Summersault

Last weekend, the members of our choirs donned their teal ties, jewellery and accessories. Teamed with black outfits, for two hours on Saturday and Sunday night, the stage of Toynbee Studios looked like a season finale of Glee. Unlike Glee, however, at Starling Arts our shows are, thankfully, without as much drama. No childbirth, declarations of love, corrupt PE teachers or celebrity judges appeared to upset the balance of our latest concert, Summersault. Not as far as we're aware, that is.

Without doubt, Glee brought the term 'show choir' over to the UK, and rather fortuitously launched on our screens at the same time as Starling Arts was born. Yet in the last two years, we've developed our own choral identity away from that brand, and with it a team of loyal musicians, technicians, singers and audience members who always come back for more, ready to support us. 

Over the last couple of years, we have produced several concerts with our choirs. From humble beginnings in a draughty church hall with an old piano, it's wonderful to now be able to fill the stage and auditorium of a venue like Toynbee with a band of talented musicians accompanying our wonderful singers, and a backstage and technical team giving it a slick, professional finish.

So, we thought we'd open up this week’s blog to those people, to see what Starling Arts and Summersault means to them.

Shalini - a choir member’s perspective

I've been a part of Forte since the choir was first formed, and I am continually amazed at how making music has brought people together and genuinely enriched all of our lives. Many of us joined the choir on the basis that we sort of liked singing in the shower and wanted to meet a few more people in London, but I don't think any of us realised how much fun we'd have, or the sense of achievement gained from performing in several successful shows, each one better than the last, and having the opportunity to develop and learn in a field completely different to our everyday working lives.  

Performing in Summersault in particular has been a highlight as the theatre was bigger than we've ever performed in, and I sang my first significant solo - I would never have had the confidence to do this a year or so ago, but with the encouragement and support of everyone in the choir, what had once seemed a terrifying experience became an exciting opportunity. It's hard work - we're all busy with our full time jobs so we have to squeeze singing in where we can, but it pays off when we're able to come together to put on such a great performance, have a lot of fun doing it and and hearing how much the audience enjoyed it. I can't wait until the next one!

Peter - the Sound Technician’s view

This was my third Starling show as sound tech, and from my point of view (how does it sound...) the best. At the previous two shows at the LOST theatre we had to have the band close to the choir which meant that the choir mics picked up the band too, and limited my ability to get an optimum balance. At Toynbee the band were a comfortable distance from the choir (but still visible to the audience), and I had no problem keeping the vocals heard above the band - and thanks to the CCTV monitor in the second row of the audience the singers could still see Anna conducting from the piano.

I am always overwhelmed by the talent of the performers and how nice they are, even forgiving us sound and light techies when we get something wrong. Constantly ‘riding the faders’ to optimise the sound balance I can’t keep my eyes fully on the choreography, but I am listening intently at all times, probably more intently than the audience who are feasting their eyes as well as their ears. The most moving number for me was “Children Will Listen”. And I had to restrain myself from singing along with “God Only Knows”...  

What the audience thought...

It is very difficult to give a reasoned, unbiased and dispassionate response to Summersault because love and pride gets in the way!

From its very beginning, the Starling choirs have always given polished performances, with the added 'verve' that the songs haven't just been sung, but actually performed too. This has improved concert by concert and Summersault proved that the choirs are now reaching newer heights in entertainment and ability.

One member of the audience said to me "...it was great fun" - the evident fact that everyone was having such fun increased the audience's enjoyment too.

Another (new to Starling) emailed me to say "I was REALLY impressed with the evening - great entertainment; well polished and enjoyable choreography to enhance the songs."

So keep on bringing the musical theatre classics - and new songs - to your audience, Starling, and we'll lap it up!

Cat - the Stage Manager

Having seen other Starling Arts shows, I was very excited to be involved in this concert as the Stage Manager. My main role was to make sure that all performers were in the correct place at the correct time to ensure that the show ran smoothly, and with over forty of them backstage and a maze of routes from one wing to the other, it can be a tough job! 

I had an amazing weekend working with all three of the choirs. The passion of the singers and of Anna and Emily at the helm is very inspiring to watch, and I felt proud to be involved with such a supportive company. It's a privilege to be part of the team.

