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The story of Jekyll and Hyde is based on the novel "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" written by Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1886. He was inspired by a dream he had about a man transforming into a monster, which led him to develop the characters of Jekyll, a respectable scientist and Hyde, his violent alter ego.

This story explores the dual nature of humanity, focusing on the struggle between good and evil and has since been adapted into theatre, film and other media,

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Dr Henry Jekyll creates a potion as part of his experiments to explore the duality of human nature. He believes every person has a good and darker side and wants to separate these and experience a fuller life. Jekyll drinks the potion which transforms him into Mr Edward Hyde who embodies Jekyll's repressed desires, engaging in violent acts.

Mr Gabriel John Utterson, Jekyll's lawyer and close friend, becomes suspicious of Hyde after learning about his connection to Jekyll. Dr Hastie Lanyon is another friend of Jekyll and a fellow doctor who disapproves of Jekyll's experiments. He then witnesses the horrifying transformation of Jekyll into Hyde. which shocks him into demise.

Over time the transformations become uncontrollable, Hyde's actions become increasingly violent, leading to the trampling of a child and murder of Sir Danvers Carew. Jekyll eventually attempts to be rid of Hyde.

In his final attempt he takes the potion one last time however is unable to revert back to Jekyll and becomes permanently trapped in the form of Hyde. Utterson discovers Jekyll's laboratory and finds a letter from Jekyll explaining his experiments. The story concludes with him reflecting on the tragic consequence's of Jekyll's quest.

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As someone on the hair and makeup team, I made mood boards to give the cast a guide to help them with ideas for each category of character. Many did their own hair and makeup however, they asked for opinions and help from us in the dressing room. I did Lord Savages' makeup, provided hair accessories for prostitutes and helped curl ensembles' hair. We ensured male characters' hair was up so the audience could tell females were playing the opposite gender. The person playing Proops has brightly coloured hair therefore, we tried to come up with a solution to this as no one in the time Jekyll and Hyde is set would have blue hair. Origionally he got a wig to cover it however we settled for black hairspray as it looked better and more realistic than a wig.

Hair and makeup is a significant part of musical theatre and I enjoyed exploring this responsibility, as I have not had a job role like this in the past.

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In Bring on the men these characters would apply a red lip, many had braids and curly hair.

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For the rich we did clean styles usually gelled or pinned back while poor styles were more rough and messy. Makeup involved heavy blush and contour to structure mature facial features and portray wealthiness.

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This week we worked on Facade and main roles are not yet cast, we are starting to try out certain movements in this number to convey a clear divide between the rich and poor.

We also have all learnt movement for Bring on the men as after casting, 8 people will be chosen to dance in this number therefore everyone is learning it so we save time and so our choreographer can judge who is best when it comes to this dance.

Next week we will continue to work on these numbers as a whole before casting.

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Responsibilities of a performer include acting, singing and dancing as well as attending and participating in all rehearsals and performances. This is important because if one or two rehearsals are missed a performer could go back and not know if something about a scene has changed and will have to learn it a different time taking up rehearsal hours. I found memorizing lines, lyrics, choreography and cues was good as it came naturally through rehearsals and I had a system where I recorded all my lines and would listen to them from time to time while doing everyday tasks to get them in my brain faster. This really helped me as I was able to focus on movement and songs knowing I had lines learnt early. It is ideal to maintain a high level of physical fitness, stamina, professional ethic and assist with set changes, costume changes and other backstage duties as needed. An average Broadway salary is between £45000-£220000 per year depending on the run of the show or their contract length in an ongoing production. Ideal qualifications include Level 2 Certificate in Performing Arts, A level in drama and theatre and a level 4 Diploma in speech and drama.

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This week we have just completed Facade and are still perfecting/memorising the movements. Roles have now been cast therefore, solo lines have been assigned and many of us are in the process of learning the words.

We have also started to choreograph Murder Murder with the use of umbrellas and newspapers and are in the process of adding to this complex number. Lady Glossops death has also be incorporated with the help of directors.

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Facade is the first group number and it consists of the rich and poor explaining how their lives are a “Facade” (lie, putting on a persona etc). The main focus of this song is to show the audience anger, jealousy and cold hearted nature.

Playing a poor person, i feel i executed my anger well through facial expressions, body language and vocals. I also believe i am good at playing negative feelings as i have enjoyed doing so in the past.

In the rehearsal process i liked learning the movements as they are snappy and done in unison, however it took a lot of practice to perfect this. As a whole i believe ensemble did well to move as a collective.

