Dracula Triumphant

Hi all,

I saw the preview last night and just wanted to open up this and see what others thought before letting my opinion fly.

Matt.

thats a shame cos the 2nd act was really good. i really liked it, its not typical dracula, but thats what i thought made it quite interesting. it was very different and kinda nice not to have to watch a musical where all these lame little dance numbers take place! (maybe i have seen grease too many times) i thought the cast was very talented too. i give it 2 thumbs up for being different and daring.

The Ocracy's latest production, Dracula Triumphant is now playing a limited season at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. Having attended opening night, I found the show to be a mixture of halves. The show is a contemporary reworking of the original Bram Stoker tale, which entwines itself with an unusual religious myth about Sebastian, the ill-fated saint. The production relies heavily on the minimilalist approach to theatre, with few props, no set changes and an odd use of the heavy stage curtain, which does little to aid in providing clarity for the audience, many of whom seemed baffled by the many twists and turns in the story. However, whilst the production values on stage are slightly questionable, there is much to be said about the majesty of composer Aaron Kernaghan's original music. Combined with powerhouse vocal performances from the four leads, the rock opera score was enormously textual, with the battle of good and evil graphically painted. Kernaghan's outstanding compositions seemed to envelop numerous themes, dancing a wonderfully exuberant dance with blinding flashes of elegant brilliance and seeming to channel influences from Meatloaf to Danny Elfman. Dracula Triumphant as a production is a night out which may leave you scratching your head about what your eyes witnessed, but leave you in no doubt about the fresh new musical talent that is Aaron Kernaghan; his music certainly the triumph in this show.

The guy hugging the filing cabinet was particularly strange...

What can one say about this 'show'? Where to begin?....
Well lets start with music considering its advertised Rock opera title - Unfortunately this productions music is far from rock opera infact it was hard to find a melody throughout the entire train wreck. The acting was minimal and the fact that half of the audience left (most started leaving during the first act) Is a testiment to how horrid this production was. And just when you thought it couldn't get worse the second act starts... Luckily at that point everyone in the audience figures out that they all feel the same about it (Thank God for the hilarious moments in the foyer watching family and friends decide whether or not to stay) the second act starts and the brave people dont hold back the laughter mostly during inappropriate moments of 'drama' Of course this wasnt helped by they terrible horn lines and out of tune strings that made you want to hold on tight to whatever you could just to get through it. Also unbearable were the high notes far out of reach of each performer belted out oh too painfully on the ears.
Not only was Dracula Triumphant imposible to understand, never has there been a bigger waste of money. Why this was produced at the Theatre Royal is beyond me. And the only thing that comes to mind from seeing this show is what else your money could be spent on and more inportantly - what were they thinking.

imagine a wet steaming dog turd, sitting on a hot summer sidewalk, the dog had gastrointeritis and tapeworm. Imageint that festering there for 3 weeks, drying out and going solid, then torrential rain soaks it and releases the smell of the rotting tapeworms along with the rancid turd.

no - it's even worse that that.

A close relation of mine plays one of the lead roles and I flew over to Sydney to watch them perform. They had the following to tell me:

1. The director was a real bastard. I told them that "Yeah, that's pretty standard" and they said "I know - but he was worse."

2. Their publicist wouldn't have anything to do with them. I'm not sure why.

3. Early on in the proceedings, the Royal Theatre wanted rid of them ASAP, presumably over some administrative arguments

4. One of these arguments was that they hadn't bothered to get the set approved in advance. The show wasn't "minimalist", it was just poorly organised.

5. They were promised real costumes, not some cheap tie in with Calvin Klein.

6. The actors, including the leads, were retained on an honourariam basis. They were informed that it was just paperwork, that they weren't going to make people come in from all over the country only to not pay them in the end.

7. Of course, as the show undersold terribly, nobody got paid.

8. The Preview was the first time they'd actually run through the entire performance from start to finish.

9. The musical director didn't bother to check whether the singer's he'd brought on could actually sing the parts he'd written, and didn't bother to transpose the parts when he realised they couldn't.