Helena - another of our singers’ thoughts

After a few weeks of frantically concentrating on dance moves and tweaking harmonies, the day of the show always begins with a mix of trepidation and excitement. Concentrating on those kick lines and nailing the entrances and exits takes up the morning, but when showtime arrives it's time to let your hair down, get on with the performance and... enjoy 

It's such a wonderful privilege to be able to perform. To do it with such a fantastic bunch of like-minded people, making fabulous memories together, is an opportunity not to be missed. I loved every minute of performing in Summersault - thank you Starling Arts!

Our choirs are now taking a well-deserved for the summer while we head down to Devon to facilitate our Summer School production of Beauty & the Beast, but they'll all be back in September, with a rather exciting announcement ahead of Christmas, so watch this space...

Anna & Emily

Name that tune!

With only two days to go 'til Summersault, excitement is mounting at Starling HQ!

On Tuesday, Anna ran the band call with the talented musicians who make up the Starling Arts band. It's always exciting to get the band together and amazing how quickly all the songs piece together. Along with the fantastic sound the three choirs are making, you're in for a musical treat this weekend!

We've also been having our final rehearsals with our lovely choirs, Forte, Corvida and The Starling Singers. Emily has been polishing up their dance moves and ensuring all the entrances and exits are slick and show ready. 

You can see the result of all this talent and energy this weekend at Summersault!

Name that tune!

To get you in the mood for this weekend's show, our Corvida girls traded their close harmony singing for close harmony kazoos this week. Can you name the song they're performing in this video? 

Leave us a comment if you think you know the tune, and what's more, come and hear the real thing sung this weekend as part of Summersault. It sounds much nicer sung than it does kazooed, we can assure you!

Tickets are available from our what's on page.

Toynbee Studios (nr. Aldgate East)

Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th July, 7.30pm

We can't wait to see you there and promise you it'll be a great show!

Anna & Emily

Forte Say Sew

This week, we hand over the blog reins to Amanda Johnston. 

Amanda sings with Forte and will also be overseeing the costumes for our Summer School production of Beauty and the Beast, but before she starts designing giant teapots and candlesticks for us, she, along with members of one of our choirs, has put her time and talent towards our upcoming concert, Summersault. Her blog is testament to the wonderful friendships and commitment the Starling Arts community has, and we're very grateful for it. 

- Anna & Emily

Words and Pictures by Amanda Johnston 

While the song and dance of a show certainly takes up a large chunk of preparation time, it's the details that help us take the show to a higher level. Personally, costumes and set are a huge part of what makes live theatre so magical, as they provide an additional outlet through which to tell the story. When Becki, one of our singers, suggested Forte wear aprons for a big dance number (the logic of this will become clear during Summersault), I jumped on it, and practically begged Emily and Anna to agree to the idea. 

Naturally, all our singers use Singer sewing machines, as Linda proves.

It’s something of a myth that “making your own” is a cheaper option - good quality fabric and supplies combined with the time invested will often make a handmade project more expensive than the high street - but in this case it turned out to be the best option, even compared to cheap aprons on eBay. I trundled off to my local supermarket to buy king sized sheets (the cheapest way to get a large amount of fabric, if you're not too fussy about fabric quality), and spent the best part of a weekend tearing the sheets into apron shaped pieces, 

While aprons are easy to make, and a brilliant beginner project, they take longer than you might imagine. Multiply this by 22 singers, and there's suddenly a lot of time to be dedicated to sewing a few strips of fabric together. Thankfully, the Starling community is full of wonderful people willing to volunteer their time, and a number of Forte singers have been working hard to bring the aprons to life in the last few weeks. Some have taken away kits of fabric to work on at home, while others came together to work on them as a group.

Tom irons around the teal frills that give the aprons a Starling touch

Last Saturday, a group of eager stitchers gathered in my flat for a sewing bee, and we had quite the production line organised. Everyone did a fantastic job, and thanks to an open mind and willingness to take on any task I could throw at them, we got a lot done, despite having a wide range of sewing ability amongst us (everything from those who'd never sewn so much as a single stitch to those who've been cutting holes in the middle of their mother's good fabric for as long as they can remember). After 5 hours of sewing and multiple cups of tea each, drunk from my collection of enormous mugs, we had lots of half-finished aprons, ready to have their waistbands sewn on.

