hamilton

1. Hamilton - Introduction to
Character and Context
In our first lesson of Hamilton, we focused on getting an idea of what the musical is
about, and brainstorming some ideas of how we were going to create the piece for
the showcase in June. We discussed the reasoning behind why we chose to do the
song ‘Non Stop’ from Hamilton, in which we chose it because it has all three
performing arts elements of acting, singing and dancing. This way we can as a
group develop all three elements of performing arts, which we will need for when
we fully enter the performing arts industry in our futures. Our group is very versatile,
however we all have our specified elements of performing arts that we prefer, so
picking a song that has all three elements in, means that everyone can do the
element they are the most confident in, e.g. mine is dance. In the end we decided
that this song was definitely the best option, as there were 3 people who wanted
singing parts, and took the roles of Washington, Elisa and Angelica, the two actors
took the roles of Hamilton and Burr, as they more rap than sing so it was perfect for
the actors to do, and then we had the five dancers in the background.
Therefore, my SMART Target for this lesson was to be engaged in giving ideas on
how we could create the piece, in terms of choreography and directions, and to
quickly pick up choreography for the start of the routine.
As this was the start of our Musical Theatre unit, we discussed as a class that we
were going to challenge ourselves, and create a huge showcase of a variety of
different musical numbers, including all the three elements of performing arts to
show off all our different musical theatre skills. This is a challenge as we have to
learn many different routines, songs and monologues including in areas we are not
so confident in. For example, I am not very confident in singing, but within the
showcase, I will have to sing in a group singing number, which is definitely out of
my comfort zone. We decided on many different songs we are going to use in the
showcase which includes; a main singing number for the whole class in which we
decided is going to be the opening from Rent, a small group dance number which is
Cell Block Tango from Chicago, Non Stop from Hamilton which includes all aspects
of performing arts, two other whole class dance numbers (Revolting
Children-Matilda, and One Short Day-Wicked), and we decided on some people
doing solos. Doing all these routines, and more that we haven't decided on yet, all

2. of this in one performance will definitely challenge our stamina, but will help us
develop for future performances and will help us in the performing arts industry.
Hamilton is an American musical that tells the story of American Founding Father,
Alexander Hamilton set in the 1700s. The idea of the musical was created by
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was inspired to write the musical after reading the
biography Alexander Hamilton (2004) by Ron Chernow. Not only did Lin-Manuel
Miranda come up with the idea of the musical, but he also wrote it, made the music
for it, and plays the main character, Alexander Hamilton. The music in Hamilton is
unlike any other musical, in which it has genres of Hip Hop, R&B, Pop and Soul, in
which they discuss in the words of Lin-Manuel Miranda “America then, as told by
America now”. In our version of ‘Non Stop’ from Hamilton, I am playing an
ensemble character. Being a part of the ensemble in this routine, means that I have
to do a lot of different elements within the piece. I have to sing, act and dance all at
the same time, to fill the space on the stage and to help tell the story of the piece
‘Non Stop’. During our first few lessons on this piece, we watched the video of Non
Stop being performed live, so that we could understand how the characters we are
playing move/act, and how we can incorporate the original choreography into our
routine. The ensemble in ‘Non Stop’ have very good posture and are presented as
quite powerful, in which every step they take has a purpose. In order to fulfil my role
in this piece, I need to make sure that when I am singing the ensemble pieces I add
facial expressions and match my facial expressions to the powerful movements.
During our first lesson on Hamilton, we split off into our three groups of acting,
singing and dancing. Within this lesson, I helped give ideas for choreography, as
our dance group started with choreographing the start of the piece with chairs. In
the first few lessons, we didn't really do much on the ensemble singing parts, so we
mainly focused on discussing ideas for choreography, in which we decided to walk
on with the chairs above our heads and for the whole first section, use the chairs
and incorporate them into the dance like they do in the original musical. I gave the
idea of walking on with the chairs, and I discussed with the group that we all need
to practise in our own time so that we can move on with the next part of the routine
next rehearsal. I also helped one of my peers with a part that she missed in the
lesson beforehand, so that we could move on quickly and not get stuck on the
same section of the routine for too long. Giving ideas and helping with
choreography was my SMART Target, which means I have started to develop and
achieve that target to help me reach my target grade at the end of the unit. Within
choreographing this opening section, we looked at the original video of Hamilton
being performed live, and took some inspiration from the style of dance they do to
choreograph our own, in which we all thought the style they used for choreography

3. was like a mix of Jazz and Contemporary dance. Therefore, we decided to use very
Jazz and Contemporary like moves to choreograph the opening chair section of the
routine, and throughout the next few rehearsals that we choreographed for.
After starting the routine in the first session and discussing what we were going to
do to develop, I set myself the SMART target of perfecting the choreography that
we started, and thinking of ideas to give for the next lesson. To achieve this SMART
Target i needed to practice in my own time to make sure i really understand the
choreography, so that next lesson i can show improvements. I also set myself the
target of watching the Hamilton scene we are doing a few times, to see how the
ensemble characters act and sing to understand and start to learn the small singing
parts that I will have to sing as an ensemble character.
One strength I think I had during these first few rehearsals, was that I think I helped
a lot with giving ideas for choreography. This shows great leadership qualities, and
also helps out the director, as they have had to choreograph a lot of routines
already and might like some help with ideas. I also think that another strength I had
was that I was willing to try anything. Although I am not that confident with singing, I
gave the ensemble parts a go, and I am now getting more confident with those
parts as our rehearsals go on, which shows improvements in my determination and
confidence. I also contributed to thinking of some other routines we could put in the
showcase, in which I offered to do a dance solo, and got a group of 5 of us to do
the routine Cell Block Tango from the musical Chicago.
One area I think I could develop in during our rehearsals is being much more
engaged and having a much more positive attitude, as my mood will reflect on
everyone else too. Therefore, if I am in a bad mood, then it means that my
relationship with everyone else in the class will not be very good, and ultimately will
reflect on what we do in the lesson that day. Especially because we are picking up
choreography in these early sessions of Hamilton, I need to be fully engaged so
that I don't miss anything, otherwise I will slow the whole group down by having to
go over it again, which is why I need to have a positive attitude.
Overall, during our first few rehearsals of Hamilton’s ‘Non Stop’, I feel as though I
managed to reach my SMART Target of giving ideas for choreography, and picking
up the choreography I was given by the director quickly. Reaching this SMART
target will help me to improve within this unit, as we will have to learn a lot of
different choreography, whilst singing and acting, so reaching this target of picking
things up quickly will help me progress quickly. Helping give choreography ideas to
the director, also shows great leadership qualities, and will definitely help me later

4. on in the performing arts industry, as choreographing is a key skill a performer in
the industry needs.
This is an image from the start of
the routine, in which I helped with
the ideas for the chair choreography.
My peers playing Hamilton and Burr
are singing, and the others of us are
dancing in the chairs around them to
create a sense of chaos whilst they
are competing over their opinions.
Within this image, we are
practising another section of the
routine, in which we are on the
chairs again, however, we
were also practising singing
the ensemble parts at the same
time. As a group, we were very
quiet when singing the ensemble parts, however, this just gives us something to
improve on for our next rehearsal.