Finally, they had the utter gall to beleive that an unknown production, from an unknown director, with an unknown cast, and an unknown composer, could fill a prestidgious inner-Sydney theatre for two weeks and break even. Not only was the actual plot, music, and overall presentation amateur and lacklustre, the organisation and integrity of the producer and directors were at best amateur and at worst absolutely pathetic.

Even if all of the above points had been resolved the overall plot would have still been contrived and the music repetitive. Is there so much cocaine in Sydney that this sort of thing can make it all the way to production?

My relation has wasted weeks of time on this flop and my family have wasted money on keeping them in Sydney while they rehearse. In all honesty we expected a professional production and I beleive my relation will dig a lot deeper into the reputation of those controlling the production in the future.

We left at intermission after suffering through Act One. I really wanted to leave part way through but as we got great seats, up front and in the middle, I didn't want to disturb the other people as we left. I recall leaning over to my other half at one point and saying, "When I leave, you better be behind me".

It was quite extraordinary how the audience was reacting to the show. People were leaving behind us and others were giggling throughout some of the performances.

I did feel sorry for the cast as they had obviously put in a lot of effort for this show. Just to remember the songs would take some effort since there was nothing memorable about the music at all.

My partner was apologetic that the tickets had actually been my birthday present. He thought that as it was at the Theatre Royal and that it was sold through Ticketek that it must be OK.

Well, the changes to the date of our show (twice) before we settled on the first preview night, should have told us to be worried.

We will talk about Dracula Triumphant for years to come.
It really was an entertaining experience....but not in the way that the Creators had hoped.

Sorry Dude. But you just did your "relation" a great disservice. Because it is not hard to know who your "relation" is. Perhaps it would have been wise to keep what you knew to yourself...until the it was the right time to say these things. Your "relation" wasn't the only one who sacrficed a bit of life. Nearly everyone in the cast did.
After all it is said and done, this production was a community theatre effort, and you should know, when you're not famous, going gets tough in this industry. At least you could've acknolwedged the production's efforts against all odds. And the production got through the strength of encouraging each other through all the crap that went down. But nobody told your "relation" that your "relation" was an amateur, or anything like that. Because, trust me...there were times when your "relation" was anything but a pro. But some people have manner and sensibility to keep things inside their heads.

Thanks ozstar for being positive. Because personally I liked the second act better as well. Perhaps people should learn how to sit through the entire performance before judging the show. For it is like judging the cake by tasting a half-baked one.

Some ancient proverb for you mate. Don't ciriticise unless you can come up with something better. And no....I don't see you attempting to present a new musical on Theatre Royal stage. So, next time you want to bring someone down for trying, think for yourself. Where would I be in next 30 years? Don't think it will be all that glorious. On the other hand, it could be completely otherwise for the creators and the cast for this show. Then would you still be bagging the show out? Don't think so. You probably would be so damn proud that you got to watch it when it was first on at Theatre Royal, and be telling everyone about it.

AHAHAHA!

it will never be shown again! So in 30 years it will be long forgotten!

Aaron, or david.. who ever you are... lol...

GET OVER IT!!

YOUR SHOW WAS @!#$!!

Please guys, enough already. Theatre is not meant to appeal to everyone. I've seen a whole bunch of bad movies at the cinema and i dont go write all over a forum, wasting more time complaining about it than I probably did watching the actual show.

I'm sure the cast and crew read these pages (as i recall the auditions for this show were advertised here) and it probably makes them feel horrible knowing all their efforts and time put into the show was wasted on unappreciative people like yourselves. i mean how many of you can say you performed in the theatre royal?

look thought the cast was really talented, i mean did you hear the singing. never have i heard such beautiful singing from a chorus in an amateur production.

dracula triumphant - indeed!

peace to everyone xx

No, it probably isn't all that difficult. If I had really intended to obfuscate things I wouldn't have mentioned my source, but, in the end, it's at the very least polite to not narrow it down to one of two or three rather than one of five.

