1. Second Hamilton Rehearsal with Director
In our rehearsal for Hamilton with the Director, the focus was to add choreography and
movement to the song. As a company, with the aid of the director, we came up with different
ideas that we could apply to this performance. My personal SMART target for this session
was to remember the lyrics as I was learning where to move in the space provided.
The rehearsal started with a quick, non-strenuous run through of the lyrics. This helped
warm up our vocal cords and helped us to remember the lyrics. In the rehearsal process, I
suggested that I move in from the back as this would put further emphasis on Hamilton being
the main character in the overall story, and show that I am speaking to the audience directly.
I also thought about moving to the back of the stage when Hamilton comes in with his lyrics
to characterise him as eager and almost egotistical, and to add emphasis to his mocking line
when he calls Burr his “assistant counsel”. We thought about there being a split of the
ensemble, with one circling around Burr and the other sitting watching Hamilton when Burr is
singing. When we sat down in a circle watching Hamilton, we synchronised our shoulders
moving up and down to show the ensemble being almost robotic listening to Hamilton’s
ideas. On the line “Hamilton at the constitutional convention”, I added moving across the
stage to show Burr as a passer-by character in Hamilton’s world.
In the piece it’s important to show the time period as the audience might not be aware of the
story of Hamilton. Therefore, it’s important to use mannerisms like holding our hands behind
our back, standing straight and looking proper, as this would have been appropriate for the
18th to 19th century. This is also important as the style of dance and singing juxtapose the
fact that the story is set in this time, the singing being very similar to rap and the dancing
being a more modern style. Characterisation is a skill that I applied here from the original
workshops, which will help aid me perfect the mannerisms and physical movements of the
character. I also applied articulation and tried to work on it as it can be hard to articulate
when projecting your voice.
I found the choreography and movement easier to learn as I have to move around the stage
around the ensemble mainly. I found nailing the vocals hard, however, as I had to go up an
octave when singing so that I could project my voice even more, and it was difficult to push it
to that level. To overcome this I need to make sure I warm up my voice thoroughly before
rehearsals, and keep practising the vocals until I feel comfortable being in the higher octave.
I think that my biggest strength in this rehearsal was my movement memory and my
characterisation. I was able to remember where I had to move to and when I had to do it; for
example, I remembered to move from downstage right centre to downstage left centre when
the lyrics were “why do you write like you're running out of time?”. I feel like my biggest
weakness however was my vocals. An example of this is when I went up an octave on the
lyric “why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?” and my voice didn’t feel very
comfortable when doing that. This means that this is something I will need to work on
throughout the rehearsal process through vocal warm ups and practising.
Reviewing my earlier SMART target, I think I achieved remembering the lyrics because I
didn’t miss one lyric in the entire rehearsal, especially when I was trying to remember the
movements and choreography.
2. Here, I am moving to the back of the stage whilst Hamilton is singing.
This emphasises his egotistical characteristic, as well as his eagerness
to express and explain his ideas. Also, I am holding my hands behind my
back to portray an appropriate 19th century posture and manner.
Here, there is a split in the
ensemble. Downstage right
centre is where I am, and the
ensemble is circling around
me whilst I’m singing.
Downstage left centre
Hamilton is sitting, while
another part of the ensemble
holds his chair, and moves
around him. This shows the
split between the two
characters.
