to the next stage. I have thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of my life and I would now welcome the opportunity to develop my skills further by going on this course.

What makes a successful musical ensemble? -assignment

What is an successful musical ensemble? . 

In this project we had to research into a well known successful musical ensemble to discover what really makes a successful and musical ensemble and how they do it. Through doing this project we had to commit to different tasks such as creating a group presentation on our band and research.

For my band I chose S Club 7.

S Club 7 were a pop band, who were at the top of their game between 1998-2003.  Their band was made up by 7 members (clues in the name) who were Rachel Stevens, Tina Barrett, Jon Lee, Bradley Mcinstosh, Hannah Spearritt and Jo O'Meara. They were brought together by no other than the Spice Girls previous manager Simon Fuller.  Each member were brought into the band in different ways. Tina, Bradley, Hannah and Jon all auditioned to be apart of the band, where as Jo and Paul were scouted and Rachel was the only one who did not or have to audition for the band, she was contacted by two producers that got her to record a demo for Simon Fuller. They all first met one another in an set up meet within Italy and hit it off from there.

Even with all of this many of them had very different musical backgrounds. Rachel doesn't really have much of a musical background but was in the performing industry being a model and working for a film company and just decided she fancied trying a singing career, she is probably the one with the smallest musical background. After her would probably be Jo, Jo had always had a talent in singing, music and dance, being very accomplished through her education but never did much before S Club. The next being Bradley, Mcintosh's musical history all started through his parents who were very musical making success in the pop/funk group The Cool Notes, this was Bradley's main introduction into music. After that would probably be Paul, Paul trained at the National Youth Music Theatre organisation, in which he met Hannah another member of the band later on, he also trained at Mountview Drama school in theatre and acting course. The last three tie for the most musical backgrounds, having all done since childhood and in a professional manor as well as having strong training. Jon started out being on the west end at the age of 13 as Oliver in Oliver Twist before going on to soother productions and continuing to train before coming involved with S Club. Hannah also started at a young age being in the production of Annie at the age of 12 before also joining the NYMT (same as Paul) she then continued to be in productions with them as well as west end shows such as Bugsy Malone and simultaneously doing film/tv work and studying subjects at college including Performing Arts. Tina's musical background starting from around the age of 11, training at the Arts Educational School London for 8 years before becoming a part of the band Face2Face, giving her previous band/ensemble experience she was with them for 2 years before auditioning for S Club 7.  

Within the five years they had a very successful career as a band including 4 UK number one singles as well as a number 1 uk album and sold over 10 million albums worldwide. However in 2002 Paul Cattermole decided that he needed to move on from S Club 7 as he wanted to return to his original style of music which was rock rejoining a group he was a part of in 1992, Suka. Even After he left they went on to create  film named after their album Seeing Double whilst filming this rumours of the group disbanding were around but were denied by the band until just after the premiering and their reunion tour, they announced within a show that they were splitting up.

However they all started with their own tv show on cbbc called Miami 7, this was music based tv show telling the story of a band who had all moved together to Miami in the hopes of making it big in the industry. This eventually aired within over 100 countries and gathering around 90 million viewers, so they really started to receive attention through this. Their theme tune for this was Bring it all back, this was a big song for them as became number one in the uk charts and their first single. This being said I decided to incorporate this within our presentation as it really is a strong point within their group career, the starting point of it all. I think them starting within a tv show is very different than the usual band and actually allowed them to gain more time to get to know one another and how their work ethics as working on tv wasn't all their top skill. It also meant they spent a lot of time with one another as they would spend time on set as well as rehearsal time for each of their numbers and scenes, this would have taken a lot of commitment from the band.

As the show was originally a kids/teens show, it highlights how much a job they had to set an example to their audience and making sure to listen to what the kids want to hear as well as teaching them lessons in life. This creating their first real target audience for their band/image. Them setting an example will not only please the kids but the parents of those children creating a wider audience for themselves, taking this on would have been a big challenge for the band. As a result, their popularity increased from not only the kids talking about it but the parents too.

Through their rising they became so increasingly popular they started creating more chart topping music, playing at festivals whilst still working on their show. This happening it has been said that the band had struggle a lot with their schedule as it was very demanding going between america and England a lot and really got to their heads, however the band not once ever backed down from the challenge pushing through and working as a team to get through it all. This is something I think is important within their band is that they work more efficiently with each other because they all have the same goal and dreams they're trying to achieve, which i think is a big factor to their success as a musical ensemble.