I'll acknowledge an effort against odds when it's something worth campaigning for - this just felt like a horrible waste. I think, in the end, what is really irking me is that in the beginning this was originally presented as a professional production with a solid budget behind it - in other words, something worth spending weeks in Sydney for. Not, as you say, a 'community effort'.

Of course, I'd be willing to hear how those responsible managed to botch the set, botch publicity, and botch costumes! Presumably they had a decent amount of theatre experience - they wouldn't risk the tens of thousands of dollars it requires to book a theatre, push publicity, and hire a 24-piece orchastra if they didn't! I'm hoping that there's a better excuse than simple mismanagement and "bad luck"!

Well Guys
What can i say

You all have it all wrong.

Funny how cast always think they know what is going on - they rarely do, and they embellish to make themselves look less to blame or less involved or more important.

The Theatre should never have agreed to let an armature company perform a new (un workshoped) production in a professional venue.

The Producers of this show were helped at every point with a lot of advice that they did not follow. It is all a case of trying to do to much and not delegating.

MichaelP, its great that you wish to defend your friendÂ’s position in the show, but all cast members need to get some training. Regardless of the material, talent always comes through. Only one cast member showed any promise.

ozstar - yes the cast and crew obviously worked very hard and were very committed to the project and that showed.

Five shows opened in Sydney last week - can any of you name any of them. Dracula received more publicity than any of them including a large story in the Metro.

I saw ads in the paper as well, poorly designed but still promoted.

It is clear that the writers and producers of the project are very inexperienced. LetÂ’s hope that next time their ambitions do not out way their means.

ren

I'll agree on those points.

For the sake of curiosity, which cast member are you referring to? I saw the last show of the production, and I thought that Mina and Dracula particularly stood out. Lucy was punching above her weight and even if Thomas was good, I couldn't tell by the end of it because I felt he had way too much stage-time. Harker I didn't really have an opinion on as far as talent goes, but he does have a certain amount of presence.

The red head

but really, i don't think any of the proffesional producers in the audience that night will be beating down her door to put her in their next show
ren

Err....Just a note. It maybe forgotten...or it maybe not. But DUDE!!! I am not Aaron nor am I David. Personally that would be an insult on my part. I've just seen the show, and the potential that it has...had it been produced right, and after some parts taken out, and some new parts written. And with a better budget. Just thought I'd clarify that I am not Aaron or David.

Although it would've been nice to have met them.

Because that's what's freaking wrong with the entertainment industry in Australia. Too many people are so upwound on using the talents they already have. The industry is not all that big anyway. Like many of the Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals have been running in the NY Broadways ever since they opened, and have spawned many new talents. First, in Australia, nothing ever runs for that long...because as much as you might wish to oppose...the prevailing culture here is watching footy with VB in one hand and a snag in the other. Or going clubbing. OR even if a show ran for that long, they will never change the cast for the sake of ticket sales.

And even in the film industry. The last episode of Everybody Loves Raymond was seen by over 20 million in US alone. That's entire population of Australia. And what do we have here to compete with that? Home and Away? Neighbours?

So that's why no one will probably knock down Mina's door asking to be in the next production. But personally, if I was a powerful producer I would've definitely wanted to meet the dude played Harker and possibly Mina because they were freaking awesome. Dracula dude was good as well.

"Dude", unless you are the sycophantic type, I doubt that it would have been nice for you to meet David &/or Aaron (as you claim). Having worked with both of them in another production, they are quite self absorbed. Aaron Kernaghan is overzealous, lacks the skill to realise his grandiose ambitions & is a creative plagiariser.

As for telling people that they can't criticise unless they can (or intend) to do better: bollocks! The people have spoken: Dracula Triumphant was crap and a waste of money accordfing to many of those who saw it. Accept it, get over it & move on.

Ozstar, I agree that "theatre is not meant to appeal to everyone". However, when people pay up to $60 a ticket at a prestigious venue, they expect quality. That's the critical difference between this disaster and your analogy of "a bad movie at the cinema". Your surprise at people feeling a need to vent their frustration after such an unpleasant expereience is truly disingenuous.