Shalini completes Forte's frills and furbelows

There’s still a little work to be done, and then the whole batch needs to be ironed, however the aprons have come together wonderfully, with some even sporting Starling teal frills. We're looking forward to showing them off at Summersault - see you there!

Tickets for Summersault are available from our WHAT'S ON page. The show takes place on July 14th & 15th, 7.30pm at Toynbee Studios, and is an evening not to be missed!

Two weeks to go...

Preparing for one of our concerts takes months of planning, but it is the final few weeks before a show that prove the most busy, occasionally stressful, but ultimately the most rewarding. 

Producing a show is a varied business; we have to book the venue, recruit musicians, technicians and stage management, and advertise and sell the show, alongside directing and rehearsing our 50 singers to get them show ready.

Mindful of this, this week’s blog takes a small glimpse into what Anna and Emily are both up to with just over 2 weeks until show time.

Anna

The run up to one of our shows is, for me, the busiest part of the Starling term. When we start rehearsals for a new production, I arrange and prepare scores for all of our singers and provide them with rehearsal tracks, but in the weeks before a concert, my time is dedicated to arranging band parts and organising the technical schedule for the show. This is lots of fun, but can sometimes be a bit of a headache!

We have a very talented band for Summersault, and I’m excited to have written an Entr'acte specially for them and this production, putting a spotlight on this talent. Having sent out arrangements to our drummer, bassist and second piano player, my days are now filled with writing clarinet and saxophone parts for me to play in the concert, making sure our sound and lighting team have all the necessary equipment for the show, and planning our band call, which will take place a few days before the event.  I'm also busy preparing rehearsal material for our Summer School cast, so a typical day at my desk has a view not too dissimilar to the picture below! 

We've a lot of different musical and vocal styles in this production, so I enjoy being sensitive to this when arranging music. It’s also fun trying to create the sound of a large band with just four musicians. As musical director, you can feel a bit isolated playing and conducting behind a piano or music stand during the weeks of rehearsal, so I can’t wait to be on stage with a group of other musicians, not to mention our talented singers; there's no better feeling. 

Emily

It’s my job to make the performances come to life ready for a live audience, and to ensure the show looks as good as it sounds. Unlike more traditional choirs, ‘show’ choirs stage musical performances, adding anything from complex dance routines to simple movements which enhance the storytelling of the music. Summersault features diverse styles from a cappella love songs to war time female close-harmony and full scale musical theatre dancing cutlery (yes, you read that correctly). I love the challenge of choreographing for a range of dance styles and performers, but with the pressure of getting steps perfect for a concert you’re likely to spot me running over dance routines wherever I am.

Months before a show, I start devising suitable movement, a process that can take weeks of research, planning and dancing around my kitchen for a single routine, which is then continually refined right up until its first performance. The blocking rehearsals that follow can be tricky - with over 20 singers in our largest choir, Forte, I have to keep on top of every singer’s movements. Shouting dance instructions over loud singing means I have to take special care of my voice in the run up to a show, particularly as I’m one of five singers performing with Corvida in this concert. 

Between rehearsals I’m planning how every single one of our performers will enter, perform through and exit the stage, and I’m transcribing and recording the hardest routines so our singers can rehearse at home. The final few weeks see me focus on getting the show slick, fast-moving and most of all, fun! As adults, we’re taught not to show off and inhibitions often get in the way, so the games and exercises we plan in the run up to shows like Summersault encourage our singers, who in their day jobs do anything from teaching to nursing and law, to enjoy their time on stage. With only two rehearsal hours a week, we’d always like more time, but it is our hope that by show week we are all ready to face the music, and dance... 

To see our choirs in performance, join us at Summersault on July 14th and 15th at Toynbee Studios.

Ticket information can be found on our What's On page.

Welcome to our new blog!

To conicide with the launch of our new website, we are also launching a blog to keep you all up to date with our news, rehearsals and shows.  Just as importantly, we will also use this space to discuss our views and opinions on both professional and amateur musical matters and events, and to give a voice to members of the Starling Arts community.

You can subscribe to our blog by clicking on the orange RSS link to the right, and we'd love your comments on our entries to let us know what you think.

Watch this space!