dominion theatre

1. Lucy Pratt 12u 26/09/17
BETEC- Dominion theatre
Beautyand the BeastDominiontheatre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5NALmS9aY&safe=true
Part 1
 1997- premierof Beautyandthe Beastin London
 Costingover£10 million- the mostexpensive westendshow
 Firststage productionbyDisney
 Took twoyearsto findthe righttheatre inLondonfor the westendversion
 It was the 10th
productionof Beautyandthe Beastworldwide
 LindaWolvertongotto revisitthe charactersthat she spent 4 yearsworkingonduringthe
makingof the animation.
 Gave herthe opportunity toexpandthe relationshipsbetweenBelleandthe Beastand to
developthe charactersof the objectsmore.
 Hardestthingfor the actors was to “translate the small cartoonimagesintoreal people
playingcharacters”
 Theyhad to change the mythologyof the storyso that it worksforhumanactors playing
objects(the servantsare slowlybeingturnedintoobjectsasthe petalsfall off the rose)
 Lindagoesthroughduringrehearsalsandrevisitsherwork/herscriptandmightchange a
wordor 2.
 Beautyand the Beastis aboutcaring,heart andwarmth so itis importanttohave a cast that
has these traitsandcan feel the characters
 Actors learnthe blockingandthe choreographybutalsocontribute ideaswhichbuilds
relationshipswiththe choreographeranddevelopsthe show farther.Togethertheyare
“creatingthe show”“not a copyof Broadway”
 Costume forBelle’sball dresswasdesignedfromthe original animatorsline drawingsand
the dressstyle of the era (1700s)
 Many differenttypesof lights- latesttechnology
 Make up forthe Beast whenthroughlotsof stagesand the finishedtechnique isnotthe
mostextreme one theyexperimentedwith.
 Make up forthe Beast had obstacles suchasthe fake teethandfangsbeinginhismouth
meantthat the actor couldnot singso theyworkedaroundthatby puttingthe teethoutside
hismouthbut hidingthisinthe waythey didthe prostheticsandmakeup.
 Each performance wasa differentpiece of prosthetics’asthe prostheticsneededtobe thin,
fragile andflexibleforthe actorto move hisface sothe prostheticswouldbreakandtear
aroundeach show.
 Wears the finishedversioninasmanyrehearsalsaspossible togetusedtowhethe is
wearingandhowhismovementneedstobe changed/workedon.Ittakesuntil the final
technical rehearsal togetusedtoit so the earlierthe rehearsinginthe makeupandcostume
the better.

2. Lucy Pratt 12u 26/09/17
BETEC- Dominion theatre
Part 2
 The showallowedfordevelopmentof the relationshipbetweenBelle andMaurice
 ‘Be our guest’- “the firsttime intheatre we couldhave a show take a bigleftturn andall of a
suddenall these dancingobjectswhohadrehearsedthisnumberhopingthatsomeone
wouldcome to the castle sotheycouldperformit”
 Curtaindropsdownduringthe introductionof ‘Be our guest’tohidthe scene change and to
make the big revel of the bignumber.
 Stage managercues the “Be ourguestlift”that isusedfor 4 minutes of the show and is
extremelyexpensive andadvancedintechnology.
 “Choreographingcupsandsaucersand flatware…the wordchallenge comestomind..the
wordfear comesto mind”
 Wantedbigthingssuchas a gravyboat and a kitchensinktheydidn’thave enoughpeople
to make that happen
 “theyjustkeepbuildingandbuilding” - the costumes,the set,the choreography until the
songis finished
 The costumesof the enchantedobjectsdevelopthroughoutthe show.Forexample
Cogsworth’scostume developsthroughoutthe show toshow thathe is slowlytransforming
intoa clock
 LindaWolverton- “IthinkBeautyandthe Beast has beensucha successitis enormously
satisfyingstoryincrediblyentertainingproduction”
 Makes the audience leavefeelinguplifted.