The Mock Performance took place a week before the actual performance; we also had several rehearsals beforehand in the Henry Mitchell Hall. The Mock Performance was an indication of how the Final Performance should be. Therefore we ran through our sets as we’d present it on the evening of the gig. This performance was also recorded for evidence as this was also Kelsey’s Final Performance. Kelsey would not be there for the Final Performance; therefore this was her Final Performance. This meant that for the Final Performance we had to have Veronica fill in for Kelsey’s parts.
Strengths
The Mock Performance was successful because it had structure and a strong set list. Since we had been attending many rehearsals both in college time and after, we had fully rehearsed our set list which meant that we were confident when knowing what was going to be played next. This meant that went performing we knew exactly what we were doing.
In addition the Mock Performance was successful due to our communication on stage. Looking at the band members meant we knew when parts of a song were to occur. We also did this throughout rehearsals therefore we knew when we needed to communicate on stage.
Overall the songs within the set list were also played well; personally I did play a couple of wrong notes on the piano, but due to doing gigs beforehand I knew how to continue. All the harmonies seemed to be successful too since we had many rehearsals beforehand.
Since we were also organising the Charity Gig we had to ensure that each band would be playing within schedule, therefore within 20 minutes, which they seemed to do, however some bands could do with the last practice to ensure that their song changes from one song to the next were smoother. However the timing for each band was on schedule. They also communicated whilst on stage and most of their songs worked well too. Luckily since this was the Mock Performance they knew exactly what they had to work on towards the Final Performance, as overall it gave us the full experience of what it would be like for the Final Performance.
Weaknesses
In some ways the Mock Performance was unsuccessful as many of the guitarists didn’t have straps, therefore their stage presence was limited due to not everyone being stood up and performing to their full ability on stage. This also limited communication both towards the audience and to the band members as they have limited movement. Therefore for the Final Performance we made sure that everyone had guitar straps. In addition another suggestion for the Final Performance would be to have certain costumes/ a dress code. This would make it more visually pleasing and include a sense of cohesiveness within each performance as well as presenting more effort and professionalism within the performance. Another suggestion for the Final Performance would be to also ensure that the lighting would be better due to the lighting being similar throughout the whole performance, again it would make it more engaging if it including a variety of lighting.
Evaluation
Overall I believe that the Mock Performance was successful and it gave an idea of what each band and individual had to work on to perfect their performance for the Charity Gig. It also gave us a better understanding of the schedule and when the bands would perform and then the next band would perform. During the Mock Performance we also decided where the chairs would be placed, as we decided that there should be two sections/columns either side with a gap in between to have easy access to each seat. We also included 84 chairs which meant that there would be enough for the audience to be seated rather than stood. We also decided where the cameras would be placed to get good angles of the stage, as one was placed high up on the left hand side where it would give a higher view of the stage and one was placed looking down the aisle of seats and towards the front of the stage (near the mixing desk so no one would knock it over). We also decided that the refreshments table should be behind the mixing desk and that tickets should be sold outside the doors which also included the mailing list. We agreed that two band members would be outside doing the tickets and mailing list as two people would stand at the refreshments table.