If the cast and crew do read these pages, the criticisms herein will hopefully serve as a tough but necessary lesson for the future. Better to live and learn than to have people pay them lip service and smile through gritted teeth. It's all very easy for you to denounce critics of the show as "unappreciative" but this is a convenient distraction from the genuine & numerous criticisms. The fact that the show was performed in the Theatre Royal is neither here nor there: this does not make it a good show, nor does it mean that people should be any less critical or (heaven forbid) honest.

for gods sake have any of you actually met these two wankers. ive worked with them and seen every show they have done in wollongong and theres a good reason they moved their show to sydney.... no one in the gong is stupid enough to work with them. they beleive abusing a cast is how you motivate them and stealing an ide is better than having one this show was meant to replace a lord of the rings style version of jesus christ superstar that realy usefull co denied them the rights to his first superstar was so bad the rats left and his second was a pastiche of the dvd version. no one will work with them no one here has any sympathy and even their strongest supporters have washed their hands of them they deserve every thing they get. who the hell has the arrogance to workshop a show on the stage that has seen the worlds best perform. theatre royal is a whore for accepting the money for the rodgering it was given. with any luck these wankers will just crawl away and hide. but i doubt it. i feel sorry for the cast i know what they have gone through ive been through it too. your not to blame Aaron is live a vampire, he seduces you, sucks you dry and leaves you for dead.

Thank you ren, you have eloquently summarised what was an intensely frustrating experience for those of us involved in the production. It was incredibly exciting to be performing at the Theatre Royal, and as an amateur performer I felt quite spolt at times to be in such a grand venue. Sadly however, in the end I think it was this, and the fact that so many of our family and friends had forked out good money to see us on stage, that kept many cast members from pulling out of the show.

The attitude and behaviour of the producers/writers towards their cast and crew was one of extreme arrogance at best, and at worst, was incredibly offensive and aggressive. While they marketed themselves from the very beginning as a professional production (delusions of grandeur perhaps?), what I saw through my involvement was the most unprofessional conduct I have ever witnessed in my life. And yes, you may accuse me of being unprofessional in posting this message - that's fine, because I don't misleadingly market myself as being a professional. I am an amateur musical theatre performer, I perform for not for my livelihood but for the enjoyment of it - although sadly this was not the case with this show.

Like many of the others invovled in the production, I feel incredible disappointment with how things turned out. What I do not feel is sympathy for the producers of the show as they deserve every bit of negative feedback that has appeared on this and other sites, and in the press.

Here goes... I was a cast member but don't hold my comments with less credibility than the public reviewers who (despite the - I acknowledge - absurd ticket prices) neglected to realise this was a community theatre production. Thus, in their personal ego boosting reviews have slammed everything about the show based on a single viewing. I was involved and know how and why it was a flop. Firstly realise: the written show was poor, therefore no matter how talented the cast, it would still be looked upon with distaste and negativity. The moment I read the show I knew it was crap, my opinion never changed - even at the preview performance when the FIRST full run was done, which in any language is unprofessional. The reason I continued with this show was the prospect of performing at the Theatre Royal. The daily telegraph got it right when they said: "the actors did their best with a weak script". Aaron wrote some great orchestration - emotive with themes and although it wasnÂ’t consistently strong it wasn't complimented by DavidÂ’s lyrics. For a show that is sung throughout, he used way to many metaphors! No wonder no one understood the musical, I could just imagine how clever they thought they were as they justified to each other how one line represented a whole theme that really only the mentally elite (or psychotic) could grasp. What I am saying is that the performers did the best they could with very little - full credit to that.
The dream of Aaron and David should be congratulated - at least they tried, which is more than any of the negative reviewers can say. What a daring task. Seriously well done to them. On the other hand, I don’t know of anyone who would work with them again. The power trip they were on was, when not insulting, amusing. This led to arrogance and greed, which in turn led to the demise of a show. I can’t believe they RATED THEMSELVES SO HIGHLY as to base all media – which was crap – on themselves. Who are they?? I can’t believe they so deceptively conducted themselves as to mislead the cast and crew it would be a professionally conducted production and then insult them by putting everyone so far out-of-pocket. And I can’t believe such a good bunch of people (cast, orchestra, principals, backstage) could be treated so badly. Stuff up after stuff up, broken promises and insulting comments led to the cast forming a tight group. The show should have been tested somewhere other than the Royal - I was embarrassed to ask friends to come at such a high price when I knew the show was "weird", although, “weird” can be good but this was immature. However, there were some good performances and audience members enjoyed it.
Overall I enjoyed my experience of being a part of this show because of the fabulous people in the cast. They put so much effort in, it was a shame our spirits kept getting slammed by poor organization from ignorantly immature creators. I hope the creators have fallen off their high horse and learnt how to treat people with an essential quality: MORALITY!!
Congratulations to the cast for doing so well with what we had, for your positive high spirits. To the principals – all comments from family, friends, other cast members etc have said how Tim, Simon, Michelle and Virginia held the show – you are incredibly talented – good luck! Well done to the creators for their dream. Apologies to the public for such a poorly scripted and organised show – I hope we can all move on and give you great theatre in the future.

