Instrumentals
[Take Two!]
Take Two was my first musical to make it from page to stage. My co-writer, Callum Hurley and I told the exaggerated story of our desperate attempt to write a musical on our gap year before university in this meta-comedy musical. The musical followed the ups and downs of writing and positioned us as the antagonists of the cast, who were struggling with the difficulties of working with such amateurs as myself and Callum.
Take Two was originally written when we failed to make our idea for A Life Directed into a coherent musical. In our inexperience we had already cast an ensemble and lead characters before the majority of the songs had been written. When the show was clearly unfit and unready to be performed, Callum and I wrote an exaggerated version of the writing of A Life Directed and work-shopped it.
After work-shopping the show we re-wrote it and took it to London after our first year of University. We had learned a lot more about the nature of shows and made some key changes. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we focused on the cast of A Life Directed who would go from lead rolls to background members of a show about ourselves. In the re-write we positioned ourselves as the vain, arrogant, ego-central antagonists which allowed for much more comedy and wider appreciation than only people who knew myself and Callum.
Though never put on again, this musical taught both myself and Callum many lessons that would go on to give us the tools to write future (much better) shows. Many of the musical motifs would work their way into most of my future productions.
The first table read of A Life Directed.
The Thanet Gazette wrote a page on myself and Callum and helped generate some interest. Unfortunately A Life Directed never made it to stage. The writing of it is what inspired the original workshop of Take Two. The workshop would go on to be the inspiration for the London production of Take Two.
A still from the Sandwich Technology School workshop of Take Two.
The final design for the poster and merchandising of A Life Directed.
A still feature the full cast of the sts workshop from Take Two. This was one of their few appearances as Callum and I didn't utilize the cast particularly well until London. The poor use of our cast would become a running joke in the London production as Callum and I played ourselves as antagonists to a cast eager to perform but stuck with incompetent show-runners.
The only real creative lighting choice in the STS workshop. This song would go on to become a parody of argument songs in musicals.
The scripts for A Life Directed
Featuring Dan Parkinson as Mr. Miles, the character is asking the exaggerated versions of myself and Callum whether we plan to get more acting experience before university.
Alaric came to a rehersal as a professional and friend to run a workshop on intercostal diaphragmatic breathing for our cast.