The countdown blog to Fusion 2009
Tuesday Week 8 – Rennie Hoare
Monday evening saw Fusion rehearsals enter their final stage. Act 1 was performed in its entirety three times, and this should serve as a more than adequate preparation for the Dress Rehearsal on Wednesday. The moves on stage are just one component of a successful show, with clothes, a stage, and an audience also rather crucial. The tickets seem to be selling well, and the stage is now up and ready. This just leaves the clothes.
Backstage, or in any area that you get more than two members of cast chatting together, the main topic of conversation is undoubtedly based around costume . The speculation, and in some cases all out anxiety about going out on stage in little more than a piece of cloth is mounting. Rumours spread like wildfire at the moment, and with such a diverse range of different scenes to be catered for there is a feeling of inevitability that there must be someone with a truly fantastic costume. The bets are already being placed as we get nearer to the grand reveal.
With the possibility of a potential revealing moment to rival any ‘extreme makeover’ bombshell, it is amazing that the cast can focus on anything else at all. Regardless, the big publicity push is also underway; Fusion hoodies are flooding the seminar and lecture rooms on campus, and you would be hard pressed to walk for 5 minutes on campus without encountering a white, black or ash grey hoodie. Fusion is nearly upon us, and the final reveal is just round the corner.
Saturday Week 7 – Gruffudd Jones
The countdown clock on fusionyork.co.uk offers an exciting if nervous reminder that it is now less than a week until Fusion 2009 takes to the stage in Central Hall on Thursday and Friday Week 8; and there’s still a whole lot to do.
Cast and committee alike are practically camped in at various rooms around campus at the moment while the staging and lighting are all prepared at central hall. Rehearsals start before lectures and finish way beyond the closing times of York’s finest public houses- an unfortunate predicament as I’m pretty sure that many of the choreographers and cast could do with a stiff drink at the moment. The disappearance of almost a hundred students from the daily grind of lectures, seminars and sports fixtures exemplify the effort and commitment required for this years performance.
Running modelling scenes over and over again is difficult enough at 3 in the afternoon let alone at 11.30 p.m after a full day of rehearsals and work, and I’m pretty sure most people involved will tell you that they never want to hear the backing track to their particular scene ever again. MGMT’s previously anthemic ‘electric feel’ has been reduced to a mechanical drone in which I find myself involuntarily counting bars of 8, envisaging stage placement and footwork. Really, its like being in a bad hypnotherapy session. I’m not sure how the dancers manage it either. Choreography is a foreign language to me and its impressive to see 4,5 or 6 minute dances being reeled off one after another with apparent ease and with pinpoint timing. If nothing else, Fusion has proven to be a good exercise in commitment and fitness- the walk to campus at least, is no longer such a hardship!
I make it sound as if it’s all work and no play, but as we all know, that would make Fusion a very dull boy. There’s a weird sense of pride and competition when different scenes come together to rehearse, and a renewed sense of enthusiasm when you realise that another scene is more complete than yours, or a certain dance seems to flow better than another. Even so, there’s great team spirit that seems to flowing around at the moment- previous strangers have become friendly faces, and can be a solace and a comfort to know that they too will soon have to put all the practicing to the test in front of more than a thousand people. A pretty daunting proposition to say the least. But, like last year, the hard work will pay off and I will wish once again that I was pacing around L/N 028, or central hall to some catchy beat rather than twiddling my thumbs in the library on post-show weekends.
The time is almost upon us, and I’m confident that the hours of rehearsals will pay dividends next week. In the meantime, forgive your lecture partners and your teammates for dribbling on your shoulder in seminars and practices- they need the shut eye. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a rehearsal…for a change.
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Is there a significance to the countries chosen to have their flags put in the logo?
Looking forward to it since I got to steward last year (and it was worth it) and people have been saying that this is going to be even better
Yes Jason, there is. The flags on the logo represent the six countries, and more specifically cities that will be involved in the show. These are; London, Moscow, Jo’berg, N.Y, Tokyo and Rio. Thats all i can disclose im afraid.