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"Don't Go Breakin' My Heart"
Our first outing was in the Albury Hotel Talent Quest - the list one of it's kind we were soon to discover - with the original idea - "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". This was sung as a duet between a leatherman and a disco bunny.
We liked the contrast and the originality of the idea.
We had a lot of fun working on the routine too ... and the outfits came together all to easily!
We used the Elton John and RuPaul version of the song which I remixed especially for the performance ...
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"Syncopated Rhythm"
For our second performance, this time in the semi-finals, we used a little-known song by the British pop group Scooch - a track called "Syncopated Rhythm". It's a great song, quite complex in construction with an interesting theme. I based the costume idea on the Astaire/Rodgers movie "Top Hat", and once again we worked on stark contrasts and a clever movement routine that fitted both the song and the outfits!
It was the routine that got us through to the finals!
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We were asked for two numbers for the finals, but sadly one was dropped due to the pressure of time.
"Mickey"
The first - "Mickey" was a pompom shakin' extravaganza performed to the B*witched version of the song first made famous by Toni Basil, and later again by the movie Bring It On. We based our outfits around the movie, and our movement on the Toni Basil video clip.
"Love's About to Change My Heart"
The second was to another special remix - this time Donna Summer's "Love's About To Change My Heart". I was always taken by the song and loved the big long note that finished the vocals. It also lent itself well to being sung as a duet. The only issue was that it was starting to sound very much "of it's time", so I fattened it up with some fresh dance beats to really push the number along. Our outfits carried the strong theme of red in the first number.
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We chose to perform the second number over the first for the finals as it was more in line with the other performances we had done, where the emphasis was on the singing of the song, simple movement and striking outfits. The numbers were designed for the same show to present two different sides to our talents - comedy entertainers and strong vocal performers. We'll never know how well they would have worked together but we did perform Mickey as special guests in the final Albury talent showcase.
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| "You're In A Bad Way"
From the success of "Mickey", we were asked by Hillary Eternity to come back to the Albury for the final public night to perform the number again. We decided to break the rules and reprise the number. We also added a new number "You're In A Bad Way", originally by Saint Etienne.
It was a number that I felt could help evoke the history of the Albury - a number with a seventies wink, but with it's heart firmly rooted in the eighties. This simple piece consisted of a vocal performance and a vignette which were presented simultaneously.
At 22:39 +1000 24 07 01, Sheldon King wrote:
Hey, we still don't have a good stage name ... suggestions?
At 10:26 +1000 25 07 01, Joe Vandermeer wrote:
Hi Sheldon,
Maybe I can help you find a name with a few ideas:
The King Singers
King Richard
Sheldonian Theatre
Drag 'n' Drop
The Show-stoppers
The Heart-starters
The Drag Ons (or simply DragOn)
Drag-on, Drag-off
Anyway, have fun and good luck!
Joe |
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Meanwhile ... Behind The Scenes
| It's amazing how much work has to go into each number - and I don't think that until you actually do it can you truly appreciate just how grueling it can be. The music, the outfits, the rehearsing, the e mailing and drumming up rent-a-crowd ... but it's worth it in the end ... |
... talking through lyric sheets ...
... rehearsing movement and actions with our highly technical prop stand-ins ...
... occasionally there is a disagreement ....
... but things don't stay heated for long ...
... and we always have fun!