As they progressed as a group, some felt that they needed a change slightly so suggested that they add a few new styles into their albums such as R&B creating songs like S Club Party . This album ( 7 ) was the first album in which also reached number one in the uk. Creating a new sound for the band allowed them to broaden their experience and talents, letting them showcase their individual talents especially with songs like Natural in which Rachel Stevens had the lead vocals. Supporting one another within this, showed they were passionate about making the music good and edgy and that they really listened to each and taking that leap from their known genre to new things was a big development as a group.

Their interaction with their music became a bigger thing within the second albums and the ones which followed as they felt it would come off better with what they wanted to show. Changing the styles a lot, giving themselves more of an mature audience boosted a lot of their success, and allowed them to explore new things as a group so they could only keep progressing as an ensemble and couldn't be obstructed at any time or get boring.

Their range of personalities was a big factor to why they were so appealing to a larger audience as a result, this would make them more successful as everyone could relate to a part of the band. For example, Hannah was the bubbly, upbeat younger image of the group and Bradley was the alpha male cool kid of the block. All being so different would have probably made it quite hard to unite a lot of the time, so communication was a key thing within the group, and a big ingredient to their success.

Their performing sides had always been the strength of the band and the key to the making of them in the first place, so more shows and performances were something they exiled in as a group. However even though communication was a one their strengths it was their biggest weakness, this showed through the departure of Paul Cattermole who left the band in 1992 due to wanting to pursue his original style of music which was punk rock, after this occurred it left the band a bit frazzled even though continued to excel it wasn't quite the same they started to slowly break apart as a group.

Many audience members said that they always gave a great show because of their obvious chemistry and great energy throughout their performances making everyone feel involved in their performance and their pact. People always enjoy things more as well as remember them more when being involved  and engaged which was a key part within their performances, making things memorable is always the key to an successful performance.

Before this though they did try to keep it going creating a film called Seeing Double which was very successful and reminded their fans of why they are so lovable.As well as creating more music. Their determination to keep it going is another reason they were so prosperous as a group and ensemble.

Even though S Club were very successful and popular there were also competing bands around at the same time. One in particular being Steps.  Steps are a British pop/dance band, they were assembled in May 1997 by Barry Upton and Steve Crosby. Within their years active they released 4 studio albums, 3 compilation albums and 17 singles. The band is made up of Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Lisa Scott-Lee, Ian "H" Watkins and Lee Latchford-Evans. They are very similar to S Club 7 but slightly more successful especially on paper with all their chart achievements and opportunities like working with Britney Spears. S Club 7 as we know had more of a younger based audience whereas Steps had a more mature audience this would be why they worked so successfully at very similar times appealing to the opposing audiences, giving everybody something to listen to. To add to this the band themselves (Steps) were older when at their prime so had more mature themes and way of performing, S Club being more like a middle school party which isn't a bad thing.


From all of this I can see a lot of what made S Club 7 / S club such an entertaining, efficacious and positive band to those across the world and how they worked so effectively as an musical ensemble. Through their gruelling schedules and travelling they persevered as a group listening to each other when they could and supporting one another through the hard times, also listening to what their audience wanted and working it in with their plans for the band too so that everyone was happy. Determination and passion feeding their motives to keep going and make everything the best it could be whether that was through more rehearsals, change of style or performing within a different medium. As well as being relatable to their audiences and having a connection with them keeping  their fans truly coherent with them and also giving them the support they need to strive. Creating this structure within their band allowed them so many opportunities with what they had allowing them to just continue to progress. Overall the band had effective working ethics, organisation, co -operarion and mainly persistence creating a strong plantation for an successful musical ensemble.

So, what makes a successful ensemble? A successful musical ensemble is a group of people who work efficiently and effectively with one another to create a powerful musical performance whether it be singing, dancing or playing an instrument. There are lots of many aspects needed to create an successful ensemble such as communication, dedication, teamwork, preparation, technique and motivation.  Put these all together with passion and you will get a successfully working musical ensemble. Without these you would have a disastrous ensemble which occurs when no one gets a long and everything becomes dysfunctional between the group and its processes and it shows as an outcome in their performances or music. 

Here are examples of what I have spoken about ....