I too, being part of the production, felt that the cast did their best with the music and direction they were given, and for the most part, professional every step of the way, hardworking, and the best bunch of people with which you could hope to work.

I also thought our leads were amazing. The power of Dracula's voice, and sweetness of Mina's songs, the boyish charm of Harker and strength of Lucy's voice were truly captivating. Most of the music was very powerful and lyrical, but director's outbursts, unanswered questions and leaving costuming, dress rehearsals and set design until the last minute as well as problems with the Theatre Royal and things that were promised but fell along the wayside, dampened the cast's spirits greatly.

I feel that because this was originally a play reworked into a musical, that alot of the storyline was left along the way, and would have made much more sense with either a narrator, or a bit more plot added in, as the general consensus was that people enjoyed the music, but didn't have much of an idea as to what was going on.

It was exciting performing at the Theatre Royal, but a lot more organisation and reworking needs to go into this musical if/when it is performed again, as the show does have great potential as a lot of the cast did see along the way, but didn't totally come into fruition at the end.

Well done and thank you to all the cast (and our talented rehearsal pianist), as you all helped make the show that bit more enjoyable, and because of you, made it all worthwhile.

Cheers

After PAYING MONEY to see this show, the audience has EVERY RIGHT to criticise, especially since it was being billed a 'professional' or 'semi-pro'.

People who say "Shut up unless you can do better" really need a wake up call. Any time you present something you create to the general public, you open yourself up for criticisms. WELCOME TO LIFE.

Oh - and while I agree that this show has potential, it should be taken away from the current production team for a good long year and workshopped until it bleeds. It was messy, uncohesive, incoherent and sometimes unlistenable. A few of the songs did leave pieces of melody lingering for a few hours - a good sign - but damned if i can remember them now - NOT a good sign.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! If I PURCHASE a half baked mud cake and taste that it has got metal shavings in it, should i finish the cake, or throw out the remainder?

Or should I let the shop know that I am angry that i was sold a half baked mud cake in the first place?

OK.

Let me start by saying "NO BIG F*****G SURPRISE!!"

This isn't the first show that David & Aaron have done that's flopped big time! Romeo & Juliet, Superstar & Aspects of Love all flopped big time!

I know alot of people that were in this "production" and I feel sorry for them for having to put up with such an unexperienced production team!

There are only a few ppl I feel sorry for.

1) the audience that had to witness such a poor piece of "musical theatre"!!!

The second is The stage manager. I know her pesonally and I know how she would be feeling after being part of such a flop!

Aaahhh well, looks like the boys are back to Wollongong to open, yet another theatre company...I think there's been at least 2 others before Ocracy!

Sorry but, when you're as untalented and unprofessional as the two "boys" behind this venture are, There's no wonder it only last 1 out of the 2 week run...And, from what I've heard it was lucky to last past the preview or "first run of the show"!!!

Let's we don' have to dre any more rubbish from these people again!

