I am basing my observations on recent experience in the tour production of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers “(to be abbreviated to YDBMF). I feel it ideally demonstrates use of the cycle. Indeed I am delightfully surprised that part of my recent working practice fits so closely to such an important and recognised model.
Concrete experience: Once being offered the part in YDBMF as the lead, Barbra Streisand, I knew this was where the real work began. I had 18 solo songs to learn which were mine alone, let alone the dance and movement to go with them. I started learning the words, song by song, and memorising the movements accordingly. 18 songs in one week is by no means an easy task and so rehearsals did not stop in the studios. I researched the music on You Tube as there were some were totally unfamiliar. In order to get the style required for these clever melodies, I made sure I listened and performed them over and over again. I also decided that I needed to look at the performances of the songs on video or by the use of the internet so I could also learn the context in which the songs were set.
Reflective Observation: I feel that my reflection of rehearsals in some ways could have been managed far better. Even though I only had a week to learn all that material (it really was a brain overload!) I found that I had learned most of the first act, yet only sketchily knew the second, causing me to panic occasionally, knowing that at the end of the week, a full run of the whole show was required of me. I also think we did not have enough time with the director and musical director so the whole cast were unsure of what was required in performance. I enjoyed the challenge as it tested me thoroughly and with a dry run at the end of the week, it proved that I had learned more than I thought. The rest of the cast were great fun to work with and we all bonded really well together. This helped immensely with the learning of lines, songs and moves as we were all confronted with the same demanding deadline and thus supported each other accordingly to achieve our joint goal. This fits in with Kolb’s idea of reflective observation as each night and for weeks after the rehearsal period, I looked at what I had achieved ( or not) and how I still needed to look at my performance technique but also what I could learn from this experience and build on it in a future similar rehearsal process.
Abstract Conceptualisation: When looking at the Kolb cycle, this instance on tour really relates to the concluding and learning from it as a person I realised my limits when it comes to being overloaded with lines and songs. Yet as a whole I was proud of what I managed to achieved in such a short space of time. The research I had done regards to Barbra herself and her songs proved to be incredibly rewarding both as a learning experience and from the point of view of a performance delivery. I also learned about the experiences of other cast members, their previous roles and different life skills they had gained as they were all older than me and had much more professional performance experience. The intense week I went through will always remain with me but it enabled me to learn so much and prove to myself that I am still a performer which is what I know and what I love. I certainly will take a huge amount away from this production - from gaining new contacts, enlarging my repertoire, as well as now having new gained confidence in the ability to master 27 complex songs and 92 pages of dialogue in a week!
Active Experimentation: Since YDBMF I have reflected on my approach to dialogue learning, and because of this, I am now far quicker when sight reading and learning material for the first time. It has given me the drive to push myself even further and because of this, I have become more focussed and driven into doing this as my chosen career. I have used the new contacts I have made and learned more about them and their past experiences which has enabled me to be seen by others, improve my networking options and to grow as an individual. I have also become a stronger performer since this experience and it has given me confidence but mainly allowed me to learn not to panic quickly when given a new, sometimes daunting task. So, as a result, my rehearsal approach is far more laid back .This has made me a calmer yet more mature performer to work with. This all fits in with the “planning and trying out” section (Active Experimentation) of Kolb’s cycle and has now encouraged me to look actively seek performance opportunities in gigging, singing in clubs and giving solo performances at different venues. This active experience has highlighted an area of development for me. It has shown that I have great strength in this area which previously I had underdeveloped.