Although this was the scene i enjoyed most, there are still things that did not go to plan. One night at the start of the number my safety pin on my trousers came undone and made it painful to dance, as a solution i took it off and placed it in the wing when walking to the back and then retrieved it when coming off therefore no one hurt themselves. Yes this did throw me off however i feel i dealt with it efficiently.

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I was a waiter in the engagement party and had to carry a tray of plastic wine glasses. I always ensured i had glasses on the tray for specific characters that needed to take one and that majority had one to toast at the end of the scene.

In one scene someone took a glass and the rest knocked over, although this is something that went wrong i feel effectively acted it out.

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Bring on the men is our introduction to Lucy and i played a man in the Red rat with his friends having a laugh and a good time.

This scene is essentially groups of men watching girls dance and sing and acting in this way can be a challenge.

However i believe this scene was well put together and enjoyed background acting. At first much of the ensemble were quiet but we got more comfortable with the scene as rehearsals went on.

One of our shows was a matinee where we had an audience of secondary school children. We believed it would be wise to remove certain parts of Bring on the men therefore instead of picking a girl up when leaving she walked me off.

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Alive is the first time the audience are introduced to Hyde, this scene shows the streets of London filled with people and Hyde walking through them frightening them.

As an ensemble member i had to walk back and fourth and react to Hyde if he was to come near or scare me.

At a certain point everyone has to clear as he has a duet with the character Lucy, however some would get stuck in the wings that had no exit.

Other than this i believe this song went well and portrayed Hydes character well.

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Murder Murder is one of the two large ensemble members running for a while switching between song and dialogue. I was given solo lines (sung and spoken) in this song as the minister. This song requires a lot of acting through movement and song as we are all scared of the multiple murders happening in london.

My character went through emotions such as fear, grief and being accused. We had umberellas and newspapers in this dance which i felt gave the number a more lifelike feel.

As i came on from different wings and had to stand on the stair platform i found it difficult to get there on time and this was something that would go wrong, however over time i knew where i had to be and when and perfected it in the end.

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The wedding bus the final scene and is also the death of Jekyll/Hyde.

In this scene i played the minister and officiated Emma and Henry’s wedding.

As i am saying my lines, Jekyll cuts me off because he is experiencing pain while turning into Hyde, i had to ensure it did not seem as though i was waiting for a reaction therefore had extra lines in my head incase he did not cut me off.

As a minister i feel they would try to calm down the guests as they are the one leading this service and something shocking is happening.

Having big reactions proved difficult for me as we had to react as if a Hyde was actually killing and hurting all these people then proceeding to kill himself. However i believe we were able to create a dramatic atmosphere, silent and still at the end.

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This week we worked on Facade Reprise 1 in our singing lesson. I was the middle harmony and found it useful to record this criteria so I can look back on it at home and perfect them.

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In rehearsals this week we have been going over Murder Murder, solo lines have been assigned and I have been given a couple as a minister. These lines involve my character feeling accused, mournful and scared, so I ensure to portray this through my body language and facial expressions.

We also ad tech come in to watch a run of Act one so they can discuss lighting, set and sound with our director and choreographer. This was significant as we were also able to do a run through with markings of the stage on the studio floor to sort out spacing.

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In our lesson we all came together and went through the group numbers vocally. We practised harmonies in set groups: Low Middle and High and i recorded Facade Reprise 3 and Murder Murder are these are the ones i struggle to remember most.

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This week we choreographed the bows and filmed it so people who were not at rehearsal were aware of the order they went in. The bows are important to rehearse and proved useful when it came to show week.

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As a whole I think the performance went really well and was professionally pursued in every way possible. The schedule we had to follow was very organized and consistent throughout apart from any timing issues and this was good as we could experience a official rehearsal process. I feel I portrayed my character well and worked well with others in creating an effective performance. The staging and positioning really brought the musical to life and gave the audience an up close perspective.

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Cast and crew were given a schedule to follow for tech and show week. This made it simple for everyone to know where they should be and when, although some elements would overrun, everything on the table would still happen. This was much more effective than any other method of time management and ensured we were all professional and efficient.

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A directors job is to, obviously, direct, organize rehearsals, cast, block scenes, interpret scripts, they assess progress and plan the next steps for a production, work with the sound and music department as well as choreographers and take notes in rehearsals. Directors are there to oversee rehearsals and make a musical the best it can be when blocking and changing elements to make scenes, songs and dance numbers better.

On average a director will work 40-50 hours a week and will have to be involved with the whole process from the design and pre production right through to the final performance. Most have completed at least two years of vocational training and have undertaken periods of work experience with theatre and events companies with a vocational degree and relevant experience. You would need training in Health and Safety regulations pertaining to theatre and live performance, risk assessment. Most directors are employed on a contract for each production from the planning and rehearsal period throughout.