Some of the music was 'taken' from other musicals and changed oh so slightly to seem unique!

OK people, i will admit the acting was pretty ---- but how good were the instruments... with the exception of the french horn of course (although we sacked the first guy and got our second guy who was really good). Ultimately the show wasn't that bad.

A Violin.

On many points, I agree with you Harker dude. Having some outside opinions and chieseling (and getting it workshopped) as you said would've done the show much good.

Livy. Your post of an awesome one. A really honest and heartfelt. I was also in the cast, did feel that the arrogance was what pulled the show down in the end. But as you've said, the cast members have formed such a good bond, I think it was worth it all just because of that. I surely had by far the best days of my recent years mingling with the cast members. And after all, we got to stand on Theatre Royal stage. : p.

Amen. I am hungry.

On the other thought, MichaelP...knowing where your "relation" actually comes from, I do feel the disappointment and anger (if there are any) since your "relation" would've been the one who has sacrificed most of her time and money than anyone else in the cast. But she is a promising talent and hope to see your "relation" again in bigger stages across Australia. Cheers

Yes - as an experienced chorister and somebody with an ear for this sort of thing I will say that the orchestra were very tight on the night I saw the performance. Good job and well done!

why do you feel the need to call everyone dude?
the show you were involved in was poo...get over it duuude!

Well,

I truly believe that it was the worst show ever produced.

My problem is that it wasn't just bad for a 'proffessional' show (as it was billed), it was bad for any ameteur show.

This is the sort of show that gives amateur societies a bad name and the reason that so many amateur companies in Sydney are having trouble selling tickets.

For instance, I saw a great production of 'Seussical' at Riverside Theatre in Parramatta on Saturday 8th October at 8pm. Truly it was brilliant, yet the auditorium was only 3 quarters full. Talking to the cast later on, I heard that there were shows with only 5 or 6 rows of audience. Yet this show was absolutley brilliant.

The reason people won't come and see shows is because of CRAP like this.

I hope that the people who put on this show are shunned by everyone who loves musicals and never have the ability or resources to put on a show ever again.

Matt.

I have a half-baked mud cake you can eat... :P :)

Hi - I'm not going to rehash old arguments already brought up here, but I would like to just take the time to say that the orchestra did an excellent job, and I think that perhaps people have overlooked this.

True, the show may have not been successful or have appealed to most people, but the consistent feedback I have heard from almost everyone I talked to about the show was that the music was almost always well-played (the comments in reviews about the french horn only apply to preview night - that player was very quickly replaced with an excellent player who did everyone a great service by coming in at short notice to fill the rest of the show).
So in essence, I think that the orchestra as a whole (and not necessarily including myself in this) should be congratulated for the excellent work that they put into the show, and I certainly felt priveleged to play with everyone at the Theatre Royal - regardless of what was happening onstage the fact still stands that the orchestra put in a lot of time and possessed a lot of talent, and I wish that every aspect of the show went as well as the music.

So there's my two cents - not intending to spark any controversy here, but the quality of the orchestra was very high (a lot of players were students at the Sydney Conservatorium) and they devoted a lot of time and effort to the show that should be recognised.

I am someone that has played in orchestras for amateur shows and I think that you actually have done all of us a dis-service by playing a show for free.

I know that a lot of people think that it's terrible that orchestras get paid to play in ameteur shows but let me provide you with some reasons why:

We are expected to come in and play a very challenging score perfectly on little or no rehearsal

We are expected to sit through many many runs of the show and sit quietly and not distract the audience

There are not many of us who do shows anymore and we need the money to cover our expenses - such as petrol, photocopying and resources for our instruments.

So basically I think that all of you who played Dracula Triumphant for free have done all of us a dis-service.

By the way, the night I went the orchestra sounded terrible - especially the violins.

Bob

In defence of everyone both on-stage and in the pit I have to say that whoever was operating the sound desk was not helping anyone.

Yeh i agree, the night i saw the show (wednesday) they sounded pretty tight, the main issue was that a lot of the time the mix was a mess, the trains going underneath had more presence than the drum kit and for a rock opera i personally don't think that's a good thing.. On the whole tho, for amateur theatre it sounded pretty good, i know how hard it is to jump in at the last minute and play, especially when you don't know what the music you're playing fits with on stage.

Well Bob, we were actually paid for the show - so it's not a case of the orchestra doing anyone a disservice. While not strictly paid per call we did receive money that more than covered the costs for the show, which were limited to transport costs as all the photocopying and score preparation was done by the composer and orchestra manager.

I too have played in many amateur shows so you're preaching to the choir here - I too believe that orchestras should be paid.

Understandably, I think a lot of people may have got confused about payment in the show - Dracula was non-professional in the sense we weren't paid per call, but by no means were we doing it for free.

I base my judgement on the orchestra having been there for every one of the six shows plus all rehearsals, and the overall quality was excellent in all shows (French horn on the tuesday night is THE exception to this. The SMH review described it as parping and that is exactly what it was).

You are entitled to your opinion, but this was a high quality orchestra which included some extremely talented musicians (the woodwinds in particular were excellent) and I was happy with every one of the performances (from the orchestra point of view).

There may have been some off bits here and there but as you said - "We are expected to come in and play a very challenging score perfectly on little or no rehearsal." Well, Dracula was a challenging score with some high exposed string writing of the type that even professionals sometimes get wrong. As everyone seems so quick to harp upon, yes it is an amateur production. Nothing is absolutely perfect, not even in professional productions, and I can assure you that the orchestra was in tune and playing what was written virtually all the time, and blanket generalisations upon the whole based on the performance of one instrument in one performance are unfair and insulting.
You want absolute perfection, get the Vienna Phil...

One of the Orchestra wrote:
>
> Well Bob, we were actually paid for the show - so it's not a
> case of the orchestra doing anyone a disservice. While not
> strictly paid per call we did receive money that more than
> covered the costs for the show, which were limited to
> transport costs as all the photocopying and score preparation
> was done by the composer and orchestra manager.
>
> I too have played in many amateur shows so you're preaching
> to the choir here - I too believe that orchestras should be
> paid.
>
> Understandably, I think a lot of people may have got confused
> about payment in the show - Dracula was non-professional in
> the sense we weren't paid per call, but by no means were we
> doing it for free.
>
> I base my judgement on the orchestra having been there for
> every one of the six shows plus all rehearsals, and the
> overall quality was excellent in all shows

> There may have been some off bits here and there but as you
> said - "We are expected to come in and play a very
> challenging score perfectly on little or no rehearsal." Well,
> Dracula was a challenging score with some high exposed string
> writing of the type that even professionals sometimes get
> wrong. As everyone seems so quick to harp upon, yes it is an
> amateur production.



Orchestras are pretty good at standing up for themselves. I wish actors would be the same way.
Imagine if actors behaved the same way, refusing to be exploited....

Craig

[%sig%]

Penguin???

Hmmm, I think I know you don't I?


I'm surprised at what you said

Do you know why you get paid?

Because we use to have crap people playing for the people on stage.

so ppl had to start paying in hopes of getting decent people....

The director and choreographer never or rarely get paid, and they do just as much if not more work than the MD or people playing. So, don't try to make yourself seem special!

Hi everyone.

Dang. It's been neraly two weeks since the show was last performed. Yet the forums are still going on? And there are at least two people who told me to get over the show, but obviously many hasn't. Interesting though.

Hey Harker dude - some people get off on metal shavings.

dumb metaphor - but i see the point - those who didn't stay till the end - well their opinion is really only half it's worth.

each to their own - if you don't like something fair enough - i dont think u need to slander it all over the net.

but the show was not as bad as some of you people are making out..

I personally liked it - but unlike you losers - i dont have the time to sit around on internet forums all day...

i think it's fair to say the show was not popular amoung the computer geeks who just post on chat rooms all day - but my friends and i thought it was good (enough so that i actually googled in the hopes of finding out if there's another showing) - didn't realise it was considered a flop.